measure of the gift received are as truly Christs words now John 6.63 as when hee was here on earth else how could Paul say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. according to the eies sight that Christ came and preached to the Ephesians and was evidently crucified before the Galatians as t is Eph. 2.17 and Gal. 3.1 neither of whom heard of Christ till after his ascension I hope it will bee no pride but a gratefull and necessary witnesse to the grace of Christ if I say I have both spoke and writ the truth as it is in Jesus and as the Spirit hath given utterance Yea and that in a measure also I can say that those things which I have heard and seen I have declared unto you that your joy might bee full I know nothing so directly tending to both the truth and fulnesse of a Saints joy of which I account my self obliged to bee a helper as the knowledge of the love of Christ 2 Cor. 1. ult Now this is the subject I treat of And this I desire to put you in remembrance of as knowing nothing more strong and constraining unto duty 2 Cor. 5.14 than joy springing forth of this well of salvation I shall not trouble you with a large Epistle Four words only in this publick view for so is printing I shall leave with you as my witnesse unto Christ in some present truths now denied which I desire may never bee a witnesse against you 1. That Jesus whom wee preach and whose love wee declare is the same Christ still i.e. the same God in mans nature which is the choyce thing in him capable of being anoynted 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the self same not another and so of making him Christ hee that ascended is the same that descended and hee that descended is the same also that ascended as t is Eph. 4.9 10. Hee still retains the human nature which once hee took and so is still not only the same God but man It s true the manhood or flesh of Christ is now glorified but t is not annihilated his body is made glorious but still t is in body The man is set down on the right hand of God Heb. 10.12 2. This Jesus shall come again in the same mannâ—r in which hee did ascend as hee was visible even to the eyes of the flesh when hee went away so shall hee bee seen in like manner comming again Act. 1.10.11 Hee is not so swallowed up in Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as that hee is gone out of the flesh But albeit his all and onely presence bee now in Spirit yet hee shall come again and all eyes shall see him and they also who pierced him and all kindreds of the earth as it is Apoc. 1.7 Whoever shall say these Scriptures are not to bee taken in the letter I know I have the mind of Christ if I say in this hee hath not the Spirit 3. That till this comming again wee are to wait for him and upon him in the spiritual and yet external observation of the Ordinances of the Gospel And in them wee are to expect and shall find the sweet and spiritual incomes of himself in discoveries of that love of which I treat 4 That in the day of Christs comming again those Ministers will bee found blessed Lu. 12.42 who as faithfull and wise Stewards shal be found giving the houshold their portion of meat in due season And these Saints will be blamelesse who in that day shall bee sound exercised in and yet living above the observation of preaching fellowship prayers and breaking of bread which Christ hath commanded to bee kept up til hee come And now beloved what is the panting of my Spirit both for my own soul for yours and for all the Saints Is it not this that the morning of that day would dawn Is it not Christ is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the day dawning and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. the light bringer and he is also the morning star that the shaddows would fly away and that the day spring from on high might again in the glory of Christ God and man visit us Surely these are the daily groanings of the Spirit in mee But with these there is also a mixture of sighs oh that the Spirit would make us diligent that wee may bee found of him in peace 2 Pet. 3.14 without spot and blamelesse and oh that we may bee counted worthy to escape all these things which in part are already come to passe and to stand before the son of man yea and oh that when the Lord shall call us to an account concerning the oracles Rom. 3.2 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. to commit as a choice treasure the ordinances which he hath committed to us wee may be found First neither as having defiled them with our own inventions Nor Secondly as dis-esteeming them upon pretence of our attainments No nor thirdly to have made them our rest and confidence But I shal sigh the rest in secret I beseech you beleeve that my heart underwrites this that I am Yours intirely affectionate in the love and labour of the Gospell JOHN DURANT A word to the Reader IN these Sermons I presume thou wilt perceive the plainnesse of man and my prayer is that thou mayest likewise perceive the power of the Spirit The time of their preaching was some eleven years since even the noon of the day of Englands trouble At that time they were accounted seasonable The matter of them is some Gospell light of the glorious love of Christ and this makes mee think they can never bee unseasonable The manner of their delivery was as it ought to bee not with enticeing words of mans wisdome But in the simplicity plainness of the Gospel The end was and is next to Christs glory thy good O beleever who ever thou art and if this bee not attained I must cry out I have laboured in vain And Two requests I have unto thee The first is that thou charitably cover the failings of the Preacher Remember the heavenly treasure of the Gospel is in earthen vessels The second is that thou carefully correct the Errata's of the Printer which by reason of my absence from the Presse could not bee avoided If to these two thou wilt over and above adde thy prayers for mee that I may still bee inabled from an experimental knowledge of Gospel truths so publish the same unto poor souls Thou wilt doe more than requite mee for my pains in this even oblige mee to a publication of some other Papers In hope whereof I subscribe my self Thine in the sincerity and strength of Gospel-love John Durant SERMON I. EPHES. 3 ver 19. And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge KNowledge is the perfection of the Rational Creature It is that whereby we come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as the Philosopher speaks i. e. to partake of Divinity to
