The Intercourses of Divine Love Betwixt Christ and His Church
2. To which I know nothing can be added, but those measures of experience which every renewed Soul hath how good the Lord is. The experience of any good adds much to our Souls value of it, as it confirmeth to us our notion and apprehension of it. Many things appear better to us in contemplation, than in fruition: But there can be nothing in nature conceived, more effectual to inflame our affections after any Object, than when besides the goodness our Understandings have discerned in it, upon which our Wills have made their Election of it, a superadded experience confirmeth our noton of the goodness of it. There is no justified Soul but hath in some measure tasted how good the Lord is, and how good a Fellowship, and Communion with God is, so as it doth but move rationally, in willing and desiring the nearest and most intimate degrees of it.
I added further: That this Soul as a mean to obtain it, will use rightly ordered Prayer. The Reason and ground of this evidently appears, if we consider;
1. That Prayer is the means to obtain it. No man can be so much as presumed truly to will, and to desire anything which he useth no means to obtain, or as to which he doth not use the proper means to obtain it, if he knows it, the good is here is not sensible, or rational, to be acquired by natural or moral means, but is truly and highly spiritual; the Communication of the Divine Influences to the Soul, and most inward part of man; the means must be something of Divine Institution, something which God hath appointed as a mean in order to so great and blessed an end. Prayer is one mean of this Nature. He gives his holy Spirit to them that ask him, saith our Savior. This is a Divine Means, under a Divine Ordination, and Institution, with reference to such an end. This the Believer knoweth, and it is a means within his Power. God hath sent forth the Spirit of Adoption into his Heart, teaching him to cry Abba Father. The Spirit helpeth his Infirmities with strong cries, and groans which cannot be uttered.
2. He also knoweth, that it is not all Prayer will be effective of this, but Prayer according to the Will of God, effectual fervent Prayer. A man may ask amiss, and not receive. Though therefore an Hypocrite that takes up with a form of Godliness, and aims at no right end in his acts of Homage, but drives a by Design for himself in all his duties, and seeketh himself more than God, may content himself with such performances as answer the low mark which he levells his Arrows at: Yet the pious Soul that hath a true aim, and design in his Actions, must mind such a performance of them as shall bear a proportion to the true end he aimeth at; but this is enough to have spoken for the Explication and Confirmation of this Proposition; what this rightly ordered Prayer is, (God willing) I shall further open to you in the Application of this Discourse.
From hence in the first place we may take some measures of our State with reference unto God. None of these things can truly be said of a wicked man, or formal Hypocrite.
1. It cannot be said that he is truly willing to have such a Communion with God and Christ, as I have been opening and describing to you. They would not have God rule over them; they would have a Christ to save them from the Wrath to come; but they would not have Christ to dwell in their Hearts, to subdue their Lusts, no Hypocrite can truly say this. They have no desires after such a Communion with Christ. Their desires are all terminated in themselves. They say to the Almighty depart from us, we desire not the knowledge of thy ways. If at any time they pray for anything of this nature, it is coldly, and lazily, and formally, secretly wishing they might have no Answer to their Prayers. Indeed a true willingness, an hearty desire, and fervent Prayer after this spiritual, inward, near Communion with God, may I think be trusted to, as a mark of one who is a Christian indeed. It must argue a mighty change in the Heart of man, and such a one as no moral Principles, no change upon the mere cultivation of Nature, can be imagined to effect. Here is clearly a good pursued, which no natural man discerneth, no natural Understanding judgeth, the Eyes of the Understanding must first be opened. Here must be an alteration of the Will of man, the natural bent and inclination of it must be changed. This change cannot be from ourselves, nor from any Creature, but from him alone who giveth to will, and to do.
Secondly, You may hence observe, that it is not a mere willing a near Communion with Christ that will evidence a truth of Grace. It must be a willingness declared by Intense desires, and attended with Suitable endeavors. It is easy for men to say they are willing Christ should Reign over them, and do his will in and upon their Souls when they are really unwilling. Yea, there may be a real faint velleity, but attended with a carelessness as to the obtaining what we pretend to will. All Grace, habitual Grace is expressed under the notion of willing, God is said to give, To will and to do: To make his people a willing people in the day of his power. There are promises made, to those who are Willing, and obedient. And If a man will, let him come and drink of the water of life freely, and Paul Saith no more than To will is present with me. But these Scriptures must not be understood of a merely pretended, and professed willingness, nor a faint willingness, issued in a few Short breathed wishes, but of a true and real willingness discovering itself in the intense motions of the Affections, and the intense pursuit of the thing, willed, by the whole man. Such a willingness Speaketh a change in the heart and where it is present with the Soul is accepted.
But let us upon this occasion enter into our hearts, and try our Spiritual State upon this issue, viz. Whether we be truly willing and desirous to have this near, inward, conjugal Communion with this glorious Bridegroom. To prove this, the Apostle hath expressed the Union between Christ and the Soul, made by faith in the Justification of a Soul, by the moral Union which in Marriage is betwixt the Husband and Wife, Eph. 5. from v. 25. to the End. We shall also find that state excellently shadowing out the Communion which should be, and is betwixt every Soul and Christ; I mean every believing Soul.
1. The Husband and Wife are made one flesh. Not essentially, but morally this was a piece of the Law of Marriage upon its first Institution Gen. 2. 24. Sutably to this the Apostle Speaks. 1 Cor. 6. 26. He that is joined to the Lord, is one Spirit. Believers are by Peter said to be made partakers of the Divine Nature. Where there is this true Communion between Christ and the Soul, there is in his measure the same mind in him tha • was in Jesus Christ. He in the general willeth the same things that Christ willeth. The Glory of God, the Sanctification and eternal Salvation of his own Soul, and the Souls of others, he can as to the main say, Fiat voluntas mea; mea quia tua. Let my will be done, mine because thine. If he doth in anything err, and not will what Christ willeth, it is through ignorance, passion or infirmity, when he seeth his error, his will altereth; hence in our prayers, in things as to which we are not sure that it is the will of God we should have them, every true Christian, though he may ask for them, prayeth after his Lord's copy, nevertheless not my will but thy will be done. Canst thou say this? That the same Spirit is in thee that was in Christ, that in the general, in the main thou willest nothing but what Christ willeth, that thou art one Spirit with Christ?
Secondly all Conjugal Communion requires forsaking of Father and mother, Gen. 2. 24. A forsaking them to that degree, as to dwell with the Husband, so as to adhere to the Husband, or Wife in case of an opposition, this is also the Law of this Spiritual Marriage Psal. 45. 10. Hearken O Daughter and consider, and incline thine Ear. Forget also thine own people, and thy Fathers House, The Wife that will maintain duly her Conjugal Communion must: 1. Not dwell in her Fathers house if he may not be with her there. 2. She must forsake the Precepts, Counsels and Advice of her dearest relations, where it is contrary to the will of her Husband. She must 3. Forsake them in what they are Enemies and opposite to her Husband. What are our own people? What is our Fathers House? But the world and men of it, the Counsels and Imaginations, and inclinations of our own hearts? A true Christian that is by Faith united to Christ is not obliged in order to his or her Communion with him, wholly to forsake the world, and cast off Earthly Friends converse or relations, he is only bound Not to dwell in the world not to make that his whole business, but to have his heart in heaven, to use the world as if he used it not. Not to hearken to the Precepts, Counsels, and Advices of the world contrary to the will of Christ. Not to take the worlds part in opposition to the Law of Christ; thus much the Wives Conjugal Communion with her Husband, and the Souls Spiritual Conjugal Communion with Christ calls to it for, the preference of Christ's will, both to its own natural Will, and to all the Wills of men.
Thirdly. Look as in Marriages, the Communion following that moral Union requires a cleaving of the Married Persons each to other, Gen. 2. 24. So the Communion that followeth this Mystical Union requireth this of every Christian, to cleave unto Christ, to his Truths, his Interests and Concerns in the World, his Friends, his Will, all that is his. This cleaving I understand not as restrained to the inward motions of the Affections, as it is said, Shechem's heart clave to Dinah: But I extend it further to all overt Acts, by which this inward Affection may be discovered, in the same sense as we say to our Friends. I will stick to you, or I will stand by you. Christ performs his part he sticks, he cleaves to the Believers, in all its Spiritual Combates, and Dangers with, or from, the World, the Flesh, and the Devil: Thus must we cleave to him.
Fourthly, 'It is a piece of Conjugal Communion. That the Wife does nothing but she will first acquaint her Husband with it, ask his Counsel, take his Direction. The Husband also imparts much of his Counsel to his Wife: 'It is a piece of our Communion, true Communion with Christ, to do nothing without taking Counsel of him in his Word, without asking his Directions in Prayer, in every difficulty where we have not a clear direction in the Word of God, to fly to him by Prayer and Supplications.
Are your Souls willing to entertain such a Communion with Christ as this is? Are you desirous of it? Do you pray for it? This speak • eth well for the Union betwixt Christ and your Souls, nothing less than this will.
This Discourse may be further useful to some Souls, that it may be cannot satisfy themselves in that Communion which they have with the Lord Jesus; they would willingly that Christ should impart more of his Loving-kindness, and of his Power to their Souls, and they are troubled, that they can no more freely, no more fully give up themselves to him; their Hearts are not united enough to love and fear God, and indeed the best Souls are seldom satisfied in the Reception of Grace, or in the Actings of it. Now such Souls as are overmuch troubled in this case, troubled to that degree as for want of degrees to suspect all the truth of Grace in their Souls. This may be some satisfaction to hear, that it speaks a Soul to be the Spouse of Christ to be truly willing, sincerely desirous, much in Prayer for those degrees of nearest Communion with Christ which it stands in need of. In Earthly Marriages three things are required, 1. Consent of Parties. 2. Consent of Parents. 3. Publication of it to the World. The first alone is essential to the Union. The second to make it a perfectly lawful Act. The third only to avoid Scandal and to keep up Civil Order in the World. In the Spiritual Marriage the Consent of Parties makes the Union. Christ's Consent to be united to thy Soul, is evidenced in his Word declared by us, who are his Proxies to espouse you to this Husband. If thy Soul also truly consents, if thou truly desirest this Union, and that Communion which followeth and ought to follow it, the Match is made, thou art joined to the Lord, though it may be there be not a Publication of it to thy own Soul, much less to the World.
I shall conclude with a Word of Exhortation, To labor for this evidence of Grace. That you may be truly willing to, truly desirous of such a Communion with Christ, as I have been describing. You that are yet strangers to it, labor for the beginnings of it. You that find anything of it, labor to uphold it, and labor for the Perfection of it. To the first, by way of Counsel, I would only speak a few things.
1. Labor to be convinced of your sad condition, till Grace hath brought you into this better State. Christ told the Woman of Samaria she had had many Husbands, and he whom she then enjoyed was not her Husband. Unregenerate Men have many Paramours; for there is no Soul but cleaveth to something, one man's Heart cleaveth to his Pleasures, another to his Profits, but all these are not the reasonable Souls Husbands, the Soul cannot feed upon these things. Let a Woman be married to a Man, and run away from him she may have another Paramour, but he is not her Husband. It is Mans Case; he was in Creation united to God, he is run away from God, and followeth many Lovers, but none of these are the Souls Husbands. O therefore return to your first Husband, what can you imagine God should do for any of your Souls, more than any one of you would do for a Wife, that had run away from you, and clave to another man.
2. Look as the Woman that wanteth her Husband, hath none that so naturally careth for her, none that will be a covering to her Head, or a Light to her Eyes, so neither hath the Soul in its state of disunion with God, any that will care for it, as to its Spiritual and Eternal Concerns. I might add the infinite advantages of this Union and Communion; I remember the Argument used by Hamor and Shechem, to persuade their People into a Willingness to be circumcised, that Shechem might be married into Jacob 's Family. Shall not (say they) their Cattle, and Substance, and all that they have be ours, only consent to them? Shall not the Grace, and Glory, and Kingdom of Christ be yours, only consent to him, and be willing to a Communion with him? But it is the Lord that must persuade Japheth to come, and to dwell in the Tents of Shem. No man comes to the Son but he whom the Father draweth; and while there is a spiritual Union, it is unreasonable to think there should be any Willingness in a Soul to any near Communion with Christ. We may use Arguments with Souls estranged from God, to reconcile them to him, and it is our Duty so to do; till God concurreth with the work of his Spirit they will be of no force.
Let me therefore turn to such with whom this mystical Union is made. Nor shall I need use words with any such, to persuade them to a consent or willingness to, or desire of this near Communion with Christ which I have been discoursing; there is no such Soul but must be willing, must be desirous of it: But there is none of them which hath attained, there's no such Soul but hath attained something, nor any that hath attained to Perfection, none but may receive from Christ more than it hath received, none but desireth his Heart might be more in subjection to Christ than it is. The way further to attain is Prayer, rightly ordered Prayer. It is the Spouse that speaketh in the Text, she had attained, she was already united to her Spiritual Bridegroom; but yet she finds her Soul in a continuing need of his Influences, and further Tokens for good to be shown unto her, for these she useth Prayer as an apposite means. Only we may ask and not receive, because we ask amiss. Let us look over the form of the Spouses Petition, and see what we may learn from thence to guide our Souls in our Applications to God.
First, The word in the Hebrew 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 in the future Tense, which is often used for the 〈◊〉 Mood in the Hebrew, and may indifferently be translated, Let him kiss me, or He shall, or will kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth. Her Prayer was the Prayer of Faith. This is a prime requisite in all our Prayers to God. Math. 21. 22. And all things whatsoever you shall ask in Prayer believing, you shall receive. Jam. 5. 15. The Prayer of Faith saveth the sick. He (saith the Apostle) that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is a Rewarder of those that seek him. Nor is that General Faith enough for that Soul that goeth to God, for any particular Mercy, there must be a more particular Faith, both as to God's Power, and Love, with reference to that good thing, that God is able to do that thing for him: yea and willing also so far as in his infinite Wisdom he shall see it good. When the blind men had come to Christ begging Mercy, Matth. 9. 27, 28. (saith he) Believe you that I'am able to do this? They said, Yea Lord, then he touched their Eyes. Nay the Prayer of Faith signifieth more, a trusting and relying on God for the doing of the thing we ask. It is very much to observe how much the holy Scripture layeth upon this with Reference to the hearing and answering our Prayers. Jam. 1 5. If any of you lack Wisdom let him ask of God: But (v. 6.) let him ask in Faith, nothing wavering: According to your Faith (saith Christ) so be it to you. The Unregenerate man cannot ask in Faith, he wants the Habit, his Soul is shut up in Unbelief, and God's People may be too guilty of not asking in Faith, giving too much way to temptations, and hearkening too much to the jealousies and suspicions of their own Souls.
Secondly, The Spouses Phrase speaks an holy boldness. He shall kiss me with the Kisses of his Mou • h, Indeed this differs but gradually from the other it must be a boldness of Faith, and in this Sense we are to come boldly to the Throne of Grace. Eph. 3. 12. We have boldness and access with confidence, through the Faith of him. Hence Heb. 4. 16. Let us therefore come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain Mercy, and find Grace to help in a time of need.
Thirdly The abrup • ness of the Phrase speaketh Passion, and Ferveney. The fervent Prayer of the Righteous availeth much. Jam 5. 16. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , The working Prayer When the whole Soul is in Prayer set on work, the Understanding discerning the good the Soul prayeth for, discerning God able to give it, and willing also, discerning the Promise by which God hath made himself a Debtor to the Creature for it. The Will in willing it, the Affections in intense desires of it. Men may pray, and their Souls be hardly set at work at all, only they so far as it influenceth the Eye to see Words in a Book, or the Understanding to invent Words which the Tongue may utter. This Prayer signifies little, it is the fervent working Prayer that availeth much, when the whole Soul is at work, wrestling with God as Jacob did, that it may receive the Blessing.
Fourthly, The form of the Word speaks Reverence: Let him kiss me. O that it might please the Lord to kiss me, (so much the Phrase sounds in our Dialect.) In all our Service of God, he requireth Reverence and a godly Fear. He that dareth not to come to God, but doubteth whether he may presume to ask of him, knoweth not the Lord's goodness, he that dares to come without Reverence knoweth not the Lord's Majesty, and Greatness. As boldness and Confidence without doubting, becomes us with respect to his Goodness, Love, and Faithfulness, so Fear and Reverence becomes us with reference to the Greatness and Majesty of the Divine Being.
Lastly her Speech speaketh Modesty: She asketh but a Kiss. Modesty is not opposite to an holy Boldness in Prayer. She peremptorily asks something which might speak his special peculiar Love: Yet there is a modesty imported in her words, in that she asketh no more than the Kisses of his Mouth. In three things we should show a Modesty in Prayer, if it be rightly ordered.
1. In the asking the good things of this Life, with a due Submission to the Will and Wisdom of God. It speaketh too much boldness with God, to be too importunate for things that are not absolutely and infallibly good for us under all circumstances. It is enough for us that God hath promised to withhold from us no good thing. We prefer our own to the Divine Wisdom, in such importunities.
2. In the asking of Spiritual Mercys Modesty ought to be shown also, in submitting ourselves to the Will of God, as to Dispensations, or Degrees of gracious Manifestations, not absolutely necessary; they may be asked, but they ought to be asked with limitations; if God seeth they be good for us, if he that knoweth our Hearts, seeth that we will use them for his Glory, &c.
3. In not prescribing time to God, as to the granting of those things, which are not in the present time necessary. We ought to believe God wiser than ourselves, and to limit our Requests by the Terms of his Promise, to beg the things which God hath promised, upon the Terms which he hath promised.
I have now finished my Discourses as to the Spouses first Petition, Let him kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth: I shall in my next exercise proceed to the Argument by which she backeth this her first Petition, For thy Loves are better than Wine.
Sermon IX.
Canticles 1. 2.
I Have done with the Spouses first Petition, Let him kiss me with the Kisses of his Mouth: Wherein (as I have shown) she manifested her Desire after near, and special Communion with her beloved, and some distinguishing token of his favor; I come now to the Argument, by which she backeth this Petition, that is expressed in the words I have now read to you. The Argument is drawn, from the value she had for his Love. The reason of her before mentioned Desire, was the excellency she apprehended, in the favor of her Lord, which she expresseth in a way of comparison; She saith, It is better than Wine. And she makes this her Estimate of the Love of Christ, an Argument for God's manifestation of it to her Soul. I shown yon the Sense of the words before, I have nothing now to do, but to discourse the Propositions arising from the words so opened, the first of which was.
