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

And now in the last Place, and lastly;¹ Labour to submit to the most equal Condition of the Promise, not making more Conditions there than GOD hath made. Now the Promise requires no more of a Man, but that he come and ⟨p. 93⟩lay hold of Mercy; therefore do thou require no more. There is enough in the Promise to do thee good; therefore do thou expect all Good from it, and be content there to take of GOD whatsoever he hath therein offered to thy Faith. Buy without Money, saith the Prophet: Isai. 55.1, 2. This is the Condition that GOD offers Mercy upon, buy Wine and Milk, that is, Grace and Salvation; without Money, that is, without any Sufficiency of your own. If a Man should go running up and down to borrow Money before he comes to buy, he may famish before he can come: So the LORD offering CHRIST'S Mercy and Salvation without our Cost, and saying, Come, take it without Money; and yet we will run up and down to borrow Money of our Prayers and other Duties also, and from our Prayer against Corruption, we may be starved spiritually before we can buy at that Hand. If we go this Way to Work, we may quickly lose our Labour, and our Selves. And therefore make GOD'S Commodities no dearer than GOD himself makes them. Many a poor Soul not remembering this, is kept from coming to the Promise: For, O saith one, 'If I were able to master my Sins and Distempers as such a one can do, then I might with Boldness believe.' But this is to bring Money: But art thou not content to have CHRIST of free Cost; so as he ⟨p. 94⟩may have thee, and rule in thee, and supply what is wanting to thee, and open thy Sores, and heal thy Corruptions? Then why goest thou not to the Promise with an empty Heart; that the LORD may supply thee, and master all thy Risings, and make thee a clean Heart? But that must come afterwards, as the Lord saith, Ezek. 16.6, to 10. When I passed by thee, and saw thee polluted in thine own Blood, behold thy Time was the Time of Love; and I spread my Skirt over thee, and covered thy Nakedness; yea, I sware unto thee, and entered into a Covenant with thee, and thou becamest mine: (that is, thou wast content that GOD should marry thee in all thy Rags) then I washed he with Water, yea, I thoroughly washed away thy Blood from thee, and anointed thee with Oil; I clothed thee also with broidered Work, &c. Here we see that CHRIST first marrieth the Church to himself;