England Faithfully Watched, Lecture 80
COLOS. 1.27.
Which is Chriſt in you.
AS there is an externall ſociety, body with body, ſo there is an internall ſociety, ſpirit with ſpirit. God is a ſpirit and ſutes his ſociety; he moves about corporeals, but holds communion and fellowſhip onelyonly with ſpirits, drawes out himſelfe here, his face, and his heart; that is communion, where one drawes out his heart. If any fellowſhip of the ſpirit, if any bowels of mercy, Phil. 2.1. the latter explaines the former, what foreign the communion of the Spirit meanes, to wit, ſuch an internall operation, as whereby the ſpirit of man is made like the Spirit of God for bowels and mercies, and ſo for all other Divine diſpoſitions, a drawing out his owne heart, and his nature in ours, partakers of the Divine nature, 2 Pet. 1.4. There is foreign, and foreign, a communion of the Spirit, and a communion of the Divine nature I thinke the termes are expoſitory, and note the Spirit ſo effectually operating in the ſoule of man, as imparting its owne nature to it; ſuch an operation or communication of Chriſt as this, is called Chriſt in us, becauſe he leaves his Image and ſimilitude in us; as you ſay ſometimes of children, his fathers ſpirit is in him; and this is ſpoken ſimilitudinaliter not formaliter, becauſe of that ſimilitude and oneneſſe of diſpoſition, that is between father and child. God was in Chriſt, that expreſſion poynts not at the Divine eſſence, nor cannot be proper ſpeech ſo applied, but at Divine exiſtence, noting how the perſons in the Trinity doe act one in and by another; Chriſts being in us, carries ſome proportion to this, and is ſo applied by the Apoſtle. The eyes of our underſtanding being enlightned, that we might know the exceeding greatneſſe of his power to us-ward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought [in Chriſt] when he raiſed him from the dead, Epheſ. 1.19. God was in Chriſt, that is, he did put forth an exceeding great power in him, and by this wrought in and by him exceeding great things, raiſed him from the dead; ſo ſaith the Apoſtle, Chriſt is in us; what's that? why he doth put forth an exceeding great power in us; and by this raiſeth us from the power of ſinne, ſatan, and ſelfe, and enables us to walke as ſpiritually alive, that is, according to the will of the Spirit of Chriſt, and not according to our owne luſt; Divine communion at ſuch a heigth as makes union and ſimilitude to Chriſt, ſpeakes Chriſt in us according to the Scripture uſing of this phraſe. No act that Chriſt did for us, but there is a foreign a communion of the vertue of it in us; life, death, reſurrection, aſcention, that is, an importing of the ſame Spirit and power that did all theſe in Chriſt, according to ſuch a meaſure, as to worke ſimilitude to all theſe in us. That I may know him, and the power of his reſurrection, and the fellowſhip of his ſuffering, or the participation of his ſuffering (tis foreign) being made conformable to his death, foreign configuratus, made together in likeneſse, one ſhapt and formed by another, ſo exact, that there is a conſimilitude, one forme in two, as it were; conſimilitude with Chriſt, is Chriſt in us.
The expreſſion being opened, doe but note one thing, what a forlorne ſeat Chriſt chooſeth in this world! great ones chooſe ſeats ſutable to their ranke, places of great worth, rich, fertile, pleaſant. You may ſee the courſe of great ones in this by Lot, he choſe the plaine of Jordan, which was for fertility and pleaſantnes like the garden of God, Gen. 13.19. Chriſt chooſeth the pooreſt and the meaneſt place in all the world; the pooreſt and meaneſt place in all the world, is the ſoule of man, this is poore in extremity, poore and naked, Revel. 3. your ſoules are ſtarke naked: your bodies have ſome covering, and ſome eſtate; but your ſoules are deſtitute of all, not a ragge of covering, not a farthing of eſtate, utterly deſtitute. That which makes wealth and worth upon the ſoule, is the beames of loving kindneſſe ſhining upon them, and theſe are utterly gone from the ſoule. My loving kindneſſe will I not utterly take from you. Tis a ſpeech of dread, and hints what is our ſtate naturally; Chriſt is utterly gone from the ſoule, not a beame of loving kindneſſe ſhines upon it. There is nothing (to ſpeake properly) within or without, that eſtate, but that which hath loving kindneſſe wrapt up in it; things thus conſidered, man is the pooreſt creature in all the world, in the front of wrath, not any thing he hath, within or without, that hath a beame of loving kindneſſe. What Job ſpeakes of ſome externally, that may be ſaid of him, and of all us internally and naturally conſidered. He cald them children of fooles, yea children of baſe men, Job 30.8. Beni beli Sem, children without name, that is, without any worth. As ſome are externally of no worth, ſo are all of us internally, conſider our condition naturally, and our ſoules are nameleſſe ſoules, worthleſſe ſoules: if you will give a name to your ſoules, you cannot in juſtice give them any name that imports any worth, but ſuch as may import worthleſneſſe to the