The Happiness of Enjoying and Use of Christ, Part 1 · Chapter 15
CHAP. XV. Opening the bleſſed and happy condition of them that are partakers of Chriſt.
THis declares the ſingular happineſſe, and bleſſed condition of ſuch as are partakers of Chriſt, above all other perſons: they have him in whom is fulneſſe, infinitely ſurpaſſing the fulneſſe of all creatures. Mans having ſpirituall right and intereſt in Chriſt Jeſus, is mans greateſt happineſſe: it is the happineſſe of a Traveller to have the Sunne, in which is fulneſſe of light, to guide him; therefore the Sunne appearing, hee leaves all other lights, and contents himſelfe with this, as having enough in this. It was the happines of the Merchant in the parable to have the precious pearl;Mat. 13.44. he ſold all to poſſeſſe himſelf of that, aſſuring himſelfe that having that, he had enough, he needed no other treaſure to bee added: Chriſt is a glorious Sunne, in whom is all light; a precious pearle, in whom is all treaſure; hee that hath him, needs nothing elſe to make him happy: Hee that hath all things without Chriſt, is poore, baſe, m…ſerable; hee that hath Chriſt in the abſence of all other things, is rich, full and honourable. As Auguſtine ſometime ſaid of the knowledge of other things, and ignorance of God,*Infoelix qui omnia novit & te neſcit: qui autem te & illa novit, non propter illa beatus, ſed propter te ſolum. Unhappy is hee that knowes all things, and knowes not thee; but hee that knowes both thee and them is happy; not for them, but for thee alone: So in this caſe unhappy is hee that poſſeſſeth all things, and yet hath not Chriſt; but hee that hath both Chriſt and them, is happy; not for them, but for Chriſt alone. Hearken, whom doth the Spirit of God pronounce happy, Bleſſed is the Nation whoſe God is the Lord, Pſa. 33.11and the people whom he hath choſen for his owne inheritance: the Nation which hath God for their Lord, in his ordinances, as a teacher inſtructing them; in his love, as a father regenerating and embracing them; in his care, as a Shepheard watching over them; in the operation of his grace, as a Phyſician healing them, as a Gardiner pruning, dreſſing, watering them. Here is mans bleſſedneſſe to have God in his love, merciemercy, and ſaving graces. And againe,Pſa. 146.3 4. Put not your truſt in Princes, nor in the ſonne of man, in whom is no helpe; his breath goeth forth, hee returneth to his earth, in that very day his thoughts periſh. Happy is the man that hath the God of Iacob for his God, whoſe hope is in the Lord his God: wherein the Pſalmiſt ſhewes the vanity of all externall excellencies, and the folly of them that truſt in them, that magnifie themſelves in the preſence of them, being things periſhing, and ſuddenly changing. For as Mimus ſaid of Fortune, It is glaſſy, Vitrea eſt, quum ſpendet frangitur.when it ſhines it breakes: ſo is the greateſt worldly fulneſſe but a glaſſe; when it ſhines it breakes, when it flouriſheth, then it withers: On the other ſide, the Pſalmiſt ſets forth the ſingular felicitie of them that have the God of Iacob for their God, who by knowledge, choyce, faith, love, obedience and delight, have him for their God, their guide, their rocke, their crowne, their portion: they are happy, they are bleſſed, they are in a moſt honourable and ſweet condition.
Happineſs of having Chriſt illuſtrated i… five things. 1 A wiſe guide.Great is the happineſſe of man in having Chriſt: as David ſaid of Goliahs ſword, There is none to that. He that hath Chriſt, hath Firſt, a wiſe guide, able to direct him, as the fiery Pillar guided Iſrael, and the Starre the Wiſe men. Chriſt hath all the treaſures of wiſedome: he that hath moſt of Chriſt is the wiſeſt man in the world: hee that hath the Sunne, hath more light then hee that hath all other lights, and wants the Sunne.
2. A faithful friend.Secondly, hee that hath Chriſt, hath a faithfull friend, a ſure friend, a ſweet friend,Pro. 18.12 an able, an everlaſting friend. A friend (ſaith Solomon) is nearer than a brother: Such a friend is Chriſt; when father and mother forſake us, Chriſt taketh us up.Pro. 27.9. Oyntment and perfume rejoyce the heart, ſo doth the ſweetneſſe of a mans friend by hearty counſel, ſaith the Wiſe man: Such a friend is Chriſt, his inſtruction; his preſence, his love, are better then oyntment and perfume, filling the ſoule with all joy in beleeving. A friend loves at all times: Pro. 17.17Such a one is Chriſt; whom hee loveth once, hee loveth to the end. Have Chriſt for thy friend, and thou needſt not bee diſmaid at all the hatred of the world.