wee should know Secondly I say it is of necessary concernment some knowledge may bee of accidentall concernment to be known which is not of necessary concernment some things indeed as being accidentall to some greater truth and the discovery thereof are in that respect of concernment to be known and so may concern a man to endeavour for the knowledge thereof But now this knowledge hath a necessity laid upon it and woe be to every soule that knoweth not the love of Christ Thirdly I adde it is of necessary concernment for every Christian some truths there are which albeit they may be of necessary concernment for some persons who are as it were anointed with an higher anointing and imployed in a more speciall way as officers in the Church c. may yet not bee of such necessary concernment to all But now this knowledge whereof we are speaking is of necessary concernment for every soule that is named by the name of Christ and so pretends to be a Christian but especially every soul that is united to Jesus Christ and so is indeed a Christian ought to labour for a solid knowledge of the love of Christ As the Fathers in Christs School are not above this knowledge so neither the babes and children in Christs School are beneath it but all even the one and the other are bound and it lyeth upon them as that which doth concern them very near and very necessary to know this love of Christ which passeth knowledge One word I shal only adde by way of Caution I do not speak neither would I have you understand mee as if this were the only knowledge to bee laboured for Indeed it is the sovereign but not the sole knowledge which Christians should desire and endeavour to obtain In all that therefore I shall speak I desire to be understood not exclusively shutting out other truths but as inclusively and eminently driving at this in a peculiar manner And as Christ said with reference to doing Those things you ought to have done that is especially and not leaving the other undone i.e. altogether neglect I say in like manner of knowing the knowledge of the love of Christ you ought especially to labour for as a thing of more choice and speciall and necessary concernment but you are not altogether to neglect the knowledge of other Gospell-truths as if they were of no necessity or of no necessary concernment at all For the Proof I shall not need to adde many places it being so fully laid down in this Certainly this wise Apostle Paul would never have so earnestly and particularly begged of God that the Ephesians might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge if it were not of speciall and necessary concernment for them I shall only adde to this his desire for the Ephesians that determination of his for himself which he expresseth to the Corinthians I am determined saith he not to know any thing among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified Now the knowledge of Jesus Christ crucified as I hinted once before is the knowledge of Christ in his love Though the whole life of Jesus Christ was but as it hath been shewed like one great Sermon of love yet the death of Christ was as it were a longer and clearer Sermon of love than all his life was Never did Christ speak love more fully and more freely than when he was as it were in that Pulpit the Crosse Now then if certainly Paul did determine to know nothing but this wee may safely conclude both from his determination for himself and his desire for the Ephesians that the knowledge of Christs transcendent love especially in a clear experimentall way is of necessary concernment for every Christian I shall offer some reasons to make this point yet clearer First The knowledge of the love of Christ contains in it the summe of the Gospell Christ being the sum of the Gospell and love the sum of Christ God so loved the World that hee gave Christ and Christ so loved the world that hee gave himself containes in it the morrow and pith of all the Gospell This little word love written in the golden letters of free-grace upon the bosome of Jesus Christ is an epitomy of the Gospell Look as O love the father is the fulfilling of the Law so Christs love to us is the fullnesse of the Gospell You have done the Law if you love God sincerely and you understand the Gospel if you know Christs love soundly Secondly The knowledge of Christs love is of necessary concernment because it containeth in iâ— the chiefest motive to duty You will never doe duty at least with that sweetnesse in your own spirits which you should and with that acceptation of God which you would if you do not act from a principle of love Now the love of Christ known to us is that which chiefly enflameth our love to him what was the reason that notwithstanding that love that God shewed to Israel when he was a child taught him to goe taking him by the armes had not that impression upon Israel which it