THE ACCEPTABLE SACRIFICE – CHAPTER 8 – John Bunyan

APPLICATION OF THE SUBJECT.

BUT, to draw to a conclusion, let us now then make some use of this doctrine: as, Firstly , From the truth of the matter, namely, that the man who is truly come to God, has had his heart broken, his heart broken in order to his coming to him; this shows us what to judge of the league that is between sin and the soul; namely, that it is so firm, so strong, so inviolable, that nothing can break, disannul, or make it void, unless the heart be broken for it. It was so with David; yea his new league with it could not he broken, until his heart was broken.

It is amazing to consider, what hold sin has on some men’s souls, spirits, will, and affections. It is to them better than heaven, better than God, than the soul, ay, than salvation! As is evident, because all these are offered them upon this condition, if they will but leave their sins; yet they will choose rather to abide in them, to stand and fall by them. How sayest thou, sinner? Is not this a truth? How many times hast thou had heaven and salvation offered to thee freely, wouldst thou but break thy league with this great enemy of God? Of God, do I say? — if thou wouldst but break this league with this great enemy of thy soul? But thou couldst never yet be brought unto it; no, neither by threatening, nor by promise, couldst thou ever yet be brought unto it!

It is said of Ahab, “he sold himself to work wickedness.” And in another place God says, “Yea, for your iniquities have you sold yourselves.” 1 King 21:25; Isaiah 50:1.

But what is this iniquity? Why a thing of nought; nay, worse than nought a thousand times; but because nought is as we say nought, therefore it goes under that term, where God saith again to the people, “Ye have sold yourselves for nought.” Isaiah 51:3.

But, I say, what an amazing thing is this? That a rational creature should make no better a bargain! that one that is so wise in all terrene things, should be such a fool in the thing that is most weighty! And yet such a fool he is; and he tells every one that goes by the way, that he is such a one, because he will not break his league with sin until his heart be broken for it.

Men love darkness rather than light. Ay, they make it manifest they love it, since so great a proffer will not prevail with them to leave it.

Secondly, Is this a truth, That the man that truly comes to God, in order thereto has had his heart broken? then, this shows us the reason why some men’s hearts are broken; even a reason why God breaks some men’s hearts for sin; namely, because he would not have them die in it, but rather come to God, that they might be saved.

Behold, therefore, in this, how God resolved as to the saving of some men’s souls! He will have them, he will save them; he will kill them, that they may live; he will wound them, that he may heal them.

And it seems by our discourse, that now there is no way left but this. Fair means, as we say, will not do; good words, a glorious gospel, entreatings, beseechings with blood and tears, will not do. Men are resolved to put God to the utmost of it; if he will have them, he must fetch them, follow them, catch them, lame them; yea, break their bones, or else he shall not save them!

Some men think an invitation, an outward call, a rational discourse, will do; but they are much deceived. There must a power, an exceeding great and mighty power, attend the word, or it worketh not effectually to the salvation of the soul. I know these things are enough to leave men without excuse; but yet they are not enough to bring men home to God. Sin has hold of them, they have sold themselves to it; the power of the devil has hold of them, they are his captives at his will; yea, and more than all this, their will is one with sin, and with the devil, to be held captive thereby.

And if God gives not contrition, repentance, or a broken heart, for sin, there will not be, no, not so much as a mind in man to forsake this so horrible a confederacy and plot against his soul 2 Timothy 2:24-26.

Hence men are said to be drawn from these breasts, that come, or that are brought to him. Isaiah 26:9; John 6:44.

Wherefore John might well say, “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us!” Here is cost bestowed, pains bestowed, labor bestowed, repentance bestowed; yea, and a heart made sore, wounded, broken, and filled with pain and sorrow, in order to the salvation of the soul! Thirdly , This then may teach us what estimation to set upon a broken heart. A broken heart is such as God esteems, yea, as God counts better than all external service. A broken heart is that which is in order to salvation, in order to thy coming to Christ for life. The world knows not what to make of it, nor what to say to one that has a broken heart; and therefore despises it, and counts that man that carries it in his bosom a moping fool, a miserable wretch, an undone soul. But “a broken and a contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise!” a broken heart takes thine eye, thy heart! thou choosest it for thy companion! yea, hast given thy Son a charge to look well to such a man, and hast promised him thy salvation! as has afore been proved.

