A92857:470
The riches of grace displayed in the offer and tender of salvation to poor…
The riches of grace displayed in the offer and tender of salvation to poor sinners. Wherein is set out, the gracious behaviour of Christ, standing at the door and knocking for entrance. The dutiful behaviour of sinners in hearing Christs voice and opening to him. And the comfortable event upon them both. / By Obadiah Sedgwick. B.D. and late minister of the Gospel in Covent-Garden.
London: printed by T.R. & E.M. for Adoniram Byfield, 1657
Title page typeset from the transcription.
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Suppose I keep my sins and hold fast the world, and let go the offer of Christ, where is the gain, what is the safety, whence is the comfort by this, what will be the issue? Suppose I open to Christ, and let go my sins, and part with the world, what is my loss? where is my diminution? can happiness impoverish me? can all-sufficiency be loss to me? can salvation distress me? If I be not a sinner, why do I talk of a Saviour? if I be, why do I not receive an offered Saviour? If I be a sinner, do not I need a Saviour? If it be a tender mercy to offer, is it more then a wise duty ⟨p. 150⟩to embrace him? if my body were drowning, I would catch hold of a rock; If my soul be sinking, why should I not lay hold of a Christ? I may perish if I will, (O but who would perish wilfully? who would perish at all?) &c.
Suppose I keep my sins and hold fast the world, and let go the offer of Christ, where is the gain, what is the safety, whence is the comfort by this, what will be the issue? Suppose I open to Christ, and let go my sinnes, and part with the world, what is my losse? where is my diminution? can happinesse impoverish me? can alsufficiency be losse to me? can salvation distresse me? If I be not a sinner, why do I talk of a Saviour? if I be, why do I not receive an offered Saviour? If I be a sinner, do not I need a Saviour? If it be a tender mercy to offer, is it more then a wise duty ⟨p. 150⟩to embrace him? if my body were drowning, I would catch hold of a rock; If my soule be sinking, why should I not lay hold of a Christ? I may perish if I will, (O but who would perish wilfully? who would perish at all?) &c.
Another is Argumentative, which consists in a divine reasoning, either disproving the objections of the soul against a closing with Christ, or enforcing and edging those arguments drawn from free grace, from Christ, from the New Covenant, which tends to incline the will unto him: There •e many fears, and doubts, and jealousies, rolling (especially) in a convinced and humbled spirit, questioning sometimes Christs sufficiency, or else his intention and willingness; sometimes our own capacity, by reason of greatness of sinning, or peculiarity of former refusals, all which you should do well to