Grace proceeds from the throne, from the throne of God and of the Lamb.  Wherefore, sinner, here is laid a necessity upon thee; one of the two must be thy lot:  either thou must accept of God’s grace, and be content to be saved freely thereby, notwithstanding all thy undeservings and unworthiness, or else thou must be damned for thy rebellion, and for thy neglecting of this grace.  Wherefore consider with thyself, and think what is best to be done.  Is it better that thou submit to the grace and mercy of God, and that thou accept of grace to reign for thee, in thee, and over thee, than that thou shouldst run the hazard of eternal damnation because thou wouldst not be saved by grace?  Consider of this, I say, for grace is now in authority:  it reigns, and proceeds from the throne.  This therefore calls for thy most grave and sedate thoughts.  Thou art in a strait; wilt thou fly before Moses, or with David fall into the hands of the Lord?  Wilt thou go to hell for sin, or to life by grace?  One of the two, as was said before, must be thy lot; for grace is king, is upon the throne, and will admit of no other way to glory.  Rom. 5:2.  In and by it thou must stand, if thou hast any hope, or canst at all rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

If thou do get off thy convictions, and not the right way—­which is by seeing thy sins washed away by the blood of Jesus Christ—­it is a question whether God will ever knock at thy heart again or no; but rather say, “Such a one is joined to idols; let him alone.  My spirit, my ministers, my word, my mercy, my grace, my love, my pity, my common providences, shall no more strive with him; let him alone.”  O sad!  O miserable! who would slight convictions that are on their souls, which tend so much for their good?

In the creation of man, God began with his outside; but in the work of regeneration, he first begins within, at the heart.

Whoever receive the grace that is tendered in the gospel, they must be quickened by the power of God, their eyes must be opened, their understandings illuminated, their ears unstopped, their hearts circumcised, their wills also rectified, and the Son of God revealed in them.

XI.  CONVERSION.

The difficulty of conversion.

Conversion to God is not so easy and so smooth a thing, as some would have men believe it is.  Why is man’s heart compared to fallow ground, God’s word to a plough, and his ministers to ploughmen, if the heart indeed has no need of breaking in order to the receiving of the seed of God unto eternal life?  Why is the conversion of the the soul compared to the grafting of a tree, if that be done without cutting?

Conversion the power of god.

A broken heart is the handy-work of God, a sacrifice of his own preparing, a material fitted for himself.  By breaking the heart he opens it, and makes it a receptacle for the graces of his Spirit; that is the cabinet, when unlocked, where God lays up the jewels of the gospel:  there he puts his fear:  “I will put my fear in their heart;” there he writes his law:  “I will write my law in their heart;” there he puts his Spirit:  “I will put my Spirit within you.”