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Show The .Applitdion of the ous Soul fhall not fin unto death; It niay fin fo as God may put it 'art~ayas to his Providence, and a~ to hi< fe.nfible rtwtififtati?ns, but.it cannot fin unto a dilfolution of the UotOn between Chn!l and tt. The Commm•ion may be interrupted, but not the Union dilfolved. Now I fay, the rea{on cf this dependeth upon the M•~riage ·Coven•n! ; it is not bccaufe the Bohever finn eth not, who _liveth and {inneth not again!\ God ) nor becaufe the fins of Belte" ers have lefs dcriierir in them than the !ins of others: fin hath guilt infeparably annexed to it; but the <;:ovenant of Chri!l with the Soul is of another nature : He hath covenanted with the Soul, . . . . I. '[hal hi< {ted jhaU abtde "'zt, tt jhaH not {in unto death, I Joh. 3. 9· That he will puni!b hs ini"!uity. with Rods~ and its tranf~~, rellions with llripes, but hu lovmg·k,ptdne[s he WtU Not ta~e from #, nor fi'-fftr his f.rithfulnefs 10 fail. Pfalm 89. 28. 11-'ry ~"?! ,.,;y 1 k.fep for him, attd my Covenant jhaUj~and.faJI wtlh htm. ThiS therefore is that which David fleeth to tn hts Ia!\ words, 2 Sam. 2_3.. 5· filthoughmy houfelunot[ort~ilh_God, ~et he hath made with me an everlalling Covenant ordered'" aU thmgt a11d fitre. In this I. f•y, the Union between Chri!l and his Spoufe ex~elle~)1,and · IJath the ad vantage of the union between a man and hts wtfe. In that there may be a putting away, in this there can be none. The gifir and caVing of God are rt~itboHt rtpettta•ce, 2. Secondly In the marriagt-unioH Death makes a dif!OIHtiolt, Rom. 7· 2. If the butband bedead(faith the Apo!lle, J the ..,ife ~ l••fed from the lal'l. of her husband, but it is pot fo in this my!lical Union. Death producet.h the feparation of the .Soul f>o~ the Body, but not the feparauon of the ~oul from ~hrt!l; nay, It doth but perfed: the Union : the Soul by Its fe_p~rallon from th~ Body is brought more near to Chri!l. The Sprrlt returneth ( fatth Solomon) to God: Hence the Apo!lle calls death otm, to our advantage all on our fide. Hence Saint Paul defireth to be dilfolved •nd. to be'..,itb-Chri{t, Phil. r. and. we are after death faid in a ":ay of excellency to be n>ilh the Lord, And Rom. 8. 10, JJ, while the Body dieth becaufe of fin, the Spirit is alive, or life, becaufe o[righteo• foefr. Thus I· have now Of'ened to you the nature o( thloS ~yfiical union to far as it is !hadowed out by the ConJug•l Umon. I !ball now :nake fame !bart practical Application. . In the fir8· place this lets us fee the 'WD[III {t.,e of an Vnbeluver. T,he Union bet~e~ the Soul and Chrill i5 not a 11atural, but a · c1n· conjugal Vnioll. Alll:onjugal anion dependcth, as I faid bdoie, upon a covenant, to which each party doth alfent. The alfcnt to this covenan~ is that we call a faith,a chu{ing of the Lord Chrlfl, a rrftmg upon btm, as a Saviour, and arguing to him as our Lord. H ~.nce follows, that every u~believe_r, is a !\ranger to Chrill, not umted, yea that every one mdeed Js (as the Apo!lle faith) a child of ..,rath by natHre; and thus the Scripture exprelfeth the n•tural a11d u11rrgenerat< man, Eph. 2. r J, Men ..,it bout Chrijl,ftraNgers to the covenant ofpromife,baving no hope; and fl'ithoHt God in tbt world; and if the uniou between God and our Souls be but a conjugal uniotr,this mull be true;for what rel•tion hath, what union is there between Husband andWife,until the covenant of marriage makes it. So that every man {lands highly concerned before he fna.tcheth at a promife, ?r takes any incouragement in God, or butlds up any hope to btmfelf, to examine himfdf whether this Co.venant be made_.~nd what a miferable thing this is to think of. If tt be not ~one 1t IS our ow~ f1ulr, 'tis not the virgins faulr, ( pollibly) 1f fhe .be not marned to a good Husband; it may be fuch a one was never offered, or never offered himfelf to her: . But it is the S~uls fault,if it be not married to Chriil, for, :Kev. 3. 20. Eehold fatth he, I{fand at thed•or and Jtnoc~ ifaHy man wiU •pen ttnlo me ; I wtll<>me and fop R>itb him and he R>itb me: S iu fee you to it. We that are Mini!lers are all wiltuffis •gainft you; Sords. We (as the Ambalfadours of Heaven) have all in our Mailers name, and on our Mailers behalf made love unto your Souls. we.have told you that our Lord is willing to be marri-ed, to be umted to the meaneft of you ; to the greate!l !inner among I\ you ; to the poore!l filrhie!l Soul which !lands before the Lord this day. The ref~fal lies at your doors. Now do you under!land your own mtfery ? do you know what it Is not to be united in. this Spiritttal marriage to Chri!l? I will tell you • . l, There ts no medtum between being one n>ith·Cbrift and one rt~ith tht Devil. A Virgin among!\ you may have a g~od Husband offere~ her, and refufe him, and yet do well enough; !he may meet wtth an?th.er_, !be may live a Virgin, and yet go to Heaven. Though vugtmty doth not ( as the Papifis pretend ) mor_e prefer a Soul t~ ~eaven, fo it doth not more (ubjed: a Soul to dtvl~e wrath, .but1t_1~ not fo as to this fpiritual union . There's no gemng to .Heaven wtthout Chrifi: He hath the keJI of He4vm •nd HeD. It IS he that hath eternal life given to him ; he givu ttcrnal "' |