Matth. 25.34 A Crown of Life Rev. 2.10 A Crown of Righteousness 2 Tim. 4.8 A Crown of Glory which never fades never withers 1 Pet. 5.4 The truth is he endows them with all his Riches with all his Treasures with all his Dignities with all the Priviledges of â—â—s House with all the Purchases of his Blood with all the Blessings of his Love with all the Treasures of Heaven with all the Glories of Eternity Look whatever is in the Promise whatever is in the Covenant whatever is in the glorious Counsel of Election Look whatever the Presence of God the Face of God the Bosom of God can afford Look whatever the heart of God could give the Wisdom of God contrive the Power of God produce or the Blood of God purchase that all that does Christ injoynter his People in O Sirs how should this draw and allure us to Christ Is Heaven and eternal Life worth nothing Are all the Glories of Eternity of no value O who are you that Christ should be willing to instate you into all this In your selves you are lying in the lap and bosom of Hell Heirs of Wrath and Condemnation in danger every moment of sinking into the infernal Pit But loe Christ comes and makes love to you and if you will accept of him he will entitle you unto Life and Blessedness to such things as eye hath not seen nor ear heard nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive of 1 Cor. 2.9 Take him therefore I beseech you into your most intimate embraces Thus you see in part what great things Christ does for his Spouses Now will you accept of him or will you not May I not say to you as Saul sometimes did to his Servants Hear now will the Son of Jesse give to every one of you Fields and Vineyards and make you Captains of thousands 1 Sam. 22.7 So will Sin or the World or the Law to which you are naturally wedded do such great things for you as Christ will Will these pay your Debts for you supply your Wants for you heal your Wounds for you and the like Will these secure your eternal Interest for you and make you happy in the other World as Christ would Alas they can do none of all this O close close there for â— with Christ who can and will do all CHAP. IX Which opens a little the heart of Christ and shews how much he is Jet upon an Espousal with Sinners SUrely Christ is the best Husband and none can do such great things as he for his Spouses which renders an Espousal to him very desirable but will he take such as we are into so near a Relation with him has he any mind any heart to the business any mind any heart his heart is set upon nothing more then an Espousal with Sinners he is not only content to admit Sinners coming to him but his Soul longs after them never did the most passionate Lover more long for an Espousal between him and his Beloved than Christ does for an Espousal between himself and Sinners and because Love is the Loadstone of Love and the most powerful attractive in order to the more effectual drawing and alluring of your Souls to Christ I shall a little in a few particulars open my sweet Lords heart to you in this business And O that the reports of his Love to you and his willingness to Espouse you to himself might draw your hearts out a little in Love to him and work you into a willingness to be Espoused 1. Such is the heart of Christ and so set upon an Espousal with Sinners that he willingly became incarnate bled and dyed in order hereunto and oh how should this draw us to him Should you see a Man do some great Act of self-denyal and abasement and withal freely venture his Life in order to his obtaining such or such an one to his Wife you would easily conclude that his heart was much set upon an Espousal with her Lo then Christ has greatly denyed and abated himself he became incarnate and not only freely ventured but laid down his Life in order to an Espousal between himself and Sinners and how much then must his heart be in the business 1. He became incarnate in order hereunto had not Christ been incarnate we could never possibly have been Espoused unto him nor have enjoyed conjugal Communion with him but that we might be capable of and arrive unto such an happiness he who in himself was the Eternal Son freely became incarnate assumed humane Nature into Union with his Divine Person hence 't is said that the Word was made flesh Verhum caro factum non Divinae Naturae conversione sed humanae assumptione Beza Joh. 1.14 not that there was a transmutation of God into Flesh but the Word that is God the Son the Second Person in Trinity Voce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 non conversio divinitatis quae est invariabilis non commixtio naturarum divinae humanae sed unio designatur Cartw in loc assumed Flesh humane Nature into Union with himself and so near is that Union into which the humane Nature is assumed with the Person of the Son of God usus est verba 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ut significet arceissimam indissolubilem unionem verbi cum carne ut non alia scilicet sed una eadem jam sit persona Verbi carnis assumptae Chemni as that that Nature hath no subsistence but what it has in his Divine Person and for that end umong others as a Learned Divine hath observed it s so exprest the Word was made Flesh namely to note the infinite nearness of that Union which our Nature is taken into with the Divine Person it being so near as that it hath no subsistence of its own but is as it were wholly melted into the Personality of the Son of God hence also he is said to partake of Flesh and Blood to be manifested in the Flesh and the like and oh what an Act of self-denyal and abasement was this and how great was Christ's condescention herein in Phil. 2.6 7. the Apostle speaks of it as the greatest abasement he could-stoop unto who sayes he speaking of Christ being in the form of God thought it no Robbery to be equal with God but made himself of no Reputation and took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of Men pray mark he was in the form of God that is he was truly and really God as the Father was and he thought it no Robbery to be equal with God i. e. he had all those Divine Excellencies and perfections in him which the Father had in him and yet sayes he he took upon him the form of a Servant and was made in the likeness of Men that is he became incarnate he became Man Well and what does this argue Even infiniâ—e condescention therefore he tells us that herein he
