their way) upon Christ, and the fatisfaction of his blood, when the efficacy and terror of confcience is upon them, and they feel the fling of guilt within them; but as soon as the storm is over, and the rod that confcience snaked over them laid by, there's no more talk of Chrift then: alas! it was not Christ, but quietness, that they fought; beware of mistaking peace for Chrift.

Direct. 3. Thirdly, In receiving Christ come empty handed unto him: "believing on him who justifies the ungodly," Rom. iv. 5. and know that the deepest sense of your own vileness, emptiness, and unworthiness, is the best frame of heart that can accompany you to Chrift. Many perfons stand off from Chrift for want of fit qualifications; they are not prepared for Christ as they should be, i. e. they would not come naked and empty, but have fomething to commend them to the Lord Jefus for acceptance. O! this is the pride of mens hearts, and the snare of the Devil. Let him that hath no money come: You are not to come to Chrift because you are qualified, but that you may be qualified with whatever you want; and the best qualification you can bring with you, is a deep sense that you have no worth nor excellency at all in you.

Direct. 4. Fourthly, In receiving Christ, beware of dangerous delays. O follow on that work till it be finished. You read of fome that are almost perfuaded, and others not far from the kingdom of God; O take heed of what the prophet says, Hofea xiii. 13. Delays here are full of danger, life is uncertain, fo are means of grace too. The man-flayer needed no motives to quicken his flight to the city of refuge.

Direct. 5. Fifthly, See that you receive all Christ, with all your heart. To receive all Christ, is to receive his person cloathed with all his offices; and to receive him with all your heart, is to receive him into your understanding, will, and affections, Acts viii. 37. As there is nothing in Christ that may be refused, so there is nothing in you from which he must be excluded.

Direct. 6. Lastly, Understand that the opening of your hearts to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, is not a work done by any power of your own, but the arm of the Lord is revealed therein, Ifa, liii. 1. It is therefore your duty and interest to be daily at the feet of God, pouring out your fouls to him in fecret, for abilities to believe. And so much, as to our actual reception of

Chrift.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ.

Setting forth the Believer's Fellowship with CHRIST, the next End of his Application to them.

PSALM XIV. 7. Therefore God thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.

T

HE method of grace in uniting souls with Jesus Chrift, hath been opened in the former discourses; thus doth the Spirit (whose office it is) make application of Christ to God's elect, the refult and next fruit whereof is communion with Chrift in his graces and benefits. Our mystical union is the very groundwork, and foundation of our sweet, foul-enriching communion, and participation of spiritual privileges; we are first ingrafted into Chrift, and then fuck the fap and fatness of the root: first married to the perfon of Christ, then endowed and instated in the privileges and benefits of Christ. This is my proper work to open at this time, and from this scripture.

"The words read, are a part of that excellent song of love *, "that heavenly Epithalamium, wherein the spiritual espoufals " of Christ and the church are figuratively, and very elegantly, celebrated and shadowed. The subject matter of this pfalm " is the very fame with the whole book of the Canticles;" and in this pfalm, under the figure of king Solomon, and the daughter of Egypt, whom he espoused, the spiritual espousals of Chrift and the church are set forth and reprefented to us. Among many rapturous and elegant expreffions in praise of this glorious bridegroom, Chrift, this is one, which you have before you : "God thy fellow hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness a"bove thy fellows:" (i. e.) enriched and filled thee, in a fingular and peculiar manner, with the fulness of the Spirit, whereby thou art confecrated to thy office: and by reason whereof thou out fhinest and excellest all the faints, who are thy fellows or copartners in these graces. So that in these words you have two parts; viz. First, The saints dignity, and Secondly, Christ's pre-eminency. First, The faints dignity, which consists in this, that they Ii 2

* Hic Pfalmus propheticus eft, continetque Epilathamium quo Cbrifti cum ecclefia nuptiæ celebrantur, idemque habet argumentum quod canticum canticorum ejusque videtur effe epitome. Cocceius in loc.

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are Christ's fellows. The Hebrew word † is very full and copious, and is translated "conforts, companions, copartners, " partakers: or, as ours read it, felows:" (i. e) such as are partakers with him in the anointing of the Spirit, who do, in their meafure, receive the fame Spirit, every Christian being anointed, modo fibi proportionato, with the same grace, and dignified with the same titles, 1 John ii. 27. Rev. i. 6. Christ and the faints are in common one with another: doth the spirit of holiness dwell in him? So it doth in them too. Is Christ king and priest? Why, so are they too by the grace of union with him. He hath made us kings and priests to God, and his Father. This is the saints dignity to be Christ's fellows, conforts, or copartners; so that look, whatever spiritual grace or excellency is in Christ, it is not appropriated to himself, but they do share with him: for indeed he was filled with the fulness of the Spirit, for their sakes and use: as the fun is filled with light, not to shine to itself, but to others; so is Christ with grace. And therefore, some translate the text, not prae confortibus, above thy fellows; but propter confortes, for thy fellows 1. Making Christ the first receptacle of grace, who first and immediately is filled from the fountain, the Godhead: but it is for his people, who receive and derive from him, according to their proportion.

