Commentary on 2 Corinthians 4, Verse 14
Vers. 14. Knowing, that he which raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall be present with you.
THE Apostle in the former words, as we heard at large, sets down the afflicted and comfortable condition of Gods people: And because our nature is very unfit as to do good, so to suffer evill, Therefore he opens a further spring of Comfort, to the end of the Chapter.
Among others, as you heard the last day, This in the 13. verse is one. We having the same Spirit of Faith, according as it is written, I beleeve, and therefore I have spoken. Here is a double comfort in whatsoever we suffer. We have a Spirit of Faith, which is, a Spitit of strength wrought by the power of God it self, and laying hold likewise upon divine power.
And another ground of Comfort is, We have the same Spirit of Faith, and Faith stirs up not only to beleeve, the proper act of it, but it stirs up speaking both to God in prayer, and of God in praises, and for God in times of opposition. These things were more inlarged; I passe on now, only I adde this, That before we speak we must beleeve. Mark the method, I beleeve, We must beleeve before we speak.therfore I speak. A man cannot speak to God in prayer, in praises, or speak of God aright, but he must beleeve what he speakes. You know it is monstrous, that there should be a birth without conception, that a man should speak of that he doth not know, or speak of that he doth not beleeve. And we must labour toNone can speak aright of spirituall things, without a spirit of faith. know and beleeve things in their own light by the spirit, we must have a Spirit of faith, before we speak of spirituall things. This is a carelesse neglect, that sometimes people will speak of good things, but they will speak of them in an human spirit, others in a Diabolicall spirit, by way of scoffing or blaspheming, As some never speak of God, but they blaspheme, and Swear, nor ever speak of Religion but with scorn, as if not grave enough for them or if they speak, sadly, they speak of holy things with human spirits, not truly beleeving (as their hearts tell them) what they speak. Now the tongue must be the true Messenger of the heart: The heart must indite, and the tongue write. And therefore we must indeavour by all means to have a Spirit of faith, and labour with these false hearts of ours to beleeve, and then to speak.: our hearts else will give the tongue the lie. Thou speakest these things, but thou doest not beleeve them. And indeed a man may see by the manner of mans speaking of holy things, that they beleeve not what they speak. As he said, If thou didst beleeve these things, wouldst thou speak so of them? So if a man did beleeve divine things, would he speak so irreverently, so slightly of them, as they do? And therefore we must labour to beleeve what we speak. If we speak to God, or others of the state of grace, or the like, we must first have the Spirit of God; we must know the meaning of God to speak of holy things in Gods meanings. Were it notGod is discovered in the scripture. a bold part for a man to speak of another mans meaning, and never know his meaning? God discovers his meaning in the Scripture, and if we do not know his meaning, if we speak of certainty of Salvation, and of such matters, and of great spirituall things, and of knowing them by the Spirit of God, by his own Spirit, we speak of the love of God and care, and providence of God, and know not by his Spirit that he is this to us▪ Indeed it is presumption for us to speak any thing of God, unlesse God discover it at first. To speak any thing of our own condition in an intimate manner, as if we were so and so, when the Spirit of God doth not truly dictate so much to our soules▪ We see spirituall things with spirituall light, and we mu… speak of spirituall things with help of the Spirit, and must judge of spirituall things by the discovery of the Spirit, or else we had better say nothing at all, than speak presumptuously; we beleeve, and then we speak.
Obj. But you will say, many Divines speak excellent well for poynts of Religion, and hold them, and yet their lives discover they have no faith. And therefore there may be a Spirit without Faith.
Answ. Beloved, mark what I said before, They may speakMan may speak of spirituall things in a humane▪ manner. of Religious, things in an humain manner, and see spirituall things with a common light, but they cannot see spirituall things in their proper light, without the Spirit of God. And they cannot speak of spirituall things in a spirituall manner, without the Spirit of God. We must first beleeve, and then speak. Therefore our labour should be in the ground-work, to get faith in the heart; And when faith is gotten into the heart, it will qu…ckly over-power all feares, and doubts, and despairings, and all rebellion, it is a victorious and conquering grace, if we can get that, it will subdue the heart unto it self. And it will make us speak boldly, and speak of holy things, and to purpose.
