soul, but the Affections? Then do we, therefore, draw nigh to God, when we are so affected to him as we ought; when we come to him with the foot of Fear. Fear the Lord, all his saints; saith the Psalmist: Serve the Lord in fear; Psalm ii. 11. Fear God, and depart from evil; saith his son Solomon; Prov. iii. 7. When we come to him with the foot of Love: I sought him, whom my soul loveth; saith the Spouse; Cant. iii. 1. When with the foot of Desire: As the embossed hart panteth for the rivers of waters, so doth my soul for thee, O God; Psalm xlii. 1. With the foot of Joy: I rejoiced when they said, Come, let us go up to the house of the Lord." With the foot of Confidence: In the Lord put I my trust: how then do ye say to my soul, Flee hence as a bird to the hills?

And, as we must draw nigh to God on the feet of our affections," so also upon the Hands of our Actions: even as Jonathan and his. armour-bearer climbed up the rock with feet and hands. This is done, when we perform to God all holy obedience; when we serve him as we ought, both in our devotions and our carriage. And this is the best and truest approximation to God: Walk before me, saith God to Abraham, and be upright. Master, saith Peter, if it be thou, bid me come unto thee; John xxi. 7. and, after that, when he heard it was the Lord, he girt his fisher's coat to him, and cast imself into the sea, to come to Christ. Without this reality of action, all our profession is but idle pretence. I remember our countryman Bromiard tells us of one, who, meeting his neighbour coming out of the Church, asked him; "What! is the sermon, done?" "Done!" said the other, "No: it is said; it is ended: but it is not so soon done." And, surely, so it is with us: we have good store of sermons said, but we have but a few done; and one sermon done, is worth a thousand said and heard: for, not the hearers of the law, but the doers of it are justified; and, if ye know these things, blessed are ye if ye do them: Glory, honour, and peace to every one that worketh good; Rom. ii. 10.

Now, that we may supply both those other approaches on our fect and hands, we must, in the third place, draw nigh to God on our Knees; in our earnest supplications to him, for his enabling us to them both. Doth any man want wisdom, and this is the best improvement of wisdom that may be, to shelter ourselves under the wings of the Almighty, let him ask of God, who giveth liberally, and upbraideth no man; James i. 4. Let us sue to him, with all holy importunity: Oh, that my ways were made so direct, that I might keep thy statutes: Teach me, O Lord, the way of thy statutes, and I shall keep it to the end: O stablish thy word in thy servant, that I may fear thee: Psalm cxix. 5, 33, 38. Thus let us seek the Lord early and fervently; and pour out our hearts before him. It is not for us to fear, that we can offend in an over-bold access to the Throne of Grace, in bouncing too hard at his mercy-gate; for, lo, his goodness hath invited us, and animated our bashfulness. When Moses approached to the burning bush, he heareth Come not near; for he came out of curiosity and wonder, not out of devotion: but

God calls us to this approach; Ho, every one that thirsteth, come: Come to me, all ye that travail, and be heavy laden, and I will refresh you : and, therefore, we cannot come with too much confidence, nor fail of success in coming. It is a holy and well-grounded expostulation, which the Psalmist hath; How long wilt thou be angry with thy people that prayeth? implying, that, while we can pray, we may make just account of favour and protection.

So then, upon the Feet of our Affections, upon the Hands of our Actions, upon the Knees of our Devotions, we must draw nigh unto God.

But, that we may do so, our care must be, that the hindrances of our approach may be removed.

And, First of all, we must draw off from the world. That is like a rock of load-stone, that draws our iron hearts to it; and holds them close to itself: so as it is not easily quit. It is like the father of the Levite's concubine, that holds us on with a pleasing entertainment, till there be a danger of miscarriage in the return. But ye remember what the Psalmist says, Hearken, O daughter, and consider: thou must leave thy father's house. We must in our affections leave the world, if we would betake ourselves to God. "Tush," ye are ready to say, “ we shall hold in with both, and do well enough. Be not deceived, Brethren: The love of the world is enmity with God. Ye cannot serve two masters, God and Mammon: one of them you must forsake. Abraham must leave his Ur of the Chaldees, his native country and his father's house, if he will have the clear vision of God. The Israelites must go out of Egypt, ere they can offer an acceptable sacrifice to God. We must, with Elisha, forsake our team, if we will be fit attendants for a Master that is rapt up to heaven. We must forsake our nets and follow Christ, if we will be meet disciples of his.

