The first is, to bring up their faith of acceptance to the faith of assurance. You that have received Jesus Christ truly, give yourselves no rest till you are fully satisfied that you have done so; acceptance brings you to heaven hereafter, but assurance will bring heaven into your souls now. 0 what a life of delight and pleasure doth the assured believer live! What pleasure is it to him to look back, and consider where he once was, and where he now is! to look forward, and consider where he now is, and where shortly he shall be! "I was in my sins, I am now in Christ; I am in Christ now, I shall be with Christ, and that for ever, after a few days. I was upon the brink of hell, I am now upon the very borders of heaven; I shall be in a very little while among the innumerable company of angels and glorified saints, bearing part with them in the song of Moses and of the Lamb for evermore."

So you

And why may not you that have received Christ receive the comfort of your union with him? All the grounds and helps of assurance are furnished to your hand; there is a real union betwixt Christ and your souls which is the very groundwork of assurance. You have the Scriptures before you, which contain the signs of faith, and the very things within you that answer those signs in the word read; and so, just so, you might feel it in your own hearts would you attend to your own experience. The Spirit of God is ready to seal you; it is his office and his delight so to do. O give diligence to this work; attend to the study of the Scriptures and of your own hearts more, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, and you may arrive to the very desire of your hearts!

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The other duty is, to bring up your life to the excellent principles and rules of faith: As ye have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him," Col. ii. 6. Live as you believe; you received Christ sincerely in your first close with him, O maintain no less seriousness and sincerity in all your ways to the end of your lives! you received him entirely and undividedly at first, let there be no exceptions against any of his commands afterwards. You received him exclusively of all others, see that you watch against all self-righteousness and self-conceitedness now, and mingle nothing of your own with his blood, whatever gifts or enlargements in duty God shall give you afterwards.

You received him advisedly at first, weighing and considering the self-denying terms upon which he was offered

to you, O show that it was real, and that you see no cause to repent of the consecration made, whatever you shall meet with in the ways of Christ and duty! convince the world of your constancy and cheerfulness in all your sufferings for Christ, that Christ with his cross, Christ with a prison, Christ with the greatest afflictions, is worthy of all acceptation. 66 As ye have received him, so walk ye in him." Let him be as sweet, as lovely, as precious to you now, as he was in the first moment you received him; yea, let your love to him, delight in him, and self-denial for him, increase with your acquaintance with him day by day.

9. I close, with a few words of direction to all that are made willing to receive the Lord Jesus Christ; and, surely it is well, that help be given to poor Christians in this matter; it is a time of trouble, fear, and great temptation; mistakes are easily made of dangerous consequence; attend heedfully, therefore, to a few directions:

(1.) In your receiving Christ, beware you do not mistake the means for the end. Many do so, but see you do not. Prayer, sermons, reformations, are means to bring you to Christ, but they are not Christ; to close with those duties is one thing, and to close with Christ is another thing. If I go into a boat, my design is not to dwell there, but to be carried to the place where I desire to be landed: so it must be in this case; all your duties must land you upon Christ -they are means to bring you to Christ.

(2.) See that you receive Christ, not for a present help merely, but for your everlasting portion. Many inquire after Christ, pray for Christ, cast themselves (in their way) upon Christ and the satisfaction of his blood, when the efficacy and terror of conscience is upon them and they feel the sting of guilt within; but as soon as the storm is over, and the rod that conscience shook over them is laid by, there is no more talk of Christ: alas! it was not Christ, but quietness, that they sought. Beware of mistaking peace for Christ.

(3.) In receiving Christ, come empty-handed to him, believing on him who justifies the ungodly, Rom. iv. 5, and know, that the deepest sense of your own vileness, emptiness, and unworthiness is the best frame of heart that can accompany you to Christ. Many persons stand off from Christ for want of fit qualifications; they think they are not prepared for Christ as they should be: they would not come naked and empty, but would have something to

commend them to the Lord Jesus for acceptance. O, this is the pride of men's hearts and the snare of the devil! Let “him that hath no money" come. You are not to come to Christ because you are qualified, but that you may be qualified with whatever you want; and the best qualification you can bring, is a deep sense that you have no worth nor excellency at all in you.