should have the Prophet hinteth the reason because Israel knew it not Hos 11.3 God shewed but Israel did not understand his love and therefore it was that Israel would not walk answerable thereunto In like manner wee shall never walk answerable by doing our duty for I take duty to be at least an answer of love in case wee doe not know what the love is wherewithall Christ hath loved us Paul was more abundant than all â—he rest of the Apostles were in his â—abours And surely this might be â—he reason that happily hee understood more of the love of Christ than the rest did Hence it may be that it is that you have that expression in the 2 Cor. 4.14 The love of Christ constraineth us The consideration of Christs love which Paul came to have by the knowledge thereof it was as it were a whole croud or throng of Arguments or like to a whole siedge of motives for the word will bear both metaphors unto Paul 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 see Luk. 8.45 and Luke 19.43 both to dye and to suffer for Jesus Christ There is no soul but needeth a spurre to duty being dull in himself Now the knowledge of the love of Christ being of such speciall efficacy this way must needs also be of necessary concernment for every Christian Thirdly Christs love is a fountain of a beleevers life and therefore it must needs bee of necessary concernment for a beleever to know it in as much as he cannot live without it verily this is life eternall to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge If it bee of necessary concernment for the soul to live it must be also of necessary concernment to know Christs love in as much as without the one hee cannot enjoy the other I live saith Paul but how by the faith now faith is but a higher degree of knowledge
liberally to those that ask and upbraideth no man Then ask of him much Beg of him a wise and an understanding heart to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge Intreat God that thou mayest be taught of him to know what is the love of himself and of his Son As Christ saith Every man that hath heard and learned of the Father cometh to me So every Soul that the Father teacheth will quickly learn to know what is the love of Christ to beleevers And that thou mayest bee able to know the love of Christ in its luster beg of God to bestow upon thee his Spirit Christ hath said The Father will give the Spirit to him that asketh him And the Apostle saith As no man knoweth the things of a man but the spirit of a man which is in him so none can know the things of Christ but the Spirit of Christ Go to the Lord Jesus and remember him of his promise Tell him he hath promised to send his Spirit and that when the Spirit is come he shall take of Christ and shew it unto the Soul Intreat him therefore to shew his Spirit and intreat him also that his Spirit would come with the shedding abroad of his love Say O! that the Spirit would take of thy love and shed it into me and O! that he would shed it abroad into mine heart that I may be able with all Saints to comprehend the height and the depth and the length and the breadth of the love of Christ and that I may be able also to know that love which passeth knowledge Having thus hinted a few words as concerning the means how we may attain the knowledg of Christs love I shall now adde a word or two concerning the manner how we should behave our selves in the use of this means while we study the knowledge of Christs love and for this take these directions First Be very exact Exactness is requisite in all studies but especially in this Gather up O Beleever all the crumbs and filings of this gold Christs love When thou readest any thing concerning Christ be exact to observe the smiles of his countenance the words of his lips the gesture of his hands the turning of his eye love doth thus observe them Sic oculos sic ille manus sic ora ferebat Observation was made of eyes and of hands and of countenance so doe thou observe be very curious â—o study this love in all its circumstâ—â—ces in all its doings in all its demonstrations If ever you would shew exactnesse in any study shew it in this Doubtlesse the exacter you are in this study the clearer you will be able to comprehend Christs love Secondly be loving Those know most of Christs love to them who abound most in love to him John seemeth to be most loving of all the Disciples and therefore hee seemeth to have the greatest knowledge of Christs love he was so happy as to lean on the bosome of the Lord Jesus and to him was revealed more than to the rest of the Apostles Look as that man doth but in vain expect mercy of God who is without mercy himself so doth that soul in vain desire to know Christs love who is without all love himself you may doe well to observe the context here in this 3 Ephes 17 18 19. v. The Apostle saith that you Being rooted and grounded in love may bee able to comprehend with all Saints what is the length breadth and depth and height of the love of Christ c. To be grounded in love is an excellent way to comprehend love And doubtless Christ will bee very kind in the revelations of his love to those in whom hee observes the workings of love Thirdly bee very admiring in all the study let all your reading bee mixed with admiration at every love-passage of Christ sit and meditate at every word of love stay and wonder adore the glory of that light which appeareth in any beam of love And in the admiration of that love which doth appear cast thy self at the feet of Christ and cry out O the depth of love in thee O the riches of the love of thy bosome that shouldest thus let out thy self to beleevers Lastly when thou comest as it were at a stand and canst not comprehend the