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Show You may leam from hence what every onr of you h•th to do ; rt>hg ft!OIIId tither live or dit 'll'ith any [wttt rtjlef:lionr, and evidence to your Son/.r, Tlut·Chrijl i1 yozm: you mull labour for this, to find that Y"". are hir, bu not only by Bapti[m and extmtal profrf!ionr_; thoufands ot B1ptized perfons, thoufand of formal profelfors, wsll hear Chnll lay unto th<m another day,depart from me_lk,.11ow yo" ltot;but hss by confCnting to hilT', receiving him and accepting him; his by a ~ree and voluntary d,dition and giving up_your Souls unto hssfcrvsce, and interell; you mull endeavour to fmd that you are Lz/ii;,, you may be fure ot this, he feedrth amoHg{l the LiUiu, he hath_ccmmunion with all thofe Souls that are Lil'ie~; you will po{hbly here a>k me, how you may know that you have made a true rcnditiJn ar.d furrender of your Souls unto Chrill. This is a theme we ofrcn fpeak to. I !hall t hertfore add little upon ·this fub. jeer. , r. Cawy« truly [peak,. ofCbri/f 01 theSpou{e /;rre,andcaD bim your Bdovrdr. Chrill m•y have a love for you, though you have none lor him; he luvu 111 firft but you !hall then love him, and till you do love him you !hall never know that he hath a love for you;· but if you c~n fay with the Spoufe, and fay in ttuth unto Chrill, My Btloved. If you can fay with Pner, Lord, thou that k,~t~weft aU thi1Jg1, k,.nowefl that I l•ve tbee, thou mayetl then know tha~.thou. art his. Nothing fo mr ch makes us an~thers as Love, whofo loveth another, is wholly his whom he loveth. • 2. The Apoflle, Rom. 8. 9• gives another note Negatrv:ly. If a man bath nottbe Spirit of Chrijl,be is nolle ofbiJ. Now (faith the Apoltle, Gal. 5. 22.) the fruit of the Spirit is Love, Joy,_Peact, Lvng·]11ffiring,Gent lmejs, Goodneji,F tAtb,Meektrefi, 'Iemprrance~ and obkrve, v. 24. there you have another note, (or indeed firtctly not another ) only the fame diverlilied in exprelfion. 'Ihey th~t ar< Cbriffr have crucifiedtbe fiejh,witb thr affdlionr aHd lt<{lr, that t.s. thofe afftctions and lulls of it which are contrary to the holy wtlf ofGod. · . 3. Take a third note from the A pofile (you cannot take It better than from an infallible mouth ) 2 Cor. 5· 17. 'Ihereforeifany vzan bt in Cbrij/ be is a'""' CreatHr<, old th~11gs are paffid arr>ay, and 11U things art ~•••"" MGW. If you be Chnlls you are new-Creatures, you have new thoughts, new delights, new motions of your will, new workings of your affections; your fears, defires, love, J·oy delf>.ht hatred. zeal, they are all turned to new objects ; you • "b ' ' fear fear lin more than fhame, more than Hell; y'ou love God more than Lulls, Honours, Ellates, Children, Wifo, Husband, yea than your own lives; all the de!ires of your Souls are after hsm, who is altogether de{irer ; you de!ire to know nothing but Chrilt, to have nothing but Chrifi, to pleafe none but Chrill. I mean nothing contrary to him, nothing comparatively with him; you that hated the ways and people ofGod,_your hat1ed now is holy againfi fin againll your felves for lin, againll no perfons, but for thesr fin;; your Zeal is now.wholly againll fin, for the fcrvice, Glo1y and interell of God that is in the world. But I will not enlarge. 4• When I opened the Metaphor oftheLilly, (v. 1,2. where we had the Spoufe calling herfelffo, and her Beloved in his anfwer jufiifying the appellation :) I told you Lillies were for twothings moll famous, r. Colour. 2. Fmirfu_lnefs. lf-ynu h< Lillies, you mull be whirr; we no-wh7re rea~ of tlzrty filthy black._ LzUu~: Faith that interelleth the Soul sn Chr~ll, doth aifo purify the heart, an HncleaH filthy Soul can be none of Chrills, he feedrth amongjl tbr l.JUiu. By this you !hall know you be his, have you made ~our Garments white in the Blood of the Lamb? is yotlt life free lrQm fuch fpr;>ts are not the Spots of Gods Children? the Lilly tl~nding in th· ·c· ay be-weather-beaten, and may contract fome d~tt frlim' t,which may /lick ro it;but it is not of it, iris not oiH< nature.r" f you be Chriftr,you may yet by your living in the world contra~ Come .dull; but lin, and lulls will be forrdgn and as firangers :to y~r Souls, . . -. )• .Llfily1:r old you Lzlitr! wi're very fr~trt}ul. P/rey obfervcth that.,l\~tb6ftf.d ~tries fome of them would in a flow" have 500 Clav~"i.: If yii~ 'be Chrifis you will be fmitfnl toa, fruitful in wh~c· the Apollle tells you, you have your fruit unto holine[r. Our Sal• Jour admirably enlargeth upon this in the parable of the Vine, J ~''· r 5· 1. E~ery branch in me that briH_l,rth not forth f ruit; and way branch that b,aretb fruit he purgeth it, th.•t it may brinf!. fortb more fruit, v. 5· He tlllt abid<~h in me, a•d I in l-im, the fime bri11g"h forth much fruit, and again, v. 8. Herein is my FJthcr glorified, that yau bear mucbfruitJo fh> ll yo" be my Difi:i!IPJ. What fruit do you bring forth to GoJ ) ho'v is God honoured by· ynu, in your perfonal cap•cities? in yo," Families ) in your Ro:larions ) what fervice do you for God in the world ) what gond d.> you. more than others? by which it may appear that you ore · · Ws 495 |