Union III. Sweet and lasting Communion IV. Strong and ardent Affection V. Mutual rest and complacency for ever I. This Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and Believers carries in it free and cordial Donation a giving of themselves each to other In Marriages or Espousals the Parties give themselves each to other the Husband gives himself unto the Wife and the Wife by way of return gives her self unto the Husband they consent to take each other in that relation and accordingly do give up themselves each to other So in this Spiritual Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and his People there is a giving of themselves each to other they consent to take each other and accordingly do give up themselves each to other Christ on the one hand gives himself unto the Soul I will be thine sayes he to the Soul thine to love thee thine to save thee thine to make thee happy in me and with me I with all my Riches and Treasures will be fully and for ever thine I will be for thee that is the language of his Espousing Love unto the Soul Hos 3.3 And oh how sweet is this Language What can Christ give to poor Souls like himself In giving himself he gives the best Gift that either Heaven or Earth affords In giving himself he gives Life he gives Peace he gives Grace he gives Righteousness he gives the favour of God he gives Heaven he gives all Oh sweet Gift On the other hand the Soul by way of return gives himself to Christ I will be thine sayes the Soul to Christ I will be for thee and not for another Hence 't is said They gave themselves to the Lord 2 Cor. 8.5 they freely and willingly yeelded up themselves to Christ to be his and his for ever Sweet Jesus such as I am and have I give to thee I am a poor a sorry Gift sayes the Soul infinitely unworthy of thine acceptance my best is too bad my All is too little for thee but seeing 't is thy pleasure to call for and accept of such a Gift at my hands I do with my whole Soul give up my Self my Strength my Time my Talents my All for ever to thee And though the truth is this be a sorry Gift yet you little think how pleasing how grateful it is to Christ and what a value he puts upon it You have the whole of this owned and asserted by the Spouse Cant. 2.16 My Beloved is mine and I am his II. This Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and Believers carries in it near and intimate union In Marriage there is a very near union and conjunction between the Parties As they give up themselves each to other so they become one each with other They are no more twain but one flesh Mat. 19.6 So in this Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and Believers there is a very near union and conjunction between them they two are made one and thus the Apostle sets forth the Marriage between Christ and them Ephes 5.31 32. For this cause shall a man leave Father and Mother and shall be joyned unto his Wife and they two shall be one flesh This is a great Mystery but I spake concerning Christ and the Church that is I speak of the Marriage-relation which is between Christ and the Church which consists in union Hence also Believers are said to be joyned to the Lord and to be one Spirit with him 1 Cor. 6.17 So that espousing to Christ and being joyned to Christ are all one The truth is herein lies the very soul and substance of this Spiritual Marriage viz. in a spiritual union between Christ and the Believer though Christ and the Soul were two before two that were strangers each to other yet in this Marriage or Espousal they become one and so one as that all the World can never make them two again never dissolve this union * Sponsi sponsae usitatâ at omnium jucun dissâ—â—â Metaphâ—râ unio spiritualis inter Christum â—â— Ecclesiam piamque an mam exprimitur Gles Rhe. sac By this usual but of all others most pleasant Metaphor of a Bridegroom and Bride as a learned Man hath observed is expressed and set forth the Spiritual Vnion that is between Christ and the Church Christ and every Holy Soul And this Union is a full Union an Union between the whole Person of Christ and the whole Person of the Believer the whole Person of Christ is united unto the Believer and the whole Person of the Believer is united unto Christ Neque anima nestra sola cum solâ Christi animâ neque care nostra sola cum solâ Christi carne sed tota cujusque fidelis persona cum totâ Christi personâ conjungitur Zanch. Neither is our Soul alone saith a Learned Man joyned with the Soul of Christ alone nor is our flesh alone joyned with the flesh of Christ alone but the whole Person of every Believer is truly joyned with the whole Person of Christ 1. On the one hand the whole Person of Christ is united to the Believer the Believers union with Christ is neither