The Mystical Union Between Christ and Believer, Chapter 8
CHAP. VIII.
The Priviledges of thoſe that are in Chriſt are great. Chriſts righteouſneſs is imputatively derived upon them, to deliver them from wrath, to intitle them to life eternal. Chriſt is their Advocate above; he pleads for them, that they may have pardon, the ſpirit, acceſs to God. They are adopted in him; as ſons they have a freedom in holy things, a continual indulgence from God, an heavenly inheritance. They have the Holy Spirit in them, it lives, breathes, moves, operates in them. They have communion with God; their ſervices anſwer to his call; his communications anſwer to their ſervices. They are happy in every condition; in proſperity their mercies are pure; in adverſity they have God with them; and admirably appearing to them. Our great work is Ʋnion with Chriſt.
HAving treated of the Seals of the myſtical Union; I now come to the Priviledges of it, which are great enough, if ſeen, to attract all men unto Chriſt. St. Paul was very illuſtrious in Jewiſh Priviledges; he was Circumciſed the eighth day, of the ſtock of Iſrael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, as touching the law, a Phariſee: Concerning zeal perſecuting the Church: touching the righteouſneſs which is in the law, blameleſs, Phil. 3.5, 6. Yet he counted all theſe but loſs and dung, that he might win Chriſt and be found in him, verſ. 7, 8, 9. There was a foreign, an excellency of priviledges above all other to be had in Chriſt; by union with him the Apoſtle had an inward circumciſion made without hands, he became one of the ſpiritual ſtock and tribe of Chriſt, a Chriſtian ſo named from Chriſt his Head and Maſter, an heavenly Phariſee ſeparated to the Goſpel, a right zealot for the Faith which before he deſtroyed, a perſon inveſted with a better righteouſneſs than his own, even with the righteouſneſs of Chriſt; in compariſon of ſuch things as theſe, all other things were but as droſs in his eyes. To be in union with Chriſt, is to be a ſubject, ſpouſe, building, branch, member of his; to have the priviledges of union, is to have all the good things which the ſpiritual King, Husband, Foundation, Root, Head affords to thoſe that are joined to him: Chriſt gives himſelf to us, and with himſelf all other good things. Memorable are the Words of Dr. Reynolds touching the crucified body of Chriſt,(a)Medit. on the Lords Supper. fol. 28. It was his body by his hypoſtatical and real; but it is ours by a ſpiritual and myſtical union; whatſoever fulneſs is in him, of it have we all received.(b)Scivit Latro, quod illa in corpore Chriſti vulnera non eſſent Chriſti vulnera, ſed Latronis. Ambr. de Sancto Latrone. Ser. 44. Whatſoever graces and merits flow from him as the Head, they trickle down as far as the skirts of his garment, the meaneſt of his choſen. The pains of his wounds were his, but ours is the benefit; the ſufferings of his death were his, but ours is the mercy; the ſtripes on his back were his, but the balm that iſſued from them, ours; the thorns on his head were his, but the crown is ours; the holes in his hands and ſide were his, but the blood that ran out was ours; in a word, the price was his, but the purchaſe ours. Thus that excellent man. The excellency of theſe priviledges will beſt appear by particulars; I ſhall therefore inſtance in ſeveral things.
