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Might, be increafeth Strength. They that wait upon the Lord, fhall renew their Strength: They shall mount up with Wings as Eagles, they fhall run and not be weary, they fall walk and not faint.

8. There is a Fulnefs of Comfort in Jefus Chrift. One of the sweet and lovely Names given to Jefus Chrift, is that of the Confolation of Ifrael. Luk. ii. 25. Simeon was a juft and devout Man, waiting for the Confolation of Ifrael, i. e. the promised Meffiah, Jefus Christ, who fhould comfort his People under all their Troubles outward and fpiritual. He is the Spring of all refreshing Confolation. 'Tis he that fends the holy Spirit, by whom he conveys fpiritual Comfort to forrowful Souls. When therefore his Difciples had their Hearts filled with Sorrow, on the Accouut of his being about to depart from them, he told them that if he went away, he would fend the Comforter unto them. Job. xvi. 7. The Comforting Prefence of the holy Spirit, is the Gift of Jefus Chrift. If therefore we need comfort and peace of Soul under Affliction and Tribulation, we may have it from Jefus Chrift. 2 Cor. i. 5. As the Sufferings of Chrift abound in us, fo our Confolation alfo aboundeth by Jefus Chrift. Joh. xvi. 33. Thefe Things have I fpoken to you, that in me ye might have Peace. In the World ye fball bave Tribulation; but be of good Cheer, I have overcome the World.

9. There is a Fulnefs of B'effednefs in Jefus Chrift. As he is God, he is an infinite Fountain of Glory and Bleffedness. And as he is God-man Mediator, he is poffeffed of all Bleffedness, with a Power to confer Bleffednefs on us. Job. xvii. 2. Thou hast given him Power over all Flefb, that he should give eternal Life to as many as thou haft given him. Eternal Life and Salvation are put into his Hands, to be difpenfed to us by him. I Joh. V. II. God hath given to us eternal Life, and this Life is in his Son. God has laid it up in him, depofited it with him, to be communicated to us by him. And hence Chrift fays, Job. x. 28. I give unto them eternal Life, and they fhall never perish, neither fhall any pluck them out of

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my Hand. 'Tis he that fecures from Perdition, that keeps fafe to Heaven, and that bestows eternal Life there. Our eternal Life is bid with Chrift, who is our Life, Col. iii. 3, 4. It is lodged in him, and reserved with him, to be fully beftowed on us, at his fecond Appearing, in Glory, when we alfo fhall appear with him. in Glory. In that Day he will call us up to inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, where we thall enjoy an everlasting Life of Glory and Happiness. Matth. xxv. 34, 46.

If therefore we want and defire eternal Bleffedness, it is to be had from Jefus Chrift. With him are the Words of eternal Life, Joh. vi. 68. Both the Words that teach it, and the Words that effect it. He has brought eternal Life to Light, he has revealed the Way leading to it, and he brings to the Enjoyment of it. He is the Refurrection and the Life, Joh. xi. 25. He is the raifer of the Dead, and the giver of eternal Life. If Men therefore mifs of it, 'tis when they feek it not in and from him. Job. v. 40. Te will not come unto me, that ye might bave Life.

APPLICATION.

USE 1. Hence fee the great Folly of fuch as reject and for fake Jefus Chrift. Many there be that flight and defpife Jefus Chrift. Though he be offered to them, yet they refufe to accept of him. They chufe other Things rather than Chrift. This their Way is their Folly. What is it they reject? even one, in whom dwells all Manner of Fulnefs of Good. And is it not the greatest Folly, to reject fuch a Fountain of Fulness as Jefus Chrift is? This was the Sin and Folly of God's People, whereof the Lord complains, Jer. ii. 13. Be aftonished, O ye Heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very defolate, faith the Lord for my People have committed two Evils; They have forfaken Me the Fountain of living Waters, and bewed them out Cifterns, broken Cisterns that can hold no Water. This is moft amazing and aftonishing Folly. And how righteoufly will fuch be fent away from Chrift another Day, empty and ftrip'd of all Good, and filled with

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with all the Fulnefs of the Wrath and Curfe of God And how will they in that Day condemn themselves of wretched, undoing Folly, when they fall behold that Chrift whom they would none of, in his Fulness of Glory ?

USE 2. Here fee the Blefjednéfs of all them that have an Intereft in Jefus Chrift. Of all Men in the World they are the most happy. We are apt to think thofe the happy Perfons, who have full Barns, and full Coffers: but thofe are indeed the only happy Perfons who have a full Chrift for theirs. They that have him, have one in whom there is all Fulnefs. And what can they have more? For the prefent, indeed, it does not appear how bleffed they are herein. But in the Day of Christ's fecond Appearing, all the World fhall then fee how inconceivably happy they are. When Christ shall appear, they fhall appear with him in Glory, Col. iii: 4. and fhall be like unto him, 1 Job. ii. 2. Then fhall they openly and vifibly partake of that Fulness of Glory and Bleffednefs that is in Jefus Chrift. And then fhall all Men fee and fay, that they were and are the only happy Men.

