It is so with respect to the union itself, the concomitant of the union, and the fruits of it.

(1.) The union itself is, in several respects, like that which is between a young man and a virgin whom he mar ries.

It is so with respect to mutual regard and affection. A faithful minister, that is in a Christian manner united to a Christian people as their pastor, has his heart united to them in the most ardent and tender affection: And they, on the other hand, have their hearts united to him, esteeming him very highly in love for his works' sake, and receiving him with honor and reverence, and willingly subjecting themselves to him, and committing themselves to his care, as being, under Christ, their head and guide.

And such a pastor and people are like a young man and virgin. united in marriage, with respect to the purity of their regard one to another. The young man gives himself to his bride in purity, as undebauched by meretricious embraces; and she also presents herself to him a chaste virgin. So in such an union of a minister and people as we are speaking of, the parties united are pure and holy in their affection and re gard one to another. The minister's heart is united to the people, not for filthy lucre, or any worldly advantage, but with a pure benevolence to them, and desire of their spiritual welfare and prosperity, and complacence in them as the children of God and followers of Christ Jesus. And, on the other hand, they love and honor him with an holy affection and esteem; and not merely as having their admiration raised, and their carnal affections moved by having their ears tickled, and their curiosity, and other fleshly principles, gratified by a flor id eloquence, and the excellency of speech and man's wis dom; but receiving him as the messenger of the Lord of Hosts, coming to them on a divine and infinitely important er rand, and with those holy qualifications that resemble the vir tues of the Lamb of God.

And as the bridegroom and bride give themselves to each other in covenant; so it is in that union we are speaking of

between a faithful pastor and a Christian people. The minister, by solemn vows, devotes himself to the people, to improve his time and strength, and spend and be spent for them, so long as God in his Providence shall continue the union: And they, on the other hand, in a holy covenant commit the care of their souls to him, and subject themselves to him.

(2.) The union between a faithful minister and a Christian people, that we are speaking of, is like that between a young man and virgin in their marriage, with respect to the concomitants of it.

When such a minister and such a people are thus united, it is attended with great joy. The minister joyfully devoting himself to the service of his Lord in the work of the ministry, as a work that he delights in: And also joyfully uniting himself to the society of the saints that he is set over, as having complacence in them, for his dear Lord's sake, whose people they are; and willingly and joyfully, on Christ's call, undertaking the labors and difficulties of the service of their souls. And they, on the other hand, joyfully receiving him as a precious gift of their ascending Redeemer. Thus a faithful minister and a Christian people are each other's joy, Rom. xv. 32. "That I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed." 2 Cor. i. 14. "As you have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as ye are ours."

Another concomitant of this union, wherein it resembles that which becomes a young man and virgin united in mar、 riage, is mutual helpfulness, and a constant care and endeavor to promote each other's good and comfort. The minister earnestly and continually seeks the profit and comfort of the souls of his people, and to guard and defend them from every thing that might annoy them, and studies and labors to promote their spiritual peace and prosperity. They, on the other hand, make it their constant care to promote his comfort, to make the burden of his great and difficult work easy, to avoid those things that might add to the difficulty of it, and that might justly be grievous to his heart; and do what in them.

lies to encourage his heart, and strengthen his hands in his work; and are ready to say to him, when called to exert himself in the more difficult parts of his work, as the people of old to Ezra the priest, when they saw him bowed down under the burden of a difficult affair, Ezra x. 4. "Arise, for this. matter belongeth to thee: We also will be with thee: Be of good courage, and do it." They spare no pains nor cost to make their pastor's outward circumstances easy and comfortable, and free from pinching necessities and distracting cares, and to put him under the best advantages to follow his great work fully and successfully.

