Be called wonderful. You have feen many wonders abroad, you have seen the heavens and the earth, at which you many times wonder; but when God darts light into your Ipirits, to caufe you to fee the beauties of Jefus Chrift, all other wonders will ceafe, and give way to this great wonder. As the ftars, tho' they be glorious creatures in themselves, yet when the fun arifes, all their glory is eclipfed; fo tho' God hath many wonders in the world, yet when the Sun of righteoufnefs arifeth, all other works of God are darkned with the glory of him; certainly that foul knows not God nor Chrift favingly, that knows him not practically as the wonder of the world, and fo cries out, Oh the height, and depth, and breadth, and length of the glory of God in Jefus Chrift.

2. Labour fo to know Chrift, as to have a practical and experimental knowlege of Chrift in his influences, and not merely a notional. Alas! Chrift is but a meer notion and imagination to most people in the world; how few know Jefus Chrift by way of influence, power, and fellowship with him? It is faid of them that fear his name, that Christ the Sun of righteousness will arife with healing in his wings, and they fhall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall, Mal. iv. 2. This clears it up, that as the fun by an influence into the earth doth quicken and enliven the earth, and makes all the feeds and roots hidden in the earth to revive, and put themselves forth to fprout and flourish; fo there is an influence going forth from the Sun of righteousness unto the fouls of men, to make them of dead to become living, and of barren to become fruitful; and this is called the power of Chrift, that I may know him and the power of his refurrection, Phil. iii. 10. i. e. That I may know Chrift, and be made partaker of the good things flowing from Chrift, this is the voice of one who would favingly know Chrift, Oh that I may know him as a pro phet inftructing me, as a priest fanctifying me, and as a king reigning (piritually in me! Oh that I may know the power of his refurrection in the vivification of my foul, in the abolition of my fin, in the acquifition of righteoufaefs, and in the restoring of me to the affured hope of future glory! The devil is no great enemy to an hiftorical know.

lege of the prophetical, priestly, and kingly offices of Chrift, or of the refurrection of Chrift, of which Paul fpeaks fynechdochically; but to the holy virtue and power which comes from Chrift in any of these particulars, he is a deadly enemy: It is your duty therefore fo to know Chrift, as that you may feel the heavenly influences of whatsoever you know of Chrift: For inftance, it is one part of the cry, O that I may know Chrift as a prophet inftructing me! How is that? Why, Chrift in his prophe tical office teacheth the heart concerning himfeif, which none can do but only Chrift Jefus. I will not deny but men or angels may prefent truths, and convince the underftanding, but they cannot fo make known a truth as to gain the heart by it, or to transform the heart into the ve ny image of that truth; only Jefus Chrift in the adminiAtration of the prophetical office teaches and prevails with the heart when he comes with truths. We fee many people come to fermons, and there Chrift is opened clearly and distinctly, and thereupon they get some notional, fpeculative brain-knowlege of Jesus Christ, but they are not changed, their hearts are not over-powered. At another time the fame perfons may come to a fermon, when Chrift is named only by the by, and then their hearts are mightily wrought upon, and they go away faying, Verily God is in this place; why now, Chrift fpeaks to the heart, and before man fpeaks only to the ear. 2. It is another part of the cry, Oh that I may know the power of the refurrec tion of Chrift! How is that? Why, there is a virtue flowing from the refurrection of Chrift from the grave, to the refurrection of the fouls of men from the death of fin. As Chrift was raised from the dead by the glory of the Fa ther, even fo we alfo fhould walk in newness of life, Rom. vi. 4. And this influence of Chrift is called the exceeding greatness of his power, Eph. i. 19. It is exceeding great power that by the refurrection of Chrift, an holy and gracious change fhould be wrought in the fouls of men, from death to life, from bondage to liberty, from uncleanness to holiness, and from the power of Satan unto God. Oh that thus you would labour to know Chrift in a powerful, Practical, and experimental knowlege.

3. Labour

3. Labour fo to know Chrift, as to make him the object of your faith, and not merely as the object of your Knowlege: Many ftudy Chrift, but herein they only act as ftudents, and not as believers: Oh be acquainted with this myflery of grace! the very fetting of Chrift before the foul as the full object of juftifying faith, hath a mighty power to draw our faith upon Jefus Chrift; as the fetting a temptation before a man, hath a power to draw out his corruptions, fo the fetting of Chrift in his glory and excellency, in his active and paffive obedience, in what he is, and what he came into the world for, as an object of faith, it hath a mighty power both to draw out faith where it is, and to caufe or procure faith where it is not: Chrift is not only an object for you to work upon when you have faith," but such an object, as being fet before the foul, hath a quickning power to caufe faith; it may be your complaint, Chrift is a glorious object indeed, he is the chi feft among ten thousand; but alas! I am dead in fin, and I want a faculty to fee him favingly in all his glories. Why now fet Chrift before you as the object of faith, and fooner or later, if you belong to him, you will feel his influences: He is not only an object of faith for the foul to work upón, when it can fee, but fuch an object, as the very fetting of it before the foul, hath a quickning power to work life in the foul, to cause the eye to fee him, and to cause the heart to make after him, though it were never fo dead.

