The Best Match, Title page – To the reader 2
THE Beſt Match: OR THE Souls Eſpouſal to Chriſt, opened and improved.
By Edward Pearſe.
Joh. 3.29, 30.
He that hath the Bride, is the Bridegroom: but the Friend of the Bridegroom, which ſtandeth and heareth him, rejoyceth greatly becauſe of the Bridegrooms voice: This my joy therefore is fulfilled.
He muſt increaſe, but I muſt decreaſe.
LONDON, Printed for Jonathan Robinſon, at the Golden Lion in St. Pauls Church-Yard; and Brabazon Aylmer, at the 3 Pigeons in Cornhil, 1673.
READER,
NExt to the full and immediate Viſion and Fruition of the God of Glory above, the greateſt happineſs of Souls lies in Union and Communion with Chriſt here: Nor indeed can we ever attain unto the one without an acquaintance with the other. Now to bring thee into, and build thee up in this Union and Communion with Chriſt, and thereby to fit and diſpoſe thee for that glorious Viſion and Fruition Above, is the principal deſign of the enſuing Diſcourſe. If thou requireſt a reaſon of the publication hereof, I deſire thee to ſatisfie thy ſelf with this; God in his all-wiſe and holy Providence, hath ſeen good now for ſeyeral months to call the unworthy Author out of his Vinyard, and lodge him in a ſick Chamber; and he alſo ſeems to be ſpeedily calling him out of this World, and to bring that Night upon him wherein no man can work, wherein nothing is to be done either for God or a Man's Soul, John 9.4. And being never like to do more for Chriſt on Earth, he was willing, in hopes of advancing his dear Lords Kingdom, in the drawing of Sinners to him, and building up of Saints in him, & communion with him, to make theſe poor Contemplations publick. God was pleaſed ſome few years ſince to make a more than ordinary uſe of the preaching of them, many Souls being through his Grace eſpouſed to Chriſt and more brought nearer to him thereby: and had I not ſome hopes that he would alſo, through that ſame Grace of his, make ſome uſe of the reading of them for thy good, and the good of others, I think they had never ſeen the light: Thy good then, and Chriſt's Glory in the enlargement of his Kingdom, is the thing aimed at herein, which the good Lord by his Grace accompliſh. I am lying daily by the brink of the Grave, waiting upon the Will, and for the Call of my Sovereign Lord; the only reaſon ſwaying with me to deſire life, next to the more through working out of my own Salvation, is to reveal, and make known Chriſt to Souls, and to publiſh the glad Tydings of Peace and Salvation to a loſt and ſinful World: But if God will make no further uſe of me that way, his Will be done. I comfort my ſelf with what an holy Man ſpeaks, Sinleſs glorifying of God, ſaith he, is better than ſinful glorifying of God. His meaning I ſuppoſe is, that 'tis better to glorifie God in a ſinleſs than in a ſinful ſtate: Truly bere we ſin in our beſt Actions; and if we bring a little glory to God, yet woe and alas! how much diſhonour do we alſo bring him? and what iniquities do there cleave to our moſt holy things? But above we ſhall glorifie him without ſinning; we ſhall love him, praiſe him, admire him, adore him, delight in him, and aſcribe glory to him without the leaſt taint or tincture of ſin cleaving thereunto; having not only all tears wiped off our eyes; but which is infinitly, infinitly, infinitly better, all ſin purged from our hearts and actions. Farewel, I leave thee and this poor Treatiſe to the Bleſſing of Heaven.
E. P.
To the Reader.
THere are two main ends for which the Goſpel-Miniſtry is ordained; the one is, the winning of Souls, and bringing them into Chriſt; the other is the edification and building up of ſuch as are already brought in. It hath pleaſed Chriſt, the Head of the Church, who diſtributeth Gifts in order to the ſalvation of men, unto whom, and in what meaſure he pleaſeth, to furniſh the Author of this Diſcourſe, with good abilities as to both theſe Works. As to the firſt, the Lord had given him a peculiar Gift, to qualifie him above many, to Preach the Goſpel for the winning of Souls; and the Grace of God in him did inflame his heart with ardent deſires, and did excite great longings in him after the converſion of Souls; and he was pleaſed to crown his own Gifts and Grace in him with great ſucceſs, many a Soul having been turned unto God by his Labours. And it having pleaſed God to caſt the Author into a languiſhing Diſtemper for ſome months, whereby he was wholly taken off from his Work in Preaching, ſo great did the deſire of doing good to Souls remain in him, and ſuch were the yearnings of his Bowels towards them, that being not able to ſpeak to them any longer out of the Pulpit, he could not ſatisfie himſelf, but he muſt needs ſpeak to them in this ſmall Tract, wherein his great Scope and principal Deſign is, to allure and draw Souls unto Chriſt. As to the Matter of the Treatiſe, I need ſay little, it will ſufficiently ſpeak for it ſelf; onelyonly thus much I may ſay, Union with Chriſt is the foundation of our Happineſs. The Apoſtle telleth us,Col. 1, 27. that Chriſt in us is the hope of Glory; We cannot have any ſure or ſound title to eternal Life and Glory, but by Ʋnion with Chriſt; whoever are ſaved, are ſaved by being brought under Chriſt as their Head. Epheſ. 1.10. That in the diſpenſation of the fulneſs of times, he might gather together in one all things in Chriſt; foreign; Omnia ad unum caput adducers & adjungere, ſeu, colligere omnia ſub uno capite.that he might bring them under one Head; ſo Zanchy and others interpret the Greek word there uſed: The Son of God incarnate is the true Vine into which the Elect are implanted. There are but two Roots of Mankind, the Firſt and the Second Adam, the firſt Adam is the Root of Sin and Death unto all that abide in him; the ſecond Adam is the Root of Righteouſneſs and Life unto all who are implanted into him. The ſcope of this Diſcourſe, is to perſwade men not to be content to abide in the Root upon which they naturally grow, viz. the Root of the firſt Adam, but to ſeek after a new Relation unto Chriſt the ſecond Adam. The Arguments by which the Author preſſeth Souls to come to Chriſt, are moſt pathetical and ſtrong; and as there is a Vein of Heavenly Affection which runneth through the whole body of the Diſcourſe to allure ſuch who are yet ſtrangers to the Lord Jeſus to fall in love with him, ſo there is much ſolid Matter interwoven, whereby thoſe who are already called, and have attained to ſome dequaintance with ſpiritual things, may receive farther advantage. It pleaſeth the Al-wiſe God to leave the Author at a great uncertainty as to Life; the Lord hath kept him in the Furnace long, but he hath choſen and refined him in it; and whether it be in this, or in the other World, that he ſhall pleaſe to bring him forth, they who have moſt intimate converſe with him, are perſwaded, he will come forth as Gold. The Lord grant that the ſame preſence of Divine Grace, which attended theſe Sermons in the Preaching of them, may accompany them in the Publication, that many more Souls may be enamoured and drawn to the love of that faireſt of ten thouſand, the Lord Jeſus; that ſo knowing him, and adhering to him, they may be ſaved eternally by him, by whom all that have been, are, or ſhall be ſaved, are brought to Life and Glory: So prayes,
The unworthieſt of Chriſt's Servants, John Rowe.
The beſt Match: OR, The Souls Eſpouſal to Chriſt.
From 2 Cor. 11.2.
I have eſpouſed you to one Husband, that I may preſent you a chaſt Virgin unto Chriſt.