Of the way and manner whereby the saints hold communion with the Lord Christ as to personal grace — The conjugal relation between Christ and the saints, Cant. 2:16 ˘ Isaiah 54:5, etc.; Cant. 3:11, opened — The way of communion in conjugal relation, Hosea 3:3; Cant. 1:15 — On the part of Christ — On the part of the saints. (2.) The next thing that comes under consideration is, the way whereby we hold communion with the Lord Christ, in respect of that personal grace whereof we have spoken. Now, this the Scripture manifests to be by the way of a conjugal relation. He is married unto us, and we unto him; which spiritual relation is attended with suitable conjugal affections. And this gives us fellowship with him as to his personal excellencies.

This the spouse expresseth, Cant. 2:16, “My Beloved is mine, and I am his;” — “He is mine, I possess him, I have interest in him, as my head and my husband; and I am his, possessed of him, owned by him, given up unto him: and that as to my Beloved in a conjugal relation.”

So Isaiah 54:5, “Thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” This is yielded as the reason why the church shall not be ashamed nor confounded, in the midst of her troubles and trials, — she is married unto her Maker, and her Redeemer is her husband. And Isaiah, chap. 61:10, setting out the mutual glory of Christ and his church in their walking together, he saith it is “as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with jewels.” Such is their condition, because such is their relation; which he also farther expresseth, chap. 62:5, “As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.” As it is with such persons in the day of their espousals, in the day of the gladness of their hearts, so is it with Christ and his saints in this relation. He is a husband to them, providing that it may be with them according to the state and condition whereinto he has taken them.

To this purpose we have his faithful engagement, Hosea 2:19,20, “I will,” saith he, “betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgement, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness.” And it is the main design of the ministry of the gospel, to prevail with men to give up themselves unto the Lord Christ, as he reveals his kindness in this engagement. Hence Paul tells the Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 11:2, that he had “espoused them unto one husband, that he might present them as a chaste virgin unto Christ.” This he had prevailed upon them for, by the preaching of the gospel, that they should give up themselves as a virgin, unto him who had betrothed them to himself as a husband.

And this is a relation wherein the Lord Jesus is exceedingly delighted, and inviteth others to behold him in this his glory, Cant. 3: it, “Go forth,” saith he, “O ye daughters of Jerusalem, and behold king Solomon with the crown wherewith his mother crowned him in the day of his espousals, and in the day of the gladness of his heart.” He calls forth the daughters of Jerusalem (all sorts of professors) to consider him in the condition of betrothing and espousing his church unto himself. Moreover, he tells them that they shall find on him two things eminently upon this account: — 1.

Honor. It is the day of his coronation, and his spouse is the crown wherewith he is crowned. For as Christ is a diadem of beauty and a crown of glory unto Zion, Isaiah 28:5; so Zion also is a diadem and a crown unto him, Isaiah 62:3. Christ makes this relation with his saints to be his glory and his honor. 2. Delight. The day of his espousals, of taking poor sinful souls into his bosom, is the day of the gladness of his heart. John was but the friend of the Bridegroom, that stood and heard his voice, when he was taking his bride unto himself; and he rejoiced greatly, John 3:29: how much more, then, must be the joy and gladness of the Bridegroom himself! even that which is expressed, Zephaniah 3:17, “he rejoiceth with joy, he joys with singing.”

It is the gladness of the heart of Christ, the joy of his soul, to take poor sinners into this relation with himself. He rejoiced in the thoughts of it from eternity, Proverbs 8:31; and always expresseth the greatest willingness to undergo the hard task required thereunto, Psalm 40:7,8; Hebrews 10:7; yea, he was pained as a woman in travail, until he had accomplished it, Luke 12:50. Because he loved his church, he gave himself for it, Ephesians 5:25, despising the shame, and enduring the cross, Hebrews 12:2, that he might enjoy his bride, — that he might be for her, and she for him, and not for another, Hosea 3:3. This is joy, when he is thus crowned by his mother. It is believers that are mother and brother of this Solomon, Matthew 12:49,50. They crown him in the day of his espousals, giving themselves to him, and becoming his glory, 2 Corinthians 8:23.

Thus he sets out his whole communion with his church under this allusion, and that most frequently. The time of his taking the church unto himself is the day of his marriage; and the church is his bride, his wife, Revelation 19:7,8. The entertainment he makes for his saints is a wedding supper, Matthew 22:3. The graces of his church are the ornaments of his queen, Psalm 45:9-14; and the fellowship he has with his saints is as that which those who are mutually beloved in a conjugal relation do hold, Cant. 1.

Hence Paul, in describing these two, makes sudden and insensible transitions from one to the other, — Ephesians 5, from verse 22 unto verse 32; concluding the whole with an application unto Christ and the church.

