The Churchs Marriage to Her Sons and to Her God, Sermon

The Churchs Marriage to Her Sons and to Her God · Sermon

The Church's Marriage to her Sons, and to her GOD:

A SERMON Preached at the INSTALMENT of the Rev. Mr. Samuel Buel As Paſtor of the Church and Congregation at Eaſt-Hampton on Long-Iſland, September 19. 1746.

By JONATHAN EDWARDS, A. M.

Paſtor of the firſt Church in Northampton in New-England.

BOSTON: Printed and Sold by S. Kneeland and T. Green in Queen-Street. 1746.

p. 5ISA. lxii. 4, 5.

Thy Land ſhall be married: For as a young Man marrieth a Virgin, ſo ſhall thy Sons marry thee; and as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, ſo ſhall thy GOD rejoice over thee.

IN the midſt of many bleſſed Promiſes that God makes to his Church in this and the preceding and following Chapters, of Advancement to a State of great Peace, Comfort, Honour and Joy, after long continued Affliction, we have the Sum of all contained in theſe two Verſes. In the 4th Verſe God ſays to his Church, Thou ſhall no more be termed Forſaken, neither ſhall thy Land any more be termed Deſolate; but thou ſhalt be called Hephzibah, and thy Land Beulah; for the Lord delighteth in thee, and thy Land ſhall be married. When it is ſaid, Thy Land ſhall be married, we are by thy Land to underſtand the Body of thy People, thy whole Race; the Land, by a Metonymy very uſual in Scripture, being put for the People that inhabit the Land.

The 5th Verſe explains how this that is promiſed in the laſt Words of Verſe 4th ſhould be accompliſhed in two Things, viz. in being married to her Sons, and married to her God.

1. It is promiſed that ſhe ſhould be married to her Sons, or that her Sons ſhould marry her; For as a young Man p. 6marrieth a Virgin, ſo ſhall thy Sons marry thee. Or, as the Words might have been more literally tranſlated from the Original; As a young Man is married to a Virgin, ſo ſhall thy Sons be married to thee. Some by this underſtand a Promiſe that the Poſterity of the captivated Jews ſhould return again from Babylon to the Land of Canaan, & ſhould be, as it were, married or wedded to their own Land; i.e. They ſhould be re-united to their own Land, and ſhould have great Comfort and Joy in it, as a young Man in a Virgin that he marries. But their thus interpreting the Words ſeems to be through Inadvertence; not carefully obſerving the Words themſelves, how that when it is ſaid, So ſhall thy Sons marry thee, God don't direct his Speech to the Land itſelf, but to the Church whoſe Land it was; the Pronoun Thee being applied to the ſame myſtical Perſon in this former Part of the Verſe, as in the Words immediately following in the latter Part of the ſame Sentence, And as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, ſo ſhall thy God rejoice over thee. It is the Church, and not the Hills and Valleys of the Land of Canaan, that is God's Bride, or the Lamb's Wiſe. 'Tis alſo manifeſt that when God ſays, So ſhall thy Sons marry thee, he continues to ſpeak to her to whom he had ſpoken in the three preceding Verſes; but there it is not the Ground or Soil of the Land of Canaan, but the Church that he ſpeaks to when he ſays, The Gentiles ſhall ſee thy Righteouſneſs, and all Kings thy Glory; and thou ſhall be called by a new Name, which the Mouth of the Lord ſhall name: Thou ſhalt alſo be a Crown of Glory in the Hand of the Lord, and a royal Diadem in the Hand of thy God: Thou ſhalt no more be termed Forſaken, &c. And to repreſent the Land itſelf as a Bride, and the Subject of Eſpouſals and Marriage, would be a Figure of Speech very unnatural, and not known in Scripture; but for the Church of God to be thus repreſented is very uſual throughout the Scripture from the Beginning to the End of the Bible. And then it is manifeſt that the Return of the Jews to the Land of Canaan from the babyloniſh Captivity, is not the Event mainly intended by the Prophecy of which theſe Words are a Part. The Time of that Return was p. 7not the Time when that was fulfilled in the 2d Verſe of this Chapter, And the Gentiles ſhall ſee thy Righteouſneſs, and all Kings thy Glory; and thou ſhall be called by a new Name, which the Mouth of the Lord ſhall name. That was not the Time ſpoken of in the two preceding Chapters, with which this Chapter is one continued Prophecy. That was not the Time ſpoken of in the laſt Words of the foregoing Chapter, when the Lord would cauſe Righteouſneſs and … to ſpring forth before ad Nations: Nor was it the Time ſpoken of in the 5th, 6th and 9th Verſes of that Chapter, when Strangers ſhould ſtand and feed the Flocks of Gods People, and the Sons of the … ſhould be their Plowmen and …; but they ſhould be named the Prieſts of the Lord, and Men ſhould call them the Miniſters of God; when they ſhould eat the Riches of the Gentiles, and in their Glory Feaſt themſelves, and their Seed ſhould be known among the Gentiles, and their Offspring among the People; and all that ſhould ſee them ſhould acknowledge them, that they are the Seed which the Lord hath bleſſed. Nor was that the Time ſpoken of in the Chapter preceding that, when the Abundance of the Sea ſhould be converted unto the Church; when the Iſles ſhould wait for God, and the Ships of Tarſ…iſh to bring her Sons from …, and their Silver and Gold with them; when the Forces of the Gentiles and their Kings ſhould be brought; when the Church ſhould ſuck the Milk of the Gentiles, and ſuck the Breaſt of Kings; and when that Nation and Kingdom that would not ſerve her ſhould periſh and be utterly waſted; and when the Sun ſhould be no more her Light by Day, neither for Brightneſs ſhould the Morn give Light unto her, but the Lord ſhould be unto her an everlaſting Light, and her God her Glory; and her Sun ſhould no more go down, nor her Moon withdraw itſelf, becauſe the Lord ſhould be her everlaſting Light, and the Days of her Mourning ſhould be ended. Theſe Things manifeſtly have Reſpect to the chriſtian Church in her moſt perfect and glorious State on Earth in the … Ages of the World; when the Church ſhould be ſo far from being confined to the Land of Canaan, that ſhe ſhould … the whole Earth, and all Lands ſhould be …

p. 8So that the Children of Iſrael's being wedded to the Land of Canaan, being manifeſtly not the meaning of thoſe Words in the Text, As a young Man marrieth a Virgin, ſo ſhall thy Sons marry thee, as ſome ſuppoſe; I chuſe rather, with others, to underſtand the Words of the Church's Union with her faithful Paſtors, and the great Benefits ſhe ſhould receive from them. God's Miniſters, tho' they are ſet to be the Inſtructors, Guides and Fathers of God's People, yet are alſo the Sons of the Church; Amos 2. 11. I raiſed up of your Sons for Prophets, and of your young Men for Nazarites. Such as theſe, when faithful, are thoſe precious Sons of Zion comparable to fine Gold ſpoken of Lam 4. 2. ſpoken of again Verſe 7. Her Nazarites were purer than Snow, they were whiter than Milk. And as he that marries a young Virgin becomes the Guide of her Youth; ſo theſe Sons of Zion are repreſented as taking her by the Hand as her Guides, Iſa. 51. 18. There is none to guide her among all the Sons whom ſhe hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the Hand of all the Sons that ſhe hath brought up. That by theſe Sons of the Church is meant Miniſters of the Goſpel, is confirmed by the next Verſe to the Text, I have ſet Watchmen upon thy Walls, O Jeruſalem.

That the Sons of the Church ſhould be married to her as a young Man to a Virgin, is a Myſtery or Paradox not unlike many others held forth in the Word of God, concerning the Relation between Chriſt and his People, and their Relation to him and to one another; ſuch as that Chriſt is David's Lord and yet his Son, and both the Root and Offspring of David; that Chriſt is a Son born and a Child given, and yet the everlaſting Father; that the Church is Chriſt's Mother, as ſhe is repreſented Cant. 3. 11. and 8. 1, and yet that ſhe is his Spouſe, his Siſter and his Child; that Believers are Chriſt's Mother, and yet his Siſter and Brother; and that Miniſters are the Sons of the Church, and yet that they are her Fathers, as the Apoſtle ſpeaks of himſelf, as the Father of the Members of the Church p. 9of Corinth, and alſo the Mother of the Galatians, travailing in Birth with them, Gal. 4. 19.

