Rejoicing in the Lord Jesus in All Cases and Conditions, Sermon 4
SERMON IV.
Habakkuk 3.18.
Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will Joy in the God of my Salvation.
THe Propoſition that we are upon from the words is this.
Doct. That there is enough in Chriſt Jeſus alone for the Souls full rejoycing and triumph, whatſoever his condition be in this world.
Before I come to that which I further propoſed to conſider and ſpeak to, viz. how the believer ſhould be helped to live a life of faith upon Chriſt Jeſus unto his ſpiritual joy and comfort in all conditions; I ſhall alittle inſiſt upon, and labour to clear to you the Souls intereſt in this Jeſus that hath ſuch abiding grounds of joy at all times in him; ſaies the Prophet here in the text, Yet I will rejoyce in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my ſalvation. I ſhall inſiſt upon the Pronoun [my] and labour to clear the believers ſtanding, that he may know his intereſt, and that he is indeed united unto Chriſt Jeſus; it is not in Chriſt at large that a Perſon can glory in, but it is in Chriſt under, or in a peculiar Goſpel relation unto his Soul; it is not in Chriſt in general, but in Chriſt, that his Soul is intereſted in, that he can rejoice in in all conditions; and this I ſuppoſe is an inquiry that all of you will be deſirous ſhould be ſpoken to, viz.
Qu. How the believer may know that he hath an intereſt in Chriſt Jeſus? That this glorious and bleſſed Jeſus, this full Jeſus is his Jeſus, his Saviour? That he may be able to ſay with the Prophet here; Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my ſalvation?
Anſ. In ſpeaking unto this inquiry, we ſhall obſerve this method.
1. To premiſe ſeveral particulars to you by way of introduction, unto the reſolving of the inquiry.
2. We ſhall ſhew you the grounds, and the occaſion of the darkneſs that is upon the Spirits of believers, generally in and about their intereſt in Chriſt.
3. We ſhall ſhew you what the believer ſhould do in the interim, until he can have the evidence of his intereſt clear. And then,
4. Give you ſome diſcoveries how you may come to know whether you be indeed, and in truth intereſted, and ſtated in Chriſt Jeſus.
1. As to the premiſes.
1. In the firſt place you may conſider, that Chriſt is enjoyable, and only enjoyable. upon an intereſt in, and Goſpel relation unto him.
There are many that comfort themſelves in a general notion of Chriſt, that he is a Saviour, and pleaſe themſelves well with the thoughts of it, but they will not find this relieving another day. It is only upon intereſt and relation, that Chriſt is ſavingly enjoyed. It is propriety and intereſt that gives the Soul real ground of glory and rejoycing in Chriſt in the worſt of conditions. And all the ſaving benefits of Chriſt they are diſpenſable, and only diſpenſable upon a Goſpel intereſt. A Soul can lay no claim to any thing that Chriſt hath; I ſay he can lay no ſaving claim unto any of the ſacred bleſſings that Chriſt hath to diſpenſe out, but upon a Goſpel intereſt in him, neither can the thoughts of Chriſt be really comforting unto the Soul without reſpect unto this relation that we are ſpeaking of, Jer. 31.33. But this ſhall be the Covenant that I will make with the Houſe of Iſrael after thoſe daies, ſaith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and will be their God, and they ſhall be my people, and ſo Zach, 13.9. I will ſay it is my People, and they ſhall ſay the Lord is my God, here you ſee is a mutual intereſt and relation, the Lord doth make over himſelf unto his people. And the Lords people they are owned in a near and intimate relation with and unto the Lord; now this becomes the ground of the diſpenſing of all the ſaving benefits of Chriſt, and this becomes the ſolid, and the foundational ground of all the believers hopes and expectations from Chriſt. I ſay this intereſt and relation, it is the ground and viſible foundation upon which the Grace of Chriſt is diſpenſed, and the ſaving bleſſings of Chriſt are communicated. Do but ſee what intereſt and relation carries with it, Ezek. 16.8. And I entered into a Covenant with thee, ſaith the Lord, and thou becameſt mine, and then, ſaies he, waſhed I thee with water, yea, I thorowly waſhed away thy blood! from thee, and anointed thee with Oil, &c. And in Ezek. 34.11, 12.13, 14, 15. For thus ſaith the Lord God, behold I, even I, will both ſearch my Sheep, and ſeek them out, as a Shepherd ſeeketh out his flock in the