The poor doubting Christian drawn to Christ. Wherein the main hindrances, which keep men…

1. Means. First; We must, as much as in us lies, labour to pull away all those carnal outward Stays that the Soul leans upon, and all other like Succours, and whatsoever Contentment it is, which a poor Sinner doth betake himself to, as to his Refuge for Relief and Help; that when all these are taken from us, we may be forced to go for Succour thither, where right Succour is to be had. It is a Thing natural to us all, even from our first Parents, a Desire to have the Staff in our own Hands, and to be able to supply our selves of all Necessaries, without being beholden to others, or to any.

Now therefore, the Way to make the Soul to lean upon CHRIST, is, to pluck away all those deceiving Props. The last Thing we fly unto is the Promise; which if we could find Good any where else than in CHRIST, we would never go to him for it. GOD hears last of us: And therefore here we should do with ourselves, as the Enemy doth with a City besieged, when he would make the Inhabitants, or those that keep it, to yield; The Way he takes is to famish them, to cut off all Provision, and stop all Passages, so that none can come to relieve them; then they presently yield themselves to the Mercy of the Assailant: So it is with our Nature. And seeing it is so that we are still trusting to our own Strengths, and relying upon something of ⟨p. 79⟩our own; the best Way were to famish the Heart, by cutting off all the Means and Comforts whereby the same is succoured, and quieted, but not rightly in Christ. For when the Heart is thus famished, it will then seek out to a SAVIOUR, and there betake it self, because there is no other Thing or Means otherwise to help it.

The poor Woman in the Gospel had spent all her Goods upon the Physicians,