Prop. That Christ hath Loves. There are Loves in Christ. He is not only lovely, and so the object of our Love, the chiefest of Ten thousand; but he is Loving, and we are the Obiects of his Love. Of old, He rejoiced in the habitable parts of the Earth, and his Delights were with the Sons of Men, Prov. 8. 31. The Apostle telleth us, 1 Jo. 4. 16. That God is Love. It must be understood of God in Christ: For take Man as he is stated upon the Fall, and our God is towards him a consuming Fire. We are in that state as Stubble, dry Stubble, he is a consuming Fire; But the Apostle tells us 2. Cor. 5. 19. That God was in Christ reconciling the World to himself. God in Christ is Love toward poor Creatures. There are Loves in him. Let me a little open the Term. I desire you to take notice of Two things. 1. That it is Spoken in the Abstract; 2. In the plural number, not Love but Loves.
First, Love in the strict, and proper Notion of it, signifieth the Persons or the Creatures Propension and Inclination to some Object, and its Complacency in it. And in this Abstract, and purer Notion of it, it agreeth to the Divine Being, and Christ is the Subject of Love, There is in the eternal Son of God, strong Propensions and Inclinations to do good to the Sons of men. To love, the Philosopher saith, is Velle bonum; to will good to another: There is in Christ a Propension a strong Inclination to will good to the Sons of Men; He hath a Complacency in some of the Sons of Men. Love is a Term that signifies Affections, and all our Affections are but the motions of our Wills towards their Objects. We say, there are no Affections in God: That is true; But there is something in the Divine Being, which is proportionable to what in us we call Affectiions. In us Affections are extravagant Motions, mutable Passions; there are no such things in God: In us something out of ourselves draws out our Love. There is no such Passions and Affections in God: But if we consider Love in its pure Nature, as it is the kind motion of the Will to an Object, so Christ is Love, and he hath Loves; that is, there is in him, pure and admirable Propensions and Inclinations of his Will to do good to the Children of Men, especially to some particular Souls amongst the Sons of Men. These indeed are not kindled in the Divine Being, from anything in us, or out of itself, as Flames of Love in the Creature usually are: Yet even in Creatures Love oftentimes is an inaccountable thing, but in God it is always so; he showeth Mercy because he will show Mercy, and loveth freely. That's the first thing.
But Secondly, The word is plural, not Love but Loves. God is one, and his Love is one, Christ's Love is one in himself, but as the River, that went out of Eden to water the Garden of Paradise Gen. 2. 10. was one in its Original, and Source, but from thence it was parted, and became into four Heads. So that O • eness of the Divine Propension and Inclination to do good to poor Creatures, being out of the Divine Being it divides itself into many Heads, and as the Sea which is one in itself, yet as it passeth by several Lands and washeth upon various Shoa • s. receives several Names, and so admits of a plural number; so the Love of Christ, which in him is but one Good-will to poor Creatures; yet as it showeth itself, in Serving the necessities of various Souls, or the various necessities of the same Soul, so it becomes Loves, and admits of plurality, there is in Christ pardoning Love, and an healing Love, a strengthening Love. and a comforting Love; therefore the Spouse saith Thy Loves. There is but One Love in Christ, but it becomes many when it washeth upon various Shoars, and toucheth our diverse wants.
Thirdly, The plural Number speaketh the Dimensions of that Love which is in Christ, or rather the want of D • rensions in it. The plural number hath no bounds, the singular is bounded by Unity, but the plural hath no bounds, if you be to express Millions of Millions of Millions, 'tis all still but the plural number. Loves reacheth infiniteness. When the Spouse saith, Thy Loves, it is as much as thine infinite, unmeasurable Love, Christ hath not only a good Will, a kind Inclination, and Propension to the Sons of Men, but an infinite, unmeasurable, unfathomable Propension and Inclination to do good to the Souls of his Saints. The Apostle prayeth for the Ephesians. Eph. 3. 17, 18. That Christ might dwell in their Hearts by Faith, that they being rooted and grounded in Love, might be able to comprehend with all Saints, what is the breadth, and length, and, depth, and beighth, and to know the Love of Christ which passeth knowledge, heighth, and depth, and length, and breadth, are the boundaries of our knowledge but the Love of Christ passeth knowledge.
Fourthly, Love signifies some Specialties of Affection. A good man hath Love for many Women, but Love 's only for the Wife of his Bosom. Loves signify both a common, and a singular and special Love. Christ hath a Philanthropy, or common Love for all the Sons of Men, but he hath an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a special Love and Kindness for some. Joseph caused all his Brethren, to have a Mess set them, but for Benjamin, a double Mess. God gave Esau the Mountains of Edom. There was Love, but Jacob had the Blessing, Esau had his Love, Jacob had his Loves. That the Gospel is preached to every Creature, is from Christ's Love, but that any by the Gospel are made New creatures this is from his Loves. It is kindness to them that they have the Gospel, but a far greater kindness, a kindness of another nature to the Soul that it is enabled to receive the Gospel, and is turned into the likness of it.
5. Loves may signify the Effects, and indications of Love, and indeed Terms of Affection applied unto God, do very ordinarily in Scripture signify this, Et affectum, & effectum; Both the Motion of the Divine Will within itself, and the effect of it, upon the Creature. So it is true, that Christ hath Loves, his Good-Will to poor Creatures doth not exhaust itself in one or another Emanation, in one or another Stream, but in various Emanations, in a multitude of Streams, and thus you see there are two things in the Proposition asserted.
1st. That in the Lord Jesus Christ, there is an infinite, unmeasurable Good-Will to the Childr of Men, 〈…〉 such of them as are by Faith united to him.
2dly. That this Good-will of Christ toward them, declareth itself in a great variety of Indications and Effects, Suted to their various necessities; It is not a Love that evaporates in Air, as the Love of some impotent persons, whose Love towards us terminates within their own Souls.
These are the two Points I have to prove, and they, are of exceeding easy demonstration, to those who believe the History of the Gospel, or the Matter, and Propositions of the whole Word of God.
Solomon tells us of Christ under the notion of Wisdom (the Apostle calls Christ The Wisdom of God, 1. Cor. 1. 24.) that before ever the Earth was, when there were no Depths nor Fountains abounding with Water, when God prepared the Heavens, and set a compass upon the face of the Deep, when he established the Clouds, Prov. 8. 24. 25. 31. He was Rejoicing in the habitable part of his Earth, and his Delights were with the Sons of Men. The Apostle tells those of the Ephesians who were Saints and faithful, That they were chosen in Christ before the Foundation of the World, that they should be holy, and without blame before him, in Love, predestinated unto the Adoption of Children, by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his Will. To the Praise of the Glory of his Grace, wherein 〈◊〉 hath made us accepted through the Beloved, in whom we have, Redemption through his Blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the Riches of his Grace. &c. There is no portion of the Word of God, that part of it especially which we call the Gospel, but affordeth us an abundant proof of this; What meant his being made Surety of a better Covenant for us (as the Apostle to the Hebrews tell us?) His being given for a Covenant for the people, Isa. 42. 6. a Light to the Gentiles, to open the Eyes of the blind to bring out the Prisoners from the Prison, and them that sit in Darkness out of the Prison-house? His being the Lamb slain from the beginning of the World, Rev. 13 8. His Speaking by the Mouths of the Prophets (as the Apostle tells us) His growing up as a tender Plant, and as a Root out of a dry ground, having no form, nor comeliness, nor beauty to be desired, his being despised, & rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs, his bearing our griefs, and carrying our Sorrows, being Smitten of God, and afflicted, his being wounded for our Transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, when the chastisement of our peace lay upon him? His suffering strips that we might • e healed, &c. What signified his incarnation, his death and 〈◊〉 his resurrection, and ascension, his taking care for his Gospel to be preached to every creature, &c. his being grieved for the hardness of people's hearts, and troubled for their unbelief, his frequent preaching while he was upon the Earth, his weeping over Jerusalem, his invitations of people to come unto him that they might have life, his complaints that they would not come unto him, &c. I say what do all these things signify from him who needeth not his creature, being over all God blessed forever, but that he hath loves, an infinite good will to the Children of men? No man is at cost, taketh pains in any business, suffereth hard things to go through it, but either out of kindness to himself or to another. Our Lord did not do, and suffer these things for himself, he had no need of them, if it were for us it speaks his loves.
2. But this is no more than what everyone who owneth Christ, and the Gospel will easily grant, That Christ is Love and hath a Love for the Sons of men, yea and that there is an infiniteness, and unmeasurableness in the Love of Christ. But that he hath Loves in the Other sense: Some Specialties of Love, some particular propensions to some Souls more than others; this is what the proud world cannot so easily digest. Yet is this as plain in the Revelation of holy Writ as the other. It speaks of an Election or choice of some to Holiness and Happiness before the foundation of the world; the choice of Some must suppose the passing by or not electing others, experience shows us that not only the good things of common pro vidence, but even the external means of Grace are granted to some not to others.
3. Neither doth this grate so much. The most perverse opiners in this point must grant the publication of the Gospel, an effect of the Love of Christ, and that there is a very inequal distribution of it by the wise Providence of God, but as to them to whom the Gospel is alike preached, they know not how to allow Loves in Christ; have they then forgot what the Apostle saith, Rom. 9. 6. For they are not all Israel which are of Israel; Neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all Children: But in Isaac shall thy seed be called, that is, They who are the Children of the flesh these are not the Children of God, but the Children of the Promise counted for the seed. And again. Rom. 2. 28. 29. He is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew which is one inwardly, and circnmcision is that in the heart, in the Spirit, and not in the Letter, whose praise is not of men but of God. Doth not experience teach us that even where the Gospel is preached some repent of their sins, some are hardened, some believe, others are locked up in unbelief, some are holy and blameless, others are lewd, and profane. But they will say. This is not from any Loves in Christ, he his alike to all, but from the differing motions and inclinations of the will of man. I yet ask, Whence is it? Seeing human Souls are Equal and have the same powers, and faculties, how comes it that one man loveth God, and the ways of God, another hates and abhorreth everything almost that hath the image and Superscription of God upon it? Is a man a God to himself and the first cause of any motions that are truly and spiritually good? Is it not God that giveth to will, and to do, of his own good pleasure? Hath a man anything which is good which he hath not received? If one hath received such a power, such an inclination, such a disposition from God, there is Special Love; then Christ hath Loves besides a common Philanthropy, a good will to the generality of mankind, shown in other things which will not bring Souls to Eternal Salvation, he hath a special Love and kindness to some Souls, which he manifesteth in such dispensations to it, as shall certainly bring the Soul to Eternal Life and Salvation; and these are those of which the text Speaks.
But I have Spoken enough in evidence of so plain a Proposition as this is. I come to the application.
1st. How should this Revelation of Christ reconcile the world unto him. Christ hath Loves for us, why should there be found in our hearts, or ways, any hatred to, or opposition against him? Yet is not the World full of this? What is an opposition to the publication of his Gospel, an hatred to his Ministers, to his People, to his Laws, and holy Institutions, but an hatred to him? Christ hath so judged of it, he told some of the first Minister s of his Gospel, Math. 10. 14, 15. That in the day of Judgment it should be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrhah than for those that did not receive them, and hear his words. Wicked men, and Enemies to the Gospel are in Scripture called unreasonable men, 2. Thessal. 3. 2. Absurd men. The absurdness, and unreasonableness of men that are Enemies to Christ and the Gospel (for of such the Apostle speaketh there, praying to be delivered from those that are unreasonable upon many accounts, but eminently in this, that they hate, & do all the despite & mischief they can, to him who is full of Loves to them. We shall sometimes find in men and women a strange aversion from such as truly Love them, they cannot get up their hearts, to love a man, or woman, that Loves them, but it is very brutish, very unreasonable for any of us to hate, and malign, and to seek to destroy one that Loves us. Such brutes are all those that are Enemies to Christ and his Gospel. Christ hath Loves for us, these Loves are declared in his Gospel, that declareth God in Christ reconciling the world to himself not imputing their sins; the publication of the Gospel, is a great act of this Love, the faithful Ministers of the Gospel, are the Messengers to publish this Love; what an unreasonable thing it is now for men to make them the But of their malice? I remember when the Jews cried out concerning Christ, Crucify him, Crucify him, and Pilate asked them, why? What evil hath he done? They like a company of unreasonable bruits could give him no answer, but still they cried out the more, Crucify him, Crucify him. Doth not the same brutish cry hold up even at this day in some wretches mouths. They can give no reasonable account why they should oppose the publication of the Love of Christ to poor lost Sinners, yet they do it with a rage reaching up to Heaven. This is now to be unreasonable men. why should you persecute him who loveth you. Yet verily as St. Paul said of himself The more he loved the Galatians the less he was beloved of them, So it feareth with Christ, and all that hath relation to him the more faithful the Minister of Christ is in preaching the Gospel, the more diligent, and zealous he is to gain Souls to Christ, the most hated he is, and the reason is because it thus fared with Christ. Joh. 15. 18. If the world hateth you, you know it hated me before it hated you. But Oh let this reconcile your hearts unto Christ. That he hath Loves. No ingenuous man but will repay Love for Love. He who repayeth hatred for Love, is of the Devil eminently, he doth Evil without a provocation, because he Loves to do Evil.
Secondly, What an Invitation doth this Notion afford to the most miserable, forlorn Souls, to Kiss the Son, to receive, and close with the Lord Jesus Christ. Whilest our Lord was, upon the Earth, he told the people, That when he was lifted up he should draw all men after him. Alas! that this word [All] in that Text must be englished by Many. Christ is lifted up upon the Cross, and therein he hath shown us, that he hath Loves, Infinite Loves: For Greater Love than this hath no man shewn, than that a man lay down his Life for his Friends. Yet this is greater Love, while we were Enemies he died for us; Yet how few are drawn after him? How few can be persuaded to accept him as their Lord and Savior? What is the reason one man is drawn after his sensual Appetites, after his Lusts, and those draw quite from Christ? Men cannot be his Disciples, except they deny themselves, mortify their Members. Others are drawn after the World, and are not at leisure to come to Christ; and besides, the friendship of the World is enmity with God! Others have some thoughts of coming to Christ, but they are afraid Christ should not receive them. I shall have occasion to Speak to the 2 d sort when I come to the next Proposition, to show you that Christ's Loves are better then Wine: Indeed both to the first and Second I might Speak as Saul once to his Courtyers will the Son of Jesse give you Vine-Yards, &c. Can the World, can your Lusts, give you Peace of Conscience and joy in the holy Ghost? Will they bring you to the favor of God, and to eternal Life? But they are only the 3 d Sort whom I would here Speak to. Is there a Soul here that is almost persuaded to be a Christian? A Christian, not in Name, but in Deed, and is afraid Christ should not be willing to receive it? Hear what God saith 2 Cor. 6. 17. Come out from amongst them, and be you separate (saith the Lord) and touch not the unclean thing, and I will receive you. Observe what I have been discoursing, Christ hath Loves, an Inclination and Propension to do good to the Sons of Men; He hath declared it in a variety of gracious Acts from before the Foundation of the World. It encouraged the Servants of Benhadad to go to Ahab, to beg their Masters Life, that they had heard that the Kings of Israel were merciful Kings. Let this be an encouragement to you to come to Christ, to hear that Christ is a merciful High Priest, who casteth away none that cometh unto him. Certainly it would encourage the greatest malefactor to go to a Prince to beg his pardon, and to th • o • himself into the arms of his grace and mercy, if he could but be persuaded, that the Prince were full of Love, and had a particular propension and inclination of kindness to the family from which he derived. This you have heard particularly made good to you concerning Christ. You that have been the greatest trangressors, the oldest Sinners, yet return and come, I remember, when Isaac told Esau, that Jacob had come before him, and got the blessing, he replied, Father thou hast many blessings, bless me also. It may be you may be thinking so in your hearts, such, and such persons, they have obtained the blessing, they had not been so vile, so prosane as I have been. O but yet remember, the Lord Jesus Christ hath many blessings, not Love, but Loves, come unto him, and he shall bless thee also. When thy thoughts are overwhelmed in the thoughts of thy sins, sink them again into the thoughts of Christ's Loves, thou wilt find that is as great a depth as the other is; Yea thou will find the same difference as betwixt the Shore, and the main Sea▪ Near the Shore the Mariner may find it several fathom water enough to drown a man: But off at Sea, he finds himself out of the soundings, all the lines he hath will find no bottom So a Soul in the thoughts of his sins may find himself beyond his depth, he is drowned in the thoughts of them. Ah but yet there is a Sounding, his Sins are not Infinite; so there is a sounding, but if he launcheth his thoughts into the depths of God's grace, and Christ's Loves, there is no soundings, let therefore no Soul be discouraged from coming unto Christ.
Fourthly. Hath Christ Loves? How suitable a Savior hath God provided for poor sinful creatures. The Apostle to the Hebrews Heb. 7. 26. having said of Christ. v. 25. That he is able to the uttermost to Save them that come unto God by him addeth For such an high Priest became us, &c. Give me leave upon this argument to make use of the same words. Christ hath Loves, such a Savior became the Sons of men, and that upon a threefold account.
1. As love stands opposed to hatred, and wrath, and Enmity. Considering man as God's Creature, he was not hated of God, God h • teth not the work of his own hand; but considering him as a lapsed creature as degenerated into the Plant of a strange Vine, after that God had created him a generous, noble plant, so he became the object of God's wrath, hatred, and Enmity. We were Children of wrath by nature saith the Apostle, E ph. 2. 3. God is angry with the wicked every day, How Suitable, to us now is it, to have a Savior? That is Love, and who hath Loves, considering the aversion in the holy Divine Being, from Mankind as rebellious Seed, a Seed of Evil▪doers? Who could have suited us to have become a Savior unto us, but one who had akind propension, and inclination to us, inclining him to the great work of man's Redemption, and Reconciliation to God, especially also considering, that there could be no remission of sins without blood, no reconciliation without the reconcilers Death, he had need have loves that should die for his Friend, and he much more who should die for Enemies that were by his death to be made friends.
2. As Loves signifies multitude, and infiniteness of Love. We have all a multitude of sins, and there is a kind of infiniteness in sin; indeed our Acts of Sin are not infinite, we cannot number them, we cannot measure them, but they are to be numbered, that is our comfort; so that the balance is on God's side, he hath infinite Mercies. But there is an infiniteness of a will to sin in every Sinners heart, if a Sinner were let alone he hath such a depth of vileness in his heart, that if he were to live infinitely he would sin without limits, without bounds, infinitely; there is an infiniteness in the guilt of Sin, we had need of a Savior that should have Loves, an infinite of Love, a multitude of Mercies for our multitude of Sins, numberless pardons for numberless Sinnings; we Sinned yesterday, we sin this day, and we shall sin tomorrow If Christ had not Loves, we could have no hopes.