2. The ſecond and chief Fulfilment here ſpoken of, of that Promiſe of the Church's being married, is in her being married to Chriſt; And as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, ſo ſhall thy God rejoice over thee. Not that we are to underſtand that the Church has many Huſbands or that Chriſt is one Huſband, and Miniſters are other Huſbands that ſhe hath: For tho' Miniſters are here ſpoken of as being married to the Church, yet 'tis not as being his Fellows or Competitors, or as Huſbands of the Church ſtanding in a conjugal Relation to his Bride in any wiſe parallel with his: For the Church has but one Huſband; ſhe is not an Adultereſs, but a Virgin, that is devoted wholly to the Lamb, and follows him whitherſoever he goes▪ But Miniſters eſpouſe the Church intirely as Chriſt's Ambaſſadors, as repreſenting him and ſtanding in his Stead, being ſent forth by Him to be married to her in his Name, that by this Means ſhe may be married to him. As when a Prince marries a foreign Lady by Proxy, the Prince's Ambaſſador marries her, but not in his own Name, but in the Name of his Maſter, that he may be the Inſtrument of bringing her into a true conjugal Relation to him. This is agreable to what the Apoſtle ſays, 2 Cor. 11. 2. I am jealous over you with a godly Jealouſy; for I have eſpouſed you to one Huſband, that I may preſent you as a chaſte Virgin to Chriſt. Here the Apoſtle repreſents himſelf as being, as it were, the Huſband of the Church of Corinth; for 'tis the Huſband that is jealous when the Wife commits Adultery; and yet he ſpeaks of himſelf as having eſpouſed them, not in his own Name, but in the Name of Chriſt, and for him, and him only, and as his Ambaſſador, ſent forth to bring them Home a chaſte Virgin to him. Miniſters are in the Text repreſented as married to the Church in the ſame Senſe that elſewhere they are repreſented as Fathers of the Church: The Church has but one Father even God, and Miniſters are Fathers as his Ambaſſadors; ſo the Church p. 10has but one Shepherd, Joh. 10. 16. There ſhall be one Fold and one Shepherd; but yet Miniſters, as Chriſt's Ambaſſadors, are often call'd the Church's Shepherds or Paſtors. The Church has but one Saviour; but yet Miniſters, as his Ambaſſadors and Inſtruments, are called her Saviours; 1 Tim. 4. 16. In doing this thou ſhalt b…th ſave thy ſelf and them that …ear thee. Obad. 21. And Saviours ſhall come upon Mount Zion. The Church has but one Prieſt; but yet in Iſa. 66. 21. ſpeaking of the Miniſters of the Gentile Nations, 'tis ſaid, I will …ake of them for Prieſts and Levites. The Church has but one Judge, for the Father hath committed all Judgment to the Son; yet Chriſt tells his Apoſtles, that they ſhall …it on twelve Thrones judging the twelve Tribes of Iſrael.

When the Text ſpeaks firſt of Miniſters marrying the Church, and then of Chriſt's rejoicing over her as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride; the former is manifeſtly ſpoken of as being in order to the latter, even in order to the Joy and Happineſs that the Church ſhall have in her true Bridegroom. The preaching of the Goſpel is in this Context ſpoken of three Times going, as the great Means of bringing about the Proſperity and Joy of the Church; that is foretold; once in the firſt Verſe, For Zion's Sake will I not hold my Peace, and for Jeruſalem's Sake I will not reſt, until the Righteouſneſs thereof go forth as Brightneſs, and the Salvation thereof as a Lamp that burneth; and then again in the Text; and laſtly in the two following Verſes, I have ſet Watchmen upon thy Walls O Jeruſalem, which ſhall never hold their Peace Day nor Night: Ye that make mention of the Lord keep not Silence, and give him no Reſt 'till he eſtabliſh and 'till he make Jeruſalem a Praiſe in the Earth.

The Text thus opened affords theſe two Propoſitions proper for our Conſideration on the ſolemn Occaſion of this Day.

I. The uniting of faithful Miniſters with Chriſt's People in the miniſterial Office, when done in a due Manner, is like a young Man's marrying a Virgin.

p. 11II. This Union of Miniſters with the People of Chriſt is in order to their being brought to the Bleſſedneſs of a more glorious Union, in which Chriſt ſhall rejoice over them, as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride.

I. The uniting of a faithful Miniſter with Chriſt's People in the miniſterial Office, when done in a due Manner, is like a young Man's marrying a Virgin.

I ſay, the uniting of a faithful Miniſter with Chriſt's People, and in a due Manner: For we muſt ſuppoſe that the Promiſe God makes to the Church in the Text, relates to ſuch Miniſters, and ſuch a Manner of Union with the Church; becauſe this is promiſed to the Church as a Part of her latter Day Glory, and as a Benefit that ſhould be granted her by God, as the Fruit of his great Love to her, and an Inſtance of her great ſpiritual Proſperity and Happineſs in her pureſt and moſt excellent State on Earth. But it would be no ſuch Inſtance of God's great Favour and the Church's Happineſs to have unfaithful Miniſters entring into Office in an undue and improper Manner. They are evidently faithful Miniſters that are ſpoken of in the next Verſe, where the ſame are doubtleſs ſpoken of as in the Text; I have ſet Watchmen on thy Walls, O Jeruſalem, which ſhall never hold their Peace Day nor Night. And they are thoſe that ſhall be introduced into the Miniſtry at a Time of its extraordinary Purity, Order and Beauty, wherein (as is ſaid in the firſt, ſecond and third Verſes) her Righteouſneſs ſhould go forth as Brightneſs, and the Gentiles ſhould ſee her Righteouſneſs, and all Kings her Glory, and ſhe ſhould be a Crown of Glory in the Hand of the Lord, and a royal Diadem in the Hand of her God.

When I ſpeak of the uniting of a faithful Miniſter with Chriſt's People in a due Manner, I don't mean a due Manner only with Regard to external Order; but its being truly done in a holy Manner, with ſincere upright Aims and Intentions, with a right Diſpoſition, and proper Frames of p. 12Mind in thoſe that are concerned; and particularly in the Miniſter that takes Office, and God's People to whom he is united, each exerciſing in this Affair a proper Regard to God and one another.

Such an uniting of a faithful Miniſter with the People of God in the miniſterial Office, is in ſome Reſpects like a young Man's marrying a Virgin.

1. When a duly qualified Perſon is properly inveſted with the miniſterial Character, and does in a due Manner take upon him the ſacred Work and Office of a Miniſter of the Goſpel, he does in ſome Senſe, eſpouſe the Church of Chriſt in general: For tho' he don't properly ſtand in a paſtoral Relation to the whole Church of Chriſt through the Earth, and is far from becoming an univerſal Paſtor; yet thenceforward he has a different Concern with the Church of Chriſt in general, and its Intereſts and Welfare, than other Perſons have that are Laymen, and ſhould be regarded otherwiſe by all the Members of the chriſtian Church: where ever he is providentially called to preach the Word of God, or miniſter in holy Things, he ought to be received as a Miniſter of Chriſt, and the Meſſenger of the Lord of Hoſts to them. And every one that takes on him the Office of a Miniſter of Chriſt as he ought to do, eſpouſes the Church of Chriſt, as he eſpouſes the Intereſt of the Church in a Manner that is peculiar. He is under Obligations, as a Miniſter of the chriſtian Church, beyond other Men, to love the Church, as Chriſt her true Bridegroom hath loved her, and to prefer Jeruſalem above his chief Joy, and to imitate Chriſt the great Shepherd and Biſhop of Souls and Huſband of the Church, in his Care and tender Concern for the Church's Welfare, and earneſt and conſtant Labours to promote it, as he has Opportunity. And as he, in …aking Office, devotes himſelf to the Service of Chriſt in his Church; ſo he gives himſelf to the Church, to be hers, in that Love, tender Care, conſtant Endeavour, and earneſt Labour for her Proviſion, Comfort and Welfare, p. 13that is proper to his Office, as a Miniſter of the Church of Chriſt, by the Permiſſion of divine Providence as long as he lives; as a young Man gives himſelf to a Virgin when he marries her. And the Church of Chriſt in general, as conſtituted of true Saints through the World (tho' they …on't deliver up themſelves to any one particular Miniſter, as univerſal Paſtor, yet) do cleave to and embrace the Miniſtry of the Church with endeared Affection and high Honour and Eſteem, for Chriſt's Sake; and do joyfully commit and ſubject themſelves to them to cleave to, honour and help them, to be guided by them and obey them ſo long as in the World; as the Bride doth in Marriage cleave and deliver up herſelf to her Huſband. And the Miniſtry in general, or the whole Number of faithful Miniſters, being all united in the ſame Work as Fellow-Labourers, and conſpiring to the ſame Deſign as Fellow-helpers to the Grace of God, may be conſidered as one myſtical Perſon, that eſpouſes the Church as a young Man eſpouſes a Virgin: as the many Elders of the Church of Epheſus are repreſented as one myſtical Perſon, Rev. 2. 1. and all called the Angel of the Church of Epheſus: and as the faithful Miniſters of Chriſt in general, all over the World, ſeem to be repreſented as one myſtical Perſon and called an Angel, Rev. 14. 6. And I ſaw another Angel fly in the midſt of Heaven, …aving the everlaſting Goſpel to preach unto them that dwell upon the Earth, and to every Nation and Kindred and … and People. But,

2. More eſpecially is the uniting of a faithful Miniſter with a particular chriſtian People, as their Paſtor, when done in a due Manner, like a young Man's marrying a Virgin.

It is ſo with Reſpect to the Union itſelf, the Concomitants of the Union, and the Fruits of it.

(1.) The Union itſelf is in ſeveral Reſpects like that which is between a young Man and a Virgin, whom he …

p. 14It is ſo with Reſpect to mutual Regard and Affection. A faithful Miniſter that is in a chriſtian Manner united to a chriſtian People as their Paſtor, has his Heart united to them in the moſt arden… and render Affection: And they, on the other Hand, have their Hearts united to him, eſteeming him very highly in Love for his Work's Sake, and receiving him with Honour and Reverence, and willingly ſubjecting themſelves to him, and committing themſelves to his Care, as being, under Chriſt, their Head and Guide.

And ſuch a Paſtor and People are like a young Man and Virgin united in Marriage with Reſpect to the Purity of their Regard one to another. The young Man gives himſelf to his Bride in Purity, as undebauched by meretricious Embraces: and ſhe alſo preſents herſelf to him a chaſte Virgin. So in ſuch an Union of a Miniſter and People as we are ſpeaking of, the Parties united are pure and holy in their Affection and Regard one to another. The Miniſter's Heart is united to the People, not for filthy Lucre, or any worldly Advantage, but with a pure Benevolence to them, and Deſire of their ſpiritual Welfare and Proſperity, and Complacence in them as the Children of God and Followers of Chriſt Jeſus. And on the other Hand, they love and honour him with an holy Affection and Eſteem; and not meerly as having their Admiration raiſed, and their carnal Affections moved, by having their Ears tickled, and their Curioſity and other fleſhly Principles grat…fied by a florid Eloquence, and the Excellency of Speech and Man's Wiſdom; but receiving him as the Meſſenger of the Lord of Hoſts, coming to them on a divine and infinitely important Errand, and with thoſe holy Qualifications that reſemble the Vertues of the Lamb of God.

And as the Bridegroom and Bride give themſelves to each other in Covenant; ſo it is in that Union we are ſpeaking of between a faithful Paſtor and a chriſtian People. The Miniſter by ſolemn Vows devotes himſelf to the People, to improve his Time and Strength, and ſpend and be p. 15ſpent for them, ſo long as God in his Providence ſhall continue the Union: And they, on the other Hand, in a holy Covenant, commit the Care of their Souls to him, and ſubject themſelves to him.

(2.) The Union between a faithful Miniſter and a chriſtian People that we are ſpeaking of, is like that between a young Man and Virgin in their Marriage, with Reſpect to the Concomitants of it.

When ſuch a Miniſter and ſuch a People are thus united, it is attended with great J…y. The Miniſter joyfully devoting himſelf to the Service of his Lord in the Work of the Miniſtry, as a Work that he delights in: and alſo joyfully uniting himſelf to the Society of the Saints that he is ſet over, as having Complacence in them, for his dear Lord's Sake, whoſe People they are; and willingly and joyfully, on Chriſt's Call, undertaking the Labours and Difficulties of the Service of their Souls. And they, on the other Hand, joyfully receiving him as a precious Gift of their aſcended Redeemer. Thus a faithful Miniſter and a chriſtian People are each other's Joy. Rom. 15. 32. That I may come unto you with J…y by the Will of God, and may with you be refreſhed. 2 Cor. 1. 14. As you have acknowledged us in Part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye are ours.

Another Concomitant of this Union, wherein it reſembles that which becomes a young Man and Virgin united in Marriage, is mutual Helpfulneſs, and a conſtant Care and Endeavour to promote each other's Good and Comfort. The Miniſter earneſtly and continually ſeeks the Profit and Comfort of the Souls of his People, and to guard and defend them from every Thing that might annoy them, and ſtudies and labours to promote their ſpiritual Peace and Proſperity. They, on the other Hand, make it their conſtant Care to promote his Comfort, to make the Burden of his great difficult Work eaſy, to avoid thoſe Things that might add to the Difficulty of it, and that might j…tly be grievous to his p. 16Heart; and do what in them lies to encourage his Heart and ſtrengthen his Hands in his Work; and are ready to ſay to him when called to exert himſelf in the more difficult Parts of his Work, as the People of Old to Ezra the Prieſt when they ſaw him bowed down under the Burden of a difficult Affair, Ezra 10. 4. Ariſe, for this Matter belongeth to thee: we alſo will be with thee: Be of good Courage and do it. They ſpare no Pains nor Coſt to make their Paſtor's outward Circumſtances eaſy and comfortable, and free from pinching Neceſſities and diſtracting Cares, and to put him under the beſt Advantages to follow his great Work fully and ſucceſsfully.

Such a Paſtor and People, as it is between a Couple happily united in a conjugal Relation, have a mutual Sympathy with each other, a fellow-feeling of each other's Burdens and Calamities, and a Communion in each other's Proſperity and Joy. When the People ſuffer in their ſpiritual Intereſts, the Paſtor ſuffers: he is afflicted when he ſees their Souls in Trouble and Darkneſs: he feels their Wounds; and he looks on their Proſperity and Comfort as his own. 2 Cor. 11.29. Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not? 2 Cor. 7. 13. We were comforted in your Comfort. And on the other Hand, the People feel their Paſtor's Burdens, and rejoice in his Proſperity and Conſolations; ſee Phil. 4. 14. and 2 Cor. 2. 3.

(3.) This Union is like that which is between a young Man and a Virgin in its Fruits.

One Fruit of it is mutual Benefit: They become meet Helps one for another. The People receive great Benefit by the Miniſter, as he is their Teacher to communicate ſpiritual Inſtructions and Counſels to them, and is ſet to watch over them to defend them from thoſe Enemies and Calamities they are liable to; and ſo is, under Chriſt, to be both their Guide and Guard, as the Huſband is of the Wife. And as the Huſband provides the Wife with Food and p. 17Cloathing; ſo the Paſtor, as Chriſt's Steward, makes Proviſion for his People, and brings forth out of his Treaſure Things new and old, gives every one his Portion of Meat in due Seaſon, and is made the Inſtrument of ſpiritually cloathing and adorning their Souls. And on the other Hand, the Miniſter receives Benefit from the People, as they miniſter greatly to his ſpiritual Good by that holy Converſe to which their Union to him as his Flock leads them. The conjugal Relation leads the Perſons united therein to the moſt intimate Acquaintance and Converſation with each other; ſo the Union there is between a faithful Paſtor and a chriſtian People leads them to the intimate Converſation about Things of a ſpiritual Nature: It leads the People moſt freely and fully to open the Caſe of their Souls to the Paſtor, and leads him to deal moſt freely, cloſely and thoroughly with them in Things pertaining thereto. And this Converſation not only tends to their Benefit, but alſo greatly to his.

And the Paſtor receives Benefit from the People outwardly, as they take Care of and order his outward Accommodations for his Support and Comfort, and do as it were ſpread and ſerve his Table for him.

Another Fruit of this Union wherein it reſembles the conjugal Union, is a ſpiritual Offspring. There is wont to ariſe from the Union of ſuch a Paſtor and People a ſpiritual Race of the Children of the Congregation that are newborn. Theſe new-born Children of God are in the Scripture repreſented both as the Children of Miniſters, as thoſe that have begotten them through the Goſpel, and alſo as the Children of the Church, who is repreſented as their Mother that hath brought them forth, and at whoſe Breaſts they are nouriſhed; as in Iſa. 54. 1. and 66. 11. Gal. 4. 26. 1 Pet. 2. 2. and many other Places.

Having thus briefly ſh…wn how the uniting of faithful Miniſters with Chriſt's People in the miniſterial Office, p. 18when done in a due Manner, is like a young Man's marrying a Virgin. I proceed now to the

II. Prop. viz. That this Union of Miniſters with the People of Chriſt, is in order to their being brought to the Bleſſedneſs of a more glorious Union, in which Chriſt ſhall rejoice over them as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride.

1. The Saints are and ſhall be the Subjects of this Bleſſedneſs. Of all the many various Kinds of Union of ſenſible and temporal Things that are uſed in Scripture to repreſent the Relation there is between Chriſt and his Church; that which is between Bridegroom and Bride, or Huſband and Wife, is much the moſt frequently made Uſe of both in the Old and New-Teſtament. The Holy Ghoſt ſeems to take a peculiar Delight in this, as a Similitude fit to repreſent the ſtrict, intimate and bleſſed Union that is between Chriſt and his Saints. The Apoſtle intimates that one End why God appointed Marriage, and eſtabliſhed ſo near a Relation as that between Huſband and Wife, was that it might be a Type of the Union that is between Chriſt and his Church, in Eph. 5. 30, 31, 32. For we are Members of his Body, of his Fleſh, and of his Bones. For this Cauſe ſhall a Man leave his Father and Mother, and ſhall be joined to his Wife; and they two ſhall be one Fleſh.—For this Cauſe, i. e. becauſe we are Members of Chriſt's Body, of his Fleſh, and of his Bones: For this Cauſe God appointed that Man and Wife ſhould be ſo joined together as to be one Fleſh, to repreſent this high and bleſſed Union between Chriſt and his Church: The Apoſtle explains himſelf in the next Words, This is a great Myſtery, but I ſpeak concerning Chriſt and the Church. This Inſtitution of Marriage, and making the Man and his Wife one Fleſh, is a great Myſtery; i. e. it contains in it a great Myſtery; there is a great and glorious Myſtery hid in the Deſign of it: and the Apoſtle tells us what that glorious Myſtery is, I speak concerning Chriſt and the Church: as much as to ſay, the Myſtery I ſpeak of, is that bleſſed Union that is between Chriſt and his Church, which I ſpoke of before.

p. 19This Union is a bleſſed Union indeed; o… which that between a faithful Miniſter and a chriſtian People is but a Shadow. Miniſters are not the proper Huſbands of the Church, tho' their Union to God's People as Chriſt's Ambaſſadors, in ſeveral Reſpects reſembles the conjugal Rela… but Chriſt is the true Huſband of the Church, to whom the Souls of the Saints are eſpouſed indeed, and to whom they are united as his Fleſh and his Bones, yea and one Spirit; to whom they have given themſelves in an everlaſting Covenant, and whom alone they cleave to, love, honour, obey and truſt in, as their ſpiritual Huſband; whom alone they reſerve themſelves for as chaſte Virgins; and whom they follow whitherſoever he goeth. There are many Miniſters in the Church of Chriſt, and there may be ſeveral Paſtors of one particular Church: but the Church has but one Huſband, all others are rejected and deſpiſed in Compariſon of him; he is among the Sons as the Apple-Tree among the Trees of the Wood; they all are barren and worthleſs, he only is the fruitful Tree; and therefore leaving all others, the Church betakes herſelf to him alone, and ſits under his Shadow with great Delight, and his Fruit is ſweet to her Taſte; ſhe takes up her full and entire Reſt in him, deſiring no other. The Relation between a Miniſter and People ſhall be diſſolved, and may be diſſolved before Death: but the Union between Chriſt and his Church ſhall never be diſſolved, neither before Death, nor by Death, but ſhall endure through all Eternity: The Mountains ſhall depart, and the Hills be removed; but Chriſt's conjugal Love and Kindneſs ſhall not depart from his Church; neither ſhall the Covenant of his Peace, the Marriage Covenant be removed, Iſa. 54. 1. The Union between a faithful Miniſter and a chriſtian People is but a partial Reſemblance even of the Marriage Union, it is like Marriage only in ſome Particulars: but with Reſpect to the Union between Chriſt and his Church, Marriage is but a partial Reſemblance, yea, a faint Shadow of that: Every Thing that is deſirable and excellent in the Union between an earthly Bridegroom and Bride, is to be found in the Union between Chriſt and his p. 20Church; and that in an infinitely greater Perfection, and more glorious Manner: There is infinitely more to be found in it, than ever was found between the happieſt Couple in a conjugal Relation; or could be found, if the Bride and Bridegroom had not only the Innocence of Adam and Eve, but the Perfection of Angels.

