8. I mention another height that men must come down from, that would answer the gospel-call, and that is the height of vain apologies and excufes for their fin. There are fome fhifts and apologies that are very poor, mean, and low ones: but I will name two that are very high and proud apologies. And,

(1.) The one is drawn from the tranflation of fin upon others, as if they were not guilty, but only fuch as tempt and enfnare them: hence fome blame the devil only for that which is their own fin. But, if you father your fin upon the devil; it may be, indeed, he is the father begetting; but the flesh is the mother conceiving and bringing them forth: "Every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own luft, and enticed," James i. 14. Some father their fin upon God himself, as Adam did, when he faid, "The woman which thou gavest me, gave me to eat," Gen. iii. 12. As if he had faid, "If thou had not given me this com"panion, I had not eaten." But, fays the apoflle, “Let no man fay, when he is tempted, he is tempted of God,” James i. 13. Yet thus men are ready to juftify themfelves and condemn others; yea, and God himself.

(2.) Another proud and lofty apology is drawn from falfe comparifons; men comparing themselves with others that are worfe; like the Pharifee, that compared himfelf with the Publican; "God, I thank thee, I am not like other men," Luke xviii. 11. As if he had faid, "Lord, I thank thee, I am not fo ill as fuch a man, "fuch a rake, fuch a debauchee, &'c.; and fo hiding themselves under the covert of a comparative righteoufnels. But, as runners in a race haften their pace, by looking to thofe that are before them; but do not flack it, by looking to thofe that are behind them: what a folly is it, if we be running the Chriftian race, to look to thefe that are behind, and recken we are farther forward than they, and therefore we need make no more speed in religion! But rather we are to look to these that are before us, and be afhamed that we are fo far behind, and put the fpur to our dull and naughty flesh, that we may "Run the race that is fet before us, looking unto Jefus, the author and finisher of

our

our faith," Heb. xii. 1, 2. You do not use to look to a poor beggar, and fay, I am richer than he; and need no more and will you deceive yourself in the matter of religion, faying, I am better than fuch a man; and, therefore, I am right enough!-From these and the like heights, men are to come down. Come down,

Zaccheus.

II. The fecond thing propofed, was, To fhew in what refpects they come down, who anfwer the gofpel-call. And here it may be enquired, by what steps they come down; and to what place or fituation they come down.

ift, By what steps they come down. We name only these four.

1. The firft ftep is Confideration: none come down from the height of their vain confidences, till they be brought to confideration and thought; "I thought on my ways, and then I turned my feet to thy teflimonies," Pfalm cxix. 59. God complains of men for want of thought and confideration; "The ox knoweth his owner, and the afs his master's crib: but Ifrael doth not know, my people do not confider," Ifa. i. 3. And it is the first thing God calls people to, when he wills them to come down to meet with him, Hag. i. 5. "Now, therefore, faith the Lord of hofts, confider your ways."

2. The fecond step by which they come down is Concern people may make a little ftep by confideration, and presently step back again, and let the thoughts pafs away; like these who are flight hearers of the word, that opens up and difcovers their cafe: but like men beholding their natural face in a glafs, and go away, and ftraightway forget what manner of perfons they were; therefore the next ftep must be concern, deep concern about falvation, faying, with the jaylor, "What fhall I do to be faved?" Or, with Peter's hearers, "Men and brethren, what fhall we do?" The man is awakened to a reftlefs concern, in the ufe of appointed means, how to get down from that dangerous and dreadful height, whence he is ready to fall into utter ruin.

3. The third ftep is defpair and difappointment: finding all his legal hopes and expectations failing him; all his legal endeavours vain and useless; yea, vanishing, dying, and giving up the gholt. When a man comes down to this ftep, viz. to defpair of help in himfelf, and to despair of relief from creatures and means, of themfelves, faying, as it is, Jer. iii. 23. "Truly in vain is falvation hoped for from the hills, or from the multitude of mountains." By this ftep he just quits the grip of all thofe branches which he had hold on, and trufted to. He finds himfelf difappointed of these confidences, and that he cannot profper therein: "The Lord hath rejected thy confidences, and thou shalt not profper in them," Jer. ii. 37. Some are wrathfully dif appointed; for, the Lord deftroys them and their confidences both, as the word here will read; "I will destroy thy confidences, and thou shalt not profper in them.”— But others are mercifully difappointed; when God famifhes their falfe confidences, it is a plague even for a man to profper in them, and a mercy to be larved out of them, and to be brought down by despair and disappointment.