Sinner, hast thou obtained a broken heart? Has God bestowed a contrite spirit upon thee? He has given thee what himself is pleased with; he has given thee a cabinet to hold his grace in; he has given thee a heart that can heartily desire his salvation, a heart after his own heart, that is, such as suits his mind. True, it is painful now, sorrowful now, penitent now, grieved now; now it is broken, now it bleeds, now it sobs, now it sighs, now it mourns and cries unto God. Well, very well! all this is because he has a mind to make thee laugh: he has made thee sorry on earth, that thou mightst rejoice in heaven. “Blessed are ye that mourn, for ye shall be comforted.” “Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh.” Matthew 5:4; Luke 6:21.

But, soul, be sure thou hast this broken heart. All hearts are not broken hearts, nor is every heart that seems to have a wound, a heart that is truly broken. A man may be cut to, yet not into, the heart; a man may have another, yet not a broken heart. Acts 7:54; 1 Samuel 10:9. We know there is a difference betwixt a wound in the flesh and a wound in the spirit; yea a man’s sin may be wounded, and yet his heart not broken; so was Pharaoh’s, so was Saul’s, so was Ahab’s; but they had none of them the mercy of a broken heart. Therefore, I say, take heed; every scratch with a pin, every prick with a thorn, nay, every blow that God giveth with his word upon the hearts of sinners, doth not therefore break them. God gave Ahab such a blow, that he made him stoop, fast, humble himself, gird himself with and lie in sackcloth, (which was a great matter for a king,) and go softly, and yet he never had a broken heart. 1 Kings 21:27,29.

What shall I say? Pharaoh and Saul confessed their sin, Judas repented himself of his doings, Esau sought the blessing, and that carefully with tears; and yet none of these had a heart rightly broken, or a spirit truly contrite. Pharaoh, Saul, and Judas, were Pharaoh, Saul, and Judas still; Esau was Esau still; there was no gracious change, no thorough turn to God, no unfeigned parting with their sins, no hearty flight for refuge, to lay hold on the hope of glory, though they indeed had thus been touched. ( Exodus 10:16; 1 Samuel 26:21; Matthew 27:3; Hebrews 12:14-17.) The consideration of these things calls aloud to us to take heed, that we take not that for a broken and a contrite spirit, that will not go for one at the day of death and judgment.

Wherefore, seeking soul, let me advise thee, that thou mayst not be deceived as to this thing of so great weight. 1. To go back towards the beginning of this book, and compare thyself with those six or seven signs of a broken and a contrite heart, which there I have, according to the word of God, given to thee for that end; and deal with thy soul impartially about them. 2. Or, which may, and will be great help to thee if thou shalt be sincere therein; namely, to betake thyself to the search of the word, especially where thou readest of the conversion of men; and try if thy conversion be like, or has a good resemblance or oneness with theirs. But in this have a care, that thou dost not compare thyself with those good folks of whose conversion thou readest not, or of the breaking of whose heart there is no mention made, in scripture; for all that are recorded in the scripture for saints have not their conversion, as to the manner or nature of it, recorded in scripture. 3. Or else, do thou consider truly the true signs of repentance, which are laid down in scripture; for that is the true effect of a broken heart, and of a wounded spirit. And for this see, Matthew 3:5,6; Luke 18:13; Luke 19:8; Acts 2:37-41, etc.; Acts 16:29,30; Acts 19:18,19; 2 Corinthians 7:8-11. 4. Or else, take into consideration, how God has said they shall be in their spirits, that he intends to save. And for this read these scriptures. 1. That in Jeremiah 31, “They shall come with weeping, and with supplication will I lead them,” etc., Jeremiah 31:9. 2. Read Jeremiah 50:4,5; “In those days, and in that time, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward; saying, come and let us join ourselves to the Lord, in a perpetual covenant that shall not be forgotten.” 3. Read Ezekiel 6:9; “And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations, whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish hearts, which have departed from me, and with their eyes which go a whoring after their idols; and they shall loathe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations.” 4. Read Ezekiel 7:16; “But they that escape of them shall escape, and shall be on the mountains like doves of the valleys, all of them mourning, every one for his iniquity.” 5. Read Ezekiel 20:43; “And there shall ye remember your ways, and all your doings, wherein ye have been defiled, and ye shall loathe yourself in your own sight, for all your evils that ye have committed.” 6. Read Ezekiel 36:31; “Then shall ye remember your own evil ways, and your doings that were not good, and shall loathe yourselves in your own sight, for your iniquities, and for your abominations.” 7. Read ZecharIah 12:10; “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced; and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”