It is now to be inquired, in the next place, how it is that we hold communion with the person of Christ in respect of conjugal relations and affections, and wherein this does consist. Now, herein there are some things that are common unto Christ and the saints, and some things that are peculiar to each of them, as the nature of this relation does require. The whole may be reduced unto these two heads: — [1.] A mutual resignation of themselves one to the other; [2.] Mutual, consequential, conjugal affections. [1.] There is a mutual resignation, or making over of their persons one to another. This is the first act of communion, as to the personal grace of Christ. Christ makes himself over to the soul, to be his, as to all the love, care, and tenderness of a husband; and the soul gives up itself wholly unto the Lord Christ, to be his, as to all loving, tender obedience. And herein is the main of Christ’s and the saints’ espousals. This, in the prophet, is set out under a parable of himself and a harlot, Hosea 3:3, “Thou shalt abide for me,” saith he unto her, “thou shalt not be for another, and I will be for thee.” — “Poor harlot,” saith the Lord Christ, “I have bought thee unto myself with the price of mine own blood; and now, this is that which we will consent unto, — I WILL BE FOR THEE, AND THOU SHALT BE FOR ME, and not for another. 1st. Christ gives himself to the soul, with all his excellencies, righteousness, preciousness, graces, and eminencies, to be its Savior, head, and husband, for ever to dwell with it in this holy relation. He looks upon the souls of his saints, likes them well, counts them fair and beautiful, because he has made them so.

Cant. 1:15, “Behold, thou art fair, my companion; behold, thou art fair; thou hast doves’ eyes.” Let others think what they please, Christ redoubles it, that the souls of his saints are very beautiful, even perfect, through his comeliness, which he puts upon them, Ezekiel 16:14, — “Behold, thou art fair, thou art fair:” particularly, that their spiritual light is very excellent and glorious; like the eyes of a dove, tender, discerning, clear, and shining. Therefore he adds that pathetical wish of the enjoyment of this his spouse, Cant. 2:14, “O my dove,” saith he, “that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely;” — “Do not hide thyself, as one that flies to the clefts of the rocks; be not dejected, as one that hides herself behind the stairs, and is afraid to come forth to the company that inquires for her. Let not thy spirit be cast down at the weakness of thy supplications, let me yet hear thy sighs and groans, thy breathing and partings to me; they are very sweet, very delightful: and thy spiritual countenance, thy appearance in heavenly things, is comely and delightful unto me.” Neither does he leave her thus, but, chap. 4:8, presseth her hard to a closer [union] with him in this conjugal bond: “Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Herman, from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards;” — “Thou art in a wandering condition (as the Israelites of old), among lions and leopards, sins and troubles; come from thence unto me, and I will give thee refreshment,” Matthew 11:28.

Upon this invitation, the spouse boldly concludes, Cant. 7:10, that the desire of Christ is towards her; that he does indeed love her, and aim at taking her into this fellowship with himself. So, in carrying on this union, Christ freely bestoweth himself upon the soul.

Precious and excellent as he is, he becometh ours. He makes himself to be so; and with him, all his graces.

Hence saith the spouse, “‘My Beloved is mine;’ in all that he is, he is mine.” Because he is righteousness, he is “The LORD our Righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6.

Because he is the wisdom of God, and the power of God, he is “made unto us wisdom,” etc., 1 Corinthians 1:30. Thus, “the branch of the LORD is beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the earth is excellent and comely for them that are escaped of Israel,” Isaiah 4:2.

This is the first thing on the part of Christ, — the free donation and bestowing of himself upon us to be our Christ, our Beloved, as to all the ends and purposes of love, mercy, grace, and glory; whereunto in his mediation he is designed, in a marriage covenant never to be broken. This is the sum of what is intended: — The Lord Jesus Christ, fitted and prepared, by the accomplishment and furniture of his person as mediator, and the large purchase of grace and glory which he has made, to be a husband to his saints, his church, tenders himself in the promises of the gospel to them in all his desirableness; convinces them of his goodwill towards them, and his all-sufficiency for a supply of their wants; and upon their consent to accept of him, — which is all he requires or expects at their hands, — he engageth himself in a marriage covenant to be theirs for ever. 2ndly. On the part of the saints, it is their free, willing consent to receive, embrace, and submit unto the Lord Jesus, as their husband, Lord, and Savior, — to abide with him, subject their souls unto him, and to be ruled by him for ever.

Now, this in the soul is either initial, or the solemn consent at the first entrance of union; or consequential, in renewed acts of consent all our days. I speak of it especially in this latter sense, wherein it is proper unto communion; not in the former, wherein it primarily intendeth union.