3. Thirdly such a Savior became us. As Loves signifies a Variety of gracious inclinations. We have a variety of wants, Our wants are not all of one nature, we have need of Love to pardon us and to bring us into a state of favor, Love to preserve us, and uphold us when we are in such a state of favor, One or another gracious aspect, and inclination of Christ, would not have been enough for our Souls, which are not only miserable, and stand in need of mercy, but poor, and stand in need of the riches of divine grace, and naked, and stand in need of the long White robe of Christ's righteousness, and blind, and stand in need of his Eye Salve. We are all Emptiness, and stand in need of his fullness that we might receive of his fullness, Grace for Grace. Less than infinite Loves, and variety of gracious inclinations, a readiness to serve our Souls in a variety of distresses with a suitable Supply of grace, grace suited to every necessity of our Souls could not have fitted our Souls which have not only wants and infirmities, but are encompassed about with wants, and infirmities.
Fifthly, Let this report of Christ to your Souls engage you to endeavor to be made the Objects of these Loves. I have observed to you before, that this text doth not speak of the Love of Christ, with respect to his Father but with respect to us, to the Sons of men; they are the objects of the Loves of Christ here mentioned. How should we all study and endeavor that we may be the Beloved, the objects of these Loves, not of his Love only, but of his Loves. Arminians keep a great deal of stir with a Philanthropy in Christ, a common Love, which he hath for all the Sons, and daughters of men. Nor is the question betwixt them, and other Divines so much about the thing, as the extent of it. Sober Divines will (many of them) grant in Christ a common Love to all mankind and speak of some things which they take to be the effects, and products of it; but admit it, yet it is certain he hath also an 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , a good pleasure of his will, or Special kindness to some Souls. So he hath Loves; that is, the benignity, and kindness of his inclinations is more to Some than to others. Let none of us satisfy ourselves to be the Object of Christ's Love, unless we be the object of his Loves. I shall press this only with One Argument. It is this; Nothing but the Loves of Christ can serve our Souls as to their true Spiritual and eternal Concernment. There is a great stir made in the world, about a common Love which Christ should have for all the Sons, and daughters of men, and there are many that would make the Death of Christ to be the Effect of this Common Love. And so conclude that he intentionally died for all and Every man. Others are not of that mind, but yet will allow, all men and women in the world to receive some good from Christ and that not only considered as God over all blessed forever, and one with his Father, and so in him we live, move and have our Being; But as Mediator. It is from him they say, that the world yet stands, that the Gospel is preached to the worst of men. I see little in this worth the contending for. I would gladly know what real advantage accrueth to any Soul from being the common object of Divine Love? Admitting that all shall! not be saved for whom Christ died (which they must hold who hold that Christ died for all and every man, unless they hold universal Salvation) I would fain know what relief any Soul can have from this notion of Christ's dying for all which some so much contend for? Supposing that all men shall not be saved, but those only, whom Christ hath loved with a Special Love? Nothing can possibly revive a Soul troubled as to its Spiritual, and eternal concerns, but some evidence of that. It is said of the young man who came to Christ so hopefully, Mar. 10. 21. kneeling to him, & saying, Master what good thing may I do that I may obtain everlasting Life; that he loved him. With that general Love which he hath for all his Creatures especially such as have any seeds of goodness in them; yet the Text saith he went away Sorrowful. Let us labor for the Special Love of Christ: Such tokens of his Love as may distinguish betwixt us and those who shall perish.
But (to shut up this Discourse.) This notion calleth upon all of us who would be like Christ to have Loves also. There are two Loves, which are much our duty upon this view of our great Lord and Master, 1. Love to him. 2 Love to our Neighbors, especially those in whom anything of Christ's appears.
1. It calls to us for Loves to Christ. This in point of gratitude; If (Saith our Savior) you love them which love you, what reward have you? Do not even the Publican's the same? Our Love to Christ is but a Love to him who hath Loves for us, and indeed this speaketh to all men for Love to him, but more especially, O Love ye the Lord, all you his Saints. It is the opinion of great Divines, that all the world is beholden to Christ as Mediator, that from his Mediation there issueth some good to the worst of men. But he hath eminently extended his Love to his Saints, he hath loved them with a singular Love. If there should be Love wanting in their hearts to Christ they should be of all men, and women in the world most inexcusable, what could he have done for any of the Sons of Men which he hath not done for them? What greater thing could they have asked of him, then he hath prevented them in asking? O Love you the Lord all you they that believe. Do you ask me how you should show your Love to him? The first motions of Love are in the heart; Love there is seen in delighting in him, breathing after him. It next shows itself by the lips Speaking well of him to others, defending his interest, and concern in the world. If we come to more external acts; That of David, Ps. 16. 2. 3. is true here, O my Soul thou hast said unto the Lord thou art my Lord, my goodness extendeth not to thee, but to the Saints that are in the earth, to the excellent on whom is all my delight. Our Love to Christ must be seen in our actings in our stations for the honor, glory, and concern of Christ in the world. In our kindness to the poor flock of Christ. Christ calls a want of Love to them a want of Love to himself 25. Math. But that brings me to the Second with a short discourse upon which I shall shut up this discourse.
2. It calls you for Love to men especially to those in whom you see anything of Christ. The argument for this ariseth from our duty to study a Conformity to Christ, he had a kindness for all, when he was born, good will towards men was proclaimed by the multitude of the Heavenly host Luke. 2. 14. There also lieth an obligation upon usfrom the law of Christ and from this great Example, to be kindly affectionate toward all, There lieth also a Precept upon us to do good to all. And again saith the Apostle. Owe nothing to any, but this; That you love one another. Indeed there is not the same degree of affection, nor the same acts of Love due to all (as to that we must be ruled by the Word of God,) but Love is a debt upon us which is due to all men. Therefore wrath, hatred, anger, strife, malice, are 〈◊〉 where reckoned up by the Apostle as the fruits not of the Spirit but of the flesh. In a kind Child of God there should be a general love and kindness to all mankind, though to be expressed in a Scriptural order as to the degrees, and acts of it. So it was in Christ.
2. But secondly it calls to you for a more Special distinguishing Love to all those in whom you see anything of Christ. Do good to all (saith the Apostle) but especially to the household of Faith. The Soul of every Member of Christ should cleave to these, with whom he is united, not only by a common nature (being the same flesh and blood with him) but by a common faith, by the ligament of Members of the same body, whereof Christ is the head. Give me leave to press this the more upon this argument because I find the Apostle St. John pressing it upon the same Topic, 1. John. 4. 11. If God so loved us we ought also to Love one another. v. 12.— If we love one another God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected in us, v. 16. He tells us that God is love and he that dwelleth in Love dwelling in God. Every good Christian may see much more in the meanest, poorest true Christian to engage him to Love him or her, than Christ could ever see in the highest Saint to oblige or move Christ to love him or her. When thou wallowedst in thy blood, when thou hadst nothing of the lineament of a Saint in thy Soul not so much as a line of any Spiritual Goodness, he passed by thee, and it was with him a time of Love as to thy Soul; there is not a child of God in the world, but there is something of holiness, and righteousness, something of the image and Superscription of Christ to be seen in his Soul, something of the Divine nature resplendent in his Soul. It may be there is more in some, less in others, but there is in all some. When thou hast a temptation upon thee to aversate thy brother, or to turn away thy heart, or head, or hand from him. O remember Christ hath loves and and he that dwelleth in Love dwelleth in him. And that it is he whose heart is full of of Loves for thee who hath commanded thee to Love thy Brother. But I have spoken e nough to this first Proposition.
Sermon X.
Canticles 1. 2.
IN my last discourse I shown you that Christ hath Loves, kind affections, and inclinations to the Children of men and more especially to the Souls of his Saints, which he is ready to declare and express, yea hath already expressed in acts of kindness, and these not of one but various kinds, suited to the respective necessities of his people, a salve for every Sore, a Supply for every want. I come now to show you the quality of his Loves, which in my Text is set down positively, and comparatively. In our translation according to our Idioms or propriety of Speech the positive is to be understood in the comparative particle. A thing cannot be called better than another, unless it hath some positive absolute goodness in itself, but in the Hebrew it is more plainly expressed. That saith, Are good before Wine. (It is their way of expressing comparatives.) It makes no difference in the sense. Good before Wine. And better than wine, are phrases of the same sense. In the Explication of the Text I told you that though Wine strictly signifies the juice of the Grape, yet by a Synecdoche here it signifieth all created goods whatsoever can be sweet or profitable or advantageous to us. The Proposition is plainly this.
Prop. The Loves of Christ are good befo e [or better than] all created comforts, and enjoyments whatever. I have already shown you what the Loves of Christ signify, viz. His good will, his kind affections and inclinations to the Souls of men. Of these here the Spouses predicates. 1. A goodness. 2. A transcendent and excelling goodness. My work must be to demonstrate both. 1. That they are good. 2. That they are good before wine, before all Sublunary goods, all created comforts of what nature soever. 1. That they are good.
The true nature of all good lies in the conveniency and Sutableness of things which we so call to some wants, and necessities that we have and lie under. Hence the Philosopher describes Good to be the Object▪ of our desires, what all men desire, for we desire nothing, but in order to the supply of some want or other that we are sensible, and apprehensive of. A man may indeed desire what is not good, but he must apprehend some goodness in the thing which he desireth. So that to demonstrate the loves of Christ to be good, there needs no more than to prove them convenient, and admirably Suited to something which we want to Supply us in that want. That I may restrain my discourse to the Loves of Christ as mediator, I shall only premise, what I hope you all believe: That we have Souls as well as Bodies, the Soul is an essential part of man, and as much excelling and better than the Body, as the body is better than raiment This admitted, whatsoever suiteth the Souls wants must necessarily be good and eminently good. The Souls wants are many, but its principal wants are reducible to five heads. 1. Pardon, Righteousness, Peace, Purity, Hopes, or assurance of Eternal life and Glory.
1. It wanteth pardon of Sin. This is a want which the Soul brought into the world with it, it was by nature dead in trespasses and Sins, conceived in Sin, brought forth in iniquity, a Child of wrath by nature Eph. 2, 3. This want hath grown upon the Soul from the day of its birth. Its Child-hood and youth were altogether vanity; who knows the Errors of his life? The righteous falls seven times a day, who can tell how often he offendeth? It is true, not one of many is sensible of this want, but that only increaseth their misery. It is certain this is a great want of a Soul, Christ else had never directed us to pray, Forgive us our debts. There is a debt of ten thousand Talents, upon every Soul, that hath not tasted of Christ's pardoning grace. That it is not arrested for it proceeds only from God's patience, who sometimes beareth long with vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. The Love of Christ is Suited to this want. It is he that forgiveth Sins and washeth the Soul from the guilt of sin with his blood. He died for our sins (saith the Apostle.) He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities saith the Prophet Isaiah. Ch. 53. 5. We have Redemption, and forgiveness of Sins through his blood. This Love of his, is so suited to this want of the Soul, that it can be supplied no other way. God forgiveth sin and none but he: who but the creditor can discharge the debtor; but it is for Christ's sake that God forgiveth us, Eph. 4. 32. Without blood there is no remission; this was tipyfyed (as the Apostle teacheth us) by the Beasts of old slain for Sacrifices of Expiation, and Atonement, and without his Blood we could have had no Remission; for it is very vain (as the same Apostle instructs us) for any to think that the blood of Bulls and Lambs and Goats could de away Sin.
2. Secondly, The Soul wants Righteousness. A righteousness wherein it should stand before God as if it had never sinned against him. For the righteous Lord (saith the Psalmist) loveth righteousness, and the Apostle tells us Rom. 3. 15. That God declareth his righteousness for the remission of Sins. Such is the nature, or at least such is the will, of God, that he remits no sins, but upon a first declaration of his righteousness. Neither doth God accept any Soul but the righteous Soul: we have no righteousness, our works will not make this Web. God therefore imputeth Righteousness without works. Rom. 4. 6. In the Gospel God hath revealed his righteousness from faithto Faith. Rom. 1. 17. This is the righteousness of Christ. Rom. 8. 3. For what the law could not do because it was weak through our flesh, that God himself hath done, sending his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin condemning sin in the flesh, That the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us. Hence Christ is by the Prophet called the Lord our Righteousness, and the Apostle saith he was made of God for us wisdom, righteousness; And hence the Apostle Prayeth. Philip. 3. 8, 9. That he might win Christ, which he expounds. v. 9. And be found in him, not having my own righteousness which is of the Law, but that which is through the Faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith. It is called the Righteousness of God because it is that which God accepteth us for; the righteousness of Christ, because it is his perfect Satisfaction to, and obedience to the law; and the righteousness of faith because it is by faith, by us received, and applied, and made ours. But in Christ and from Christ the Soul must find, and have that righteousness in which alone it can stand before God.
3. A third great want of the Soul is Peace. Peace with God. Peace with itself. Rom. 8. 7. The Carnalmind is Enmity to God. Take a man in his natural state, he is an Enemy to God, and God is an Enemy to him. He hath no peace with God, and if he hath any quiet in his own mind, it is but a Truce not a Peace, the product of God's silence, not the product of his favor. Now in Christ and in him alone the Soul hath peace. In the world (saith our Savior to his disciples) you shall have trouble, but in me you shall have pcace. My peace, saith he, I give unto you, I leave with you; It is he that hath reconciled the whole number of the elect to God by his death, and it is he who doth by his Spirit, and the word of reconciliation committed to his Ministers actually reconcile Souls unto himself. He is therefore called our Peace, we have Peace with God through him, Rom. 5. 1. And therefore the Apostle in all his Salutations prefixed to his Epistles prayeth, Mercy and Peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
4. A fourth great want of the Soul is Purity. No unclean thing shall enter into the new Jerusalem, Take the Soul of a Christian Naturally, it is an impure, filthy Soul; what can be clean that is born of a Woman? Or how can that which is clean come from that which is unclean? The connate proneness of our hearts to whatsoever is evil, and the natural aversion of our hearts to anything that is good is a sufficient proof of this. The promise of the clean heart, and of the new heart in Ezek. 36. (as you know) are both from God. and Heb. 9. 14. the Apostle tells, us That the blood of Christ purgeth our Consciences from dead Works to serve the living God: Hence the Apostle. 1. Cor. 1. 30. Telleth us, that Christ is made unto us Wisdom, Sanctification, and Redemption.
5. The 5th great Want of the Soul which I mentioned was, Hopes or Assurance, of an happy Existence to all eternity: This Want now accrueth from the Soul's Immortality. The Consideration that God hath created us under an Ordination to an Eternal Existence and State. Admitting this (which indeed is the main thing that distinguisheth a reasonab'e Soul from the Soul of a brute Creature) it is impossible that the Soul should be under any degree of Happiness, that hath not some Hopes or Assurance of Glory, That its Soul shall go to God when it leaveth the Body. And that the Body shall rise again in a joyful Resurrection, in which it shall be again united to the Soul, that both may live with God forever. Now this is a Good which floweth unto the Soul, from the Loves of Christ: This needs no further proof than: 1. That no Soul is born to this glorious, and incorruptible Inheritance, for we are by nature Children of Wrath, and eternal life is the Gift of God, (as the Apostle tells us) Rom. 6. The Gift of God is eternal Life, and it is a gift which cometh from God to us by the Hands of Christ. John 17. 2. As thou hast given him Power over all Flesh that he should give eternal Life to as many as thou hast given him: And John 10. 28. Speaking of his sheep (saith he) I give unto them eternal Life, and they shall never perish. Now as their having a certain right to, and their future possession of eternal Life, is necessary for them in another Life, when this transitory Life shall be determined; so the hopes, or full assurance of it is necessary for them, to make them in any measures happy while they live here. And this is in, and from, Christ also and therefore he is called our Hope, 1 Tim. 1. 1. And the the Apostle, Col. 1. 27. saith, Christ in us is the Hopes of Glory: That is, all the Hopes we have of Glory are from Christ. This is abundantly enough to evince that positive goodness that is in the Loves of Christ, their high and suitable conveniencies to the necessities and wants of our Souls. I shall in the next place show you the transcendent Goodness and excellency that is in them, that they are, as the Text saith, Better then Wine, or as it is expressed in the Hebrew Idiome, good before Wine. Wine, as I have before shown you, literally Signifies the Juice of the Grape. Figuratively whatsoever is good, sweet and excellent in the World. Now take it in one or both Senses, The Demonstration is very easy. I shall make it in 3 particulars.
1. First all the Goodness that is in Wine, (taken either literally for the Juice of the Grape, or Figuratively for all created comforts) lies in a Sutableness of them, (and that but for a time neither) to the more external wants of a Creature. Three things must be yielded concerning all created Goods. 1. None of them reach the wants of the Soul, which is the best and noblest part of man. What do Pleasures, Riches, Honors, whatsoever this world affordeth, signify as to the Souls wants? It wants Pardon of sins; Will any of these procure or purchase it? It wants a Righteousness wherein to stand before God; Will these procure it? It wants Peace of Conscience, Will those give it? It wants Purity, Will they cleanse it? It naturally wants a Right and title to Glory, and the Hopes or Assurance of it; Can any of these help the Soul to it? They indeed suit the more external wants of Man. The wanton Sense wants grateful Objects, They will Supply it; The body wants Food, and Rayment, they will Supply it; But for the more inward Spiritual Wants of the Soul, they have no Sutableness to them, no conveniency. But (as I have shown you) the Loves of Christ have, nay, they are not only suited to the Souls greatest wants but to the Bodies also, at least so far as the Soul hath influence on the Body, upon the Happiness of which it undoubtedly hath; for a good Conscience is a continual feast: The Contentment which Grace filleth the Soul with, the Mortification, and Subduing of the Passions, and stubborn Will of Man, have a great Reflection upon the Health and cheerfulness of the Body. So that here is a double Argument to prove the Loves of Christ better than Wine. 1. From their Sutableness to the necessities and wants of the Soul, which are the wants of the noblest part of man. 2. From their suitableness to the wants both of Soul and body, by reason of the Reflection which the Souls good hath upon the outward Man, even in this Life, to say nothing of the joyful Resurrection of the Body, and the Happiness both of Body, and Soul, reunited in the Enjoyment of God forever. 2. All created Comforts last but for a Season, and that a little Season. They only suit the wants of our Bodies in this Life. Riches profit not in the day of Wrath: Honors lie down with our Bodies in the dust, Pleasures cease, when our senses which they gratified are gone: Nay very often the Sutableness or gratefulness of these created Goods extinguisheth before the determination of our natural Lives. When Barzillai was Fourescore years old his Eye took no pleasure in seeing, nor his Ear in hearing. There are days in this Life, Eccles. 12. 7. in which a man shall say he hath no pleasure in them? What do Riches, Honors, Friends, Pleasures, signify in a day of Sickness? 3. No created good suiteth all our wants, one suiteth one want, another fills up another Emptiness, none suiteth all: But the Love of Christ as it suiteth our Soul wants, So it is Suted to all times, and is certain, and a Supply to all wants of Souls. This is my first Argument to prove his Loves better then Wine.