Chriſt and his Saints, ſtanding in ſuch a Relation as this one to another, the Saints muſt needs be unſpeakably happy: Their mutual Joy in each other is anſwerable to the nearneſs of their Relation and ſtrictneſs of their Union: Chriſt rejoice …ver the Church as the Bridegroom rejoiceth over the Bride, and ſhe rejoices in him as the Bride rejoices in the Bridegroom. My Text has Reſpect to the mutual Joy that Chriſt and his Church ſhould have in each other: For tho' the Joy of Chriſt over his Church only is mentioned, yet 'tis evident that this is here ſpoken of and promiſed as the great Happineſs of the Church, and therefore ſuppoſes her Joy in him.

The mutual Joy of Chriſt and his Church is like that of Bridegroom and Bride, in that they rejoice in each other, as thoſe that they have choſen above others, for their neareſt, moſt intimate, and everlaſting Friends and Companions. The Church is Chriſt's Choſen, Iſa. 41. 9. I have choſen thee, and not caſt thee away: Chap. 48. 10. I have choſen thee in the Furnace of Affliction. How often are God's Saints called his Elect or choſen Ones? He has choſen them, not to be meer Servants, but Friends; Joh. 15. 15. I call you not Servants;—but I have called you Friends. And tho' Chriſt be the Lord of Glory, infinitely above Men and Angels, yet he has choſen the Elect to be his Companions; and has taken upon him their Nature; and ſo in ſome Reſpect, as it were levelled himſelf with them, that he might be their Brother and Companion. Chriſt as well as David calls the Saints his Brethren and Companions, Pſal. 122. 8. For my Brethren and Companions Sake I will now ſay, Peace be within thee. So in the Book of Canticles he calls his p. 21Church his Siſter and Spouſe. Chriſt hath loved and choſen his Church as his peculiar Friend, above others; Pſal. 135. 4. The Lord hath choſen Jacob unto himſelf, and Iſrael for his peculiar Treaſure. As the Bridegroom chuſes the Bride for his peculiar Friend, above all others in the World; ſo Chriſt has choſen his Church for a peculiar nearneſs to him, as his Fleſh and his Bone, and the high Honour and Dignity of Eſpouſals, above all others, rather than the fallen Angels, yea, rather than the elect Angels. For verily, in this Reſpect, he taketh not hold of Angels, but he taketh hold of the Seed of Abraham; as the Words are in the Original, in Heb. 2. 16. He has choſen his Church above the reſt of Mankind, above all the Heathen Nations, and thoſe that are without the viſible Church, and above all other profeſſing Chriſtians, Cant. 6. 9. My Dove, my Undefiled is but one; ſhe is the only one of her Mother; ſhe is the choice one of her that bare her. Thus Chriſt rejoices over his Church, as obtaining in her that which he has choſen above all the reſt of the Creation, and as ſweetly reſting in his Choice; Pſal. 132. 13, 14. The Lord hath choſen Zion: He hath deſired it.—This is my Reſt for ever.

On the other Hand, the Church chuſes Chriſt above all others: He is in her Eyes the Chief among ten Thouſands, fairer than the Sons of Men: She rejects the Suit of all his Rivals for his Sake: Her Heart relinquiſhes the whole World: He is her Pearl of great Price, for which ſhe parts with all; and rejoices in him, as the Choice and Reſt of her Soul.

Chriſt and his Church, like the Bridegroom and Bride, rejoice in each other, as having a ſpecial Propriety in each other. All Things are Chriſt's; but he has a ſpecial Propriety in his Church. There is nothing in Heaven or Earth, among all the Creatures, that is his, in that high and excellent Manner that the Church is his: They are often called his Portion and Inheritance; they are ſaid, Rev. 14. 4. to be the firſt Fruits to God and the Lamb. As of old, the p. 22firſt Fruit was that Part of the Harveſt that belonged to God, and was to be offered to him; ſo the Saints are the firſt Fruits of God's Creatures, being that Part which is in a peculiar Manner Chriſt's Portion, above all the reſt of the Creation, Jam. 1. 18. Of his own Will bega… he us …y the Word of Truth, that we ſhould be a Kind of firſt Fruits of his Creatures. And Chriſt rejoices in his Church, as in that which is peculiarly his, Iſa. 65. 19. I will rejoice in Jeruſalem, and joy in my People. The Church has alſo a peculiar Propriety in Chriſt: Tho' other Things are hers, yet nothing is hers in that Manner that her ſpiritual Bridegroom is hers: As great and glorious as he is, yet he, with all his Dignity and Glory is hers; all is wholly given to her, to be fully poſſeſſed and enjoyed by her, to the utmoſt Degree that ſhe is capable of: Therefore we have her ſo often ſaying in the Language of Exultation & Triumph, My Beloved is mine, and I am his, in the Book of Canticles, Chap. 2. 16. and 6. 3. & 7. 10.

Chriſt and his Church, like the Bridegroom and Bride, rejoyce in each other, as in thoſe that are the Objects of each others moſt tender and ardent Love. The Love of Chriſt to his Church is altogether unparallel'd: The Height & Depth and Length and Breadth of it paſs Knowledge: For he loved the Church, and gave himſelf for it; and his Love to her proved ſtronger than Death. And on the other Hand, ſhe loves him with a ſupream Affection: nothing ſtands in Competition with him in her Heart: ſhe loves him with all her Heart: her whole Soul is offered up to him in the Flame of Love. And Chriſt rejoyces and has ſweet Reſt and Delight in his Love to the Church; Zeph. 3. 17. The Lord thy God in the midſt of thee is mighty: He will ſave: He will rejoyce over thee with Joy: He will reſt in his Love: He will joy over thee with ſinging. So the Church in the Exerciſes of her Love to Chriſt, rejoyces with unſpeakable Joy; 1 Pet. 1. 7,8.—Jeſus Chriſt: whom, having not ſeen, ye love; in whom, tho' now ye ſee him not, yet believing, ye rejoyce with Joy unſpeakable, and full of Glory.

p. 23Chriſt and his Church rejoyce in each others Beauty. The Church rejoyces in Chriſt's divine Beauty and Glory. She …s it were ſweetly ſolaces her ſelf in the Light of the Glory of the Sun of Righteouſneſs; and the Saints ſay one to another, …s in Iſai. 2.5. O Houſe of Jacob, come ye, let us walk in the Light of the Lord. The Perfections and Vertues of Chriſt are as a perfumed Ointment to the Church, that make his very Name to be to her as Ointment poured forth; Cant. 1. 3. Becauſe of the Savour of thy good Ointments, thy Name is as Ointment poured forth; therefore do the Virgins love thee. And Chriſt delights and rejoyces in the Beauty of the Church, the Beauty which he hath put upon her: Her Chriſtian Graces are Ornaments of great Price in his Sight, 1 Pet. 3. 4. And he is ſpoken of as greatly deſiring her Beauty, Pſal. 45. 11. Yea he himſelf ſpeaks of his Heart as raviſhed with her Beauty, Cant. 4. 9. Thou haſt raviſhed my Heart, my Siſter, my Spouſe; Thou haſt raviſhed my Heart with one of thine Eyes, with one Chain of thy Neck.

Chriſt and his Church, as the Bridegroom and Bride, rejoyce in each others Love. Wine is ſpoken of, Pſal. 104. 15. as that which maketh glad Man's Heart: But the Church of Chriſt is ſpoken of as rejoycing in the Love of Chriſt, as that which is more pleaſant and refreſhing than Wine, Cant. 1. 4. The King hath brought me into his Chambers: we will be glad and rejoyce in thee: we will remember thy Love more than Wine. So on the other Hand, Chriſt ſpeaks of the Church's Love as far better to him than Wine, Cant. 4. 10. How fair is thy Love, my Siſter, my Spouſe! How much better is thy Love than Wine!

Chriſt and his Church rejoyce in Communion with each other, as in being united in their Happineſs, and having Fellowſhip, and a joint Participation in each others Good: as the Bridegroom & Bride rejoyce together at the Wedding-Feaſt, and as thenceforward they are joint Partakers of each others Comforts and Joys: Rev. 3. 20. If any Man hear my Voice, and open the Door, I will come in to him, and ſup with him, and p. 24he with me. The Church has Fellowſhip with Chriſt in his own Happineſs, and his divine Entertainments; his Joy is fulfill'd in her, Joh. 15. 11. and 17. 13. She fees Light in his Light; and ſhe is made to drink at the River of his own Pleaſures, Pſal. 36. 8,9. And Chriſt brings her to eat and drink at his own Table, to take her Fill of his own Entertainments; Cant. 5. 1. Eat O Friends, drink, yea drink abundantly, O Beloved. And he, on the other Hand, has Fellowſhip with her; He feaſts with her; her Joys are his; and he rejoyces in that Entertainment that ſhe provides for him. So Chriſt is ſaid to feed among the Lillies, Cant. 2. 16. And Chap. 7. 13. ſhe ſpeaks of all Manner of pleaſant Fruits, new and old, which ſhe had laid up for him; and ſays to him, Chap. 4. 16. Let my Beloved come into his Garden, and eat his pleaſant Fruit: And he makes Anſwer in the next Verſe, I am come into my Garden my Siſter, my Spouſe: I have gathered my Myrrh with my Spice; I have eaten my Honey-comb, with my Honey; I have drunk my Wine with my Milk.

