Sermon 11

1 John 5:12. He that has the Son, has life, and he that has not the Son, has not life.

Having handled a use of trial of life, and this depends upon our having of Christ. We come now to another use from this doctrine.

Use 2. It is to teach us the dangerous and uncomfortable estate of every such soul as has not Christ, for the text says, he that has not the Son, has not life; no life in us, if there be no Christ in us, this is that which the Apostle speaks often to, that we are dead in trespasses and in sins (Ephesians 2:1, 5). This is [reconstructed: the estate] of them all, so far as we are without Christ, we are without life; no Christ, no life.

It is with the sons of men in this kind (that I may so speak) as it was with the soldiers (2 Kings 19:35), they were all dead corpses: truly, that is the case of us all by nature; every soul of us, as long as we live in the world without Christ, so many men, so many dead corpses, so many unsavory carcasses. And indeed all that work of life, which you have heard opened, it is no spiritual motion, no feeding upon Christ, no growing in grace, no expelling of noisome lusts, no care nor endeavor to beget others to an estate of grace, in any men that are dead, no motion at all to any spiritual good (Hebrews 9:14). All our works, the best works we do in an estate of nature, they are all of them but dead works; and so are we to any spiritual motion. As the Apostle tells you, we none of us do good, and which is worse, we can do no good; indeed, and still, which is worse, we would do no good if we could; this is the estate of us all by nature. The Lord looked down from heaven, to see if any of them did good, but they are altogether become unprofitable, not one does good, no not one (Romans 3:12).

And he speaks of all men in an estate of nature without Christ, not one does any good, no not one; all the thoughts and imaginations of such men's hearts are evil, and only evil, and that continually (Genesis 6:1), and Christ says as much of their words (Matthew 12:33-34). And so in all our works, a good tree brings forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit (Matthew 7:18). Wherein he shows you, that as we do no good, so we can do no good, not a good thought, nor a good word, nor a good work comes from such a man all his days; and all our speeches are rotten and unsavory, not any spiritual life in most seemingly best duties; we are not able to speak to any good purpose, let it be truly molded and it is a precious fruit of righteousness, but if spoken as comes from nature, be it never so well spoken, it is corrupt, either full of pride or self-conceit, or to please others, or the like; nor do we regulate our words by the language of Canaan, nor open our mouths from a spirit of faith (2 Corinthians 4:13). This is true in all natural men; we do not therefore speak because we believe, we speak not, because we believe God has commanded us so to speak; as our Savior said (John 14, last verse). Nor therefore work anything because God set us to work, or to aim at any service of God, or good to his people in it, so that as our thoughts be, so are our words, evil, and only, and continually evil; and much more all the works of our hands, that require greater strength of grace than either our thoughts or our words do; so that without Christ there is no act of spiritual life comes from us, we would do no good if we could. If God should at any time assist us, and supply us with something more than ordinary, yet we will not be made clean, that we might do well: O Jerusalem, will you not be made clean, when will it once be? (Jeremiah 13, last verse). As if it were a thing never to be looked for, God might wait upon a man from one end of the year to another, and sometimes be asking of him, Will you be made clean? And he may ask again, Man, will you be made whole? But if he but say, Will you be made clean, we have many devices to put off God, and we can never find that day, wherein we will say, This day we will hear God's voice, and be made clean; from this day forward I resolve never to think my own thoughts more, nor to do my own will more, but now will give up myself to seek for life and salvation in Christ; that day is yet never pitched upon till we have found Christ, never since we were born until now. But now it may be we are convinced, that it is good to become a Christian, and we wish well to such as are Christians; but when it comes to the matter, we are but almost Christians, as was Agrippa; or if we be satisfied, that we must become Christians indeed, then truly it must not be today, but tomorrow; and when we think to set God a day when indeed it shall be, as sometimes at our marriage, or when we come out of our apprenticeships, or when we fall sick, when left alone upon the deathbed, and if God say, Yet, when will it once be? We cannot yet set him a day, only we will say, We will consider of it, and we would be loath to disappoint God; as creditors will say to their debtors, We would be loath to set you a day, because we know not whether we shall hold or no, and therefore spare us in that, but we will pay you as soon as we can. But when will it once be? Truly we are not yet persuaded, there is yet something or other to be done; and therefore you shall find this to be true, that we are so far from spiritual life in Christ, that none of us do any good; there is nothing you do whereof you may say, This have I done because God has set me to work, and in respect of God's command, or that God may be sanctified thereby, never yet could we say so; and as we have not done any good, so neither are we able or capable of good. And in truth this is a further want of spiritual action, that if God should make us able to do it, yet we would not be willing to do it, but if he put us to the question, When shall it once be? Read that chapter and the next, and see if ever they set God a time, they will by no means set God a time, lest they too much engage themselves; indeed, sometimes it may be you shall see such men lying under some heavy hand of God, and near to death, resolve upon time. See our unwillingness to come off to God when we are in health, we think in sickness to be made clean, but in sickness, what will we say then, some of you can tell what men are then used to say. What do we then say? Oh, if God would but restore me to health, you should see I would become a new man. Why, when he was in health he said, If sickness or danger came, that should be the time wherein he would be made clean, but when sickness comes, then we put God off till health again. As if a debtor should put off his creditor from summer to winter, and from there to summer again, the answer will never be given. Why now it shall be this day say you in sickness, it shall be when God shall bring me to health; but why not today? You put off God from health to sickness, and from sickness to health again, and when they do not so, and come and tell them of it, they will say, Why it is true, God forgive them, they thought to have done such a thing, and they hoped to have done it. But when shall it once be? Why not today before tomorrow? What if you die of this sickness, will you go to hell immediately? Will you take no course for turning the wrath of God from you? Are you not now sick, why do you defer it any longer? And though he be not able to turn himself in his bed, yet he may turn to God. It is a vain thing to put off God to health, for in our sickness God will sooner visit us, and does expect that in the day of our affliction we should seek him diligently and early (Hosea 5, last verse). When will it once be? So that take notice of this desperate deadness of a man's heart out of Christ, he is dead in sin, so as that he neither does any good, nor is able to do any good, nor is willing to do any good.