2. Secondly there is no need or want, which Wine, or created goods supplieth but the Love of Christ will supply, and much more eminently, and abundantly: Let me open this in a few particulars.
1. Wine in regard of the Subtile, Spirituous nature of it, hath a great virtue to exhilarate the Spirits and to raise up the Affection of Joy. Hence you read of those who shout by reason of Wine. Psal. 78. 65. And the Psalmist saith, Wine makes glad the heart of Man. Psal. 104. 15. and Ecc. 10. 19. Wine maketh merry. But do not the Loves of Christ do this much more? Eph. 5. 19. And be you not drunk with Wine, wherein is Excess, but be you filled with the Spirit, speaking to yourselves in Psalms and Hymns and Spiritual Songs, making Melody in your heart to the Lord. David, Psal. 4. cries out, Lord lift thou up the light of thy Countenance upon me, for thou thereby shalt make my heart more glad then theirs, when their Corn, and Wine, and Oil increaseth. Those who are critical in words in the Latin Tongue distinguish between Voluptas and Gaudium. Pleasure they make to be nothing but the Sensual Appetites Satisfaction, 'tis common to Beasts as well as Man. Gaudium or Joy they make to be the proceed of the satisfaction of the rational Appetite; the first is merely sensual, and beastly, the latter alone becometh a Man who is a reasonable Creature. I am sure that Mirth which is in the Soul of man, that Exhilaration of his Spirits, which ariseth from the sense and apprehension of the Love of Christ unto the soul, is a Satisfaction to the Rational, Spiritual Appetite; so the nature of it must be more Spiritual, more Suted to the reasonable creature, then any Wine, or indeed any created comforts can be.
2. Wine is of excellent use to allay our thirst, and in Physic and Chirugery under deliquiums, &c. This is a great execellency that is in it. Prov. 31. 6. Give wine to those of heavy hearts. In Chirurgery it is of use to wash and cleanse wounds, &c. Hence you read in the Gospel, of the good Samaritan that he put Wine and Oil into the wounds of the man that was fallen amongst thieves. But in this respect are not the loves of Christ good before Wine? Wine only satisfieth the cravings of nature, the drought of the body for want of moisture. If a Soul hungers and thirsteth after righteousness, Wine will not allay that thirst, the Loves of Christ will; and surely the thirstings of a Soul are far greater wants than the want of liquor for the body. Wine may be of some use in Deliquiums and failures of the Vital, and Animal Spirits. But if the Soul fainteth for God's Salvation, Wine is of no use, the Loves of Christ are. Wine may wash and purify the wounds of the body and keep them from putrefaction, but the Loves of Christ alone can purify the wounds of a Soul and resist putrefaction there. He was anointed to preach glad tidings to the meek, to bind up the broken hearted, to appoint to them that mourn in Zion, Beauty for Ashes, and the Oil of gladness for the Spirit of heaviness. Isaiah 61. 1, 2, 3.
3. Wine will make a man forget his affliction. Prov. 31. 6, 7. Give wine to him who is of a heavy heart, let him drink and forget his poverty, and remember his misery no more; but now wine doth this by bringing a man unto a kind of stupefaction or temporary deliration, and the Affliction, must be merely external, and not in extremity. Wine makes a Man forget his affliction only by putting him besides himself. The Loves of Christ have a proportionable effect upon the Soul, but of a far more high and excellent nature. Let a Soul be bowed down to Hell and not know what to do, Let but the Loves of Christ shine upon it in the sealing of any promise, it forgets all its poverty, and misery. The Soul will rejoice in Sufferings, glory in tribulation, &c. the Martyr cries out that the fire is but as a Bed of Roses. So that you see there is never a good quality in Wine but something proportionable to it, (only infinitely excelling) is to be found in Christ's loves.
My last demonstration of the truth of this Proposition is this. Wine though it hath many excellent qualities, yet hath it also some ill qualities; The Loves of Christ are not such. There is an excess in Wine saith the Apostle, Eph. 5. 18, 19. Be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess. It is a mocker (saith Solomon) it will intoxicate, breed many diseases, many a one perisheth by drinking too much Wine. But no Soul ever perished from the excess of Christ's love to it, no Soul ever contracted any distemper from it, he you filled with the Spirit, saith the Apostle in the same Text, where he tells us there is an excess in Wine.
Much of what I have said concerning the excellency of the love of Christ above Wine, taken in a literal sense, is as true concerning it, in its figurative sense, as it may be supposed and interpreted to signify and created comforts, they only are suited to our External wants only, they are but temporary and uncertain, they also have some ill qualities attending them. I shall therefore add no more Doctrinally.
By way of application. We may in the first place observe in o what a degree of debauchery the generality of the Sons and Daughters are fallen. Nothing more becomes a Man or Woman considered as a reasonable Creature, than to discern aright betwixt things that differ, and to judge aright concerning them, and accordingly to make our Election, and to guide our practice. But supposing what you have heard to be truth, where is the man of many, that rightly discerneth, rightly judgeth, or aright guideth himself in practice? where is the man that judgeth the loves of Christ better than Wine.
How many are there that judge Wine better then the loves of Christ. Wine, not in the figurative sense, as it signifies all outward, created comforts, but in the literal sense, as it signifieth nothing but the juice of the Grape, fermented and a little refined from its dregs, doth not everyone thus judge, that useth Wine immoderately? that sits bibbing at a Tavern until the Wine inflameth him, Christ by his Apostle Paul hath said, Eph. 5. 18, 19. Be not drunk with Wine wherein is excess. How many are there, that tarry long at the Wine, that go to seek mixed Wine, that look upon wine when it is red, when it giveth its color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright, till at last it biteth like a Serpent, and stingeth like an Adder, till it causeth woe, and sorrow, and contentions, and wounds, and redness of the Eyes (as Solomon Speaketh, Prov. 23, 29, 30, 31.) and yet have no sense of the Loves of Christ, no thoughts of it, make no enquiries after it, take no course for the obtaining it. Do not those poor wretches Love wine better than the Love of Christ, that will not abate life a cup of wine to gain it? Those that for an intemperate cup of wine, will be disobedient to the rule which Christ hath given them. My Soul in this contemplation, even aches to think what will become of drunkards, by whom I mean not those only who reel in the streets and are intoxicated with Wine, but those who take a greater pleasure in drinking than in praying or hearing the word of God or obeying his will.
2. But if we extend the notion of wine further, to signify all sensual Satisfactions, all created comforts, Lord how many are there in the world that in this betray their folly, and discover the corruption, and debauchery of human nature. How few are there in the world that do not prefer some creature or other before the loves of Christ; indeed as the Poet-saith— Trahit sua quemque voluptas; Everyone is not alike taken with every sensual object, the Apostle tells us we have 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , everyone hath his proper lust and corruption by which he is drawn, away, the lusts of the flesh, are one man's proper lust, the lust of the Eye is another's proper lust, the pride of life is another's. Separate from mankind, drunkards, lascivious persons, vain persons, persons that are covetous, and too greedy of the worlds riches, ambitious men, whose God is honor and applause, credit and reputation in the World, how few will you leave? But I hear some say this is an hard censure upon mankind, men indeed are flesh, and blood, man hath natural Senses and naturally seeks the gratification, and Satisfaction of them, but we hope we do not prefer the satisfaction of them before the Loves of Christ shown in the pardon of sin, peace of conscience, purity of heart, the hopes of glory. This were a very sad thing, and it is a very hard judgment to pass upon any Soul; we must plead not guilty to this Indictment. Say you so? my next question is how will ye be tried? will you be tried by the ordinary rules of trials of your preference in other cases: answer me then, or call your souls to answer themselves in some few questions: What do you most delight to hear of? what do you please yourselves most in? what do you employ yourselves most in the pursuit of? what do you most postpone, and put behind in the motions of your lives? which do you most neglect for the other? &c.
1. What do you most delight to hear of? The loves of Christ are not the objects of any sense but the Ear, but they may be heard of. Sermons should be principally such discourses; discourses of Christ's love; we preach Christ Crucified, canst thou be patient to hear discourses of the loves of Women, discourses of worldly businesses of vanity, many hours, and canst thou not with the like patience and delight sit out a Sermon of one hour? art thou never saying, when will this vain, idle, discourse be done, this discourse that tends nothing to the good of my Soul, and yet often saying when will this Sermon be done? Judge then whether thy Soul judgeth the loves of Christ better than Wine? There are those that can rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong drink, and continue till night, till Wine inflame them, and canst not thou rise up early to hear of the love of Christ, and sit an hour or two, till the report of his love inflameth thy Soul. Hadst thou rather hear a wanton idle story, than a Gospel story? how dost thou then prefer the loves of Christ before Wine; thou manifestly givest the preference to a sensual satisfaction.
2. What do you most please your thoughts in the contemplation & meditation of? My meditation of him (saith David) shall be sweet. Our thoughts must feed themselves with some objects; we are so encompassed with the straits and necessities of this life, with the various diversions, and temptations, that I think it unreasonable to put the trial there. Whether have the loves of Christ, or worldly objects most of your thoughts, none would acquit themselves upon such an inquiry. But which are your Souls most pleasant Bread, which are your sweetest meditations? this will try a Soul; undoubtedly such objects as a Soul most preferreth, it will be most pleased in the contemplation of. But is this the case of the most of men? can they say, that though they have more thoughts upon the World, and sensible objects in it, yet the meditations upon the World, and the other are rather thoughts of necessity, than of delight and pleasure?
Thirdly, What do you most employ yourselves in the pursuit of? Is it sensible satisfactions, or Christ's love, I do not here mean by [most] a frequency of action, or length of time, but a warmth, and fervency, and intension of affection, and a Christians circumstances, and station in the world may be such as will enforce him to spend more of his time, and more of his action about worldly than about spiritual things, but which doth the Soul press most hard after? which pursuit hath most of the strength and vigor of the inward man? That doubtless hath the preference in the man's judgment: it is an ill sign to see a man work hard, and pray coldly, lazily, perfunctorily, when men spend their strength for that which is not bread, when a man so toileth in his pleasures, when he presseth so hard after the World, that his whole heart may be discerned and read in those pursuits, and but half his heart can be discerned in his pursuits after the loves of Christ, he comes late to an Ordinance of God, he sleeps, when he is there, he doth the work of his God negligently. My Soul (saith David presseth hard after thee; it is an excellent sign, when though the motions of the Soul be after the World, yet the pressings hard of the Soul are after Christ, and his loves.
4. In the motions of your lives, what do you most postpone and put behind? that which is most postponed, is least preferred, Let my Tongue (saith the Psalmist, Psal. 137. 6.) cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not Jerusalem before my chief Joy. We have an English saying, That meat and drink may be had, but work may stay: it intimates our preference of meat and drink before labor, the end of which is chiefly to procure meat and drink. Do you say I must pray, I and my House must seek the Lord, I must hear that my Soul live, my labor in my calling, that may stay? It is a very ill sign, that the Soul prefers earthly things before heavenly things, when he postpones the means to obtain things heavenly, to the means for obtaining things that are earthly, when every trifling business, will turn him off from prayer, reading, hearing the Word. It is true, there is a time for all things. But when the Worlds time is admitted to jostle out God's time, and God's time is not reserved to him, and the worlds time never yields to God's time, it is a very ill sign that Christ's loves have not the preference in the Soul.
Lastly. Which do you most neglect for the other? Our Savior telleth us, Mat. 6. 24. No man can serve two Masters, for either he will love the one, and hate the other, or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other, the neglect of one thing to give place, or room to another, sufficiently argueth the preference of that for which we make room, before that, by the neglect of which we make room for it. Do you neglect the world and the things of the world, to give room for the loves of Christ, and the means to obtain them, or do you neglect the loves of Christ, and the means he hath appointed for the gaining of them for the world, and the means you are to use for the gaining of it? But I have I fear said enough not only to convince you that the most men and women in the world are guilty of a false judgment, either judging Wine in the literal sense, or at least in the figurative sense, better than Christ's love, but also to convince God's own People that they do not sufficiently live up to, and practice what they profess to Believe. I might add another thing.
6. Whosoever purchaseth Wine or a satisfaction from any creature by a disobedience to the commands of Christ, doth most certainly judge, that Wine, that creature, better then Christ's loves. The demonstration of this depends upon this, That no man or woman can truly say they love Christ, or groundedly expect that Christ should love them, that doth not keep his Commandments, or that willfully, ordinarily, and presumptuously breaketh them, though there none lives who doth not, sin against God.
I shall shut up this discourse with a word of exhortation, which must be to a preference of the loves of Christ before Wine. I shall press this exhortation upon you by some arguments.
My first argument shall be drawn from the reasonableness of this; That a reasonable Soul should judge of things not according to any appearances from false representations, but as they are. I have spoken enough to persuade any person, that believeth that he is not a mere lump of flesh, but hath a reasonable Soul, and that he is not a creature of this life merely, but ordained to an Eternal Existence, and that the Soul of every man by nature, and his state is such as the holy Scriptures speak it to be, that the loves of Christ are more suited to his necessities, & his true, & real wants, than it is possible that any created comforts should be; now admitting this, what more doth become areasonable creature than to judge them so▪ All other judgment is but fallacy, and deceit, and of all deceit, and fallacy, there's nothing so unworthy of a man as to cheat and deceive himself. Thus every Soul doth that judgeth anything better than the Loves of Christ. Further yet there is nothing more unworthy of a man then to outlaw himself, and suffer his passion to domineer over his reason; the course of man's Soul according to reason is for his will to follow the dictate of his understanding, for him to pursue the things, which he judgeth most excellent; and though in other things indeed man doth not so' he seeth that which is better and doth that which he confesseth and judgeth worst, yet all this is passion, and so far as a man walketh or acteth thus, he acteth not reasonably, but this is but the first argument, and considereth them merely as men.
2. The second shall concern you as Creatures. What an indignity do you put upon the Creator to prefer the Creature before him: Wine is but a Creature, Riches, Honors, the World and all that is therein it is all but a Creature. Christ is God over all blessed forever. It is a mighty degradation of God in our hearts to prefer anything to his loves. How can any man think that God should look upon that Soul that dethroneth him, and preferreth some of his creatures, yea of the meanest of his Creatures in his affections before him, how righteously shall God leave that Soul to the creature as its portion, that chooseth it, and chooseth it in preference to his loves.
Thirdly, Consider what an ill requital this is of Christ's love to you? This argument now concerneth you as you are Christians, and believe that Christ in the fullness of time left his Fathers Throne, and took not upon him the nature of Angels, but the nature of Man. Christ in his love, his redeeming love to you hath manifested a double preference. 1. A preference of your good to his own glory and manifestative favor from God his Father. Christ indeed in his estate of humiliation, was the beloved Son of his Father, his Father in that time proclaimed him his only begotten Son in whom he was well pleased. But he had not those manifestations of that love as before he was incarnate. He was made a curse for us that the blessing of Abraham might come down upon us, he cried out upon the Cross, my God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? 2. A preference of you to Angels. He took not upon him the nature of Angels, but your nature, now how ill do you requite this love of your Savior in preferring a creature to it; how can we believe the Gospel, and all that it telleth us of the dying loves of Christ, and do this? Oh therefore let not this be the condemnation of any poor Soul that heareth me this day, let none of us incur the guilt of this Idolatry. God aggravateth the Peoples sin of Idolatry from this, that they said to a stack and to a stone thou art our Father; the more base and low and unworthy the object is that is preferred before another, the greater is the provocation of the preference. Let us then so live, so walk as by our conversation to evidence to the world, that the Loves of Christ to our Souls are better than all the Wine which the world can afford us. Let us not break a divine Precept to embrace anything which this World can afford us, in this we shall be so far from acting like to Christians, or Creatures, that we shall not act like men possessed of reasonable Souls. Let us in our hearts more thirst, in the Spirit after Christ's Love, than the worlds embraces, let us delight more in any reports of the love of Christ, any discourses concerning it, than in any worldly objects. Let us be more diligent in use of means to gain Christ's love, than to gain the whole world. Let us be more satisfied in the enjoyment of anything of it, than if we enjoyed all the World can afford us. I remember Solomon saith, The blessing of God maketh rich; and addeth no sorrow therewith. The Loves of Christ make the Soul happy, and mixeth no sorrow with that happiness. Wine is a sweet liquor, but it will intoxicate, in time it will grow flat, and acid, and there is no created good, but will at one time or other grow flat, & sharp, if the Soul be not drunk with it. There is a satiety in pleasure, riches, honor, there is a time when there will be no pleasure in them, when we shall be able to see no goodness at all in them. Let us neglect them upon the prospect of the vanity of them, and the vexation of Spirit that is in them before we come to experience their vanity and rottenness. I have shown you a far more excellent object.— Christ's loves are better than Wine.
Sermon XI.
Cnt. 1. 2.
FOr thy loves are better then Wine.] I have handled these 2 Propositions, which the matter of these words affords us. I have now only further to consider, the relation they stand in to the Petition, considered as an argument used by the Spouse to enforce it. I have already shown you, they are brought in by the Spouse. 1. Partly to show us the reason why the Spouse so earnestly desired these tokens of Christ's distinguishing love, viz. because she had found them good, yea good before Wine, (as is the Hebrew Idiom) 2. Partly as an argument she enforceth her Petition drawn from the value she set upon the love of Christ. Each of these will afford us a distinct Proposition.
That the ground of Believers earnest desire after the tokens of Christ's distinguishing love, and nearest communion with him, is their knowledge, and experience, of the goodness, and transcendent excellency of it.
That it is a good argument, for Christians to use in pleading with God for the choicest dispensations of his grace if they can truly tell him, that his Grace is very precious to them. These 2 propositions remain yet to be handled, I begin with the first of them.