transcendency of this love Imitate the Philosopher and cast thy self into that sea of love which thou wouldest fain fathome or sound and art not able Let that love comprehend thee which thou canst not comprehend thy self Emerge and drown thy self in that vast Ocean of thy Saviours bosome and because thou art not able with any line of thine to sound the depth sink thy very Soul that it may be able to taste that which thy study will not help thee so much as to see I shall now adde but a word to stir you up in the use of these means and in this manner hinted seriously to prosecute the sweet study of the love of Christ First I might tell you That all the time that you spend in this study will be very delightful and very profitable and you will have no reason to repent thereof Those who have spent or rather mis-spent their time in reading of the fine Histories of feigned Loves have at last been forced to confess their follies in so doing That well-deserving person Sir Philip Sidney is reported to have lamented upon his Death-bed the mis-spending of those parts which God had given him in the penning of that well-penned peece his Arcadia But surely beleevers to lye upon a Death-bed and to consider that although all thy time were every hour thereof spent in the study of Christs love you will bee so farre from repenting of it as that you will have just cause to rejoyce in it But not to urge this doe but Secondly consider the times in which we live How little love is there in these dayes surely the love of many is waxen cold though it bee pressed much yet it is but little practised Though all pretend to complain of the want of love and seem to presse the exercise of love Yet where is the man that maketh it the sweetnesse of his life to let others tast the sweetnesse of his love Surely while there is such little love among men it is but meet that we should study the love that is in Christ But Thirdly especially consider the sweetnesse that the knowledge of the love of Christ will bring to thy soul in any case Little do you know what comfort is wrapped up in the knowledge of Christs love How oft doth but a thought of this revive the spirits of the fainting Saints With what a composure of spirit is a beleeve able to behave himself in any tribulation when he knoweth that the love of his Saviour is without knowledge Without the knowledge of this love nothing will bee sweet but with the knowledge of this love nothing can be bitter And this is that which we shall come unto
A Discovery of GLORIOUS LOVE OR The Love of Christ to Beleevers Opened In the Truth thereof In the Transcendency and thereof In the Sweetnesse thereof Together with the necessity that lyes upon every Beleever to strive after the Spirituall and Experimentall knowledge of it Being the sum of VI Sermons Preached upon Ephesians 3.19 By JOHN DURANT Preacher of the Gospel in the City of Canterbury 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. Wee will make thy love to be remembred more than wine Cant. 1.4 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. He brought me into the house of wine his banner over me was love Cant 2.4 London Printed for R. I. to be sold by W. Gilbert son at the Bible in Guilt-spur-street without New-gate 1655. To the Right Honourable Robert Earl of Warwick c. My Noble Lord I Presume your Lordship well knows that Christs love is our soul and therefore sole life Then and indeed not till then do wee live when wee injoy divine love Our bosomes cannot breath forth the breath of life before Christ breaths in the breath of love Indeed it s the misery of most that they are strangers to this truth To speak to many of the Lord Jesus and to tell them of a life in love above what sence feels and of a comfort a glory a happinesse flowing from thence far surmounting what sight fees is a mystery which they cannot perceive nor indeed beleeve for t is foolishnesse unto them Not onely the News-mongers at Athens counted this News which they never heard of But even the Philosophers there themselves accounted Pauls preaching of these things a strange doctrine But I hope I may without either falsenesse or flattery say your Honour is well acquainted with these things As experimentally knowing that all your honour joy felicity lyes in this that you know the love of Christ passing knowledge And this is one ground of this dedication of these ensuing Sermons But it s not the onely ground For I desire by this also to declare to the world and your self how sensible and mindfull I am of those obligations which your Honour hath laid upon mee not onely by your owning of and respect unto my person but which I prize most my Ministry His person is above my praise whose pen hath blotted the common way of dedications Quia laudatur â—laudatoviro est la is vera But his ground was because for the most part they only flatter And yet hee allows of dedications when the argument of the Book agrees with the person whom its dedicated to Sir Francis Bacon de augment sâ—en lib. 1. page 19. The considâ—ration of which I hope as hath been hinted will secure mee from his or others censure Besides I know there is a difference between flattery and gratitude though the one bee odious as a vice yet the other is amiable as a vertue And t is at this which I have aimed in this dedication I know that the bare remembrance how gratefull soever of favours received is no requital But yet though it serves not to remunerate the favour yet 't will to vindicate the benefactor that hee hath not ill bestowed his benefits My Lord If I say that I cannot requite all your favours it s no more than all know And if I say that Christ can it s no more than I know you beleeve and I desire T will