with the Divine nor Humane Nature considered apart but it is with the whole Person consisting of both Natures and indeed else they could not be said to be united to Christ for neither of the Natures considered apart is Christ We cannot say that the Divine Nature is Christ or that the Humane Nature is Christ but Christ is both the Divine and Humane Nature God-man in one Person Buchan Institut Theol. loc 2. Christ saith a Learned Man is not a Name of either Nature but of the Person consisting of both Natures together with his Office Besides were we united only to one Nature and not to the whole Person of Christ what would our Union avail us Surely it would be vain and ineffectual Were we united to the Humane Nature only and not to the Divine then to be sure our Union must be ineffectual For Christ himself tells us That it is the Spirit which quickeneth the flesh profiteth nothing John 6.63 That is as judicious Interpreters expound it the flesh or Humane Nature of Christ considered alone and without the influence of the Divine availeth nothing to Souls as to their spiritual or eternal good Nor indeed can the Humane Nature of Christ without the Divine give Grace or any spiritual good thing On the other hand were we united to the Divine Nature alone and not to the Humane then our Union would be as ineffectual for how full soever the Divine Nature is of Grace and Life in it self yet nothing can thence be derived and communicated to us but by and through the Humanity And indeed as the Humanity profiteth nothing without the Divinity so I may say the Divinity will profit us nothing without the Humanity Hence it is that Christ so often speaks of eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood and withal asserts the necessity thereof in
order to life and happiness by him John 6.53 54 55. What doth eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood signifie but an Union with his Humanity And therefore in vers 56. he addeth He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him which is an expression of Union and without this we have we can have no Life no Grace from him In a word as the humanity hath nothing to give or communicate to us no Life no Grace no Spiritual Blessing without the Divinity so the Divinity is incommunicable to us without the Humanity and therefore were our Union with the one only without the other it must needs he ineffectual I will close this with the saying of an eminent Divine Etsi tota salus vita a Deitatis plenitudine pendet quae est in Christo interim tamen nobis non communicatur nisi in carne per carnem Christi Deitas enim est ceu fons unde fluunt omnia bona vita salus sed caro atque humanitas est ceu canalis per quem ad nos derivantur omnia haec bona omnesque gratiae nisi quis igitur canalem hunc apprehendat eique uniatur aquarum certè quae è fonte profluunt particeps fieri non potest Zanch. in Thes de connubio Spirituali Although all Life all Salvation floweth from the fulness of the Deity that is in Christ yet notwithstanding it is not communicated to us but in the flesh and by the flesh of Christ For the Deity is as the Fountain whence all good things flow Life and Salvation but the flesh or humanity is as the Channel by which all these good things and all Gifts and Graees are derived unto us therefore unless a man apprehendeth this Channel and be united to it he cannot possibly be made a partaker of these Waters which do flow from this Fountain 2. On the other hand the whole Person of the Believer is united to Christ not his Soul onely without his Body nor yet his Body onely without his Soul but his whole Person consisting of both Soul and Body in conjunction As Christ is the Saviour so he is the Head of the whole Person of every Believer for he saves none but those whom he is a Head unto And as Christ is the Head of so he must have union with the whole Person of every Believer for his being an Head implies union and that union must extend as far as his Headship doth even to the whole Person In short the Believers Soul is united to Christ therefore saith the Apostle 1 Cor. 6.17 He that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit and the Believers Body is united to Christ and therefore the Bodies of Believers are said to be Members of Christ 1 Cor. 6.15 thus this union is a full union And as it is a full so it is a very near union Next to those two great Unions the essential Union the Union of the three Persons in One and the same Divine Essence and the Personal Union the Union of the two Natures Divine and Humane in the Person of Christ this is the nearest Union Hence it is expressed sometimes by their being in each other John 14.20 Ye shall know that I am in the Father and ye in me and I in you sometimes by their dwelling in each other John 6.56 He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood dwelleth in me and I in him And what can be nearer than to be and dwell in each other It is a nearer Union than that between the Husband and the Wife for that Union may be broken and is at last but this never is never can be broken as in its place will be shewn III. This Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and Believers carries in it full and lasting communion In Marriage-relations there is a full and free communion between the Parties both in what they are and what they have The Husband admits the sife into a participation in all he is and hath on the other hand he communicates with her in all she is and hath and indeed union is in order to communion So here in the Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and