day, that he is amongſt the Sheep that are ſcattered, ſo will I ſeek out my Sheep, &c. You ſee here the Lord does manifeſt a ſignal care, and it is grounded upon intereſt, upon relation. They are my Sheep ſaith the Lord, and therefore I will ſeek them up, & therefore will I gather them. They are my Sheep, & therfore will I preſerve them from Wolves. They are my Sheep, & therefore I will feed them, and lead them into green paſtures, & by the ſtill waters, and John 17.9, 10. I pray for them, I pray not for the world, but for them which thou haſt given me, for they are thine, and all mine are thine, and thine are mine, &c. I pray for them ſaies Chriſt, and I will ſee after them, whileſt they are in the world, that they ſhall not be devoured and deſtroyed there, and what is the ground of the prayer of Chriſt, and of the care of Chriſt? Why; they are mine ſaies he: they were thine, Father, ſaies he, and thou haſt given them me, and now they are mine, and they are thine ſtill, ſaies he, and therefore Father, look after them alſo; and then intereſt and relation, it is the ſolid ground of our great expectations from the Lord in all our goings to him, and dealings with him; I am thine, ſaies the Pſalmiſt, O ſave me, and Iſa. 63.8, 9. For he ſaid, ſurely they are my people, Children that will not lie, ſo he became their Saviour; in all their afflictions, he was afflicted, and the Angel of his preſence ſaved them, in his love & in his pity he redeemed them, &c. And v. 18. We are thine; thou never beareſt rule over them, they were not called by thy name. And Joel 2.17, 18. Let the Prieſts ſay, ſpare thy people O Lord, and give not thy heritage to reproach, that the Heathen ſhould rule over them; wherefore ſhould they ſay to the People, where is their God? It is intereſt you ſee that they ground their expectations from God upon; it is upon a Goſpel intereſt and relation, that the Grace of Chriſts fulneſs, and the ſacred bleſſings and priviledges of all his offices, are given out and diſpenſed unto Souls; and without this intereſt and relation, the thoughts of Chriſt would not at all be comforting nor relieving, but the Soul might think on Chriſt Jeſus, and be troubled, as you have it, Pſal. 77.3. I remembred God, and was troubled, I complained, and my Spirit was overwhelmed. And ſo a perſon remembring Chriſt Jeſus, and knowing no intereſt in him, muſt needs be troubled to think that there is ſuch a Saviour, and he hath no intereſt in him; to think that there is ſuch a glorious fulneſs in him, and he hath no right to approach to that fulneſs, and to expect from the all-ſufficiency of Chriſt Jeſus, the thoughts of this muſt needs trouble a poor Creature. Thus all the bleſſings of Chriſt Jeſus, and all communicable grace is diſpenſed upon an intereſt and relation, ſo as it is of great weight and importance for every one of you to conſider, whether you have an intereſt in Chriſt or no, for if you have no intereſt in him, you can have no ſolid ground of expectation from him.
2. A believer that hath an intereſt in Chriſt, may yet be without the ſenſe of that Intereſt.
Intereſt, and evidence of Intereſt do not alwaies go together; but a Soul that is in Chriſt may be full of fears and doubts, and queſtionings of ſpirit in and about its Intereſt. Intereſt is abſolutely neceſſary to Salvation, but the ſenſe of Intereſt is not ſo. Senſe of Intereſt is indeed neceſſary to our conſolation in Chriſt Jeſus, but ſenſe of Intereſt is not abſolutely neceſſary to our ſafe ſtate in Chriſt Jeſus; but a Soul that ſtands ſure in Chriſt, may be in the dark in and about his ſtanding. A Soul that is under the everlaſting and unchangeable Love of Chriſt, may yet be in the dark in and about that Love that is glorified, and ſhall further be glorified upon him, and in him. I have thought ſometimes, that many a poor Believer is juſt as Hagar was when her Bottle was empty, and ſhe ſate down weeping, that now ſhe muſt die. Why, ſhe need not fear famiſhing, when there was a well of water near her, that ſhe and the Lad might drink their fill: Ay, but ſhe did not know this well of water to be ſo near her. So the Believer's ſtate is ſafe and good; ay, but he does not know it. Jeſus Chriſt deals with his People as Joſeph did by his Brethren; he fed them, and nouriſhed them, and comforted them a great while, but would not diſcover himſelf to them, that he was Joſeph their Brother. A Believer that hath an Intereſt, may yet want the evidence of that Intereſt.
