infinite desire to a further and still further taste of his love and of a nearer communion with him And so whether we regard the nature of love which is never satisfied or whether wee consider Christs infinite riches manifest in his truth there must be an in satiable mind of desire in a Christian to bee further filled with and more fully assured of the love of Christ. Where grace is there is a further desire of growing in grace and it is an higher degree of love to desire an enjoying of the presence of Christ then to desire to enjoy heaven it selfe which cannot be yet Therefore here let us try our love by our labouring for that sight of Christ w ch we may have of him in this life below and here lot us desire often and much to see him in his ordinances where hee manifests himselfe in a speciall manner Therefore I say art thou sicke and in prison or so lame of thy limbes that thon canst not come to the assembly and is it therefore thy greatest trouble and the great greefe of thy soule that thou art thus shut out from the presence of Christ and the Angells in his ordinances and from the congregation of the Saints where he by familiar kisses useth to manifest his love to thee and to them and if so it is well But here I cannot but wonder how some persons dare to take upon them the name of Christianitie and yet thinke the men too holy and the course too strict that lookes that way Surely such want the true Character of a right Christian which is to have a further and further desire of the manifestation of Christs love Many of these neglect the ordinances of God or if they come where they may bee had never desire by them a further increase as it were the inward kisses of Christs mouth but content themselves with the outward even the barke of those ordinances When the Spirit should witnesse and seale up this love the love of Christ to their soules by an inward kisse they content themselves with the outward the bare hearing of the word But mark what I say where this further desire of familiaritie with Christ is not there is but a barren soile and soule of a Christian there is no true taste of Christs love for if there were there would be a further desire of growth in that affection There are some that make a faire profession like unto many that marry to cloake their adultery for so such professe Christ to cover their strong covetousnesse and other strong faults that they may have more libertie to commit sin But Christians truly religious must not content themselves with outwardnesse in these kisses but give as the outward man so the sacrifice of the inwaid the soule unto God Let those that finde after such tryall these desires springing up in them comfort themselves in this that they are Christs and that Christ will manifest his love more and more unto them For he hath promised to grant the desires of the righteous Hast thou then a longing desire to have a further taste of the love of Christ Vse the meanes conscionably and then be sure that Christ this Ioseph will open himselfe further and further unto thee and thy soule shall know it This for one use Another is for exhortation and spirituall direction as how wee shall come to a further assurance signe and fruit of this love of Christ. My beloved if we desire it wee must labour to have first chast judgements and secondly chast affections A chast judgement from errour heresie and schisme and affections chast from the world from pleasures and the like for Christ is wonderfull jealous both of our judgements and of our love Therefore Paul desires to present the Corinths a pure Virgin unto Christ. And further as we must affect goodnesse so wee must professe truth wee must have chast judgements as well as chast affections the Spouse of Christ as shee is pure in affections so shee is is pure in judgement shee heares his voyce and followes him Whatsoever comes not from the Word she receives not but rejects it And as her judgement is right set so her affections are pure and holy Now therefore labour for these that is for chast affections Christ will not have us to divide our affections some for him and some for the world or partly for pleasures and partly for him no hee will not have it so for a fire divided hath lesse heat Hee will have the whole heart and the whole of our affections or he will have neither heart nor affection If wee give our hearts to the world or to the pleasures of the world the love of which is enmity with God then have wee an adulterous heart which to doe is a double sinne as it is for a wife to commit whoredome for in her whoredome there is a breach of chastitie and breach of the marriage band And indeed to embrace the world after we are contracted unto Christ what is it lesse then whoredome and a breach of covenant in our spirituall contract with Christ therefore beware of worldly-mindednesse which as glew will tie all thy affections so fast to the earth that thou shalt not be able to lift any to Christ. Take heede of the pleasures of the world least they drowne thy soule in perdition and destruction as the Apostle saith 1 Tim. 6. 