' Gill. ii. '20. Philip, i. 6. Dens nihil coronal nisi dona tua, when God crowneth us, he doth but crown his own gifts in us. — Au'/nstine.
^ ^iX"'')'''' **' TiXi/a/T*!*, the leader and crowuer.
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. 87
according to his working which worketh in me mightily.' So Philip, iv. 13, 'I can do all things, through Christ that strengtheneth me ; I can be high and low, poor and rich, honourable and base, something or nothing, &c., through Christ that strengthens me.'^ So in Cant. iv. 16, ' Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may send forth a fragrant smell." We may puff and blow our hearts out, and yet no savoury .smell will flow forth, if Christ does not blow. So in Ps. cxxxviii. 3, ' In the day when I cried, thou answeredst me, and strengthenedst me with strength in my soul.' Your graces. Christians, are heavenly plants of God's own setting and watering ; and certainly the heavenly- husbandman will never suffer such plants of renown to wither, for want of heavenly sap ; he will look to the strengthening, supporting, and nourishing the work of his own hand. He will cause the desires cf his people to bud, and their graces to blo.ssom, and their souls to be like a watered garden, green and flourishing: Isa. Iviii. 11, compared with Isa. XXXV. G, 7.
[4.] Fourthly, When yovj look upon your graces, you must look upon them as an earnest of more glorious and unspeakable mea- sures of grace and glory, that your souls shall he filled with at last.
In Eph. i. 13, 14, 'After that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.' That little light and knowledge thou hast, is an earnest to thy soul, that thou shalt at last know, even as thou art known. 1 Cor. xiii. 12, ' For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know, even as I am known.* Christians know but little of that they should know, they know but little of tha.t they might know, they know but little of that others know, they know but little of that they desire to know, they know but little of that they shall know, when they shall come to know * even as they are known.' And yet these weak and imperfect glimpses that they have of God and heaven here, are infallible pledges of that perfect knowledge and full prospect that they shall have of God and heaven hereafter. So that that little spark of joy thou hast, is an earnest of those everlasting joys that shall rest upon thy head, when all sorrow and mourning shall fly away, Isa. xxxv. 10, &c. And those sips of comfort thou hast now, are an earnest of thy swimming in those ever- lasting pleasures that be 'at God's right hand,' Ps. xvi. 11. The least measures of grace are an earnest of greater measures. God will not lose his earnest, though men often lose theirs. God will not despise ' the day of small things ;' he will make those that bring forth but thirty fold, to bring forth sixty fold ; and those that bring forth sixty fold, to bring forth a hundred fold, &c. He, his Son and Spirit, are all eminently and fully engaged to carry on the work of grace in his children's souls. Therefore do not sit down and say, My light is but
' ivi^youfiitnt Iv lutxfiu, is wrought in me in power. The word -raira, aU thtnos, though it be an universal, is not to be taken in the utmost extent, but according to the use of the like phrases in all languages, wherein the universal sign affixed, either to persons, or times, or places, or things, signifies a great number, but not all without exception, as you may see by comparing these scriptures together: Ps. xiv. 4, 8, 9 ; John xiv, 26; 1 Cor. X. 23. bo those words are to be uuderstoud in riiilip. iv. 13.
88 THE UNSEARCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
dim, and my love but weak, and my joy but a spark that will quickly go out, &c. But always remember, that those weak measures of grace thou hast, are a sure evidence of greater measures that God will confer upon thee in his own time and in his own ways, Isa. Ixiv. 4, 5.'
[5.] Fifthly, When you look upon your graces, be sure that you look j more at the truth of your graces, than at the measure of your graces. }
You must rather bring your graces to the touchstone, to try their truth, than to the balance, to weigh their measures. Many weak Christians are weighing their graces, when they should be a-trying the truth of their graces, as if the quantity and measure of grace were more considerable than the essence and nature of grace. And this is that that keeps many weak saints in a dark, doubting, questioning, and despairing condition ; yea, this makes their lives a, very hell. Weak saints, if you will not observe this rule, this caution, when you look upon your graces, you will go sighing and mourning to A'our graves. Ah ! poor hearts, you should not be more cruel to your own souls than God is. When God comes to a judgment of your spiritual estates, he doth not bring a pair of scales to weigh 3'^our graces, but a touchstone to try the truth of your graces ; and so should you deal by your own souls. If you deal otherwise, you are more cruel to your souls than God would have you. And if you are resolved that in this you will not imitate the Lord, then I dare prophesy that joy and peace shall be none of your guests, and he that should comfort you will * stand afar oflf,' Lam. i. 16. It is good to own and acknowledge a little grace, ' though it be mingled with very much corruptions ; as that poor soul did, Mark ix. 24, ' And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears. Lord, I believe ; help thou mine unbelief.' He had but a little little faith, and this was mixed Avith abundance of un- belief, and yet notwithstanding he acknowledges that little faith he had, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief His faith was so weak, that he accounts it little better than unbelief; yet, says he, 'Lord, I believe, help my unbelief The least measure of faith will make thee blessed here and happy hereafter.^
A doctor cried out upon his dying-bed. Credo languida fide, sed tamen fidei; much faith will yield unto us here our heaven, and any faith, if true, will yield us heaven hereafter. So the church in Cant. 1. 5, * I am black, but comely.' She had nothing to say for her beauti- fulness, yet she acknowledgeth her comeliness. 'I am black, but comely.' Though she could not say she was clear, yet she could say she was comely. As she was free to confess her blackness, so she was ingenuous to acknowledge her comeliness. ' I am black, but comely.' Ah, Chris- tians! will you deal worse with your own souls, than you deal with your children? When you go to make a judgment of your child's affections, you look more to the truth of their affections, than you do to the strength of their affections; and will you be less ingenuous and favourable to