This is a great truth, and the dignity of the faints lies chiefly in their partnership with Christ, though our translation, above thy fellows, fuits best, both with the importance of the word, and scape of the place.

Secondly, But then, whatever dignity is ascribed herein to the faints, there is, and still must be, a pre-eminency acknowledged, and ascribed to Chrift: if they are anointed with the spirit of grace, much more abundantly in Christ: "God thy God hath "anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

By the oil of gladness, understand the spirit of holiness, compared here with oil, of which there was a double use under the law, viz. a civil, and a facred use, It had a facred and a folemn use, in the inauguration and confecration of the Jewish kings and high-priests; it had also a civil, and common use, for the anointing their bodies ||, to make their limbs more agile,

+ מחבריו Confortes, participes, fodales, focios. Vox Hebraa quodcunque focietatis five communionis genus fignificat. Muis. ‡ Rivet.

Oil itself is pure and clear; which supplies and feeds the flame with

expedite, and nimble; to make the face shine, for it gave a luftre, freshness, and liveliness to the countenance. It was also used in lamps, to feed and maintain the fire, and give them light. These were the principal uses of oil. Now, upon all these accounts, it excellently expresseth, and, figuratively, represents to us the spirit of grace poured forth upon Christ and his people. - For,

First, By the spirit poured out upon him, he was prepared for, and confecrated to his offices; he was anointed with the Holy Ghost, and with power, Acts x. 38.

Secondly, As this precious oil runs down from Christ, the head, to the borders of his garments, I mean, as it is shed upon believers, so it exceedingly beautifies their faces, and makes them shine with glory.

Thirdly, It renders them apt, expedite, and ready to every good work; Non tardat uncta rota.

Fourthly, It kindles and maintains the flame of divine love in their fouls, and, like a lamp, enlightens their minds in the knowledge of spiritual things; the anointing teaches them.

" And this oil is here called the oil of gladness †, because "it is the cause of all joy and gladness to them that are anoint"ed with it:" Oil was used (as you heard before) at the instalment of fovereign princes, which was the day of the gladnefs of their hearts; and, among the common people, it was liberally ufed at all their festivals, but never upon their days of mourning. Whence it becomes excellently expressive of the nature and use of the spirit of grace, who is the cause and author of all joy in believers, John xvii. 13.

And with this oil of gladness is Christ said to be anointed above his fellows, i. e, to have a far greater share of the fpirit of grace than they: " For to every one of the faints is given grace according to the measure of of the gift of Christ," Eph. iv. 7. But to him the Spirit is not given by measure, John iii. 34.

fuel; hence the metaphor of anointing with oil ufed in scripture, frequently fignifies the internal illumination of the mind by the Holy Spirit, and the communication of the true knowledge of God, and suitable affections of foul to it. Moller. on the place.

† Ελαίον αγαλλιασεως dicitur id quod caufam dat fummi gaudii. Grot. in Heb. i. 9. ̓Αυτος υμιν αιτίος της δωρεας το πνευματος, και επισπασαμένος καθε εσιν ανθρωπος το πνεύμα και ημιν μεταδες. ί. ε. He is the cause of the gift of the Spirit to you, and being anointed with the Spirit as he is man, he communicates the Spirit to us allo. Ecum.

" It hath pleased the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell," Col. i. 19. and " of his fulness we all receive grace " for grace," John i. 16. The faints partake with him, and through him, in the same spirit of grace, for which reason they are his fellows; but all the grace poured out upon believers, comes exceeding short of that which God hath poured out upon Jesus Christ. The words being thus opened, give us this note...

Doct. That all true believers have a real communion, or fellowship, with the Lord Jesus Chrift.

From the faints union with Christ, there doth naturally, and immediately, result a most sweet and blessed communion or fellowship with him in graces and spiritual privileges, Eph. i. 3. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who " hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places

(or things) in Chrift: in giving us his Son, he freely gives us " all things," Rom. viii. 32. So in 1 Cor. i. 30. " Of him are ye " in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righte" ousness, fanctification and redemption." And once more,

Cor. iii. 22, 23. "All are yours, and ye are Christ's." What Christ is, and hath, is theirs by communication to them, or improvement for them; and this is very evidently implied in all those excellent scripture metaphors, by which our union with Christ is figured and shadowed out to us: as the marriageunion betwixt a man and his wife, Eph. v. 31, 32. You know that this conjugal union gives the wife interest in the estate and honour of the husband, be she never so meanly descended in herself: The natural union betwixt the head and members of the body, by which also the mystical union of Chrift and believers is fet forth, 1 Cor. xii. 12. excellently illuftrates this fellowship or communion betwixt them for from Christ "the whole bo

dy fitly joined together, and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the " measure of every part, maketh increase of the body," as the apostle speaks, Eph. iv. 16. The union betwixt the graff and the stock, which is another emblem of our union with Chrift, John xv. 1. imports, in like manner, this communion, or partnership betwixt Christ and the faints; for no fooner doth the graff take hold of the stock, but the vital sap of the stock is communicated to the graff, and both live by one and the fame juice.

† Ubi ego Cajus tu Gaja. Uxor clarefcit in radiis mariti.