the same in all things.
And this should teach us to relinquish our own ways, and to enter into this one only way; and it should move such as are in this way to study unity and agreement among themselves; and yet not infer or suppose, that God's way with them must be in all things alike. Yea, though the Lord's way with them be different from his way with others, and more dark, disconsolate, and bitter, yet let them be quiet and silent before the Lord, and acknowledge his goodness that hath brought them into the one only way, Jesus Christ, and keepeth them there.
But, fourthly, The main thing here, and which is obvious, is this, that Jesus Christ is the way to the Father, the one and only way, the sovereign and excellent way, and he alone is the way. There is not another. "Neither is there salvation in any other; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved," Acts iv. 12.
For clearing of this, we shall speak a little to those four things, and shew,
1. What is our case, and what need we have of a way.
2. How Christ answereth this our case and necessity, and is a fit way for us.
3. How he alone is the way, and answereth this our case.
4. What are the rare advantages and specialities of this way.
And this will make way for our clearing up, how Christ is made use of as a way by poor sinners.
For the first of these, our present case and necessity, something was spoken to it before; we shall reduce all those to two heads. The first is, our state of guilt, and separation from God because of sin and guilt; the next is, our state of wickedness and enmity against God.
As to the first, we may take notice of those things:
1. That sin, original and actual, hath separated us from God, and cast us out of his favour, and out of that station of favour and friendship which once we were advanced to in Adam.
2. That we are under God's curse and wrath, and excommunicated from the presence of the Lord, by a sad, yet just, sentence according to law, and so are under death.
As to the next thing, we may take notice of those particulars:
1. That we are impure and polluted with sin and daily iniquity.
2. That we are ignorant of the right way of returning into favour with God, seeking out to ourselves many inventions.
3. That we are impotent for any good work or commanded duty.
That not only so, but we are unwilling to do any thing that is good, or to enter into the way when pointed out unto us; yea, we are enemies to God by wicked works, and have an innate hatred to all his ways.
5. We desire not to be out of the condition whereinto we are; there we love to lie and sleep, and desire not to be roused up or awakened.
6. We are under the power and command of Satan, who leadeth us out of the way, yea, and driveth us forward in the wrong way, to our perdition.
These things are plain and undeniable, and need no further confirmation; though, alas! it is little believed or laid to heart by many.
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