(4.) In receiving Christ, beware of dangerous delays. O, follow on that work till it be finished! You read of some that are almost persuaded, and of others not far from the kingdom of God; O, take heed of what the prophet says, Hosea xiii. 13. Delays here are full of danger; life is uncertain, so are means of grace. The man-slayer needed no motives to quicken his flight to the city of refuge.

(5.) See that you receive Christ with all your heart. To receive Christ, is to receive his person clothed with all his offices; and to receive him with all your heart, is to receive him into your understanding, will, and affections, Acts viii. 37. As there is nothing in Christ that may be refused, so there is nothing in you from which he must be excluded.

(6.) Finally, understand that the opening of your hearts to receive the Lord Jesus Christ, is not a work done by any power of your own, but the arm of the Lord is revealed therein, Isa. liii. 1. It is, therefore, your duty and interest to be daily at the feet of God, pouring out your soul to him in secret, that he may work in you the genuine faith of his own people.

Thanks be to God for Jesus Christ!

SERMON VIII.

THE BELIEVER'S FELLOWSHIP WITH CHRIST.

Therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows. Psalm xlv. 7.

THE method of grace in uniting souls with Jesus Christ has been shown: thus does the Spirit (whose office it is) make application of Christ to God's people; the result and next fruit of which is communion with Christ in his graces and benefits. Our union with Christ is the very groundwork and foundation of our sweet, soul-enriching communion and participation of spiritual privileges: we are first engrafted into Christ, and then suck the sap and fatness of the root; first, married to the person of Christ, then endowed with the privileges and benefits of Christ. To this communion with Christ the portion of Scripture selected now calls our attention.

The words are a part of that excellent Psalm, or song of love, wherein the spiritual espousals of Christ and the church are figuratively and very elegantly celebrated and shadowed. The subject of this Psalm is the same as that of the whole book of the Canticles, in which the spiritual espousals of Christ and the church are set forth and represented to us. Among many rapturous and elegant expressions in praise of this glorious Bridegroom, Christ, this is one: "God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows:" that is, enriched and filled thee in a singular and peculiar manner with the fulness of the Spirit, whereby thou art consecrated to thy office; and by reason whereof thou outshinest and excellest all the saints, who are thy fellows, or copartners in these graces. So that, in these words, you have two parts: the saints' dignity, and Christ's pre-eminence.

1. The saints' dignity, which consists in this, that they are Christ's fellows. The Hebrew word is very full and

copious, and is translated consorts, companions, co-partners, partakers: that is, such as are partakers with him in the anointing of the Spirit; who do in their measure receive the same Spirit, being anointed with the same grace and dignified with the same titles, 1 John ii. 27; Rev. i. 6. Does the Spirit of holiness dwell in him? so it does in them too. Is Christ king and priest? so are they by the grace of union with him. He hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father." This is the saints' dignity, to be Christ's fellows, consorts, or copartners; so that whatever spiritual grace or excellence is in Christ, it is not appropriated to himself, but they share it with him; for, indeed, he was filled with the fulness of the Spirit for their sakes. As the sun is filled with light not to shine to itself but to others, so is Christ with grace. But,

2. Whatever dignity is here ascribed to the saints, there is, and still must be, a pre-eminence acknowledged and ascribed to Christ: if they are anointed with the Spirit of grace, much more abundantly is Christ: "God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows."

By the oil of gladness, understand the spirit of holiness, compared here to oil, of which there was under the law a civil and a sacred use. It had a sacred and a solemn use in the inauguration and consecration of the Jewish kings and high-priests: it had also a civil and common use for anointing their bodies to make their limbs more agile and nimble; to make the face shine, for it gave a lustre, freshness and liveliness to the countenance. By the Spirit of grace poured forth upon Christ he was prepared for and consecrated to his offices; he was anointed "with the Holy Ghost and with power," Acts x. 38. And as this precious oil runs down from Christ, the Head, to the borders of his garments; I mean, as it is shed upon believers, so it exceedingly beautifies their faces and makes them shine with glory-it renders them apt and ready to every good work. It kindles and maintains the flame of Divine love in their souls, and, like a lamp, enlightens their minds in the knowledge of spiritual things.

And this oil is here called the oil of gladness, because it is the cause of all joy and gladness to them that are anointed with it. The anointing or instalment of sovereign princes is the day of the gladness of their hearts; and among the common people oil was liberally used at all their