bee no over-exalting of Christs love nor any diminution unto your favours If I say that the least grain of love from Christ to you will abundantly compensate all the weight of your love to mee And this My Lord is not onely my prayer but my beliefi in your behalf I shall not trouble your Lordship with many words Onely let mee have leave â—o sound in your ears two words of the Lord Jesus the one was a word of Prophecie the other of Advice 1. His word of Prophecie was The love of many shall wax cold It s your duty to search Mat. 24.12 and t will bee your honour to find that there is no fulfilling of that in your soul But alas who can say that hee sees not too great a fulfilling of this in himself Oh! the decay of love zeal activity appearance c. in the things of Christ that is every where It s a thing that calls for bloody tears that besides the abounding of iniquity in enemies there is such waxing cold of love in friends I have sometimes thought Christ spake this Prophecie as Paul did his rehearsall Phil. 3.18 viz weeping II. Christs word of advice was this Strengthen the things that remain that are ready to dye Apoc. 3.2 It s well that under spirituall decayes wee have any thing that remains happy they who have not lost all It s wisdome to strengthen that which languisheth holy they that strive to do thus and the following Sermons may bee helpfull herein If the Spirit lay this truth upon our hearts That Christ loves us with a transcendent love 't will at once make us bleed for coolings and burn yea blaze a fresh with the fire internally and flames externally of love to Christ his people his truths his designes c. But I have gone beyond my intentions though I hope not beyond your acceptation If you will permit mee to adde that I am in the number of those who both praise and pray for you and professe to bee much obliged to you I shall trouble you no further save with the sincere subscription that I am My Lord. Your Honours singularly obliged Soules servant JOHN DURANT To his beloved friends the godly Inhabitants of the Town and Port of Sandwich Particularly The Congregation over which the Holy Ghost hath made my reverend Brother Mr. Francis Prentice Overseer Beloved in Christ HOwever those who are in the world may account the insuing Sermons riddles and paradoxes yet to you whom I hope Christ hath taken out of the world they are experienced truths It s true yee know them already for I have preached them to you But that you might have them in remembrance I have been willing to Print them for you And yet not for you only but for as many as beleive in the Lord Jesus It was Peters care to perpetuate those things by writing which hee had preached by word That so albeit his hearers knew yet they might bee established * in the truth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i.e. rooted or setled as upon a firm foundation Certainly next to the knowing of truths is the establishment in them which some wanting are gone aside after airy vanities T is true your establishment primarily and causally depends on the Spirit But yet secondarily and instrumentally it is attained unto by the word For therefore it was that Peter writ as hee sayes 2 Pet. 1.12 and surely his writings were words And yet the words of Christ were not bare letter No they were Spirit and Life And the truths of Christ held forth by any according to the
be like unto the Deity God is Light and Knowledge and the more we partake of it the more like wee are to him Now by how much the likelier Note wee are unto God by so much the nearer we come up to perfection Knowledge is exceeding precious It must needs be so sith it tends to perfection Indeed as Aquinas saith of seeing Though the object of sight be mean in it self yet the very act of seeing is sweet So also hee determines of Knowing that however the object be low and poor yet the very act it self of knowledge is high and precious Now of all knowledge there is none so precious nor so perfecting as that which is Divine Other Knowledge viz. Human can make us perfect only as men This knowledge viz. Divine gives us a perfection as Saints But Of all Divine knowledge the knowledge of Jesus Christ in the light of love as most precious as tending most to the perfection of our souls As ther are degrees of lustre in the heavenly lights so there are degrees of glory in Divine truths Every Star in the Firmament hath a glorious light but yet the light of the Sun exceeds them all in glory And every truth which is as a Starre in the heaven of Divinity hath a peculiar excellency in it and the knowledge thereof is precious But Jesus Christ who is as the Sunne in Divinity 's heaven hath a transcendent excellency in him and to know him doth sarre more tend to the perfecting of our souls than the knowledge of any or all Divine truths else besides Therefore it is that Paul accents this knowledge with an excellency Phil. 3.8 Yea doubtlesse saith he I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. And certainly Paul might well say thus for albeit he had attained the knowledge of other things yet without this he had been at a losse in point of Soul-sacred perfection So that however other knowledge as being some way perfecting and precious be desirable yet there is no knowledge which is so to be desired at least by Saints as the knowledge of Jesus Christ But yet as although the Sun be the most glorious of the heavenly Lights yet Mortals receive more comfort by its heat than by its light In like manner though the knowledge of Jesus Christ bee the most transcendent of divine truths yet our souls receive more sweetnesse by the warmth of his love than by the lustre of his light Look as Moses could not see the glory of