Samuel Rutherford (Letters, 425, 426):
Sinners can do nothing but make wounds, that Christ may heal them; and make debts, that He may pay them; and make falls, that He may raise them; and make deaths, that He may quicken them; and spin out and dig hells for themselves, that He may ransom them. Now, I will bless the Lord that ever there was such a thing as the free grace of God, and a free ransom given for sold souls: only, alas! guiltiness maketh me ashamed to apply to Christ, and to think it pride in me to put out my unclean and withered hand to such a Saviour! But it is neither shame nor pride for a drowning man to swim to a rock, nor for a ship-broken soul to run himself ashore upon Christ. Suppose once I be guilty, needforce I dow [dare] not, I cannot, go by Christ [pass Christ by]. We take in good part that pride, viz. that beggars beg from the richer; and who so poor as we? and who so rich as He who selleth fine gold (Revelation 3:18)? I see then, it is our best (let guiltiness plead what it listeth), that we have no mean under the covering of heaven, but to creep in lowly and submissively with our wants to Christ.
