seeing thou dost tell me that my sins are wondrous great, hereby thou bringest the remembrance of the unsupportable vengeance of God into my mind if I die out of Jesus Christ, and also the necessity of the blood, death, and merits of Christ to help me; I hope it will make me fly the faster and press the harder after an interest in him.  And so all along, if he tell thee of thy deadness, dulness, coldness, or unbelief, or the greatness of thy sins, answer him and say, I am glad you told me; I hope it will be a means to make me run faster, seek more earnestly, and be the more restless after Jesus Christ.  If thou didst but get this art, so as to outrun him in his own shoes, as I may say, and to make his own darts to pierce himself, then thou mightest also say, Now do Satan’s temptations, as well as all other things, work together for my good.

Objection.  But I find so many weaknesses in every duty that I perform, as when I pray, when I read, when I hear or attempt any other duty, that it maketh me out of conceit with myself; it maketh me think that my duties are nothing worth.

Answer.  Thou by this means art taken off from leaning on any thing below Jesus for eternal life.  It is likely, if thou wast not sensible of many by-thoughts and wickednesses in thy best performances, thou wouldst go near to be some proud, abominable hypocrite, or a silly, proud, dissembling wretch at the best; such a one as wouldst send thy soul to the devil in a bundle of thy own righteousness.

Would Jesus Christ have mercy offered, in the first place, to the biggest sinner?  Let the tempted harp upon this string for their help and consolation.  The tempted, wherever he dwells, always thinks himself the biggest sinner, one most unworthy of eternal life.

This is Satan’s master-argument:  Thou art a horrible sinner, a hypocrite, one that has a profane heart, and one that is an utter stranger to a work of grace.  I say, this is his maul, his club, his masterpiece; he does with this, as some do by their most enchanting songs, singing them everywhere.  I believe there are but few saints in the world that have not had this temptation sounding in their ears.  But were they but aware, Satan by all this does but drive them to the gap out at which they should go, and so escape his roaring.

Saith he, Thou art a great sinner, a horrible sinner, a profane-hearted wretch, one that cannot be matched for a vile one in the country.

And all this while Christ says to his ministers, Offer. mercy in the first place to the biggest sinners.  So that this temptation drives thee directly into the arms of Jesus Christ.

Was therefore the tempted but aware, he might say, Aye, Satan, so I am, I am a sinner of the biggest size, and therefore have most need of Jesus Christ; yea, because I am such a wretch, therefore Jesus Christ calls me; yea, he calls me first—­the first proffer of the gospel is to be made to the Jerusalem sinner.  I am he; wherefore stand back, Satan, make way for me, my right is first to come to Jesus Christ.