In the Second place, we must give strong denials to our own corrupt desires. These are like some leaden weights, that hang upon our heels, and keep us from mounting up into our heaven. These, like to Potiphar's wanton wife, hang upon Joseph's sleeve, to draw him unto folly: and they must be shaken off, if ever we would draw nigh unto God. If father, or mother, on wife, or child lie in thy way, Per calcatum vade patrem, "Trample upon thy father's breast" in thy passage to thy Father in Heaven. Our self-love, and selfrespect, lies, like a huge mountain, betwixt God and us: we must either, by the power of our faith, say to this mountain, Be thou removed, and cast into the midst of the sea; or, else, we must climb over it, by the painful practices of a constant and effectual mortifi cation. Shortly, as men, Peregrinamur a Domino, We are here absent from the Lord; 2 Cor. v. 6: but, as sinners, we are, with the prodigal, gone into a far country, quite out of the ken of our Father's house; and there, having spent our patrimony and debauched ourselves, we are feeding upon the husks of vanity. Oh, let us take up, at the last, serious resolutions to return home, though by weeping; and put ourselves into our way: we shall be

sure, that our indulgent Father will espy us afar off; and meet us in our passage; and welcome us with a kiss: according to this word in my Text, Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.

II. And so, from the Duty enjoined, we descend to the INDUCEMENT proposed.

But, indeed, what needs any inducement at all? There are actions, that carry their reward in their mouth: such is this we have in hand. It is a great honour to us, wretched creatures, that we may be allowed to draw nigh to the Lord of Glory. If there do but an earthly prince come over, though we have no relation to him at all; yet, what pressing there is to see him! so as there is need of ushers or whifflers, to stave off the multitude. But if our own would allow all his subjects to repair to his Court, with expectation of favour and countenance from him, what thronging would there be to his gates! what ambition to enter! And, lo, the God of Heaven gives us this gracious liberty of a free access; and yet, withal, backs it with a strong motive of advantage; He will draw nigh unto you.

And, indeed, what inducement can there be equally powerful to this, that God will draw nigh to us? There is nothing in us, but want, misery, infirmity, deformity: there is nothing in God, but perfection and glory: and, therefore, for us, vile wretches, to draw nigh to him, what can it be other, than an honour too high for us? but for him to draw nigh to us, what can it be, but a kind of disparagement to him?

pe

Ye know what a construction was set upon our Saviour for this very point, that he did eat and drink with Publicans and Sinners; and how that proud Pharisee censured him, when that humble nitent made an ewer of her eyes, and a towel of her hair, for the feet of Christ. Oh, saith he, if this man were a prophet, he would have known what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner; Luke vii. 39: as if the suffering himself to be touched by a sinner were disgrace enough; and yet the God of Heaven will descend to us so low, as, notwithstanding our extreme sinfulness and unworthiness, to draw nigh unto us.

God will be so to us, as we are to him. As face answers to face, so doth God to us. When ye look upon your glass, if you smile upon it, it will smile upon you again: if you frown, it will so do also. Even so doth God with us: with the pure, thou wilt be pure; with the merciful, thou wilt be merciful; with the froward, thou wilt shew thyself froward. If thou run away from God, he will run away as fast from thee: If thou draw nigh unto God, he will draw nigh to thee.

1. And HOW WILL GOD DRAW NIGH UNTO US? In his Ordinances; in his Andience; in his Graces; in his Aid and Salvation.

(1.) In his Ordinances. For God hath graciously, as it were, tied his presence to them; as under the Law, so no less under the Gospel. When Jethro, Moses his father-in-law, took a burnt offering and sacrifice for God; Aaron came, and all Israel with him, to eat

bread with Moses his father-in-law, before the Lord; Exod. xviii. 12, Where was that, but before the testimony of his presence, the Cloudy Pillar? And that is very pregnant, which God hath, Exod. xxix. 42: This shall be a continual burnt-offering, throughout your generations, at the door of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, before the Lord; where I will meet you, to speak there with thee. Lo, God meets us in the holy assemblies. Meets us? yea, stays with us there; Zech. ii. 10. The prophet, speaking of the days of the Gospel, Sing and rejoice, saith he, O daughter of Sion; for, lo, I come and will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. Contrarily, when he withdraws from any people the ordinary means of salvation, he is truly said to depart from them; but this, perhaps, not at once, but by degrees: as, in Ezekiel's vision, he removes first to the threshold, and from thence to the door of the east-gate. And this I would have you know to be done, not only in a mere silence; but in a corruption of doctrine: not only, when faithful mouths are stopped; but when men's mouths are lawlessly opened, to the venting, whether of Popish fancies, or satirical invectives against authority. For you may not think, that all discourses are preaching, or all preaching Gospel: when men preach themselves and not Christ, when they utter their own impetuous fury and not the glad tidings of peace, how shall we call this the message of God? No; God was not in the wind; he was not in the fire: he was in the soft voice. And he, that walks betwixt the golden candlesticks, doth not go away, only when the light is quite out; but when the snuff burns unsavourily in the socket. Shortly, where the sincere milk of the Gospel is given to God's babes, and the solid meat of true orthodoxy and saving doctrine is set before the stronger men, there God visits his people in mercy, and is drawn nigh to them in his holy ordinance.

