Looking Unto Jesus, Book 8 · Chapter 2 · Section 6
SECT. VI. Of loving Jeſus in that reſpect.
6. LEt us love Jeſus, as carrying on the great work of our ſalvation for us in theſe particulars; much hath been ſaid already of Chriſt's Conception, Birth, Life, Death, Reſurrection; ſuch Arguments of love as are enough to ſwallow up ſouls in love to Chriſt again: O the treaſures of love and wiſdom that have been opened in former paſſages! but as if all thoſe were not enough for God, ſee here new Gold mines, new found out Jewels, never known to be in the world before, opened and unfolded in Jeſus Chriſt. Here are the incomes of the beams of light moſt inacceſſible; here are the veins of the unſearchable Glories of Jeſus Chriſt; as if we ſaw every moment a new heaven, a new treaſure of love; the Boſom of Chriſt is yet more opened; the new breathings and ſpirations of love are yet more manifeſted. See! Chriſt for us, and for our ſalvation is gone up to Heaven, is ſet down at God's right hand, and hath ſent down the holy Ghoſt into our hearts; in the pouring out of theſe Springs of Heavens love, how ſhould our ſouls but open the mouth-wide, and take in the ſtreams of Chriſt's Nectar, Honey, and Milk, I mean his ſweet, and precious, and dear love-breathings? We have heard of Chriſt's invitations, Come to me all ye that are weary and heavy laden: but ſuppoſe Chriſt had never outed his love in ſuch a love-expreſſing Come to me; Mat. 11.28.yet Chriſt himſelf in theſe glorious particulars is ſuch a drawing object; (the very beauty of Chriſt, the very ſmell of the Garments of Chriſt, very capacious and wide Heaven of Chriſt's exaltation are intrinſecally, and of themſelves ſuch drawing, raviſhing, winning objects) that upon the apprehenſion of them we cannot chuſe but love Chriſt: as Gold that is dumb and cannot ſpeak, yet the beauty and gain of it cryeth aloud, Come hither poor creature, and be thou made rich; ſo if Chriſt ſhould never open his lips, if he ſhould never gently move, Open to me my ſiſter, my love, my dove, my undefiled, Cant. 5.2.for my head is full of dew, and my locks with the drops of the night; yet the Glory, the Power, the Soveraignty of Chriſt; the exaltation of his Perſon, and the magnificence of his Gifts, ſhould even change our ſouls into a Globe or maſs of Divine Love and Glory, As it were by the Spirit of the Lord.2 Cor. 3.18.
Two things I ſhall inſtance in, which may be as the Load-ſtones of our love to Chriſt; the firſt is his glory, and the ſecond his bounty.
1. For his Glory, no ſooner was he aſcended, and ſet down at God's right hand, but John the Divine had a ſight of him, and oh what a glorious ſight!Rev. 1.13, 14, 15, 16. He was cloathed with a garment down to the feet, and girt about the paps with a golden girdle; his head and his hairs were white like wooll, as white as ſnow, and his eyes were as a flame of fire, and his feet like unto fine braſs, as if they burned in a furnace, and his voice as the ſound of many waters; and he had in his right hand ſeven ſtars, and out of his mouth went a ſharp two edged ſword, and his countenance was at the Sun that ſhineth in his ſtrength; when John ſaw him thus, he ſwoons at his feet, but Chriſt for all his Glory holds his head in his ſwoon, ſaying, fear not, I am the firſt, and the laſt; I am he that liveth, and was dead, ver. 17, 18.and behold I am alive for evermore, Amen, and hath the Keys of hell and of death. A glorious Chriſt is good for ſwooning, dying ſinners, would ſinners but draw near, and come and ſee this King in the chariot of love, and come and ſee his beauty, the uncreated white and red in his ſweet countenance, he would certainly draw their ſouls unto him. Nay, ſay that all the damned in hell were brought up with their burning fiery chains to the utmoſt door of Heaven: could we ſtrike up a window, and let them look in, and behold the Throne, and the Lamb, and the Troops of glorified ſpirits cloathed in white, with Crowns of gold on their heads, and Palms in their hands, ſinging the eternal praiſes of their glorious King; oh how would they be ſweetned in their pain, and convinced of their fooliſh choice, and raviſhed with the fulneſs of thoſe joyes and pleaſures that are in Chriſt's face for evermore? ſurely much more may this glory of Chriſt warm thy heart; O my ſoul! what an happineſs were it to ſee the King on his Throne; to ſee the Lamb, the fair Tree of Life, the branches which cannot for the narrowneſs of the