Thirdly, hee that hath Chriſt,3. A ſure Rock. hath a ſure rocke to ſuſtaine him, a firme ſhield to defend him. Chriſt, like Noahs Arke, will beare him up in the deepeſt deluge of affliction; like a firme Anker, hee will ſtay the ſhip of his ſoule in the ſtormy tempeſt of all troubles; l…ke a wall of fire, Zech. 3.5.hee will defend him, and conſume all that riſe againſt him. Great is that mans ſafety who hath Chriſt for his keeper: there is more ſafety with Chriſt in the tempeſt, then without Chriſt in the calmeſt waters.Pſa. 3. Iſ…. 32.2. That ſoule is invincible which hath Chriſt for his Caſtle and his Captaine.
Fourthly, hee that hath Chriſt,4. Higheſt honour. hath the higheſt honour: The woman joyned in wedlock with the King, is more honourable then all the women of the land.H…ſt. 2.17 Heſter obtained more grace and favour in the ſight of Ahaſuerus, then all the virgins, and the King ſet the crowne royall upon her head: hee that hath Chriſt obtaines more grace and favour with God, then all the men on earth beſides him, and is as a crowne of glory in the hand of the Lord,Iſa. 62.3. and as a royall Diadem in the hand of his God.Joh. 1.12. Rom 8.18 Rev. 1.6. All that have Chriſt are ſonnes of God, heires of heaven, ſpirituall Kings: hee is moſt honourable and glorious that comes nigheſt unto Chriſt, that receiveth moſt of Chriſt; it is not naturall birth, but new birth; not worldly abundance, but heavenly fulneſs, that honors man in Gods preſence.*Sola apud Deum libertas eſt, non ſervire peccatis; ſumma apud Deum nobilitas eſt, clarum eſſe virtutibus. Rev. 12.1. The onelyonly freedome with God (ſaith Ierome) is not to ſerve ſinne: and with God to excell in vertue, is the higheſt nobility. Moſt honourable and glorious is the deſcription of the Church repreſented by a woman clothed with the Sunne, a crowne of twelve ſtarres on her head, and the Moone under her feet. That mans condition is queſtionleſſe moſt honourable, that hath the Sunne of righteouſneſſe clothing him, the ſtarre of Gods word guiding him, and all the things of the earth put under him.
5. The having of all things.Fifthly, hee that hath Chriſt, hath all; ſhee that is wedded to the Maſter of the houſe, hath all the houſe. Man by his ſpirituall wedlocke with Chriſt, hath intereſt in all the things of this great houſe of the world. Of ſuch as have Chriſt the Apoſtle ſaith, All things are yours, 1 Cor. 3.22, 23.whether Paul, or Apollo, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things preſent, or things to come; all are yours, and yee are Chriſts, and Chriſt is Gods: All things are yours; all the creatures here below are yours, as your ſervants to doe ſervice to you, as all the ſervants of the houſe are under the miſtreſſe of the houſe: the Angels are alſo yours to miniſter to you, as the Nobles of the land are the Queenes to attend and wait upon her: All things are appointed for your good, for your edification, ſupportation and comfort: Whether Paul or Apollo, or Cephas, all the Miniſters of God from the higheſt to the loweſt, are yours, as lights to guide you, paſtors to feed you with knowledge and underſtanding, as ſhepheards to gather you home to Chriſt, as phyſicians to heale you, as builders to hew and ſquare you, as husbandmen to manure and dreſſe you, as the friends of the Bridegroome to wooe you, to perſwade and betroth you to Chriſt: All the ordinances of God are yours, as a ſchoole to inſtruct you, as a Banquetting houſe to feed you, as an Artillery houſe to furniſh you with ſpirituall armour, as a Betheſda to heale you: All theſe are for your ſakes, for your good; The world is yours, as a houſe for you to dwell in, a countrey for you to live in for a ſeaſon: All the goods of the world are yours to uſe, as the things of the houſe are the wives to uſe; they are all ſanctified unto you: All the malice and oppoſition of the world is yours, to weane you from the earth, to drive you home to Chriſt, to exerciſe your graces, and ſweeten unto you Chriſt Ieſus: The fulneſſe, pompe and glory of the world is yours, to try your ſobriety, humility, vigilancie and moderation in all things. Not onelyonly all things are yours, but all conditions, whether life or death; life is yours, the time of life is yours to learne and know God, to get aſſurance of another life: The proſperity of life is yours to bee thankfull to God for it: the troubles of life are yours, to learne to beare the croſſe with patience: All the ſeverall eſtates and conditions of life are yours, in each of them to ſhew your ſubjection and obedience unto God: Death is alſo yours, to put an end to all your miſeries, as a Phyſician to cure all your diſeaſes, as a haven of peace after all tempeſts, as a place of reſt after all labours, as the red ſea to Iſrael, drowning all