9. for many soules hath this Sea covered even of those that have professed with the best and have gone for good Christians But thirdly if wee will grow in the assurance of the love of Christ and have more familiar kisses of his mouth then labour we to get an humble heart by searching out our owne great unworthinesse in respect of what wee are or were by nature Indeed we may disparage our credits by abasing our selves in respect of men but never can wee be too much humbled to our Saviour in acknowledging our selves unworthy of all that wee have There is no danger in debasing our selves to our Saviour nay 't is for our greater honour with God for those that thus honour him hee will honour and grace with his blessings who giveth grace to the humble In such a Spirit he delights to dwell as a man at home Esay 66. 3. Let us with all humilitie then acknowledge all to bee from his free grace and with Iacob that we our selves are lesse then the least of his mercies Againe fourthly if wee will grow in the assurance of the love of Christ let us give Christ no peace nor take any nay of him till hee hath given us the sweet kisses of his love Many times he delayes the manifesting of his love but what though yet waite thou his pleasure he hath waited long upon thee We see Mary Magdalen what a doe shee made when shee could not finde Christ at last he manifested himselfe unto her and called her by her name demanding for
manifest himselfe more and more by his word by his graces and by his Spirit As therefore then the desire of the Church was for the comming of Christ so now that which Christians should desire and long after is not that Christ might come to them but that they might goe to him and that they might bee with him in glory They love his appearance but because this cannot be yet though the Church be still in expectation therefore he desireth to heare his words or that hee would kisse her with his mouth in his Word And yet that is not all neither but that shee might finde his Spirit now walking with her here and further that he would kisse her with his mouth by encreasing his good graces in her and by manifesting his love unto her this is the desire of her soule This is the whole suit of the Christian Church and of every Christian soule namely that Christ would thus kisse her and that he would reveale himselfe every day more and more unto her in his Word in his Sacraments by his Spirit and by increase of graces with a plentifull addition This I say is the desire of the Church and it is the desire also of every Christian faithfull soule even that Christ would thus breath upon her with the holy kisses of his lippes And now wee come to the ground of this desire taken from the excellency of the love of Christ which is here sayd by an experience of the whole of Christianitie and by the particular of every Christian soule to bee sweeter then wine From hence wee note two things First that every Christian soule and the Spouse in generall hath a sweete taste of the love of Christ even in this life 2. That after this contract and taste of this love shee hath ever springing up in her a further desire of the encrease and manifestation thereof For the first As after the contract there is a more and more evident manifestation of love then was before yet not so full as after the marriage so Christ though hee doe give his Spouse a taste of his love here and sends certaine love tokens unto her from heaven some graces whereby his love is made more manifest then before it was as Isaack sent to Rebecka some Iewels and Bracelets to manifest his love to her yet his love is not fully manifested in this life but is kept close untill the day of the great solemnitie But because Christ cannot delight in his Spouse unlesse she be decked with some of his graces here therefore here hee gives hee some hand sells of them which are not onely a taste of his favours but the fruite of his love The reasons are divers The first reason is because hee would minister to her some solace after the long time of her absence from him and that shee might not faint but having some sweet taste of his love here might stay her stomacke upon that somewhat in hand till the day wherein the Lord Christ will fully manifest his love unto her The Lord seeth that his children are apt to bee opprest with heavinesse here and therefore he gives them a taste as the earnest of the bargaine till the whole come that is somewhat to comfort them till that come that will wipe away all teares and shut out sorrow when there shall be no woe Secondly the Lord gives his children a sweet taste of his love here that by weaknesse and frailty they might not fall away and so lose their first love but if they should slip that then they might recover their first grounds and say with the Church wee will goe and returne to our first husband for it was better with us then then now Hos. 2. 