Believers there is a full and free communion between them in all they are and have On the one hand Christ communicates himself unto the Believer he admits him into a fellowship and participation with him in all his riches and fulness hence is that John 1.16 of his fullness have all we received and that Grace for Grace vers 14. He is said to be full of Grace And what Grace is that Why all Grace Personal Grace Purchased Grace Grace of Priviledge and Grace of Influence And here it is said that of his fulness have all we received not some onely but all great and small have received and that not in a low poor scanty measure onely Gratiam super gratiam h. e. accumulat issimam copiosissimam omnem gratiam nempe justitiam remissionem peccatorum sanctitatem renovationem spiritus c. Glas Gram. Sacr. but in great abundance therefore it 's added and Grace for Grace or Grace upon Grace heaps of Grace Grace in a plentiful manner all Grace needful for the Soul Righteousness Remission of Sins Sanctification Renovation of the Spirit and the like Look what-ever Christ is or hath which Believers are capable of it is all theirs and they all hold communion with him therein His beauty is theirs and how black and deformed soever they are in themselves yet they are fair and comely in him Nigra per naturam formosa per gratiam Aug. Hence saith the Spouse I am black but comely Cant. 1.5 that is black in my self but comely in Christ black by Nature but comely by the Redeemers Grace comely through the comeliness which he puts upon me Ezek. 16.14 His Righteousness is theirs and how guilty and unrighteous soever they are in themselves yet in him they are Righteous and do stand perfectly righteous in the sight of God Hence his Name is said to be The Lord our Righteousness Jer. 23.6 and they are said to be made the Righteousness of God in him 2 Cor. 5.21 His Priviledges and Dignities are theirs and how vile and base soever they are in themselves yet in him they are highly dignified and advanced Is he a Son so are they through him To as many as received him to them gave he power to become the Sons of God to as many as believed in his Name John 1.12 Is he an Heir an Heir of God so are they they are Heirs yea coheirs with him of God Rom. 8.17 Is he beloved by the Father and that with a choice and singular love so are they they are beloved in him Ephes 1.6 yea they are beloved with the same love wherewith he is beloved by the Father John 17.23 Is he a King so are they he hath made them and doth make them all Kings and they do
put forth thy Power in drawing of me and then and not till then shall I come nearer to thee Yea my Beloved the espousing of Souls to Christ is not only the Act or Work of Divine Grace and the power of it But 't is the Act or Work of the mighty Power of that Grace 't is not an ordinary power that is and must be put forth therein but even the greatness of the power of that Grace a power no less than that which was put forth in raising Christ form the dead So the Apostle tells us Ephes 1.18 19 20. That you may know sayes he what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead So then here is power mighty power the mighty power of God the greatness of the mighty power of God the exceeding greatness of the mighty power of God the same exceeding greatness of the mighty power of God which raised Christ from the dead and all put forth to enable us to believe and so to close with Christ in a Marriage-Covenant Thus this Work is every way from Divine Grace But here more particularly the enquiry will be What those Acts or Works of Divine Grace are by which poor sinners come to be espoused to Christ I shall reduce them all to two Heads they are either first more remote being Acts of Divine Grace put forth for us and towards us or secondly more near being Acts of Divine Grace put forth in us and upon us In the first the Father and Jesus Christ work more immediately by and from themselves In the second they work by the influence and ministry of the Blessed Spirit I 'le speak a little of each CHAP. IV. Wherein are contained the more remote Acts of Divine Grace put forth more immediately by the Father and Jesus Christ for us and towards us in order to the accomplishment of the Espousal between Christ and us THere are some more remote Acts of Grace Acts of Grace put forth more immediately by the Father and Jesus Christ for us and towards us in order to the making up of this Espousal or Marriage-relation between Christ and us and of these I shall mention five all which do necessarily concur and have their influence into this business and indeed there is much of the Mystery of God in them They are those I. God the Father marries and espouses our Nature to the Person of his Son and thereby sits and prepares him to be an Husband for us this God has done once for all and the influence thereof concurs unto the accomplishment of the Espousal between Christ and every Believer I shall illustrate this unto you from that Parable Matth. 