Difpos'd to take, would grace the pow'r impart,
Heav'n's offer with a free confenting heart.
His Spirit in the gofpel-chariot rides,

And fhews his loving heart to draw the bride's
Tho' oft in clouds his drawing pow'r he hides.
His love in gracious offers to her bears,
In kindly answers to her doubts and fears,
Refolving all objections, more or less,
From former fins, or prefent worthleffness.
Perfuades her mind of's conjugal confent,
And then impowers her heart to fay, Content.
Content to be divorced from the law,

No more the yoke of legal terms to draw.
Content that he diffolve the former match,
And to himfelf alone her heart attach.
Content to join with Chrift at any rate,
And wed him as her everlasting mate.
Content that he should ever wear the bays,
And of her whole falvation have the praife.
Content that he fhould rife, tho' fhe fhould fall,"
And to be nothing, that he may be all,
Content that he, becaufe fhe nought can do,
Do for her all her work, and in her too.
Here the a peremptory mind displays,
That he do all the work, get all the praife.
And now the is, which ne'er till now took place,
Content intirely to be fav'd by grace.

She owns that her damnation juft would be,
And therefore her falvation must be free:
That nothing being hers but fin and thrall,
She must be debtor unto grace for all.

Hence comes fhe to him in her naked cafe,
To be invested with his righteousness.
She comes, as guilty, to a pardon free;
As vile and filthy, to a cleanfing fea;
As poor and empty, to the richest stock;
As weak and feeble to the strongest rock;
As perifhing, unto a fhield from thrall;
As worse than nothing, to an all in all.
She, as a blinded mole, an ign'rant foul,
Comes for inftruction to the Prophet's fchool.

}

She, with a hell deferving confcious breaft,
Flees for atonement to the worthy Prieft.
She, as a flave to fin and Satan, wings
Her flight for help unto the King of kings.
She all her maladies and plagues brings forth
To this Phyfician of eternal worth.

She fpreads before his throne her filthy fore,
And lays her broken bones down at his door.
No mite fhe has to buy a crumb of blifs,
And therefore comes impov'rifh'd as the is.
By fin and Satan of all good bereft,

Comes e'en as bare as they her foul have left.
To fenfe, as free of holiness within,

As Chrift, the fpotlefs Lamb, was free of fin.
She comes by faith, true; but it fhews her want,
And brings her as a finner, not a faint;
A wretched finner flying for her good
To juftifying, fanctifying blood.

Strong faith no ftrength nor pow'r of acting vaunts,
But acts in fenfe of weaknefs and of wants.
Drain'd now of ev'ry thing that men may call
Terms and conditions of relief from thrall;
Except this one, that Jesus be her all.
When to the bride he gives efpousing faith,
It finds her under fin, and guilt, and wrath;
And makes her as a plagued wretch to fall
At Jefus' footftool for the cure of all.
Her whole falvation now in him the feeks,
And mufing thus perhaps in fecret speaks:

"Lo! all my burdens may in him be eas'd;
"The juflice I offended, he has pleas'd;
"The blifs that I have forfeit, he procur'd;
"The curfe that I deferved, he endur'd;

The law that I have broken, he obey'd; "The debt that I contracted, he has paid: "And tho' a match unfit for him I be, "I find him ev'ry way moft fit for me.

"Sweet Lord, I think, would thou thy felf impart, "I'd welcome thee with open hand and heart. "But thou that fav't by price, mufl fave by pow'r; "Ofend thy Spirit in a fiery fhow'r,

"This cold and frozen heart of mine to thaw,

"That nought fave cords of burning love can draw.
"O draw me, Lord; then will I run to thee,
"And glad into thy glowing bofom flee.
"I own myself a mass of fin and hell,
"A brat that can do nothing but rebel :
"But didft thou not, as facred pages fhew *,
(When rifing up to fpoil the hellish crew,
"That had, by thousands, finners captive made,
"And hadft in conqu'ring chains them captive led)
"Get donatives, not for thy proper gain,
"But royal bounties for rebellious men;
"Gifts, graces, and the Spirit without bounds,
"For God's new houfe with man on firmer grounds?
"O then let me a rebel now come speed,

Thy holy Spirit is the gift I need.

