Chapter VIII (4)

13. Search the scriptures daily, as mines of gold, wherein the heart of Christ is laid. Watch against constitutional sins; see them in their vileness, and they shall never break out into act. Keep always an humble, empty, broken frame of heart, sensible of any spiritual miscarriage, observant of all inward workings, fit for the highest communications. Keep not guilt in the conscience, but apply the blood of Christ immediately. God chargeth sin and guilt upon thee, to make thee look to Christ the brazen serpent.

Judge not Christ’s love by providence, but by promises. Bless God for any way whereby he keeps the soul awakened and looking after Christ: better sickness and temptations, than security and slightness.

*A flighty spirit will turn a profane spirit, and will _sin_ and _pray_ too. Slightness is the bane of profession. If it be not rooted out of the heart by constant and serious dealings with, and beholdings of Christ in duties, it will grow more strong and more deadly, by being under church ordinances. Be serious and exact in duty, having the weight of it upon thy heart; but be as much afraid of grounding thy comfort on duties as on sins. Comfort from any hand but Christ is deadly. Be much in prayer, or you will never keep up much communion with God. As you are in closet prayer, so you will be in all other ordinances.

14. Be true to truth, but not turbulent and scornful; restore such as are fallen, with all the bowels of Christ. Set the broken disjointed bones with the grace of the gospel! Despise not the weak; thou mayst come to wish to be in the condition of the meanest of them. Be faithful to others infirmities, but sensible of thine own. Visit sick beds and deserted souls much; they are excellent scholars in experience.

Abide in your calling. Be dutiful to all relations as to the Lord. Be content with little of the world; little will serve. Think every little much, because unworthy of the least. Think every one better than thyself; loathing thyself as one fit to be trampled on by all saints. See the vanity of the world and love nothing but Christ. Mourn to see so little of Christ in the world. To a secure soul Christ is but a fable, the scripture but a story. Mourn to think how many are under church order that are not under grace. Prepare for the cross; welcome it; bear it triumphantly like Christ’s cross, whether, scoffs, mockings, contempt, imprisonments.――But see it be Christ’s cross, not thine own.

15. Sin will hinder from glorying in the cross of Christ. And omitting little things against light may breed hell in the conscience, as well as committing the greatest sins. If thou hast been taken out of the belly of hell into Christ’s bosom, and made sit among princes in the houshold of God, Oh, how shouldest thou live as a pattern of mercy!――Redeemed, restored soul, what infinite sums dost thou owe Christ! With what zeal shouldst thou walk, and do every duty! Sabbaths, what praising days should they be to thee!――Church fellowship! What a heaven, a being with Christ, and angels, and saints! What a drowning of the soul in eternal love, as a burial with Christ, dying to all things besides him! Every time thou thinkest of Christ be astonished; and when thou seest sin, look at Christ’s grace, that did pardon it; and when thou art proud, look at Christ’s grace, that shall strike thee down in the dust.

*Remember Christ’s time of love. When thou wast naked, then he chose thee. Canst thou ever have a proud thought? Remember whose arms supported thee from sinking, and delivered thee from the lowest hell, and shout in the ears of angels and men, and for ever sing praise, praise! Grace, grace! Daily repent and pray; and walk in the sight of grace, as one that hath the anointings of grace upon thee. Remember thy sins, Christ’s pardonings; thy deserts, Christ’s merits; thy weakness, Christ’s strength; thy pride, Christ’s humility; thy guilts, Christ’s new application of his blood; thy wants, Christ’s fulness; thy temptations, Christ’s tenderness; thy vileness, Christ’s righteousness.

16. Trifle not with ordinances. Be much in meditation and prayer. Wait diligently upon all opportunities of hearing. We have need of doctrine, reproof, exhortation, consolation, as the tender herb and the grass hath of the rain, the dew, the small rain, and showers. Do all thou dost as unto Christ, as immediately dealing with Christ Jesus, as if he were looking on thee, and thou on him, and fetch all thy strength from him.

