2. When the soul is thus resolved that it must of necessity change, when it seeth his wound and his sin ready before him to condemn him, and it hath (as it were) a little peep-hole into hell; the soul in this distress sends over to Prayer, and Hearing, and holy services, and thinks by his wits and Duties, or some such like matters, to succour it self; and it begins to say, My hearing and my prayer, will not these save me? Thus the soul in conclusion rests on Duties: I will not say but these Duties are all good, honourable and comfortable, yet they are not Gods, but the Ordinances of God. It is the nature of a sinful heart, to make the means, as meritorious to Salvation: A man that seeth his Drunkenness and his base contempt of God, O then he voweth and promiseth to take up a new course, and he begins to approve himself in reformation of his ways, then he cries, Now I will have no more drunkenness, now no more scoffing and scorning at those that go to hear the Word: and then he thinks, What can I do ⟨p. 18⟩more? to heaven I must go. All this is but a mans self: Why so? Christ (who is the Substance of all) and the pith of a Promise is forgotten; a Christ in hearing, a Christ in praying is not regarded, and therefore the poor soul famisheth with hunger. Mistake not, I pray you, these Duties must be had and used, but still a man must not stay here: Prayer saith, There is no Salvation in me; and the Sacraments and Fasting say, There is no Salvation in us: all these are subservient helps, no absolute causes of Salvation. A man will use his bucket, but he expects water from the well; these Means are the buckets, but all our comfort, and all our life and grace is only in Christ: if you say, your bucket shall help you, you may starve for Christ, if you let it not down into the well for water: So though you boast of Praying, and Hearing, and Fasting, and of your Alms, and building of Hospitals, and of your good deeds, if none of these bring you to a Christ, or settle you on a Christ, you shall dye for Christ, though your works were as the works of an Angel. As it is with a graft therefore, first it must be cut off from the old stock; secondly, it must be pared, and made fit for implantation into another: so the soul by Contrition being cut off from sin, then Humiliation pares it (pares away all a mans privileges) and makes it fit for the engrafting into Christ Jesus.
2. When the soul is thus resolved that it must of necessity change, when it seeth his wound and his sin ready before him to condemn him, and it hath (as it were) a little peep-hole into hell; the soul in this distress sends over to Prayer, and Hearing, and holy services, and thinks by his wits and Duties, or some such like matters, to succor it self; and it begins to say, My hearing and my prayer, will not these save me? Thus the soul in conclusion rests on Duties: I will not say but these Duties are all good, honorable and comfortable, yet they are not Gods, but the Ordinances of God. It is the nature of a sinful heart, to make the means, as meritorious to Salvation: A man that seeth his Drunkenness and his base contempt of God, O then he voweth and promiseth to take up a new course, and he begins to approve himself in reformation of his ways, then he cryes, Now I will have no more drunkenness, now no more scoffing and scorning at those that go to hear the Word: and then he thinks, What can I do ⟨p. 18⟩more? to heaven I must go. All this is but a mans self: Why so? Christ (who is the Substance of all) and the pith of a Promise is forgotten; a Christ in hearing, a Christ in praying is not regarded, and therefore the poor soul famisheth with hunger. Mistake not, I pray you, these Duties must be had and used, but still a man must not stay here: Prayer saith, There is no Salvation in me; and the Sacraments and Fasting say, There is no Salvation in us: all these are subservient helps, no absolute causes of Salvation. A man will use his bucket, but he expects water from the well; these Means are the buckets, but all our comfort, and all our life and grace is onely in Christ: if you say, your bucket shall help you, you may starve for Christ, if you let it not down into the well for water: So though you boast of Praying, and Hearing, and Fasting, and of your Alms, and building of Hospitals, and of your good deeds, if none of these bring you to a Christ, or settle you on a Christ, you shall dye for Christ, though your works were as the works of an Angel. As it is with a graft therefore, first it must be cut off from the old stock; secondly, it must be pared, and made fit for implantation into another: so the soul by Contrition being cut off from sin, then Humiliation pares it (pares away all a mans priviledges) and makes it fit for the ingraffing into Christ Jesus.