And as there is no spiritual motion in him, no act of grace, so it is another act of spiritual life, for a man to feed upon Christ; but do you think a dead man is able to feed upon Christ? You know what God said of the idolatrous people in old time (Isaiah 44:11-12). The same says [illegible] to every natural man; He feeds, upon what? Upon Christ? No, no, upon ashes; why upon ashes, ashes is far from feeding upon the living God, and yet truly a man feeds upon ashes; every soul that feeds not upon Christ has some idol for his God, and so falls down to worship it, some god of profit, or pleasure; and this is the estate of all wicked men, they feed upon ashes. Upon ashes, it seems to me to be a borrowed speech, or similitude taken from children, or some women with child, that being sometimes taken with some ill humor, and distemper of stomach, they have an eager desire to feed upon ashes, and such like dry unsavory meat; children will be eating coals, and ashes, and so will sometimes women with child. So truly it is with every natural man, he is a natural idolater, he worships something besides God, he feeds upon ashes, some dry and unsavory, and unwholesome meat, which cannot profit him in the day of wrath, which gives not his soul any nourishment, for the soul of man is an immortal spirit, and we only feed it with profit, and pleasure, and credit, and these be but ashes, bodily food. The good things of this life are no more suitable to a man's soul, than ashes be to a man's body, and therefore Solomon so compares the estate of all the sons of nature (Ecclesiastes 3:21). Who knows the spirit of a man that goes upward, and the spirit of the beast that goes downward to the earth? His meaning is this; he complaining of the vanity that lies upon the sons of nature, he speaks not in the person of an epicure (as some conceive) but his meaning is, Who knows; which of all the sons of men considers, or takes it to heart, that his soul goes up to any better place than the soul of a beast, which of all the sons of nature feeds his soul upon better food, than the soul of a beast is fed upon? Do they not all feed, as if they all went to one place? And therefore upon the dust of the earth they feed; turn me out the man that is in an estate of nature, considers that his soul is to live forever, and therefore takes care to feed his soul to immortality; this is the woeful distemper of all the sons of nature, that we feed not upon Christ, but upon the blessings of this world, so long as we are without Christ, all our food is upon earthly things here below, there is not any power in a man by nature, not any wisdom or strength in us to deliver our souls, and then is not this a false course? A lying vanity: is not my heart deceived with this and that? He is not able to ask his heart such a question, am I such a fool, to forget all good to my soul, thus long? It would deliver his soul, if he did but consider that there was a lie in the other way, and he flatters himself in his good estate before God, and considers not the truth of the thing; he thinks he is as fair a dealing man as any of them all, but his heart deceitful, and desperately wicked, and so cannot see the falsehood of his way.