1 Prop. The ground of Believers earnest desires after the tokens of Christ's distinguishing love, is their knowledge, and experience, of the goodness and transcendent excellency that is in it.
I say their knowledge, of the goodness, and transcendent goodness of those tokens of Divine Love. By knowledge I here mean no more then their believing apprehension. God hath in his word revealed the excellency of them, this revelation they have read, and heard, and God hath wrought in their hearts a firm and steady assent to the Divine Revelation: This indeed is God's first work in the Soul, the motion of the will, and affections follow it. I added [and experience.] Experience is a sensible evidence. Knowledge is gained by reading, and hearing, experience by seeing and enjoying; knowledge conduceth something to move the Will and Affections, experience more. The reason is, because good things in the fruition, and enjoyment of them, do not always answer our first apprehensions of them, and expectations from them, but nothing can be imagined more potent to incline the whole Soul to anything than knowledge in conjunction with experience justifying our apprehension. As we have heard (saith the Psalmist, Psal. 48. 8.) so have we seen in the City of our God; when a Soul hath not only heard of the Loves of Christ, but its Eyes hath seen them, the Soul hath tasted how good the Lord is, this mightily engageth the Affections. Especially if we further consider, that whereas in all sensible objects called good, the fruition, or enjoyment rarely answers the report of them, or the apprehension of them which the Soul first entertained and apprehended: it is quite contrary here, the enjoyment infinitely transcends the notion and apprehension, so that as the Queen of Sheba said to Solomon; It was a true report that I heard in my own land of thy Acts, and of thy wisdom, howbeit I believed I eved not their words, until I came, and mine Eyes had seen it, and behold the half was not told me, thy wisdom, and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard, 1 Kings 10. 6. 7. So saith the Soul, that being justified by faith hath arrived to a peace with God; Lord it was a true report that I read in thy word, and heard from thy Ministers, while I was yet in my natural state, and condition of thy loves, and the infinite sweetness that is in them, how beit I believed not the words, until my Soul came to taste something of it, and behold the half of that quiet, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, the half of that serenity of conscience, and satisfaction, which the Soul hath from a peace with God, was not told me, thy loves far exceed the fame which I heard.
I shall lay the proof of this Doctrine upon these 2 Propositions, which have a natural rational evidence to every reasonable Soul.
1. The Soul of man naturally, and necessarily knowing an object to be good, and wanting it in whole or in part to any considerable degree, doth desire it, and without such knowledge it desires it not. It is a rule in Philosophy, we will nothing, but what to us appeareth good, It is our misery in our lapsed state, that many things to us appear so, which are not so, but they must so appear or we cannot will them. Three things must concur to make anything the object of a reasonable Souls desires. 1. An apprehended goodness in it. That is, an apprehended Sutableness in it, to our state, or circumstances, if there be never so much goodness in a thing if we have no knowledge of it, no apprehension of such goodness in it, our will moveth not by desire toward it. Hence it is, that the Clown desires no learning, and the man of learning and knowledge desireth no excess of gold or Silver. Though there be a goodness in learning and knowledge. Yet the Clown apprehends it not, so doth not desire it, and though there be some degrees of goodness in a great estate, yet the Philosopher and man of contemplation apprehends it no further than as it serveth for a Viaticum, a Travelling Penny to pay for food & raiment whiles he passeth through the world. And indeed this is the true reason why the sensual profane man saith to the Almighty, depart from me, and to Christ, what do I care for thee? for being under no conviction of his lost, and miserable estate, and possibly hardly believing that he hath an immortal Soul, or shall have any existence beyond this Life, he seeth nothing in Christ, or the loves of Christ, that any way suiteth the necessities, and wants of his Soul, and, Ignot i nulla cupido, what good a man doth not know he never longeth for. 2. A Second thing, concurring to make the Object of desire is an apprehended possibility of attaining to or enjoying what he apprehends so suitable; for the reason of man will not suffer his Soul to move towards what he apprehends impossible to be attained. Hence as no Scholar ever heartily desired all kinds & degrees of learning & knowledge: so no worldling ever desired all the Gold and Silver in it. Hence it is also impossible that a Soul under an habituated despair should heartily desire the Love, and favor of God, which it apprehends not possible for it to obtain. 3. The object of it must be something which the Soul wanteth, either in whole, or in part, either as to the thing itself, or as to some degrees of it, or at least what it apprehendeth itself to want? Still apprehension is necessary, for De non Entibus, & non apparentibus, eadem est ratio. It is the same thing as to this motion of the Soul not to have a good, and not to apprehend that it hath it. for our Souls move according to their apprehensions; and this is the reason, none desires being (though they may desire the continuance of it;) the healthy man desireth not health (though he may bless God for it and desireth the continuance of it.) The Ignorant bold presumptuous Sinner desireth not the Love of God, the pardon of Sins; he thinks he is sure of all. Hence now it is that the believer desires the Loves of Christ, it apprehendeth them good, possible, and what its Soul doth stand indaily, and further need of, which apprehension is the reason why our Souls desire anything, be it of what nature soever; we can desire nothing but what we must apprehend good, suitable to us in some of our circumstances, possible to be attained, and such as either wholly, or in some degree at least, we need.
2. According to the degree of our knowledge or apprehension of the goodness of any object so are our desires after it. This will justify itself upon experience in all other things, we do not desire them according to the degree of goodness in them, for then every man must desire the favor of God, Union and Communion with him, but according to the degree of our knowledge, or apprehension of such a good, as such. Now there are various degrees of knowledge.
1. The first and meanest is the mere act of our Understanding. which by the help of our Eyes, and Ears gaineth the knowledge of things, And thus the vilest of men may know that the Loves of Christ are good, yea good before wine, that is, they may have so read in the Bible, so heard from Ministers of the Gospel. And even this knowledge may produce in a bad man a desire after these things, proportioned to his apprehension. Hence such a man may faintly will, and lazily desire these things.
2. A Second degree of Knowledge is Opinion. This riseth a little higher, the man who thus knows that the Loves of Christ are good, doth not only know it from reading, or hearing, but from probable Arguments. Nor is it difficult for a wicked man thus also to know that the Loves of Christ are good. As soon as he can be made to believe that there is a God, and that he is the Fountain of Good, and that Jesus Christ is the Eternal Son of God, and Equal with the Father, both in Essence and all Divine Perfections, his Reason will persuade him that there must be a Goodness, yea, a transcendent Goodness in Christ's Loves. But while Flesh and Blood only revealeth this thing unto him, his Knowledge is incertain and faint, and he is subject to thoughts that he may be mistaken, and therefore though he may sometimes desire Christ's Love, yet it is but by fits, and with uncertainties, according to the Nature of the Knowledge and Apprehension he hath of the truth of the things.
3. A Third degree of Knowledge is Persuasion, arising from Demonstration. Now there is 1. A Demonstration of Sense; thus we know the Sun shines, the Fire burneth, &c. 2. A Demonstration of Reason; when we can conclude a thing from infallible Principles of natural Reason. 3. A Demonstration of Faith, which is the Demonstration of the Spirit. When men know things from the holy Spirits fully persuading them of the truth of this, or that, from a Divine Revelation. This is the Demonstration of faith.
4. There is yet a further and higher degree of Knowledge, that ariseth from Experience, being a sensible Evidence of the truth of what the Soul had before received a little of, from the sight of the Eye and hearing of the Ear, and more from the persuasion of the Spirit, and some Argumentations within itself. I say now that according to the degree of the Souls knowledge and apprehension, so are the workings of the Affections: This of desire in particular. Hence the desires of Believers to the Loves of Christ, must necessarily be the strongest: For the degree of the Knowledge and Apprehension the Believer hath of the goodness of them, is higher than it is possible any other Souls should have. Other Souls may have read Books discoursing the Loves of Christ, or heard Discourses of that tendency, or judge so from Arguments of Scripture, which may make such a thing probable to them: But none but these have any persuasion wrought in their Souls by the Spirit of God, of the Excellency of them, none else have had any real Tasts and Experience of them Knowledge and Experience of the Goodness of any Objects being those things which move the Soul to desire them, and the degree of the Souls apprehension of such Goodness and Excellency in Objects, the ground of the Souls Intention in such desires; it must necessarily follow that a good Christians Knowledge and Experience of that Goodness which is in Christ's Loves, must be the grounds of their desires after them. There needeth no Scripture to prove this, it is evident to our Reason. Yet take the Instance of David, Psal. 4. 6. David desires of God to lift up the light of his Countenance upon him. Observe now v. 7. what made him prefer the light of God's Countenance to the Worldlings Corn, and Wine, and Oil, Thou hast put gladness into my Heart. Accordingly he tells us Psal. 9. 10. They that know thy Name will put their trust in thee. Hence you shall observe that David concludeth many of his Psalms of Praise with Prayer. But, will some say, If they have had experience of the Loves of Christ, why should they yet desire them? None desires what they have. This is true, if our Enjoyments were perfect, but there is an heighth, and depth, and length, and breadth of the Love of God in Jesus Christ, an heighth which the Soul hath not taken, a depth which the Soul hath not fathomed, a length and breadth which the Soul hath not measured from end to end. It is true, we desire nothing but what we want, either in whole or in part, therefore in Heaven will be no desire, That which is perfect will be come, and all that which is in part only, will be done away: But we shall never be filled with the Loves of Christ till our Mortality be swallowed up in Life. I come now to the Application.
We may learn from hence. That God must show some act of Love to us, before we can show any Love to him. Desires after the Loves of Christ, though sincere, are the least, and first, and lowest motions of our Souls toward God. These (you have heard) must arise from a Knowledge and Experience of the goodness of those Loves. Now this Knowledge, this Experience, must be the Gift of God to, and the work of God in, and upon the Soul, yea, and that not in a way of common Grace and Illumination, but in a way of special Grace; for though a common Illumination may produce some faint desires, yet it will produce no sincere and effectual desires, because the Knowledge, begot by them, will be flitting and incertain, and attended with Doubts, Fears, and Incertainties. So as till the Lord by his Spirit hath wrought in the Soul a persuasion of Faith, commanding the Soul without dispute to give credit to what he hath revealed in his Word, there will be no sincere desires in the Soul after these things. The Schoolmen tell us there are three ways by which we gain the Knowledge of a thing. By Signs, Conjectures, and Effects, (as some Causes are known.) 2. By the enquiry of our Reason into the nature of it. 3. By Divine Revelation. The Excellency of the Loves of Christ is a spiritual thing, and to be judged upon Spiritual accounts, and in a Spiritual manner. The natural Man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, 1 Cor. 2. 14. So as the natural Reason of a Man will serve him very little to the gaining of this Knowledge, by the Effects, having never experienced it he cannot know it; so as there is no other way to know it but by Divine Revelation, God (saith the Apostle, 1 Cor. 2. 10.) hath revealed them to us by his Spirit. And v. 12. We have received the Spirit which is of God, that we might know the things that are freely given us of God. So as that I say God must show some special token of his Love to our Souls for good, before we can show any Love to him, or make so much as one step toward him.
Observe from hence, That a Believers Soul moves rationally and accountably enough in all its desires after the Loves of Christ. The Souls of Believers are not so unintelligible as some profane Persons would make them in their Passions for, and Motions towards Christ's Loves. The Knowledge a Soul hath, or the Experience which it hath had of the Goodness and Excellency of any Object, moves the reasonable Soul to the desires of it. Admitting the Believer to see things in another Light than a natural Man hath, or can see in, to have other Notions of Good and Evil, and to take the measures of them from their subserviency to the Spiritual and eternal good of the Soul; the Passions and Desires of his Soul after Christ's Love, are as natural Motions of the reasonable Souls, as the Worldlings Desires after Riches, or the sensual Mans Passions for such things as gratify the sensitive Appetite. The Reason why every Soul moveth not after these Spiritual Things, is because every Soul seeth not the Good and Excellency in them. Multitudes hardly know (that is, believe) they have immortal Souls that shall outlive their Bodies in a state of Happiness or Misery; or if they know or believe that, yet they do not believe that there is no other name under Heaven by which they can be saved, but only the name of the Lord Jesus Christ: Nor ever had any experience of the Love of God to Souls. Their deriding of Religious Passions, and the Breathings of pious Souls after the Manifestations of Divine Love, flows from their ignorance of them, and their unreasonable Rudeness, in speaking evil of the things which they know not. The original difference betwixt a person truly pious, and panting after the Love of Christ and others, lies here: These Creatures know that they have Souls, Souls ordained to an eternal existence, either in Hėll, or Heaven, in eternal Happiness, or in eternal Misery. They believe what God hath said, that there is no other Name under Heaven by which Men and Women can be saved, but only the name of Jesus Christ, neither is there Salvation in any other. That he that believeth on him is not condemned, and he that believeth not is damned already, the Wrath of God abideth on him, and he shall never see Life; they do not only read these things in their Bibles, and hear them from their Preachers, but the Holy Spirit of God hath firmly persuaded them, that they do as fixedly believe them, as they do anything of sensible or rational Demonstration; they have more waky thoughts, with reference to Death; Mortality and Eternity, are things more in their Eyes than in the Eyes of others: Again, they have tasted and experienced more of the Love of Christ. Allow the Souls of others to be in the same Circumstances, they would have alike Motions; but because they are ignorant, knowing nothing of Spiritual Things, or at least nothing as they ought to know it, thence it is that their Souls move not; this is now but the natural working of reasonable Souls in other cases, nor is there any such unaccountable, or unintelligible thing in it.
And indeed this gives us the true Reason why every unregenerate Soul is so cold in its motions toward Christ, and also may inform us how far it is possible such a Soul may go in motions of this nature. The Reason why such a Soul moves no more, is want of Evidence, which such a Soul hath of the Goodness of his Loves. Simple Goodness, and Excellency in an Object, is not attractive of the Soul, but Goodness apprehended by, evidenced, and appearing to us. All the apprehension that it is possible, a natural man should have of the Loves of Christ, must be from Reading, Hearing, or its own Reasoning and concluding from what it hath so heard, or read; for it wants both the demonstrative persuasion of the Holy Spirit, and also any experimental Tasts or sensible Evidence. All Knowledge which hath no better Foundation, will arise no higher than to beget in the Soul an Opinion, and leaves the Soul at some Incertainties, and unfixed, and hence its Motions towards an Object of which it hath no better Evidence, are also incertain and faint, and fluctuating. Knowledge being the Foundation of Desire, Reason will tell us that the Desire must bear proportion with the Knowledge. The unregenerate man, having no Knowledge of Spiritual things, that is productive of more than an Opinion, the desire must be incertain and faint, according to the nature of the Opinion that causeth it.
By this also Christians may be able to take some Measures, and make up some Judgments of themselves, whether the desires they find in their Souls after Christ, and his Loves, be such as are peculiar to the Souls of Believers, yea or no. We usually say that Desires after Grace are Evidences of it, and there is a truth in it, but all desires are not so; for as I have said, there may be desires after Christ and his Loves, in an unregenerate Man, commensurate to that knowledge which he hath of the Goodness of them; but this will speak nothing of good to the Soul, only such Desires, as flow from a Christians Knowledge of Faith, and from Experience. He that hath only a knowledge of Christ and his Loves, from Reading the word, or from the Report of Ministers, may so far desire Christ's Loves, as may serve him for his own ends, nay though he hath no great Faith as to that eternal State of Happiness to which Christ brings the Soul, but hath only received Notions of such ablessed State, to which he gives no great credit, yet for his own Security, because his notions may be true, though he hath no great fixed persuasion of them, he may yet desire the Loves of Christ so far as to bring him to an everlasting Happiness. As a Merchant that hath heard a Report of the rare Commodities, and cheapness of them, in a Country, which Report he doth not so far believe, as he will adventure an Hundred Pounds to try the Issue, yet may desire the Commodities at such Rates as he hears of; so may an unregenerate man that hath fate under the Preaching of the Gospel, and heard abundantly of the Excellency of Christ, and the rare effects of his Love, though he will not do anything toward the obtaining them, yet may wish that Christ loved him, that he might be made partaker of such Love, though all this while in Heart he believeth little or nothing. That you may not therefore deceive yourselves in this point, take a few notes of such desires as are indeed Evidences of Grace.
1. They are not mere velleities, lazy wishings, and wouldings as we say, but always attended with the use of means which we judge or find proper to obtain our desires. And indeed this alone without anything further said, will try this issue; a desire arising from the knowledge and experience a Soul hath of the goodness of an Object is always attended with the use of what means are within our reach for the obtaining of it. Hence a Souls pretended desire of the pardon of sin through the blood of Christ, and of living with Christ in glory, not conjoined with fervent prayers, with an endeavor to reform our lives, and to sin no more, is of no good significancy at all. It is only an indication, that the man or woman would be happy, and secure as to eternity (if there be such a thing which he hath heard;) but now when these desires are attended, with sad reflections upon ourselves for sin, serious endeavors against sin, and hearty and fervent prayers to God for pardon, these things speak the truth, and sincerity of our desires.
