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Show • ~ Jl:111P the SM1l11t11J .fiJI 4111 hir. : If thou can!\ fay I am bil,·thon·mllyeft conclude this bleffcd uni• 0~ with thy Soul. Let me il liitle enbrge upon either of thele. .. • . . . .• 1 , 1 fay fitll i£ in truth thou caoiHay·,"f:brift u.dy Belo.vul, rh·ou mayetl conclude that be is thine. I 'f~Y. il_l truth; It IS an eafy rhing to call Chrift thy Belove~, but I fay tf m truth be ~e thy .Beloved he is moft certainly tbmc, thou art moft certamly umted ro him: The reafon of this lies here : . 1 • Becaufe Chril!s word is out l011g (ince; be hath long Iince cned, tio every one that tbir(Jetb, comr ye,&c. If any man ,.,,u, let hzm~omt •. Now as amongfi men, when thc·man hath made love to the wo. man alfoon as ever !be hath but accepted, !be may conclude the mat~h made if the man be certain : So the Lord ·chrift having offered himf~lf unto poor creatures Souls, and Hill fo offering himfelf the Soul can no fooner confent to him and accept him, but the 'union is made' with him, who is not as vain man that he lbould lye, nor as the Son of ".'an that ~e {~JOuld repent. Now though indeed, this confent, thts accepttat':n ts properly the act_ of }' aith; yet it cannot be without a conc:omttant love: ~nd verrlJ upon this I think a Chrifiia~ ~ay truft the whole wetght of:ht& Soul. No unbelieverloves Chrtfl,no·ftrangerscan (more than tn a complement fay unto him,) fayingunto bim,My Biloved! Let that Soul fear nothing that can fay with Peter,My Lord,'thon.t~at l(no""e(f aUthiHgs,~no.,eft that Ilove thm and le_t no _Soul fay, thts ts one.obfcurity by another •. Certainly we mtgbt tfwc would ·be fettous with our felves, we might by th!s determi~e the ~ate of our Souls; when we cannot dif~ern oilr Fattb, we mtglit dtfccrn our Love > Love is athing will not 'tie fo concealed. But 2 , Obferve it is not every love, which will intitle thee to call Chrifi, thy Beloved, it m•fl be a· pimary Lo••· Stmon P~ter, faith Chrift, loveft thou''" mm than thtfe t fup_pofe all the Kmgdoms of the world were btfore thee : All the rzt:hes of the treaf~ries in ·it. All the Honours in rhe Air thereof, all th~ pleaf!rres th the courts thereof, all the comforts and accommodanons therf'of, And Chrift fhould fay to the So11l, lovtft thou me-more than thefe l doefi thou more defire me and a lbareln me than all the~e? haft thou more pleafure and delight in me and in my fer~ice than m all rhefi:? If thou wert to part with all tbefe, or {"'tt wtth me, coul~ll t~o.u let all thefe go, and take me alone, and make me rhy porrron . tf thou canft truly fay if thou couldeft thou wouldft, or thou trufieft ' t hou thou lbouldefl, there is no doubt but thou lovell Chrift yea and wit~ th~ love due to a Beloved to•, and thou may eft fay, :ny Belovved u rmne. Thou art not t.o Judg thy felf, from thy partial de• fertions, nor from thy ~orretgn, no nor domellick temptations, much lefs from thy afthd:tons, or from thy failings ; but from thy habituated love. A Chrifiian may fay, Lord, Satan never leaves whifpering me, that I am none of thine ; but I love thee: My heart, my fenfitive appetite is offering at the ellrangement of my Soul from thee, but thou knoweft Ilovethee. Lord I cannot pray .vith that freedom, and life, I ufe to do ; I cannot 'hear thy word .vith that f weetnefs, but yet Ilove thee ; yea and I love thee above til thing~.I !hew too much kindnefs fometimes to a vain lufi, but by this I know I love thee more than it, for 1 am never quiet tilt I have mourned for it. I never yet was troubled for too m'uch . communion with thee: But I faid before, this Love mull not be in a complement. Love will not evaporate In a vain ceremony 1 it will not lie hid in albes. It will flame fometimes though the flame at another time may ·be choaked. It will be feen in itsdeaving to every thing which hath Chrills iofcription upon it. The ~oul that loves <;:llrifl, will love. the Word, l<>ve Prayer, love s~bbaths, fove the Sunts, yea Jill thofc in whom· there is any thing ofChrift. Secondly, _If t?ou canft truly fay, I~~m-bit; thou mayeft fay, · ·my Bdoved 11 mme. I may poffibly in my following difcourfes . large upon this Subjec!f difcourfe this mol'e fully. ) !ball therefore only touch it here. This indeed is but the effcd: of the other; ~ove. i$ .bu~ the furrender ~f one Soul to another. The Souls giv- " ·'• tog up oftt fclf to theobte& Beloved. The Apoftle ex,pounds it 2. Cor.8.5. "'bty{,tJW np·themfilvu to the Lord firft. The Soul that can fay; my Beloved lt ·mine, mull be>llbletocall it felfhis. · 1. By a free •nd vol,.~tary re ['t,Hdtion ,,,nJ purpofi of heart. 2. By ordinary Obedience in allion. I • I fa'y 'fir{\ by a fne rmd vo/,.tary refignation and purpoft •f heart• Thus the Ghurch, If. 2 6. 3 ~· 0 Lord our &.d other Lord1 befid~s tbu have·had dominion """ '" ; bnt by thee only' ,..;u ,.., makt me?'t1on of thy name. Th(Apoftle exprelfeth it , All. 11. 2 3· by . thts ,phrafe ; ""''th.f•U ~ltrpofo ·of. ~ea•t they,..,utd cfeave Hnto ,the Lbrd, cann •thou fay thts ( Chrrlltan ) •that with full purpofe of br~ffhou l!kaveft n~to the Lord?tbat thy Soul is re(olved lor God, ·though In many thtngs thou finnefi, yet ~ith purpofe of heart thou cleave!\ to the Lord, And , |