There are two things that complete this self-resignation of the soul: — (1st.) The liking of Christ, for his excellency, grace, and suitableness, far above all other beloveds whatever, preferring him in the judgement and mind above them all. In the place above mentioned, Cant. 5:9, the spouse being earnestly pressed, by professors at large, to give in her thoughts concerning the excellency of her Beloved in comparison of other endearments, answereth expressly, that he is “the chiefest of ten thousand, yea,” verse 16, “altogether lovely,” infinitely beyond comparison with the choicest created good or endearment imaginable. The soul takes a view of all that is in this world, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life,” and sees it all to be vanity, — that “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof,” 1 John 2:16,17. These beloveds are no way to be compared unto him. It views also legal righteousness, blamelessness before men, uprightness of conversation, duties upon conviction, and concludes of all as Paul does, Philippians 3:8, “Doubtless, I count all these things loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” So, also, does the church, Hosea 14:3, reject all appearing assistance whatever, — as goodly as Asshur, as promising as idols, — that God alone may be preferred. And this is the soul’s entrance into conjugal communion with Jesus Christ as to personal grace, — the constant preferring him above all pretenders to its affections, counting all loss and dung in comparison of him. Beloved peace, beloved natural relations, beloved wisdom and learning, beloved righteousness, beloved duties, [are] all loss, compared with Christ. (2ndly.) The accepting of Christ by the will, as its only husband, Lord, and Savior. This is called “receiving” of Christ, John 1:12; and is not intended only for that solemn act whereby at first entrance we close with him, but also for the constant frame of the soul in abiding with him and owning of him as such. When the soul consents to take Christ on his own terms, to save him in his own way, and says, “Lord, I would have had thee and salvation in my way, that it might have been partly of mine endeavors, and as it were by the works of the law; I am now willing to receive thee and to be saved in thy way, — merely by grace: and though I would have walked according is my own mind, yet now I wholly give up myself to be ruled by thy Spirit: for in thee have I righteousness and strength, in thee am I justified and do glory;” — then does it carry on communion with Christ as to the grace of his person. This it is to receive the Lord Jesus in his comeliness and eminency. Let believers exercise their hearts abundantly unto this thing.

This is choice communion with the Son Jesus Christ. 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, sin, world, legal righteousness; and preferring him before them, counting them all loss and dung in comparison of him. And let our souls be persuaded of his sincerity and willingness in giving himself, in all that he is, as mediator unto us, to be ours; and let our hearts give up themselves 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 says, “Sweet is our voice, and our countenance is comely;” — and we shall not fail in the issue of sweet refreshment with him.

Digression 1. Some excellencies of Christ proposed to consideration, to endear our hearts unto him — His description, Cant. 5, opened.

To strengthen our hearts in the resignation mentioned of ourselves unto the Lord Christ as our husband, as also to make way for the stirring of us up to those consequential conjugal affections of which mention shall afterward be made, I shall turn aside to a more full description of some of the personal excellencies of the Lord Christ, whereby the hearts of his saints are indeed endeared unto him.

In “The LORD our Righteousness,” then, may these ensuing things be considered; which are exceeding suitable to prevail upon our hearts to give up themselves to be wholly his: — 1. He is exceeding excellent and desirable in his Deity, and the glory thereof. He is “Jehovah our Righteousness,” Jeremiah 23:6. In the rejoicing of Zion at his coming to her, this is the bottom, “Behold thy God!” Isaiah 40:9. “We have seen his glory,” saith the apostle. What glory is that? “The glory of the only-begotten Son of God,” John 1:14. The choicest saints have been afraid and amazed at the beauty of an angel; and the stoutest sinners have trembled at the glory of one of those creatures in a low appearance, representing but the back parts of their glory, who yet themselves, in their highest advancement, do cover their faces at the presence of our Beloved, as conscious to themselves of their utter disability to bear the rays of his glory, Isaiah 6:2; John 12:39-41. He is “the fellow of the Lord, of hosts,” Zechariah 13:7. And though he once appeared in the form of a servant, yet then “he thought it not robbery to be equal with God,” Philippians 2:6. In the glory of this majesty he dwells in light inaccessible. We “cannot by searching find out the Almighty unto perfection: it is as high as heaven; what can we do? deeper than hell; what can we know? the measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea,” Job 11:7-9. We may all say one to another of this, “Surely we are more brutish than any man, and have not the understanding of a man. We neither learned wisdom, nor have the knowledge of the holy.

Who has ascended up into heaven, or descended? who has gathered the wind in his fists? who has bound the waters in a garment? who has established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his Son’s name, if ye can tell,” Proverbs 30:2-4.

If any one should ask, now, with them in the Canticles, what is in the Lord Jesus, our beloved, more than in other beloveds, that should make him so desirable, 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, must die alike, and after that is the judgement. What is an angel more than a worm? A worm is a creature, and an angel is no more; he has made the one to creep in the earth, — made also the other to dwell in heaven. There is still a proportion between these, they agree in something; but what are all the nothings of the world to the God infinitely blessed for evermore? Shall the dust of the balance, or the drop of the bucket be laid in the scale against him? This is he of whom the sinners in Zion are afraid, and cry, “Who amongst us shall dwell with the devouring fire, who amongst us shall dwell with everlasting burnings?” I might now give you a glimpse of his excellency in many of those properties and attributes by which he discovers himself to the faith of poor sinners; but as he that goes into a garden where there are innumerable flowers in great variety, gathers not all he sees, but crops here and there one, and another, I shall endeavor to open a door, and give an inlet into the infinite excellency of the graces of the Lord Jesus, as he is “God blessed for evermore,” presenting the reader with one or two instances, leaving him to gather for his own use what farther he pleaseth. Hence, then, observe, — The endless, bottomless, boundless grace and compassion that is in him who is thus our husband, as he is the God of Zion. It is not the grace of a creature, nor all the grace that can possibly at once dwell in a created nature, that will serve our turn. We are too indigent to be suited with such a supply. There was a fullness of grace in the human nature of Christ, — he received not “the Spirit by measure,” John 3:34; a fullness like that of light in the sun, or of water in the sea (I speak not in respect of communication, but sufficiency); a fullness incomparably above the measure of angels: yet it was not properly an infinite fullness, — it was a created, and therefore a limited fullness. If it could be conceived as separated from the Deity, surely so many thirsty, guilty souls, as every day drink deep and large draughts of grace and mercy from him, would (if I may so speak) sink him to the very bottom; nay, it could afford no supply at all, but only in a moral way. But when the conduit of his humanity is inseparably united to the infinite, inexhaustible fountain of the Deity, who can look into the depths thereof? If, now, there be grace enough for sinners in an all-sufficient God, it is in Christ; and, indeed, in any other there cannot be enough. The Lord gives this reason for the peace and confidence of sinners, Isaiah 54:4,5, “Thou shalt not be ashamed, neither be thou confounded; for thou shalt not be put to shame.” But how shall this be? So much sin, and not ashamed! so much guilt, and not confounded! “Thy Maker,” saith he, “is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.” This is the bottom of all peace, confidence, and consolation, — the grace and mercy of our Maker, of the God of the whole earth. So are kindness and power tempered in him; he makes us, and mars us, — he is our God and our God, our Redeemer. “Look unto me,” saith he, “and be ye saved; for I am God, and none else,” Isaiah 45:22, “Surely, shall one say, In the LORD have I righteousness,” verse 24.

