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"we unto you, that ye alfo may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father; and with his Son Jefus Chrift." See Ifa. Ixi. 1, 2, 3. The gofpel is the filver cord let down from heaven, to draw perifhing finners to land. And, tho' the preaching of the law prepares the way of the Lord; yet it is in the word of the gospel, that Chrift and a finner meet. Now, as in the natural grafting, the branch being taken up is put into the stock; and being put into it, takes with it; and fo they are united: even fo in the fpiritual ingrafting, Chrift apprehends the finner; and the finner being apprehended of Chrift, apprehends him; and fo they become one, Philip. iii. 12.

First, Chrift apprehends the finner by his Spirit, and draws him to himfelf, 1 Cor xii. 13. For by one Spirit, we are all baptized into one body. The fame Spirit, which is in the Mediator himself, he com municates to his elect in due time; never to depart from them, but to abide in them, as a principle of life. Thus, he takes hold of them, by his own Spirit put into them; and fo the withered branch gets life. The foul is now in the hands of the Lord of life, and poffeffed by the Spirit of life: how then can it but live? The man gets a ravishing fight of Chrift's excellency, in the glafs of the gospel: he fees him a full, fuitable, and willing Saviour; and gets a heart to take him for, and inftead of all. The fpirit of faith furnisheth him with feet to come to Chrift,, and hands to receive him. What by nature he could not do, by grace he can; the Holy Spirit working in him the work of faith with power.

Secondly, The Sinner, thus apprehended, apprehends Chrift by faith, and fo takes with the bleffed ftock, Eph. iii. 17. That Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith. The foul that before tried many ways of efcape, but all in vain, doth now look again, with the eye of faith, which proves the healing look. As Aaron's rod, laid up in the tabernacle, budded, and brought forth buds, Numb. xvii. 8. So the dead branch apprehended by the Lord of life, put into, and bound up with, the glorious quickning flock, by the Spirit of life, buds forth in actual believing on Jefus Chrift, whereby this union is completed. We having the fame fpirit of faith-believe, 2 Cor. iv. 13. Thus the ftock and the graft are united, Chrift and the Chriftian are married: faith being the foul's confent to the fpiritual marriage covenant, which, as it is propofed in the gospel to mankind finners indefinitely, fo it is demonftrated, attefted, and brought home, to the man in particular, by the Holy Spirit: and fo he, being joined to the Lord, is one Spirit with him. Hereby a believer lives in and for Chrift, and Chrift lives in, and for the believer, Gal. ii. 20. I am crucified with Chrift: Nevertheless, I live, yet not I, but Chrift liveth in me. Hof. iii 3. Thou shalt not be for another man, fo will I alfo be for thee. The bonds then of this bleffed union are, the Spirit on Christ's part, and faith on the believer's part.

Now,

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Now, both the fouls and bodies of believers are united to Chrift. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17. The very bodies of believers have this honour put upon them, that they are the temples of the holy Ghaft, ver. 19. And the members of Chrift, ver. 15. When they fleep in the duft, they fleep in Jefus, 1 Theff. iv. 14. And it is in virtue of this union, they fhall be raised up out of the duft again, Rom. viii. 11 He fhall quicken your mortal bodies, by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. In token of this myftical union, the church of believers is called by the name of her head and husband, 1 Cor. xii 12. For as the body is one, and hath many members,-fo alfo is Chrift.

USE From what is faid, we may draw thefe following inferences: 1. The preaching of the law is moft neceffary. He that would ingraft, must needs ufe the fnedding knife. Sinners have many fhifts to keep them from Chrift; many things by which they keep their hold of the natural ftack: therefore, they have need to be closely pursued, and hunted out of their fculking holes, and refuge of lies.

2. Yet, it is the gospel that crowns the work: the law makes nothing perfect. The law lays open the wound, but it is the gospel that heals. The law ftrips a man, wounds him, and leaves him half-dead: the gofpel binds up his wounds, pouring in wine and oil, to heal them. By the law we are broken off: but, it is by the gofpel we are taken up, and implanted in Chrift.

3. If any man have not the Spirit of Chrift; he is none of his, Rom. viii 9. We are told of a monfter in nature, having two bodies differently animated, as appeared from contrary affections at one and the fame time; but fo united, that they were served with the selffame legs Even fo, however men may cleave to Chriit, call themfelves of the holy city, and fty themselves upon the God of Ifrael, Ifa. xlvii. 2. And they may be bound up as branches in him, John xv. 2. by the outward ties of facraments: yet, if the Spirit that dwells in Christ, dwell not in them, they are not one with him. There is a great difference betwixt adhafion and ingrafting. The ivy clafps and twifts itself about the oak; but it is not one with it, for it still grows on its own root: fo, to allude to Ifa. iv. 1. many profeffors take hold of Christ, and eat their own bread, and wear their own apparel, only they are called by his name. They stay themselves upon him, but grow upon their own root: they take him to fupport their hopes, but their delights are elsewhere.