22. beg where we read of a King who made a marriage for his Son by which King we are to understand God the Father and by his Son Jesus Christ the Eternal Son of that Eternal Father He who proceeded from him by eternal generation God the Father then is here said to make a marriage for his Son But pray who is the Spouse 't is observed by Divines that the Spouse is not here mentioned Who or what then is she 't is answered Christ has a two-fold Spouse our Nature and the persons of Believers Both which may be intended here though the first chiefly and principally and so by the Marriage here we are to understand the Personal Marriage the Marriage between the Person of the Son of God and our Nature Per nuptias intelligitur verbum in carnatum Calvin and so Calvin and others expound it This primarily but secondarily by consequence the Spiritual Marriage the Marriage between Christ and Believers and we are to look on the one as laying a foundation and making way for the other So that the whole resolves into this that God the Father hath married and espoused our Nature to the Person of his Son in the hypostatical union and thereby has fitted and prepared him to be an Husband for us and made way for the marriage of our persons to his Person in the Spiritual Union And indeed unless our Nature had been first married to him in the one our persons could never possibly have been married to him in the other for pray observe the glory of Christ considered as the Eternal Son and so as God is too bright and the distance between him and us too great for us to come to him and he made one with him in a Marriage-relation Christ considered in his own naked glory as God is too bright an Object for us to look upon much more to have so near an union to and communion with one sight of him thus considered is enough to swallow us up and even to overwhelm our Spirits We cannot thus see him and live But now our Nature being married and espoused to his Divine Person that is to say he having assumed our Nature into union with himself as the eternal Son which the Evangelist calls his being made flesh John 1.14 And the Apostle his partaking of flesh and blood Heb. 2.14 Hereby the overwhelming brightness of his Glory is vailed and the dreadful terror of his greatness together with the affrighting distance between him and us is taken away Yea hereby his glory is brought down as one hath it to our eye to our beholding Hereby he has marvellously sweetned and endeared himself to us and made way for us for a free access to him and the nearest union and communion with him Hence Divines give this as one reason of Christs incarnation that he might thereby become a fit Husband for his People and they might be capable of union and communion with him * Hac de causâ Filius Dei factus est homo ut posset verus esse sponsus Ecclesiae Therefore as a Learned Man has observed was the Son of God made Man that he might be a true a fit Bridegroom for the Church and 't is rightly observed by Divines that in strict propriety of speech neither the Father nor the Holy Spirit but the Son the second Person in Trinity is the Churches Bridegroom and they give this reason for it because he only was made Man he only was incarnate O had not the Son of God been incarnate had he not as Austin's expression is married our Nature to himself in the Womb of the Virgin none of us had ever been capable of such a priviledge such an happiness as a conjugal-union and communion with him That therefore is the first Act of Grace in this business II. God the Father gives Christ unto the Soul and the Soul to Christ he gives Christ for an Head and Husband to the Soul and he gives the Soul for a Bride or Spouse to Christ First He gives Christ for an Head and Husband to the Soul in John 4.10 Christ is called the Gift of God And how the Gift of God two wayes
more worth in his merits to pardon and justifie thee then there is evil in thy sins to damn destroy thee True I have a Fountain of sin and guilt and death in me But here 's a deeper Fountain of Grace and life righteousness in him see O my Soul see how vast and large his treasures of Grace and Glory are and bear up thy self upon them O did Sinners dwell more in the view of the Glorious fulness of Christ they would be more in love with him and hereby would counter-work and undermine unbelief in one of its greatest artifices whereby it keeps souls from him I shall here for thy encouragement onely subjoyn the saying of a worthy Divine Christ sayes he can and it becometh him well to give more then my narrow soul can receive If there were ten thousand thousand millions of worlds and as many heavens full of men and Angels Christ would not be pinched to supply all their wants and to fill them all Christ is a Well of Life but who knoweth how deep it is to the bottom 2. The second Gospel-principle or encouragement of Faith which thou should'st bear up thy soul upon and be frequent in the contemplation of is this That as there is such a Glorious and in-exhaustible fulness in Christ so this fulness is in him not for himself but to be dispensed and communicated to poor Souls coming to him True may the Soul say here 's fulness enough riches and treasures enough of all good in Christ but what 's this to me or wherein does it concern me Wherein does it concern thee Why 't is wholly thy concern and the concern of such as thou art For what ever fulness he has in him 't is treasur'd up in him for Souls for Sinners yea for the worst of Sinners How sweet is that word Psa 68.18 where speaking of Christ the holy Ghost tells us that he hath received gifts for men He hath received gifts i. e. He has a fulness of all good in his hand and at his dispose and this for men I but I am a devil sayes the soul a rebel what 's this to me observe what follows and thou wilt find it concerns thee yea thee especially He hath received gifts for men yea for the rebellious also Hence also 't is that he is said to be made Head over all things to the Church Eph. 1.22 He has all fulness dwelling in him but 't is as an head and so 't is all for the use and service of the body for every poor soul that comes