7. so strong was that love and so sweet that wee had from him Thirdly and this is because the manifestation of this his love doth wonderfully strengthen a Christian causing him to goe lightly through the heaviest affliction for when Christ assures a Christian of his love then no affliction will seeme grievous but hee 'l through all hee 'l suffer whatsoever shall be fall him for Christs sake with joy Lastly Christ gives his Church and so every Christian a taste of his love in this life because he knowes we have many temptations in this world which are ready to steale away our affections and to rob God of his part in us as carnall pleasures riches honours and the like Now that these might not draw away our affections he gives us a taste of his love which is better then all these and all things else sweeter then the sweetest wine or best thing that can bee desired I say God gives us the first fruits of his love here and it is that our affections might be preserved chast to him and wee kept from wandering in the love of a stranger And so hee gives us a sweet taste of his love in this life that neither afflictions on our left hand might too much presse us downe or discomfort us nor the pleasures and delights of this life on our right steale us from God The use is to teach us to admire at the goodnesse of God in this that he is pleased so to provide for us that is so sufficiently as to keepe us from being too much overcome with heavinesse through the multitude of temptations and afflictions which in this life wee are subject unto and to expell the bitternesse there of with the sweetnesse of his love as with Sugar in the cup and all to have us fast unto himselfe and our affections proper unto him And so wee come to the second Doctrine which is this That the Church and so every Christian after this contract and first taste of Christs love and evermore springing up in him an insa tiable desire after a further taste and deeper pledge of that love The reasons why are two The first may bee taken from the nature of true love which is never satisfied And hence it is that though Christ give his Spouse a taste of his love in his word by sending his Embassadours his Ministers with his love-letters unto her in the Gospell giving her therein a large volume of his love as also in the seale of his Spirit and Sacramēnts those love-tokens and in many other worthy influences yet all this cannot satisfie her thirsty and more desiring soule but Christ having thus manifested his love unto her in the first fruits shee must have more of the same and still longs to have a further assurance The second reason may bee drawne from Christs infinite riches who therefore is so infinite in his gifts and glory in his power in his bountie in his pleasures joyes and the like that we know no end thereof He hath all things All power is given him in heaven and in earth every way infinite in himselfe and in his bounties infinitely magnificent and how then can the Spouse but have an
what shee wept and whom she sought but it was some time first Doe thou as she give him no rest take no deniall of him nor give off till he answer thee for hee will doe it first or last What did the woman of Canaan shee gave Christ no rest till hee did encline unto her So Iacob wrestled with God would not let him goe till he had assured him of his love and favour he I say who hath promised to grant the desires of the righteous O then hath he given thee any the like strong desire after him continue constant importuning him by earnest and fervent prayer and not taking off till he incline unto thee Hee cannot stand out with thee long hee cannot deny thee though he differ for some time and cause best knowne to himselfe the assurance will come and though it tarry doe thou waite Hab. 2. 3. Fiftly and againe take every thing for thine advantage and improve thy former experience as what former love and favour power and fidelitie and stabilitie thou hast had and make thy benefit of them all to thy best helpe and till hee answer thee as hee will at last and as hee did the woman of Canaan plead hard for thy selfe as shee till then Christ accounts her a Dog Matth. 15. 26. I am indeed so saith shee but meane time takes good advantage of his words and thereby pleades strongly for herselfe no otherwise then the servants of Benhadad who watched the words of Ahab and drew comfort from them 1 King 20. 33. So here make thou thy plea strong by thine owne experience and take all advantages God hath beene thus and thus good unto thee for many yeares these and these meanes hee hath given thee and thus and thus they have wrought for thy good therefore say then I will for this follow him still and untill hee assure mee of his love in a further degree and further doe for me Sixtly but see thou bee modest in thy desires of this kind Desire no great matter at the first that is not so full an assurance of this love of Christ at the beginning of thy desires but with observation and attendance fitting And here observe the degrees of these kisses and manifestation of this love The theefe on the Crosse desired but to bee remembred of Christ when hee came into his Kingdome no more but to bee remembred and so no great matter So doe thou doe but desire a taste of his love though never so little For so the deare children of God have done They have first desired the pardon of their sinnes which obtained they have proceeded to more as humbly to beg such and such graces of the Spirit as seales to assure