And laſtly, Chriſt and his Church, as the Bridegroom and Bride, rejoyce in converſing with each other. The Words of Chriſt by which he converſes with his Church, are moſt ſweet to her; and therefore ſhe ſays of him, Cant. 5. 16. His Mouth is moſt ſweet. And on the other Hand, he ſays of her, Chap. 2. 14. Let me hear thy Voice; for ſweet is thy Voice. And Chap. 4. 11. Thy Lips, O my Spouſe, drop as the Honey-comb; Honey and Milk are under thy Tongue.

Chriſt rejoyces over his Saints as the Bridegroom over the Bride at all Times: But there are ſome Seaſons wherein he doth ſo more eſpecially. Such a Seaſon is the Time of the Soul's Converſion; when the good Shepherd finds his loſt sheep, then he brings it home rejoycing, and calls together his Friends and Neighbours ſaying, Rejoyce with me. The Day of a Sinner's Converſion is the Day of Chriſt's Eſpouſal's; and ſo eminently the Day of his Rejoycing; Sol. Song. 3. 11. Go forth, O ye Daughters of Zion, and behold King Solomon, with the Crown wherewith his Mother crowned p. 25him, in the Day of his Eſpouſals, and in the Day of the Gladneſs of his Heart. And 'tis oftentimes remarkably the Day of the Saints rejoycing in Chriſt: for then God turns again the Captivity of his elect People, and as it were, … their Mouth with Laughter, and the… Tongue with ſinging; as in Pſal. 126. at the Beginning. We read of the …, that when he was converted, he rejoyced, believing in God, with all his Houſe, Act. 16. 34.

And there are other Seaſons of ſpecial Communion of the Saints with Chriſt, wherein Chriſt doth in an eſpecial Manner rejoyce ever his Saints, and as their Bridegroom brings them into his Chambers, that they alſo may be glad and rejoyce in him; Cant. 1. 4.

But the Time wherein this mutual Rejoycing of Chriſt and his Saints will be in its Perfection, is the Time of the Saints Glorification with Chriſt in Heaven; for that is the proper Time of the Saints entring in with the Bridegroom into the Marriage, Matth. 25. 10. The Saint's Converſion is rather like the betrothing of the intended Bride to her Bridegroom before they come together; but the Time of the Saint's Glorification is the Time when that ſhall be fulfilled in Pſal. 45. 15. With Gladneſs and Rejoycing ſhall they be brought; they ſhall enter into the King's Palace. That is the Time when thoſe that Chriſt loved, and gave himſelf for, that he might ſanctify and cleanſe them, as with the waſhing of Water by the Word, ſhall be preſented to him in Glory, not having Spot or Wrinkle, or any ſuch Thing. The Time wherein the Church ſhall be brought to the full Enjoyment of her Bridegroom, having all Tears wiped away from her Eyes; and there ſhall be no more Diſtance or Abſence. She ſhall then be brought to the Entertainments of an eternal Wedding-Feaſt, and to dwell eternally with her Bridegroom; yea to dwell eternally in his Embraces. Then Chriſt will give her his Loves; and ſhe ſhall drink her Fill, yea ſhe ſhall ſwim in the Ocean of his Love.

p. 26And as there are various Seaſons wherein Chriſt and particular Saints do more eſpecially rejoyce in each other; ſo there are alſo certain Seaſons wherein Chriſt doth more eſpecially rejoyce over his Church collectively taken. Such a Seaſon is a Time of remarkable Out-pouring of the Spirit of God: it is a Time of the Eſpouſal of many Souls to Chriſt: and ſo a Time of much of the Joy of Eſpouſals: and alſo it is a Time wherein Chriſt is won't more eſpecially to viſit his Saints with his Loving-kindneſs, and to bring them near to himſelf, and eſpecially to refreſh their Hearts with divine Communications: on which Account, ſuch a Time becomes a Time of great Joy to the Church of Chriſt. So when the Spirit of God was ſo wonderfully pour'd out on the City of Samaria, with the Preaching of Philip, we read that there was great Joy in that City, Act. 8. 8. And the Time of that wonderful Effuſion of the Spirit at Jeruſalem, begun at the Feaſt of Pentecoſt, was a Time of holy Feaſting and Rejoycing, and a Kind of a Wedding-Day to the Church of Chriſt; wherein they continuing daily, with one Accord, in the Temple, and breaking Bread from Houſe to Houſe, did eat their Meat with Gladneſs, & Singleneſs of Heart; as Act. 2. 46.

But more eſpecially is the Time of that great Out-pouring of the Spirit of God, in the latter Days, ſo often foretold in the Scripture, repreſented as the Time of the Marriage of the Lamb, and of the Rejoycing of Chriſt and his Church in each other, as the Bridegroom and the Bride. This is the Time propheſyed of in our Text and Context; and this is the Time foretold in Iſai.65.19. I will rejoyce in Jeruſalem, and Joy in my People; and the Voice of Weeping ſhall no more …e heard in her, nor the Voice of Crying. This is the Time ſpoken of, Rev. 19. 6,7,8,9. where the Apoſtle John tells us, He heard as it were the Voice of a great Multitude, and as the Voice of many Waters, and as the Voice of mighty Thundrings, ſaying Alleluia; for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth. Let us be glad, and rejoyce, and give Honour to him; for the Marriage of the Lamb is come, and his Wife hath made her ſelf r…ady. And adds, To her was granted that ſhe ſhould be arrayed, p. 27in …, clean and white; for the fine Linnen is the Righteouſneſs of Saints. And …e ſaith unto me, write, Bleſſed are they … are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.

But above all, the Time of … C…ming, is the Time of the Conſummation of the Church's Marriage with the Lamb, and the Time of the compleat and moſt perfect … of the Wedding. In that Reſurrection-Morning, when the Sun of Righteouſneſs ſhall appear in our Heavens, … in all his Brightneſs and Glory, he will come forth as a Bridegroom; He ſhall come in the Glory of his Father, with all his … Angels. And at that glorious Appearing o… the great God, and our Saviour Jeſus Chriſt, ſhall the … Church, compleat as to every individual Member, and each Member with the whole Man, both Body and Soul, and both in perfect Glory, aſcend up to meet the Lord in the Air, to … thenceforth forever with the Lord. … will be a … Meeting of this glorious Bridegroom and Bride … Then the Bridegroom will appear in all his Glory without any Veil: and then the Saints ſhall ſhine forth as the Sun in the Kingdom of their Father, and at the Right Land of their Redeemer; and then the Church will appear as the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. 'Tis the State of the Church after the Reſurrection, that is ſpoken of Rev. 21. 2. And I John ſaw the holy City, new Jeruſalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a Bride, adorned for her Huſband. And ver. 9. Come hither; I will ſhew thee the Bride, the Lamb's Wife. Then will come the Time when Chriſt will ſweetly invite hi… Spouſe to enter in with him into the Palace of his Glory, which he had been preparing for her from the Foundation of the World, and ſhall as it were take her by the Hand, and lead her in with him: and this glorious Bridegroom & Bride ſhall with all their ſhining Ornaments, aſcend up together into the Heaven of Heaven; the whole Multitude of glorious Angels waiting upon them: and this Son and Daughter of God ſhall, in their united Glory and Joy, preſent themſelves together before the Father; when Chriſt ſhall ſay, Here am I, and the Children p. 28which thou haſt given me: And they both ſhall in that Relation and Union, together receive the Father's Bleſſing; and ſhall thenceforward rejoyce together, in conſummate, … …upted, immutable, and everlaſting Glory, in the Love and Embraces of each other, and joint Enjoyment of the Love of the Father.

2. That forementioned Union of faithful Miniſters with the People of Chriſt, is in order to this Bleſſedneſs.

1. 'Tis only with Reference to Chriſt, as the true Bridegroom of his Church, that there is any Union between a faithful Miniſter and a Chriſtian People, that is like that of a Bridegroom and Bride.

As I obſerv'd before, a faithful Miniſter eſpouſes a chriſtian People, not in his own Name, but as Chriſt's Ambaſſador: He eſpouſes them, that in their being eſpouſed to him, they may be eſpouſed to Chriſt; and not that the Church may commit Adultery with him: 'Tis for his Sake that he loves her, with a tender conjugal Affection, as ſhe is the Spouſe of Chriſt, and as he, as the Miniſter of Chriſt, has his Heart under the Influence of the Spirit of Chriſt; as Abraham's faithful Servant, that was ſent to fetch a Wife for his Maſter's Son, was captivated with Rebeckah's Beauty and Vertue; but not with Reference to an Union with himſelf, but with his Maſter Iſaac: it was for his ſake he loved her, and it was for him that he deſired her, and ſat his Heart upon her, that ſhe might be Iſaac's Wife: and it was for this that he greatly rejoyced over her, and for this he woo'd her, and for this he obtained her, and ſhe was for a Seaſon united to him; but it was but as a Fellow-Traveller, that by him ſhe might be brought to Iſaac in the Land of Canaan; and for this he adorned her with Ornaments of Gold; it was to prepare her for Iſaac's Embraces. All that tender Care which a faithful Miniſter takes of his People as a kind of ſpiritual Huſband, to provide for them, to lead and feed them, and comfort them, is not as looking upon them his own Bride, but his Maſter's.

p. 29And on the other Hand, the People receive him, and unite themſelves to him in Covenant, and honour him, and ſubject themſelves to him, and obey him, only for Chriſt's Sake, and as one that repreſents him, and acts in his Name towards them. All this Love and Honour and Submiſſion is ultimately refer'd to Chriſt. Thus the Apoſtle ſays, Gal. 4. 14. Ye received me as an Angel, or Meſſenger of God, even as Chriſt Jeſus. And the Children that are brought forth in Conſequence of the Union of the Paſtor and People, are not properly the Miniſter's Children, but the Children of Chriſt; they are not born of Man, but of God.