And on this ground it is that if all the world should (if I may so say) set themselves to drink free grace, mercy, and pardon, drawing water continually from the wells of salvation; if they should set themselves to draw from one single promise, an angel standing by and crying, “Drink, O my friends, yea, drink abundantly, take so much grace and pardon as shall be abundantly sufficient for the world of sin which is in every one of you;” — they would not be able to sink the grace of the promise one hair’s breadth. There is enough for millions of worlds, if they were; because it flows into it from an infinite, bottomless fountain. “Fear not, O worm Jacob, I am God, and not man,” is the bottom of sinners’ consolation. This is that “head of gold” mentioned, Cant. 5:11, that most precious fountain of grace and mercy. This infiniteness of grace, in respect of its spring and fountain, will answer all objections that might hinder our souls from drawing nigh to communion with him, and from a free embracing of him.

Will not this suit us in all our distresses? What is our finite guilt before it?

Show me the sinner that can spread his iniquities to the dimensions (if I may so say) of this grace. Here is mercy enough for the greatest, the oldest, the stubbornst transgressor, — “Why will ye die, O house of Israel?” Take heed of them who would rob you of the Deity of Christ. If there were no more grace for me than what can be treasured up in a mere man, I should rejoice [if] my portion might be under rocks and mountains.

Consider, hence, his eternal, free, unchangeable love. Were the love of Christ unto us but the love of a mere man, though never so excellent, innocent, and glorious, it must have a beginning, it must have an ending, and perhaps be fruitless. The love of Christ in his human nature towards his is exceeding, intense, tender, precious, compassionate, abundantly heightened by a sense of our miseries, feeling of our wants, experience of our temptations; all flowing from that rich stock of grace, pity, and compassion, which, on purpose for our good and supply, was bestowed on him: but yet this love, as such, cannot be infinite nor eternal, nor from itself absolutely unchangeable. Were it no more, though not to be paralleled nor fathomed yet our Savior could not say of it, as he does, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you,” John 15:9. His love could not be compared with and squalled unto the divine love of the Father, in those properties of eternity, fruitfulness, and unchangeableness, which are the chief anchors of the soul, rolling itself on the bosom of Christ. But now, — (1.) It is eternal: “Come ye near unto me, hear ye this; I have not,” saith he, “spoken in secret from the beginning; from the time that it was, there am I: and now the Lord GOD, and his Spirit, has sent me,” Isaiah 48:16. He himself is “yesterday, today, and for ever,” Hebrews 13:8; and so is his love, being his who is “Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the ending, which is, which was, and which is to come,” Revelation 1:11. (2.) Unchangeable. Our love is like ourselves; as we are, so are all our affections: so is the love of Christ like himself. We love one, one day, and hate him the next. He changeth, and we change also: this day he is our right hand, our right eye; the next day, “Cut him off, pluck him out.” Jesus Christ is still the same; and so is his love. “In the beginning he laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of his hands; they shall perish, but he remaineth: they all shall wax old as does a garment; and as a vesture shall he fold them up, and they shall be changed: but he is the same, and his years fail not,” Hebrews 1:10-12. He is the LORD, and he changeth not; and therefore we are not consumed. Whom he loves, he loves unto the end. His love is such as never had beginning, and never shall have ending. (3.) It is also fruitful, — fruitful in all gracious issues and effects. A man may love another as his own soul, yet perhaps that love of his cannot help him. He may thereby pity him in prison, but not relieve him; bemoan him in misery, but not help him; suffer with him in trouble, but not ease him. We cannot love grace into a child, nor mercy into a friend; we cannot love them into heaven, though it may be the great desire of our soul. It was love that made Abraham cry, “O that Ishmael might live before thee!” but it might not be.