And for growing, which is a third act of spiritual life, a man is dead to any growth, never comes to any growth in grace, but he is apt to grow in evil and sin, evil men and deceivers shall wax worse and worse (2 Timothy 3:13). Take you any natural man, and he is ever growing worse and worse, ever growing of the worse hand; he grows more and more unprofitable, and more loose from God, and estranged from the ways of his grace, and settled in the ways of sin. And this is that which the prophet Jeremiah complains of (Jeremiah 9:3). They proceeded from evil to worse, and this is the estate of us all without Christ, we grow from prodigality to covetousness; and from wantonness, to voluptuousness, and so go on till we come to take pleasure in all sin, though it be but for a season: this is all the growth and progress that such men make.

And in the fourth place, for cleansing ourselves from all superfluous and noisome lusts that we do not, neither can we be freed from them: O Jerusalem, wash your heart from your wickedness, how long shall your vain thoughts lodge within you? (Jeremiah 4:14). Purge out all those sinful lusts, God knows the thoughts of the hearts of men are but vain (1 Corinthians 3:18), and they being vain, God would have us to wash our hearts, how long shall it be that we suffer these lusts to lodge within us? We never cleanse ourselves from these: but such woeful cleansing it is, that if we go about to purge them out, by the motions of the spirit of grace, that he casts into our hearts; we think it is a troublesome work, and does cross the tranquility and peace of our estates, we think they are noisome, and therefore, if any good motion be darted into the heart, in the Ministry of the Word, or in the Counsel of Christian friends, we are sick of it, till we have cast out all those good motions again, and whatever good affection God has been pleased to cast into us, we are not well till we be shut of it. As was the case of Ahab, he comes sadly and mourning from Elijah's sharp reproof (1 Kings 21, two last verses), but he could not be well at ease, till he had cast it all off, with putting Naboth to death, and put it off with calling a Council about going to War, and so damped all the sorrow that was in his heart. Let Cain have any good motion come in his heart, and he will put it off with building of cities: his sin and punishment is great (Genesis 4:13), and would he not now seek to God for mercy that his soul might live? No, he goes out from the presence of God, and from all good company and good counsel, and where goes he then? Into the land of Nod, and there he builds cities, and calls them by such and such names, and so takes off his thoughts from any good motion, and extinguishes all the motions of grace. And truly so stood the case with Felix (Acts 24:25), when he trembled at Paul's Sermon, he would not endure to hear him any further, but when he had convenient leisure he would hear him again; but he never sent for him. And so you shall ever find this frame in a natural man's heart, those motions which the spirit of God casts into his heart, that might induce him, and lead him on by the hand to better courses, we are not well till we have cast them all off. Just as Paul complains of the Jews (Acts 13:46), since you have put it away from you, lo, we turn to the Gentiles, we purge and cast out the motions of God's spirit, and cannot endure that any Ordinance should bring us nearer to Christ. (Acts 7:51) You have always resisted the Holy Spirit, expelled the blessed of God that if the Holy Spirit but dart any good counsel into their hearts, they cannot endure to hear it, nor entertain any motion of it, but grieve and vex the Holy Spirit of God, and they are not well till they quench it (1 Thessalonians 5:19; Isaiah 5:3). We are alive to nothing but to run away from God, alive to sin, alive to do evil, but to do well we have no understanding (Jeremiah 4:22). Apt to purge and cleanse ourselves from all good things, but wholly undisposed to do anything that is well; this is the true estate of us all. Look at us as we are by nature, all of us without Christ cannot put forth one act of spiritual life, not one good motion to be found in such a condition.