them further and further to seale up his love unto them with his nearer communion But this communion is not alway felt I answer if Christ be strange to us the fault is our owne not his for he is all love And so it is eyther because our loose hearts runne after some carnall contents and what marvell then that Christ should shew himself strange unto us who runne from him and that wee should goe mourning all the day long without any sense of his love Or else it is because we will not seeke for these his kisses that is for a further taste of his love as wee should in his ordinances or because we doe not exercise those graces that wee have as is required by our attending upon them and by resting by Faith upon Gods promise for a blessing Or because wee are negligent to stir up those graces of God in us by private duties or because wee trust our selves to bad companies and to persons led about with evill desires or possessed with an evill Spirit Or because God would exercise and try our Faith and so let us see our selves that is in our owne naturall state of weakenesse For thus hee left Peter Otherwise it is Christs nature to manifest himselfe and his love unto his by the familiar kisses of his mouth Now search into your hearts and you shall finde that these or such like as these are the causes why Christ is strange unto you and why you are so sencelesse of your communion with him Consider yet againe when it is and at what time that we have Christs sweetest kisses and are most refreshed with his loving countenance It is not when wee lay our strength all of it upon good meanes and so when wee strive with God in prayer and labour in all humility rightly and profitably to use all his holy ordinances Marke these well as the meanes to preserve and encrease the assurance of Christs love in you And further consider by what meanes and how you may fall into this deadnesse of heart and what were the causes of it Secondly observe how you may come to have most communion with Christ and at what time and after what performances as to be able to say I was thus and thus dead and sencelesse of Christs love but now I am thus and thus comforted and refreshed with it I was strong for my pleasures now I am strongly bent to please God and my selfe no way with his dishonour I was all for my selfe now I am the least part of my selfe so God may have all I denyed my selfe nothing now I pull in all things and resigne up my selfe and all to Gods will If thus wee deny our selves in every thing and serve God in all and this because wee will breake away from all impediments in heavenly courses God will be sure to recompence us in spirituall things abundantly yea and in temporall also so farre as he shall see them to be good for us Adde yet this consideration more that when thou wast afflicted and hadst none to comfort thee that then and even then the Lord was most sweet unto thee that then he refreshed thy soule with the balsome of his love Consider this and thou canst not but know what mouth hath kissed thee These may helpe us much in getting a further assurance of Christs love â—â—e stirred up therefore to a desire to be where Christ is and to have the kisses of his love in his ordinances so often as wee have a tender of them So shall we get more store and further testimonie of his favour and so shall wee more encrease in grace and communion with Christ. So shall wee never want good assurance for a good estate in heaven or comfort in any other estate For cast such a man into a Dungeon hee hath a Paradise there And why there Because Christ comes to him Further if wee have this coÌ„munion with Christ then though we are compassed about with death death shall not affright us because the great God is with us Doe with such a man what you will cast him into hell if it were possible hee having a sweet communion with Christ would be joyfull even in that prison of
the damned And take this with you the more sence you have of the love of Christ the lesse you will regard the pleasures the riches or contempts of the world And indeed what joy can bee compared with this that the soule hath communion with Christ All the world is nothing to this And now seeing you cannot require this love of Christ yet shew your love to him as you may and as you may manifest your love to his members and kisse them with the kisses of your love Doe good to the poore especially to those poore that have the Church of God in their Families As the woman powred her oyle on the head of Christ so doe you powre some of yours upon the feete of Christ. That which yee would doe to him if hee were here that doe to his members in whom he is after a sort present with you Thereby you may further your communion with him and make him your debter then as one saith well hee can be no loser that makes God his debter THE POWER OF Christs Resurrection COLOS. 3. 