Thirdly, Evidence of Intereſt is attainable, and it is the will of God that Believers ſhould give all diligence to make it clear. It is poſſible that a Soul may come to ſee his own ſtanding in Chriſt Jeſus, and know unto his full ſatisfaction and rejoycing in all conditions, that he is intereſted in him. Many Scripture-Saints have delivered it to us upon record, that they did attain to an evidence of their Intereſt. The Spouſe in the Cant. did attain an evidence of her Intereſt, Cant. 2.16. My Beloved is mine, and I am his. Job had a clear ſight of his Intereſt, Job 19.25. I know that my Redeemer liveth, &c. David had his Intereſt cleared up to him; The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom ſhall I fear? Pſal. 27.1. Paul was aſſured of his Intereſt in Chriſt, 2 Cor. 5.1, 2. For we know that if our earthly houſe of this Tabernacle were diſſolved, we have a building of God, an houſe not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens: For in this we groan earneſtly, deſiring to be cloathed upon with our houſe which is from Heaven. And it is the mind and will of God that Believers ſhould give all diligence to clear their Intereſt, 2 Cor. 13.5. Examine your ſelves whether you be in the faith, prove your own ſelves, know ye not your own ſelves, how that Jeſus Chriſt is in you except ye be Reprobates. And 2 Pet. 1.10. Wherefore the rather Brethren, give diligence to make your calling and your election ſure. There is the command, which implies a poſſibility of attaining it. The poſſibility of it doth further appear, in that the Father and the Son have both ſent forth the Spirit to be a Comforter, to be a Witneſſer to thoſe that are in Chriſt; and his Office it is an Enſuring Office. The Spirit he comes, being ſent forth by the Father and the Son, into a poor heart that is full of fears, doubts, queſtionings and miſgivings, and doth ſettle this Soul in the ſtedfaſt belief of his abiding Intereſt in Chriſt Jeſus, and Chriſt's everlaſting relation unto it. This you may ſee, Rom. 8.16. The Spirit it ſelf beareth witneſs with our ſpirits, that we are the Children of God. And Epheſ. 1.13. In whom alſo after that ye believed ye were ſealed with that holy Spirit of promiſe. And a conſiderable part of the Scripture is given forth to this end, to clear up a Believers Intereſt in, and Relation unto Chriſt, that he may know his ſtanding in him, 1 John 5.12, 13. There is Life in the Son, ſays he; and I write unto you, that ye may know that ye have an Intereſt in the Son, and ſo have life from him; and this is that which the Lord's People have gloried in, Iſa. 63.16. Doubtleſs thou art our Father, though Abraham be ignorant of us, and Iſrael acknowledgeth' us not, &c. And this is one end of that grand Ordinance of the Lord's Supper, to ſeal and enſure Believers. It is not only an Ordinance of Communion, but it is a ſealing Ordinance, wherein the Lord Jeſus does come and ſet upon the heart, clearing up the Soul's Intereſt in himſelf, and telling of him what he hath done for him, and ſealing all that hath paſt upon his Soul. It is ſometimes hereupon made a feaſt of fat things. It is an Ordinance of Joy. It is not a converting Ordinance, but it is an Ordinance of comfort unto thoſe that are converted, being often owned by the Lord, as a ſealing Ordinance, to confirm all that hath formerly paſt between God and the Soul: So as an evidence of Intereſt is attainable, and it is the will of God that Believers give all diligence to make it clear.
