The saints everlasting rest

6. With this covenant concurs, a mutual delivery; Christ delivereth himself in all comfortable relations to the sinner, and the sinner delivereth up himself to be saved and ruled by Christ. Now doth the soul resolvedly conclude, I have been blindly led by the flesh, the world, and the devil, too long, almost to my destruction: I will now be wholly at the disposal of my LORD, who hath bought me with his blood, and will bring me to his glory. And thus the complete work of saving faith consisteth in this covenanting, or mystical marriage of the sinner to Christ.

Thus you have a naked enumeration of the essentials of this people of GOD: not a full portraiture of them in all their excellencies, nor all the notes whereby they be discerned. And though it will be part of the following application, to put you upon trial: yet because the description is now before your eyes, and these evidencing works are fresh in your memory, it will not be unseasonable, to take an account of your own estates, and to view yourselves exactly in this glass, before you pass. And I beseech thee, reader, as thou hast the hope of a christian, yea, or the reason of a man, to deal throughly, and search carefully, and judge thyself as one that must shortly be judged by the righteous GOD: and faithfully answer to these few questions.

And first, hast thou been thoroughly convinced of an universal depravation, through thy whole soul? And an universal wickedness through thy whole ⟨p. 83⟩life? and how vile a thing this sin is? and that by the tenor of that covenant which thou hast transgressed, the least sin deserves eternal death? Dost thou consent to this law, that it is true and righteous? Hast thou perceived thyself sentenced to this death by it, and been convinced of thy undone condition? Hast thou further seen the utter insufficiency of every creature, either to be itself thy happiness, or the means of curing this thy misery, and making thee happy in GOD? Hast thou been convinced, that thy happiness is only in GOD as the end? and only in Christ as the way to him? and that thou must be brought to GOD by Christ, or perish eternally? Hast thou seen hereupon an absolute necessity of enjoying Christ? and the full sufficiency that is in him, to do for thee whatsoever thy case requireth, by reason of the fullness of his satisfaction, the greatness of his power, the dignity of his person, and the freeness of his promises? Hast thou discovered the excellency of this pearl, to be worth thy selling all to buy it? Hath all this been joined with some sensibility? As the convictions of a man that thirsteth, of the worth of drink? And not been only a change of opinion produced by reading and education, as a bare notion in the understanding? Hath it proceeded to an abhorring sin? Have both thy sin and misery been a burden to thy soul? and if thou couldst not weep, yet couldst thou groan under the insupportable weight of both? Hast thou renounced all thine own righteousness? Hast thou turned thy idols out of thy heart; so that the creature hath no more the sovereignty; but GOD and Christ? Dost thou accept of Christ as thy only Saviour, and expect thy justification, recovery and glory from him alone? Dost thou take him also for Lord and King? And are his laws the most powerful commanders of thy soul? Do they ordinarily prevail against the commands of the flesh, of Satan, of the greatest on earth that shall countermand? and against the interest of thy credit,