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Show Whttt Chrijif jr.11it if, ~hat the ielieVerJ tafte if ? Objlll; indeed it Is never ta!'ted till believed. The worlf,s of Re• dernption, the notion of 1uftificati.Dn, &c. are mo(l _excellent Spiritual objects; but until the Soul cometh to beheve, i. '· To a!fent to thore Propo!itions which concern them, ( as uRto Propo! itions of truth,) and to refr and rery upon the perfon of the Mediator, for the, particular application of thefe things to the Soul ; the Soul tafieth no rn<>re f weetncfs in them, than in the' wbitt tifa>t Egg. But by thefe tim~ ads the Soul tafi<s an inteiJeCl: ual object: When it hath rafied it 1udgeth ; as fiill it is with the body. The hand brings the meat to the Mouth, the Mouth che,.,etl~it, and then the Soul by the help of the pallat Judgeth. So it is with the Soul as to intelleCl:ual objects : Firfi, the Soul gets the true nor ion of them, then it meditates 11pon them, and weighs them whether they be true or falre, good or bad; if the Soul finds th<rn true it believes them , and fo judgeth of the favor, or goodnefs of rhem. This now is the Believers Ta(lc ; and when the Spoufe faith, that Chrlfis FIUit r¥!41 plfl•[imt to her'Iafte, her faying may import thus much at length. · ' That haviltg beard of a MeffiM that rr•s to come into the rporld, of whatbe'wM tq do andr[Hff•r,and got a true notion ofpi1 exceUmcy, and the fuitablenefi of hi< alls of Grace to her lapfrd condition' and. believed ri>haithe Scriptr~m fay c•ncerning him, dH4 in fome m:afim experien;ed !Ju goodnt{i, hi< GracioiH •lis of RedemptiOJI, bk Ordinances; by whi_ch hi< Redrmption is particularly appryttl, t~ the Stu!, his in,.,•rd influences ofGrace, and that eternplliftplory•and Salvatt~n, to ~ich thefr forve as me•ns, "!e.TF aU very plea[ant to bm Tberetnay be another notiort of T~H~, as it !ignifieth Experience btr.~ yet imperftll ; as he who but tafles mea( hath but an irnperfetl: evadence of the goodrlefs of it ; he doth not know what it will P~~v~ in. th~ belly.So theMetaphor is fometinies ured to lignify our (tmperfeCl:) expetie-nce of things;.thps Heb. 6. 4, S· 1 Pet, 2. 3· I lha1) rpeak in the tirfl plac.e to tlje firf\ notiQn,of the Metaphor, and I will open and .prove 1t a li.ttle further in all the aforementioned particulars. 1, Chrifis redecmi11g A[lions,are very fweet to • believers Tafte,hi9 Incarnation, his Temptatio111, his a[lipe Obedience, his De~tb, his Re· [ttrrt[l/on, his-Afcnlfion, his lnteretfflon, his coming to JttdgmcJtt, all t_hefc were-the fruit: of this Applmee, they are all rweet to the belrevcrs tafie; [wet! upon Meditation, [ .... eet upon the Souls Appli· c~liDH of!hem by faith. How. fwect was Chrifis Inc11rnatio1< to 4br4bi1mJ Wh,tt ChriflJ fr~tit if,w/jat the Believer 1 tafte il? "Abrahams tafte? Joh. 8. 56. your F•tber Abr3bam "j"))cttl tof~ my d.y, and be Jaw it a11d wur gl.zd. This w•s rhe firjl ripe fmit of the Mr{[rM: Abraham was the Fathrr ofbdir~ers, he faw Chrifis day by the eye of Prophery, he foreraw by rhc 'Y' of Faith, he clearly and fixedly raw, That there wonld be a rime when a Vtrgin jho11ld conceive, aod bringfortb a So11 whofe name fbould be Emanzt· el, God with us; he forefaw it, he believed ir: It was rweet ro hi> taHe.He rejoyctd(raith our Saviour;/" wM g/Jd ]3Cob raw this and re)oyccd when he prophrjj•ed, that tbe Scrpter fhould not depart from 'fudah, nor the Larr>giver from between /;i< feet 11ntil Shiloh canu, 1111dto bimjhor<ldthe ga.berisg •ftbe peoplebe: Ij.ziah raw this day and re)oyced; whm he fnrrtold th•t a V1rj!,m fhm/,/, conceive and l>ear11 Sou. In Chart all rhe Saints of God, who lived from Adam to Mofu, and from Mo[rs rill the corning of Chrifi, they all foref"'v this fruit of the Applerree and they rejoyced; they rejoyced in hope, that there fbould be a time, when the word fhould be made fiefh, and dweOamong /K. This is that which our Saviour tel If his dirciples, that Kings and Prophets a.nd Righteous men defired to fie an~ di~notfee.The Saint; that lived in that happy time to fee rhi; frtut warh the eyes of thear llefh ; how fweet was it to their talle! when Simeon raw it, he cries out\ Now Lord, let thou tltY {<rvant L k 8 dtp~rt in peace. Ann• gi~n tbank,s to t~e Lerd, and fpeaks of u c 2 ' 3 • Chrtfi to all that loofltd for RedemptiOn zn Rierufalem coHctrni•g Chrifi. All the Saints that have lived in the world Iince that time have found this fruitfwret Hnto tbeir t•fte, and have had their pro: porti~n in this joy. Some of them indeed have fcruplcd the "b· [erv~t1011~ of ~artiC•lar dals for the incarnation of Cbrifl : Becauf~ !hat Chnfl htrnfelfand hts Apofiles never commanded it never did It, and they would not be wifer than their Mailer. 2. Be~aufr tluy rpould not countenance a fond and groundlefs opinion, that Chrill was born the very 2 5 Dec. 3. Becaufe lhirdlj they h•vc ob[rrvul that through the corruption of times and manner! thofc time; have been moll grofly ah~fed to fupcrflitlon and 'profancndi. 4: B~caufe fo?rthly,_they thank the Lords· day, i~ a d•y ofGnd< lu-fiatullon to _gave thanks both for that and all other gndous a ~h ofi.edeft1ptton: But they arc all agreed in thil that the Incar11dtl· on of our Lord and Saviour u a fr~<it of the Applctrcc CJ"ccdinV. plearantto every true believers tafle. And there I• ruf~n thh 1r ui t /hould_ be [wtet : For. by this is our flefb, pollmcd by Sin, n "lin Sanchfied, and put toto a cap1city of an llnirJn with God 11\y II 2 vl'ttllr. |