proceeds with us. And it shall proceed, to be far higher than ever were the swellings of Jordan. Rev. 22:1. How the brave sun doth peep up from beneath, And gives us light to see our works and ways. Nor are we now, as at the peep of light, And thus it is when Jesus shows his face, This makes Christ precious, if I consider how he did deliver me it was, 1, with his life, his blood; it cost him tears, groans, agony, separation from God; to do it, he endured his Father's wrath, bare his Father's curse, and died thousands of deaths at once. 2. He did this while I was his enemy, without my desires, without my knowledge, without my deserts; he did it unawares to me. 3. He did it freely, cheerfully, yea, he longed to die for me; yea, heaven would not hold him for the love he had to my salvation, which also he has effectually accomplished for me at Jerusalem. Jona Honorable Jesus! precious Jesus! loving Jesus! than's kindness captivated David, and made him precious in his eyes for ever. "I am distressed for thee, my brother Oh, he had delivered Jonathan," said he; "very pleasant hast thou been to me; thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women. Why, what had Jonathan done? David from the wrath of Saul. should He be precious to me, who death and hell-who hath delivered me from the wrath of hath saved me from God? "The love of Christ constraineth us." Nothing will so edge the spirit of a Christian as, "Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood." This makes the heavens themselves ring with joy and shouting. THE DAY, BEFORE THE SUN-RISING. But all this while, where 's he whose golden rays Thus 'tis with those who are possessed of grace; Oh thou loving one, Oh thou blessed one, thou deservest to have me; thou hast bought me; thou deservest to have me all; thou hast paid for me ten thousand times more than I am worth! 0 you that are upon this march [to hell,] I beseech you, consider a little. What, shall Christ become a servant for you, and will you be drudges for the devil? Shall Christ covenant with God for the salvation of sinners, and shall sinners covenant with hell, death, and the devil, for the damnation of their souls? Shall Christ come down from heaven to earth to declare this to sinners; and shall sinners stop their ears against these good tidings? Will you not hear the errand of Christ, although he telleth you tidings of peace and salvation? How if he had come, having taken a command from his Father to damn you and to send you to dwell with devils in hell? Sinners, hear this message, John 3:16, 17, etc.; he speaketh no harm, his words are eternal life; all men that give ear unto them have eternal advantage by them-advantage, I say, that never hath an end. Besides, do but consider these two things; they may have some sway upon thy soul. 1. When he came on his message, he came with tears in his eyes, and did even weepingly tender the terms of reconciliation to them-I say, with tears in his eyes. And when he came near the city with the message of peace, beholding the hardness of their hearts, he wept over it, and took up a lamentation over it, because he saw they rejected his mercy, which was tidings of peace. I say, wilt thou then slight a weeping Jesus, one that so loveth the soul that rather than he will lose thee, he will with tears persuade thee? 2. Not only so, but also when he came, he came all on a gore of blood, to proffer mercy to thee, to show thee still how dearly he did love thee; as if he had said, “Sinner, here is mercy for thee; but behold my bloody sweat, my bloody wounds, my accursed death; behold, and see what danger I have gone through to come unto thy soul. I am come indeed unto thee, and do bring thee tidings of salvation, but it cost me my heart's blood before I could come at thee, to give thee the fruits of my everlasting love." THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST. Many there are who, in the day of grace and mercy, despise those things which are indeed the birthright to heaven, who yet when the declining days appear will cry as loud as Esau, Lord, Lord, open to us;" but then, as Isaac would not repent, no more will God the Father, but will say, "I have blessed these, yea, and they shall be blessed; but as for you, Depart, you are workers of iniquity." When I had thus considered these scriptures and found that thus to understand them was not against, but according to the Scriptures, this still added further to my encouragement and comfort, and also gave a great blow to that objection to wit, that the Scriptures could not agree in the salvation of my soul. And now remained only the hinder part of the tem pest, for the thunder was gone beyond me, only some drops did still remain that now and then would fall upon me; but because my former frights and anguish were very sore and deep, therefore it oft befell me still, as it befalleth those that have been seared with the fire, I thought every voice was, "Fire, fire!" Every little touch would hurt my ten der conscience But one day, as I was passing into the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right, suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul: "Thy righteousness is in heaven;" and methought withal I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God's right hand—there, I say, as my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say to me, he wanted my righteousness, for that was just before him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever." Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed; I was loosed from my afflictions and irons; my temptations also fled away; so that from that time those dreadful scriptures of God left off to trouble me: now went I also home rejoicing, for the grace and love of God. So when I came home, I looked to see if I could find that sentence, “Thy righteousness is in heaven," but could not find such a saying; wherefore my heart began to sink again, only that was brought to my remembrance, "He is made unto us of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption." By this word I saw the other sentence true. For by this scripture I saw that the man Christ Jesus, as he is distinct from us as touching his bodily presence, so he is our righteousness and sanctification before God. Here, therefore, I lived for some time very sweetly at peace * Numb. 15:30; Jer. 7:16; Heb. 10:31; 12: 17. with God through Christ. Oh, methought, Christ! Christ! there was nothing but Christ that was before my eyes. I was now not only for looking upon this and the other benefits of Christ apart, as of his blood, burial, or resurrection, but considering him as a whole Christ-as he in whom all these, and all his other virtues, relations, offices, and oper ations met together, and that he sat on the right hand of God in heaven. Further, the Lord did also lead me into the mystery of the union with the Son of God—that I was joined to him, and that I was flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone; and now was that a sweet word to me in Eph. 5:30. By this also was my faith in him as my righteousness, the more confirmed in me; for if he and I were one, then his righteousness was mine, his merits mine, his victory also mine. Now, I could see myself in heaven and earth at once: in heaven, by my Christ, by my Head, by my Righteousness and Life, though on earth by body or person. Let divine and infinite justice turn itself which way it will, it finds One that can tell how to match it. For if it say, "I will require the satisfaction of man," there is a man to satisfy its cry; and if it say, "But I am an infinite God, and must and will have an infinite satisfaction,” here is One also that is infinite, even "fellow" with God; fellow in his essence and being; fellow in his power and strength; fellow in his wisdom; fellow in his mercy and grace, together with the rest of the attributes of God. So that, let justice turn itself which way it will, here is a complete person and a complete satisfaction. "The law," sayst thou, "must be obeyed." I answer, "Christ Jesus has done that in his own person, and justified me thereby; and for my part, I will not labor now to fulfil the law for justification, lest I should undervalue the merits of the man Christ Jesus, and what he has done |