Now all these are the fruits of the Spirit of God, and of the heart, when it is broken. Wherefore, soul, take notice of them, and because these are texts by which God promiseth, that those whom he saveth shall have this heart, this spirit, and these holy effects in them; therefore consider again, and examine thyself, whether this is the state and condition of thy soul. And that thou mayst do it fully, consider again, and do thou, 1. Remember, that here is such a sense of sin, and of the irksomeness thereof, as maketh the man not only to abhor that, but himself, because of that. This is worth the noting by thee. 2. Remember again, that here is not only a self-abhorrence, but a sorrowful mourning unto God, at the consideration that the soul by sin has affronted, condemned, disregarded, and set at nought, both God and his holy word. 3. Remember also, that here are prayers and tears for mercy, with desires to be now out of love with sin for ever, and to be in heart and soul firmly joined and knit unto God. 4. Remember also, that this people here spoken of, have all the way from Satan to God, from sin to grace, from death to life, scattered with tears and prayers, with weeping and supplication: “they shall go weeping, and seeking the Lord their God.” 5. Remember that these people, as strangers and pilgrims do, are not ashamed to ask the way of those they meet with, to Zion, or the heavenly country; whereby they confess their ignorance, as becomes them and their desire to know the way of life; yea, thereby they declare, that there is nothing in this world, under the sun, or this side heaven, that can satisfy the longings, the desires and cravings, of a broken and a contrite spirit. Reader, be advised, and consider these things seriously, and compare thy soul with them, and with what else thou shalt find here written for thy conviction and instruction. Fourthly , If a broken heart, and a contrite spirit, be of such esteem with God, then, this should encourage them that have it, to come to God with it. I know the great encouragement for men to come to God is, that there “is a Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” 1 Timothy 2:5.

This, I say, is the great encouragement, and in its place there is none but that; but there are other encouragements subordinate to that, and a broken and a contrite spirit is one of them. This is evident from several places of scripture.

Wherefore thou that canst carry a broken heart and a sorrowful spirit with thee, when thou goest to God, tell him, thy heart is wounded within thee; that thou hast sorrow in thy heart, and art sorry for thy sins; but take heed of lying. Confess also thy sins unto him, and tell him, they are continually before thee. David made an argument of these things when he went to God by prayer; “O Lord,” saith he, “rebuke me not in thine anger; neither chasten me in thy sore displeasure.” But why so? O! says he, “Thine arrows stick fast in me, and thy hand presseth me sore. There is no soundness in my flesh, because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin. For mine iniquities are gone over my head: as a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds stink, and are corrupt, because of my foolishness; I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and sore broken: I have roared by reason of the disquietness of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before thee: and my groaning is not hid from thee. My heart panteth, my strength faileth me: as for the light of mine eyes, it also is gone from me. My lovers and my friends stand aloof from my sore.” And so he goes on. Psalm 38:1-11. Those are the words, sighs, complaints, prayers and arguments of a broken heart to God for mercy. And so are these; “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness; according to the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions; and my sin is ever before me.” Psalm 51:1-3.

God alloweth poor creatures that can, without lying, thus to plead and argue with him. “I am poor and sorrowful,” said the good man to him, “let thy salvation set me on high.” Psalm 69:29.

Wherefore thou that hast a broken heart, take courage; God bids thee take courage. Say therefore to thy soul, Why art thou cast down, O my soul? (as usually the broken-hearted are:) And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God. I had fainted if I had not been of good courage; therefore be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart. Psalm 42:11; Psalm 43:5; Psalm 27:12-14. But, alas! the broken-hearted are far off from this. They faint; they reckon themselves among the dead; they think God will remember them no more; the thoughts of the greatness of God, and his holiness, and their own sins and vileness, will certainly consume them. They feel guilt and anguish of soul; they go mourning all the day long; their mouth is full of gravel and gall, and they are made to drink drafts of wormwood and gall; so that he must be an artist indeed at believing, who can come to God under his guilt and horror, and plead in faith, that the sacrifices of God are a broken heart, such as he has; and that “a broken and a contrite spirit God will not despise.” Fifthly , If a broken heart, if a broken and contrite spirit, is of such esteem with God, then why should some be, as they are, so afraid of a broken heart, and so shy of a contrite spirit? I have observed, that some men are as afraid of a broken heart, or that they for their sins should have their hearts broken, as the dog is of the whip. O! they cannot away with such books, with such sermons, with such preachers, or with such talk, as tends to make a man sensible, to break his heart, and to make him contrite for his sins. Hence they heap to themselves such teachers, get such books, love such company, and delight in such discourse, as rather tends to harden than soften; to make desperate in, than sorrowful for their sins. They say to such sermons, books, and preachers, as Amaziah said to Amos, “O thou seer, go, flee thou away into the land of Judah, and there eat bread, and prophesy there, but prophesy not again any more at Bethel,” etc. But do these people know what they do? Yes, think they, — ‘for such preachers, such books, such discourses, tend to make one melancholy or mad; they make us, that we cannot take pleasure in ourselves, in our concerns, in our lives.’ But, Oh fool in grain! let me speak unto thee. Is it a time to take pleasure, and to recreate thyself in any thing, before thou hast mourned and been sorry for thy sins? That mirth that is before repentance for sin, will certainly end in heaviness. Wherefore the wise man, putting both together, saith, that mourning must be first: there is a “time to weep, and a time to laugh, a time to mourn, and a time to dance.”