place have room to grow in, For the Heaven of Heavens cannot contain him? What an happineſs were it to ſee love it ſelf, and to be warmed with the heat of immediate love that comes out of the precious heart and bowels of this princely and royal Standard-bearer? as yet thou canſt not, muſt not ſee theſe ſights, there's no ſeeing the King thus in his beauty till thou comeſt to glory; for then, and then only muſt thou ſee him face to face, and yet the Idea and Image of this glory is ſeen and may be ſeen of every true believing ſoul; enough may be ſeen by an eye of faith, to kindle in thine heart a flame of love to the Lord Jeſus Chriſt: Oh who can think of the glory that is in this dainty delightful One, and not be ſwallowed up in love? Who can think of Chriſt's ſitting at God's right hand, and ſparkling in this glory round about, and caſting out beams of glory through Eaſt, and Weſt, and North, and South, through Heaven, and Earth, and Hell, and not love him with the whole heart, ſoul and might? I remember one dying, and hearing ſome diſcourſe of Jeſus Chriſt: Oh (ſaid ſhe) ſpeak more of this, let me hear more of this; be not weary of telling his praiſe, I long to ſee him, how ſhould I but long to hear of him? Surely I cannot ſay too much of Jeſus Chriſt; in this bleſſed ſubject no man can poſſibly hyperbolize; had I the tongues of Men and Angels, I could never fully ſet forth Chriſt; it involves an eternal contradiction that the creature can ſee to the bottom of the Creator. Suppoſe all the ſands on the Sea-ſhore, all the Flowers, Herbs, Leaves, twigs of Trees in Woods and Forreſts, all the Stars of Heaven, were all rational creatures, and had they that wiſdom, and tongues of Angels to ſpeak of the lovelineſs, beauty, glory and excellency of Chriſt, as gone to Heaven, and ſitting at the right hand of his Father, they would in all their expreſſions ſtay millions of miles on this ſide Jeſus Chriſt. O the lovelineſs, beauty, and glory of his Countenance! can I ſpeak, or you hear of ſuch a Chriſt? and are we not all in a burning love, in a ſeraphical love, or at leaſt in a conjugal love? O my heart! how is it thou art not love ſick? how is it thou doſt not charge the daughters of Jeruſalem as the ſpouſe did,Cant. 5.8. I charge you O daughters of Jeruſalem, if ye find my beloved that ye tell him, I am ſick of love?
2. For his bounty, no ſooner was he aſcended, and ſet down at God's right hand, but he gives gifts unto men; and he ſends down the holy Ghoſt. This was the Gift of gifts; I ſhall only weigh two Circumſtances in this Gift, either whereof both dignifies, and caſts a ſparkle of bounty from the Giver, into the heart of the Receiver to move him to love. As—
One Circumſtance is the greatneſs of the Giver; certainly the preheminence or dignity of any principle ennobleth and enhanceth the effect; a gift coming from a great Perſon carries ever a ſcent with it of a certain greatneſs, and reliſheth either of excellency, or ſuperiority, or nobility, or all. It is ſtoried of Charles the fifth, that in his wars being ever preſt with want of money, and ſo unable to remunerate the ſervices of divers Dutch Captains, and Nobles, whom he had entertained; he uſed after any great exploit performed by them, to call together his Nobles and Camp into ſuch a field, and there in the preſence of them all to take a Gold chain from about his own neck, and to put it about the neck of ſuch a Captain, or ſuch a Collonel, and ſo to embrace him and to give him thanks for his gallant ſervice: why, this they eſteemed a greater favour (being Circumſtanced by ſuch a Perſon, in ſuch a way) than if in very deed he had given them a ſufficient pay, or remuneration. O they valued that Chain more than many buſhels of the like Gold; the very Perſon of the Emperour hanged at the Chain ſuch a precious Jewel, as in warlike conceits a million of Gold could not countervail. O my ſoul, if an Emperour thus gained the affections of men, how ſhouldſt thou but love Chriſt the great Emperour of Heaven and Earth:Numb. 11 17. it was he that gave thee his Spirit, it was he that took off the Spirit which is upon him, (ſo is the expreſſion of God to Moſes) and put it upon thee; and doth not the Perſon of Chriſt, the Dignity of Chriſt, inhance the value of the gift? as all gifts are ſigns of love, ſo the love of a great Perſonage, and the gifts iſſuing from ſuch a love, ought more to be accounted than any gifts of any meaner perſon whatſoever.