But now the love of Christ, being the love of God, is effectual and fruitful in producing all the good things which he willeth unto his beloved. He loves life, grace, and holiness into us; he loves us also into covenant, loves us into heaven. Love in him is properly to will good to any one: whatever good Christ by his love wills to any, that willing is operative of that good.

These three qualifications of the love of Christ make it exceedingly eminent, and him exceeding desirable. How many millions of sins, in every one of the elect, every one whereof were enough to condemn them all, has this love overcome! what mountains of unbelief does it remove! Look upon the conversation of any one saint, consider the frame of his heart, see the many stains and spots, the defilements and infirmities, wherewith his life is contaminated, and tell me whether the love that bears with all this be not to be admired. And is it not the same towards thousands every day?

What streams of grace, purging, pardoning, quickening, assisting, do flow from it every day! This is our Beloved, O ye daughters of Jerusalem. 2. He is desirable and worthy our acceptation, as considered in his humanity; even therein also, in reference to us, he is exceedingly desirable.

I shall only, in this, note unto you two things: — (1.) Its freedom from sin; (2.) Its fullness of grace; — in both which regards the Scripture sets him out as exceedingly lovely and amiable. (1.) He was free frown sin; — the Lamb of God, without spot, and without blemish; the male of the flock, to be offered unto God, the curse falling on all other oblations, and them that offer them, Malachi 1:14. The purity of the snow is not to be compared with the whiteness of this lily, of this rose of Sharon, even from the womb: “For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners,” Hebrews 7:26. Sanctified persons, whose stains are in any measure washed away, are exceeding fair in the eye of Christ himself. “Thou art all fair,” saith he, “my love, thou hast no spot in thee.” How fair, then, is he who never had the least spot or stain!

It is true, Adam at his creation had this spotless purity; so had the angels: but they came immediately from the hand of God, without concurrence of any secondary cause. Jesus Christ is a plant and root out of a dry ground, a blossom from the stem of Jesse, a bud from the loins of sinful man, — born of a sinner, after there had been no innocent flesh in the world for four thousand years, every one upon the roll of his genealogy being infected therewithal. To have a flower of wonderful rarity to grow in paradise, a garden of God’s own planting, not sullied in the least, is not so strange; but, as the psalmist speaks (in another kind), to hear of it in a wood, to find it in a forest, to have a spotless bud brought forth in the wilderness of corrupted nature, is a thing which angels may desire to look into. Nay, more, this whole nature was not only defiled, but also accursed; not only unclean, but also guilty, — guilty of Adam’s transgression, in whom we have all sinned. That the human nature of Christ should be derived from hence free from guilt, free from pollution, this is to be adored.

Objection. But you will say, “How can this be? who can bring a clean thing from an unclean? How could Christ take our nature, and not the defilements of it, and the guilt of it? If Levi paid tithes in the loins of Abraham, how is it that Christ did not sin in the loins of Adam?”

Answer. There are two things in original sin: — [1.] Guilt of the first sin, which is imputed to us. We all sinned in him. “‘Eph hoi pantes hemarton”, Romans 5:12, whether we render it relatively “in whom,” or illatively, “being all have sinned,” all is one: that one sin is the sin of us all, — “omnes eramus unus ille homo”. We were all in covenant with him; he was not only a natural head, but also a federal head unto us.

As Christ is to believers, Romans 5:17; 1 Corinthians 15:22, so was he to us all; and his transgression of that covenant is reckoned to us. [2.] There is the derivation of a polluted, corrupted nature from him: “Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?” “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” and nothing else; whose wisdom and mind is corrupted also: a polluted fountain will have polluted streams. The first person corrupted nature, and that nature corrupts all persons following. Now, from both these was Christ most free: — 1st. He was never federally in Adam, and so not liable to the imputation of his sin on that account. It is true that sin was imputed to him when he was made sin; thereby he took away the sin of the world, John 1:29: but it was imputed to him in the covenant of the Mediator, through his voluntary susception, and not in the covenant of Adam, by a legal imputation. Had it been reckoned to him as a descendant from Adam, he had not been a fit high priest to have offered sacrifices for us, as not being “separate from sinners,” Hebrews 7:26. Had Adam stood in his innocence, Christ had not been incarnate, to have been a mediator for sinners; and therefore the counsel of his incarnation, morally, took not place, until after the fall. Though he was in Adam in a natural sense from his first creation, in respect of the purpose of God, Luke 3:23,38, yet he was not in him in a law sense until after the fall: so that, as to his own person, he had no more to do with the first sin of Adam, than with any personal sin of [any] one whose punishment he voluntarily took upon him; as we are not liable to the guilt of those progenitors who followed Adam, though naturally we were no less in them than in him. Therefore did he, all the days of his flesh, serve God in a covenant of works; and was therein accepted with him, having done nothing that should disannul the virtue of that covenant as to him.