What! an unconverted man, and laugh! Shouldst thou see one singing merry songs, that is riding up Holborn to Tyburn, to be hanged for felony, wouldst thou not count him beside himself, if not worse? and yet thus it is with him that is for mirth, while he standeth condemned by the book of God for his trespasses. Man! man! thou hast cause to mourn; yea, thou must mourn if ever thou art saved. Wherefore my advice is, that instead of shunning, thou covet both such books, such preachers, and such discourses, as have a tendency to make a man sensible of, and to break his heart for sin. And the reason is, because thou wilt never be as thou shouldst, concerned about, nor seek the salvation of thine own soul, before thou hast a broken heart, a broken and a contrite spirit. Wherefore, be not afraid of a broken heart; be not shy of a contrite spirit. It is one of the greatest mercies that God bestows upon a man or a woman. The heart rightly broken at the sense of, and made truly contrite for transgression, is a certain forerunner of salvation. This is evident from six demonstrations which were laid down to prove the point in hand, at first.

And for thy awakening in this matter, let me tell thee, and thou wilt find it so; thou must have thy heart broken whether thou wilt or no. God is resolved to break all hearts for sin some time or other. Can it be imagined, sin being what it is, and God what he is, namely, an avenger of disobedience, but that one time or other man must smart for sin? smart, I say, either to repentance or to condemnation. He that mourns not now, while the door of mercy is open, must mourn for sin when the door of mercy is shut.

shall men despise God, break his law, condemn his threats, abuse his grace, yea, shut their eyes when he says, “See;” and stop their ears when he says, “Hear;” and shall they so escape? No, no; because he called and they refused; he stretched out his hand, and they regarded it not; therefore shall calamity come upon them as upon one in travail, and they shall cry in their destruction, and then God will laugh at their destruction, and mock when their fear cometh. Then saith he, “They shall cry.”

I have often observed, that this threatening is repeated at least seven times in the New Testament, “There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth;” “There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth,” as Matthew 8:12; Matthew 13:42,50; Matthew 22:13; Matthew 24:51; Matthew 25:30; Luke 13:28. “There,” Where? In hell, and at the bar of Christ’s tribunal, when he comes to judge the world, and shall have shut to the door to keep them out of glory, that have here despised the offer of his grace, and overlooked the day of his patience. “There shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” They shall weep and wail for this.

There are but two scriptures that I shall use more, and then I shall draw towards a conclusion. One is that in Proverbs, where Solomon is counseling young men to beware of strange, that is of wanton, light, and ensnaring women. Take heed of such, said he, “Lest thou mourn at the last,” (that is, in hell, when thou art dead,) “when thy flesh and thy body are consumed, and say, “How have I hated instruction, and my heart despised reproof! and have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ears to them that instructed me!” Proverbs 5:11-13, etc.

The other scripture is that in Isaiah, where he says, “Because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear, but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry: behold, my servants shall drink, but ye shall be thirsty: behold, my servants shall rejoice, but ye shall be ashamed: behold, my servants shall sing for joy of heart, but ye shall cry for sorrow of heart, and shall howl for vexation of spirit.” Isaiah 65:12,14. How many ‘beholds’ are here! And every ‘behold’ is not only a call to careless ones to consider, but is a declaration from heaven, that thus at last it shall be with all impenitent sinners; that is, when others sing for joy in the kingdom of heaven, they, they shall sorrow in hell, and howl for vexation of spirit there.