to him And therefore 't is added Head over all things to the Church i e. For the Churches use and service of which he is Head Take a view of all that fulness that is in Christ and 't is all as much and as really for the use and service of such as come to him and are made members of his body as the treasures and endowments of the natural head are for the use and service of the natural body and the members thereof And O what an encouragement is this to Faith 'T is the observation of a learned man upon the place last quoted Lest sayes he we should think this great glory of Christ to be a thing that does not concern us Ne summam illam Christi gloriam putemus aliquid a nobis alienum esse testatur illum esse a Deo patre totius Ecclesiae Beza he is here declar'd to be constituted and appointed by the Father to be Head of the whole Church Well then soul bear up thy self upon this encouragement Say look O my soul look unto sweet Jesus who hath received Gifts for men View him as one that has received a fulness of all Grace from the Father on purpose to be dispens'd and communicated to thee and to such as thou art He has life in him and he has it for thee he has peace and pardon in him and he has it for thee He has wisdom and righteousness Grace and Glory in him and he has it for thee and for such as thou art and therefore go to him expect all from him cast all upon him 3. The third Gospel-principle or encouragement of Faith which thou shouldst bear up thy soul upon and dwell much in the contemplation of is this that there is a perfect freedom and willingness in Christ yea 't is even genuine and naturall to him to bestow himself with all his Glorious riches and fulness upon poor souls coming to him Christ as you heard has all this fulness in him as an head so you have it expresly Col. 1.18 19. Now as 't is genuine and naturall to the head to minister influence to the members So 't is even genuine and naturall to Christ to communicate his Grace to poor souls Besides all that fulness that is in Christ 't is in him not as God onely but as man 'T is deposited and treasured up in his human nature It pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell Col. 1.19 In him i. e. as a learned man expounds it in the man Christ or in that human nature in which he dyed and transacted the business of our Salvation In co i. e. In homine Christo vel in humana illa natura in qua obivit administravit negotium salutis nostrae Daven 'T is true the God-head or Divine nature is the first spring or Fountain of all Graee but the human nature of Christ is as it were a second spring and Fountain of Grace That is as a treasury or Store-house wherein all Grace is laid up for us Hence 't is said that as the Father hath life in himself so he hath given to the Son to have life in himself because he is the Son of man Joh 5.26 27. Christ as God hath life i.e. all Grace originally and independently in him as the Father hath Indeed as God he is the same infinite and independent Fountain of Life and Grace with the Father but 't is as man that he is said to have Life and Grace given to him The sum then is That that Glorious fulness of Grace that is in Christ for Sinners is Fountain'd up in his human nature and being Fountain'd up in his human nature it will and can't but slow yea overflow to and upon poor souls that cast themselves upon him The truth is 'T is to charge Christ with unkindness and unsaithfulness both at once to suppose him unwilling to communicate himself and his fulness to Sinners coming to him and soul canst thou find in thy heart to lay so blacka charge upon so sweet and good a Christ 'T is the way and work of the devil and unbelief to perswade Souls that Christ will not receive them nor communicate his Grace and fulness to them though they should come to him which they endeavour to do from the consideration of his greatness and holiness together with their vileness and sinfulness Christ say they is choice
Self-Interest that is to say you must be at a parting point with all you must be willing to forgo all your outward interests and concerns for Christ when he calls you to it thinking nothing too much or too good for him this Christ is express in Matth. 10.37 He that loveth Father or Mother more than me is not worthy of me And he that loveth Son or Daughter more than me is not worthy of me And again Luke 14.33 Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath he cannot be my Disciple In a word the meaning is not that all that come to Christ must actually forsake all those things and deny themselves as to the enjoyment of them but the meaning is first that we must have a very diminutive love for these in comparison of Christ And secondly that we must be at a parting point with all for Christ's sake and at Christ's call And truly 't is but reason we should be so he that actually parted with so much for us does highly deserve that we should be in a readiness to part with our little All for him Thus we must wholly quit and renounce our selves if we would indeed believe and have union with Christ II. Would you pitch your Faith aright upon Christ and be indeed espoused to him then labour to get a right notion and apprehension of him as the great object of Faith One great reason why many fail and miscarry in their Faith and so fall short of Christ is their ignorance of him they have not a right notion and apprehension of Christ as the great object of Faith and indeed unless Christ be rightly known and apprehended by us we are never like to pitch our Faith aright upon him How shall they believe