2. The Things that appertain to that foremention'd Union of a faithful Miniſter and Chriſtian People, are the principal appointed Means of bringing the Church to that Bleſſedneſs that has been ſpoken of. As Abraham's Servant, and the Part he acted as Iſaac's Agent towards Rebeckah, were the principal Means of his being brought to enjoy the Benefits of her conjugal Relation to Iſaac. Miniſters are ſent to wooe the Souls of Men for Chriſt, 2 Cor. 5.20. We are then Ambaſſadors for Chriſt; as tho' God did you by us; we pray you in Chriſt's Stead, be ye reconciled to God. We read in Math. 22. of a certain King, that made a Marriage for his Son, and ſent forth his Servants to invite and bring in the Gueſts: 'Tis Miniſters that are theſe Servants. The Labours of faithful Miniſters are the principal Means God is won't to make uſe of for the Converſion of the Children of the Church, and ſo of their Eſpouſals unto Chriſt. I have eſpouſed you to one Huſband, ſays the Apoſtle, 2 Cor. 11. 2. The Preac…g of the Goſpel by faithful Miniſters is the principal Means that God makes uſe of for the exhibiting Chriſt and his Love and Benefits to his elect People, and the … Means of then … ſanctified, and ſo fitted to enjoy their …. Chriſt loved the Church, and gave him …, that he might ſanctify and … of Water by the Word (i. e. by the … Goſpel) and ſo might preſent it to himſelf, … Church. The Labours p. 30of faithful Miniſters are ordinarily the principal Means of the Joy of the Saints in Chriſt Jeſus, in their Fellowſhip with their ſpiritual Bridegroom in this World; 2 Cor. 1. 24. We are Helpers of your Joy. They are the Inſtruments that God make uſe o… for the bringing up the Church, as it were, from her Childhood, 'till ſhe is fit for her Marriage with the Lord of Glory; as … brought up …, or Eſther, whereby ſhe was fitted to be Queen in Ahaſuerus's Court. God purifies the Church under their Hand; as Eſther, to fit her for her Marriage with the King, was committed to the Cuſtody of Hegai the Keeper of the Women, to be purified ſix Months with O… of …, and ſix Months with ſweet Odours. They are made the Inſtruments of cloathing the Church in her Wedding-Garments, that fine Linnen clean and white, and adorning her for her Huſband; as … Servant adorned Rebeckah with golden Ear-Rings and Bracelets. Faithful Miniſters are made the Inſtruments of leading the People of God in the Way to Heaven, conducting them to the glorious Preſence of the Bridegroom, to the conſummate Joys of her Marriage with the Lamb; … Abraham's Servant conducted Rebeckah from Padan…aram to Canaan, and preſented her to Iſaac, & delivered her into his Embraces. For 'tis the Office of Miniſters, not only to eſpouſe the Church to her Huſband, but to preſent her a chaſte Virgin to Chriſt.

I would now conclude this Diſcourſe with ſome EXHORTATIONS, agreable to what has been ſaid. And

1. The Exhortation may be to all that are called to the Work of the Goſpel Miniſtry.—Let us who are honoured by the glorious Bridegroom of the Church, to be employed as his Miniſters, to ſo high a Purpoſe, as has been repreſented, be engaged and induced by what has been obſerved, to Faithfulneſs in our great Work; that we may be, and act towards Chriſt's People, that are committed to our Care, as thoſe that are united to 'em in holy Eſpouſals, for Chriſt's Sake, and in order to their being brought to the unſpeakable p. 31Bleſſedneſs of that more glorious Union with the Lamb of God, in which he ſhall rejoyce over them, as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride. Let us ſee to it that our Hearts are united to them, as a young Man to a Virgin that he marries, in the moſt ardent and tender Affection; and that our Regard to 'em be pure and uncorrupt, that it may be a Regard to them, and not to what they have, or any worldly Advantages we hope to gain of them. And let us behave our ſelves as th…ſe that are devoted to their Good: being willing to ſpend and be ſpent for them; joyfully undertaking and enduring the Labour and Self-denial that is requiſite in order to a thorough fulfilling the Miniſtry that we have received; continually and earneſtly endeavouring to promote the Proſperity and Salvation of the Souls committed to our Care; and, as thoſe that are their Bone and their Fleſh, looking on their Calamities and their Proſperity as our own; feeling their ſpiritual Wounds and Griefs, and refreſhed with their Conſolations; and ſpending our whole Lives in diligent Care and Endeavour to provide for, nouriſh and inſtruct our People, as the intended Spouſe of Chriſt, yet in her Minority, that we may form her Mind and Behaviour, and bring her up for him, and that we may cleanſe her, as with the waſhing of Water by the Word, and purify her as with ſweet Odours, and clothed in ſuch Raiment as may become Chriſt's Bride; that when the appointed Wedding-Day comes, we may have done our Work as Chriſt's Meſſengers; and may then be ready to preſent Chriſt's Spouſe to him, a chaſte Virgin, properly educated and formed, and ſuitably adorned for her Marriage with the Lamb; that he may then preſent her to himſelf, a glorious Church, not having Spot or Wrinkle or any ſuch Thing, and may receive her into his eternal Embraces, in perfect Purity, Beauty and Glory.

Here I would mention three or four Things tending to excite us to this Fidelity.

p. 321. We ought to conſider how much Chriſt has done to obtain that Joy that has been ſpoken of, in order to which we have been called to the Work of the Miniſtry; viz. that wherein Chriſt rejoyces over his Church, as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride.

The Creation of the World ſeems to have been eſpecially for this End, that the eternal Son of God might obtain a Spouſe, towards whom he might fully exerciſe the infinite Benevolence of his Nature, and to whom he might, as it were, open and pour forth all that immenſe Fountain of Condeſcenſion, Love and Grace that was in his Heart, and that in this Way God might be glorified. Doubtleſs the Work of Creation is subordinate to the Work at Redemption: that is called the Creation of the new Heavens and new Earth, and is repreſented as ſo much more excellent than the old, that that, in Comparison of it, is not worthy to be mention'd, or come into Mind.

But Chriſt has done greater Things than to create the World, to obtain his Bride and the Joy of his Eſpouſals with her: For he was incarnate, and become Man for this End; which was a greater Thing than his creating the World. For the Creator to make the Creature was a great Thing; but for him to become a Creature was a greater Thing. And he did a much greater Thing ſtill to obtain this Jo…; in that for this he laid down his Life, and ſuffered even the Death of the Croſs: for this he poured out his Soul unto Death, and he that is the Lord of the Univerſe, God over all bleſſed for evermore, offered up himſelf a Sacrifice, in both Body and Soul, in the Flames of divine Wrath. Chriſt obtains his elect Spouſe by Conqueſt: for ſhe was a Captive in the Hands of dreadful Enemies; and her Redeemer came into the World to conquer theſe Enemies, and reſcue her out of their Hands, that ſhe might be his Bride: And he came, and encounter'd theſe Enemies in the greateſt Battle that ever was beh…ld by Men or Angels: He fought with Principal… and Powers; He fought alone with the Powers of p. 33Darkneſs, and all the Armies of Hell; yea he conflicted with the infinitely more dreadful Wrath of God, and overcame in this great Battle; and thus he obtained his Spouſe. Let us conſider at how great a Price Chriſt purchaſed this Spouſe: He did not redeem her with corruptible Things as Silver and Gold, but with his own precious Blood; yea he gave … for her. When he offered up himſelf to God in … extream Labours and Sufferings, this was the Joy that was ſet before him, that made him chearfully to endure the Croſs, and deſpiſe the Pain and Shame, in compariſon of this Joy…; even that rejoycing over his Church, as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride, that the Father had promiſed him, and that he expected when he ſhould preſent her to himſelf in perfect Beauty and Bleſſedneſs.

The Proſpect of this was what ſupported him in the midſt of the diſmal Proſpect of his Sufferings, at which his Soul was troubled; as appears by the Account we have Joh. 12. See v. 27. Now is … Soul troubled: and what ſhall I ſay? Father ſave me from this Hour: But for this Cauſe came I unto this Hour. Theſe Words ſhew the Conflict and Diſtreſs of Chriſt's holy Soul, in the View of his approaching Sufferings. But in the midſt of his Trouble, he was refreſhed with the joyful Proſpect of the Succeſs of thoſe Sufferings, in bringing home his elect Church to himſelf, ſignified by a Voice from Heaven, and promiſed by the Father: on which he ſays, in the Language of Triumph, Ver. 31. 32. Now is the Judgment of this World: now ſhall the Prince of this World be caſt out; and I, if I be lifted up, will draw all Men unto me.

And Miniſters of the Goſpel are appointed to be the Inſtruments of bringing this to paſs; the Inſtruments of bringing home his elect …pouſe to him, and her becoming his Bride; and the Inſtruments o… her ſanctifying and cleanſing by the Word, that ſhe might be meet to be preſented to him on the future glorious Wedding-Day. How great a Motive then is here to induce us that are called to be theſe p. 34Inſtruments, to be faithful in our Work, and moſt willingly labour and ſuffer, that Chriſt may ſee of the … of his Soul and be ſati…fied? Shall Chriſt do ſuch great Things, and go through ſuch great Labours and ſufferings to obtain this Joy, and then … us ſinful … ſo as to employ us as his Miniſters and Inſtruments to bring this Joy …; and ſhall we be loth to labour, and … to deny our ſelves …or this End?