The firſt Priviledg is this; Thoſe that are in union with Chriſt, have his ſatisfactory righteouſneſs imputatively derived upon them; Chriſt obeyed unto death, the death of the Croſs, not as a private perſon, but as a Sponſor or Surety for us; he ſtood in our room, he ſuffered in our ſtead, he was a ſecond Adam, an head no leſs communicating to his ſeed than the firſt Adam was to his poſterity; as Adams ſin comes upon each one of us as ſoon as he is proles Adae, ſo Chriſts Righteouſneſs comes upon each one of us as ſoon as he is proles Chriſti. Thus the Apoſtle, As by one mans diſobedience many were made ſinners, ſo by the obedience of one ſhall many be made righteous, Rom. 5.19. Hence thoſe many phraſes in Scripture, Chriſt is our Righteouſneſs; we are the Righteouſneſs of God in him; he is the end of the Law for Righteouſneſs to us; his ſtripes heal us; his blood cleanſeth us from all ſin: All which ſhew, that his Righteouſneſs is communicated to us: this is an exceeding great priviledg. Two things will evidence this:
The one is this; The Righteouſneſs of Chriſt delivers us from the curſe and wrath of God; There is no condemnation to them which are in Chriſt: Their being in him is a ſecurity; it is with them, as it was with thoſe Servants of Pharaoh, which were within when the ſtorm came; they are under the cover of Chriſts ſatisfaction, when the fire and brimſtone and horrible tempeſts comes down upon a Chriſtleſs world; they are in a Sanctuary in the wounds of Chriſt; Vindictive Juſtice (once ſatisfied there) cannot come there again for a ſecond ſatisfaction; their ſin was condemned in the fleſh of Chriſt, Rom. 8.3. It was fully puniſhed there; it is not to be condemned again, or puniſhed a ſecond time in his members; no, the Apoſtle doth in that place immediately add, The righteouſneſs of the law is fulfilled in us, foreign. Ar. Eth. lib. 5. c. 7.verſ. 4. The foreign, the ſatisfaction that Chriſt made to the violated Law, becomes imputatively ours; the Law cannot demand another ſatisfaction: Chriſt hath redeemed us from the curſe of the law, being made a curſe for us, Gal. 3.13. It was never meant, that the curſe ſhould fall upon the head and members too; it was upon the head, that the members might eſcape: This is ſuch a priviledg, that thoſe who have it, are happy in every condition; their troubles are ſingle, and without a curſe in them; their cup is pure, and without any dregs of wrath in it; Death to them is but a dark entry into life-eternal; it unties their bodies and ſouls, but it ſeparates neither from their Head; they ſleep in Jeſus, in a ſtate of conjunction with him; the great day of judgment need not alarum their fears; the trumpet of God doth not ſound death to them, but life; the world may be wrapt up in a winding-ſheet of flames; the Chriſtleſs inhabitants may cry to the Rocks and Mountains to fall upon them, and cover them; but Believers are ſafe with Chriſt, as members with the head; his Righteouſneſs is as a rich Robe to cover them; Chriſt will come in glorious Majeſty; a train of Angels will attend him; but Believers need not be afraid; being head, he will not condemn his members; being Author of his own Righteouſneſs, he will not deny the plea of it; they ſhall be for ever diſcharged from the wrath to come.
The other is this; The Righteouſneſs of Chriſt intitles us unto favour and lifeeternal.
It intitles us to the favour of God; Our Saviour prays to his Father for Believers, That the love wherewith thou haſt loved me, may be in them, and I in them, John 17.26. That is, that the Fathers love might be not only towards him, but might in a meaſure be derived upon his members, in whom he is by a myſtical conjunction; the words (I in them) point out that conjunction, as the reaſon of extending love to them: God favours us as myſtical parts of Chriſt; he is with us through Immanuel; he ſhines on us in the face of Chriſt; he tells us in Scripture, that he taketh pleaſure in them that fear him; looks to a contrite Spirit, compaſſes the righteous with favour; but all this reſpect is unto them as being in Chriſt; it is only for perſons in innocency, and graces in perfection to be accepted in themſelves; fallen perſons and defective graces muſt be accepted in and through a Mediator: Here's the priviledg of thoſe in Chriſt, notwithſtanding all their defects they are favourites of Heaven; Gods eye is upon them; his pleaſure is in them; his favour irradiates them; the light of his countenance is a kind of Heaven unto them.
It alſo entitles us to life-eternal; Juſtification of life is foreign, by one righteouſneſs, Rom. 5.18; not by many righteouſneſſes, but by one, which is that of Chriſt; by the ſame blood by which he entred into the holy place, Hebr. 9.12. do his members enter alſo; his blood removes obſtacles, it purges away guilt, which would have barred them out of Heaven; it ſatisfies Juſtice, which would have been like a flaming ſword to keep them out of Paradiſe; neither is this all, it is a full price for Heaven, it merits all the glory above. St. Bernard therefore obſerves, that Chriſt hath a double right to Heaven, haereditate patris & merito paſſionis, De Vitâ. S. Vern. lib. 1. cap. 12.by the inheritance of his Father, and by the merit of his Paſſion: the one is enough for him, the other for us; thoſe that are in Chriſt ſhall enter Heaven, and ſee the bleſſed One there; in whoſe preſence is fulneſs of joy, and at whoſe right hand are pleaſures for evermore. This is a priviledg not fully to be known till it be enjoyed; a thing too excellent to be ſeen in this dark and fluctuating world; when we are in the region of light, and in the eternal center, then we ſhall underſtand what an heavenly purchaſe Chriſt hath made for us, and what a priviledg it is to be in union with him.