Fourthly, The Intereſt and Relation that one Believer is owned in, with Chriſt, is not different in its nature and properties from what every Believer is owned in; but all that are intereſted in Chriſt, are equally intereſted in him.
If you ſpeak of the Intereſt and Relation abſolutely it is the ſame. Jeſus Chriſt is not more one believers than he is anothers, Jeſus Chriſt hath not given one believer a greater propriety in himſelf then he hath given another believer: but all are equally intereſted in, and related unto Chriſt, all have an equal ſhare in Chriſt. All have an equal ſtanding in Chriſt in point of intereſt and relation. Indeed if you ſpeak of intereſt and relation, quo ad effectum, as we ſay, if you ſpeak of it in reference to improvement and effects, there indeed there is a difference between believer and believer. One believer may improve Chriſt more than another, and one believer may grow up in Chriſt more then another: and one believer may in point of application and enjoyment poſſeſs more of Chriſt, more of the Grace of Chriſt, then another believer doth, but they are all equally intereſted in, and related unto Chriſt Jeſus: and the intereſt that one believer hath, is as pleadable, and as improvable as the intereſt that another believer hath, Jeſus Chriſt is equally a Head and a Huſband, and a Brother unto all his People, and they are equally Members of the ſame body in point of intereſt, though not in point of growth; ſaies the Apoſtle, in 1 Cor. 6.17. But he that is joyned to the Lord is one Spirit. It is ſpoken in general, let him be an Apoſtle, let him be an eminent Saint, or let him be a meaner, or more obſcure Saint, let him be a ſtrong believer, or let him be a weak believer, if he be joyned to the Lord he is one Spirit, alike joyned, alike related, and alike intereſted.
Fifthly, The believers intereſt in Chriſt is abiding, and can never be cruſh't, it can never be broken, it can never be violated, but the evidence of intereſt, though once obtained, and ſeem clear, may be obſcured and darkned: A Chriſtians joy, that is paſſing away, it is tranſient, but as to his intereſt, that is inviolable, and inſeparable; none can diſunite Chriſt, and the believer being once Goſpelly joined. So you have it ſpoken out by the Apoſtle, Rom. 8.35. and ſo on, Who ſhall ſeparate us from the love of Chriſt? ſhall tribulation, or diſtreſs, or perſecution, or famine, or nakedneſs, or peril, or ſword? No ſaies he, they ſhall not, they cannot do it, and Hoſea. 2.19. I will betroth thee unto me for ever, yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteouſneſs, and in judgment, and in loving kindneſs, and in mercy, &c. I know full well what I do, ſaies the Lord, I will betroth thee in judgment, I know what the Soul is that I take, I take him, ſo as to keep him, and to maintain him, I will hold him, and never loſe him; I will do it in judgment, and it ſhall be a relation for ever; I will betroth thee unto me for ever. But now the evidence of the relation that is paſſable, that may be clouded, after you have had ſome clear diſcoveries of it. A Soul that is brought into the light, may be turned into the dark again; thus it was with Job: Job he had a very clear and full ſight of his intereſt at one time, that he glories in Chriſt Jeſus; I know that my Redeemer liveth; and yet the ſame Job at another time, Job 6.4. Tells us that the Arrows of the Almighty did ſet themſelves in array againſt him, the poyſon whereof, ſaies he, drinketh up my Spirit. It was not the terrours of men, it was not the terrours of his condition, of his poverty, or of his ſores, or of his great diſgrace, but ſaies he, the terrours of God they are entered into my Soul, and ſo David, at one time he rejoyceth in Chriſt Jeſus; ſaies then, though I paſs through the valley of the ſhadow of death, I will fear no evil, Pſal. 23.4. and another time he cries out, Why art thou caſt down O my Soul, why art thou diſquiered within me? And in another place, hath the Lord forgotten to be gracious? are his mercies clean gone? he mourns after the Lord, and complains as one that was baniſhed from his face; though your intereſt cannot be ſhaken Chriſtians, yet the evidence of your intereſt may be darkned, the love of Chriſt Jeſus to your ſouls may be ſo obſcured, as you may be left without the feelings of it. And the Soul that is ſometimes under comfortable manifeſtations, and filled with joy, with peace, and with comfort, may at another time be darkned with clouds, with vails, and with curtains, and know not where he is; the ſeal of the Spirit of the Lord may be ſo defaced, as that you cannot tell what to make of it; the believer that is built upon the rock, can never be waſht off the rock, yet the wayes may daſh againſt him upon the rock, he may be ſorely daſht upon the rock, though he cannot be waſht off; though your intereſt ſtands ſure, yet the evidence of your intereſt is not ſure, it is a paſſable evidence.