And in the first place for begetting any to grace, we rather do the quite contrary, we addict ourselves to beget men to become the children of Hell, worse than ourselves (Matthew 23:15), two-fold more the children of Hell. And because that may be more proper to corrupt teachers, Jeremiah speaks it of all the sons of nature, and those especially that had lived a while under the means, and were not thereby brought on to an estate of grace, those whom God had kindled some fire in their hearts, and whom he would have brought on to grace, even these. They are all grievously revolted, walking with slanders, they are brass and iron, they are all corrupters (Jeremiah 6:28). He does not say, they are all corrupted, but all corrupters; that is, such as are not only worthless themselves, but they corrupt others also, they make others worse for their sakes. No man that sets his face toward God, but if he come among them, he is the worse for them; every man is kept off the more from goodness by their means, they do not love that men should be too forward, or too precise, nor to keep such a whining, nor such a praying. We are all by nature corrupters (Genesis 6:11), all flesh had corrupted their way; even every man had done it, every one is the worse for us that has to do with us, if we see but any good disposition in them to be coming on in the ways of grace, we do as much as in us lies to quench and damp and smother them, and never rest by our good wills till we make them as ill as ourselves, and harden their hearts from God's fear. This is the true conduct of all those who are out of Christ. He that has not the Son, he has no life; no motion of spiritual life, no growing up in Christ, no purging out of sinful uncleanness. And therefore now to apply this, conceive thus much:

First, it applies itself against the Church of Rome; first, who maintain that men in the state of nature have free will to lay hold upon Christ, and they conceive it is upon very fair terms; but I would only demand of you this question, whether when they do lay hold on Christ (as they conceive) whether they have him, or they have him not? They will say, they have not Christ till they have received him; for what have you that you have not received? (1 Corinthians 4:7). And till they have received him, how shall they lay hold upon him? And if not receive him, they are dead men; and when a man is dead what can he have by any benefit that is offered him? Offer him never so largely, and he can receive no benefit by it; and if any do lay hold upon Christ, were they not living when they so laid hold upon him; so that when they do lay hold upon Christ, is it an action of life or no? If not, how shall they lay hold on Christ, and without Christ no life. A man in the state of nature neither does good, nor can he do any good, nor is he willing to do good; and therefore well does the apostle say, it is God that works in you both the will and the deed (Philippians 2:12-13). Anything that we do that is good is wholly from the grace of Christ, and this is just against the Papists.