Another priviledg is this; Chriſt, who ſuffered on earth for thoſe that are in him, doth intercede for them in Heaven; he is an Agent for them above, to maintain their peace and intercourſe with Heaven; he bears their Names upon his Humeral and upon his Pectoral, ſpiritually ſuſtaining, and intimately loving them; he appears in the preſence of God for them; he is their Advocate with the Father, and pleads, though not orally, yet really, by his Blood and Righteouſneſs, that all the good and excellent bleſſings thereby purchaſed may come down upon them; he is the Lamb that ſtands as if it were ſlain, Rev. 5.6 His wounds and blood cry in the ears of God to be returned unto his members in pardons and graces; he, who ſatisfied juſtice, now pleads for grace; he, who dying laid the foundation of Salvation, now lives to perfect the work, to ſave foreign, Hebr. 7.25; not by halves, but altogether; to give our Salvation its laſt act and complement; he is a Prieſt for ever, his Sacrifice, but once offered up, is in his Interceſſion virtually continued, to perfect for ever them that are ſanctified: Here believers have a tree of life, bearing as many excellent fruits as Chriſt paid for in his Death. To inſtance in ſome of them.
Here's a pardon for them. He, that on earth made ſatisfaction for ſin, in Heaven pleads for the pardon of it; his Blood crys, That the ſin which is ſatisfied for in the head, may not be charged upon the members: If any man ſin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jeſus Chriſt the righteous, 1 John 2.1. He pleads that righteouſneſs, which, being put into the oppoſite ballance, outweighs all the ſins of his people.
Here's the ſupply of the Holy Spirit given to them; he, that here below dyed to merit the communication of the Spirit, lives and intercedes above to have it done: I will pray the Father, and he ſhall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever, John 14.16. Our Saviour prays in the force of an infinite price, therefore the Spirit is given to them; he lives for ever, and continues praying; therefore the Spirit abides with them; that, which he by Prayer obtains for us, by Power he confers upon us: therefore (as Dr. Reynolds obſerves) in the Pſalm he is ſaid to receive gifts for men, noting the fruit of his Interceſſion,On the 110 Pſalm, fol. 438. Pſal. 68.18. And in the Apoſtle, to give gifts to men, noting the power and fulneſs of his Perſon, Epheſ. 4.8. Having received of the Father the promiſe of the Holy Ghoſt, he hath ſhed forth this which you now ſee and hear, Acts 2.33. The Interceſſion of Chriſt never fails to communicate the Spirit to his members.
Here's an acceſs to God, a free ingreſs for them unto the Mercy-ſeat; whileſt he is at Gods right hand, none can bar them out from the divine Preſence: The Apoſtle tells us, That we have a great High Prieſt paſſed into the Heavens, one no leſs than the very Son of God; and withal, one as man touched with the feeling of our infirmities; no leſs willing and compaſſionate, than able to help us. And from thence he concludes, Let us therefore come foreign, with boldneſs, with a liberty to ſpeak all our mind, unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need, Hebr. 4.14, 15, 16. Believers need not fear to approach unto the great God; his Glory will not ſwallow them up; his Juſtice will not be a devouring fire to them; they may freely open their wants before him; their regular prayers ſhall ſurely ſpeed in Heaven; Chriſt intercedes there for them; and, which is the Eccho of that Interceſſion, the Spirit makes interceſſion in their hearts; the ſucceſs therefore cannot fail: though their prayers, as they are in their boſoms, have much weakneſs and imperfections; yet as ſoon as they are put into the hand of Chriſt, and perfumed with the ſweet incenſe of his Merits, they are glorified prayers, and have power with God to procure the thing deſired.