6. Senſe of intereſt is in a ſoveraign hand, and is given out to whom the Lord pleaſeth, and when the Lord pleaſeth: The Lord is pleaſed Soveraignly to act in the ſealing, and enſuring, and comforting of his People; ſometimes he will come in upon a believer at his firſt converſion, and will fill him with joy and gladneſs that ſhall abide upon his Soul many years; and ſometimes the believer ſhall wait upon God from ordinance to ordinance, and follow him many years in the dark, and not have a diſcovery of his love; ſometimes the Lord will give a Soul no ſight of his intereſt, nor evidence of his relation, until he come to die; and ſome believers have walked with the evidence of Gods love in their hearts, almoſt all their daies, and when they have come to die, they have died in the dark. Senſe of intereſt is under a ſoveraign diſpenſe, both as to the perſons to whom it is given out, and as to the time when, and as to the way and manner how.
7. Though the intereſt that believers have, and are owned in with the Lord, is the ſame, and is not different as to its nature, and properties, yet the evidence of the intereſt will admit of degrees in different perſons, and alſo in the ſame Perſons at divers times; thoſe that are taken into relation with Chriſt Jeſus, they are all owned in a near, bleſſed, intimate relation, as I told you before, ſo that there is no difference in the relation, neither is the relation an encreaſing relation, indeed the benefits of the relation, they are encreaſing; but the relation it's ſelf is not encreaſing. A believer is not more a Child of God afterward, then he was at firſt, when the Spirit of adoption came upon him, but the evidence of the intereſt that admits of degrees; the relation its ſelf is capable of an improvement as to the advantages of it, but that is not all, but the evidence of the relation is ſometimes clearer, fuller, and more ſatisfying then at ſome other times. It is ſaid, Prov. 4.18. That the path of the juſt is as the ſhining light that ſhineth more and more unto the perfect day: A believer hath a little ſight of Chriſt; a glimmering of Chriſt through the cravis; this may be improved, and it is poſſible that the Soul may come into a full aſſurance of its intereſt in Chriſt Jeſus; ay, and it is poſſible you may be aſſured more at one time then at another. Therefore Chriſtian, the little joy that thou haſt, may grow to a great deal, and the ſmall apprehenſions that thou haſt of Chriſt, may greatly encreaſe in thy Soul; and in this reſpect the day of ſmall things is not to be deſpiſed.
8. It is poſſible that believers may diſingenuouſly act upon low principles in their carneſt purſuits after ſealings and enſurings: I pray mark it, aſſurance, it is the Flower of Faith, it is the growth, the improvement, the flouriſhing of Faith, it is the fragrancy, the odour, and the ſweetneſs, nay, the very brightneſs of faith, the ſealings of the Spirit, they are the high ſtrains (as I may call them) of the Spirit in and upon the hearts of believers. And yet it is poſſible that the believer may act upon low principles in his eager purſuits of the ſealings of the Spirit, that is ſuch an high act: Then does the believer act diſingenuouſly in a purſuit after an evidence of his intereſt, when he preſſeth after the ſenſe of his intereſt, more for peace and comfort, then to improve his intereſt unto more grace and holineſs. Your intereſt in Chriſt hath two ſtreams, the one runs with grace, and the other runs with peace and comfort: now then does the Soul diſingenuouſly act, when he preſſeth more after the ſtream of peace & comfort, then he doth after the ſtream of grace and holineſs; then is the believer acted upon low, principles, when he advanceth the ſenſe of intereſt, above the intereſt, or if you will, thus, when the deſires of the ſenſe of intereſt do over-ballance the deſires of more grace and holineſs upon the intereſt. Therefore in all your eager purſuits after the ſealings of the Spirit, conſider the principle (Chriſtians) upon which you act, ſearch whether there be no diſingenuous actings n your ſpirits, in your eager deſires after aſſurance.