This does not, then, in the least take off from his perfection. 2ndly. For the pollution of our nature, it was prevented in him from the instant of conception, Luke 1:35, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.” He was “made of a woman,” Galatians 4:4; but that portion whereof he was made was sanctified by the Holy Ghost, that what was born thereof should be a holy thing. Not only the conjunction and union of soul and body, whereby a man becomes partaker of his whole nature, and therein of the pollution of sin, being a son of Adam, was prevented by the sanctification of the Holy Ghost, but it also accompanied the very separation of his bodily substance in the womb unto that sacred purpose whereunto it was set apart: so that upon all accounts he is “holy, harmless, undefiled.” Add now hereunto, that he “did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth,” 1 Peter 2:22; that he “fulfilled all righteousness,” Matthew 3:15; his Father being always “well pleased” with him, verse 17, on the account of his perfect obedience; yea, even in that sense wherein he chargeth his angels with folly, and those inhabitants of heaven are not clean in his sight; and his excellency and desirableness in this regard will lie before us. Such was he, such is he; and yet for our sakes was he contented not only to be esteemed by the vilest of men to be a transgressor, but to undergo from God the punishment due to the vilest sinners. Of which afterward. (2.) The fullness of grace in Christ’s human nature sets forth the amiableness and desirableness thereof. Should I make it my business to consider his perfections, as to this part of his excellency, — what he had from the womb, Luke 1:35, what received growth and improvement as to exercise in the days of his flesh, Luke 2:52, with the complement of them all in glory, — the whole would tend to the purpose in hand. I am but taking a view of these things in transits. These two things lie in open sight to all at the first consideration: — all grace was in him, for the kinds thereof; and all degrees of grace, for its perfections; and both of them make up that fullness that was in him. It is created grace that I intend; and therefore I speak of the kinds of it: it is grace inherent in a created nature, not infinite; and therefore I speak of the degrees of it.

For the fountain of grace, the Holy Ghost, he received not him “by measure,” John 3:34; and for the communications of the Spirit, “it pleased the Father that in him should all fullness dwell,” Colossians 1:19, — “that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.” But these things are commonly spoken unto.

This is the Beloved of our souls, “holy, harmless, undefiled;” “full of grace and truth;” — full, to a sufficiency for every end of grace, — full, for practice, to be an example to men and angels as to obedience, full, to a certainty of uninterrupted communion with God, — full, to a readiness of giving supply to others, — full, to suit him to all the occasions and necessities of the souls of men, — full, to a glory not unbecoming a subsistence in the person of the Son of God, — full, to a perfect victory, in trials, over all temptations, — full, to an exact correspondence to the whole law, every righteous and holy law of God, full to the utmost capacity of a limited, created, finite nature, — full, to the greatest beauty and glory of a living temple of God, — full, to the full pleasure and delight of the soul of his Father, — full to an everlasting monument of the glory of God, in giving such inconceivable excellencies to the Son of man.

And this is the second thing considerable for the endearing of our souls to our Beloved. 3. Consider that he is all this in one person. We have not been treating of two, a God and a man; but of one who is God and man. That Word that was with God in the beginning, and was God, John 1:1, is also made flesh, verse 14; — not by a conversion of itself into flesh; not by appearing in the outward shape and likeness of flesh; but by assuming that holy thing that was born of the virgin, Luke 1:35, into personal union with himself.

So “The mighty God,” Isaiah 9:6, is a “child given” to us; that holy thing that was born of the virgin is called “The Son of God,” Luke 1:35. That which made the man Christ Jesus to be a man, was the union of soul and body; that which made him that man, and without which he was not the man, was the subsistence of both united in the person of the Son of God.

