Jansenius on the place saith, it is very observable that our Saviour after his resurrection first appeared to Mary Magdalene and Peter, that had been grievous sinners; that even the worst of sinners may be comforted and encouraged to come to Christ, to believe in Christ, to rest and stay their souls upon Christ, for mercy here and glory hereafter. That is a very precious word for the worst of sinners to hang upon, Ps. Ixviii. 18. The psalmist speaking of Christ saith, Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive; thou hast received gifts for men; yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord might dwell amongst them.’

What though thou art a rebellious child, or a rebellious servant! What though thou art a rebellious swearer, a rebellious drunkard, a rebellious Sabbath breaker! Yet Christ hath received gifts for thee, even for the rebellious also” He hath received the gift of pardon, the gift of righteousness, yea, all the gifts of the Spirit for thee, that thy heart may be made a delightful house for God to dwell in.

Bodin! hath a story concerning a great rebel that had made a strong party against a Roman emperor. The emperor makes proclamation, that whoever could bring the rebel dead or alive, he should have such a great sum of money. The rebel hearing of this, comes and presents himself before the emperor, and demands the sum of money. Now, saith the emperor, if I should put him to death, the world would say I did it to save my money. And so he pardons the rebel, and gives him the money. Ah, sinners! Shall a heathen do this, that had but a drop of mercy and compassion in him: and will not Christ do much more, that hath all fulness of grace, mercy, and glory in himselt? Surely his bowels do yearn towards the worst of rebels. Ah! if you still but come in, you will find him ready to pardon, yea, one made up of pardoning mercy. Ol! the readiness and willingness of Jesus Christ to receive to favour the greatest rebels! The father of mercies did meet, embrace, and kiss that prodigal mouth which came from feeding with swine and kissing of harlots, Col. 1. 19, ii 3, 4.

Ephraim had committed idolatry, and was backslidden from God; he was guilty of lukewarmness and unbelief, &c., yet saith God, Ephraim is my dear son, he is a pleasant child, my bowels are troubled for him, I will have mercy,” or rather as it is in the original, IT will have mercy, mercy upon him, saith the Lord,

Well! saith God, though Ephraim be guilty of crimson sins, yet he is a son, a dear son, a precious son, a pleasant child; though he be black with filth, and red with guilt, yet my bowels are troubled for him; I will have mercy, mercy upon him. Ah sinners, if these bowels of mercy do not melt, win, and draw you, justice will be a swift witness against you, and make you lie down in eternal misery for kicking against the bowels of mercy.

Christ hangs out still, as once that warlike Scythian did, a white flag of grace and mercy to returning sinners that humble themselves at his feet for favour; but if sinners stand out, Christ will put forth his red

flag, his bloody flag, and they shall die for ever by a hand of justice. Sinners there is no way to avoid perishing by Christ’s iron rod, but by kissing his golden sceptre.

Remedy (+). The fourth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That Jesus Christ hath nowhere in all the Scripture excepted against the worst of sinners that ave willing to receive him, to believe in kim, to rest upon kim for happiness and blessedness. Ah! sinners, why should you be more cruel and unmerciful to your own souls than Christ 1s 2 Christ hath not excluded you from mercy, why should you exclude your own souls from mercy? Oh that you would dwell often upon that choice Scripture, John vi. 537, All that the Father giveth me, shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out, or as the original hath it, I will not not cast out.” Well! saith Christ, if any man will come, or 1s coming to me, let him be more sinful or less; more unworthy or less; let him be never so guilty, never so filthy, never so rebellious, never so leprous, &c., yet if he will but come, I will not not cast him off. So much is held forth in 1 Cor. vi. 9-11, Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.’

Ah! sinners, do net think that he that hath received such notorious sinners to mercy will reject you. “He is yesterday, and to-day, and the same for ever, Heb. xii. 8. Christ was born in an inn, to shew that he receives all comers; his garments were divided into four parts, to shew that out of what part of the world soever we come, we shall be received. If we be naked, Christ hath robes to clothe us; if we be harbourless, Christ hath room to lodge us. That is a choice scripture, Acts x. 34, 35, Then Peter opened his mouth and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. But in every nation, he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him.

The three tongues that were written upon the cross, Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, John xix. 19, 20, to witness Christ to be the king of the Jews, do each of them in their several idiom avouch this singular axiom, that Christ is an all-sufficient Saviour; and ‘a threefold cord is not easily broken.” The apostle puts this out of doubt: Heb. vii. 25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.’ Now, he were not an all-sufficient Saviour if he were not able to save the greatest, as [well as] the least of sinmers. Ah! sinners, tell Jesus Christ that he hath not excluded you from mercy, and therefore you are resolved that you will sit, wait, weep, and knock at the door of mercy, till he shall say, Souls, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven, your persons are justitied, and your souls shall be saved.

Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, to consider, That the greater sinner thow art, the dearer thou wilt be to Clrist, avhen he shall behold thee as the travail of his soul: Isa. hii. 11, He shall see of the travail of ns soul, and be satisfied” The dearer we pay for anything, the dearer that thing is to us. Christ hath paid most, and prayed most, and sighed most, and wept most, and bled most for the greatest sinners, and therefore they are dearer to Christ than others that arc less sinful. Rachel was dearer to Jacob than Leah, because she cost him more; he obeyed, endured, and suffered more by day and night for her than for Leah. Ah! sinners, the greatness of your sins does but set off the freeness and riches of Christ’s grace, and the freeness of his love. This maketh heaven and earth to ring of his praise, that he loves those that are most unlovely, that he shews most favour to them that have sinned most highly against Lim, as might be shewed by several instances in Scripture, as Paul, Mary Magdalene, and others. Who sinned more against Christ than these? And who had sweeter and choicer manifestations of divine love and favour than these?

Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, seriously to consider, That the longer you keep off from Christ, the greater and stronger your sins will grow. All divine power and strength against sin flows from the soul’s union and communion with Christ, Rom. viii. 10, 1 John 1. 6, 7. While you keep off from Christ, you keep off from that strength and power which is only able to make you trample down strength, lead captivity captive, and slay the Goliaths that bid defiance to Christ. It is only faith in Christ that makes a man triumph over sin, Satan, hell, and the world, 1 John v. 4. It is only faith in Christ that binds the-strong man’s hand and foot, that stops the issue of blood, that makes a man strong in resisting, and happy in conquering, Mat. v. 15 to 35. Sin always dies most where faith lives most. The most believing soul is the most mortified soul. Ah! sinner, remember this, there is no way on earth effectually to be rid of the guilt, filth, and power of sin, but by believing in a Saviour. It is not resolving, it is not complaining, it is not mourning, but believing, that will make thee divinely victorious over that body of sin that to this day 18 too strong for thee, and that will certainly be thy ruin, if it be not ruined by a hand of faith.

Remedy (7). The seventh remedy against this device of Satan is, wisely to consider, That as there is nothing in Christ to discourage the greatest sinners from believing in him, so there is everything in Christ that may encourage the greatest sinners to believe on him, to rest and lean upon him for all happiness and blessedness, Cant. 1. 3. If you look upon his nature, his disposition, his names, his titles, his offices as king, priest, and prophet, you will find nothing to discourage the greatest sinners from believing in him, but many things to encourage the greatest sinners to receive him, to believe on him.! Christ is the greatest good, the choicest good, the chiefest good, the most suitable good, the most necessary good. He is a pure good, a real good, a total good, an eternal good, and a soul-satisfying good, Rev. iii. 17, 18. Sinners, are you poor? Christ hath gold to enrich you. Are you naked? Christ hath royal robes, he hath white raiment to clothe you. Are you blind? Christ hath eye-salve to enlighten you. Are you hungry? Christ will be manna to feed you. Are you thirsty? He will be a well of living water to refresh you. Are you wounded? He hath a balm under his wings to heal you. Are you sick? He is a physician

1 Col. i. 19, 3, Cant, 10

to cure you. Are you prisoners? He hath laid down a ransom for you. Ah, simmers! tell me, tell me, is there anything in Christ to keep you off from believing 2 No. Is there not everything in Christ that may encourage you to believe in him? Yes. Oh, then, believe in him, and then, “Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow, though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool] Isa. i. 18. Nav, then, your iniquities shall be forgotten as well as forgiven, they shall be remembered no more. God will cast them behind his back, he will throw them into the bottom of the sea, Isa. xlii. 25, xxxviii. 17, Micah vii. 19.

Remedy (8). The eighth remedy against this device of Satan is, seriously to consider, The absolute mecessity of believing in Christ. Heaven is too holy and too hot to hold unbelievers; their lodging is prepared in hell: Rev. xxi. 8, But the fearful and unbelieving. &e, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” If ye believe not that I am he,” saith Christ, you shall die in your sins, John viii. 2k. And he that dics in his sins must to judgment and to hell in lis sins. Every unbeliever is a condemned man: He that believeth not,” saith John, is condemned already, because hie hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And he that believeth not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him, John iii. 18, 36. Al, sinners! the law, the gospel, and your own consciences, have passed the sentence of condemnation upon you, and there is no way to reverse the sentence but by believing in Christ. And therefore my counsel is this, Stir up yourselves to lay hold on the Lord Jesus, and look up to him, and wait on him, from whom every good and perfect gift comes, and give him no rest till he hath given thee that jewel faith, that is more worth than heaven and earth, and that will make thee happy in life, joyful in death, and glorious in the day of Christ, Isa. Ixiv. 7, James 1. 17, Isa. Ixil. 7.

And thus much for the remedies against this first device of Satan, whereby he keeps off thousands from believing in Christ.