1. The same dav and hour you give your cordial consent to take Christ upon gospel-terms, that is to say, Christ with his yoke of obedience, and Christ with his cross of sufferings, all your debts to the law are discharged and paid. What have you been doing, ever since you came into the world, but running upon score to God, deeper and deeper every day ? Oh, what a vast sum owest thou to his justice ! and not able to pay one farthing. If thou con- sent not to Christ's offer, the bailiff and executioner, death and the de^'il, will shortly be upon thy back, and huiTy thee away to that prison, from whence thou shalt not come until thou hast paid the last farthing, Mat. v. 25, 26. If thou consent to Christ's terms, thy debts are paid upon thy marriage-day, thy bonds cancelled, and thy discharge in heaven sealed ; Rom. viii. 1. " There is there- " fore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ ;" and the reason is given, ver. 4. In this, " That the righteousness of the ** law is fulfilled in us that believe.'" But how in us .'^ certainly the meaning is not that the ro credere, the act of faith doth, as it is a work of ours, satisfy the demand of the law, and fulfil its righ- teousness ; no, but it apprehends the righteousness of Christ, ap- plies it, and makes it ours, and so " the righteousness of the law " is fulfilled in us that beheve/' It is an ease, it is a comfort to be out of debt ? Then embrace the offer of Christ ; for after thy espousals to him, the law cannot touch thee by an act of condem- nation; it goes to the husband, Christ ; thou art discharged. Well then, resolve what to do : shall the debt run on and increa.se till justice come to levy it upon you in hell-torments ? Or will you ac- cept of Christ and the riches of righteousness that are in him, and so be fully and finally acquitted from all your debts at once, and be able to lie down in peace, and enjoy your lives without slavish fear.? He that owes nothing, fears no baihffs, but may (as we use to say) whet his knife upon the compter threshold.
2. Your consent to Christ^s terms, will advance you , to an ho. nour above and beyond the honour of angels. It is said, that the children of the resurrection shall be equal unto angels ; and it is most sure, that in some respect their union with Christ advances them far above angels; for the apostle tells us, Heb. i. 14. " Tliey " ^re ministering spirits, sent forth for the good of them that shall
" be heirs of salvation r'' as tlie great peers and nobles in a king- dom, count it no dishonour to perform their service to the heir apparent. The ministry of angels is a mystery which we little un- derstand ; but by it tve receiye great and manifold advantages, and it certainly puts a great deal of honour Upon all the members of Christ.
3. Christ will not bnly pay all your debts, and exalt you to a dignity above angels ■, but in that day wherein you cordially consent to his terms he will entitle you to the most glorious inheritance purchased by his blood ; " You shall be heirs of God, and joint " heirs with Christ,'' Rom. viii. 17. Oh, what an inducement is here to close the match betwixt Christ and our souls ! If I consent to take Christ upon gospel-terms, I shall thereby be entitled to all the glory that is in heaven ; it shall be mine as truly as it is Christ's. It is true the glory of Christ will in some respects far surpass the glory of the saints ; he will shine among them as the sun compared with the stars; but yet the glory which God gave him, that is, the communicable glory shall be truly theirs, as it is his, John xvii. 22. " The glory which thou gavest me, I have given them." Tell my brethren (saith he) John xx. 17. ^'^ I ascend unto my Fa- " ther, and your Father ; to my God, and your God." This, you shall gain also by closing this treaty with a hearty consent ta Christ's terms and proposals.
4. If you will consider and Consent, you shall be presented by him to the Father^ pure and spotless, with exceeding joy and glad- ness in the great day. This will be such a presentation of your persons to God as will make your hearts leap for joy to read what the scriptures speak about it. Thid, methinks, should induce every soul, without further delay, to present himself, soul and body, cheerfully and willingly to Jesus Christ. For, (1) Christ will bring you in the great day to his Father, in the shining beauty of perfect holiness, not a spot or WTinkle upon your souls, Eph. v. 27. The blood of Christ perfectly washes off every spot of guilt ; for then the Spirit of Christ hath perfectly cleansed the soul from all the defilement and filth of sin ; so that it shall come to God a pure and beautiful creature out of Christ's hand. (2.) This presentation will be made with the greatest honour and solemnity ; we little think in what state and triumph Christ intends to bring the poorest believer to his Father, Psal. xlv. 14, 15. " With joy and gladness shall they *• be brought," &c. So Jude, ver. 24. " They shall be presented " faultless before the presence of his glory, with exceeding joy :" Joy running over joy, upon all hands; God himself will rejoice, that ever he created such a soul as hath sincerely bestowed itself upon Christ : Jesus Christ will rejoice that ever he shed his blood for
that soul that now places his sole righteousness therein : the Holy Spirit ivill rejoice, that ever he came with a commission from the Fa- ther and the Son to draw such a soul to Christ, who hath obeyed his voice. The angels will rejoice with joy unspeakable, Luke xv. 10. '* There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sin- " ner that repenteth." If the consent of any of your souls shall be this day gained to Christ ; if the word you have heard this day shall send any poor soul hence to his closet, or into a corner, there to make his covenant with Christ, (for that is the way of making up the match with Christ) in that hour the news of it will be in hea- ven, and excite joy among the angels of God. Lay these and many other privileges together, which I want time to mention, but the scriptures will abundantly furnish you with them ; and then consider what a rich bargain, what an advantageous match, Jesus Chi'ist is for your souls.