As to the proof hereof, I have spoken of it elsewhere at large; I now propose it only in general, to show the amiableness of Christ on this account. Here lies, hence arises, the grace, peace, life, and security of the church, — of all believers; as by some few considerations may be clearly evinced: — (1.) Hence was he fit to suffer and able to bear whatever was due unto us, in that very action wherein the “Son of man gave his life a ransom for many,” Matthew 20:28. “God redeemed his church with his own blood,” Acts 20:28; and therein was the “love of God seen, that he gave his life for us,” 1 John 3:16. On this account was there room, enough in his breast to receive the points of all the swords that were sharpened by the law against us; and strength enough in his shoulders to bear the burden of that curse that was due to us. Thence was he so willing to undertake the work of our redemption, Hebrews 10:7,8, “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God,” because he knew his ability to go through with it. Had he not been man, he could not have suffered; — had he not been God, his suffering could not have availed either himself or us, — he had not satisfied; the suffering of a mere man could not bear any proportion to that which in any respect was infinite. Had the great and righteous God gathered together all the sins that had been committed by his elect from the foundation of the world, and searched the bosoms of all that were to come to the end of the world, and taken them all, from the sin of their nature to the least deviation from the rectitude of his most holy law, and the highest provocation of their regenerate and unregenerate condition, and laid them on a mere holy, innocent, creature; — O how would they have overwhelmed him, and buried him for ever out of the presence of God’s love! Therefore does the apostle premise that glorious description of him to the purging of our sin: “He has spoken unto us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power,” has “purged our sins.” Hebrews 1:2,3. It was he that purged our sins, who was the Son and heir of all things, by whom the world was made, — the brightness of his Father’s glory, and express image of his person; he did it, he alone was able to do it. “God was manifested in the flesh,” 1 Timothy 3:16, for this work. The sword awaked against him that was the fellow of the Lord of hosts, Zechariah 13:7; and by the wounds of that great shepherd are the sheep healed, 1 Peter 2:24,25. (2.) Hence does he become an endless, bottomless fountain of grace to all them that believe. The fullness that it pleased the Father to commit to Christ, to be the great treasury and storehouse of the church, did not, does not, lie in the human nature, considered in itself; but in the person of the mediator, God and man. Consider wherein his communication of grace does consist, and this will be evident. The foundation of all is laid in his satisfaction, merit, and purchase; these are the morally procuring cause of all the grace we receive from Christ. Hence all grace becomes to be his; all the things of the new covenant, the promises of God, all the mercy, love, grace, glory promised, became, I say, to be his. Not as though they were all actually invested, or did reside and were in the human nature, and were from thence really communicated to us by a participation of a portion of what did so inhere: but they are morally his, by a compact, to be bestowed by him as he thinks good, as he is mediator, God and man; that is, the only begotten Son made flesh, John 1:14, “from whose fullness we receive, and grace for grace.” The real communication of grace is by Christ sending the Holy Ghost to regenerate us, and to create all the habitual grace, with the daily supplies thereof, in our hearts, that we are made partakers of. Now the Holy Ghost is thus sent by Christ as mediator, God and man, as is at large declared, John 14; 15; 16; of which more afterward. This, then, is that which I intend by this fullness of grace that is in Christ, from whence we have both our beginning and all our supplies; which makes him, as he is the alpha and Omega of his church, the beginner and finisher of our faith, excellent and desirable to our souls: — Upon the payment of the great price of his blood, and full acquitment on the satisfaction he made, all grace whatever (of which at large afterward) becomes, in a moral sense, his, at his disposal; and he bestows it on, or works it in, the hearts of his by the Holy Ghost, according as, in his infinite wisdom, he sees it needful. How glorious is he to the soul on this consideration! That is most excellent to us which suits us in a wanting condition, — that which gives bread to the hungry, water to the thirsty, mercy to the perishing. All our reliefs are thus in our Beloved. Here is the life of our souls, the joy of our hearts, our relief against sin and deliverance from the wrath to come. (3.) Thus is he fitted for a mediator, a days-man, an umpire between God and us, — being one with him, and one with us, and one in himself in this oneness, in the unity of one person. His ability and universal fitness for his office of mediator are hence usually demonstrated. And herein is he “Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God.” Herein shines out the infinitely glorious wisdom of God; which we may better admire than express. What soul that has any acquaintance with these things falls not down with reverence and astonishment? How glorious is he that is the Beloved of our souls! What can be wanting that should encourage us to take up our rest and peace in his bosom? Unless all ways of relief and refreshment be so obstructed by unbelief, that no consideration can reach the heart to yield it the least assistance, it is impossible but that from hence the soul may gather that which will endear it unto him with whom we have to do. Let us dwell on the thoughts of it.

This is the hidden mystery; great without controversy; admirable to eternity. What poor, low, perishing things do we spend our contemplations on! Were we to have no advantage by this astonishing dispensation, yet its excellency, glory, beauty, depths, deserve the flower of our inquiries, the vigor of our spirits, the substance of our time; but when, withal, our life, our peace, our joy, our inheritance, our eternity, our all, lies herein, shall not the thoughts of it always dwell in our hearts, always refresh and delight our souls? (4.) He is excellent and glorious in this, — in that he is exalted and invested with all authority. When Jacob heard of the exaltation of his son Joseph in Egypt, and saw the chariots that he had sent for him, his spirit fainted and recovered again, through abundance of joy and other overflowing affections. Is our Beloved lost, who for our sakes was upon the earth poor and persecuted, reviled, killed?

No! he was dead, but he is alive, and, lo, he lives for ever and ever, and has the keys of hell and of death. Our Beloved is made a Lord and ruler, Acts 2:36. He is made a king; God sets him his king on his holy hill of Zion, Psalm 2:6; and he is crowned with honor and dignity, after he had been “made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,” Hebrews 2:7-9. And what is he made king of? “All things are put in subjection under his feet,” verse 8. And what power over them has our Beloved? “All power in heaven and earth,” Matthew 28:18. As for men, he has power given him “over all flesh,” John 17:2. And in what glory does he exercise this power? He gives eternal life to his elect; ruling them in the power of God, Micah 5:4, until he bring them to himself: and for his enemies, his arrows are sharp in their hearts, Psalm 45:5; he dips his vesture in their blood. Oh, how glorious is he in his authority over his enemies! In this world he terrifies, frightens, awes, convinces, bruises their hearts and consciences, — fills them with fear, terror, disquietment, until they yield him feigned obedience; and sometimes with outward judgements bruises, breaks, turns the wheel upon them, — stains all his vesture with their blood, — fills the earth with their caresses: and at last will gather them all together, beast, false prophet, nations, etc., and cast them into that lake that burns with fire and brimstone.

He is gloriously exalted above angels in this his authority, good and bad, Ephesians 1:20-22, “far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” They are all under his feet, — at his command and absolute disposal. He is at the right hand of God, in the highest exaltation possible, and in full possession of a kingdom over the whole creation; having received a “name above every name,” etc., Philippians 2:9.