sayes the Apostle in him of whom they have not heard Rom. 10.14 How shall they believe i. e. Men cannot believe aright on one that has not been reveal'd and made known to them a blind ignorant Faith is never like to reach union and communion with Christ and my Beloved if we would believe aright on Christ we must know him aright and apprehend him aright Dei cognitio eadem est cum Fide quâ insiti in Christi Corpus divinae adoptionis consortes Caelorum haeredes essicimur Calv. in loc Faith in Scripture is sometimes exprest by knowledge John 17.3 Not that knowledge alone is all that is requisite to Faith but it notes thus much to us that the knowledge of Christ is such a requisite to believing that there can be no true believing without it Hence also Christ speaks of seeing the Son and believing on him seeing before believing and seeing in order to believing This is the will of him that sent me That * Quisquis videt Filium credit in eum Hac verba ostendunt fidem ex Christi notitia fluere non quod praeter sunplex Dei Verbum quicquani desideret sed quia si Christo fidamus qualis sit quid nobis offâ—rat senstire nos oportet Caiv. whosoever seeth the Son and believeth on him should have everlasting life John 6.40 By seeing the Son here we are to understand the true Knowledge of Christ Hence also they that come to Christ and believe savingly on him are said in order thereunto to be taught of God and to have heard and learn't of the Father John 6.45 And pray what have they been taught of God what have they learn't of him but the knowledge of Christ as the great object of Faith at least this is one great lesson which all that believe do and must learn As ever therefore you would pitch your Faith aright upon Christ labour to know and apprehend him aright labour to know and apprehend him as he is revealed and offered in the Gospel Particularly 1. View and apprehend him in his Godhead and Divine Nature The Gospel reveals him in his Divinity it propounds him to our Faith as God the true God the great God the mighty God God over all and thus should Faith eye and apprehend him Fatetur Thomas Christum esse Dominum suum deende altius conscendit ac Deum quoque nominat fides ejus evehitur ad aeternam Christs divinitatem Calv. in loc Thus Thomas his Faith apprehended him when he said My Lord and my God John 20.28 And indeed nothing but a God-head an infinite eternal unchangable God-head is a Foundation strong enough for Faith to build upon 2. View and apprehend him in his Personal-Relation not only as God but also as God the Son and so as distinguish 't from the Father Thus the Gospel reveals and propounds him to our Faith and thus also should our Faith view and apprehend him Thus Peter's Faith with the rest in whose name he spake did eye and apprehend him John 6.69 We believe and are sure said he that thou art that Christ the Son of the living God There is a distinct honour due to every Person in the Sacred Trinity and the more distinctly our Faith eyes and apprehends Christ in his Personal Relation as Son the more compleat it is and the more it gives him the honour of that Relation 3. View and apprehend him in his Humanity or as the Son of God incarnate The Gospel reveals and propounds Christ as the object of Faith to us not simply as God and as God the Son but as God the Son incarnate as the Word made Flesh John 1.14 or as God manifested in the flesh 1 Tim. 3.16 As having taken humane nature into personal union with himself and so is both God and Man in one person and thus also should Faith eye and apprehend him You believe in God sayes he believe also in me Joh. 1.14 Hence also he speaks so often of eating his Flesh and drinking his Blood and of giving his Flesh for the life of the World and withall tells us Tune vitam in Christo invenies sivitae materiam quaeras in ejus carne Nam sicut aeternus Dei Sermo fons vitae est ita caro ejus veluti canalis vitam quae intrinseca ut loquuntur in Divinitate residet ad nes dissundit Calv. that his Flesh is Meat indeed and his Blood Drink indeed Joh. 6.51 53 54 55 56. By all which he signifies to us that our Faith must respect and apprehend him as Man as well as God as the Son incamate and indeed thus he is the next and most immediate object of Faith The God-head or Divinity is the ultimate object of Faith but Christ the Son incarnate is the next and most immediate object of Faith Hence we are faid by him to believe in God 1 Pet. 1.21 * A Christo homine nos deducimur ad Christum Deum Faith first eyes Christ as Man or the Son incarnate and by him comes ultimately to object it self upon God The humanity is janua ad Divinitatem as one speaks of it a Gate to the Divinity that by which our
Faith passes to the God-head Neque ad Christum Deum unquam perveniet qui heminem negligit And as a great Divine speaks he that comes not to Christ as man shall never come to him as God The truth is Faith cannot deal with God immediately but as God cloath'd with our nature 4. View and apprehend him in his office of Mediatorship The Gospel reveals and propounds Christ to our Faith in his Office it propounds and reveals him as Christ as the true Messiah and Saviour of the World as one seal'd sent and anointed by the Father for the redemption of lost Souls and thus also should Faith eye and apprehend him So also did Peter's Faith apprehend him Thou art Christ sayes he the Son of the living God Mat. 16.16 Hence we read of believing that Jesus is the Christ 1 John 5.1 Hence also Christ tells the Jews If ye believe not that I am he ye shall die in your sins John 8.24 If ye