"joice in the Lord, my foul fhall be joyful in my God; for he "hath clothed me with the garment of falvation, he hath covered "me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh him"felf with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels." Let thofe that have full tables, heavy purses, rich lands, but no Chrift, be rather objects of your pity, than envy: it is better, like ftore-cattle, to be kept lean and hungry, than with the fatted ox, to tumble in flowry meadows, thence to be led away to the fhambles. God hath not a better mercy to give than Chrift, thy portion; in him all neceffary mercies are fecured to thee, and thy wants and ftraits fanctified to thy good. O! therefore, never open thy mouth to complain against the bountiful God.

Inf. 4. Is Chrift the mercy, i. e. he in whom all the tender mercies of God towards poor finners are; then let none be difcouraged in going to Chrift, by reafon of the fin and unworthinefs that are in them his very name is mercy, and as his name is, fo is he. Poor drooping finner, encourage thyfelf in the way of faith; the Chrift to whom thou art going, is mercy itself to broken-hearted finners moving towards him in the way of faith: doubt not that mercy will repulfe thee; it is against both its name and nature so to do. Jefus Chrift is fo merciful to poor fouls that come to him, that he hath received and pardoned the chiefeft of finners; men that ftood as remote from mercy as any in the world, 1 Tim. i. 15. 1 Cor. vi. 11. Thofe that fhed the blood of Chrift, have yet been washed in that blood from their fin, Acts ii. 36, 37. Mercy receives finners, without exception of great and heinous ones. John vii. 37. If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink." Golpel invitations run, in general terms, to all finners that are heavy laden, Mat. xi. 28. When Mr Bilney the martyr heard a minifter preaching at this rate, O thou old finner, who hast been ferving the devil these fifty or fixty years; doft thou think that Chrift will receive thee now? O! faid he what a preaching of Chrift is here? Had Chrift been thus preached to me in the day of my trouble for fin, what had become of me? But, bleffed be God there is a fufficiency both of merit and mercy in Jefus Chrift for all finners, for the vileft among finners, whofe hearts fhall be made willing to come unto him. So merciful is the Lord Jefus Chrift, that he moves first, Ifa. lxit. 1, 2. fo merciful, that he upbraids none, Ezek. xviii. 22. fo merciful that he will not despise the weakeft, if fincere, defires of fouls, Ifa. xlii. 3. fo merciful, that nothing more grieves him than our unwillingness to come unto him for mercy, John v. 40. fo merciful, that he waiteth to the laft upon finners to fhew them mercy, Rom. x. 21. Mat. xxiii. 37. in a word, fo merciful, that it is his greatest joy when finners come unto him, that he may fhew them mercy, Luke xv. 5, 22.

Object. But yet it cannot enter into my thoughts that I should s obtain mercy.

Sol. First, You measure God by yourselves, 1 Sam. xxiv. 19. "If a man find his enemy, will he let him go well away ?" Man will not, but the merciful God will, upon the fubmiffion of the enemies to him.

Secondly, You are difcouraged, because you have not tried. Go to Jefus Chrift, poor diftreffed finners; try him, and then report what a Chrift thou findeft him to be.

Object. But I have neglected the time of mercy, and now it is too late.

Sol. How know you that? Have you feen the book of life, or turned over the records of eternity? Or do you not unwarrantably intrude into the fecrets of God, which belong not to you? Belides, if the treaty were at an end, how is it that thy heart is now diftreffed for fin, and folicitous after deliverance from it?

Object. But I have waited long, and yet fee no mercy for me. Sol. May not mercy be coming, and you not fee it? Or have you not waited at the wrong door? If you wait for the merey of God through Chrift, in the way of humiliation and faith, and continue waiting, affuredly mercy fhall come at last.

