Page:Two godly letters of the pious martyr Mr. James Renwick.pdf/3

( 3 ) let us take our eyes from beholding vanities, and feed them allenarly upon the fulness and all-sufficiency of precious and glorious Christ; what doubts and fears can we have? But enough is there to solve and answer them all unto us; and I think, if we poor creatures, whenever a doubt or fear did arise, presently turned our eyes to contemplate Christ's free all sufficiency, we would find it immediately to evanish (as dispelled smoke) indiscernable: But ah! our tempers are sinfully ready, rather to pore upon our fears, than to employ Christ for our help; and hereby, the life which we might have of joyful praise, is turned into a life of dispondent anxiety. O, they that see Christ to be theirs, can find no want; and what mad fools, idle Persons and foolish choosers are they, who make it not their work to have Christ: But I confess, Christ, unto many (even that profess much) is as the ample world is to them; they have a passing view of Christ, with the illiterate, illuminate eve of the mind; but have neither a renewed heart to affect him only for himself, as the all-satisfying and enriching pearl of price: Others think that they have a love to him, but their desires are after that which is his, and not after himself; they desire liberation from the guilt and punishment of sin, and a Possession of a heaven, which they build up to themselves in their brain; but they care not tho' there were no such a thing as the Christ. O! what a spurious love is this? Can any in reason think, but a suiter, whom a maid condescended to match with, only upon the account of his estate, without regard of his person, had good ground to refuse such base and spurious love? And how shall Christ regard the adulterate love of such self-seekers? And another sort of folk cover over their pride with a vizard of humility, and cry forth, Christ is a king, and they are fitting upon a dunghil, how can they consent to so great and high a match? if they were queens they would do it. But O! that such would consider, that while they seek any thing in themselves to commend them to Christ, A 2