now in the hands of the Lord of life, and possessed by the Spirit of life; how then can it but live? The man gets a ravishing sight of Christ's excellency in the glass of the gospel: he sees him a full, suitable, and willing Saviour; and gets a heart to take him for and instead of all. The spirit of faith furnisheth him with feet to come to Christ, 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 Christ by faith, and so takes with the blessed stock, Eph. iii. 17, That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith." The soul that before tried many ways of escape, 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 quickening stock, by the Spirit of life, buds forth in actual believing on Jesus Christ, whereby this union is completed. "We having the same spirit of faith-believe," 2 Cor. iv. 13. Thus the stock and the graft are united, Christ and the Christain are married: faith being the soul's consent to the spiritual marriage-covenant, which, as it is proposed in the gospel to mankind, sinners indefinitely, so it is demonstrated, attested, and brought home, to the man in particular, by the Holy Spirit: and so he being joined to the Lord, is one Spirit with him. Hereby a believer lives in, and for Christ, and Christ lives in, and for the believer, Gal. ii. 20, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live: yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Hos. iii. 3, "Thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee." The bonds then of this blessed union are, the Spirit on Christ's part, and faith on the believer's part. Now, both the souls and bodies of believers are united to Christ: "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 Ghost," ver. 19, and "the members of Christ," ver. 15. When they sleep in the dust, they "sleep in Jesus," 1 Thess. iv. 14. And it is in virtue of this union they shall be raised up out of the dust again, Rom. viii. 11, "He shall quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you." In token of this mystical 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, -so also is Christ."

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USE. From what is said, we may draw these following inferences:

1. The preaching of the law is most necessary. He that would ingraft must needs use the snedding knife. Sinners have many shifts to keep them from Christ; many things by which they keep their hold of the natural stock; therefore they have need to be closely pursued, and hunted out of their sculking holes, and refuges of lies.

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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 strips a man, wounds him, and leaves him half dead:" the gospel "binds up his wounds, pouring in wine and oil," to heal them. By the law we are broken off: but it is by the gospel we are taken up, and implanted in Christ.

3. "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," Rom. viii. 9. We are told of a monster in nature, having two bodies differently animated, as appeared from contrary affections at one and the same time; but so united, that they were served with the self-same legs. Even so, however men may cleave to Christ, call themselves of the holy city, and stay themselves upon the God of Israel," Isa. xlviii. 2, and they may be bound up as branches in him, John xv. 2, by the outward ties of sacraments: yet, if the Spirit that dwells in Christ, dwell not in them, they are not one with him. There is a great difference betwixt adhesion and ingrafting. The ivy clasps and twists itself about the oak; but it is not one with it, for it still grows on its own root: so, to allude to Isa. iv. 1, many professors "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 support their hopes, but their delights are elsewhere.

4. The union betwixt Christ and his mystical members is firm and indissoluble. Were it so that the believer only apprehended Christ, but Christ apprehended not him, we could promise little on the stability of such an union; it might quickly be dissolved; but, as the believer apprehends Christ by faith, so Christ apprehends him by his Spirit, and "none shall pluck him out of his hand." Did the child only keep hold of the nurse, it might at length weary and let go its hold, and so fall away; but if she have her arms about the child, it is in no hazard of falling away, even though it be not actually holden by her; so, whatever sinful intermissions may happen in the exercise of faith, yet the union remains sure, by reason of the constant indwelling of the Spirit. Blessed Jesus!" All his saints are in thy hand," Deut. xxxiii. 3. It is observed by

some, that the word Abba is the same, whether, you read it forward or backward! whatever the believer's case be, the Lord is still to him Abba, Father.

LASTLY, They have an unsure hold of Christ, whom he has not apprehended by his Spirit. There are many half marriages here, where the soul apprehends Christ, but is not apprehended of him. Hence many fall away, and never rise again: they let go their hold of Christ; and when that is gone, all is gone. These are the branches in Christ that bear not fruit, which the husbandman taketh away, John xv. 2. Quest. How can that be? Ans. These branches are set in the stock, by a profession, or an unsound hypocritical faith; they are bound up with it, in the external use of the sacraments, but the stock 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 signifies) " lifted up;" and so taken away, because there is nothing to hold them; they are indeed bound up with the stock, but they have never united with it.

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Quest. How shall I know if I am apprehended of Christ? Ans. You may be satisfied in this inquiry, if you consider and apply these two things.