Another priviledg is Adoption. All men in a ſenſe are the off-ſpring of God; the immortal Spirit in them had in the very make of it the natural Image of God, which was a nobler print of the Deity, than that which was upon all the material world beſides. Adam in Innocency was in an higher way the Son of God; the holy Graces in him, which made up the Moral Image, had more of the divine Beauty ſhining in them, than that which was to be found in the Eſſence of the Soul: but Believers are the Sons of God in a more excellent manner; To as many as received him, to them he gave power to become the Sons of God, John 1.12. By conjunction with Chriſt the natural Son, they become adopted ones. Adam was a Son only by Creation; his Soul had in the Eſſence of it a natural Image of God, and in the holy Graces of it a Moral one; but Believers are ſons by myſtical union with Chriſt the natural Son; neither is this a meer empty title, but they are born of God, they are of the ſeed-royal of Heaven; the Blood of God runs in their conſciences; the divine Spirit, which formed Chriſt in the womb, doth by a ſupernatural overſhadowing, form him in their heart; in their adoptive Sonſhip there is a ſhadow of the eternal one; the ſplendor of grace in them, reſembling God in a meaſure, is a little picture of Chriſt, who is the brightneſs of his Fathers glory. This priviledg, as it is from God, is a piece of admirable love: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath beſtowed upon us, that we ſhould be called the Sons of God, 1 John 3.1. The Apoſtle ſtands and wonders at it as an object of glorious and amazing Eminence: Alſo, as it is upon Believers, it is a piece of incomparable Dignity, ſuch as doth far outſhine all that luſtre which is upon the Potentates of this world; all the glory of earthly Princes is but fumus ſeculi, the ſmoak of this lower Region, their titles glitter only in carnal eyes; but adoption is radius coeli, a ray of heavenly glory, making believers, though but worms in themſelves, ſhine to the eyes of Angels, who look upon them as myſtical parts of Chriſt. Touching this priviledg, I ſhall only touch on two or three things.
Believers as Sons have an heavenly freedom in the ways of God. They are not drag'd to holy things by the cords of Hell and Death; they do not bring forth their duties meerly under the preſſure of the Lawletter, or in the power of fallen nature, in a dead, carnal, ſervile manner; no, they are ſpirited for holy things; the Law is in their hearts; the rectitude of the commands attracts them; the Love of Chriſt conſtrains them; the great rewards in Heaven raviſh them; the Holy Spirit inſpires obedience into them; Holineſs becomes natural to them; Duties are brought forth in the eaſineſs of the new creature; they can walk, run, fly on, in the pure ways towards eternal happineſs: this is a very choice priviledg indeed; they are no longer in the ſtraits of ſin and earth, but in a divine amplitude and liberty; their hearts reſt not in*Liber ab infinito, ad infinitum, ſuper infinitum, movetur. finite things, but go out to the infinite One; their thoughts are upon the firſt Good, their aims at the laſt End; their liberty is joyned to its great fountain; their motion is to the true center: this is a right, noble, royal poſture of Soul towards God, in whom all our happineſs is.
Believers as Sons live under the continual Indulgences of God; in temptations he bears them up upon the wings of grace; in a world of ſnares he plucks their feet out of the net; when the fleſh hangs back, and cumbers them in holy Duties, he helps them on by the ſweet ſupplies of his Spirit; when they totter, and are ready to fall, he upholds them with his Almighty hand; that their perſons may not be hurt, he will keep them night and day; that their graces may not decay, he will water them every moment; in their wants his treaſures are at hand to ſupply them; in their afflictions he himſelf is afflicted, as taking them to his heart; in fainting fits he hath rich cordials for them; in the midſt of encompaſſing infirmities, he ſpares them as a man ſpares his own Son that ſerves him; goodneſs and mercy follow them all their days; a ſtream of graces and comforts perpetually accompany them, to ſupply and refreſh them in the way to Heaven.
Believers as Sons ſhall have the heavenly Inheritance; If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Chriſt, Rom. 8.17. All the children are heirs of God as their Father, and joint-heirs with Chriſt as their elder Brother; the Father would not have his natural Son only inherit the bleſſed Kingdom, but his adopted ones too. Chriſt the elder brother would not reign alone there, but have all his brethren come and partake of his Glory with him: Here's Honour in the higheſt pitch; Happineſs in the utmoſt perfection; admirable is that Grace which gives it; precious is that Merit that procures it for us.