ſinnes, ending all ſorrowes, and giving entrance into endleſſe joyes; as the red ſea drowned Pharaoh and the Egyptians, and proved a ſafe paſſage to the Iſraelites, and gave them occaſion of great triumph and exultation: Things preſent and things to come are yours; preſent things are yours, preſent good things are yours, to behold God in them, to praiſe God for them, to ſerve God with them, to doe good to others by them: preſent afflictions are yours, to try you, to humble you, to purge you, to ſweeten the meditation of Chriſt and heaven to you: preſent ſinnes are yours to make you vile in your owne apprehenſion, to drive you out of your ſelves, to let you ſee the neceſſarie uſe of Gods ordinances, and the neceſſity of Chriſt Jeſus: Things to come are yours, afflictions to come are yours to prepare for them, ſinnes to come are yours to prevent them, heaven and happineſs to come are yours to ſuſtaine and comfort your ſelves with the thought and beleefe of them. All things, of whatſoever kinde or nature, are yours, and you are Chriſts: Chriſts ſervants to obey him, Chriſts Spouſe to love him, Chriſts members receiving all from him, poſſeſſing all in him; and Chriſt is Gods, ſubordinate unto God as Man, and Mediator between God and Man. Here are all the latitudes of a Chriſtians riches, his having of all in Chriſt Jeſus. Let the proud man, with Nebuchadnezar, bleſſe himſelfe in his ſtately palace; let the mighty man, with Gol…ah, boaſt himſelfe in his tall ſtature, and ſtrong armour; let the valiant man, with Senacharib, magnifie himſelfe in his victories, and the covetous bleſſe himſelfe with him in the parable, in having his barnes full: but let the Chriſtian pronounce himſelfe happy, onelyonly happy, truly happy, fully happy, everlaſtingly happy in his having of Chriſt; for Chriſt Jeſus is mans ſole and joyfull, conſtant and moſt glorious happineſſe, becauſe in him dwells all fulneſſe, even the fulneſſe of the Godhead bodily.
The laſt thing in this verſe is the manner how the fulneſſe of the Godhead dwells in Chriſt, and that is bodily, in the body or humane nature aſſumed; in that the fulneſs of the Godhead dwelleth:Omnis plenitudo divinae narae in corpore ejus inhabitat. All fulneſs, ſaith Ierom, of the divine nature dwelleth in his body; And the Apoſtle addeth this word bodily, 1. To put a diſtinction betweene the dwelling of the Godhead in the humane nature aſſumed, and in the Saints; in them the Godhead dwels by the communication of vertue, but in this the Godhead dwels perſonally, by the cōmunication of the perſon of the Son to the humane nature. 2. This the Apoſtle addeth to ſhew that Chriſt, according to his humane nature, is head of the Church, by reaſon of the perſonall inhabitation of the Godhead in the fleſh. 3. To declare the full and open manifeſtation of God in Chriſt: God did often manifeſt himſelfe unto men in ſhadowes, and in powerfull and mighty workes, but in Chriſt he hath manifeſted himſelfe moſt fully, dwelling in the fleſh aſſumed perſonally; ſo that Chriſt in our fleſh is true God and true man, and he that hath the Sonne of God, hath the Father, hee that enjoyes Chriſt enjoyes God, becauſe the Godhead dwels in the humane nature perſonally, and by this we ſee, that
Doct. Chriſt dwelling in our fleſh is true God. Chriſt the Sonne of God dwelling in our fleſh is truely and eſſentially God, nothing is wanting to Chriſt that belongs to God, that appertaines to the divinity; whatſoever the father doth, the Sonne doth in our fleſh, though not by the power of the fleſh, but by his Godhead dwelling in the fleſh; the names of nature and of impoſition, the titles of honour, love, office, and labour, which are given unto Chriſt, & the attributes of eternity, of immutability, immortallity, omnipreſence, omniſciency, and omnipotency, aſcribed unto Chriſt, together with the miraculous and mighty workes wrought by Chriſt, doe give an ample, cleare and invincible teſtimony of Chriſts Godhead.
Applic.Let us therefore looke upon the Godhead of Chriſt in our fleſh, and admire his goodneſs in comming ſo neare unto us, & ſtrive by faith and love to come to him, and through him to God; Chriſt reconciling God and man, as Jacobs ladder joyned heaven and earth together; God diſpenſing all to men by Chriſt, & accepting men through Chriſt, as the Angels deſcended and aſcended by the ladder in Jacobs viſion. Let us againe contemplate Chriſt as God dwelling in our fleſh, and feare him and obey him above all commanders, exalt him above all men and Angels, love him above all creatures, ſtay upon him in all diſtreſſes conſecrate our ſelves to his ſervice, celebrate him as the Author and worker of all our welfare and happineſſe, and quiet and content our ſelves in and with him, as the fountain of all fulneſſe.