4. The union betwixt Christ and his myftical members. is firm and indiffoluble Were it so that the believer only apprehended Christ, but Chrift apprehended not him; we could promise little on the stability of fuch an union; it might quickly be diffolved: but, as the believer apprehends Chrift by faith; fo Chrift apprehends him by his Spirit, and none fhall pluck him ou: of his hond Did the child only keep hold of the nurse, it might at length weary and let go its hold, and fo fall away: but if the have her arms about the child, it is in no hazard of falling away, even though it be not actually holden by her:

A a

fo,

yet

fo, whatever finful intermiffions may happen in the exercife of faith, the union remains fure, by reason of the conftant indwelling of the Spirit. Bleffed Jefus! All his faints are in thy hand, Deut. xxxiii. 3. It is obferved by fome, that the word Abba, is the fame, whether you read it forward or backward! whatever the believer's cafe be, the Lord is ftill to him Abba, Father.

Laftly, They have an unfure hold of Chrift, whom he has not apprehended by his Spirit. There are many half-marriages here, where the foul apprehends Chrift, but is not apprehended of him." Hence many fall away, and never rife again they let go their hold of Chrift; and when that is gone, all is gone. These are the branches in Chrift, that bear not fruit, which the husband-man taketh away, John xv. 2. Queft. How can that be? Anf These branches are fet in the stock, by a profeffion, or an unfound hypocritical faith; they are bound up with it, in the external ufe of the facraments: but the ftock and they are never knit; therefore they cannot bear fruit. And they need not be cut off, nor broken off; they are by the husbandman only taken away, or, (as the word primarily fignifies) lifted up; and fo taken away, becaufe there is nothing to hold them: they are indeed bound up with the ftock; but they have never united with it. Queft. How fhall I know if I am apprehended of Chrift? Anf. You may be fatisfied in this inquiry, if you confider and apply these two things. First, When Chrift apprehends a man by his Spirit, he is so drawn, that he comes away to Chrift with his whole heart: for true believing is believing with all the heart, Acts viii. 37. Our Lord's followers are like these who followed Saul at first, men whofe hearts God has touched, 1 Sam. x. 26. When the Spirit pours in overcoming grace, they pour out their hearts like water before him, Pfal. Ixii. 8. They floris unto him, like a river, Ifa. ii. 2. All nations shall flow unto it: namely, to the mountain of the Lord's houfe. It denotes not only the abundance of converts; but the difpofition of their fouls, in coming to Chrift: they come heartily and freely, as drawn with loving kindness, Jer. xxxi. 3. Thy people fhall be willing in the day of thy power, Pfal.cx. 3. i. e. free, ready, open-hearted, giving themselves to thee as free-will offerings. When the bridegroom has the bride's heart, it is a right marriage but fome give their hand to Chrift, who give him not their heart. They that are only driven to Chrift by terror, will furely leave him again, when that terror is gone. Terror may break a heart of ftone; but the pieces into which it is broken, ftill continue to be ftone the terrors cannot foften it into a heart of flesh Yet terror may begin the work, which love crowns: The ftrong wind, the earthquake, and the fire going before: the ftill fmall voice, in which the Lord is, may come after them. When the bleffed Jefus is seeking finners to match with him, they are bold and perverfe, they will not fpeak with him, till he hath wounded them, made them captives, and bound them with the cords of death. When this is done, then it is that he makes love to them, and wins their hearts. The Lord tells

1

us

us, Hof. ii. 16-20. That his chofen Ifrael fhall be married unto himfelf. But, how will the bride's confent be won? Why, in the hrst place, he will bring her into the wilderness, as he did the people, when he brought them out of Egypt, ver. 14. There the will be hardly dealt with, fcorched with thirst, and bitten with ferpents: and then he will peak comfortably to her, or, as the expreffion is, he will fpeak upon her heart. The finner is firft driven, and then drawn to Chrift. It is with the foul, as with Noah's dove; the was forced back again to the ark, because fhe could find nothing else to reft upon: but when she did return, the would have rested on the out fide of it, if Noah had not put forth his hand, and pulled her in, Gen. viii. 9. The Lord fends the avenger of blood in purfuit of the criminal; and he, with a fad heart, leaves his own city; and, with tears in his eyes, parts with his old acquaintance, because he dare not stay with them: and he flees for his life to the city of refuge. This is not at all his choice, it is forced work; neceffity has no law. But, when he comes to the gates, and fees the beauty of the place, the excellency and lovelinefs of it charms him; and then he enters it with heart and goodwill, faying, This is my reft, and here I will ftay; and, as one said in another cafe, I had perished unless I had perifhed.

