Gospel-revelation in three treatises, viz, 1 The nature of God. 2 The excellencies of…

First, There is nothing that any man can do, that saves him, there must be somewhat higher that what he can do; and yet God requires that he should do what he can do; Indeed what any man can do of himself, yea or by assistance from common grace, yea we will say further, by assistance from any grace whatsoever, though it may help forward his salvation, by an ordinance of God, yet it cannot be the thing that saves him, the thing that saves him is higher than what is done by the creature, it is what is done by Christ, or what is suffered by Christ, it is that that saves the soul, and not, I say, what is done or suffered by us.

First, There is nothing that any man can do, that saves him, there must bee somewhat higher that what hee can do; and yet God requires that hee should do what hee can do; Indeed what any man can do of himself, yea or by assistance from common grace, yea wee will say further, by assistance from any grace whatsoever, though it may help forward his salvation, by an ordinance of God, yet it cannot be the thing that saves him, the thing that saves him is higher than what is done by the creature, it is what is done by Christ, or what is suffered by Christ, it is that that saves the soul, and not, I say, what is done or suffered by us.

But yet now we must not make such a vain, and foolish, and dangerous inference, that therefore nothing is to be done, because the things that we do are not the things that ⟨p. 205⟩save us; there is a great deal of evil comes from men and women's presuming to draw consequences; they think that if this be true, the other will follow, and so through the weakness of their understandings,¹ they come to draw dangerous consequences from true positions: Why, we are dead in sins by nature, and without me ye can do nothing, saith Christ; upon this here is this consequence drawn by many ignorant people that pervert the Word to their own destruction, If God be not merciful to them; therefore why should we pray, or read, or hear, or use any means, let us lay aside all, we can do nothing, we are dead in sins, and the like: Now we are to know, that though nothing can be done by us (till God bring us into a state of grace and salvation) that is acceptable, so as certainly shall bring us to Heaven, yet if it be but that that shall stop us in the contrary way a little, it is worth our labour; If it be but that that any way may tend towards the bringing of us unto any means that may do us good, why it is worth our labour, and all our pains; but especially if we consider this, that though we are not able to do that that shall save us, yet God is pleased often to convey his strength to those he doth intend to save, through the use of those means; rather at that time when they do improve their natural abilities, than at that time when they sit idle and do nothing, and therefore you must be up and be doing. We read in the Gospel concerning the young man that I told you came to Christ, and inquired what he should do for eternal life, Christ profest to him that he was not far from the Kingdom of Heaven, he was not so far as others; It is true, if a man abuses his doing, and rests in his doing, that sets him as far from the Kingdom of Heaven, as profane ones, and therefore Publicans and Harlots may enter into the Kingdom of Heaven, as soon as Scribes and Pharisees; But there may be many actions done by a common assistance of Gods Spirit, that may bring some nearer to the Kingdom of Heaven than others; and the denial of such a thing as that is, would be an extreme boldness in any;