Secondly, it serves to teach us all to bemoan our own estates, or the estates of any of ours, that we yet see in the gall of bitterness, lying in an estate of nature; is it yourself, or your father, or mother, or your children or servants? Whatever he be, be he never so good a natured man, if he be yet without Christ, there is no life in him; I say, look upon him as your dead friend; if you did look upon your father, and mother, or children, and see them lie dead before you, you would mourn bitterly for them; you know what is said (Zechariah 12:10), as a man mourns for his firstborn; if our firstborn, or any that is near to us die, we mourn bitterly for them, and refuse to be comforted, as was the case of Rachel's mourning for her children, and would not be comforted because they were not (Matthew 2:18); they were all dead, and therefore caused a bitter mourning; it was the wounding and rending of her soul. And may not this be the case of many a fruitful mother, many children, and yet all of them dead in God's sight, not a soul living in the sight of God? And is it not a far more bitter death to be dead in sin, than to be dead in the body, when it is a living soul in God's sight? Then, blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, for even so says the Spirit, that never spoke words of falsehood (Revelation 14:13). I say therefore, if our children live to God, and have the life of grace in their hearts, there is no danger of their death; then your children shall come again to your hearing, at the resurrection of the just, and you shall embrace them with comfort, and fill your soul with unspeakable joy, and fullness of glory; if they die in the favor and grace of God, they shall rise to glory, but if they be spiritually dead, no goodness in the world in them, no spiritual life at all, no life of righteousness or holiness, which are the first fruits of the Spirit, and of glory in this world; then weep for these children, and those friends, that husband, or wife, or brother, or sister; weep for every soul that is in an estate of sin and death, they are as so many dead corpses; you may sometimes see a whole house-full of dead creatures, not one of them living to God, not one of your acquaintance, not one of all your brothers and sisters; weep and mourn bitterly for them that are thus wounded with sin, and bleed deadly, and gasp for their last breath, and it may be shall never find grace from God in this world, their present condition is fearful; and mourn for them in a godly manner, that you may be the more earnest with God in that behalf; and never leave, till you have got some grace from Christ for them, and in so doing you shall find, that he that gave you children will give them life, and he that gave you brethren, and sisters, and friends, and acquaintance, he will put some life into them, and it shall do you good at the heart, as in verse 16 of this chapter; let him ask, and he shall give him life. The promise is marvelously sweet and strong, you may handle the matter so, that as you have instrumentally given them natural life, you may procure them spiritual life, they came out of your loins dead in sin, and they will grow in sin more and more, more unsavory, and more unprofitable, and worldly, and proud, and wanton, this is their natural condition; well, if they be so born, then weep over them, and mourn bitterly for them. You would mourn for a child if stillborn, much more if you see it dying, and giving up the ghost, and lying in extreme and bitter pain, how much more for that soul that has no grace, nothing at all in them, in regard of which you can say, this is a pledge to me of Jesus Christ in them; you know what a bitter mourning fell out in (Exodus 12:30), a great cry was heard in Egypt, and they all rose up at midnight; what was the matter? Why this was it, there was not a house wherein there was not one dead, and upon this occasion they rose up at midnight, and filled their streets with bitter cries, and what then think you would they have done, if in every family there had been but one alive? All dead but himself, neither one nor other, sometimes old, and sometimes young, all gone save only one, to mourn for all the rest; and this is sometimes the case of many a soul, he may rise every morning, and see not a soul in his family of which he can say, this is not a dead corpse; if there were but one dead soul it might cause you to mourn, and that greatly, just occasion to mourn bitterly, if there be but one in your house that comes not on to the ways of grace and salvation; this is it that God calls us to, sadly to consider of it, bitterly to bemoan it, and to pray heartily for such poor souls to God, that he would be pleased to show mercy to them all, that you might have some living companions, some that might be wrapped up in life and peace, and bring them within the covenant of grace, and life, and salvation; if you have but the bowels of friends, if but the bowels of Christian men, take to heart your own, and others' miserable condition, if they be dead, and without Christ.

Use 3. To teach us all, that if so be that we, or any of ours be yet without Christ, let it exhort us not to give rest to our eyes, nor slumber to our eyelids, till we have procured Christ for ourselves, and ours, that we may procure life for ourselves, and others. What is it for a man to have a good wife, or a good husband, or beautiful children? What if he had rich kindred and acquaintance? What if he had all the world, and has not Christ, he has no life; had we all the friends we have, and as much comfort as we could wish, and lack Christ, it were poor empty comfort, and therefore labor above all things to get Christ.