Wherefore, let me advise, that you be not afraid of, but that ye rather covet a broken heart, and prize a contrite spirit. I say, covet it now. Now the white flag is hung out, now the golden scepter of grace is held forth to you! Better mourn now that God inclines to mercy and pardon, than mourn when the door is quite shut up! And take notice, that this is not the first time that I have given you this advice. Lastly , If a broken heart be a thing of so great esteem with God, as has been said, and if duties cannot be rightly performed by a heart that has not been broken; then this shows the vanity of those people’s minds, and also the invalidity of their pretended divine services, who worship God with a heart that was never broken, and without a contrite spirit. There have indeed at all times been great flocks of such professors in the world in every age; but to little purpose, unless to deceive themselves, to mock God, and lay stumbling-blocks in the way of others. For a man whose heart was never truly broken, and whose spirit was never contrite, cannot profess Christ in earnest; cannot love his own soul in earnest. I mean, he cannot do these things in truth, and seek his own good the right way; for he wants a bottom for it, that is, a broken heart for sin, and a contrite spirit. That which makes a man a hearty, an unfeigned, a sincere seeker after the good of his own soul, is a sense of sin, and a godly fear of being overtaken with the danger which it brings a man into. This makes him contrite or repentant, and puts him upon seeking Christ the Savior, with heart-aching and heart-breaking considerations. But this cannot be, where this sense, this godly fear, this holy contrition is wanting. Profess, men may, and make a noise, as the empty barrel maketh the biggest sound; but prove them, and they are full of air, full of emptiness, and that is all.

Nor are such professors tender of God’s name, nor of the credit of that gospel which they profess. Nor can they be, for they want that which should oblige them thereunto; which is a sense of pardon and forgiveness, by which their broken hearts have been replenished, succored, and made to hope in God. Paul said, the love of Christ constrained him. But what was Paul, but a broken-hearted and a contrite sinner? See Acts 9:3-6; Corinthians 5:14.

When God shows a man the sin he has committed, the hell he has deserved, the heaven he has lost; and yet that Christ, and grace, and pardon may be had; this will make him serious, this will make him melt, this will break his heart; this will show him that there is more than air, than a noise, than an empty sound in religion; and this is the man, whose heart, whose life, whose conversation and all, will be engaged in the matters of the eternal salvation of his precious and immortal soul. Objection 1. But some may object, that in this saying I seem too rigid and censorious; and will, if I moderate not these lines with something milder afterward, discourage many an honest soul. Answer. Not a jot. Not an honest soul in all the world will be offended at my words; for not one can be an honest soul, (I mean with reference to its concerns in another world,) that has not had a broken heart, that never had a contrite spirit. This I will say, because I would be understood aright, that all attain not to the same degree of trouble, nor lie so long thereunder, as some of their brethren do. But to go to heaven without a broken heart, or to be forgiven sin without a contrite spirit, is no article of my belief. We speak not now of what is secret; revealed things belong to us and our children; nor must we venture to go further in our faith. Doth not Christ say, “The whole need not a physician;” that is, they see no need. But Christ will make them see their need before he minister his sovereign grace unto them; and good reason; otherwise he will have but little thanks for his kindness. Objection 2 . ‘But there are those that are godly educated from their childhood, and so drink in the principles of Christianity, they know not how.’ Answer. I count it one thing to receive the faith of Christ from men only, and another to receive it from God by the means. If thou art taught by an angel, yet if not taught of God, thou wilt never come to Christ; I do not say thou wilt never profess him. But if God speaks, and thou shalt hear and understand him, that voice will make such work within thee as was never made before. The voice of God is a voice by itself, and is so distinguished by them that are taught thereby. John 6:44,45; Psalm 29; Habakkuk 3:15,16; Ephesians 4:20,21; 1 Peter 2:2,3. Objection 3. ‘ But some men are not so debauched and profane as some, and so need not to be so hammered and fired as others; so broken and wounded as others.’ Answer. God knows best what we need. Paul was as righteous before conversion, I suppose, as any that can pretend to civility now; and yet, that notwithstanding, he was made to shake, and was astonished at himself at his conversion. And truly I think the more righteous any is in his own eyes before conversion, the more need he has of heart-breaking work, in order to his salvation; because a man is not by nature so easily convinced that his righteousness is to God abominable, as he is that his debauchery and profaneness are.