Inf. 5. Hath God performed the mercy promifed to the Fathers, the great mercy, the capital mercy, Jefus Chrift; then let no man diftruft God for the performance of leffer mercies contained in any other promifes of the feripture. The performance of this mercy fecures the performance of all other mercies to us. For,

First, Chrift is a greater mercy than any other which yet remains to be performed, Rom. viii. 32.

Secondly, This mercy virtually comprehends all other mercies, 1 Cor. ii. 21, 22, 23.

Thirdly, The promises that contain all other mercies, are ratified and confirmed to believers in Chrift, 2 Cor. i. 20.

Fourthly, It was much more improbable that God would bestow his own Son upon the world, than that he should bestow any other mercy upon it. Wait, therefore, in a comfortable expectation of the fulfilling of all the reft of the promifes in their feafons. Hath he given thee Chrift? He will give thee bread to eat, raiment to put on, fupport in troubles, and whatfoever elfe thy foul or body ftands in need of: The bleflings contained in all other promifes are fully fecured by the performance of this great promife; thy pardon, peace, acceptance with God now, and enjoyment of him for ever fhall be fulfilled: The great mercy, Chrift, makes way for all other mercies to the fouls of believers.

Inf.6. Laftly, How mad are they that part with Chrift, the best of mercies, to fecure and preferve any temporal lesser mercies to themselves !

Thus Demas and Judas gave up Chrift to gain a little of the world; O foul-undoing bargain! How dear do they pay for the world, that purchase it with the lofs of Chrift, and their own peace for ever!

Bleffed be God for Jefus Chrift, the Mercy of mercies.

SERMON XII.

Containing a third Motive to enliven the general Exhortation, from a third Title of CHRIST.

CANT. V. Part of Verse 16.

Yea, He is altogether lovely.

T the ninth verfe of this chapter, you have a query pro

A pounded to the spoufe, by the daughters of Jerufalem,

"What is thy beloved more than another beloved ?" To this question the fpouse returns her anfwers in the following verses, wherein the afferts his excellency in general. Ver. 10. "He is "the chiefeft among ten thousands;" confirms that general affertion, by an enumeration of his particular excellencies, to ver. 16. where the clofes up her character and encomium of her beloved, with an elegant epiphonema, in the words that I have read; "Yea, he is altogether lovely."

The words, you fee, are an affirmative propofition, setting forth the tranfcendent lovelinefs of the Lord Jefus Chrift; and naturally refolve themfelves into three parts, viz.

1. The fubject.

2. The predicate.

3. The manner of predication.

Firft, The fubject, He, viz. the Lord Jefus Chrift, after whom fhe had been seeking, for whom the was fick of love; concerning whom thefe daughters of Jerufalem had enquired: whom she had endeavoured fo graphically to defcribe in his particular excellencies. This is the great and excellent fubject of whom the here speaks.

Secondly, The predicate, or what the affirmeth or faith of him, viz. That he is a lovely one, Machamaddim, defires; according to the import of the original," which fignifies earnestly to defire, covet, "or long after that which is moft pleafant, grateful, delectable, " and admirable." The original word is both in the abstract, and

Significat appetere, expetere quod jocundum, gratum, voluptuofum, utile et amabile eft.

of the plural number, which speaks Chrift to be the very effence of all delights and pleasures, the very foul and substance of them. As all the rivers are gathered into the ocean, which is the congregation or meeting-place of all the waters in the world: fo Chrift is that ocean in which all true delights and pleasures meet.

Thirdly, The manner of predication; He is [altogether] lovely, To tus, totus defiderabilis, lovely in all, and in every part; as if the had faid, Look on him in what refpect or particular you will; caft your eye upon this lovely object, and view him any way; turn him in your ferious thoughts which way you will; confider his perfon, his offices, his works, or any other thing belonging to him; you will find him altogether lovely. There is nothing ungrateful in him, there is nothing lovely without him. Hence note,

Doct. That Jefus Chrift is the loveliest perfon fouls can fet their eyes upon, Pfal. xlv. 2. «Thou art fairer than the children " of men."