For motives to this:

First, it is taken from the sweetness of life, "Skin for skin, and all that a man has will he give for his life" (Job 2:4). And what is a life without grace? What is the natural life without a spiritual? This natural life is worth the giving and parting with for a spiritual. "What shall a man give in recompense for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26). You know what Christ said of Judas, and the same reason holds true in every man that lacks life in Christ (Matthew 26:24). "It had been good for that man he had never been born" — so may we say of all our souls: it had been good for us we had never been born, if we die without grace, we shall then have our portion with hypocrites and unbelievers, and therefore let spiritual life be more sweet to you than natural.

Secondly, consider if you have Christ, you have life, and that in abundance, and you have all the blessings of God; of all lives it is the most comfortable (2 Corinthians 1:20). If you have Christ, you have all the promises, for in him they are — indeed, and in him Amen — and they shall all be ratified and confirmed and established to you, and all the blessings of God are yours (Isaiah 1:3). He has blessed you with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus — all blessings both spiritual and temporal too, all the blessings of this and another life (1 Timothy 4:8; 1 Corinthians 3, last). All is yours; all the ordinances of God are yours, and all the world is yours; not a creature in the world but is at your service. Indeed, your enemies are for your good and service. Esau was Jacob's servant even then when he calls him Lord. And therefore take account of this — if you have Christ, make account of this — you have all things. And therefore read the promises, and gather them up, and lay them up as a treasure: all things are yours; all the blessings you read or hear of, they are all some way or other for your benefit, and I lack but faith to see and discern it, and a heart to acknowledge it, if I do feel it. And therefore if you lack righteousness, or peace, or goods, or friends, or any blessing in this world or for another, if you have Christ you have all that his is. "He that has given us his own Son, will not he with him give us all things also?" (Romans 8:32). So that there is a double motive, that every soul might be stirred up to look after Christ. And this is the season — stay not till tomorrow, and though tomorrow be a Sabbath, a blessed day, yet you know not what this day may bring forth. Some of us may fall sick, or die this night, or not be fit to profit by tomorrow's means as it is this day, and therefore while the day of grace lasts, take hold of Christ.

Object. But what shall I do to get him? How may I come to have him? You said, we cannot reach Christ by nature, and though we could we will not — are not exhortations then in vain?

Answer. No, they are not in vain, for though in nature we are neither willing nor able to look after Christ, but look at him as a vain, refuse commodity — we would have lands and goods, but no Christ — and therefore what must we do?

1. Though we be of that natural, sinful distemper, that we would have all things but Christ and let him go, yet while we are thus speaking to you, God many times conveys such a spirit of grace into us as gives us power to receive Christ. What power had the cripple to stand, much less to walk (Acts 3:6-7)? He had no power to walk, and it had been a vain speech to him if there had not been a power in it to convey strength into him by his breath, and the Lord Jesus working in it, which did convey such strength into him as that presently he did walk. And truly so is it with the servants of God: those that shall be saved — we speak not in vain to them — the word that we speak conveys spirit and life into them, then they begin to receive life in him and are glad that they may find Christ. And for other men, it leaves them without excuse, if they do not use the means God appoints them to use.

And the means God prescribes to us are these.

First, as ever you would have Christ, labor wisely to ponder upon and consider how dead you are without Christ, for you shall never find life by Christ unless you find yourself lost without him (Luke 10:10). "Christ came to seek and to save that which was lost." If you see yourself lost, Christ will seek you up. Be fully satisfied of this in your judgment and mind, that unless you have Christ, you have no life, and therefore mourn and pray. "The whole need not the physician but those that are sick" (Matthew 9:12-13). See yourself a sinner and a perishing creature unless Christ seek you up.

Secondly, take this means: as ever you desire to have life in Christ, if you know any sin in yourself, you are much to blame in yourself, if you do not by any means wash your hands of it, cleanse yourself from it. There are many sins which a man lives in, which he might avoid by very common gifts, which would he renounce, God would not be wanting to lead him on to further grace (John 3:18-19). This is condemnation: that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light. (2 Corinthians 6:17-18) Touch no unclean thing, meddle not with vain company; and have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, and then I will be a father to you, and you shall be my sons and daughters; if we would but abhor that which we know to be nothing, God promises to receive us. And it is the same that you read (Isaiah 1:16-18), to show you that if men do begin to learn to be better, if they cease to do evil, and learn to do well, if they acknowledge their sins in the sight of God, God will so sprinkle the blood of Christ upon them, as that their great sins shall be forgiven them. And upon the same terms men might feed upon the Passover Lamb (Exodus 12:15): they must put all leaven out of their houses, purge out therefore the old leaven, and you shall become a new lump (1 Corinthians 5:7-8). Purge out the old, and you shall be new creatures in Christ; purge out the leaven of maliciousness and wickedness, and whatever is sinful before God, away with it, touch no unclean thing. And (Isaiah 55:7): Let the wicked forsake his wickedness, and the unrighteous his thoughts, and then, I am a God ready to pardon, I will forgive all your iniquities.

Thirdly, seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near (Isaiah 55:7-8). Seek him and your soul shall live; God is abundantly ready to pardon, etc. How shall I seek him? No man has a desire to seek but that which he has a desire to find; and therefore hunger, and thirst after him, as it is in the first verse of that chapter; desire nothing so much as your part in Christ. And besides, endeavor to find him in the means (verse 3): Hear, and your souls shall live; listen diligently to the Word of God. It is a notable promise that in Proverbs 8:34: Blessed is the man that hears me, watching daily at the posts of my gates, for he that finds me, finds life. Consider, there is no man that hears Christ but he finds him; and if he find him, he shall have life by him. And therefore how much cause have men to limit themselves a little in their worldly business, to hear daily? For whoever finds me finds life, and he that hears me finds me: hear therefore diligently, and your souls shall live. Shake off all drowsiness of flesh and spirit, and be desirous to receive Christ in his Word that is spoken to you, and so seek him in calling upon him (verse 7-8). Call upon him while he is near; and when is he near? Every day — if you stay longer than the present day, you have no further opportunity offered you; call upon God now, and wrestle with him in your prayers, that that which you have heard may be life, and the length of your days.

Use 4. To teach every soul that has already found Christ, and yet complains you have a dead heart, and a dull mind; a heavy spirit, heavy affections, nothing lively, cannot expel your corruptions, cannot beget others to God, and are not active in spiritual works. Then if you find a want or decay of life, seek for Christ again, labor for more Christ, and you shall have more life. Rest not in having a good measure of grace, for you will find a world of deadness and weakness in beginnings of grace. But as you would have any further measures of life, so look for further measures of Christ, for Christ dispenses himself to us in measure by little and little. Use the same means to increase him as you did to get him at the first: see yourself lost without him, and thirst after him, and hear diligently, and call earnestly upon him for more strength. Use Christ and have Christ, use grace and have grace; grow up in the use of him, and you shall grow up in the possession of him. And therefore as you have received Christ so walk in him (Colossians 2:7-8), as if that were the way to get more rooting in Christ; labor to live by faith, and walk to the glory of Christ, and by the rules of Christ, and by that means you will be more built up, rooted, and established in him.

Use 5. Of comfort to every soul that has any part in Christ: you have life in him, and that in abundance, and favor with God; having him you have life (Proverbs 8:34-35). They that hate me love death; if you seek not Christ, you seek death, and mischief, and destruction to your own souls and yours (last verse). And therefore as you desire to find Christ seek him, and having found him, rejoice in him, that God has given you to find him, and then walk as those that desire forever to have him, as not to change your portion by any means. If you have Christ you have enough, and if you sit loose to Christ for the enjoyment of earthly blessings, what will they advantage you? But chiefly labor to get Christ, and then, He that has the Son has life, and he that has not the Son, has not life.