Thus is he glorious in his throne, which is at “the right hand of the majesty on high;” glorious in his commission, which is “all power in heaven and earth;” glorious in his name, a name above every name, — “Lord of lords, and King of kings;” glorious in his scepter, — “a scepter of righteousness is the scepter of his kingdom;” glorious in his attendants, — “his chariots are twenty thousand, even thousands of angels,” among them he rideth on the heavens, and sendeth out the voice of his strength, attended with ten thousand times ten thousand of his holy ones; glorious in his subjects, — all creatures in heaven and in earth, nothing is left that is not put in subjection to him; glorious in his way of rule, and the administration of his kingdom, — full of sweetness, efficacy, power, serenity, holiness, righteousness, and grace, in and towards his elect, — of terror, vengeance, and certain destruction towards the rebellious angels and men; glorious in the issue of his kingdom, when every knee shall bow before him, and all shall stand before his judgement-seat. And what a little portion of his glory is it that we have pointed to! This is the beloved of the church, — its head, its husband; this is he with whom we have communion: but of the whole exaltation of Jesus Christ I am elsewhere to treat at large.

Having insisted on these generals, for the farther carrying on the motives to communion with Christ, in the relation mentioned, taken from his excellencies and perfections, I shall reflect on the description given of him by the spouse in the Canticles, to this very end and purpose Chant. 5:10-16, “My Beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand. His head is as the most fine gold, his locks are bushy, and black as a raven. His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set. His cheeks are as a bed of spices, as sweet flowers: his lips like lilies, dropping sweet-smelling myrrh. His hands are as gold rings, set with the beryl: his belly is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. His legs are as pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: his countenance is as Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my Beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.”

The general description given of him, verse 10, has been before considered; the ensuing particulars are instances to make good the assertion that he is “the chiefest among ten thousand.”

The spouse begins with his head and face, verses 11-13. In his head, she speaks first in general, unto the substance of it, — it is “fine gold;” and then in particular, as to its ornaments, — “his locks are bushy, and black as a raven.” 1. “His head is as the most one gold,” or, “His head gold, solid gold;” so some; — “made of pure gold;” so others; — “chrusion kefale”, say the LXX, retaining part of both the Hebrew words, to “ketem paz”, “massa auri.”

Two things are eminent in gold, — splendor or glory, and duration. This is that which the spouse speaks of the head of Christ. His head is his government, authority, and kingdom. Hence it is said, “A crown of pure gold was on his head,” Psalm 21:3; and his head is here said to be gold, because of the crown of gold that adorns it, — as the monarchy in Daniel that was most eminent for glory and duration, is termed a “head of gold,” Daniel 2:38. And these two things are eminent in the kingdom and authority of Christ: — (1.) It is a glorious kingdom; he is full of glory and majesty, and in his majesty he rides “prosperously,” Psalm 45:3,4. “His glory is great in the salvation of God: honor and majesty are laid upon him: he is made blessed for ever and ever,” Psalm 21:5,6. I might insist on particulars, and show that there is not any thing that may render a kingdom or government glorious, but it is in this of Christ in all its excellencies. It is a heavenly, a spiritual, a universal, and a shaken kingdom; all which render it glorious. But of this, somewhat before. (2.) It is durable, yea, sterna], — solid gold. “His throne is for ever and ever,” Psalm 45:6; “of the increase of his government there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgement and with justice from henceforth even for ever,” Isaiah 9:7. “His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,” Daniel 7:27, — “a kingdom that shall never be destroyed,” chap. 2:44; for he must reign until all his enemies be subdued. This is that head of gold, — the splendor and eternity of his government.

And if you take the head in a natural sense, either the glory of his Deity is here attended to, or the fullness and excellency of his wisdom, which the head is the seat of. The allegory is not to be straitened, whilst we keep to the analogy of faith. 2. For the ornaments of his head; his locks, they are said to be “bushy,” or curled, “black as a raven.” His curled locks are black; “as a raven,” is added by way of illustration of the blackness, not with any allusion to the nature of the raven. Take the head spoken of in a political sense: his locks of hair — said to be curled, as seeming to be entangled, but really falling in perfect order and beauty, as bushy locks — are his thoughts, and counsels, and ways, in the administration of his kingdom. They are black or dark, because of their depth and unsearchableness, — as God is said to dwell in thick darkness; and curled or brushy, because of their exact interweavings, from his infinite wisdom. His thoughts are many as the hairs of the head, seeming to be perplexed and entangled, but really set in a comely order, as curled bushy hair; deep and unsearchable, and dreadful to his enemies, and full of beauty and comeliness to his beloved. Such are, I say, the thoughts of his heart, the counsels of his wisdom, in reference to the administrations of his kingdom: — dark, perplexed, involved, to a carnal eye; in themselves, and to his saints, deep, manifold, ordered in all things, comely, desirable.

In a natural sense, black and curled locks denote comeliness, and vigor of youth. The strength and power of Christ, in the execution of his counsels, in all his ways, appears glorious and lovely.

The next thing described in him is his eyes. Verse 12, “His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers of waters, washed with milk, and fitly set.”

The reason of this allusion is obvious: — doves are tender birds, not