2. Another Circumſtance is, the greatneſs of the Gift; this argueth greatneſs of good will; and conſequently deſerveth a correſpondence of a ſemblable affection. Now what greater gift had Chriſt in ſtore, than to give his own ſpirit? the ſpirit proceedeth from him, and is the ſame eſſence with himſelf; the ſpirit is the third Perſon of the true and only God-head, proceeding from the Father and the Son, and coeternal, coequal, and conſubſtantial with the Father and the Son; this appears by thoſe divine Attributes and Properties which are attributed, and communicated to the holy ſpirit: As, 1. Eternity. God never was without his ſpirit;Gen. 1.1, 2. In the beginning God created heaven and earth,—and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 2. Omnipotency, becauſe he, together with the Father and the Son, createth and preſerveth all things, By his Spirit he hath garniſhed the heavens; Job. 26.13. —33.4. 1 Cor. 12.11. 1 Cor. 2.10.the Spirit of God hath made me; and all theſe things worketh that one and the ſelf-ſame Spirit, dividing to every man ſeverally as he will. 3. Omniſciency, or the knowledge of all things, For the Spirit ſearcheth all things, yea the deep things of God. 4. Immutability, or unchangeableneſs, Men, and brethren, Acts 1.16. Rom. 5.5.this Scripture muſt needs have been fulfilled which the holy Ghoſt ſpake. 5. Infinite mercy, or love; God is love,—and the love of God is ſhed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost, which is given unto us. 6. Holy indignation even againſt hi…en ſins, They rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit; Iſa. 63.10. Acts 5.3, 4, 9. Eph. 4.30.why hath Satan filled thy heart to lye to the holy Ghoſt?—thou haſt not lyed unto men; but unto God; (a plain Text for the Divinity of the holy Ghoſt)—How is it that ye have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord? Grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are ſealed unto the day of redemption. I might add Miracles,Mat. 12.28. —28.19. 1 Tim. 4.1. 2 Cor. 3.38. and the inſtitution of Sacraments, and Propheſies, and Gifts, and Graces as the effects of his Divinity: I caſt out devils (ſaith Chriſt) by the Spirit of God, and baptize in the Name of the Father, and of the Son; and of the holy Ghoſt. And the Spirit ſpeaketh expreſly, that in the latter times ſome ſhall depart from the faith. And we are changed into the ſame image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. See now how the holy ſpirit is God, coeternal, coequal, and conſubſtantial with God the Father, and God the Son; is not this a great gift? yea, as great a gift as poſſibly can be given? what can he more than to give himſelf, and to give his ſpirit? O the bonds of love that are upon man towards Chriſt in this reſpect.
Come my ſoul and take a view of the Glory and Bounty of Jeſus Chriſt! if thy heart be not all braſs, and iron, and ſtone; if there be any fleſhineſs, ſoftneſs, or pliableneſs in it; why, then how ſhouldſt thou chuſe but love? if either beauty or bounty; if either Majeſty or magnificence can draw thy affection, Chriſt will have it; for in him is all; O let him be thy all! ſurely if thou haſt any thing beſides himſelf, he is the Donor of all, he is the beauty of all, the ſum of all, the perfection of all, yea, he is the Author, Preſerver, and Finiſher of all.