Another priviledg is this; They that are in union with Chriſt, have the Holy Spirit in them; it is the Dignity of man, that he hath an immortal Spirit in him; touching which, the Philoſophers ſpeak at a very high rate; it is (ſay they) a Particle of the divine Breath, a bud or bloſſom of the Deity, a kind of Daemon, or God in us: but, which is a much greater thing, it is the Dignity of a man in Chriſt, that he hath an higher Spirit than his own, no leſs than the Holy Spirit of God in him: If the Spirit of wiſdom and underſtanding be upon Chriſt, Iſa. 11.2. then it follows, That the earth is full of the knowledg of the Lord, as the waters cover the Sea, verſ. 9. The Holy Spirit, which is upon him, is diffuſed unto his members: The Oyl of gladneſs, Pſal. 45.7. doth not only glad him, but his fellows too; though not in equal excellency with him, yet in a fit proportion for them as members of him: this is a wonderful priviledg. The Holy Spirit works the great work in them; it inſpires a divine life into them; it doth as in the firſt Creation command the light to ſhine out of darkneſs; it calls the holy Graces, which before were not, into being; it raiſes up the new creature out of nothing; nay, as it were, in mighty waters, in the midſt of that torrent of corruption which is in the heart; putting back the ſtream of nature, it ſets up a noble ſtructure of grace in them; it accommodates graces to every faculty, as the dew is white in the Lilly, and red in the Roſe; ſo the Holy Spirit in its Graces is light in the mind, liberty in the will, order in the affections; alſo it accommodates ſutable influences to every grace; it gives ſuch ſweet touches upon their holy love, fear. meekneſs, patience, as makes them go forth into act in a free ſpontaneous manner; it acts ſo powerfully, as if there were no room left for humane liberty; and yet ſo connaturally, as if there were no power at all in it. Further, It accommodates it ſelf to them at every turn; it is a Spirit of Grace in their penitential meltings; a Spirit of ſupplication in their ardent Devotions; a Spirit of Revelation in their Evangelical Studies; a Spirit of Love in their Charities; a Spirit of Power in their Infirmities; a Spirit of Fear in their holy Walkings; a Spirit of Meekneſs in their carriage towards others; a Spirit of Comfort in their Afflictions; a Spirit of Glory in their Reproaches; a Spirit of Holineſs in all their Converſes; it lives, breathes, moves, aptly operates in them. Hence in all their good actions, they are lifted up above themſelves, and carried beyond the line of a meer humane Spirit; they walk in a divine circle from God as the firſt cauſe, to God as the laſt end; they center on nothing leſs than God himſelf, and take an aim no lower than his Glory; whether they eat, or drink, or pray, or hear, or whatever good thing they do, they are ſtill carrying on the great deſign, that God in all things may be glorified; the great Alpha is their Omega; the ſupreme good is their ultimate end; they dare not center in a creature, or make God a Medium: this is practical blaſphemy; and in effect it ſaith, That God is not God, or that there is ſomething better than he; it is their ſtudy how to ſerve the bleſſed God; how to ſhew forth his praiſe in an holy, humble, righteous, heavenly converſation; ſtill there is oculus in metam, a pure intention at his glory, as the great end of all; by that intention they are ſo joyned unto him, that all their works are ſpiritualized, and attain a kind of Immortality. This is an excellent priviledg indeed, they are acted by the Holy Spirit, and walk as Chriſt walked; he, as became the great Samplar of Sanctity, ſought his Fathers glory; they, as myſtical parts of him, tread in his divine ſteps; no fleſh on earth, but that which is ſpiritually joyned to him, doth ſo; all others are off from the great Center; their beſt works putrifie; one inferior end or other, like a worm at the root, makes them moulder into nothing; not being terminated in God, they are not accepted as done to him.
Another priviledg is this; They that are in Chriſt, have not meerly Ordinances, but communion with God in them. They ſee his goings in the Sanctuary; they have the golden Oyl of the Spirit communicating it ſelf through the golden Pipes: this communion is a divine entercourſe and correſpondence between God and them. There are two things, ſomewhat on their part anſwering to ſomewhat of Gods, and ſomewhat on Gods part anſwering to ſomewhat of theirs.