*Observe what holy motions you find in your souls to duties; prize the least good thought thou hast of Christ. The least good word thou speakest of him from the heart, is rich mercy: O bless God for it! Observe, if every day you have the Day-spring from on high, with his morning dews of mourning for sin, constantly visiting thee. Have you the bright morning star, with fresh influences of grace and peace constantly arising, and Christ sweetly greeting the soul in all duties? What duties make not more spiritual, will make more carnal; what do not quicken and humble, will deaden and harden.

17. _Judas_ had a sop: but _John_ leaned on Christ’s bosom; that’s the posture in which we should pray, and hear, and perform all duties. Nothing but lying in that bosom will dissolve all hardness of heart, and make thee to mourn kindly for sin. That will humble indeed, and make the soul cordial to Christ, and sin vile to the soul. Never think thou art as thou shouldst be, until thou come to this, always to see and feel thyself lying in the bosom of Christ, who is in the bosom of his Father. Come and move the Father for a sight of Christ, and you shall be sure to speed; you can come with no request that pleaseth him better; he gave him out of his own bosom for that very end, to be held up before the eyes of all sinners, as the everlasting monument of his Father’s love.

Looking at the natural sun weakeneth the eye. The more you look at Christ, the son of righteousness, the stronger and clearer will the eye of faith be. Look but at Christ, you will love him, and live on him. Think on him continually; keep the eye constantly upon Christ’s blood, or every blast of temptation will shake you. If you will see sin’s sinfulness, to loath it and mourn, do not stand looking on sin only, but look upon Christ as suffering and satisfying. If you would see your grace, your sanctification, do not stand gazing upon them, but look at Christ’s righteousness first; look at your grace in the second place.

18. *Have nothing to do with thy graces and sanctification till thou hast seen Christ first. He that looks upon Christ through his graces, is like one that sees the sun in water, which wavereth and moveth as the water doth. Look upon Christ as shining in the firmament of the Father’s love, and you will see him in his own glory. Pride and unbelief will put you upon seeing somewhat in yourself first; but faith will have to do with none but Christ, who must swallow up thy sanctification as well as thy sin. He that sets up his sanctification to look at first, he sets up the greatest idol, which will strengthen his doubts and fears. Do but look off Christ, and presently (like _Peter_) you sink in doubts.

If you would pray and cannot, and so are discouraged, see Christ praying for you: if you are troubled, see Christ your peace leaving you peace when he went up into heaven, again and again charging you not to be troubled, so as to obstruct your comfort or your believing. He is now upon the throne, having spoiled upon his cross all whatsoever can hurt or annoy thee: he hath borne all thy sins, sorrows, troubles, temptations, and is gone to prepare mansions for thee.

19. *Thou who hast seen Christ all, and thyself absolutely nothing, who makest Christ all thy life, and art dead to all righteousness besides; do Christ this one favour for all his love to thee, love all his poor saints, (the meanest, the weakest, notwithstanding any difference in judgment) they are engraven on his heart, let them be so on thine. _Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee._ Psalms cxxii. 6.

CHRISTIAN LETTERS.

By Mr. JOSEPH ALLEINE.

To the READER.

THE letters of Mr. _Samuel Rutherford_, have been generally admired by all the children of God, into whose hands they have fallen, for the vein of piety, trust in God, and holy zeal, which runs through them. The same piety, zeal, and confidence in God, shine through all the letters of Mr. _Alleine_: so that in this respect he may well be stiled, the _English Rutherford_. But yet there is a very discernible difference between them: in piety and fervour of spirit they are the same: but the fervour of the one more resembles that of St. _Paul_, of the other, that of St. _John_. They were both men of the most intrepid courage: but in love Mr. _Alleine_ has the pre-eminence. He seems to excel in bowels of mercies, meekness, gentleness, in tenderness, mildness, and sweetness of spirit, even to his bitterest enemies. I do not therefore scruple to give these letters the preference, even to Mr. _Rutherford’s_: as expressing, in a still higher degree, the love that is _long-suffering and kind_, which _is not provoked_, which _thinketh no evil_, and which _hopeth, believeth, and endureth all things_.

JOHN WESLEY.

LONDON,
_March 7, 1767_.