USE 3. We hence fee how excellent and precious Jefus Chrift is. He is faid to be precious, called the Pearl of great Price, fet forth by every Thing that is accounted precious and excellent. But in nothing is his glorious Worth and Excellency more difplayed, than in that Allfufficient Fulnefs that is in him. There is in him enough to fupply all our Wants, enough to fatisfy all our Defires, through Time and Eternity. O how precious fhould Christ be in our Eyes! to them who believe he is so, 1 Pet. ii. 7. And he is fo, because they fee an Emptiness in themselves, and an All-fulnefs in Jefus Chrift to fill their empty Souls. One feen to be fo fuitable and fatisfying, cannot but be greatly prized by them.

USE 4. Let us go to Jefus Chrift for all that our Souls need or defire. Under a fenfe of our fpiritual Wants, and defires of Supply, let us repair to the Lord Jefus Chrift, in whom all Fulness dwells. The People of

Ifrael in the Wilderness, when they were athirst, they drank of the Rock that followed them; when they were hungry, they fed on the Manna that fell round about their Tents; when they were ftung by the fiery flying Serpents, they looked unto the brazen Serpent for Healing. Now all thefe Things, the Rock, the Manna, the brazen Serpent, were Types of Jefus Chrift, as the Scriptures declare. And hereby we are taught, in all our Wants while in the Wildernefs of this World, to betake ourselves to Jefus Chrift for a Supply of them. There is an univerfal Fulnefs in Jefus Chrift, fo that whatever we need may be found in him, and is to be fought of him. Confider a few Things for Motive.

1. Confider, Jefus Christ counfels us to come to him for a fupply of all our fpiritual Wants. Such Counfel he gives to the Church of Laodicea, Rev. iii. 17. Thou knoweft not, that thou art wretched, and miferable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me Gold tried in the Fire, that thou mayeft be Rich; aud white Raiment, that thou mayeft be Clothed, and that the fame of thy Nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine Eyes with Eye falve, that thou mayeft fee. Jefus Chrift here directs. his Speech to them in way of Counfel, not meerly in way of Command. He does not as a Sovereign Lord charge them to come to him, but as a kind Friend advifes them to come. Herein he fhews his condefcending Grace and Goodness, giving to them, as a Counfellor, the best Advice they cou'd follow. It carries in it a Demonftration of his Good-will to them, and Defires of their Welfare. O then let his Counsel be acceptable to us, and let us hearken to his Advice. For he is fuch a Counfellor as always counfels aright; and in following his Counfel, he will guide us to Glory.

2. Confider, all Fulnefs is in Jefus Chrift for this. End, that he might fupply all our fpiritual Wants. That mediatorial Fulnefs that is in Jefus Chrift, is in him for all that come thirsting unto him. He has fuch a Fulnefs, on purpose that he might communicate thereof unto thirty Souls. Joh. i. 16. Of his Fulnrfs have all;

we received. That Fulnefs which is in the Word made Flefb, is that whereof all that believingly come to him do receive. It is therefore in Jefus Chrift, God-man Mediator, as the Head of his Church, to be conveyed to them in a Way of full Supply. Col. i. 18, 19. He is the Head of the Body, the Church-It pleafed the Father that in him all Fulnefs fhould dwell. He has, by the Will and Appointment of the Father, an All-fulness of Authority and Sufficiency to confer Pardon, Grace and Glory on all that come to him. His Fulnefs is not in him meerly for himself; for then it would be no Comfort or Relief .o us. But it is in him for us, that we might therefrom be abundantly fupplied with whatever we need. We may therefore go to him as a Store-house, in whom is laid up plentiful Provifion for us. He is our Jofeph, our Jefus, to whom our famishing Souls must have Recourfe for the Bread of Life.

3. Confider, we shall greatly honour Jefus Chrift by going to him for the fupply of all our fpiritual Wants. Hereby we do practically acknowledge him to be the Treafury of all Grace and Bleffednefs. By our Souls Application to him, and Dependance upon him for all faving Bleffings, we do own him in his Work and Office of faving Souls. We do give our Testimony to his infinite Sufficiency to accomplish our eternal Salvation. And by thus doing, we do highly honour the Lord Jefus Chrift. We give him the Glory of being the mighty God and Saviour, in whom is all our Hope and Truft for eternal Life. And this may encourage us to go to Chrift for a full fupply of all our Wants. We may be ready to queftion, whether Chrift will like it, and take it well, that we come to him for fuch great and ineftimable Bleffings; but we may as well queftion, whether Chrift will like it, that we honour him. Won't he take it well, that we glorify him? Surely he will. And this we do, by coming to him, to fill our empty Souls, from his All-fulness.

4. Confider, we fhall exceedingly pleafe God the Father, by going to Jefus Chrift for the fupply of all our

Wants,

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