OCR Text |
Show Cant. 2·3'· An.Z hil fruit w.ll fweet 1111to my Taft~. I Have Chewed you how fweet that fruit of Chrifi is to a believers tafie, which be once bare, viz:.. all his Ads by which he purcbafcd our RrdemptiOII, I told you the ·lafi day that ihere was alfo other fruit which this Appletree ( in my text ) yieldeth eve. ry moneth; nay every day. His Ordinancu,hi' Spiritualinf/um• cn: It was prophefyed ofold concerning· the times of the Gofpcl That fronz one Hew Moon to another, a11d from one Sabbath to anoth<r; •UfiifhJh.o,./dcome to worfhip brforetbe Lord, I fa. 66, 23, The A· pol!le fatth ; ' That when Chrift a[cmded up on high, he ·led Captivity Capttve and gave gifts unto mm; be gave fome Apoftlu and {om• Prophetr, and fame Evangelifts, and fome Paftors and fom; Teachers; fo~ ·r~e prr[dlilig oft he Saints, for the wor/vf tbe Mini{fry,, for the ed.'fyrng of the body of Chr~(f, Eph.4. 1 r, 12. Y.b thefe he com· mttteth the myftmes.f the· Kmgdom oj"God, I Cor+ r. Himfelf be· ing to be abfent from us as to his bodily· prefence, he comforteth his people with their Spiritual Vnion, Jo. I 5· ' And ·for the mainta! ni~.g .of Co~mu~ion with. him; h~.was pleafed to appoint cer· tam dtvme In!htullons for hts Worfhtp. There were Ordinancu of worfhip undcr·the old Tdlament (for God never left it to hu· mane prudence to determine ~be manner of his Wor!hip, ) fuch were the S~crificu, tl1e P~tff'rqver, Circumcifim, Prayer; Reading the law.&<. thefe werefweei·!P tbebelievt~r'tafte; though the moll of them were but prefigurat~ve of a Chnfi to come not Obfignativt and confirming a Chrifi already come. The Cald;e Paraphraft un· derfiands my text offoln~: of thefe----Et verba legif ejttr fueru•l dulcta guttur1 meoi' The wou!s ofhis law, were fweet to my ta!le, D•vidfaith, PJ..I. 19. 10. Thatthe_y were frr;eeter than the hmy, or the h,y.comb. But n1oflof thefe expiring being ( as the Apo!lle calls. them,) carnal OrdiMHcer, a Ad jhadowr •f things to. come; Chrtfl was plea fed to fubfi,tute others. There are that think that Chrifi did but ~boli!h the Cartt•l typical part ofrhofe ancient Ordi· nances lancr•fy1ng the o~her part: Our r<ading the word did but anfwer thetrs of old, Tne Rmg of lfrael was tu read in the booJt.. of the La'RJ, 4/itbt d•yr of hil Lifr. Mofes was read in the Synagogun <very C~rifts frltit in Ordinal;~es,fnmt to a believcntafle. evtry fabbath-day. Our preaching anf we red their expou11di11g the Law of which we read Ltt"f2· and the word ofexb,rt3tl01t , whtch was ~fed in their Synagogues, of which we have mention more than once in the new Tefiament. Our Sacrament of the Lordi {IIP· per; was made up of their Aphicomt,, or bit of bread referved (to the lafi) in their PafTover, and thttr tlmd cup of Wine ufed there a\fo ; confecr&ted by our Saviour, to be ufed as a Ianing Ordinance of his Gofpel;andJhere arc that tbink that. our Baptifu,_ had fomething like it in the Jewifh P.edagnpy rn thur wa!hwg ol Profelyttt. The Ccnfurcs o(the Go\ pel-Church mentioned MJt, 18. manifefily auf we red thofe of the J uda1eal Sa~brdrzm; whether fo or no I will not difpute: certain it is that thoy are now of another import, than they then were; ond as they then were (though but prefigurative) fweet to the believers talte fo they arc now: The Reading of tbe word, the prrachmg nf the Gofpel, the Sacramellts of tbeGoJP,I; yea the difciplin~ oftbe Church, ~reall f weet un· to the believers ta!le! I !hall enqutre, 1. How thlf appearr I> be trm. z. Whmce it if, that they are fo exceeding fweet. That they are fo there are 4· things which will evidently C· vince. r. The 6rfi is, Their great dejire tow4rdr them, andtn~ards the faithfu/Strwardrofthem; the ,Souls defire of any Obje6l: is a certaiR evidence of a real, or apprehended goad in it; no man defires any thing butfub ratione boni,as it apprehends it to be good. Now there is <~O truly believing Soul, but hath a thirfi after the Ordinances of God. Ordinances were not fo fweet under the law (when they were but prefigurative) as unaer the Gofpel, now that they confirm a Chri!l come in the fle!h ; yet how pa!lionatc· ly then did holy David defirc the Ordinances of God) See Pfal. 84. 2. my Soullongetb, yea evcnJ'ainutl. for the Court! of God; he prefers the condition of she Swallow and the Sparrow before his, becaufe they could make their nefis ncar to Gods Altar, Pfal. 6 J• 3. My Soul tbirftttb for tim, my flcfh longeth for thee in a dry aHd thirfly land roh.re tto water if. Pfal. 42. 1, Ar tbe beart pamethafter the water·Brook.,r, &c. The Lord forefaw this ddire in his people when by his Prophet Amor, thrcatning a famine, not a fa milt< of Bread, nor a 1hirftfor Wdter, but a fancin •f hearing the word of the Lord, Amos 8. 1 r. he alfo addeth v, 12. A11d tbtyj}JJU wandtr frolft Sea to Sea, and from the North even to the Eifl, tofrek,tht word of the Lord, N ~r did this ddire die in the Saints of the old 'Itjlament: I• Na |