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Show How the Soul is Chriftr. Soul with Chrill, than what I have told you: The Seuls accep· tadon of Chrill and confent to him as its Savicur ond Lcrd, and giving up it felf fincerely to his fer vice and inierell. The Scripwre will tell you that Herod heard John Baptift gladly, and did many thin!',!, that a P#gan was almofl prrfwaded to be a Chriftian, and another trembled hearing Saint Paul difcouding of the !all Judg. ment ; That a pack._ of Hypccrites. yetfcught God d8i/y,fnctendrd to delight to k._norp J.i< way1, as a p,.p/e that didtiglmoufiuji, on'd for{ru "-. not the crdmancu of God, bttt aJkt of him the ordinanctJ ej} uflice, and to•!(. deli;.ht in approaching to God. T hat another or 1 he fame company ofHypocrites,lf.t8• wtre caVed !Jthe 11amo nf Jfrael, and \!\lere come forth out of the waters of jHd•h, andjivare by the na~m of the Lord, and made m.'ntion oft be God if lfrael, ( bt<t nat in lrtttb nor in rigbteoufiufi )yet called themfelves oft he holy City, and flayed themfelf1et upon the God of Ifracl; but it no-where telleth you that any fuch perfons,}oined tbemfclva to thr Lord, took hold of hi! covenant, receiveth the LO'fd Jefil! Cbrift, ebofe lbr things he delighted in, lo lorJe the Lord, aud to Jerve.him. 3• Again we may argue thus, E. very Soul that arrived at this blelfed capacity to f.y, my Beloved is mine, mall ( reflecting upon it felf) at the fame time be a \lie either to fay, I am hi1, or in fuch a cafe that it faith, I am not hi1.0r thirdly,I do not know, whether I be hi4 or Jlo. If at the fame time it can lay, I am bi4, that is that which I am.pleading for. If at that time it be in fuch a csondicion as it fays, I am none o['ChrijiJ. 1 never believed in him, I never accepted or received him, I never gave up· my felf to him, &c.I appeal to the ~eafon of everr Chrifiian,how at that time ic can fay, my Beloved iJ mine; millake 'me not, the Emphafis lies in thofe terms, ho"' it can {ay, I do believe Chrill may bet he portion of many a Soul, that fo darkly concludeth againll it (elf; but I fay it is impoffible it lhould fay fo, There is a reciprocation in all true and real relations; can any wife fay, my Hutba~td i1 mine, •nd not fay ,I am hil ' Can aoy of us fay, fuch a one is my Father, and at the fame time fay, I am none of his Child I N•y further,the Soul cannot fay, my Btloved it mine, but I do not know whether I am bi< BT ItO; for if one re/a'le be ~nOWJl the ather muft. It is impotlible that the Wife lhould know fuch a man is her Husband , but lhe mull at the fame time know alfo that !he is his Wife. But this Branch of the Dodrin~ is plain enough: Let me now come to. the oth~r part of it in thofe words, He feedetb among~ the LrUu1. Thts claufe Hor, chrifl feedeth amongft the Lillies. daufe of. the Text I fubjoined to the Doctrine, conceivine them to_czn tau1_ the Spoufes particu/,r rPidence for her being ChrijiJ. It "''$ 1 (fa11h Mr. J?urham ) be faid, if Ckri/tbe yourJ, :.bert iJ he l Is It hkely that he rs yours when he is fo far away? To this !he anfwers,Hejerdeth amu11g/f the Lillia.llhould rather refer it co the latte~ claufe,IamhiJ; k tl any lhould fay how know •·ou thatyou are hM > Oh f: · 1 h S ' 1 .11 · , .aH 't e poufc, he f adetb amo;rgft the Lillin. I am a Lt y?aod hefeedeth anm rglf th< LiUieJ. 1 fllbtnit to better judgment, but tn mr o w,n thoughts prefer this fenfe of the words. I lind a great vanety in the fcnt;ments of Intcrpreers aboot the true fenfe of thefe words; much occafioned from tile doubt fomc have whether the word flock._ be not to be undedtood; he fcedeth, that is, (fay they) _he feedeth his f/ocb amo~gfi tbc Lillie!, that i<, with hi! ordutancu, h11 word, htt SocramcJftJ; which is a fenfe I lind hinted !'Y many valuable lnt<rpreters > But 1 hl vc two things again II It, , r. That in this fenfe,it cotlid H•t be interpreted into 1111 evidence of rDhdt (he haJ affirtcd, in either part of the former Propcifition. It would ( thus interpreted) neither prove thaP her beloved was hers, not thar lhc was his. z. Neitber (that I remember) is the te1m Lilliu fo to be lnterpret~ d in an Metaphorical ufe of it any-where elf~ in Script ure. I ratner (therefore) chufe by fteding here to underfiand, having c?mmumon and converfe, and by Lilliu to underfiand thofc LillzuoftheV~ IIiu,mentioned, v. 1. and fo thefenfe is thi~, I k._npw my Beloved rs tnmr, becaufe 1/(.n.w I""' hi1; and I know that I am - hi;, becaufe tllough I be amongfl 'Ihorn1, yet I have the nature and condtt!on of a Lilly in me, and my Belovea hath his converfe and hath a communio~ with thofe that are LiVies,be ftedeth amongllthe Lz,Uzu.. I am not Ignorant of another fenfe hinted (though not fo.ely tnfilled .on ) by Ber~ard and others, a! if che Spoufe here fpake prophcttcally ~f Chnlls lHc"nation; and the tf1ordt being m#de f/f{h, and dwellmg amongfl ut, (as Saint John fpeaketh) but I have before told yo_u, what I judg the moll proper Interpretation, and L.ef\ conncch ng thefe words witli what in the fame verfe went before. Neith<r do I here intend to in large in any difcourfe lhe.wtng you ho_w properly graciouJ SouiJ are compared to Lilliu: I hinted fomethtng lhortly about it, when I opcr.ed the two firll vcrfes, and !hal! hal'c occafion to add fomething more when ( come to the Application which is my next work. ' R r r 2 In ,. |