2. Let us conſider how much the Manner in which Chriſt employs us in this great Buſineſs, has to engage us to a faithful Performance of it. We are … forth as his Servants; but it is as highly dignified Servants, as Stewards of his Houſhold, as Abraham's Servant; and as his Ambaſſadors, to ſtand in his Stead, and in … Name, and repreſent his Perſon in ſo great an Affair as … of his Eſpouſals with the eternally beloved of his Soul. Chriſt employs us not as meer Servants, but as Friends of the Bridegroom; agreable to the Style in which John the … ſpeaks of himſelf, …. 3. 29. in which he probably … to an ancient Cuſtom among the Jews at their nuptial Solemnities, a… which one of the Gueſts that was moſt honoured and next in Dignity to the Bridegroom, was ſtyled the Friend of the Bridegroom.

There is not an Angel in Heaven, or how high an Order ſoever, but what looks … himſelf honoured by the Son of God and Lord of Glory, in being employed by him as his Miniſters, in the high Affair of his Eſpouſals with his bleſſed Bride. But we are not only thus honoured; but ſuch an Honour as th… has Chriſt put upon us, that his Spouſe ſhould in … that we ſhould marry, as a young Man … the ſame … Perſon that he himſelf … rejoyce over as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride; that we … Miniſters, …o treat … tranſact for him with … that he might obtain this Joy; and to tranſact in ſuch a Manner with her as in our Treaty with her, to be married to her in his Name, and … an Image of his own endearing Relation to her; and p. 35that ſhe ſhould receive us, in ſome Sort, as himſelf, and her Heart be united to us in Eſteem Honour and Affection, as thoſe that repreſent him; and that Chriſt's & the Church's Children ſhould be ours; and that the ſame that is the Fruit of the Travail of Chriſt's Soul, ſhould be alſo the Fruit of the Travail of our Souls: As the Apoſtle ſpeaks of himſelf as travailing in Birth with his Hearers, Gal. 4. 19. The Reaſon why Chriſt puts ſuch Honour on faithful Miniſters, even above the Angels themſelves, is becauſe they are of his beloved Church; they are ſelect Members of his dear Spouſe; and Chriſt eſteems nothing too much for her, no Honour too great for her. Therefore Jeſus Chriſt, the King of Angels and Men, does as it were cauſe it to be proclaimed concerning faithful Miniſters, as Ahaſuerus did concerning him that brought up Eſther his beloved Queen; Thus ſhall it be done to the Man that the King delights to Honour.

And ſeeing Chriſt hath ſo honoured us, that our Relation to his People imitates his; ſurely our Affection to them ſhould reſemble his, and we ſhould imitate him in ſeeking their Salvation, ſpiritual Peace and Happineſs, as Chriſt …ought it. Our tender Care, Labours, Self-denial, and Readineſs to ſuffer for their Happineſs, ſhould imitate what hath appeared in him, that hath purchaſed them with his own Blood.

3. Let it be conſidered, that if we faithfully acquit our ſelves in our Office, in the Manner that hath been repreſented, we ſhall ſurely hereafter be Partakers of the Joy, when the Bridegroom and Bride ſhall rejoyce in each other in perfect and eternal Glory.

God once gave forth a particular Command, with ſpecial Solemnity, that it ſhould be written for the Notice of all profeſſing Chriſtians through all Ages; that they are happy and bleſſed indeed, who are called to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb: Rev. 19. 9. And he ſaith unto me, write, Bleſſed are they that are called to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb. And he ſaith unto me, theſe are the true Sayings of p. 36God. But if we are faithful in our Work, we ſhall ſurely be the Subjects of that Bleſſedneſs; we ſhall be Partakers of the Joy of the Bridegroom and Bride, not meerly as Friends and Neighbours that are invited to be occaſional Gueſts, but as Members of the one and the other. We ſhall be Partakers with the Church the bleſſed Bride in her Joy in the Bridegroom, not only as Friends and Miniſters to the Church, but as Members of principal Dignity; as the Eye, the Ear, the Hand, are principal Members of the Body. Faithful Miniſters in the Church will hereafter be a Part of the Church that ſhall receive diſtinguiſhed Glory at the Reſurrection of the Juſt, which above all other Times may be looked on as the Church's Wedding-Day: Dan. 12. 2,3. Many of them that ſleep in the Duſt of the Earth ſhall awake; ſome to everlaſting Life.—And they that be wife ſhall ſhine as the Brightneſs of the Firmament, and they that turn many to Righteouſneſs, as the Stars for ever & ever. They are Elders that are repreſented as that Part of the Church triumphant that ſit next to the Throne of God, Rev. 4.4. And round about the Throne were four and twenty Seats; and upon the Seats, I ſaw four and twenty Elders ſitting, clothed in white Raiment; and they had on their Heads Crowns of Gold.

And we ſhall alſo be Partakers of the Joy of the Bridegroom, in his rejoycing over his Bride. We as the ſpecial Friends of the Bridegroom ſhall ſtand by the Bridegroom, and hear him expreſs his Joy on that Day, and rejoyce greatly becauſe of the Bridegroom's Voice; as John the Baptiſt ſaid of himſelf, Joh. 3. 29. He that hath the Bride is the Bridegroom: but the Friend of the Bridegroom, which ſtandeth and heareth him, rejoyceth greatly becauſe of the Bridegroom's Voice. Chriſt in Reward for our faithful Service, in winning and eſpouſing his Bride to him, and bringing her up from her Minority, and adorning her for him, will then call us to partake with him in the Joy of his Marriage. And ſhe that will then be his Joy, ſhall alſo be our Crown of Rejoycing. 1 Theſ. 2. 19. What is our Hope, or Joy, or Crown of Rejoycing? p. 37Are not ye, in the Preſence of our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, at his Coming? What a joyful Meeting had Chriſt & his Diſciples together, when the Diſciples returned to their Maſter, after the faithful & ſucceſsful Performance of their appointed Service, when Chriſt ſent 'em forth to preach the Goſpel; Luke 10. 17. And the Seventy returned with Joy, ſaying, Lord, even the Devils are ſubject to us through thy Name. Here we ſee how they rejoyce: The next Words ſhow how Chriſt alſo rejoyced on that Occaſion: And he ſaid unto them, I beheld Satan like Lightning fall from Heaven. And in the next Verſe but two, we are told that in that … Jeſus rejoyced in Spirit; and ſaid, I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of Heaved and Earth, that thou haſt hid theſe Things from the wiſe and prudent, and has revealed them unto …. So if we faithfully acquit our ſelves, we ſhall another Day return to him with Joy; and we ſhall rejoyce with him and he with us. Then will be the Day when Chriſt that has ſown in Tears and in Blood, and we that have reaped the Fruits of his Labours and Sufferings, ſhall rejoyce together; agreable to Joh. 4. 35,36,37. And that will be an happy Meeting indeed, when Chriſt and his lovely & bleſſed Bride, and faithful Miniſters that have been the Inſtruments of wooing and winning her Heart to him, and adorning her for him, and preſenting her to him, ſhall all rejoyce together.

4. Further to ſtir us up to Faithfulneſs in the great Buſineſs that is appointed us, in order to the mutual Joy of this Bridegroom & Bride, let us conſider what Reaſon we have to hope that the Time is approaching when this Joy ſhall be, to a glorious Degree, fulfil'd on Earth, far beyond whatever yet has been; I mean the Time of the Church's latter Day Glory. This is what the Words of our Text have a more direct Reſpect to; and this is what is prophecied of in Hoſ. 2. 19,20. And 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 Mercies: I will even betroth thee unto me in Faithfulneſs; and thou ſhall know the Lord. And this is what is eſpecially intended by the Marriage of the Lamb in Rev. Chap. 19.

p. 38We are ſure this Day will come: and we have many Reaſons to think that it is approaching; from the Fulfilment of almoſt every Thing that the Prophecies ſpeaks of as preceeding it, and their having been fulfil'd now of a long Time; and from the general earneſt Expectations of the Church of God, and the beſt of her Miniſters & Members, and the l…te extraordinary Things that have appeared in the Church of God, and appertaining to the State of Religion, and the preſent Aſpects of divine Providence, which the Time will not allow me largely to inſiſt upon.

As the Happineſs of that Day will have a great Reſemblance of the Glory and Joy of the eternal Wedding-Day of the Church after the Reſurrection of the Juſt; ſo will the Priviledges that faithful Miniſters ſhall be the Subjects of at that Time, much reſemble the bleſſed Priviledges, that they ſhall enjoy, as partaking with the Bridegroom and Bride, in their Honour and Happineſs, in eternal Glory. This is the Time eſpecially intended in the Text, wherein it is ſaid, as a young Man marrieth a Virgin, ſo ſhall thy Sons marry thee. And it is after in the Prophecies ſpoken of as a great Part of the Glory of that Time, that then the Church ſhould be ſo well ſupplied with faithful Miniſters. So in the next Verſe to the Text, I have ſet Watchmen on thy Walls, O Jeruſalem, that ſhall never hold their Peace, Day nor Night. So Iſai. 30. 20, 21. Thy Teachers ſhall not be removed into a Corner any more; but thine Eyes ſhall ſee thy Teachers; and thine Ears ſhall hear a Word behind thee, ſaying, This is the Way, walk in it, when ye turn to the right Hand, and when ye turn to the left. Jer. 3. 15. And I will give you Paſtors according to mine Heart, that ſhall feed you with Knowledge and Underſtanding. And Chap. 23. 4. And I will ſet up Shepherds over them, which ſhall feed them. And the great Priviledge and Joy of faithful Miniſters at that Day is foretold in Iſai. 52.8. Thy Watchmen ſhall lift up the Voice; with the Voice together ſhall they ſing: For they ſhall ſee Eye to Eye, when the Lord ſhall bring again Zion.

p. 39And as that Day muſt needs be approaching, and we our ſelves have lately ſeen ſome Things that we have Reaſon to hope are Fore-runners of it; certainly it ſhould ſtrongly excite us to endeavour to be ſuch Paſtors, as God has promiſed to bleſs his Church with at that Time; that if any of us ſhould live to ſee the Dawning of that glorious Day, we might ſhare in the Bleſſedneſs of it, and then be called, as the Friends o… the Bridegroom, to the Marriage-Supper of the Lamb, and partake of that Joy in which Heaven and Earth, Angels and Saints, and Chriſt and his Church, ſhall be united at that Time.