believe not that I am he i. e. that I am the Messiah the Christ the Saviour that was promised O! Faith is short of that notion it should have of Christ unless it thus eyes him in his Office 5. View and apprehend him in his infinite ability and sufficiency for the discharge of his Office The Gospel reveals and propounds him to our Faith as one able to save to the very uttermost and accordingly should our Faith eye and apprehend him Heb. 7.25 It reveals him indeed both as an onely and alsufficient Saviour as an onely Saviour Look unto me and be saved all ye ends of the earth for I am God and there is none besides me Isa 45.22 Neither is there Salvation in any other nor is there any other Name given under Heaven wherby we may be saved but his only Acts 4.12 And as an alsufficient Saviour My Flesh is Meat indeed and my Blood is Drink indeed sayes he and he that eateth me even he shall live by me John 6.55 57. It reveals him in the infinite vertue of his Blood the inexhaustible fulness of his Grace the compleatness of his Obedience the excellency of his Righteousness the perfection of his Satisfaction and the like and thus should our Faith eye and apprehend him O labour for such a notion and apprehension of Christ as this is as ever you would believe aright and be indeed espoused to Christ labour for a found clear distinct knowledge of him as the great object of Faith Pray much for a Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation in the knowledge of him that was the Apostles prayer for the Ephesians in this case Ephes 1.7 and let it be yours for your selves III. Would you pitch your Faith aright upon Christ and be indeed espoused to him Then be sure to make a right choice or election of him being thus known and apprehended To have a right notion and apprehension of Christ is good and necessary in order to union with him by believing but 't is not enough no Christ being known and apprehended must also be chosen and embraced by us and that as he is revealed and offered in the Gospel To know and apprehend Christ is an act of the Mind or Understanding but to chuse and embrace Christ is an act of the Will and Affections and though Faith has its rise and inchoation in the mind yet its complement and perfection it has in the Will and Affections these liking chusing and embracing of him and that in a way sutable to what the mind sees and apprehends concerning him and this must be added to the former or there is no right believing and so no conjugal union and communion with Christ Observemus fidei sedem non in cerebro esse sed in corde quoniam cordis nomen pro serio et sincero affectu fere capitur dice firmam esse efficacem fiduciam non nudam tantum notionem Calv. Hence that of the Apostle With the heart Man believeth unto Righteousness Rom. 10.10 True believing then is with the Heart now by the Heart here as also generally elsewhere in Scripture is meant the Will and Assections accordingly to believe with the Heart is for the Will and Affections to chuse and embrace Christ as he is revealed and offered in the Gospel this is called a receiving of Christ John 1.12 We receive Christ into our Wills when we chuse him and adhere to him for Life and Salvation and we receive him into our affections when we love him desire him and delight in him and this is believing To believe sayes Calvin is nothing else but to chuse and embrace Christ with a sincere affection of mind as he is reveal'd and offer'd in the Gospel And this indeed is the great vital act of Faith and that whereby our Conjugal-Union and Communion with Christ is more especially brought about This is that which makes Christ ours and puts us into the possession of him Mary sayes Christ has chosen the better part which shall never be taken from her Luke 10.42 She had chosen Christ and her choice of him had made him her own and so her own as that she could never lose him never be deprived of him Indeed a right choice of Christ makes him ours it unites us to him and interests us in him for ever A little further to help you in this business know that a right choice of Christ is accomplish't by these three steps 1. The Soul apprehending Christ as before likes him and approves of him as the best and most sutable Saviour the most lovely and desirable object in Heaven or Earth The Soul sayes of Christ as they did of the Land of Canaan Numb 14.7 The Land say they is an exceeding good Land So this Christ sayes the Soul is an exceeding good Christ this Saviour is an exceeding good Saviour there 's none like him there 's no beauty like his Beauty no blood like his Blood no fulness like his Fulness no love like his Love 2. The Soul desires him and longs after him and that with a strong ardent and vigorous affection This is call'd hungring and thirsting after Christ Matth. 5.6 The Soul seeing Christ and approving of him longingly cries out O a Christ a Christ O that this good Christ were mine 3. The Soul is by Grace sweetly and powerfully determined upon Christ so as actually to make a solemn and deliberate choice of him singling him out from all other things in Heaven and Earth as the best and most desirable good and most worthy of his dearest and most intimate embraces The Soul now pitches his choice upon Christ to be his Head and Husband his Lord and Saviour his rest his treasure his happiness his all for ever Now by these steps see that you come up to make a right choice of Christ be sure that you like him and approve of him as the best and most desirable object in Heaven or Earth Truly if you view him aright you can't but like him and