God and live and yet must dye except he saw his grace Even so our souls cannot see the lustre of the bright beams of Christs glory and live wee must dye ere we can behold that yet notwithstanding we must see the light of the bosome-love of Jesus or else we dye If this light dawn not upon our bosoms if this knowledge shine not into our hearts we shall sink and dye in our souls especially if wee are in fear of any troubles Hence it was that the Apostle Paul among the rest of those precious Petitions which he puts up to the Father of our Lord Jesus in the behalf of the Ephesians lest they should faint at his tribulations hee adds this that they might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge I shal briefly give you the context that it may give some light to the text The Apostle having hinted in the first verse of this Chapter Context that hee was a prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Ephesians who were Gentiles and having also upon that spoken something of the excellency of the Gospel and the warrant which hee had to preach the same unto them which two things were as two great supporters of him in his sufferings hee comes in the fourteenth verse to pray for the Ephesians that they might not faint at his tribulations Now there might be a double ground of the Apostles fear why the Ephesians might faint at news of his tribulations 1 Sympathy It is usual with Saints to sympathize each with other in their tribulations And Paul upon this ground might rightly think that the tidings of his imprisonment would be sad to these Ephesians and happily he might fear that out of their tender love both to his person and preaching they would be over-sad by sympathy to understand that now their Preacher was in prison 2 Fear lest themselves might meet with the like sufferings For what might they think Is Paul in prison for Preaching the Gospel then sure may we fear the like for receiving the Gospel It is commonly seen that the receivers of Gospel-truths suffer as well as the revealers Note And certainly the Ephesians might say we shall be accounted as faulty for our faith in as Paul is for his Preaching of the Gospel This peradventure they might argue and fear and faint Therefore the Apostle bendeth his knees to him who alone is able to keep from and support in faintings i. e. To the Father of our Lord Jesus And three things he beggeth in the behalf of the Ephesians that they might not upon any ground faint at his tribulations 1 Divine strength That he would grant according to the riches of his glory that they might be strengthned with might by his Spirit in the inner man ver 16. The spirit of man the Apostle knew was weak and so would faint unless God did strengthen it therefore he begs the Spirit of God which is the power from on high for their strengthening in the inner man that they might not faint in their outward man 2 Christs inhabitation That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith saith he v. 17. If any thing will keep up the heart from fainting Note it is the indwelling of Christ with the soul Christs presence creates comfort and there is no such fence against fainting under any fears as Christ in the soul The inhabitation of Christ within will support the soul from its faintings at tribulation for Christ without 3 The knowledge of Christs love That they might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge as it is in the text Paul well knew the power of Christs love and the efficacy thereof this way So that now you may gather up the Apostles Petitions into one Prayer and you may conceive him pouring out his heart after this manner Thou Father of our Lord Jesus sith thou art the God of all comforts and comfortest thine in all their tribulations so that they faint not vouchsafe to grant according to the riches of thy grace that the Ephesians may not faint at my tribulations And to this end strengthen them by thy Spirit of power in their inner man fill them by the glorious presence of Christ dwelling in them but above all let them know the love of Jesus Christ which passeth knowledge Thus you see by the Context the drift and scope of the Text. But before I speak any further to it I must clear
description of this love of complacency and a demonstration also of the thing in hand Zeph. 3.17 The Lord thy God which I understand of Christ in the middest of thee God is only ours in Christ Christ is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. God with us or our God is mighty he will save he will rejoyce over thee with joy he will rest in his love he will joy over thee with singing It is the nature of the love of complacency to rest in its self and to rejoyce in its lettings out unto its object as it were with singing Thus doth Christ to beleevers He first loves them and then rests in that love and after solaceth himself in their souls rejoyceth with singing while he rests in his love with them over them in them Look as the Father did from all eternity by his love of complacency rest in the Son and took his delight in him as it is Prov. 8.30 So doth Jesus Christ rest in beleeverss and he solaceth himself in their persons for as it is there added ver 31. His delights were in the sons of men Thus doth Christs love to beleevers you see comprehend in it this highest kinde or rather degree of love viz. that of complacency So that now to wind up the demonstration Look as the Sea doth transcend all other Rivers because that they all come and empty themselves into it In like manner doth the love of Christ excel all loves whatsoever and is transcendent In as much as all the kindes acts or degrees of love which run up and down among the creatures as it were in several Chanels