To speak to God and of God in divine things, and of God inSpeak to others for edification & unto or own hearts in time of temptation. oppositions. So we must speak likewise for the good of others, by way of edification. And we must speak to our own hearts in times of temptation, speak to Satan by his solicitations. When Satan and our hearts shall speak to us, and judge us to be thus, and thus, thou art thus, and thus God saith by his Spirit, for faith saith, thus he hath told me, I am thy Salvation, he saith in Scripture, If I beleeve, I shall not perish, but have everlasting life. And he saith in particular to me by his Spirit, Thy sins are forgiven thee. Therefore care not what our doubtfull hearts, or Satan joyned with them saith, God saith thus, and the Spirit of faith saith thus. And as I beleeve, so I speak. So that if there be a Spirit of faith, we shall speak to our own hearts, Why a… thou so disquiet O my Soul, and why art thou troubled in me? trust in God. Faith will quail all the rising doubts of our own hearts, and temptations of Satan, Satan saith thus and thus, but what saith God? what saith the Spirit of faith in me? that saith thus. Alass, when our heats shall rise against us, and Satan shall joyn with our accusing consciences, and have not a Spirit of faith to speak against our hearts, and against our hearts accusing us, guilt is a clamourous thing. O the conscience, and Satan makes great adoe, when he getteth guilt he is an excellent Rhetoritian and Oratour, to set colours on things, if we have not something to still our clamourous consciences, and to quiet the accusation of conscience, what will become of us? And therefore labour so to beleeve that we may speak, not only to God, but for God, and profitably to us, but in defence of our selves against our own unbeleeving hearts and Satans temptations.
What is the reason that poor Souls yeeld themselves to despair, and so to a desperate conclusion of themselves oftentimes▪ Oh they labour not for the Spirit of God to beleeve, first in their own hearts; And to have a word to answer Satans temptations, and therefore of all things labour for the Spirit of faith, that we may beleeve, and beleeving may be able to speak, to speak every way to expresse our selves for God, for our selves, forth truth.
The next verse is, Knowing that he that raised up the Lord Jesus, shall raise us up with Jesus, and present us with him.
Here is farther grounds of comfort. That God will raise us up by Christ, & present us with him. Paul comforted himself withFarther ground of comfort. this, That God should raise him by Christ, and present him with the beleeving Corinthians. Now this hath a double mea…ning. First, that God should raise him out of troubles which are a kind of deaths, as in the beginning of the Chapter, he calls the troubles he was in, a great death. And then that God would raise him at length out of the grave, and present him, and them at the day of Judgement, as his Crown before the Lord.
This was his comfort. Now for ought I see the Apostle may mean both subordinately one to another, for God doth raise us out of trouble by Jesus, and present us one to another in this world, for our comfort, and at length raise us out of the dust, and present us altogether to be for ever together with the Lord. His comfort then is, that God will raise us up, and then he will present us with you. This is set down by the effect, God will do it, God that raised up Jesus will do it. And the cause why God will do it is, because he hath raised up Jesus. First God that hathThe resurrection of Christ is the cause of our resurrection. raised up Jesus, will by Jesus raise up us, and present us with you: So that here is the comfort and the ground of it. The comfort is double, God will raise us up, and then God will present us with you. The ground of it is this, why he will do it, b…cause he hath raised up Christ: God is the Authour of it, and he that hath raised up Christ will raise up you. There is such a connexion, and blessed union between Christ and us, that the same power that raised up Jesus out of the grave, will raise us up likewise.
So thae here is a comfort above comfort, but yet (Knowing) is perfixed. Knowing that God will raise us up, because he hath raised up Jesus. So that I may observe in the passage of it, ThatAll Comfort cometh to the soul by knowledge. all comfort cometh into the Soul by knowledge; God not only raiseth us up, and presents us one with another, by the same power that he hath raised up Jesus by, but we must know that it must be so, if we will have comfort; whatsoever cometh into the Soul to strengthen it, cometh through knowledge. As from the Heavens come light, and through light all influences▪ and whatsoever is sweet from Heaven to make things flourish, comes with light: So all things that come to the Soul to make it comfortable and cheerfull, comes with the light of knowledge. Indeed all graces are nothing but knowledge digested, Knowledge turned into affection and practise; what is any thing, but knowledge? any grace, but the performance of such a thing, from such and such grounds? As we see in fruit, all that is in the fruit cometh from the jui…e that is the root. And so the vigour and strength of every thing is knowledge, I mean knowledge, and a Spirit of faith to beleeve what we know, to assent to it, and acknowledge it.
Light you know is very comfortable, Darknesse is a state of fear; so ignorance is a stated of oubting, & fear; there is no good, where ignorance is; but light and knowledge is a state of boldnesse. We beleeve and speak, and are bold, why? we know.
And therefore the people that be carelesse of growing in knowledge, they be enemies of comfort and of grace. Grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. The most knowing Christian is the most constant, couragious, comforttable, fruitfull Christian, because together with divine light inlightening the Soul, there goeth divine heat, inlarging the Soul to every duty, and to all comforts whatsoever. So much for that.
We will speak a little of the comforts, and places of the ground of the comfort. He will raise us up and present us with you. Troubles that be greater are called Death, as in the first Chapter of this Epistle. The Lord that delivered me from soGreat troubles are deaths. great a death, and why? specially for this end, because as they be partial deaths, so likewise they agree with death. In this we denaturally of any help in them, as when a man is dead, we despair of life and recovery. So when a trouble is great, the trouble is desperate, it is a death, there is no hope of recovery again. Now saith Paul, though my troubles be great, yet notwithstandin… God will raise me up, even out of death, and present me with you.
Quest. How knew Paul that God would do this?
Answ. It is like he knew it by a Spirit of revelation, having neerer communion with God, as a more publick person, than we have. But what is that to us? Can we say God will raise us up, and present us one to another, as Paul did? No beloved, we cannot say so, but this we can say, God will raise me up out of this trouble, or if I dye in it, God will raise me out of the grave. This is the happy condition of a Christian, he is sure, if he be in trouble, either to be raised for the good of theA Christian is sure either to be raised out of trouble, or at the last day to glory. Church, if he hath any service for him to do, else if I die, he will raise me up at the last day, with all his people, to be forever with him; if it be for the good of the Church, and mine own good to live, I shall live still, if not, I shall be sure to be raised at the latter day; fall out what will fall out, all falleth out well for the Children of God.
Now the holy Apostle no question had reference to both, he had both in his view, raising out of trouble, & raising to eternall life; because he could never speak of any inferiour deliverances, but his mind would run on the future, & that did terminate all comforts. All comforts end in the resurrection. Usually when Paul maketh mention of an inferiour thing, he mounteth higher he mounts to the highest of all, he resteth not his thoughts, till he hath thought of that, as in the end of this Chapter he endeth in the resurrection, and endeth in comfort, speaking gloriously of it. So at this time, no question but there was present all deliverances in this world, but especially eternall deliverance in the world to come. As Tim. 2. The Lord delivered me out of the mouth of the Lyon, and can, and will deliver for the time to come, and present A Christian takes every deliverance as a pledge of the last deliverance, & every blessing as a pledge of the last blessing.me to his Heavenly Kingdome, that I am sure of
So that it were a very heavenly course for Christians, If they think of any thing that cometh from the love of God to them, to take hints from that, to take notice of the issue of all, all deliverances are terminated in their last deliverances out of the grave, And all blessings are terminated in the last bl…ssing, life everlasting. And take every thing as a pawn, a pledge, a beginning of that, for the same love that giveth eternall comforts, giveth comforts in this world; and the same God that delivers out of the grave, delivers us out of troubles; and the same God that will bring us all to Heaven, will bring friends together in this world, if it be for their good. And therefore if we will comfort our selves solidly in any condition, extend our thoughts to the time to come. Was it Davids comfort? when he said, one thing have I desired of the Lord; Was it his meaning to con…ine his thoughts on that only desire, and to dwell in the Church for ever? no, That I dwell in the house of the Lord for ever, here while I live, and in Heaven for ever, when I am gone, Psal. 23. Doubtlesse I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever; here while I live, and forever in Heaven. Then they will be solid comforts. If the drops of comfort we have in holy things be carried on to the end of all, everlasting deliverance, by the resurrection, and eternall comforts in heaven, then they would be comforts indeed. It is a good disjunction, when friends promise to meet again. Well, we shall meet either here, or in Heaven, and perhaps here, and in Heaven. The same God that will comfort us in Heaven, if he seeth it good for us, he will comfort us here with the presence of one another.
He will raise us up, and present us with you. That is another of his comforts. But what comfort is that in this world, if he meaneth only the joy in the world to come? As I am perswaded,Great comfort to enjoy the presence of friends. It is that he mainly aymes at, the other was but that, that by meditation he raised his thoughts to. What comfort is it that friend shall be presented to friend, Pastour to people, beleevers among friends?
There be diverse kinds of Communion, if absent, by letters, by reall tokens, by message, but what are these to presence? presence is the sweetest kind of Communion that can be, Communion one with another in presence is indeed, in word, of Communion in presence. And therefore God will deliver us from trouble, and present us with you; for in presence every thing speaks Comfort, without discourse the very presence of a friend Comforts; there is a quick and living power in the very face of a friend, the eye Comforts, the speech Comforts, all Comforts, and nothing but Comforts if they be hearty friends in the Lord.
And therefore saith Paul, this shall be my comfort, and your comfort, that I shall be delivered out of this death, and presented with you, for your good, for my own comfort; And no question this is a beginning of Heaven in this world, if there be any Heaven on earth, it is the Communion of Saints, it i… when many joyn together in an holy affection, that have not only generallCommunion with Saints a heaven upon earth. likings of the same things, but have the same Spirit acting, and living in them all, one and the same Spirit of God stirring up approbation, and dislike of the same thing, the same end for good causes. This is a speciall comfort, if there be any comfort in this world. And so Paul meaneth, when he saith, I shall be delivered, and presented to you. And therefore we should take speciall care to improve Communion by all meanes, considering it was so sweet a thing. O qui congressus, & gloria quant a fuerunt? when Paul was severed a great while. Paul came with abundance of blessings of God, & they came with abundance of desire to have heavenly discourse with Saint Paul.
Thus while we be in this world, we must be exercised with these intermitting comforts. This is a life of separation, we shall injoy a while, and then part, till we be in heaven, and then we shall be for ever with the Lord, 1 Thess. 4. Therefore comfort one another with these words. What is the comfort? we shall beCom…ort in the parting of friends, that we shall meet again in heaven. for ever with the Lord. If it be such a comfort to enjoy Communion one with another, what is it to enjoy Communion for ever with the Lord in heaven? That is the meeting time, when body and soul shall meet, when Christ and all his members shall meet, when all the members of the Church from the first to the last shall all meet. These three blessed meetings shall be, Christ & we, & we one with another, & body & soul. Then is the meeting, then is the presenting. But all other meetings together are comfortable, as they be tasts of the last and everlasting meeting that shall be revealed. This may comfort us in the parting of friends, in the losse of friends by death, there will be a time of meeting again. Our head will bring all the members to gether, as it is said of Christ, That he shal gather all to a head. That being Christs office, to gather all the children of God together, from whom they were fallen. To gather them to the Angells in whom they were in termes of difference, to gather them together, one to another in love & gathering to themselves in peace. This is Christs work, This gathering together to a head, belongeth to Christ. And though we be not together now, yet in Heaven we shall be.
Now the ground of this is, God that hath raised up Jesus, will by Jesus do this. He considers of God as serveth his purpose, it is an act of a Christian of a discreet and wise soul, to single out of God those attributes and those actions, that suit to his present distress or present condition: As if a man be in peplexity, think of him as a God strong, and wise; If a man be in any trouble, think of him as a good, and powerful God; if man be wronged, think of him as a God of vengeance; Thou God of vengeance shew thy self; and when we be in any trouble and cast down, and dead, as troubled by others deaths, then can God raise Christ out of the grave who is our head. And out of the love that he loveth both mystical Christ, & naturall Christ, The Lord is gracious to all for his sake; He that loveth Christ as his own naturall Son, loveth Christ mystical, all that be Christs, with the same love that he loved Christ, as Christ himself prayeth, he wil imbrace all such with the same love he loved himself withall. John 17. So God is well pleased and rests in his love, not only in his naturall Son, but all that be his; and therefore out of love to his own Son, as he hath raised up him, & set him in heavenly places, he will raise up all them that be his, and are ingrafted into him. He that raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise us up also. What is the consequence? because he hath raised up Jesus, therefore by Jesus he will raise us out of trouble. The ground is, Christ is a publick person, and so in Heaven is a publickChrists resurrection an argument of ours. person, a s…cond Adam, & raised up as a second Adam. And therefore be raised up as publick person, and as a second Adam, and a root of all beleevers; he hath taken Heaven in our place as our Husband, and we sit in heavenly places with him; and therefore God that raised up him, will raise us up also. If Christ be risen, we shall rise, there is no question of it, as he proveth at large, because I live, ye shall live also. I cannot follow the poynt, but it is a poynt you are acquainted withall, being an Article of faith. Therefore see the ground of this comfort. God will raise up us, and bring us together, because he hath raised Jesus. He is the first fruits of them that slept: Now all the Harvest is blessed in the first fruits; our first fruits is Christ now; And therefore we shall be here raised out of little deaths, and at the resurrection out of the great death, & be for ever with the Lord; which may teach us this, comfortable observation. To see all our comforts in Christ first, to see allSee all our Comforts in Christ first we look for, from God, first in Christ, and then in our selves. If we look for love from God, see his love on Christ first, he loveth us, because he loveth him first, and he loveth us in him. If we look to Resurrection, Ascension, or Glory, see it in Christ first. If we look for the performance of any promise, see that promise in Christ first, for all are made for his sake, and made good in him, to Christ first, and then to us. If we want any grace, see it in Christ first, for he hath fulness of the Spirit for our sakes. And of his fullness we have re…eived, and grace for grace. So that in both estates of humiliation and exaltation severally, see all first in Christ, and then in our selves, Look on Christ in state of humiliation, and see our selves there, Christ was a curse for us, died for us, all this is for us, and see all the evill that belongeth to us, taken away by him in his state of humiliation, he humbled himself to death, & became a curse for us. And so in his state of exaltation in severall degrees. See our Resurrection, in his Resurrection, our Ascension, in his Ascension, our sitting in heavenly places, by his sitting in heavenly places. The ground is, the union I spake of before. And then, God hath decreed that we shall be made conformable to his Son. We must be conformable to Christ our elder Brother. We are chosen to be conformable to him; And therefore whatsoever was in him, there will be a conformablenesse in us thereunto And we must be content to go to heaven as Christ went. He first suffered, and then entered into We must be conrent to go to Heaven as Christ went.glory, he rose again, but he dyed first. We must be content to go to heaven by that way, that our blessed Head and Saviour hath gone before us; And if we do so, surely that God that raised him, will raise us up too.
I beseech you therefore, when we are to consider of anyAll our Comforts are in Christ first. Comfort, see it in Christ first, not only as a pattern, to whom we must be conformed; but see it in Christ as a cause, because Christ will raise us up; we shall not only be raised because he is raised, and ascend because he is ascended, but God will raise us up with Jesus; Between God and us cometh Jesus, for all that comes from God, comes from Jesus. So all that cometh from us to God, must goe through the mediation of Jesus. He that raised up Jesus, will by Jesus raise us up. Christ is not only a of pattern conformity, but likewise a cause. And it is an inprovement of the favour, that God doth us favour through such a one, that standeth between him and us; that there should be so excellent a person as Christ to do all, to be a pattern of all, and cause of all. For can there be a better than he to raise us out of trouble here, and to heaven hereafter? Then he that is our own head, will he suffer his members to perish? And he that is so favourable with God, and one with God, that as a man layeth hold on us, and as God, layeth hold on God, as a friend to him, being between both, as a friend of both? As God, so we must trust him with all, with our rising again, with our ascension, with our glory in heaven. He is the Joseph between God and us: as he conveied all favour to the Patriarks, from Egypt through Pharaoh; So Christ is the high Steward of all, that hath the dispencing of all his comforts by our sweet head, that is, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh, to make us for ever one with him. So that there is comfort in the deriving of comfort by so sweet, so loving, so gracious a head, as Jesus is.
But you will say, will Christ raise us out of trouble likewise?Resurrection of Christ comfort against all the distresses of Gods Church. yes, by the same power and vertue. For the vertue of Christs resurrection reacheth farther than to raise us from death, for it extendeth it self to all abasements in the world. God raiseth us out of all abasements, by the power that he raised up Christ, and by the power that Christ raised up himself: And therefore we should comfort our selves in the distresse of the Church, and personall distresses. And first for the Church, God raised up Christ the head of the Church, after three dayes, and when they had roled a stone upon the grave, and set a watch too, and when Christ had been a surety to bear the sins of all the Elect of the world from the beginning to the end; Christ having a stone upon his grave, so much mould, and such a stone, and his grave watched and sealed; And then having as a publick person the sins of all the world, yet Christ rose up again for all this.
Beloved, Satan and his instruments labour to bury the Church if they can, and to role a stone on the Church that itGun powder tteason. should never rise up again. It was their plot of late, and it is their purpose now, but that their power is a little broken, they would burie Christ, and his Church altogether, role a stone on him, watch him that he should never rise again. This they do; and now in the third day he shall rise again. There may be a limited time of Jacobs sorrow, but▪ there will be a day ofJacobs trouble hath its limitted time. deliverance, he that raised up the head of the Church, after the time he had appointed he should lie there under the bondage & captivity of death, he will raise up the body of Christ. Our times are not in our hands, nor in the Devils time, nor in mans time, but in Gods time; Men may oppose his time, and be against his time. They shall cast you into prison for ten daies, it is certain and sure, which may be a comfort to the Church. The Church beyond seas was lately under hatches, & the enemy had got her into the grave, and thought to have roled the stone up on the Church: but God that raised up Jesus, hath raisedBy Gustavus Adolphus, King of Sweden. up the Church in some comfortable measure, which many put us in hope, that now there is time to set prayer on work. It puts incouragemement into our hands. That, that God hath done incourageth us, to pray to God for the finishing of his own good work. We have not only faith and promises, but performances to incourage us. We see the stone is rol'd off as it were; This is our comfort, & this is the Churches comfort to the end of the world. She may be for a while under the grave, but God will send his Angels, his Messengers one or another, to take away the stone, and raise up the Church, as in the Parable of the dry bones, Ezech. 37. The Church was as drie bones, but the Spirit entered into them and made them live. So at length a Spirit shall enter into the Church, and it shall live. Babylon must fall, the Church must rise, Christ will inlarge his Church to the end the world. Heaven hath said it, and Hell cannot disanull what God hath concluded. He that raised up Jesus, wil raise up the Church out of all its troubles. And for our selves, in all deaths and all our desperate troubles, sink not under them, makeComfort for every sinner in particular use of the articles of faith; they are of wonderful inlarged sweetnesse. The sweet Article of the resurrection, and life everlasting, have influence into all our lives. Make use of that, God that doth the greater, will not he do the lesse, if for our good? Will God raise my body out of the grave, and not out of this sicknesse? God that can raise me out of dust, cannot he raise me out of this trouble, and present me to my friends again? if for my good, he can do it.
And rise from inferiour things to strengthen our faith, and theWe should rise from greater things to less. greatest things we have in faith for the time to come. Will God give me life everlasting, and not dayly bread? Will God give Heaven, and not provision to bring me thither? Will God raise me ou… of the dust, when it is scattered I know not where, and get all my dust together, and quicken that dust, and not quicken me out of this, if it be for my good, and the good of others? If he have any service to do for me, he will do it. And therefore I beseech you, beloved, Let us labour to strengthen our faith in the way to Heaven, by that which is to come. What made the Apostles passe through thick and thin, break through all troubles between them and Heaven? but they thought God would deliver them; If he did not deliver them, he would deliver them to Heaven, and present them to his Heavenly Kingdome, having heaven in their eyes, time to come in heaven, resurrection in their eyes, and glorious times in their eyes, it will be of such force and influence into their hearts, that they shall go through all things between, and make this disjunction; either God will raise me out of this, or out of the grave, and present me to his Heavenly Kingdome. I beseech you therefore learn this, that in all our dejections we make use of that last and powerful work of God in raising from the dead. Raising comforteth for what is past. Our Saviour Christ, our best part, our head, is in Heaven, and we shall all draw to him in time. Let us not lose the benefit of such a Meditation, of such a ground as this: See all in Christ before hand, all is done in Christ. Beloved, can we have a better pledge and pattern, than to see all we look for done in Christ before hand? we look for the resurrection, Christ is raised, and ascension, Christ is ascended, we look for glory in Heaven, Christ is glorified, Christ, and we in Christ, for when we think of Christ, we must think of our selves in Christ. And therefore when we hear the Creed repeated, and the Articles of Religion, or any thing of Christ, Let us wrap up our selves by the Spirit of faith in Christ, see our selves crucified in Christ, and dead in Christ, and raised in Christ, and set in heavenly places with Christ.
I but administer the heads to you, for your meditations to work upon. You see what excellent use the Apostle maketh of his faith. It made him beleeve, speak confidently for the present. And therefore with cheerfulness attend upon theAttend upon the meanes of the word cheerfully. blessed meanes of the Word and Sacrament, that God hath appointed to strengthen our Union and Communion with Christ. Christ is our life, and the neerer Communion with him, the more life we have. And the Sacrament is appointed for to seal to us this Communion, to strengthen this neer union, and receive with the Spring and Fountain of life Jesus Christ. And therefore come with exceeding Comfort, and the more our union with Christ, the more our Comforts in life or death, all depends on that; As we see hope of Resurrection, hope of deliverance, hope of glory, doth all depend upon that, union first in Christ, then in us, and in us because in Christ. Therefore strengthen union with Christ, and strengthen all: For matter of the Sacrament, you are acquainted with the doctrinall part of it, have this conceipt of it, It is a high Ordinance of God, which strengthens faith, which being strengthened, strengthens all the powers of Soul.