4. Labour fo to know Chrift as he is your righteouf nefs, both to expiate former iniquities, and to yield obedience to the law for your juftification. This is the Spid rit's fécond conviction of all whom he purpofeth for fal vation. First. He convinceth them of fin, and, 2dly, He convinceth them of righteoufnefs; but of what, or whofe righteoufnefs? furely not of their own. Alas! fouls in this cafe ufually look upon themfelves firft as finners eb. noxious to the law of God, and the curfe thereof, and therefore never able to expiate fo. 2dly, As creatures made to a fupernatural end, and therefore bound to anfwer the whole mind of God in the obedience required at their hands; now it being difcovered to them, that both

thef

thefe are beyond the compafs of their own endeavours, there is no other way, but to look to Christ Jesus as their righteousness, the fpirit therefore convinceth them of Chrift his righteousness: And indeed it is Chrift, and only Chrift, who first expiates former iniquities, he fatisfies for fin, and procures the remiffion of fins, In his blood we have redemption, the forgiveness of fins, Eph. i. 7. And, 2dly, He fulfils all righteoufnefs, he performs all the obedience which juftly may be required of us; For if ⚫ when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his fon, much more being reconciled, we 'fhall be faved by his life,' Rom. v. 1ó. His death reconciles us, and his life faves us; his paffive obedience, and the actual obedience which he yielded to the whole law of God, is that righteoufaels whereby we are reconciled and faved. Oh. that you would labour to know Chrift thus; as he is God your righteousness, and fo act your faith on him.

T

SECT. XII.

Of Satan's Affaults upon Defires after Chrift.

HE Holy Ghost having brought on the foul thus far, in the next place begins to breed in the heart fome defires after Chrift; and indeed how should it be otherwife? 1 he frequent difcourfes of Chrift, and of the mercies of God in Chrift to poor finners, are fo fuitable and favoury, that the foul begins to tafte fome fweetness in hearing them, and this fweetnefs firs up fome paffionate defire; Oh that Chrift were mine! Oh that I had my share in the paffion and purity of the Lord Jefus Chrift! Oh I thirst, I faint, I languish, I long for one drop of mercy; as the hart panteth for the water brooks, fo my foul panteth after thee, my Lord, and my God: Oh that my poor trembling foul were now received into the bleffed bleeding arms of Jefus Chrift!

Satan that hears this, understands well enough that now the foul is not far from the kingdom of God, it is even upon the quickning, and therefore he plies this feafon, therefore he beftirs himself with all the policy and power of hell to cause it mifcarry; q. d. Come my angels, come devils, and beftir yourselves, it may be thofe defires are

only

only flashy, it may be thefe pantings are nothing but a pang: Have not the defires of many been like lightning, foon in and foon out, too violent to hold? Or like the wind, which how ftrongly foever it seem to blow one way at prefent, yet foon after it is found in the quite contrary point: A man may be drunk with paffion and affection as really as with wine; and as it is ordinary for a man to make a bargain when he is in his cups, which he repeats of fo foon as he is fober again, fo it is ordinary for finners, who make choice of Chrift and his ways in a fermon (while their affections have been elevated above their ordinary pitch by fame moving discourse) to repent of all they have done a while after: How many have come from a fermon with a full gale of defires, but when the impreffion of the word, which heated their affections, was but once worn off, when they came to themselves again, and were as far from any fuch defires after Chrift, as ever they were bę fore? Sudden defires feldom ripen into a deliberate choice; rash and hafty wishes do bat feldom fettle into a permanent refolution to renounce fin and felf, and to caft the foul wholly on Jefus Chrift: Come then and blow on thefe defires, blaft them in the bud, that they may never bear frait, nor come to maturity of faith. Thus Satan calls on his legions, and they arm themselves against the foul, now panting and breathing after Chrift.

SECT. XIII.

Of the Soul's wrestling with Satan, as to this Affault.

THE duties, therefore that now, concern you, are

thefe:

1. Content not yourfelves with fome fudden pangs of affection, but labour to perferve thofe impreffions, which the Spirit at any time makes on your fouls. This is the caveat of the apolle, Therefore we ought to give the more earneft heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them flip, or run out as leaking veffels. It may be at present your defires are firong, earneft, eager, vehement, extreme thirfting, as the parched. earth, for refreshing fhowers, or as the hunted hart for the water-brooks; furely this is well, and herein you difference your defires, from lazy, cold, heartlefs, indiffèr

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ent