utmoſt. The prodigall when he came to ſee the poverty of his inſide, ſaid, call me not by any name of worth, let my ſoule goe nameleſſe of any ſuch title, I am not worthy to be called [thy ſonne.] We may not be called poſſeſſours of any thing naturally, no, not heires to any thing that is Divinely good; we are creatures of no hope in our naturall condition, nothing in poſſeſſion, nor nothing in reverſion, and yet ſuch beggerly creatures Chriſt uſeth to ſit downe in. Meeke ſitting upon an Aſse, Math. 21.5. An Aſſe is the pooreſt and the deſpiſedſt thing one of them that is, and yet this Chriſt chuſeth to make his ſeat. Baſe things of the world, things which are deſpiſed hath God choſen, ſaith the Apoſtle; and as if this were not enough to ſet forth the worthleſneſſe of the things he chuſeth for his ſeat, hee addes foreign & non exiſtentia, and things which are not, that have no exiſtence; our ſoules are ſo farre from any braveneſſe of being, that it is moſt proper to ſay, they have no being at all; if you will call your ſoules any thing, call them things which are not; and yet in theſe things which are not, that is, of any worth, doth Chriſt looke him out a ſeat and dwelling, Which is Chriſt in you.
The ſeat which Chriſt chuſeth is very mean, and very unclean, which is the ſecond particular, which ſpeaks the forlornneſſe of a thing. Poore people and poore houſes when cleanly, are deſireable; but uſually poore perſons are naſty and filthy too; which makes them loathſom to us; and yet Chriſt chuſeth the pooreſt and the filthieſt places for his ſeat. Your uncleaneſt part is your inſide, the ſoule is the ſinke of the man, very excrement, very rottenneſse; Pſalme 5.9. wickedneſſes; Havvoth.the expreſſion notes extention, not a roome in the ſoule, but foule, very foule; ſo that it is more proper to call every faculty, and every operation, every organ, and organization wickedneſse, then wicked. You have Elihu ſetting out this to Job notably; Why is thy ſpirit turn'd against God? and then ſpeaking about the ſpirit of man, ſets it out to the life what it is: it is filthy, ſaith he; it ſtinks, it ſtinks abominably: this is the caſe of every man, ſaith he. What man is he that is borne of a woman that he ſhould be cleane? he puts no truſt in his Saints, Job 15.16. Nithgnab. Nèèlach.the heavens are not cleane in his ſight: how much more abominable and filthy is man abominable and ſtinking? The ſame word is uſed, Pſalme 14.3. and ſo tranſlated in the Margin, ſtinking: and this doth agree notably with the type; the grave, which is cald the heart of the earth, doth but reſemble the heart of man, and there Chriſt took up his ſeat and his lodging; and what more filthy than the grave? tis ſtinking, nothing like it, ſtinking abominably; and yet in this doth Chriſt take up his ſeat, his reſt, his ſolemneſt reſt; no place that is ſo ſolemnly poſſeſt and taken up as the grave; the ſeat which Chriſt hath here is a grave; our ſoules are a Golgotha; and yet in no place doth Chriſt ſo ſolemnly ſeat himſelfe, as in the ſoule of man.
'Tis a mean place, 'tis an uncleane place that Chriſt chuſeth to ſit down in here, and yet this is not all, 'tis a place much haunted, which is the laſt particular, which ſpeaks the forlornneſſe of a place: you take but a fancy that this place and that is haunted with evill ſpirits, and you will not ſit downe in ſuch a place for all the world: this is reall and no fancy concerning your ſoules; there is no place in all the world, hell excepted, ſo haunted with evill ſpirits, as the ſoule of man, that room within us. Come out of the man thou unclean ſpirit, ſaith Chriſt; and Chriſt askt him his name, and he ſaid my name is Legion, for we are many; but how many? that the devill himſelf could not tell, or would not, Mark 5.9. The inviſible world is more populous then the viſible: you have an innumerable company of evill ſpirits haunting one ſoule: the numerouſneſſe of diabolicall ſpirits infeſting the ſoule, is hinted by that ſimilitude of our Saviour, comparing them to Fowles that flock to their prey; Some fell by the high way, and the Fowles came and gathered it up, ſaith the Text:Rev. 16.14. There be flocks of Crowes, and Rooks, and Ravens, and black fowle in the aire. And then, they are called Locuſts in the Revelation, a creature more populous then any: Hiſtory writes of them, that they foreſee a famine, and then leave ſuch parts, and flee in ſuch a mighty company, that like a great thick cloud they darken the Sun for a great compas, that whole countreys of people ſee them as they flee, and fear leſt they will light where they live, and devoure all. There is another title given to diabolicall ſpirits, to note etheir populouſneſſe in the purſuit of the ſoule of man; the devill is called Beel-zebub, an Idol, or God of flies, intimating that thoſe evill ſpirits that haunt our ſoules here, are as thicke as ſwarmes of flies. There is another Scripture that ſpeaks to this point, Math. 7.21. This kinde goes not out, &c. There are it ſeems divers kinds of evill ſpirits. The reſult of all is this, Chriſt uſeth a very forlorne ſeat in this world.