9. Satan will indefatigably endeavour to darken your evidence, and to obſcure the ſenſe of intereſt. Satans deſign is to keep Souls as long as he can from a cloſure with Chriſt, he will meet the Soul in all waies, if poſſible, to turn him out of his way; and if he cannot do that, his next deſign is to obſcure your evidence, and to darken your ſenſe of intereſt, that ſo he may make you to walk heavily, and in the dark, he will follow you with falſe reports, and falſe ſuggeſtions, he will hint to you this falſity and the other, if poſſible, to make you to believe a lye, and to deny what Jeſus Chriſt hath done, and to deny your intereſt, and ſtanding in him, that it may be is clear upon undenyable grounds and demonſtrations; the Devil you know came to Chriſt with this very temptation to make him to queſtion the truth of his relation to God, though the Devil knew it well enough that Jeſus Chriſt was the Meſſiah, and the true Son of God; yet he comes and ſets upon him with this temptation, if poſsible, to make him queſtion; If thou beeſt the Son of God, then do ſo and ſo. And he levels at the Believer in the ſame manner, and his deſign is to keep you in the dark, to rob you of all the peace, and comfort, and joy, that you might have upon the ſenſe and evidence of your Intereſt.
Tenthly, There are many that preſume upon a groundleſs confidence, that they have an intereſt in Chriſt, and yet are wholly ignorant of the nature of a Goſpel-Intereſt. There are many that do promiſe themſelves great things in and from Chriſt Jeſus, and yet they are wholly ignorant of him; they have hopes of large bleſſings that ſhall come in by Chriſt, and yet are ignorant of Chriſt, and the nature of a cloſe with Chriſt that gives right to him. Doubtleſs the fooliſh Virgins had hopes, that as to the bulk of them, were as large and as promiſing as the hopes of the wiſe Virgins were; they never at all queſtioned their admittance when the Bridegroom ſhould come. In Deut. 29.19. And it ſhall come to paſs when he heareth the words of this curſe, that he bleſs himſelf in his heart, ſaying, I ſhall have peace, though I walk in the imaginations of my heart, &c. So when we are diſcourſing of the terrours of the Law, that do belong to perſons unintereſted in Chriſt; there are many that bleſs themſelves in their hearts, and ſay, Theſe things do not belong to us: And when we are opening the comforts that Believers have in Chriſt, thoſe that are ſtrangers to Chriſt will preſume and ſay, All theſe are mine, Micah 3.11. The Heads thereof judge for reward, and the Prieſts thereof teach for hire, and the Prophets thereof divine for money; yet will they lean upon the Lord, and ſay, Is not the Lord among us? no evil can come upon us. In the midſt of all their wickedneſs, they would ſtill preſume upon an Intereſt in the Lord and think all ſhould go well with them. My friends, what think you of the Church of Laodicca? they were a people of a very great and high profeſſion; they ſtood in a Goſpel body, and lived under the enjoyment of the great Priviledges of a Goſpel-ſtate, and they promiſed themſelves that all was well with them; and yet ſee what the Lord ſays Rev. 3.17. Becauſe thou ſayeſt, I am rich, and encreaſed with goods, and have need of nothing, and knoweſt not that thou art poor, and miſerable, and wretched, and blind, and naked. They had a profeſsion upon them, and they thought there was a great deal in that: They were in a Church-ſtate, and they thought that would ſerve their turn: They did enjoy Church-Priviledges, and they thought upon it that their condition was good, and that they might well ſay, Now we are rich, we are Profeſſors in a Church-ſtate, we are under the common and ſacred bleſsings of the Goſpel; and who better than we? We are rich, but ſays the Lord, you ſay ſo, but I ſay otherwiſe; you ſay you are rich, but I ſay you are poor; you ſay you are full, but I ſay you are empty; you ſay you are encreaſed with goods, and have need of nothing, but I ſay you have nothing and have need of all things. Verily my friends, this is a deceivable Age, an Age wherein many do not only deceive others, but their own Souls, and therefore it concerns you to enquire whether the Lord be your God, or no? and not to ſatisfie your ſelves with general notions of the Lord's being your God.
