A treatise on comforting afflicted consciences - The Digital Puritan

—"286 INSTRUCTIONS FOR COMFORTINGseal that God is true," consider by the foregoing view ofthy case, whether thy terrors and temptations be not justlyupon thee until thou dost.2. If this will not serve (which God forbid), then in asecond place thou art invited solemnly by the feast -maker,as it were, himself, with his own mouth, which is an infinitemercy, honour, and comfort: " Come unto me, all yethat labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest(Mat. xi, 28). Here is no exception of sins, times, or persons.And if thou shouldst reply. Yea, but alas ! I am theunworthiest man in the world to draw near unto so holy aGod ; to press into so pure a presence ; to expect upon thesudden such glorious, spiritual, and heavenly advancement;most impure, abon.inable, and vile wretch that Iam ! readier far and fitter to sink into the bottom of hellby the insupportable weight of my manifold heinous sins:I say then the text tells thee plainly, that thou mightilymistakest ; for therefore only art thou ht, because thoufeelest so sensibly thy unfitness, unworthiness, vileness,wretchedness. The sorer and heavier thy burthen is, therather shouldst thou come. In a word, it appears by thineown words expressing such a penitent apprehension of thyspiritual poverty, that thou art the only man, and such asthou alone, which Christ here specially aims at, invites,and accepts.3. " He knowing our frame," our sluggish, dull, and heavydisposition, our spiritual laziness, natural neglect of ourown salvation, and loathness to believe ; adds in anotherplace to ordinary invitation, a stirring, compassionate, andquickening compellation, or rather exclamation. "Ho!"saith he, Isaiah Iv, 1, " every one that thirsteth, come ye tothe waters," 6ic. And lest any think he shall come to hiscost, or shall bring any thing in his hand, he calls upon" 'him that hath no money ; and thus doubles his cry :" Come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wiue and milk,without money, and without price." O most blessed andsweetest lines ! So full of love and longing to draw us tothe well of life, that besides that holy pang of compassionand excitation, " Ho " ! he cries thrice, " Come, come,come " ! Yea, but,mayest thou say, alas ! I am so far frombringing any thing in my hand, that I bring a world ofwickedness upon my heart ; and that above ordinary, bothin notoriousness and number ; and therefore I am afraid theheinousness of my sins will hinder my acceptation, thoughthe invitation be most sweet and precious. Be it so ;yetthe Spirit of God in the same chapter doth purposely meetwith and remove that very scruple ": Let the wicked, saith