do all meet and empty themselves in Christs bosome as into the vast ocean of love and thence flow forth into the bosomes of Beleevers as the sole choyce peculiar Cisterns of the same great high transcendent love But because my design is a little to lose my self in this Discourse of love I shall for the further making out and discovery of the transcendency of Christs love to Beleevers Speak to it more particularly And at this time I shall touch at the substance and circumstances of this love and in both shew how it doth transcend and passe all knowledge 1 For the substance of the love of Christ to Beleevers It is such as if rightly i. e. spiritually considered will appear to be transcendent There are to omit others but four things which I shall touch upon briefly as the substantial declarations of the Hyperbolical excellency of this love viz. 1 The nature 2 The degrees 3 The duration 4 The operation of this love 1 To begin with the Nature of Christs love to Beleevers It is transcendent it being of the same nature that the Fathers is to him Jesus Christ loves beleevers with the same kind or nature of love with which the Father loves himself His love to them and his Fathers love to him for nature are all one And if there be transcendency in the one viz. the Fathers love to Christ there must needs be also in the other viz. Christs love to Beleevers for they are in their nature both the same Christ himself bears record to this truth As the Father hath loved me so I have loved you Joh. 15.9 That you may fully feel the weight of this demonstration take it in these three Conclusions briefly 1 Of all love that is the most transcendent love which is in God For God as the Spirit saith is love 1 Joh. 4.16 Water in the Fountain is the sweetest and love in like manner in God is clearest for he is the God of love 2 Cor. 13.11 Look as light in the Sun is the most transcendent So love in God must needs transcend because love is in him as light is in the Sun i. e. In its primo and proper orbe or seat And indeed as every beam of light is but the irradiation of the Sun so all the love which is in the bosomes of Creatures is but like some little drops of dew which first fell from the Heaven of love Gods bosome 2 Of all the love which is in God that is the most transcendent which he lets out to Christ It is Christs glory that he is crowned with the flower beauty and glory of the fathers love Jesus Christ was he who is still not only the beloved but the wel-beloved of the Father in whom he was well pleased i. e. In whom the Father did rest in the highest degree of his love And apparent it is by all the actions of God that he loyed Christ with the most transcendent kind of love In as much as that he made all things for him gives all things to him and lets not out so much as a drop of love to any creature but that it first runs into his bosome and so through him to the Creature The very spirits and quintessence of that love which is in Gods bosome was let out and that without measure into Christs Now 3 That love which Christ bears to beleevers is the same which he had from the Father As it flowed from the Fathers bosome into his so it flows from his bosome into beleevers It is the same love for nature and quality As every drop of the Sea is the same for quality that all the water in the Sea is So every drop of love which falls in upon the bosomes of Beleevers from Christs is of the self-same nature and is the same for quality which the Father bears to him Indeed there is difference in the quantity And the reason is because our Cisternes are not so capacious as Christs Cistern And yet so much as we can contain we shall have as I shall shew by and by So that now herein is the first thing wherein the transcendency of Christs love to Beleevers appeareth It is the same for nature with that which the Father shews to himself Hence it was and is that Christ both did doth and will declare the Fathers name to beleevers that as it is Joh. 17. ult the love wherewith the Father loved him may be in them as he himself is in them 2 If we consider the degrees in which or the measure according to which Christ lets out his love to Beleevers we shall see it is transcendent in that also Christ fils the bosome of beleevers with is much love as they can hold The creature when enlarged to the utmost is not capable neither can it contain more then they have So that as the nature of the love is high in like manner the degree is full The Prophet Jeremiah speaking of Gods wrath against sinners useth a Metaphor in which he compares Gods wrath unto Wine as also the Psalmist doth Psal 75.8 and sinners unto bottles and setting out the degree of that wrath He saith every bottle is full of wine Jerem. 13.12 Beloved Christs love is compared to Wine also Cant. 1.4 And if you compare the bosomes of Beleevers unto bottles as you may then certainly know every