(2.) In his Audience. We use to say, "Out of sight, out of mind:" and those, that are out of distance, what noise so ever they make, are not heard. The ravished virgin in the field, saith God, cried out, and there was none to save her; Deut. xxii. 27. But when we come near, the least groan, and sigh, is heard. Thus God, who is never but with us, is said to come near us, when he gives proof to us, that he comes, not only with the ken of our ne cessities, but within the hearing of the softest whisperings of our prayers. So David, every where: The Lord hath heard my suppli cation; the Lord will hear my prayer; Psalm vi. 9. The Lord will hear me, when I call upon him. The tender mother is never away from the bed-side of her sick child: but, if she perceive the disease to grow dangerous, now she is more attentive; and lays her ear to the mouth of it, and listens to every breathing that it fetcheth. So doth our Heavenly Father to us: The Lord is nigh to all that call upon him; saith the Psalmist: nigh them indeed; for he puts into them those holy desires, which he graciously hears and answers. Contrarily, when that Sweet Singer of Israel finds some stop made of his audience, he is then in another tune: Wherefore

hidest thou thy face; and forgettest our affliction and our oppression? Psalm xliv. 24: still measuring God's nearness to us, by his regard; and, as it were, re-echoing to our prayers.

(3.) A third, and yet nearer and happier approach of God to us, is, in his Grace and Favour: in the other two, as in his word and in our prayers, he may come near us, little to our avail. He speaks to many in his word, that hear him not; or that hear him to their further judgment: our Gospel is, howsoever, a sweet savour to God; yet a savour of death unto death to many a soul: Woe be to thee, Chorazin; woe be to thee, Bethsaida. He hears many speak to him in their prayers, but for their own punishment; and sometimes will not hear, in mercy to the petitioner. The Devil sues to enter into the swine; and is heard: Paul sues to be freed from the buffets of the messenger of Satan; and is, mercifully, not heard: the Israelites have quails, according to their desires; but sauced to them with a vengeance. But this third appropinquation of God is never other than cordial and beneficial. It is a sweet word, I will dwell amongst the children of Israel, and will be their God; Exod. xxix. 45. Yea, this is true happiness indeed, that God will so dwell with us, as to be ours. St. Paul told the Athenians most truly, Non longè ab unoquoque; He is not far from every one of us: how should he, when in him we live, and move, and are? But little are we the better for these general favours, which are common to all his creatures; if we do not find in ourselves a special interest, in the presence of his Spirit. If he only call on us as a passenger, or lodge with us as a stranger, or sojourn with us as a guest; this can be small comfort to us: nor any thing less than his so dwelling with us, as that he dwell in us; and that, not as an inmate, but as an owner: Know ye not, that Christ dwells in you, saith St. Paul, unless ye be reprobates? Know ye not that ye are the Temples of the Living God? his Temples, for a perpetual inhabitation of which he hath said, Tere shall be my rest for ever.

(4.) Whereupon, there will be sure to follow, the fourth degree of his apropinquation, which is our Aid, and sweet experience of his merciful Deliverance. It was out of a full sense of God's goodness, that holy David breaks out into that heavenly Epiphonema, The Lord is nigh unto them, that are of a broken heart; and saveth such, as be of a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivereth him out of them all; Psalm xxxiv. 18, 19. His salvation is nigh to them that fear him, that glory may dwell in our land; Psalm lxxxv. 9.

So then, the sum of all is this, that if we draw nigh unto God, he will be sure to draw nigh to us, in his Ordinances, in his Audience, in his Graces, in his Aid.

2. But, what shall we say to the ORDER OF THESE TWO APPROACHES? One would have thought he should have said; "God draws near to you, therefore draw you near to God:" for, surely, his approach to us is the cause that we come near to him, and not Our approach to him causeth him to come near to us.

Do not think, that God and man strain courtesy, who shall be