In the Eleventh and laſt place; An evidence of Intereſt obtained, maintained, and Goſpelly managed, will be of ſingular advantage to a Chriſtian in his whole Chriſtian courſe. You do not know (Believers) you that are careleſs in and about the clearing of your ſtate, you do not know what a change a Goſpel ſight of your Intereſt in Chriſt will make in your hearts; an evidence of your Intereſt will expel all your fears, and will reſolve all your doubts, and will cauſe a calm in your hearts, whatſoever the preſent ſtorm is. Why, if that we could look into the hearts of many, or moſt of us, I believe they would be found very tempeſtuous; ſtorms they threaten, ſore fears are ready to overwhelm, and doubts are even ready to ſwallow up a Chriſtian; why, an evidence of your Intereſt will remove all theſe, (Chriſtian) an evidence of your Intereſt will make all in Chriſt Jeſus precious to you, and will ſtrangely raiſe and inhaunſe the price of Chriſt, and the bleſsings of Chriſt in your eſteem. The evidence of Intereſt, O how precious will it make the Blood of Jeſus to you! O how precious will it make the Death of Jeſus to you! O how precious will it make the Life of Jeſus to you! O how precious will it make the Offices of Jeſus to you! when you can ſee that you are concerned in his Blood; that Jeſus he is your Surety, your Mediator; that he hath ſuffered for you, and ſatisfied for you; that he is your forerunner in Heaven; this will make all of Chriſt exceeding precious. An evidence of Intereſt is that that will carry your Souls chearfully through all ſufferings that do or may befal you in the way of Chriſt. There are reproaches that Believers meet withal in the way of Chriſt, and the ſenſe of Intereſt will help you to bear them all. There are great loſſes that we are expoſed to in bearing our Teſtimony to the Truths of Jeſus; ſenſe of Intereſt will bear you up under all: Why, we have a building of God that is above. It is ſaid of thoſe in the Hebrews, that they did not regard their outward comforts, knowing that they had in Heaven a better and an induring ſubſtance. Senſe of Intereſt will bear you up under all changes of providences, when the Lord is taking, as well as when he is giving: Why, will the Soul ſay, there is ſtill enough in Chriſt; Chriſt is ſtill full; my Jeſus is full; though I am robbed, he is not robbed; though I have little or nothing, Jeſus Chriſt he hath all, and Chriſt is all, and all his fulneſs is mine. Senſe of Intereſt will raiſe your hopes and expectations upon Chriſt Jeſus. My friends, now we look upon Chriſt, and have low thoughts of him; we look upon Chriſt, and our expectations are not raiſed upon Chriſt: We come to an Ordinance where Chriſt is diſcovered and diſplayed in the riches of his Death, and in the glories of his Life, and our hearts are not raiſed upon this; why, but becauſe we have not the ſenſe of our Intereſt: The ſenſe of Intereſt will raiſe your expectations, and will comfort you againſt the thoughts of death. Now Lord, ſays good old Simeon, letteſt thou thy Servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have ſeen thy Salvation, Luk. 2.29.30. And ſays the Apoſtle, I deſire to be diſſolved, and to be with Chriſt, which is beſt of all. The ſenſe of Intereſt will lay you in againſt all fears of the approaching Judgment; inſtead of being afraid of it, it will make you long for it, when the Soul comes to ſee, and know, and be aſcertained that the judge of the Court is his friend, and is in relation to him, and hath loved him ſo as to lay down his life for him, and hath ever been deſigning upon him in a way of love and grace; this Soul will not be afraid to appear before him, but will long for the day when he ſhall come to ſee his Jeſus clothed with glory. So as a clear evidence of intereſt in Chriſt obtained, maintained, and goſpelly managed, will be of ſingular advantage unto a Chriſtian in his whole Chriſtian courſe.