On their part there is a ſervice anſwering to the call of God; God ſaith, Seek ye my face: they anſwer, Thy face, Lord, will we ſeek. God appoints Ordinances, they perform Services in correſpondence thereunto. There are two things in Ordinances, Matter and Manner: there is that in their Services which complies with both. As to Matter, an Ordinance is a thing appointed by God, accordingly they go to it as ſuch: A worſhip of humane invention is to them as nothing, nay, worſe than nothing; it is as ſtrange fire, or as a graven Image, a kind of Teraphim, expreſſing, though not, as they did, an humane ſhape, yet an humane device or invention: But where there is an Ordinance of Gods inſtitution, where he hath ſet his own ſeal and ſtamp, there they fly as Doves to the windows, thither they repair to meet the Holy God; they know aſſuredly, that there is the way in which he is to be found; there he records his name, and commands the bleſſing, even life for evermore; the call is that which makes them run; the inſtitution is that which makes them wait for the benediction. As to Manner, an Ordinance is to be uſed like it ſelf, in an holy way, accordingly they treat it as a ſacred thing; their hearts are in ſuch a poſture as correſponds to the Preſence of God in it: He is the great Majeſty of Heaven; they lye low before him; their reverence ſhews Him, whom they ſerve, to be an Infinite one: Oh! what abaſing thoughts are there in their boſom! Duſt here approaches to Majeſty it ſelf, nay, ſinful duſt to the holy One. What a little, very little thing is the ſoul to him, though it were intirely given up to him! And how much leſs is it, when corruption holds back, and the world ſteals away a great part of it from him? He is a Spirit, they ſerve him in Spirit and Truth; they endeavour to give him their higheſt and pureſt intention; they bid the world ſtand by, and not to interrupt them; were it poſſible, they would not have ſo much as a glance or a broken thought towards carnal objects; he is Mercy and Love it ſelf; their Faith in and through the great Mediator aſcends up to him for pardon and acceptance; their Love takes fire at his, and inflames their hearts towards him; He is the great Author of the Ordinance; he only can bleſs it; their eyes are up to him; their hearts cry out for him; Oh! that he would fill the Ordinance with his Spirit; that he would caſt their minds into the mould of the Goſpel! this is all their expectation, to meet with him in his ways. Here is the firſt correſpondence.
On Gods part there are ſuch divine Communications, as do in a way of Grace anſwer to their Services; as they draw near to him, ſo he draws near to them; as they come to Ordinances as Ordinances appointed by him, ſo he comes down into Ordinances as his own Inſtitutions, to fill them with his gracious Preſence: there are ſuch ſpirations and influences of the Spirit; ſuch openings of Evangelical Glories and Myſteries; ſuch deep and intimate impreſſions of Truth; ſuch delights and ſpiritual ſuavities in holy things; ſuch proſpects of rectitude and beauty in the commands; ſuch ſweet taſtes and favours of Grace in the promiſes; ſuch ſheddings of the divine Love and Favour; ſuch a Shechinah, a preſence and glory in the Ordinance, that they can do no leſs than break out, and ſay, God is in it of a truth. Before, they did by the word know the Ordinance to be of God: but now they know it by experience; God ſhews a wonderful reſpect to their ſervices; I may add, to the pious mode of them. The more low and humble they are, the nearer is the high One to them; their humility and penitential frame ſets his Mercies a melting and working towards them; when Iſrael was repenting, his Soul was grieved for them, Judg. 10.16. When Ephraim bemoaned himſelf, the divine bowels were troubled for him, Jer. 31.20. The more upright they are, the more doth his countenance behold them; With the upright he will ſhew himſelf upright; their pure intentions ſhall have a Crown of pure Mercies; while they are ſerving him in heart and ſpirit, he will do them good with all his heart and ſoul; they lift up their faith and love towards him; and the iſſue is, Mercy comes down upon them in greater riches and plenty: Love appears in clearer and higher manifeſtations than before; they lift up their eyes to the great Author of Ordinances, and it is not in vain; he manifeſts himſelf to them in every duty; in Prayer they meet with gales and divine Enlargements; they have a free acceſs and manuduction to the Mercy-ſeat; they have ſweet returns of their Petitions; if not in ſpecie, in the very thing deſired, yet in ſomething elſe fitter and better for them; there is an inward ſupport, which is tantamount to the bleſſing deſired; or elſe there is a wiſe tranſmutation of the bleſſing into ſomething more profitable. In the hearing of the word, they have an effectual working in their hearts; they do not only hear outwardly, but inwardly too; there are ſuch Illuminations, as are more precious than all the lights in nature: The word, like a beam of Omniſcience, penetrates into the very inward parts; the ſavours of Chriſt, are as if there were a box of heavenly Spikenard broken in their hearts; the divine Spirit breathes life and power into them, to quicken them to all Obediende; in every Ordinance they have a practical and experimental proof, that God is in the Ordinance. This is the ſecond correſpondence; both evidence a ſweet communion with God, in which ſtands much of our happineſs here below; it being certain, that there is no greater good to be enjoyed than himſelf.