4. The fourth ftep I mention is refolution: the foul now refolves, through grace, to quit hold of all thefe lofty to-looks, and to come down and take hold of Chrift alone, faying with the prodigal, when he came to himself, "I will arife, and go to my father," Luke xv. 18. If he had not been ftarved, but had got bread enough abroad, he would not have rifen up to go to his father's houfe. Thus when the Lord hedges up our way with thorns, that we may not find our paths, then we come to fay, "I will go and return to my first Hufband," Hof. ii. 6, 7. Indeed, none would come to this refolution, if the Lord did not blaft their vain confidences fa as to make them afhamed of them: "Thou fhalt be ashamed of Egypt, as thou waft afhamed of Affyria; yea, thou fhalt go forth from him, and thine hands upon thine head," Jer. ii. 36, 37. This refolution to come down to Chrift, though it be the beft, yet it is the laft fhift that men take: fee the difpofition of man naturally, Hof. vii. 11." Ephraim is like a filly dove, without heart:

they

they call to Egypt, they go to Affyria." The dove's young are taken from it every two months; and yet, like a filly bird, as it is, it builds in the fame place, where it was deprived of its young, never remembering it will be robbed again and again, even as oft as it builds there just fo do men build their refidence, where they cannot but be ftill bereaved, till God bring them to put in practice this refolution to come down and build low, upon the fure foundation. This leads me to the next thing here: as by thefe, and the like fteps, they come down fo,

2dly, To what place or pofition do they come down? I fhall here but name these four things they come down to, when they answer the gofpel-call: Come down, Zaccbeus.

1. They come down to felf-denial, Mat. vi. 24. "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself,” fays Chrift. Self must be abafed, and Chrift exalted: the foul that comes down to Chrift, is brought to felfabafement, felf-abhorrence, felf-judging, and felf condemnation: yea, felf hatred and deteftation; "Now mine eyes fee thee, faid Job; wherefore I abhor myfelf, and repent in duft and in afhes," Job xlii. 5, 6.

2. They come down to the gofpel-terms of life and falvation; that is, to the renouncing of all legal terms and conditions, to which you can never come up.You have heard, perhaps, men fpeak of coming up to the terms of the gofpel, faying, You must be fo and fo qualified, humbled and penitent, before you can come to Chrift: why, this is, indeed, an afcending up, instead of coming down. But the call is, Come down, Zaccheus, to the terms of the gospel-market: that is, to get all things freely, without money, and without price; all things for nothing, Ifa. lv. 1.

3. They come down to God's righteousness, and fubmit to that, quitting all righteoufuels of their own as filthy rags. This, proud man has no will, by nature, to come down or fubmit to : They being ignorant of God's righteoufnefs, and going about to establish their own righteoufnefs, have not fubmitted themselves to

the

the righteoufnefs of God," Rom. x. 3. They that anfwer the gofpel-call, they come down to the fure foundation that God has laid in Zion, difclaiming all confidence in the flesh; all confidence in their duties, prayers, tears, frames, and good affections or actions.

4. They come down to God's will; both his com manding and difpofing will: to his commanding will, faying, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Brought down to an appropriation of the holinefs of the law, and to a difapprobation of themfelves, for want of conformity to it. They are brought down allo to the dif pofing will of God, to a fubmiffion to his providence, though he fhould order poverty, adverfity, reproach, and contempt, if it be for his glory and their good. The man is delivered from the power and rule of a murmuring fpirit. It is much for proud nature thus to come down.

III. The third thing propofed, was, To offer fome remarks on the day of effectual calling. We obferve only thefe things fhortly from the context concerning

it.

I.

1. "It is a particular day, wherein the Lord gives "a particular call to fuch and fuch a perfon, as it were, by name; Zaccheus, come down: I have called thee by name." Though God, in calling his children, doth not give them all the particular names wherein. they were baptized; yet he particularizes them fo, as they are made to fee that they, in particular, are called, as it were, by name: for, God deals with their heart as particularly as if he were fpeaking to none elfe; yea, the Spirit of God directs the word as clofe as Nathan to David, Thou art the man.

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2. We remark, That the day of effectual calling " is a day of difpatch: Make HASTE and come down, fays the text." Much bufinefs is done and difpatched in that day and the Lord does not fuffer the foul to linger, but haftens it, as the angels did Lot out of Sodom. When Lot lingered, the angels pulled him God cries to us by his word, faying, Hafte you, man, woman; come out of this world, left

out.

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