Riches of mercy to men in misery, or, Certain excellent treatises concerning the dignity…

So much for the clearing of this point; the use of it followeth.

And first, if Christ be offered to all freely without exception, ¹and also seeing God hath commanded, and beseech men to come and receive him; then let us take good heed of refusing of it, for if there be no greater mercy then the offer of Christ, so then there is no greater curse followeth, then if it be refused. For the clearing of this point we are to know that we are all by nature enemies to God, and this enmity we increase by our personal rebellions, and so we are become liable to the curse, man now being in this condition, God sendeth forth his messengers to beseech men to be reconciled, assuring them that the pardon is general, no matter what they are or have been, but if they thirst after Christ he is for them; but indeed you must take whole Christ, as well as Priest or Prophet, as a King to rule over all your affections; hereupon some take him and others will not, they think the condition too hard, and therefore they will not forgo their profits and pleasures, and their liberties falsely so called, and therefore notwithstanding this year of Jubilee, they love their old master still, that is the lust that they serve, and they would rather be bored in the ear to serve them ⟨p. 427⟩perpetually, they love the flesh-pots of Egypt, and loathe this spiritual Manna, notwithstanding it is the most precious and excellent that ever was offered to mankind. Now this I say of all the sins that can be committed, Original sins, All our personal rebellions provoke not God so much to anger, as the rejection of his Son, for this contempt of the Gospel, we know how angry God was with those that refused to come to the Marriage of his Son, they had in many things carried themselves stubbornly against God aforetime, yet God was never so angry as now, he was now angry to the death.

And first, if Christ be offered to all freely without exception, ¹