"His precious graces too, the glorious grant,
"Thou kindly promis'd, and I greatly want.
"Thou art exalted to the highest place,
"To give repentance forth and ev'ry grace f.
"O giver of fpiritual life and breath,
"The author and the finifher of faith ;
"Thou Husband-like muft ev'ry thing provide,
"If e'er the like of me become thy bride."

SECT. V.

Faith's view of the freedom of grace, cordial renunciation of all its own ragged righteousness, and formal acceptance of and clofing with the person of glorious Chrifi.

THE

HE bride with open eyes, that once were dim,
Sees now her whole falvation lies in him;
The Prince, who is not in difpenfing nice,
But freely gives without her pains or price.
This magnifies the wonder in her eye,
Who not a farthing has wherewith to buy ;
For now her humbled mind can difavow,
Her boafted beauty and affuming brow;
With confcious eye difcern her emptiness,
With candid lips her poverty confefs.

46

"O glory to the Lord that grace is free,

Elfe never would it light on guilty me.

Pfal. lxviii. 18.

+ Acts v. 31.

Heb. xii. 2.

"I nothing have with me to be its price,
"But hellish blackness, enmity and vice."
In former times fhe durft prefuming come,
To grace's market with a pretty fum
Of duties, prayers, tears, a boafted fet,
Expecting heav'n would thus be in her debt.
These were the price, at leaft fhe did fuppofe,
She'd be the welcomer becaufe of thofe :
But now the fees the vilenefs of her vogue,
The dung that clofe doth ev'ry duty clog,
The fin that doth her holiness reprove,
The enmity that close attends her love,
The great heart-hardness of her penitence,
The ftupid dulnefs of her vaunted fenfe,
The unbelief of former blazed faith,
The utter nothingnefs of all the hath.
The blacknefs of her beauty fhe can fee,
The pompous pride of flrain'd humility,
The naughtiness of all her tears and pray'rs;
And now renounces all her worthless wares;
And finding nothing to commend herself,
But what might damn her, her embezzled pelf;
At fov'reign grace's feet doth profirate fall,
Content to be in Jefus' debt for all.
Her noifed virtues vanish out of fight,
As ftarry tapers at meridian light;

While fweetly, humbly, the beholds at length
Chrift, as her only righteoufnefs and ftrength.
He with the view throws down his loving dart,
Impreft with pow'r into her tender heart.
The deeper that the law's fierce dart was thrown,
The deeper now the dart of love goes down:
Hence, fweetly pain'd, her cries to heav'n do flee;
"O none but Jefus, none but Chrift for me!
"O glorious Chrift! O beauty, beauty rare!,
"Ten thoufand thousand heav'ns are not fo fair.
"In him at once all beauties meet and fhine,
"The white and ruddy, human and divine.
"As in his low, he's in his high abode,
The brightest image of the unfeen God *.

* Hcb. i. 3.

"How juftly do the harpers fing above,

"His doing, dying, rifing, reigning love?

"How justly does he, when his work is done,
"Poffefs the centre of his Father's throne?
"How juflly do his awful throne before
"Seraphic armies proftrate, him adore;
"That's both by nature and donation crown'd,
"With all the grandeur of the Godhead round?
"But wilt thou, Lord, in very deed come dwell
"With me, that was a burning brand of hell?
"With me, fo juftly reckon'd worfe and lefs
Than infect, mite, or atom can express?
"Wilt thou debafe thy high imperial form,
"To match with fuch a mortal, crawling worm?
"Yea, fure thine errand to our earthly coaft,
"Was in deep love to feek and fave the loft: *
"And fince thou deign'ft the like of me to wed,
"O come and make my heart thy marriage-bed.
"Fair Jefus, wilt thou marry filthy me!
"Amen, Amen, Amen; fo let it be."

*{

CHA P. III.

The FRUITS of the Believer's Marriage with CHRIST; particularly gofpel-holine fs, and obedience to the

law as a rule.

SECT. I.

The fweet folemnity of the marriage now over, and the fad effects of the remains of a legal fpirit.

HE match is made, with little din 'tis done;

THE

But with great pow'r unequal prizes won.
The Lamb has fairly won his worthless bride;
She her great Lord, and all his store befide.
He made the pooreft bargain, though most wife;
And fhe, the fool, has won the worthy prize.
Deep floods of everlasting love and grace,
That under ground ran an eternal space,

Luke xix. 10.