Secondly, When Chrift apprehends a foul, the heart is difengaged from, and turned againft, fin. As in cutting off the branch from the old stock, the great idol felf is brought down, the man is powerfully taught to deny himself: fo, in the apprehending of the finner by his Spirit, that union is diffolved, which was betwixt the man and his lufts, while he was in the flesh, as the Apoftle expreffes it, Rom. viii. 5. his heart is loofed from them, though formerly as dear to him, as the members of his body; as his eyes, legs, or arms; and, instead of taking pleasure in them as fome time he did; he longs to be rid of them. When the Lord Jefus comes to a foul, in the day of converting grace; he finds it like Jerufalem, in the day of her nativity, (Ezek. xvi. 4.) with its navel not cut, drawing its fulfome nourishment and fatisfaction from its lufts: but, he cuts off this communication, that he may set the foul on the breafts of his own confolations, and give it reft in himself. And thus the Lord wounds the head and heart of fin, and the foul comes to him, faying, " Surely our fathers have inherited "lies, vanity, and things wherein there are no profit," Jer. xvi. 19. Of the Benefits flowing to true believers, from their union with Chrift.

V. And lastly, I come to speak of the benefits flowing to true believers from their union with Chrift. The chief of the particular benefits believers have by it, are justification, peace, adoption, fanctification, growth in grace, fruitfulness in good works, acceptance of thefe good works, establishment in a state of grace, fupport and a special conduct of providence about them. As for communion with Cerift, it is fuch a benefit, as being the immediate confequent of union with him, A a 2

com>

comprehends all the rest as mediate ones For look, as the branch, immediately upon its union with the ftock, hath communion with the stock, in all that is in it; fo the believer uniting with Christ, hath communion with him; in which he launcheth forth into an ocean of happiness, is led into a paradife of pleasures, and has a faving interest in the treasure hid in the field of the gofpel, the unfearchable riches of Chrift. As foon as the believer is united to Chrift, Chrift himself, in whom all fulnes dwells, is his, Cant. ii. 16. My beloved is mine, and I am his. And, how shall he not with him freely give us ALL things? Rom. vii. 32 "Whether Paul, or Apolos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things prefent, or things to come, ALL are "yours," 1 Cor iii 22. Thus communion with Chrift is the great comprehenfive bleffing, neceffarily flowing from our union with him. Let us now confider the particular benefits flowing from it, beforementioned.

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The Firft particular benefit that a finner hath by his union with Chrilt is Juftification; for being united to Chrift, he hath communion with him in his righter ufnefs, 1 Cor. i. 30. "But of him are ye in Chrift Jefus, who of God is made unto us wifdom and righteoufnefs." He ftands no more condemned; but justified before God, as being in Chrift, Rom. viii. r "There is therefore now no condemnation to "them which are in Chrift Jefus." The branches hereof are pardon of fin, and perfonal acceptance.

1, His fins are pardoned, the guilt of, then is removed. The bond obliging him to pay his debt, is cancelled God the Father takes the pen, dips it in the blood of his Son, croffeth the finner's accounts, and blotteth them out of his debt-book. The finner, out of Chrift, is bound over to the wrath of God: he is under an obligation in law, to go to the prifon of hell, and there to ly till he has paid the utmost farthing. This arifeth from the terrible fanction with which the law is fenced, which is no lefs than death, Gen. ii 17. So that the finner paffing the bounds affigned him, is as Shemei, in another cafe, a man of death, 1 Kings ii. 42. But now, being united to Chrift, God faith, Deliver him from going down to the pit; I have found a ranfim, Job xxxiii. 24. The fentence of condemnation is reverfed, the believer is,abfolved, and fet beyond the reach of the condemning law. His fins, which fometimes were fet before the Lord, Pfal. xc. 8. fo that they could not be hid, God now takes and cafts them ́all behind his back, Ifa. xxxvii. 17. Yea, he cafts them into the depths of the fea, Micah vii. 19. What falls into a brook may be got up again; but what is caft into the fea cannot be recovered. Ay, but there are fome fhallow places in the fea: true, but their fins are not caft in there, but into the depths of the fea; and the depths of the fea are devouring depths, from whence they fhall never come forth again But, what if they do not fink? He will caft them in with force; fo that they fhall go to the ground, and fink as lead in the mighty waters of the Redeemer's blood. They are not only forgiven, but forgotten,

Jer.