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at their hands, he engageth himself in a marriage Covenant to be theirs for ever.

2. On the part of the faints. It is their free willing confent to receive, embrace, and submit unto the Lord Jefus, as their Husband, Lord and Saviour, to abide with him, fubject their fouls unto him; and to be ruled by him for ever.

Now this in the foul, is either initial, or the folemn confent at the first entrance of union, or confequential, in renewed acts of confent all our days. I fpeak of it efpecially in this latter fenfe, wherein it is proper unto communion, not in the former, wherein it primarily intendeth union.

There are two things that compleat this self refignation of the foul.

1. The liking of Chrift for his excellency, grace and fuitableness, far above all other beloveds whatever, preferring him in the judgment and mind above them all. In the place above mentioned, Cant. v. 9. 10. the spouse being earnestly preffed by profeffors at large, to give in her thoughts concerning the excellency of her beloved in comparifon of other endearments, anfwereth exprefly, that he is the chiefest of ten thousand, yea, ver. 16. altogether lovely, infinitely beyond comparison with the choiceft created good or endearment imaginable. The foul takes a view of all that is in the world, the luft of the flesh, the luft of the eyes, and the pride of life, and fees it all to be vanity, that the world paffeth away and the luft thereof,. 1 John ii. 16, 17. thefe Beloveds are no way to be compared anto him. It views alfo legal righteousness, blameJeffnefs before men, uprightnefs of converfation, duties upon conviction, and concludes of all as Paul doth, Phil. iii. 8. Doubtless I count all these things

lofs for the excellency of the knowlege of Christ Jefus my Lord. So alfo doth the church, Hof. xiv. 3, 4. reject all appearing affistances whatever, as goodly as Afhur, as promifing as idols, that God alone may be preferred. And this is the fouls entrance into conjugal communion with Jefus Christ as to perfonal grace, the conftant preferring him above all pretenders to its affections, counting all lofs and dung in comparison of him. Beloved peace, beloved natural relations, beloved wifdom and learning, beloved righteousness, beloved duties, all lofs compared with Chrift.

2. The accepting of Chrift by the will, as its only Husband, Lord and Saviour. This is called receiving of Chrift, John i. 12. and is not intended only for that folemn act whereby at first entrance we clofe with him, but also for the conftant frame of the foul in abiding with him, and owning of him, as fuch. When the foul confents to take Christ on his own terms, to fave him in his own way, Rom. ix. 31, 32. XX. 3, 4. and fays, Lord, I would have had thee and falvation in my way, that it might have been partly of mine endeavours, and as it were by the works of the law, I am now willing to receive thee, and to be faved in thy way, meerly by grace; and though I would have walked according to my own mind, yet now I wholly give up myself to be ruled by thy Spirit, for in thee have I righteoufness and ftrength, Ifa. xlv. 24. in thee am I juftified and do glory, then doth it carry on communion with Christ as to the grace of his perfon. This it is to receive the Lord Jefus in his comeliness and eminency. Let believers exercife their hearts abundantly unto this thing. This is choice communion with the Son Jefus Chrift. Let us receive him in all

his excellencies, as he bestows himself upon us. Be frequent in thoughts of faith, comparing him with other beloveds, fin, world, legal righteousness, and prefering him before them, counting them all lofs and dung in comparison of him. And let our fouls be perfuaded of his fincerity and willingness in giving himself, in all that he is, as Mediator unto us, to be ours; and let our hearts give up themfelves unto him; let us tell him, that we will be for him, and not for another; let him know it from us, he delights to hear it, yea he fays, Sweet is our voice, and our countenance is comely, and we shall not fail in the issue of fweet refreshment with him.

DIGRESSION. I.

Some excellencies of Christ proposed to confideration to endear our hearts unto him. His defcription, Cant. v. opened.

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O ftrengthen our hearts in the refignation mentioned of ourselves unto the Lord Chrift as our Husband, as also to make way for the stirring of us up to thofe confequential conjugal aflections, of which mention fhall afterwards be made, I fhall turn afide to a more full defcription of fome of the perfonal excellencies of the Lord Chrift, whereby the hearts of his faints are indeed endeared unto him.

In the Lord our righteoufnefs then, may these enfuing things be confidered, which are exceeding fuitable to prevail upon our hearts to give up themselves to be wholly his,

1. He is exceeding excellent and defireable in his Deity, and the glory thereof. He is Jehovah our righteousness, Jer. xxiii. 6. In the rejoicing of Sion at his coning to her, this is the bottom, Behold thy God, Ifa. xlix. We have seen his glory, faith the apostle, What glory is that? The glory of the only begotten Son of God, John i. 14. The choiceft faints have been afraid, and amazed at the beauty of an angel; and the ftouteft finners have trembled at the glory of one of those creatures in a low appearance, reprefenting but the back parts of their glory, who yet themfelves in their highest advancement do cover their faces at the prefence of our Beloved, as confcious to themselves of their utter difability to bear the rays of his glory, fa. vi. 2. John xii. 39, 40. He is the fellow of the Lord of hofts, Zech. xiii. 7. And though he once appeared in the form of a fervant, yet then he thought it no robbery to be equal unto God, Phil. ii. S. In the glory of this Majefty he dwells in light inacceffible. We cannot by fearching find out the Almighty to perfection, it is as high as heaven what can we do? it is deeper than hell what can we know, the measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the fea, Job xi. 7, 8, 9. We may all fay one to another of this, Surely we are more brutifh than any man, and have not the understanding of a man; we neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowlege of the holy. Who hath afcended up into heaven or defcended? Who hath gathered the wind in his fift? Who hath bound the waters in a garment? Who hath established the ends of the earth what is his name, and what is his Sons name if ye can tell? Prov. xxx. 2, 3, 4.

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any one should ask now with them in the Can

ticles, what is in the Lord Jefus our beloved, more than in other beloveds, that should make him fo defireable, and amiable, and worthy of acceptation? What is he more than others? I ask what is a king more than a beggar? Much every way. Alas! this is nothing; they were born alike, muft die alike, and after that is the judgment. What is an angel more than a worm? A worm is a creature, and an angel is no more, he that made the one to creep on the earth, made alfo the other to dwell in heaven. There is still a proportion between these, they agree in fomething. But what are all the nothings of the world, to the God infinitely blessed for evermore? Shall the duft of the ballance, or the drop of the bucket be laid in the scale against him? This is he of whom the finners in Sion are afraid and cry, Who amongst us fhall dwell with that devouring fire, who amongst us fhall inhabit with everlasting burnings? I might now give you a glimpse of his excellency in many of thofe properties and attributes, by which he difcovers himself to the faith of poor finners. But as he that goes into a garden where there are innumerable flowers in great variety, gathers not all he fees, but crops here and there one, and another; I fhall endeavour to open a door, and give an inlet into the infinite excellency of the graces of the Lord Jefus, as he is God bleffed for evermore, prefenting the reader with one or two inftances, leaving him to gather for his own ufe, what farther he pleafeth. Hence then observe,

1. The endless, bottomlefs, boundless grace and compaffion that is in him, who is thus our Hufband as he is the God of Sion. It is not the grace of a creature, nor all the grace that can poffibly at once dwell in a created nature, that will ferve our

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