FIRST, When Christ apprehends a man by his Spirit, he is so drawn, that he comes away to Christ with his whole heart: for true believing is "believing with all the heart." Acts viii. 37. Our Lord's followers are like those who follwed Saul at first, 66 men whose hearts God has touched," 1 Sam. x. 26. When the Spirit pours in overcoming grace, they "pour out their hearts like water before him," Psal. Ixii. 8. They flow unto him, like a river, Isa. ii. 2, "All nations shall flow unto it," namely to "the mountain of the Lord's house." It denotes not only the abundance of converts, but the disposition of their souls, in coming to Christ: they come heartily and freely, as "drawn with loving kindness," Jer. xxxi. 3. "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power," Psal. 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 some give their hand to Christ, who give him not their heart. They that are only driven to Christ by terror, will surely leave him again, when that terror is gone. Terrors may break a heart of stone; but the pieces into which it is broken still continue to be stone: the terrors cannot soften it into a heart of flesh. Yet terror may begin the work, which love crowns, "The strong wind, the earthquake, and the fire going before: the still small vioice," in which the Lord is, may

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come after them. When the blessed Jesus is seeking sinners to match with him, they are bold and perverse, they will not speak 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 us, Hos. ii. 16-20, that his chosen Israel shall be married unto himself. But, how will the bride's consent be won? Why, in the first place, he will bring her into the wilderness," as he did the people when he brought them out of Egypt, ver. 14. There she will be hardly dealt with, scorched with thirst, and bitten with serpents; and then he will "speak comfortably to her," or, as the expression is, "he will speak upon the heart.” The sinner is first driven, and then drawn to Christ. It is with the soul as with Noah's dove, she was forced back again to the ark, because she could find nothing else to rest upon; but when she did return, she would have rested on the outside of it, if Noah had not "put forth his hand and pulled her in," Gen. viii. 9. The Lord sends the avenger of blood in pursuit of the criminal; and he, with a sad heart, leaves his own city; and with tears in his eyes, parts with his old acquaintances, 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; necessity has no law. But, when he comes to the gates, and sees the beauty of the place, the excellency and loveliness of it charms him; and then he enters it with heart and good will, saying, "This is my rest, and here I will stay:" and, as one said in another case, I had perished, unless I had perished.

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SECONDLY, When Christ apprehends a soul, the heart is disengaged from, and turned against, sin. As in cutting off the branch from the old stock, the great idol Self is brought down, the man is powerfully taught to deny himself: so, in the apprehending of the sinner by the Spirit, that union is dissolved, which was betwixt the man and his lusts, while he was in the flesh, as the Apostle expresses it, Rom. viii. 5; his heart is loosed 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 some time he did, he longs to be rid of them. When the Lord Jesus comes to a soul, in the day of converting grace, he finds it like Jerusalem in the day of her nativity, (Ezek. xvi. 4,) with its navel not cut, drawing its fulsome nourishment and satisfaction from its lusts: but he cuts off this communication, that he may set the soul on the breasts of his own consolations, and give it rest in himself. And thus the Lord wounds the head and heart of sin, and the soul comes

to him saying, "Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit," Jer. xvi. 19.

Of the Benefits flowing to true believers, from their union

with Christ.

V. And lastly, I come to speak of the benefits flowing to true believers from their union with Christ. The chief of the particular benefits believers have by it, are justification, peace, adoption, sanctification, growth in grace, fruitfulness in good works, acceptance of these good works, establishment in a state of grace, support and a special conduct of providence about them. As for communion with Christ, it is such a benefit, as being the immediate consequent of union with him, comprehends all the rest as immediate ones. For, like as the branch, immediately upon its union with the stock, hath communion with the stock, in all that is in it: so the believer, uniting with Christ, hath communion with him; in which he launcheth forth into an ocean of happiness, is led into a paradise of pleasures, and has a saving interest in the treasure hid in the field of the gospel, the unsearchable riches of Christ. As soon as the believer is united to Christ, Christ himself, in whom all fulness 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. viii. 32. "Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come: ALL are yours," 1 Cor. iii. 22. This communion with Christ is the great comprehensive blessing, necessarily flowing from our union with him. Let us now consider the particular benefits flowing from it, aforementioned.

The first particular benefit that a sinner hath by his union with Christ, is Justification; for being united to Christ, he hath communion with him in his righteousness, 1 Cor.i.30, "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness." He stands no more condemned, but justified before God, as being in Christ, Rom. viii. 1, "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus." The branches hereof are pardon of sin, and personal acceptance.

First, His sins are pardoned, the guilt of them is removed. The bond obliging him to pay his debts, is cancelled. God the Father takes the pen, dips it in the blood of his Son, crosseth the sinner's accounts, and blotteth them out of his debt-book. The sinner, out of Christ, is bound over to the wrath of God: