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

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, Matth. 5.26, 27. and if she had had but a little Means left, yea, but one Farthing-token (for any Thing that I know, or doth appear) she would never have gone to CHRIST: But when all these failed, then she was forced to seek to CHRIST, that was ready and willing to do that for her, and more than she desired. Our Souls must have something to bear upon, and they cannot subsist without some Under-Props. Hereupon therefore, when all our carnal Hopes are taken from us, we stay (as we must needs) upon the Promise, because we have nothing else to rest upon. Yet it is not required (tho' I thus speak) that a Man should cast away all outward Comforts, such as GOD affords him for the Interim here: Oh no: But only this; That (though he have much this Way) yet that he labour to get his Heart to see and acknowledge the Insufficiency and Nothingness of them all, 'till he have the superlative Comfort, CHRIST, above ⟨p. 80⟩