The laſt priviledg I ſhall name, is this: They that are in Chriſt, are happy in every conditio;Eth. lib. 1. c. 10. a virtuous man in Ariſtotle, is foreign, a fourſquare man; caſt him which way you will, ſtill he is upon his bottom. I may much more ſay ſo of men in Chriſt; their happineſs is ſo internal and divine, that it doth not wheel or rowl about with the mutable world, but ſtands unmovable in every condition; whether the times be proſperous or adverſe, ſtill they are happy.
They are happy in times of proſperity; they have outward good things in a more excellent way than others; they have a ſpecial title to them; they have them not only by Providence, but by Promiſe; they claim not upon meer Creation, but in and through Chriſt. All are yours, and you are Chriſts, 1 Cor. 3.22. They have not meerly the things themſelves, but the favour of God with them. In the bleſſing of Joſeph, there are the dew and the deep; the precious things of the Heaven, Sun, and Moon; the precious things of the Earth, Hills, and Mountains; and, to ſweeten all, there comes in at laſt, The good will of him that dwelt in the buſh, Deut. 33.13, 14, 15, 16, verſes. This good will is that which makes the ſtream of bleſſings run pure; Believers have bleſſings, and no curſe in them; a table, and no ſnare in it; a proſperous ſtate, and no ſorrow added to it; the light of Gods Providence, and the light of his countenance are met in conjunction. Again, They look upon outward bleſſings in their dependance upon the original; they know the true ſenſe of them to be this, That their hearts may be guided to the fountain of Goodneſs; the little beams, being rightly underſtood, point to the Father of Lights; the ſmalleſt drops of good here below, lead to the Ocean of ſweetneſs above; no ſooner do Believers open their eyes upon the creatures, but they ſee the ſtamps and ſignatures of the firſt cauſe; they behold the rare Idea's of the divine Power and Goodneſs; every thing calls upon them to fall down and adore him, who is foreign, the Fountain and Principle of all things. Further, They know the right uſe of bleſſings; they do not take Creature-comforts into their heart, which is an holy place for God, but bid them ſtand without, and miniſter to the body; they do not reſt and center in them, but as Pilgrims and Strangers march on to the heavenly Countrey: in the fulleſt affluence of outward things, ſtill they cry out, Dulcius ex ipſo fonte, a ſingle God is ſweeter than all: they look upon them not as fuel to luſt, but as incentives to holy Love and Obedience; they do not as abſolute Proprietors, ingroſs all to themſelves, but as faithful Stewards diſtribute to others; they know, they receive outward things, not to have and to hold, but to communicate; Mercies in their hands are, as blood in the Veins, or water in the Conduit, for publick uſe; the goodneſs of God to them, makes them good to others; the open hand of the great Donor, makes them aſhamed to ſhut their own.
