OCR Text |
Show • The Spottj'e in her Winter ii 'Chriflr Love, hir fair tme. nerfoip in any ftate; fo a\fo a nearne[s of f:ove and Ajfeflion; his heart then is knit unto her, he loves he! wHh.a love ol be~evolence, and will have a converfe and commumon wtth her. Th1s I take 10 be the full import of the firft Tetro. . Secondly, The Propofition doth not only fay that fhe IS then Cbriftt Love,but that fhe is his fair one .alfo: •n!l' Rife "P my Love, My fair oHe. we met ~it.h the Term In th_< 8. 15. and 16. Ve_rfes of the fonner Chapter, tt IS • Term by wh1ch the Hebrews ordtnarily e:xprefs Beauty; when I handled the ninth verfe of the former Chapter, I largely difcourfed to you concerning the beauty of Chrills Spoufe. I then fhewed you that It was, 1. Not Q corpore~/ but a Spiritual Beauty. 2. Not vifible to a~ outward eye, but to a Spiritual eye ; efpecially to the eye of Chnfi:. ~. ~ot a Native bu't an adventitious accidental Beatrty. 4• Not an artrficral but· a creat~d beauty. 5, Not adhereNt on ely ,but inherent alfo. 6. Not a perfefl Beauty; but yet 7, A defirable Btauty. 8. A never fading Beauty. Now I fay th~t the Church of Chrifi, even in the hardefi: Winter and in the rainy weather, yet hath this Beauty, and is in Chrift's eye a fair ope: It is true Affliction makes us black: Job ~xprdfin£; a fi:ate of a'ffiiffion, exprelfeih it thus, mr ~kin is black._ •pon me, job 30.30.A'nd the Church,Lam.s.ro.defcnbl_ng her /late of aJJ!Iflions, faith, her skjn was black.. at"? Oven; and m regard of affiidions ihe Spoufe,'Obap. I. 6. had fald,,I am bl~ck, for the s .. n batb •look;d "P"' me; but every thing that 1s black 1s not therefore ugly there is fomctimes a comelinefs in blacknefs : The eye it blac/t, but yet c'omely the'maY!fl< is'bl[ck and yet itjs comely.Tile Spoufe ofChrfftmay'be blaclt through •Jfliflionl; a'nd yet/omely, and Chr'•', fair one. I h'ave fpoken en01.rgb to tl\e explication of the poitir) proceed to the Confi'r'mation of it,. I. as to the '"'' that it is fo. 2. lhewirrg you tlle gro~rtd~ of it: . I, That Cbri/f it the ChHrthet aniJ belrevm fe7low-foNldur, and fiUo,.. pri[r1 11eri'n her 'Wi>fter. . . . . . , . z. 'Ihat Chrift it t/1e SpoJifol helir 411il mtrlndte [r~tnd, IH the tune •f h1rWi1tter 1111d Rainy tr>eather, 3. 7h•tthe Spoufe i1 excee9ingfai•in the eye~ . of Cbri!f, even in fbe time offYi•ter •nil Rllill)~e•thtr. . r. That C~rifl ikj1is Spoufes fr'llow.folrldier, and Jrl!ow-prifdlter; , we wreftle ( fa'it~'tJie ' Apolfle, Eph. 6.) lint fn whofe firength, , rhe next words tell'fbu, fee v. 1 ~· where'for'c ta.ke ilft!o y ou the .. ~ole Armor Uf6dd, &c. 1 know (faith the A'pollte, Phtl. '4· I,,) how. T!Je Spd'ufe in her Winter ~ - Chrifll Love, h# foir on-e. how to be abafed, to hrmger and foffer nud;v. 13. I can do aV thiy,J ~hm•ghChrzfr that ftrengtheneth '!''•2 Tim.4.16.At "!Y firjf a11[wer ,,. man Jf•od wllh me, v. I7· notwtthfianding the Lord flo od with me and flrengthmed me; you read of a militant Church, Act. 9· r.fijling t• blood, Vol• for S•Hitheir adverfary breathtd OtH ll•ughter againft them, Chtill was their fellow-[oHldier; he fought with and for them and firuck their enemy to the earth, v.4. Chri!l: eommands his Difciples, Mar. '3. I J, When they wm led and de, Jivertd up ta CoHncilt, and beaten in the Synagogun, and brought before RHim for his naw-fak.f, they jhould tak; no thought be f are hanoi wha~tq Jpeak,. but wbatfaever fo"U be given yo• in that hour tiNt fPeaJt..; for, [ait/J he, it i1 not you that jpeak._, but the Holy Gho(l, In !bore, All thofe Texts of ScriptUie. which promiie Gods help and allillance to his Church or Servants, in any kind or degree of fulferings ,prove this, that the Spoufe of Chrift is his[rUowJauldrer. But I added more ( though indeed that be incluiled in what is .already faid ) that fhe is hisfrUow·prifoner, There are two Texts that more llrictly prove this, Ifai. 63. 9· In all their ajJ!iflioHt b~. Wat ;JfUJed, and that Ali. 9· SaHI, S•ul, why perfecutejf thou me? 2, That Chrill is his Spoufe's near and iniimate frieNd even in the time of her Winter and Rainy wear her. The nOli'on of a friend, fuch a friend as may be called my Love, importeth (as I have formerly !hewed.) I. Ajfeflion, 2. Ingenuous 2/ffeflion; where the party is not beloved upon any feltifh mercenary princl. pie. 3· Converje, communi011, corrrfPondencirs, &c. I fhall qot need m!arge my felf upon this difcourfe; for certain it is whomfoever he lov~th he loveth freely, he cannot be profited by his Creature. Now that he. doth wrll good, and do good to his Church, and to the Souls of parttcular believers, in the midfi: of all their Winters I h~ve ~!ready proved while I proved tb you tha t he is their com~~~ man m 'Ir!bulatl01t; that hejlrengtheneth, aQd comforwh them, and alfo g1ves muo them wbattq fay;,. 11n evil,Ja.y ; he fuccours the tempted, faith the A.pofile to tljeHebrews. · T he third thing only remains to prove, viz. That 11tthattimt th• Spoot[e i1 Chri(f't fair one. There is a real beauty, and a relatLc Bea,.ty, tf I may fo difiingui!h in thJs place one q>ay be fair i.1 the eyes of'another, w.ho in her fel,( c0nlidered i> not fair· but the Spoufc of Chrift even in the Wi11t~r 11/lft ill Rt¥ny wcatbe~, is f air, really, and efteet:ncd fo by the LoJ.d Jefns Cl)rift; fhc is fai)' in herfe! ftlw:ougb<;:,hrifis comelinefs put upon hl;r ~nd he cfl.mptth h;r [o.. Nn :a To |