There is a neceſſity of this, if he have to doe with us: for there are no other ſeats to be found here. It ſpeaks the great condiſcenſion of Chriſt, and ſhould be taken notice of by us, and mentioned to his honour. [Meek] ſitting upon an Aſſe. Conſider or this expreſſion how divine condiſcenſion is obſerved and extold. Had not Chriſt been very meek and full of humility, he had never ſtoopt ſo low as to take a dwelling in us: the word you tranſlate meek is foreign, the Latine word parvus comes from it, which ſignifies little, meekneſſe and humility is that which doth little one. The great God, oh how doth he little himſelfe to come to live in us! how doth he obſcure his glory to lie in a Stable, and in a Manger, brutiſh filthy places! and yet thoſe did but typifie where his internall lodging, as God, is, to wit, in a ſtinking, loathſome, helliſh place, the ſouls of men; the higheſt, the perfecteſt purity, to ſeat himſelf in the perfect'ſt impurity; The Apoſtle when he ſpeaks of ſomething a this ſide this, he cals it humbling and debaſing himſelfe: he humbled himſelfe to the death, yea to the grave, yea to a ſpirituall grave, not onelyonly to at baſe place for his body, which was quickly over, but to a baſe place for his ſoule, to wit, our ſoules, which grave laſts a great while. Thou wilt not leave my ſoule in grave: yes, 'tis left in our ſoules; and what is this but a grave? a place of rottenneſſe? a continent of devills? an uppermoſt, though not a neather moſt hell? Can a hell praiſe God? Can the grave praiſe Chriſt? The Scripture ſeems to put an impoſſibility upon what I exhort to. I am exhorting the grave to praiſe Chriſt, that hee would come there: if it be poſſible let the grave praiſe Chriſt, let your ſoules which are the ſpirituall graves of Chriſt, open their mouthes and make a reſurrection of him and of his love, that lies there. Take up Hannah's ſong, The Lord killeth and maketh alive, he bringeth downe to the grave, and bringeth up; the Lord maketh poore and maketh rich, he bringeth low and lifteth up: He raiſeth the poore out of the duſt, and lifteth up the beggar from the dung-hil to ſet them among Princes, and to make them inherit thrones of glory; for the pillars are the Lords, and he hath ſet the world upon them, &c.
Ʋſe 'Tis mighty conſolatory this point where Chriſt lodges himſelfe, yea be it never ſo filthy or forlorne a place, he will make it abſolutely bleſſed before he hath done. Doe but obſerve what he ſaith, O grave I will be thy victory: and the Apoſtle applyes this ſpiritually, and cheares the godly, the grave, death, and hell, they are all within you, and there lyes Chriſt, and he will be the deſtruction of all; though your ſoules be as the grave, full of rottenneſſe, full of filthy ſmels, a thouſand times worſe than any grave in the world; yet he that ſweetned the corporal grave by lying in it, he will ſweeten this before Chriſt hath done with the ſoule; he will not leave the leaſt ill favour in it, not any thing that is ſinne, or lookes like it; not any evill ſpirit, not any wicked ſpirit ſhall fift you, haunt you; he will make the place where he lyes even as pure and perfect as heaven: what is that which kils good people in this world, but when the grave opens and they ſee their miſdeeds, and ſmell how loathſome they are: you ſee the grave open, you muſt alſo think who lies there as it were buried: you muſt as ſhe *Martha.look for the living amongſt the dead, and remember what Chriſt hath ſaid, That he will be the victorie, and reſt, and cheare your ſoules with this; hath Chriſt conquered the greater hell, and will he not conquer the leſſer? hath he made victory over the grave, in which he lay under infinite wait of ſinne and wrath? and will he not make victory over that grave, where ſome ſinnes lye and no wrath? Certainly he will turne the grave into a Palace, and furniſh it royally, and ſo hang it that it ſhall doe any one good to behold it. The ſoule is Chriſts in-room, and he is very curious about this; all appurtinances to it ſhall be like the poſſeſſour of it, very exact, there ſhall be nothing called lignum, as the Roman Dames were wont to ſay, that is, meare wood.