Such a pastor and people, as it is between a couple happily united in a conjugal relation, have a mutual sympathy with cach other, a fellow feeling of each others' burdens and calamities, and a communion in each other's prosperity and joy. When the people suffer in their spiritual interests, the pastor suffers: He is afflicted when he sees their souls in trouble and darkness: He feels their wounds; and he looks on their prosperity and comfort as his own. 2 Cor. xi. 29. "Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is offended, and I burn not?" 2 Cor. vii. 13. "We were comforted in your comfort." And, on the other hand, the people feel their pastor's burdens, and rejoice in his prosperity and consolations; see Phil. iv. 14, and 2 Cor. ii. 3.

(3.) This union is like that which is between a young man and a virgin in its fruits.

One fruit of it is mutual benefit: They become meet helps one for another. The people receive great benefit by the minister, as he is their teacher to communicate spiritual instructions and counsels to them, and is set to watch over them to defend them from those enemies and calamities they are liable to; and so is, under Christ, to be both their guide and guard, as the husband is of the wife. And as the husband provides the wife with food and clothing; so the pastor, as Christ's steward, makes provision for his people, and brings forth out of his treasure things new and old, gives every one his portion of meat in due season, and is made the

instrument of spiritually clothing and adorning their souls. And, on the other hand, the minister receives benefit from the people, and they minister greatly to his spiritual good by that holy converse to which their union to him as his flock. leads them. The conjugal relation leads the persons united therein to the most intimate acquaintance and conversation with each other; so the union there is between a faithful pastor and a Christian people, leads them to intimate conversation about things of a spiritual nature: It leads the people most freely and fully to open the case of their souls to the pastor, and leads him to deal most freely, closely, and thoroughly with them in things pertaining thereto. And this conversation not only tends to their benefit, but alo greatly to his.

And the pastor receives benefit from the people outwardly, as they take care of and order his outward accommodations for his support and comfort, and do, as it were, spread and serve his table for him.

Another fruit of this union, wherein it resembles the conjugal union, is a spiritual offspring. There is wont to arise from the union of such a pastor and people, a spiritual race of the children of the congregation that are new born. These new born children of God are in the Scripture represented both as the children of ministers, as those that have begotten them through the gospel, and also as the children of the church, who is represented as their mother that hath brought them forth, and at whose breasts they are nourished; as in Isaiah liv. 1. and lxvi. 11. Gal. iv. 26. 1 Pet. ii. 2. and many other places.

Having thus briefly shewn how the uniting of faithful ministers with Christ's people in the ministerial office, when done in a due manner, is like a young man's marrying a virgin,

I proceed now to the

II. PROPOSITION, viz. That this union of ministers with the people of Christ, is in order to their being brought to the blessedness of a more glorious union, in which Christ shall rejoice over them as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride.

1. The saints are, and shall be the subjects of this blessedness. Of all the many various kinds of union of sensible and temporal things that are used in Scripture to represent the relation there is between Christ and his church; that which is between bridegroom and bride, or husband and wife, is much the most frequently made use of both in the Old and New Testament. The Holy Ghost seems to take a peculiar delight in this, as a similitude fit to represent the strict, intimate, and blessed union that is between Christ and his saints. The apostle intimates, that one end why God appointed marriage, and established so near a relation as that between husband and wife, was, that it might be a type of the union that is between Christ and his church; in Eph. v. 30, 31, 32. "For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined to his wife; and they two shall be one flesh." ....For this cause, i. e. because we are members of Christ's body, of his flesh, and of his bones: For this cause, God appointed that man and wife should be so joined together as to be one flesh, to represent this high and blessed union between Christ and his church: The apostle explains himself in the next words, "This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church." This institution of marriage, and making the man and his wife one flesh, is a great mystery; i. e. it contains in it a great mystery; there is a great and glorious mystery hid in the design of it: And the apostle tells us what that glorious mystery is, "I speak concerning Christ and the church :" As much as to say, the mystery I speak of, is that blessed union that is between Christ and his church, which I spoke of before.

This union is a blessed union indeed; of which that be tween a faithful minister and a Christian people is but a shadow. Ministers are not the proper husbands of the church, though their union to God's people, as Christ's ambassadors, in several respects resembles the conjugal relation: But Christ is the true husband of the church, to whom the souls of the saints are espoused indeed, and to whom they are united