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If thou hast seen Christ truly, thou hast seen pure grace, pure righteousness in him, every way infinite, far exceeding all sin and misery; If thou hast seen Christ, thou canst trample upon all the righteousness of men and angels, so as to bring thee into acceptance———with God. If thou hast seen Christ, thou wouldst not do a duty without him for ten thousand worlds, 1 Cor. ii. 2. If ever thou sawest Christ, thou sawest him a Rock, higher than self-righteousness, Satan, and sin, Ps. Lxi. 2 ; and this Rock doth follow thee; 1 Cor. x. 4; and there will be continual dropping Of honey and grace out of that Rock to satisfy thee; Ps. Ixxxi. 16. Examine if ever thou hast beheld Christ as the only-begotten of the Father, full Of grace and truth, John, i. 14, 16, 17. Be sure thou art come to Christ, that thou standest on the Rock of Ages, hast answered to his call to thy soul, hast closed with him for justification.
Men talk bravely of believing, but whilst whole and Sound few know it. Christ is the mystery of the Scripture: Grace the mystery of Christ, believing is the most wonderful thing in the world. Put any thing of thine own to it, and thou Spoilest it; Christ will not so much as look at it for believing. When thou believest and comest to Christ, thou must leave behind thee thine own righteousness, and bring' nothing but thy sin. (O that is hard!) Leave behind thy holiness; sanctification, duties, humblings, &c., and bring nothing but thy wants and miseries, else Christ is not fit for thee, nor thou for Christ. Christ will be a whole Redeemer and Mediator, and thou must be an undone Sinner, or Christ and thou will never agree. It is the hardest thing to take Christ alone for righteousness: that is, to acknowledge him Christ. Join any thing to him of thine own, and thou dost on-Christ him.