That is faid of Jefus Chrift, which cannot be faid of any crea ture; that he is altogether lovely." In opening this lovely point I fhall,

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1. Weigh the importance of this phrafe "altogether lovely." 2. Shew you in what respect Chrift is fo.

Firft, Let us weigh this excellent expreffion, and particularly confider what is contained in it, and you fhall find this expreffion "altogether lovely."

Firft, That it excludes all unlovelinefs and diftaftefulness from Jefus Chrift. So Vatablus; "There is nothing in him which is not amiable." The excellencies of Jefus Chrift are perfectly exclufives of all their oppofites; there is nothing of a contrary nature or quality found in him to alloy or debase his excellency. And in this refpect Chrift infinitely tranfcends the most excellent and lovelieft creatures. For whatsoever lovelinefs is found in them, it is not without a distasteful tang; the fairest pictures must have their fhadows: The most orient and tranfplendent stones muft have their foils to fet off their beauty; the best creature is but a bitter sweet at beft: If there be fomewhat pleafing, there is alfo fomewhat diftafting; if there be gracious and natural excellencies in the fame perfon to delight us, yet there is alfo fome natural corruption intermixed with it to diftafte us: But it is not fo in our altogether lovely Chrift; his excellencies are pure and unmixed; he is a fea of sweetness without one drop of gall,

VOL. II.

E e

Nibil in eo quod non eft amabile,

*

"Secondly, Altogether lovely, i. c. as there is nothing unlovely found in him, fo all that is in him is wholly lovely; as every ray of God is precious, fo every thing that is in Chrift is precious: Who can weigh Chrift in a pair of balances, and tell you what his worth is? "His price is above rubies, and all that thou canst defire is not to be compared with him,” Prov. viii. 11.

Thirdly, Altogether lovely, i. e. He is comprehenfive of all things that are lovely; he feals up the fum of all loveliness: Que faciunt divifa beatum, in hoc mixta fluunt: Things that fhine as fingle stars with a particular glory, all meet in Chrift as a glorious conftellation. Col. i. 19. "It pleafed the Father that in him fhould all fulness «dwell." Caft your eyes among all created beings, furvey the universe, obferve ftrength in one, beauty in a fecond, faithfulness in a third, wisdom in a fourth; but you fhall find none excelling in them all as Chrift doth. Bread hath one quality, water another, raiment another, physic another; but none hath all in itself as Chrift hath: He is bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, a garment to the naked, healing to the wounded; and whatever a foul can defire is found in him, 1 Cor. i. 30.

Fourthly, Altogether lovely, i. e. Nothing is lovely in opposition to him, or in feparation from him. If he be altogether lovely, then whatsoever is oppofite to, or feparate from him can have no lovelinefs in it; take away Chrift, and where is the loveliness of any enjoyment? The best creature-comfort out of Christ, is but a broken ciftern; it cannot hold one drop of true comfort, Pfal. Ixxiii. 26. It is with the creature, the sweetest and lovelieft creature, as with a beautiful image in the glafs: turn away the face and where is the image Riches, honours, and comfortable relations are fweet when the face of Chrift fmiles upon us through them; but without him, what empty trifles are they all?

Fifthly, Altogether lovely, i. e. Tranfcending all created excellencies in beauty and lovelinefs; fo much it speaks. If you compare Chrift and other things, be they never fo lovely, never fo excellent and defirable; Chrift carries away all loveliness from them: "He is (faith the apostle) before all things," Col. i. 17. Not only before all things in time, nature, and order; but before all things in dignity, glory, and true excellency: In all things he must have the pre-eminence. For let us but compare Christ's excellency with the creature's in a few particulars, and how evidently will the tranfcendent lovelinefs of Jefus Chrift appear! For,

Firft, All other loveliness is derivative and fecondary; but the loveliness of Christ is original and primary. Angels and men, the

The more excellent he is, the more he is to be fought after, by earnest prayer and defires. Brightman.