as the last thing observed from these words viz. to let you see how efficacious the love of Christ is unto the supporting of beleevers in any tribulation SERMON VI. EPHES. 3. Ver. 19 And to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge HE that is but little skilled in the knowledge of the face of times may very well see that these times wherein wee live are very sad Calamity lyeth upon every Creature and woe hath as it were entred upon the Stage of the World and acts a very bloudy part to the terrour of all even beleevers themselves some put on black and walk disconsolately yea almost all the sonnes of men are clad in mourning as being sensible of the misery under which most of the world at this day groans In these times therefore what can be more suitable to our thoughts than to consider of that which may serve to support our spirits It is the wisdome of such as are weak and lyable to faintings to carry about them some cordiall or other to revive them And it should bee doubtlesse the wisdome of beleevers who are liable alwayes to tribulations to lay in something which may keep them from fainting under these tribulations Indeed our Lord Jesus out of the riches of his mercy hath prepared and provided rich and glorious cordials to support the souls of his And it is our duty especially who are the Ministers of the Lord Jesus to help beleevers with these cordials which our Lord and their Lord hath prepared And therefore while others forgetting not onely the Saints but themselves take leave to presse and urge great things as matters of faith upon poor souls as if they had dominion over their faith I shall endeavour to imitate the great Apostle Paul rather to shew my self a helper of your Joy 2 Cor. 1. ult than a Lord of your faith It was this indeed which Paul was much upon viz. the furtherance of the joy and comfort of beleevers And it is this which he drives at in these words in the behalf of the Ephesians for fearing lest the newes of these troubles in which hee was should so far trouble the Ephesians as to make them faint he therefore boweth his knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that he would be pleased to give them the knowledge of the love of Christ that so by it their spirits may be kept from fainting either at the news of his or fear of their own tribulations This being therefore the end why Paul prayeth to God in the behalf of the Ephesians that they might know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge I did observe this Doctrine from it viz. That the spiritual knowledge of the transcendency of Christs love towards his is of special efficacy to keep our hearts from fainting under any troubles I suppose you easily see both the foundation and the proof of this point in this place yet that you may see both the clearer let mee hint these three things First consider it That the Apostle supposeth that the Ephesiant hearts were apt to faint at their tribulations At the 13 verse his desire that they might not faint doth clearly intimate this that they were apt to faint Indeed the children of faith are not onely prone to fear but are apt to faint in those fears Secondly observe how upon this fear of the Apostle lest they might faint or if you will upon his desire that they might not faint he falleth to prayer and maketh it his request to God whose alone royalty is to support the fainting spirits of all the creatures that be would be pleased to keep them from fainting For saith hee for this cause I how my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus that is upon this desire of mine that you might not faint I bow my knee to him who alone is able to support your spirits Thirdly Consider that among the rest of those things which he prayeth to God for in their behalf that they might not faint hee prayeth for this in the Text as in the last place that they may know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge And indeed the very spirit and strength of all that which the Apostle had prayed for in the former verses in their behalf lyeth in this last And happily therefore it was that hee bringeth in this as the last particular being as it were that last cordiall which he prayed for in their behalf and if it had failed hee knew not as it were what to ask of God for them This is as it were the last Dosis of the Doctor which if it help not the patient the Doctor is at a stand and is puzled and knoweth not what else to give so that I suppose you may easily see not onely the footing that this Text affords for this truth but also a great and solid proof of the truth thereof in it And yet that you may see this truth more clearly from this place I will in a word shew you how that the very spirits and strength of the other cordialls which hee here prayeth for are as it were wrapped up in this viz. The knowledge of the love of Christ For consider First hee prayeth that they might bee strengthened in the inward man by his Spirit verse 16. Now what is that strength of the inward man by the Spirit but that divine and spirituall joy which is through him The joy of the Lord doth give strength Nehem 8.10 Now it is easie to demonstrate that the chief ground upon which the Holy Ghost doth build that joy which through him is in the hearts of beleevers is this viz. the shedding abroad of the love of Christ in them Christ having promised to send the spirit as a comforter to beleevers he saith that he i.e. the spirit shall take of mine and shew unto you John 16. ver 14 15. Now what is there in all Jesus Christ of sweeter efficacy and power which the spirit can take and declare to beleevers than the knowledge of his love which passeth knowledge So that if the strengthening of the inward man by the holy Ghost bee that which helps to support thy soul from fainting And if that working of the holy Ghost bee by a creation of divine joy or bringing of divine comfort And that bringing of comfort in the spirit depends upon revealing something of the heart of Christ to the soul then it must needs bee that the spirit of this cordiall lyeth in the knowledge of the love of Christ which alone the Spirit is able to bring in as it were from Christs heart and shed it into the hearts of beleevers for the strengthening of the inward man Secondly the Apostle doth pray as a means to keep the Ephesians from fainting that Christ may dwel in their hearts by faith ver 17. Now a very few thoughts will discover that the strength of this comfort doth lye in the knowledge of Christs love For whereas the soul may