Alſo they are happy in times of adverſity. If a ſtorm of perſecution come, their happineſs is not diminiſhed, but increaſed; they never had their Souls in ſuch a poſture, they never had ſuch appearances of God, as at ſuch a time; they melt in freſh acts of repentance; God draws their pardon afreſh, and more legible than ever; they ſigh and cry for the abominations in the Land; God ſets a mark and a ſeal of diſtinction upon them; their hearts tremble for the Ark; his bowels are moved for them; their care is for his intereſt and great name; his care is to make up his Jewels; their Faith aſcends up, and fixes it ſelf upon him; his Power, Wiſdom, Goodneſs, Mercy, come down and command Salvation for them; they cry and wreſtle with him in their prayers, that that Goſpel, the glory may not depart away from them; he hears them in one meaſure of grace or other; the Goſpel, it may be, ſhall not depart from the Land, at leaſt, not from their hearts; they are toſſed in a Sea of troubles, but there is a calm within, and an Haven of reſt (to which every wave gives them a lift) near at hand; they may look to Heaven, and ſing, as the Martyr Babylas did, Return unto thy reſt, O my ſoul. They are poor weak creatures, but the power of Chriſt reſts upon them; that divine Power, which bore up his humane nature in his Sufferings, bears up them in theirs; being in the true Immanuel, they are ſure to have God with them; how heavy ſoever the Croſs be, his everlaſting Arms are under them; how bloody ſoever the Perſecutor be, his rich Mercies are towards them; when great men leave them naked to their Enemies, he covers them with his wings; when outward comforts depart from them, he will never, never leave them, no more than Chriſts Divinity did forſake his Humanity; the joy of the Holy Ghoſt is their cordial in the greateſt troubles; the Love of God ſhed abroad in their hearts, is able to ſweeten Priſons and fiery Furnaces to them; when they have leaſt of Earth, then they have moſt of Heaven; there are ſome ſparkles of glory let down into their hearts; they taſte ſome drops of the pure Rivers of pleaſure which are above.Valeat vita, vileart faculltates, inquit Julitta. Mart. Cent. 4. Magdeb. This makes them able to bid farewel to life, and all things here, that they may go, though through the greateſt loſſes and ſufferings, to be with Chriſt. Thus much touching the Priviledges of union with Chriſt.
It is a notable paſſage in Antoninus, Every thing (ſaith he) is deſigned for ſome work, Beaſts, and Plants, and Sun, and Stars; foreign? and what are you for? what is your great buſineſs? It is a ſhame for a man, much more for a Chriſtian, not to know the foreign, the great work he is to do. Our Saviour tells us, that it is Faith in himſelf, John 6.29. St. Paul made it his chief buſineſs, to be found in Chriſt, Phil. 3.9. Sit down, O Chriſtian, and conſider where thy intereſt lies: Is it not thy intereſt to be delivered from the wrath to come, and to enjoy the bleſſed God in Heaven? Do not the pangs in conſcience, and the ſenſe of a Deity tell thee, that it is ſo? To be ſaved for ever, muſt needs be a great thing; and how canſt thou be ſaved, but by Chriſt the only Saviour? or whom doth he ſave, but thoſe that are in conjunction with him? Is it not thy intereſt to have ſuch an Advocate as Chriſt, to appear in the Preſence of God, and to plead for all good things for thee? Art thou not at a vaſt diſtance from God? and are not thy Righteouſneſſes as a filthy rag before him? Sure it muſt be well for thee, to have a Mediator to plead and intercede for thee, that thou mayeſt have the returns of his Blood in Pardons and Graces: And how can this be, unleſs thou art joyned to him? For whom doth he ſo intercede, but for thoſe that come unto God by him? Is it not thy intereſt, to be made a Son of God, to have the Holy Spirit living and breathing in thee? How deſirable muſt Adoption be to a Child of wrath? how much doth thy natural ſpirit want a better one to new-frame and actuate it? and how canſt thou be adopted, unleſs thou art united to the natural Son? or which way canſt thou expect to have the Holy Spirit moving and dwelling in thee, unleſs thou become a Member of Chriſt? Is it not thy intereſt to have communion with the great God? how excellent a thing is it, to have thy Services anſwer to Gods call, and his divine Communications anſwer to thy Services? This is a little Heaven here below; but without union with Chriſt it cannot be. Is it not thy intereſt to be happy in every condition? how admirable is it to have pure Mercies and comfortable Sufferings? to have the love and gracious Preſence of God in every eſtate? This is a choice benefit, but not to be attained but in and through Chriſt; to have him, is to have all things; to want him, is a miſery worſe than nothing: Union with him therefore is the great work of all. How earneſt ſhould our purſuits of it be? how ardent our prayers for it? how conſtant our endeavours after it? how ſhould we gad up and down from Ordinance to Ordinance ſeeking of Chriſt, breathing after union with him, running, ſweating, ſtriving with all our might to be joyned to him? This is totum hominis, the All of man; a matter of that conſequence, that it infinitely out-ballances all things here below, it being the only thing that raiſes up our nature to its utmoſt perfection. Let us by no means ſuffer a vanity, or a luſt, or indeed a world to ſtop us in our purſuit after it; without it we cannot be happy; with it we cannot be miſerable.