A man’s goodness is that which blinds him most, is dearest to him, and hardly parted with; and therefore, when such a one is converted, that thinks he has goodness of his own enough to commend him in whole or in part to God, (though but few such are converted,) there is required a great deal of breaking work upon his heart, to make him come to Paul’s conclusion, “What! are we better than they? No, in no wise.” Romans 3:9. I say, before he can be brought to see his glorious robes are filthy rags, and his gainful things but loss and dung. Isaiah 64; Philippians 3. This is also gathered from these words, “Publicans and harlots” enter into the kingdom of God before the Pharisees. Matthew 21:31. Why before them, but because they lie fairer for the word, are easier convinced of their need of Christ, and so are brought home to him without (as I may say) all that ado, that the Holy Ghost doth make to bring home one of these to him.

True; nothing is hard or difficult to God. But I speak after the manner of men. And let who will take to task a man debauched in his life, and one that is not so, and he shall see, if he laboreth to convince them both that they are in a state of condemnation by nature, that the Pharisee will make his appeals to God with a great many, “God, I thank thee’s;” while the Publican hangs his head, shakes at heart, and smites upon his breast, saying, “God, be merciful to me a sinner.” Luke 18:11,12,13.

Wherefore a self-righteous man is but a painted Satan, or a devil in fine clothes. But thinks he so of himself? No! no! He saith to others, ‘Stand back! come not near me, I am holier than thou.’ It is almost impossible, that a self-righteous man should be saved. But he that can drive a camel through the eye of a needle, can cause, that even such a one should see his lost condition, and that he needeth the righteousness of God, which is by faith of Jesus Christ. He can make him see, I say, that his own goodness did stand more in his way to the kingdom of heaven than he was aware of; and can make him feel too, that his leaning to that, is as great iniquity as any immorality that men commit. The sum then is, that men that are converted to God by Christ, through the word and Spirit, (for all this must go to effectual conversion,) must have their hearts broken, and spirits made contrite. I say, it must be so, for the reasons showed before.

Yea, and all decayed, apostatized, and backslidden Christians must, in order to their recovery again to God, have their hearts broken, their souls wounded, their spirits made contrite, and sorry for their sin.

Come, come! Conversion to God is not so easy, and so smooth a thing, as some would have men believe it is.

Why is man’s heart compared to fallow ground, God’s word to a plow, and his ministers to plowmen, if the heart has indeed no need of breaking, in order to the receiving of the seed of God unto eternal life? Jeremiah 4:3; Luke 9:62; 1 Corinthians 9:10. Who knows not, that the fallow ground must be plowed, and plowed too before the husbandman will venture his seed; yea, and after that, oft soundly harrowed, or else he will have but a slender harvest?

Why is the conversion of the soul compared to the grafting of a tree, if that be done without cutting? The word is the graft, the soul is the tree, and the word, as the scion, must be let in by a wound; for to stick on the outside, or to be tied on with a string, will do no good here. Heart must be set to heart, and back to back, or your pretended ingrafting will come to nothing. Romans 11:17,24; James 2:20. I say, heart must be set to heart, and back to back, or the sap will not be conveyed from the root to the branch: and I say this must be done by a wound. The Lord opened the heart of Lydia, as a man openeth the stock to graft in the scions, and so the word was let into her soul, and so the word and her heart cemented, and became one. Acts 16:14.

Why is Christ bid to gird his sword upon his thigh? and why must he make his arrows sharp? and all that the heart may with his sword and these arrows be shot, wounded, and made to bleed? Yea, why is he commanded to let it be so; if the people would bow and fall kindly under him, and heartily implore his grace without it? Psalm 45. Alas! men are too lofty, too proud, too wild, too devilishly resolved in the ways of their own destruction; in their occasions, they are like the wild asses upon the wild mountains; nothing can break them off their purposes, or hinder them from ruining their own precious and immortal souls, but the breaking of their hearts.

Why is a broken heart put in the room of all sacrifices which we can offer to God? and a contrite spirit put in the room of all offerings? as they are, (and you may see it so, if you compare the text with the verse which goes before it,) I say, why is it counted better than all, were they all put together, if any one part, or if all external parts of worship, were they put together, could be able to render the man a sound and a right-made new creature without it? A broken heart, a contrite spirit, God will not despise; but both thou, and all thy service, he will certainly slight and reject, if, when thou comest to him, a broken heart be wanting. Wherefore here is the point. Come broken, come contrite, come sensible of, and sorry for, thy sins; or thy coming will be counted no coming to God aright; and if so, consequently thou wilt get no benefit thereby.