But here I would apply the Exhortation in a few Words to that Miniſter… of CHRIST, who above all others is concerned in the Solemnity of this Day, who is now to be united to, and ſet over this People as their Paſtor.

You have now heard, Rev. Sir, the great Importance, and high Ends of the Office of an evangelical Paſtor, and the glorious Priviledges of ſuch as are faithful in this Office, imperfectly repreſented. May God grant that your Union with this People, this Day, as their Paſtor, may be ſuch, that God's People here may have the great Promiſe God makes to his Church in the Text, now fulfil'd unto them. May you now, as one of the precious Sons of Zion, take this Part of Chriſt's Church by the Hand, in the Name of your great Maſter the glorious Bridegroom, with an Heart devoted unto him with true Adoration & ſupream Affection, and for his ſake … to this People, in a ſpiritual and pure Love, and as it were a conjugal Tenderneſs; ardently deſiring that great Happineſs for them, which you have now heard Chriſt has choſen his Church unto, and has ſhed his Blood to obtain for her; being your ſelf ready to ſpend and be ſpent for them; remembring the great Errand on which Chriſt ſends you to them, viz. to woo & win their Hearts, and eſpouſe their Souls to him, and to bring up his elect Spouſe, and to fit and adorn her for his Embraces; that you may in due Time preſent her a chaſte Virgin to him, for p. 40him to rejoyce over, as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride. How honourable is this Buſineſs that Chriſt employs you in! and how joyfully ſhould you perform it! When Abraham's faithful Servant was ſent to take a Wife for his Maſter's Son, how engaged was he in the Buſineſs; and how joyful was he when he was ſucceeded! With what Joy did he bow his Head and worſhip, and bleſs the Lord God of his Maſter, for his Mercy and his Truth in making his Way proſperous! And what a joyful Meeting may we conclude he had with Iſaac, when he met him in the Field, by the Well of …, and there preſented his beauteous Rebekah to him, and told him, all Things that he had done! But this was but a Shadow of that Joy that you ſhall have, if you imitate his Fidelity, in the … when you ſhall meet your glorious Maſter, and preſent Chriſt's Church in this Place, as a chaſte and beautiful Virgin unto him.

We truſt, dear Sir, that you will eſteem it a moſt bleſſed Employment to ſpend your Time and Skill in adorning Chriſt's Bride for her Marriage with the Lamb, and that it is Work that you will do with Delight; and that you will take Heed that the Ornaments you put upon her are of the right Sort, what ſhall be indeed beautiful and precious in the Eyes of the Bridegroom, that ſhe may be all glorious within, and her Cloathing of wrought Gold; that on the Wedding-Day, ſhe may ſtand on the King's right Hand in Gold of Ophir.

The joyful Day is coming, when the Spouſe of Chriſt ſhall be led in unto the King with Raiment of Needle-Work; and Angels and faithful Miniſters will be the Servants that ſhall lead her in. And you, Sir, if you are faithful in the Charge that is now to be committed to you, ſhall be joined with glorious Angels in that honourable and joyful Service; but with this Difference, that you ſhall have the higher Priviledge. Angels and faithful Miniſters ſhall be together in bringing in Chriſt's Bride into his Palace, and preſenting her to him: But faithful Miniſters ſhall have a much higher p. 41Participation of the Joy of that Occaſion: They ſhall have a greater and more immediate Participation with the Bride in her Joy; for they ſhall not only be Miniſters to the Church as the Angels are, but Parts of the Church, principal Members of the Bride. And as ſuch, at the ſame Time that Angels do the Part of miniſtring Spirits to the Bride, when they conduct her to the Bridegroom, they ſhall alſo do the Part of miniſtring Spirits to faithful Miniſters. And they ſhall alſo have an higher Participation with the Bridegroom than the Angels, in his Rejoycing at that Time; for they ſhall be nearer to him than they; for they are alſo his Members, and are thoſe that are honoured as the principal Inſtruments of eſpouſing the Saints to him, and fitting them for the Enjoyment of him; and therefore they will be more the Crown of Rejoycing of faithful Miniſters, than of the Angels of Heaven.

So great, dear Sir, is the Honour and Joy that is ſet before you, to engage you to Faithfulneſs in your paſtoral Care of this People; ſo glorious the Prize that Chriſt has ſet up to engage you to run the Race that is ſet before you.

I would now conclude with a few Words to the People of this Congregation, whoſe Souls are now to be committed to the Care of that Miniſter of CHRIST, whom they have choſen as their Paſtor.

Let me take Occaſion, dear Brethren, from what has been ſaid, to exhort you, not forgetting the Reſpect, Honour and Reverence, that will ever be due from you to your former Paſtor, that has ſerved you ſo long in that Work, but by Reaſon of Age and growing Infirmities, and the Proſpect of his Place being ſo happily ſupplied by a Succeſſor, has ſeen meet to relinquiſh the Burden of the Paſtoral Charge over you; I ſay, Let me exhort you (not forgetting due Reſpect to him as a Father) to perform the Duties that belong to you, in your Part of that Relation and Union, now to be eſtabliſhed between you and your p. 42elect Paſtor: To receive him as the Meſſenger of the Lord of Hoſts, one that in his Office repreſents the glorious Bridegroom of the Church, to love and honour him, and willingly ſubmit your ſelves to him, as a Virgin when married to an Huſband. Surely the Feet of that Meſſenger ſhould be beautiful, that comes to you on ſuch a bleſſed Errand as that which you have heard, to eſpouſe you to the eternal Son of God, and to fit you for, and lead you to him as your Bridegroom. Your choſen Paſtor comes to you on this Errand, and he comes in the Name of the Bridegroom, ſo impowred by him, and repreſenting him, that in receiving him, you will receive Chriſt, and in rejecting him, you will reject Chriſt.

Be exhorted to treat your Paſtor, as the beautiful and virtuous Rebekah treated Abraham's Servant: She moſt charitably and hoſpitably entertained him, provided Lodging and Food for him and his Company, and took Care that he ſhould be comfortably entertained and ſupplied in all Reſpects, while he continued in his Embaſſy; and that was the Note or Mark of Diſtinction which God himſelf gave him, by which he ſhould know the true Spouſe of Iſaac from all others of the Daughters of the City. Therefore in this Reſpect approve your ſelves as the true Spouſe of Chriſt, by giving kind Entertainment to your Miniſter that comes to eſpouſe you to the Antitype of Iſaac. Provide for his outward Subſiſtence & Comfort, with the like Chearfulneſs that Rebekah did for Abraham's Servant. You have an Account of her Alacrity and Liberality in ſupplying him, in Gen. 24. 18,19,20, & 25—Say as her Brother did, Ver. 31. Come in thou bleſſed of the Lord.

Thus you ſhould entertain your Paſtor. But this is not that wherein your Duty towards him chiefly lies: The main Thing is to comply with him in his great Errand, and to yield to the Suit that he makes to you in the Name of Chriſt, to go to be his Bride. In this you ſhould be like Rebekah: ſhe was from what ſhe heard of Iſaac, S… God's Covenant with p. 43him, and Bleſſing upon him, from the Mouth of Abraham's Servant, willing for ever to forſake her own Country, and her Father's Houſe, to go into a Country ſhe had never ſeen, to be Iſaac's Wife, whom alſo ſhe never ſaw. After ſhe had heard what the Servant had to ſay, and her old Friends had a Mind ſhe ſhould put off the Affair for the preſent, but it was inſiſted on that ſhe ſhould go immediately, and ſhe was enquired of whether ſhe would go with this Man, ſhe ſaid, I will go: and ſhe left her Kindred, and followed the Man, through all that long Journey, 'till he had brought her unto Iſaac, and they three had that joyful Meeting in Canaan. If you will this Day receive your Paſtor in that Union that is now to be eſtabliſhed between him and you, it will be a joyful Day in this Place, and the Joy will be like the Joy of Eſpouſals, as when a young Man marries a Virgin; and it will not only be a joyful Day in Eaſt Hampton, but it will doubtleſs be a joyful Day in Heaven, on your Account. And your Joy will be a faint Reſemblance, and a Fore-runner of that future Joy, when Chriſt ſhall rejoyce over you as the Bridegroom rejoyceth over the Bride, in heavenly Glory.

And if your Paſtor be faithful in his Office, and you hearken and yield to him in that great Errand on which Chriſt ſends him to you, the Time will come, wherein you and your Paſtor will be each others Crown of Rejoycing, and wherein Chriſt and he and you ſhall all meet together at the glorious Marriage of the Lamb, and ſhall rejoyce in and over one another, with perfect, uninterrupted, never ending and never fading Joy.

FINIS.

End of the text · Jonathan Edwards, The Churchs Marriage to Her Sons and to Her God (1746)