2. Desires upon knowledge and experience of the goodness of a thing are always most intense, and strongest. If you observe it, the desires of our Souls are augmented from a double cause 1. The certainty of our knowledge of that goodness which is in the thing desired. 2. The quickness of our apprehension of the want of it: The more full, and certain knowledge that we have of the goodness and excellency of an Object the more we desire it. For I told you before it is not the simple goodness, and excellency of a thing that draweth out our Souls after it, but our apprehension of such a goodness, hence in reason it must follow that the desire must be strongest in that Soul, where the apprehension is most full and certain. And all goodness being measured by us by the suitableness of the thing to our wants, the quicker and fuller apprehensions the Soul hath of its wants of Christ love, the stronger must the souls motions for, and towards it be. Now the believing Soul, having the most certain knowledge of the goodness of the Loves of Christ, and having also the fullest, and quickest apprehension of its wants of them, of necessity its pantings after them must be most intense, and strong; As the Hart panteth after the Water Brooks (as David speaketh, Psal. 42. 1.) Hence it is that when the Prayers of Hypocrites are but complementings of God, a few words of course, the prayers of the Saints are wrestlings with God (as Jacob's prayer is styled) strong cries, and groans which cannot be uttered (as the Apostle speaketh, Rom. 8.) where any Soul findeth such desires as these, it hath reason to rejoice, and be comforted concerning the truth of its grace, though it findeth its actions imperfect, and God's manifestations of himself to it in consolatory influences not so full. In this sense it is true, that desires of grace, are indications of it, provided they be such desires, as flow from a knowledge, or any experience of Divine Love, I mean a knowledge of Faith, a certain firm persuasion wrought in the heart of that goodness and excellency that is in Christ, and his loves, not a mere knowledge from report, and the credit of others, but such desires can never admit of a regardless carelessness, whether the Soul obtaineth what it desireth or no, but will be attended, with an inquiry after, and a due use of all means for the obtaining the thing desired. And besides, they will always be strong desires according to the nature of the good desired, and the apprehended degree of the Souls want of it; and hence again: The Soul that hath these true desires, will find them attended with trouble and unquietness till it hath in some measure at least obtained the thing which it desireth, for as the wise man saith of Hope (so it is true of desire) deferred it maketh the heart sick. The Soul filled with desires is like the Woman in Travel, pained till it obtaineth the thing desired. As when the desire is accomplished, it is sweet to the Soul, Prov. 13. 19. So while it is accomplished, there must be some bitterness, and uneasiness in the Soul. But now desires after Christ and his loves, attended with no trouble, no uneasiness for want of the accomplishment and obtaining of them, faint and cold, and languid desires without the use of means within, our power to obtain the thing desired are of no significancy as to a truth of grace. Solomon hath two sayings in his Proverbs that may be applied here. Prov. 13. 4. The Soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing, but the Soul of the diligent shall be made fat. And Prov. 21. 25. The desire of the slothful killeth him, for he refuseth to labor. Two things are said of the slothful sluggard. 1. That he desireth and hath nothing, he never obtaineth his desire. 2. That his desires kill him, they do him hurt, no good; what is the reason? Because he refuseth to labor: But the Soul of the diligent is made fat. Solomon speaketh as to the things of this Life, The Soul of the sluggard desireth and hath nothing. It is as true as to Spiritual things, the Grace of God, the Loves of Christ. The Souls of Sluggards, that will sometimes say, O that I had my part in Christ, O that my Iniquities might be pardoned, O that I might live with God in Glory, &c. but never will do anything toward these things, not so much as deny themselves in a Lust, nor keep under their Body, and bring it into Subjection in anything; these Souls have nothing. The truth is they have nothing of any true desire proceeding from any sound knowledge, or any true experience, but they shall have nothing. Their Desires kill them, if they trust to these desires of Grace, as Indications of a truth of Grace, they kill them, they cheat their own Souls to an eternal ruin, and destruction. But the diligent Soul is made fat. That Soul, that from a sound and firm persuasion of the goodness, and excellency of the loves of Christ, desires to taste, and further to taste of them, and is diligent in the use of means to have its desires accomplished, that Soul shall be made fat. That Souls desires shall be accomplished, though it may see it falls short of its duty in the use of means, and though it may be God is not pleased to give the Soul the sensible manifestations of its love, so that its desire is deferred, and while it is so deferred, the heart is pained, and it meets with some trouble and uneasiness, through the not accomplishing of its desires to its sense, yet, it shall be made fat. The hope of the righteous (saith Solomon) shall be gladness, so the desire of such a Soul; the diligent Soul, shall be satisfaction. This is according to the words of our Savior, Mat. 5. 6. Blessed are they which do hunger, and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled. Thus much I have thought fit to add in this place in answer to that question, which we sometimes meet with, Whether the desire of grace be grace? A true resolution of it is of mighty use sometimes to Souls under melancholic distempers, or in an hour of temptation to relieve them, where they both want sensible manifestations, and a just view of the sincerity of their own actions.
I shall shut up this discourse with a word of exhortation. 1. To all to look to their desires, their pretended desires after Christ, and his loves. That of the Apostle, 1 Cor. 16. 22. is a dreadful Curse. If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ let him be Anathema, Maranatha, accursed till the Lord come. Love is the complacency of the Soul in an object, the first fruit of its desire. None hath a true complacency in an object, but he desireth an union with it in such a degree as he is capable of. Hence everyone that liveth under the preaching of the Gospel, and hath heard of Christ will pretend to desire him. But one desires him from a knowledge by hearsay of the goodness of his loves, another desires him from a knowledge of faith, a settled persuasion of it wrought in his heart by the Spirit of God, and some tastes and experience of it; you have heard that the desires of the Soul which arise from a knowledge of report and hearsay, are weak and faint, and cold and lazy, and will speak nothing of good for the Soul that hath them, you have heard the other desires are strong, and intense, vehement and fervent, active and diligent. Nothing more relieveth a Soul sometimes, than to find in itself; that though it wanteth a strength to perform, yet to will is present with it, though it cannot yet rejoice, and delight in the apprehension of his loves, yet for these are its desires. Nothing more killeth and destroyeth a Soul, than to trust to desires of grace, as indications of it, which indeed are not so. O therefore look to your desires after Christ. See that they proceed from knowledge and experience. For experience indeed it dependeth upon Divine influence, and breathing upon the Soul, and the holy Spirit of God like the wind breatheth where it pleaseth. But see that your knowledge of the goodness of these loves be a knowledge of faith, not a mere knowledge from report and hearsay, as we may know many things of which we believe nothing; that is, we know such things are written, reported, talked of, rake heed this be not all the knowledge your Souls have of the loves of Christ. I have shown you that the Knowledge of Faith, is a knowledge of persuasion of the excellency of the loves of Christ in themselves (for I am not now discoursing of the persuasion that you have a particular interest in them) a firm, settled, constant persuasion of the Soul, that the love of Christ is the most desirable good in Heaven or Earth, better then Wine yea better than life itself. This is the work of the Spirit of God in the Soul. A man can by no study persuade himself of this, we can, by no art, no words, no arguments of ours persuade Souls of this. All that you can do, or which we can advise you to do in this case, in the use of such means, to the use of which God hath promised his blessing, or in the use of which God ordinarily concurreth with his blessing. These means are reducible to a few heads. 1. His Word. 2. His Sacrament. 3. Prayer. 4. A reformed holy life and Conversation.
1. The Word is the great means; he hath given you it in writing, that you may exercise yourselves in it by reading, he hath appointed the Ordinance of Preaching, that you may receive it by your ears; neither reading nor hearing will beget in your Souls such a knowledge of Christ's love as will be productive of this knowledge which I call the knowledge of faith, but they are both means, means within our own power, and with the use of which God useth to concur, and in the neglect of which, no • e can expect that the holy Spirit of God should work such a knowledge of the excellency of Christ and his loves, as will be productive of these desires after them. The Word of God is therefore called the Word of faith, not only because it containeth the substance of what we are to believe, but because it is that with the use of which God ordinarily concurreth in giving the Soul a power to believe, therefore the Apostle tells us, That faith cometh by hearing. If you would know Christ, and his loves, read, hear the Word of God, and that in a conscientious manner, but I have had occasion to speak of this under a former proposition.
2. The holy Sacrament is another means, at least for a further knowledge of Christ and his loves, I am not of their minds who think that the Lord's Supper is a means for conveying the first knowledge of faith, concerning Christ and his Loves, to the Soul; if it had, Christ doubtless would have given it in commission to his Apostles, not only to go and preach to, and Baptize all Nations, but also to Administer the Supper to them, which he did not if any will say, both Sacraments are intended, I shall not contend, but the Apostles practice expoundeth our Savior's precept, who baptized none till they believed, and made a profession of their true faith in Christ, the Sacrament is not a means for ignorant persons and unbelievers, to come to the first knowledge of Faith, but an excellent means in order to the getting a further knowledge of Faith, that is a confirmation of their Faith in the love of Christ.
3. A third means is Prayer. He gives his holy Spirit in all the manifestations of it to those that ask him.
4. The last I mentioned, was a reformed holy life and Conversation. None know the loves of Christ more fully and effectually then those Souls, who walk with him most closely. You know the promise of Christ's manifestation of himself, is to those that love him, and keep his commandments, but of these things I have before enlarged in my discourses upon some former propositions.
Sermon XII.
Canticles 1. 2.
I Am now come to the last proposition I observed from these words, which I told you might be either considered, As a Reason why she desired the tokens of Christ's distinguishing loves, (a reason drawn from her knowledge and experience of the goodness, the transcendent goodness of them. In this notion I have already spoken to the proposition arising from them, Or, 2. As an argument of her petition by which she pleadeth with God, for the thing which she desired. An argument drawn from the value she set upon his love. From whence results this proposition.
Prop. 10. That our value, and estimate of the love of Christ above all other things is an excellent argument for a Soul to use with God for the obtaining of it.
An argument is a mean brought either to prove a proposition, or to move the Affections. The Logicians bring arguments to prove the just connection of Subjects, and Predicates in propositions. The Orator useth them to move men's wills and affections, the business of the Soul with God in any prayer, is the business of an Orator; the Arguments he hath to use, are such as may move God to bestow the good things upon him which he desireth. If you observe all the prayers of the Servants of God upon Sacred Record, you shall find them much to consist of Requests, or Petitions, and arguments backing, or enforcing those requests. These arguments you will observe drawn from several heads. Sometimes from the Nature of God. Sometimes from their relation unto him. Sometimes from the promises made in the case. Sometimes from the greatness of their misery. Sometimes from God's Power and the freeness of his Grace. Psal. 25. 7. According to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness sake O Lord. Sometimes from their faith, alliance to, and dependence upon God, Psal. 25. 2. O my God I trust in thee, let me not be ashamed. So from various other heads, I say amongst others: A Souls just prizing and valuing of the loves of Christ, is an excellent argument for a Soul to use to enforce a petition for them.
2. The goodness or badness, the strength or weakness of an argument derives wholly from its subserviency to its end, its cogency, or no cogency. The End here aimed at is by prayer to obtain the loves of Christ, so as the goodness of the arguments to be used in this case depends upon the force they have with God to move him to grant the requests of our lips.
3. Persuasive arguments have their force either upon a natural account, and that is mostly from the infirmity of our Natures, which renders them subject to be affected with fine words, passionate expressions; we must not imagine that God can be moved with any such thing, and therefore fine phrases in prayer are very insignificant things: Or else upon a moral and rational account. As now amongst men, if one can come to another, requesting a favor from him, and say, Sir, you promised it me, there is a force in this argument, upon a moral and rational account, such an argument is this, in this case. If a Soul can go to God pleading for the manifestations of his love unto it, and truly tell him, that it valueth his love and favor above all created comforts, though the bare naming of this, and delivering it in fine, significant words will do nothing with God in order to the obtaining of it, nay though this affection and temper of our Souls, can merit no influence of grace from God, yet considering the persections of the Divine Nature, and the obligations which God hath laid upon himself. It will have a great moral virtue, and efficacy, and be of great force with him for the obtaining the influences of Divine Grace, and the communications of his love.
Hence I shall desire you in the first place, to observe what frequent use the People of God have made of it in their applications to the Throne of Grace. David especially, Psal. 42. 1, 2, 3. As the Hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my Soul after thee O God; my Soul thirsteth for God, the Living God, when shall I come and appear before thee, O God? His Request there lies in the last words, That he might come and appear before God, the Argument he useth is from the value he had for such a mercy, so as the Hart did not more pant after the water-brooks. The same Argument he useth, and much in the same case, Psal. 84. 1, 2. The great Petition of that Psalm was for a liberty again to enjoy God in his Ordinances; what is the Argument he useth to enforce this Petition? How amiable are thy Tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts? V. 1. My Soul longeth, yea even fainteth for the Courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh crieth out for the Living God. So he goes on in a variety of Phrases, all expressing but his great value and estimate of such a mercy, to that degree that he preferreth the condition of a poor Sparrow, or Swallow to his own in the want of it. You have him using the same Argument again, Psal 63. 1, 2, 3. O God thou art my God, early will I seek thee; my Soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty Land, where no water is. To see thy Power, and thy Glory, as I have seen Thee in the Sanctuary. Because thy loving kindness is better than life. The Petition is much the same, and the Argument the same. I might instance in many other places of the Psalms, but this is sufficient: And certainly this were enough, if no more could be said to justify this Proposition. That Argument which the man according to God's own heart used, and so often used, is certainly a good Argument, and of due force and efficacy; but this was an Argument he often made use of. But I shall further show you the value of this Argument from Reason.
First, This Argument speaketh Christ in the Soul. What the Apostle saith in another case, No man calleth Jesus Christ Lord but from the Spirit, may be applied in this. No man can truly say that he prizeth the Loves of Christ above Wine, above all created comforts whatsoever, but from the Spirit; none but the true Christian, the truly spiritual man, sets any considerable value upon Christ's Loves. To you that believe (saith the Apostle) he is precious. Now what Joseph said to his Brethren of Benjamin: Bring your Brother Benjamin, or see my face no more. God hath said to everyone of us, Bring Christ with you, or see not my face. We are all transgressors from the womb, and God heareth not sinners for their own sakes, but for Christ's sake; therefore we are commanded to ask in Christ's Name. God indeed as our Father by Creation may hear us crying for temporal good things in the day of our wants; so he heareth the young Ravens when they cry for food to him. But we are blessed with Spiritual Blessings in Christ, and upon the account of Christ; he giveth the first grace upon the account of Christ's Intercession pleading for the Application of the purchased Redemption. He giveth further grace upon the account of Christ 's Intercession for us, and the Spirit's Intercession for us: For we know not what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit itself maketh Intercession for us, with groanings which cannot be uttered; and he that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh Intercession for the Saints according to the Will of God, Rom. 8. 26, 27. Now a due estimate and value of the Love of Christ in a Soul, is an Indication of the Spirit of Christ dwelling in the Soul; hence it must needs be an Argument of force with God; for he that searcheth the heart, knoweth the mind of the Spirit, making Intercession for the Saints, according to the will of God.
Secondly, The force of this Argument lies here, in that it layeth hold upon many Promises. The Promises are but as so many Bonds in which God hath made himself a Debtor to his Creatures. All Promises oblige the truth and faithfulness of those persons that make them: God being the true and faithful One, cannot lie; He is faithful that hath promised (saith the Apostle;) so that if it be a sufficient Argument to use with a man to obtain anything we would have, to tell him, He hath promised it, it holdeth towards God more strongly, as his truth and faithfulness is much more certain and infallible than any Creature is. Besides that, it is a further advantage when Promises are made upon a due and just consideration; for these is not only the truth, but the justice also of the person promising is concerned to the fulfilling of them. Hence in Scripture you shall ordinarily find the Servants of God pleading the Word, the Covenant of God, spoken to, and made with them, Psal. 119. 49. Remember thy Word unto thy Servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope; and in many other Texts of Scripture. I say, when a Soul can go to God, and say in truth, that he valueth his love and favor above Wine, above Life, above all created comforts, this Argument layeth hold upon several Promises of God. I will a little enlarge upon this: • . It layeth hold upon a Promise of filling and satisfaction, Matth. 5. 6. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after Righteousness, for they shall be filled. It is a mighty large and comprehensive Promise. To fill a Soul with the influences of Divine Love, is a very great thing. It is not easy to fill the covetous man with Wealth; but he may be sooner filled with Riches, than the Soul of a good man with the Love and Grace of God. But here is a Promise of being filled: Open thy mouth wide (saith God) and I will fill it. To whom is this Promise made? To him that hungers and thirsteth after Righteousness. Righteousness is Grace, whether you take it for the Righteousness of Justification, the Righteousness of Christ, in which every Soul must stand righteous before God: Or the Righteousness of Sanctification, habits and acts of Holiness wrought in us, and done by us, they are both from Grace, from the free Love of God shining upon our Souls. He that hungers and thirsts after it, is he that intensely desires it. Hunger and thirst are natural passions arising in us from our want of due aliment; nature enforcing in us a sense of that want, (and of all other) they are the most vehement. Thence our English Proverb, Hunger will break through stone walls; and experience tells us, to what hard things these passions have brought people, not only to eat Carrion, but to kill and eat their own Children; yea the flesh of their own Arms; so as hungering and thirsting after Righteousness, importeth vehement desires after Grace, which desires testify the Soul's estimate of it, and value for it; and to those who thus hunger and thirst the Promise is made, that they shall be filled.
Again, such a Soul hath a right to those Promises of all Grace propounded in the most large and comprehensive terms, and general phrases; as where God promiseth a new heart, the water of life, his coming unto Souls, dwelling in them, abiding with them. The Soul that can go to God; and truly say,, that he prizeth the Loves of Christ above all things, layeth hold of all these Promises of which the holy Scriptures are full, Isa. 55. 1, 2. Ho everyone that thirsteth, come you to the waters, and buy, without money, and without price, buy wine and milk. So Rev. 22. 17. Let him that is athirst come, and whosoever will, let him drink of the water of life freely. Joh. 14. 23. If any man love me, he will keep my words, and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. So v. 21. He that loveth me, shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and manifest myself to him. These now, and such like, are general Promises comprehensive of all the Love of Christ to the Soul, in the various manifestations of it, according to the Soul's diversified necessities, with respect to its several circumstances. Now observe to whom these Promises are made, to those that love Christ, and in evidence of that love, hunger and thirst after him, to them the Promises are made, 1. That the Father will love that man or woman. 2. That both Christ, and his Father, will come unto him. 3. That they will manifest themselves unto them; that they will dwell, and make their abode with them. That they shall have Wine and Milk without money and price. Now I appeal to any ordinary capacity, what evidence of Love any Soul can give greater, than the valuing of his Loves above all other things. So that, where this can be said in truth to God, God is challenged upon a multitude of Promises, even so many as are made, to the Love of God, and Christ, and to the Soul's hungerings and thirstings after him. Nay, there is yet another sort of Promises, which such a Soul challengeth, viz. all those Promises of a further supply and increase of Grace to those that have the Seed of Grace: As Matth. 13. 12. To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have in more abundance. I might add many more of like nature; but there is hardly any of you but know how to furnish yourselves with them. Now where the Soul can challenge God upon a Promise, and lay claim to the mercy which it asketh, from an obligation which God by his Word hath laid upon himself, to give it: This is a great Argument, for it toucheth God upon the account of his Truth and Faithfulness.
3. Further yet this argument toucheth God as he is a tender Father. God (you know) to let us know his heart to his poor Creatures, amongst other names of relation hath taken to him that of a Father, to let us know there is in his gracious nature something analogous or proportionable to the heart and bowels of Earthly Parents to their Children, and accordingly our Savior argues, that if any of our Children ask of us bread, we will not give them a Stone, nor a Scorpion instead of Fish, and thence concludeth, that if we being evil know how to give good things to our Children, much more will our Heavenly Father give good things to them that ask him. You, many of you know the heart of a Father. To which of you would it not be a great argument, to draw you out to any acts by which you could manifest your loves to a Child, for your Child to come, and beg your love to it, telling you, that it valueth your love above all things in the world, that it had rather have your love, your heart towards it, than have all the estate you can give it? Shall there not be something in the heart of God proportionated to this affection in your hearts? Is it possible that a Child of God, should come to God, and in sincerity say to him; Father! I beg some tokens of thy special distinguishing love to my Soul, thou that knowest all things, knowest that I love thee, and that my Soul doth value thy loves above all that the world affords, and God's heart should not yearn, and his bowels melt towards such a Soul? God must say of the voice of such a Soul, as Isaac sometimes said, It is the voice of my Son Jacob. None but a Child can speak such a language.