1. If yee he risen with Christ seeke those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God THis Verse hath dependance on the second Chapter before the twelve and thirteen Verses of that Chapter where the Apostle tells the Colossians that they were risen with Christ from the dead by Faith and quickned by the Spirit that raised him hereupon followes this inference If therefore yee be risen with Christ shew it by seeking after those things which are in heaven or are heavenly The Apostle had much adoe to roote out those dangerous seedes of conceit which false teachers had sowen upon these Colossians touching some legall ceremonies as touch not taste not handle not he tells them that these dead things have no life of use now and that therefore if they be risen with Christ they must fall to other matter seeking those things that are above These ceremonies were indeede appointed by God at the first but now being ended and brought to their grave they must be buried there never to rise againe And therefore no more to be revived as being not dead onely but deadly As I sayd the Apostle finding their hearts tainted with this false doctrine having first sought by purging to drive it out of their hearts and liking he now begins to season them with that truth which is after godlinesse that is with heavenly and other truths and doctrines not of men such as were those of these false Apostles but of God where hee begins with generall instructions and then proceeds to particular callings as of husbands and wives of parents and masters of children and servan's Now because the well managing of the particular duties of these particular callings depends on a good principle that is that they bee sound in Christianitie which is the generall Therefore hee begins first to season their hearts with that grace of their generall callings knowing that it is so much the easier to bee good in their particular callings when they are first good in the generall But if not good in the generall then never good in the particular If a good man then a good husband a good father and a good master fit for any good service but if not a good man then good for nothing So a woman if a good woman then a good wife and good in any calling So for children and servants if good in the generall then good in the particular also But to come to the order of these words they containe first a ground and then an inference upon that ground If you be risen with Christ there is the ground then seeke the things that are above there is the inference From the ground observe two things First that Christ is risen himselfe Secondly that wee therefore shall rise For the first It is an Article of our Faith and the Holy Ghost hath taken a great deale of paines to prove it It is the confidence of Christians it is the maine or free hold that wee have for wee hold all by the resurrection of Christ as of fee and wee have sixteene apparitions of him to prove this Besides it was impossible that hee should bee held of the bonds of death Impossible I say being invested with these three offices of King Priest and Prophet Impossible as hee was King for how then could hee have triumphed over his enemies here and in hell Impossible as hee was Priest for if hee had not risen how could hee have made daily intercession for us as he doth And lastly impossible as he was a Prophet for else how could he have instructed his people in doctrines of salvation But when rose hee wee say with the Scriptures and our Creede the third day Now as Christ rose and rose the third day manifesting thereby that he was dead and this after so great basenesse for his greater glory So it is to teach us that as it was with him so it is with all his members never nearer helpe then when at the worst nor more glorious then when basest for Christ for then it appeares to bee Gods owne worke who therefore will raise them to glory that he may be glorified in and by them When therefore wee are in any distresse voyd of the helpe of man then God will come in and raise us up whether in our credit estate or persons c. onely therefore let us have patience for a while and waite his comming But as Christ is risen so we shall rise Hee is the meritorious cause of our resurrection hee hath deserved that wee should rise Also he is the worker of it and by that same power whereby he rose againe by the same will he raise up us at the last day He is every way the cause of our rising and hereupon we are risen with him As hee was a publick person in his death and as upon the Crosse hee stood in the place of all the elect so as all their sinnes committed or foreseene to be committed were layd upon him and hee bare the iniquitie of us all so after and now he freed himselfe and us by his Resurrection First he freed himselfe of his suretiship our bond was taken up and our debt payd where justice lost not a penny by us So wee were freed in him and for him and therefore he rising wee are to rise with him for what should hold us in the grave now that deaths bands are loosed or shal the head be above water and the members perish in it But further to speake of the Resurrection This Resurrection of Christ is twofold spirituall and corporall spirituall when wee take life from Christ and being quickned by him begin to rise with him corporall when our bodies shall bee raised at the last day When wee beleeve that Christ is dead for our sinnes our sinnes are then in their grave and Christ is