4. Finally. No arguments can be of more force to use with God, than such wherein the Interest of his own glory is concerned. The Glory of God being his own great end, which he pursueth in all his actions, he useth a great argument to God, that saith unto him, Father glorify thyself. So gracious is God, that he gives us leave to fetch arguments from ourselves, our own wants, and the misery we are in, which arguments affect God, as he is a God full of pity and tender compassion. But those arguments which we can fetch from the Interest of his own glory, seem to have a greater force, as complying with what is the Lord's great and chiefest end. He that sets an high value and estimate upon the love of Christ, giveth God a great deal of Glory, preferring him to all things in the world, for God cannot be more glorified by the Creature, than to be in heart esteemed above, and preferred to the whole Creation. So as that Soul that goeth to God with this argument, doth in effect say; Father! my Soul hath glorified thee upon the Earth, and doth give thee the glory of being the most excellent object, and more desirable than all the world besides. Now therefore glorify thyself in manifesting of thy love to me, that I may further exalt thee in thy rich and free Grace. I now come to the application.
By way of Instruction, first, we may observe, That the meanest Child of God is furnished with a better argument to encourage his hopes in his addresses to the throne of Grace, than the greatest and proudest Sinner in the world hath. There are arguments, which Sinners may use, from the infiniteness, and freeness of the divine bounty and goodness, from their relation to God, as his Creatures, from the greatness of their misery, &c. and they may obtain something from God upon these pleas, from that infinite goodness, and compassion that is in the Divine Nature; but no unregenerate man can use this argument which hath in it a much greater force. On the other side, there is no the meanest child of God, not the meanest believer that is in the world but hath this argument to use with God. Other arguments may be of avail with God for the obtaining some good things of this life, this is of force for the obtaining those of highest consequence relating to the internal, and eternal happiness of the Soul.
Secondly, This offers us a great encouragement to examine ourselves upon this point, Whether we have a due estimate of the loves of Christ, Whether we can truly say to our blessed Lord, That his loves are better than Wine, and that we value them not only above all sensual satisfactions, which the profane scandalous Sinner doeth not, but above all sensible satisfactions, which no unregenerate carnal man doth. I remember when our Savior examined Peter about his love to him, he propounded to him this question, Joh. 21. 15. Simon Peter lovest thou me more than these? I do know that many Interpreters by [these] in that Text understand his other Disciples standing by. There was a time when Peter preferred himself (as to his love towards his Master) to all the other Disciples: Tho (saith he) all should deny thee, yet I would not deny thee. Peter since that time was humbled, our Savior had a mind that his humility should be manifested, and therefore (say some) he propoundeth that question to him: but I remember Bernard in one of his Sermons upon the Canticles puts another sense upon the words, Lovest thou me more than thou lovest these? and so it may be referred either to the company with whom he was, or to the diversion of fishing, they were employed in, or to the great draught of fish, which they had taken. I do but allude to the text, who so truly loveth the Lord Jesus Christ, if all the persons, and things in the world were before him, must be able to say, I love Christ more than these. Admit his friends and nearest relations to be in his Eye, all the pleasant and delectable things in the world, all the Crowns and Scepters, and honors in the world, all the Gold, and Silver, and Houses, and Lands in the world in his Eye: He must be able to say, I love the Lord Jesus Christ more than these; yea if his own life be set before him, not to be enjoyed without the loss of Christ's love, he must be able to say that he loves Christ more than that, Mat. 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, Lu. 14. 26. If any man come to me, and hate not his Father and Mother, and Wife, and Children, and Brethren, and Sisters, yea and his own life also, he cannot be my Disciple. But I have formerly given you some directions how to try yourselves, whether the loves of Christ in the apprehension of your Souls are good before Wine, and shall therefore add no more on this argument.
In the third place; This notion may be of great use to relieve Christians doubting whether they have any one good Argument to use with God in their applications to him. 2. Whether any of their Prayers have at any time pierced the Heavens, and been accepted of God. A good Christian is often doubting, whether he may go to God or no; whether he hath one good Argument to use, which may be of avail with God. We have many words to say, many Arguments to use; and when it is a clear day with the Soul, it can easily discern it, and fill its mouth with words of several natures; but in a dark day, under the prevailings of Melancholy, or boisterous Temptations, it can find many Arguments to deter it from Addresses to God, its own vileness and unworthiness considered with God's purity and holiness, the multitude of its sins, its former Prayers (as it fancieth) lying by not answered, but it cannot find one Argument to encourage it. But every Christian hath at all times many Arguments, if he could discern them. David made his vileness and unworthiness an Argument, Psal. 25. Pardon mine iniquity (saith he) for it is great. That's an Argument all have, and at all times. Ah! but (saith the Soul) this is no other than the vilest person hath: He may plead the freeness of Divine Grace. The Soul that goeth to God for Free Grace, can never want an Argument, but still this is common, and no more encouraging a Believer, than another man. We may plead our own misery, and sad state; misery is the object of Grace and Mercy; but still this is common. The vilest sinner may go and plead with God for mercy, because his state is miserable. A true Christian would have an Argument of a more special nature, and such a one as in the use of, he could go boldly and with confidence to the Throne of Grace. Admitting this Proposition, every good Christian hath such an Argument; such an Argument as no unregenerate man hath, such an Argument as he may go to God with, with boldness and confidence: God was never yet wanting to the truly hungering and thirsty Soul after his Love; such an Argument as if pleaded with God, and being in truth, always prevailed with God.
I shall shut up this Discourse with some few words of Exhortation.
1. To all: To labor to bring up their hearts to this, to prize the favor of God above all other things whatsoever. How you shall know whether your hearts be brought up to it or no, I have before shown you; but suffer me here to give you some Directions in the case, and to press it with some Arguments. Until we do find that our Souls do set such an estimate upon the Loves of Christ, we can never use it as an Argument with God. This is therefore the first thing which we have to do, to be restless till we find that we can say it in truth, that we value Christ's Loves above all earthly things. Nor will this ever be effectually done, till the holy Spirit of God comes upon our hearts with its impressions and demonstrations; all that we can do will bear no more than the notion of means in order to that blessed end. Of that nature much may be directed.
First, Let thy Soul and its immortal state, with its condition referring to that state, be much in thy thoughts. It is one great reason why men neglect and are careless as to the Loves of Christ, because they do not remember they have immortal Souls, nor consider any future state, or their own circumstances relating to it. Men know that they have bodies, and experience hunger, and thirst, and cold, and so are very busy in taking care what they shall eat, and drink, and put on, but they do not know, at least they do not attend to their knowledge of it, and have no certain knowledge and persuasion that they have immortal Souls, that can no more die with the body, than eat, drink, or sleep with it, so as they take no further care than for their outward man. Neither do they attend to the consideration of the condition of their Souls with respect to an eternal existence, but run away with presumptuous fancies that God will not suffer them to perish forever; determining concerning their Souls according to their fancies, and the dictates of their own vitiated reason, not according to the revelations of the Divine Will; would men think more of their Souls, and consider the immortality of them, would they determine concerning them, according to Divine Revelation, it were impossible they should so far, as generally they do, neglect the care of them. They would quickly see that all the good things of the world could not affect the Soul with any good, and therefore must needs be invaluable things compared with those things that will secure the Souls happiness both here and forever. If men believed they had immortal Souls, their reason would teach them quickly to conclude that they are better than the body, which is but earth, and which must return to dust and consequently whatsoever is good for the Soul, must be infinitely more good than what only serveth the necessities of our earthly part, and that neither but for a little time. But the truth is, as the Fool hath said in his heart there is no God: So he hath also said in his Heart, I have no Soul, no such immortal substance as Preachers talk of, there is no such thing as Heaven, or Hell; most unregenerate men are in their Hearts Atheists. The natural reason of all men teacheth them to look after their concerns and interests, and to prefer greater, before lesser interests, and to value what makes for their greatest interests, above what is only subservient to an interest of lesser value. Men's preference of created comforts before the loves of Christ proceedeth merely from their ignorance, that they have Souls to look after, or at least unbelief of it, if they notionally know it, their not understanding the nature, and spiritual concerns of their Souls, or at least their erroneous fancies and conceptions, of an universal Salvation of all, or all at least that are baptized; the first thing to be done rationally to possess Men and Women of the excellency of Christ's loves, above Wine, above all sensual things, or any sensible things, is to possess men of this knowledge, and to keep their Eyes waking to the consideration of it, and to engage them to take their measures of these things from the revelation of the will of God, in his word, not from their own wild fancies, and ratiocinations.
Secondly, Possess your Souls of the impossibility of their receiving of any good, anything suited to their necessities, but only from Christ. There is no other name given under Heaven, there is no Salvation in any other. The power over all Souls is committed unto Christ. The Father forgives Sins, but it is for Christ 's sake; as God for Christ 's sake hath forgiven you (saith the Apostle) we have Redemption, forgiveness of Sin through his blood. In him we have righteousness, peace, through him we have access, an entrance into the hol • est of all; the Father hath given unto him Eternal life, that he should give it to whomsoever he pleaseth. There is no good thing suited to a Souls wants, but it deriveth from Christ. Good things suited to the more external wants of our Body, derive from God as the great preserver of man, and flow from that common providence of his which daily worketh in the upholding and preservation of created Beings; but good things for our Souls derive from Christ as Mediator, and as they are purchased by his blood, so they are dispensed out by his Spirit. This now can appear to a Soul from no other light but that of Revelation, study therefore the holy Scriptures, meditate therein night and day, they testify all this concerning Christ. A full persuasion of these two things, 1. That we have immortal Souls, ordained to an eternity, either of happiness or misery. 2. That nothing but the love of Christ can furnish them with those good things which are proper, and necessary for them, with respect to their Eternal Happiness, are enough to convince Men and Women that the loves of Christ are as much better than Wine, and to be preferred to it, as the Soul is better than the Body, and the things suited to its wants, better than those things which are only suited to the wants of the outward man. But still I say, and every days experience, maketh it good, Non persuaseris etiamsi persuaseris, you shall not persuade Men and Women, though you say enough to persuade them, though you shut up their mouths, and they having nothing to say, such a power hath lust in the heart of man, into such a debauchery is the nature of man degenerated. Admitting men to believe, that they have immortal Souls, and that the Holy Scriptures are the Word of God, there is nothing in nature hath a fuller evidence than this truth, that the loves of Christ are preferrible to all things in the world, and a man cannot act like a reasonable creature in preferring anything unto them; yet who believes it? who lives up to this demonstration? It is God must persuade the Soul of this, and till the Soul hath this written and engraven upon it by the finger of his Spirit, it will never so Judge. Lastly therefore,
Pray mightily that God would open your Ears, to see this, and persuade your Souls of the truth of it, for till he doth it, in vain are men's persuasions. To move you to it, consider,
1. This will bear some proportion to the love of Christ to mankind. Christ loved us more than these, more than all the Kingdoms, and pleasures and profits, and honors of the world, yea more than his own life, yea he preferred us to the Angels, the fallen Angels, for he took not upon him the nature of Angels, but the nature of man.
2. This will speak the Soul to be a wise and understanding Soul. Certain it is (as I have already shown you) that the loves of Christ are good before Wine. The wisdom of a Soul lieth much in a right discerning betwixt good and evil, and betwixt that which is good, and that which is more good or better. The excellency of a Soul lieth in its conformity to God, he is an Atheist who owneth not God to be the first Being, and to be of all Beings, the most excellent, and perfect Being. So as necessarily, that Soul that comes nearest in conformity to God, must be the most excellent Soul, now that Soul which acteth most up to the principles of improved and pure reason, and to the rule of that holy Writ, which we all confess to be the revealed Will of God, and liveth most up to the Divine Pattern, doing what God doth, that must needs be the most wise, excellent, understanding Soul. Now will not a little reason serve to convince us that Christ is the most excelling Object, and therefore to be preferred to all sublunary enjoyments? Doth not the Scripture represent him to us as altogether desires, as the chiefest of ten thousand, as the well beloved of the Father in whom he is well pleased, as he whom we ought to love with all our heart, all our Soul, all our Strength? Doth not the Father, the Heavenly Father love him above all other objects? To which of the Angels said he at any time. Thou art my Son, this day I have begotten thee; and again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son,—He was brought up with the Father, and daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.
3. This will speak an heavenly sublimated Soul, purged from the dregs of sensuality and from an earthly mind, a Soul risen with Christ, and seeking the things which are above, Col. 3. 1. The preference of Wine, any sensual satisfactions, or any sensible enjoyments to the loves of Christ, speaks a dirty Soul, that feedeth upon carrion, and can be filled with wind.
Lastly, You have heard what an argument this will supply a Soul with in all its addresses and applications to God for any grace or favor, no argument can be more moving, more prevailing with God, none that layeth hold upon more promises, or that toucheth God more as a tender Father. O therefore labor for this frame of Spirit, and give your Souls no rest until you find that they indeed do prefer the love of Christ before all other things in Heaven and Earth.
Secondly, This notion calleth to all you who profess Godliness, and to anything of the Spirit of Adoption, which teacheth to cry Abba Father, to take heed of a Carnal mind, an heart cleaving to any created comforts in excessive degrees, so as for the enjoyment of them, or any of them to run the hazard of the loves of Christ; you will by it prejudice your souls in a great argument, which you might use at the Throne of Grace. There are amongst others, three distempers of heart, which those that would do much with God in Prayer must take heed of.
1. A revengeful, not forgiving frame of Spirit. It is a dreadful Text, Mat. 6. 15. But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you. Our Savior hath taught us to pray, Forgive us our Debts, as we forgive our Debtors.
2. A doubting and unbelieving frame of Spirit. He that cometh unto God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that seek him, he that lifts up his hands unto God, must lift up pure hands, and that without doubting?
3. Thirdly, A Carnal heart, cleaving to the world, & preferring the things of the world, to the loves of Christ, & the good things of Grace.
Lastly. Is this such an argument of force with God? Let then such as can use it in truth make use of it, I doubt not but I speak to many, who can in truth say, that they value the loves of Christ the tokens of his special, and distinguishing love above all earthly contentments; when you go to God plead this, take unto you words, and say, Lord, let me be made a partaker of thy special distinguishing love, thou knowest that my Soul valueth it above mountains of Gold, Rocks of Pearl, or ten thousand Rivers of Oil.
But possibly some may say, This is to plead my own merit.
I answer, no, for consider who it is that hath wrought in thy heart this value and esteem. Is it not God? Did flesh and blood reveal any such thing unto thee; thou dost not then plead thy own merit, thou only pleadest with God, from what he hath already wrought, and begun in thee.
2. It is but the pleading of the promise which God hath made to them that love him and keep his Commandments.
3. Neither dost thou plead thy esteem, and value for the loves of Christ, as meritorious, as thinking that thy prizing the loves of Christ, meriteth the further manifestations of them to thy Soul, thou only pleadest it as a gracious habit wrought in thy Soul, by which God hath fulfilled in thy Soul the condition of the promise; thou only beggest of God, that he who hath wrought in thy Soul that condition to which he hath annexed his promise, would now fulfil also that promise to thy Soul which is annexed to that condition.
Thus I have finished the discourses I designed upon the first Petition of the Spouse as pressed by her first Argument; Let him kiss me with the kisses of his Mouth: For thy Loves are better than Wine.
Sermon XIII.
Canticles 1. 3.
I Proceed to the next Proposition, which I at first observed from these words, which I then largely opened.
Christ hath good Ointments, which cast a savor, my meaning is (according to my former explication of the words) That the Lord Jesus Christ, is filled with the graces of the blessed Spirit, which in themselves are as good Ointments, and whose excellency is discerned by every true Believer, by every Soul that is espoused to the Lord Jesus Christ (to use the Apostles phrase, I have espoused you to one Husband.) For a further discourse upon this Proposition, let me first show you,
1. What I mean by Christ's Grace, and when I say he is full of the Graces of the holy Spirit.
2. In what respects these graces are like to good Ointments.
3. What particular graces of the Spirit, are thus like to good Ointments.
4. Whence it is that they are discerned, and more effectually discerned by a gracious heart than another. We read in the Psalmist that Christ was anointed mith the Oil of gladness above his fellows, Heb. 1. 3. That he was anointed with the Holy Ghost, and with power, Acts 10. 38. That phrase in the Epistle to the Hebrews; borrowed out of Psal. 45. as I shown you, is excellently interpreted by John: God gave not the Spirit unto him by measure, Joh. 3. 34. The Grace of God was said to be upon him, Luk. 2. 40. and he is said to be full of Grace and Truth, Joh. 1. 14. Grace in Scripture, as it relateth unto God, is usually taken in one of these two senses:
1. For the favor, and free love of God by which a Person is accepted of God, and so Grace is in St. Paul's Epistles to the Romans and Galatians, and in his other Epistles opposed to works; thus we are said to be justified by Grace, saved by Grace. In this sense it is also in Scripture applied to Creatures; Esther obtained Grace (that is favor) in the sight of the King, Esther 2. 17. and so in many other Texts. Or 2dly it is taken,
For some holy and virtuous qualities, and dispositions, by which (our Persons being first accepted in Christ) we are acceptable unto God: Thus it is said, Joh. 1. 16. Of his fullness we have all received Grace for Grace; thus Love is called a Grace, 2▪ Cor. 8. 6. and in this sense the Apostle telleth the Corinthians, God is able to make all Grace to abound to them, 2 Cor. 8. 9. In this sense we are commanded to grow in Grace, that is in holy & virtuous dispositions, or habits, 2 Pet. 3. 18. It is expounded by 2 Pet. 1. 5. Add to your 〈◊〉 virtue; and to virtue, knowledge; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly-kindness; and to brotherly-kindness, charity. The Grace of Christ is taken in a double sense.
1. Subjectively, For that free love, and favor, which is subjected in Christ, and being in him as its Fountain, floweth from him to cur Souls. In this sense Christ is said to be sail of Grace, and truth, full of love, free love towards his Peoples Souls, and truly in this sense Grace comes by Jesus Christ, for out of him God loveth no Soul. In this sense the Apostle wisheth to the Romans, Grace and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Take Grace in this sense, Christ is the Subject of it, and the medium by whom it floweth from the Eternal Father to the Children of men; he himself was from Eternity, beloved of God, and that both necessarily, and freely, being his Fathers Son, begotten from Eternity, the Father loved him, delighted in him; and indeed in this sense Christ may be said to have been the object of Grace, but he was not anointed with this in time, he had it from before all times, only as to the Grace of Union, the human Nature, until Christ assumed it was not beloved of God, Christ assuming it, it became the object of this Grace.
2. But secondly the Grace of Christ is also taken objectively for that Grace which was poured out on Christ as Mediator, and this is either;
1. The Grace of Union, which is the free love of God assuming the human nature into a personal union with the Divine Nature, in which thing God put a great deal of dignity upon, and shown a great deal of love unto our Nature.
2. The grace of Sanctification, by which I understand not the same which the Children of God receive upon Regeneration, when of unholy they are made holy, of impure they are made pure, of proud they are made humble, &c. But those holy dispositions, and qualifications, which were found in Christ, considered as the Son of Man by virtue of the union of the Divine Nature, with the Human Nature, and his anointing with the Holy Ghost (not given by measure unto him) by which he was not only acceptable to his Father as Mediator, but he is also exceeding lovely to his Saints. So that when I say Christ hath good Ointments; abundance of Grace; I understand,
1. Abundance of free love which dwelt in him as God over all blessed forever, to be dispensed out according to the particular exigencies of all his Peoples Souls.
2. Many gracious dispositions, which eminently dwelling in the God-Head from all Eternity, were also by the Spirit, poured out upon the Human Nature in his Incarnation. These are here called by a Metaphor Ointments, and good Ointments.
1. Because by the communication of these from the Divine to the Human Nature, in the personal union of both Natures in the Lord Jesus Christ, Christ was sanctified and set apart, and constituted as a person fit to be our High Priest and King.
This (as I told you in my last discourse) was one of the sacred uses of Oil, which the Jews made, there was a sweet anointing Oil, made by God's special prescript, for the consecration of the High Priest, the Tabernacle, and their holy Utensils; with this also they anointed their Kings. This did but typify the anointing of the Holy Ghost; and by the receiving of this Unction Christ was constituted our High Priest, and the King upon the Holy Hill of Zion. By the Grace of Hypostatical Union he was made so: I mean by the union of the Divine and Human Nature in the one Person of Christ. Christ indeed had an Essential Kingdom, equal with the Father by his Eternal Generation, but he obtained his Mediatory Kingdom, by virtue of his Incarnation, and Unction. The new and living way was consecrated for us through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, Thus he was made our High Priest, our King, our Prophet; and by his gracious dispositions and qualifications, he was made fit for a Mediator. For such an High Priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from Sinners, and made higher than the Heavens, who needed not daily as those High Priests (under the law) to offer up Sacrifice, first for his own Sins, then for the People, &c. Heb. 7. 26. 27.
2. The Graces of Christ were like good Oils, or Ointments, as they were used in Sacrifice, they cannot indeed so properly be called a Sacrifice, but they were as the Oil poured upon the meat offering. There is a dispute whether the Passive Obedience of Christ only, or his Active obedience also, be imputed to us, and be our righteousness; not to meddle with that, supposing his passive obedience to have alone been the Sacrifice, yet his Active obedience must be allowed, as the Oil poured upon it. The meat offering was usually some Beast or Bird slain, but then they were to come, and pour Oil upon it. Christ's death upon the Cross was his offering: That was the Sacrifice, but his Graces were as the Oil poured upon this offering, had not he that died been pure, and holy, righteous, and separate from sinners, meek, obedient, &c. he could not have been accepted for others, for he must have offered for himself, as the Apostle teacheth us, Heb. 7. 26, 27. Thus his personal graces, and perfections, were like good Oils, with respect to the use of Oil in Sacrifice, upon the account of them it was that he offered up to his Father a Sacrifice for the Sins of his People, which was acceptable.
Thirdly. The Personal Graces and perfections of Christ, were like good Oils for their sweet savor. These perfections are those things which make the name, and person of Christ as a sweet smelling savor in the Nostrils of every understanding gracious Soul; what is it which maketh any Soul love Christ; what maketh its own private meditations of him, or the report which it receiveth of him, so exceeding sweet to the Soul, but these excellencies and perfections, which are in him: His free, and infinite love, to the Sons and Daughters of Men, his pity and compassion, his slowness to conceive a wrath, and readiness to forgive, his freeness to heal his Peoples backslidings, his purity, and holiness, his patience and meekness: These are those things which make Christ appear so lovely, and amiable to gracious Souls. Lastly like good Oils, they serve the Soul for food. What doth a Soul that hungereth, and thirsteth after Righteousness seed upon, but the Righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ? (some indeed have found a Righteousness of their own to feed upon, but I doubt whether those Souls that feed on nothing else will appear fair, and well liking in the great day of the Lord:) Suppose a Soul pined away in the sense of its iniquities, what doth it live upon, but only the free Grace and mercy of God in the Lord Jesus Christ? As Hezekiah said in another case; By these things men live: so doth every Spiritual Soul make use of the Grace of Christ, and may say: By the Righteousness of Christ I live, by thelove, pity, and tender mercies of Lord Jesus Christ I live: By his fullness of grace I live, for, of his fullness we receive Grace for Grace. Thus you see how upon all accounts, The grace of Christ is like good Ointments.
But thus much generally. We are upon a Bed of Spices, it is good for us to be here, let me therefore speak a little more particularly, showing you particularly:
What these Graces of our Lord Jesus Christ are, which are upon all these accounts, as good Oils, or good Ointments.
I shall answer this in several particulars:
1. The Grace of Union, is as a good O • l. There is a three-fold Union considerable with reference to Christ. 1. His Eternal Union with his Father. This is what he saith in the Gospel once, and again, I and my Father are one, but it is not proper to call this Grace. It was natural; his Generation who can declare? 2. The second is the Hypostatical Union of the Divine, and Human Nature, in the One Person of the Mediator. This was Grace, the assumption of our Nature, to make one Person, with the Divine Nature, this was an act of Grace; it was not Natural, not Eternal, but the product of Divine, and free 〈…〉 time. It was the Grace both of the first and of the second Person in the Trinity, to assume human nature into an Union with the second Person. 3. There is an Union of Christ with Believers, I in you (saith Christ) and you in me. These are mysteries (the two latter I mean) not to be fully known, and understood, until Christ's second coming. At that day (saith our Blessed Lord) Joh. 14. 20. You shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and Lin you. That there is such a thing we know, how it is we do not know: but in the mean time this is also of Grace. This in the second sense is terminated in Christ, in the last it is terminated in the truly believing Soul. I am sure both are as good Oils. That Grace which was both from the Father, and himself considered as God, by which our Nature was assumed into a oneness with the Second Person in the God-Head. This is like a good Oil, this was the sweet anointing Oil of his Consecration, by this he Was constituted out High Priest, capacitated to offer a Sacrifice to his Father, both meritorious, and acceptable. As God he could not die, as merely the Son of man he could not merit, as God-man, he could do both. O this makes Christ exceeding lovely in the Eyes of a Spiritual intelligent Soul: Christ as God is full of Glory and Majesty; but his Glory is invisible, his Majesty is incomprehensible; but now when the Word was made flesh, and came and dwelt amongst us, then as the Evangelist saith) we beheld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten Son of the Father, full of Grace and Truth. All the comfort of a Soul dependeth upon Christ's Incarnation, and what he did, and suffered, as manifested in the fl sh. Oh! how sweet this is to the Soul to think of this, together with the satisfaction, which by virtue of this, he gave to Divine Justice, and the daily intercession which he makes, together with the consideration, that in this Capacity he entered into the Heavens, as our forerunner; and we sit together with, and in him in heavenly places (as the Apostle speaks) are matters of exceeding sweet Meditation; upon these the Soul liveth, and supporteth its faith. The Grace of Union also considered in the last notion is exceeding sweet. This Grace is rooted in Christ, and terminated in the Soul. By this the Soul is consecrated to God, by virtue of this it is consecrated a Priest to offer up Spiritual Sacrifices to God acceptable through the beloved; by this it is comforted and refreshed, when it is terrified with the thoughts of the disunion with God, occasioned by the fall of Adam, and that separation which its daily sins make betwixt God and it: By this the Soul liveth its Spiritual life, for Spiritual life lies in the union of the Soul with God, which is made by, and in Christ.
Secondly, The Grace of Love in Christ, is as a sweet Oil or Ointment: That holy disposition which is in him, by which he takes delight in the Sons of Men, willeth them good with respect to their several capacities. God is love (saith the Apostle) Christ is Love as he is God, but as Mediator he is infinitely full of love; his pardoning Grace, is nothing but free love respecting a guilty creature, his healing, restoring Grace is free love respecting a backsliding Soul. I will heal your backslidings, and love you freely. He hath in him comfort for them that are sad, strength for them that are weak; now is not this an Ointment that giveth a good savor? I appeal to any Soul that hath been pricked at the heart for sin, and felt the load and burden of it: How sweet hath it been to a Soul to apprehend the Lord Jesus Christ as one who pardoneth its iniquities! How sweet hath it been to a Soul smitten with the sense of its backslidings, to apprehend Christ as one who healeth backslidings, and hath mercy even for the rebellious also! When a Soul is discouraged at the apprehended difficulty of duty, the strength and prevailings of sin, and corruption, how sweet is it to the Soul to think of Christ's strengthening grace, the Promises against the Dominion of sin, and the over-powering of temptation, &c. That we who of ourselves can do nothing, yet can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth us!
Thirdly, The Righteousness of Christ, is a good Oil or Ointment. There is a threefold Righteousness may be conceived in the Lord Jesus Christ. 1. Considering him as God; so there was in him an universal rectitude and perfection of nature. What is essentially good, pure and perfect, is the object of Love. Thy Word is pure (saith David) therefore doth thy Servant love it. 2. Considering him as Mediator, so his Righteousness was his Active and Passive Obedience: Whether both be imputed to us for Righteousness, that is another question, as to which I shall only say this; That the usual Objection, That his Active Obedience was but the debt of his human Nature, which was a Creature, and therefore could not be imputed, is of no value, for his Righteousness was the Righteousness and Obedience of a person that was God Man, so had a surplusage infinitely beyond the debt of the human Nature considered as a creature. Most certain it is, he had a Righteousness, yea and a Righteousness which is reckoned to us for Righteousness: his Name is, The Lord our Righteousness; and he was made of God for us Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption; and this is a sweet Ointment; for by this the Soul knows that God hath said to it, Take away that Soul's filthy garments, and clothe it with a change of garments: By this it knows, under the utmost sense of its own unrighteousness, that it hath a Righteousness, wherein it shall stand before God, and its Sins shall be as if they never had been; by this the Soul knows that its imperfect duties, and short performances of the Divine Law shall be made up, through the more perfect performance of the Lord Jesus. 3. There is also a Righteousness of the human Nature of Christ, which was the conformity of his Soul to the whole Will, and Law of God. There is no holy disposition required of any human Soul, but was to be found in the Lord Jesus Christ. Holiness, Meekness, Patience, universal Obedience; now this also is a sweet smelling Ointment.
1. As these dispositions render any Subject lovely, any creature, though found in it more imperfectly, much more Christ in whom they are found most eminently. There is none but naturally loves one who behaveth himself blamelessly, in whose heart we can discern no guile; one who is in his behavior humble, meek, lowly, gentle, patient, full of goodness; now these, and all other excellent Virtues being in Christ eminently, make him the excelling Object of our Love: Christ was meek and lowly, Matth. 11. 29. he was humble, condescending to those of low degree. He made himself of no reputation, Phil. 2. 7. Though he was rich, yet for our sake (saith the Apostle) he became poor. For his patience, he was led as a Lamb to the Slaughter, and as a Sheep before the Shearers, so opened he not his mouth. What should I speak of his readiness to forgive, his praying to his Father that he would forgive those that crucified him; all these made Christ an exceeding lovely Object.
2. But now Christ as Mediator hath not only these excellent habits as Ornaments for himself, but as the Fountain of Grace, to distribute to us. Of his fullness, we have received Grace for Grace, 1 Joh. v. 16. These are now Christ's good Ointments, for the savor of which the Spiritual Virgins love him. And that they may do so, it is necessary they should receive the savor of them. At the savor of thy good Ointments: So then, they must not only cast a savor, but the Soul that loveth Christ for them, must receive the savor of them. The last Question is; How a Soul receiveth the savor of them? I answer two ways.
1. By Faith: I mean not here Justifying Faith (that brings in experience to the Soul, of which more by and by) I mean here only Faith of Assent; whose Object is the Proposition of the Word, to which the Soul fixedly and steadily subscribeth; So as the Revelation which is there, becomes as certain to it, as matter of sensible demonstration: For Faith is (as the Apostle telleth us) the Evidence of things not seen.
Secondly; The Soul receiveth the savor of these good Ointments: By Experience it hath tasted how good the Lord is. What it bath heard of God in his Word, it hath seen in the communications of his Grace. There is no knowledge like to this, and there is no Spiritual Virgin, but hath had less or more, some experience of the Lord's good Ointments. But I come to the Application.
In the first place, this may inform us of the Excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ, what an adequate Object he is for every Soul to take a delight and pleasure in? It may be worth your observation, how the Language of the Scripture concerning Christ, is such as seems to court the humor of every Soul, to a seeking after a propriety and interest in him, by showing him to have something in him suitable to it, that so it might take our hearts off beguiling Objects. Every Sinner naturally saith, Who will show us any good? Good is the common Mistress of the World: Everyone courts it. They only differ in their fancies and apprehensions of what is so, and court shadows and Chimera's. One saith, Who will show us any good? That is, some way to get a penny. How shall we heap up Silver as the Dust, and Riches as the Sand, and join house to house, and field to field, until there be no room left in the Earth? Come unto me, saith Christ, I will give you the Riches of Grace, the Riches of Glory, Rev. 3. 18. I counsel thee to buy of me Gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich, and white Rayment that thou mayest be clothed, and the shame of thy nakedness may not appear. What shall it profit thee (saith he) to gain the whole world, and lose thy own Soul? Another man he cares not for money, but for his necessary uses; but he hunts after honor, that is his good; he would be 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 , some great person in the World; he would be led about the Streets, and hear men cry out; Thus shall it be done to the man whom the King delighteth to honor. This man now looks upon Silver and Gold but as white and yellow Earth, and Sand, Idolized a little by a relative value some put upon it. He snuffs up the Air, and desires no more than a great Name in the world. Christ, to take them off this pitiful pursuit of the Wind and Chaff of the Air, the empty Air of Court Favor, or popular Applause, tells them, he hath honor for them. To as many as receive him, he gave a p wer to become the Sons of God. And if Sons, then Heirs, Joynt-Heirs with Christ. They shall Reign with him; They shall judge the World; They shall be Kings and Priests to the most High God, &c. There is a third sort that cries, Who will show us any good? Their good is the tickling of their Senses▪ delicious Fare and Drink for their taste; fine Rayment for their touch; sweet Odours for their smells; Music for their Ears, &c. Give them but enough of Wine, and Strong Drink, and Dancings, and dainty Food, costly Apparel Perfumes, sweet Ointments for their Hair, &c. and a few such trifling vanities, which perish with the using, and they have enough, let who will take Silver, and Gold, and Honors, &c. Now that the Lord might draw off these sensual Hearts, he proponndeth himself as the object of Pleasure; he at whose right hand is pleasure, a fullness of pleasure for evermore; one who hath Oils, and sweet Ointments, Wine, &c. Thus he allureth the appetite of every sinner, propounding himself as an object proportioned to it.
In the second place, This Notion will afford everyone of us a Note by which we may try our interest in, and acquaintance with the Lord Jesus Christ. The Note is this: If thou beest a Spouse of Christ, thou hast a savor of his good Ointments. Do the excelling graces of Christ, make him appear pretions to thy Soul? 1 Pet. 2. 7. To you that believe he is precious. To an unbeliever Christ is vile; every unbeliever doth not speak vilely of Christ, but he hath a vile estimate of him, he judgeth vilely concerning Christ, he hath no esteem for him, he seeth no excellency in him for which he is to be desired; he can understand the value of any Gold, but that which Christ calleth Gold tried in the fire, Rev. 3. 18. He can fancy the value of any honor, except that of being called the Sons of God, he can taste any pleasure, but that which ariseth from a Souls Union, and communion with Christ. By this we may try ourselves, what relation we have to Christ.
In the last place, this Notion of Christ's good Ointments offers me a fair opportunity to persuade Men and Women of pleasure, Vain, Christless, careless Souls, to endeavor an acquaintance with Christ. There is a generation in the world, whom pleasure enticeth from God and his ways, their temptation lies not in their Chests, they value not riches, if they have money, they throw it away as dirt; it lies not in honors, they have no itch after great places, no, but it lies in the cravings of their external senses. Their senses itch, & they must scratch them & this is their undoing,& must be so, so long as the practice of Religion lies in self-denial, and a mortification of our members. They must drink Wine in Bowls; and stretch themselves upon their couches of Ivory, and anoint themselves with chief Ointments, and chant to the sound of the Viol, and invent to themselves instruments of Music. Give them but a few glasses of brisk, and generous Wine, and a lesson or two upon some instrument of Music, with a foolish wanton Song: Give them but gay cloths, and a powdered Perriwig, a few patches, or a little paint for their faces, they regard not whether they have a penny in their Purses yea or no, and verily Pleasure is the undoing of many a Soul; the Woman (saith the Apostle, it is as true of the man) that liveth in pleasure, is dead while she liveth. As there are pleasures, the mere use of which is sinful, so there is scarce any kind of pleasures, I mean such gratifications of the outward senses, as come under the name of Voluptates, but expose Souls to temptations to greater sins, and indispose the Soul to the greatest duties, they are Snares in which the Devil catcheth many a poor Soul. Now how shall these poor Souls, be drawn off from this, that it may not dance itself into Hell fire? Certainly by no means so effectual as the discovering to it, that as these pleasures are pernicious, and dangerous to the Soul, so there are far greater pleasures to be found with Christ. Perfumes often are but like paint to a Sepulcher; the body, the clothes, by a little art smell sweet, the mind and Soul (the more noble part of man) stinks (it may be through sordid conditions) but most certainly in the Nostrils of God, as being out of Christ; the Beggar that hath been