years as there be stars in heaven, his glory shall be as fresh and as green as it was at his first entrance into heaven. All worldly glory is like the flowers of the field ; but the glory that Christ gives is lasting and durable like himself, &c.
[10.] Tenthly, and lastly, He gives himself, and verily this is a gift of gifts indeed, John vi. 51, 63 ; so in Eph. v. 20. A saint may say, Me- thinks I hear Christ saying to me as ^schines said to Socrates, * Others,' said he, ' give thee silver and gold, and precious jewels, but I give thee myself.' So the soul may say. One friend gives me bread, and another gives me clothes, and another gives me house-room, &c. Oh ! but thou givest me thyself Christ put into the balance will outweigh all other gifts that he bestows upon the sons of men. Christ is the richest gift. Oh ! there are unsearchable riches in Christ, as hereafter I shall shew you.^ He is the choicest and the rarest gift ; he is a gift given but to a few. Rich and rare jewels are not commonly, but more rarely given; so is Christ. Though Israel be ' as the sand of the sea, yet a remnant only shall be saved,' Rom. ix. 17. 'A garden enclosed, a spring shut up, a fountain sealed, is my well-beloved,' Cant. iv. 12. ' Fear not, little flock, it is your Father's pleasure to give you a kingdom,' Luke xii. 32. Christ is a drawing gift, a gift that draws all other gifts along with him. ' If he have given us his Son, how shall he not with him freely give us all things ?' Rom. viii. 32. Christ is a drawing gift. When God the Father hath cast this incomparable jewel into a man's bosom, he cannot deny him anything. Such a soul may well say. Hath he given me a Christ ? and will he not give me a crumb ? Hath he given me his Son, which is the greatest mercy ? and will he stand with me for lesser mercies ? Surely no. In a word, Christ is of all gifts the sweetest gift. As the tree, Exod. xv. 25, sweetened the bitter waters, so this gift, the Lord Jesus, of whom that tree was a type, sweetens all other gifts that are bestowed upon the sons of men. He turns every bitter into sweet, and makes every sweet more sweet.
And so I come to the second thing propounded, and that was,
II. Tlte difference between Christ's giving and the world's giving.
And this I shall shew you in the following particulars :
[1.] First, The world gives, but they give grudgingly ; but when Christ gives, he gives freely : Isa. Iv. 1, ' Ho, every one that thirsteth, let him come, and buy wine and milk without money, and without price.' So in Rev. xxi. 6, ' I Avill give to every one that is athirst of the water of life freely.' To do good, and not to do it freely, hand- somely, is nothing. A benefit given with grudging is a stony loaf, only taken for necessity. ^
[2.] Secondly, The world they give, but they give poorly, niggardly, but Christ gives plenteously, richly : 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncer- tain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy .'=*
1 Austin prays : Lord, saith he, whatever thou hast given, take all away ; only give me tliysclf. [Confessions, often. — fr.]
* '2 Cor. ix. 7 ; 1 Peter iv. 9. No ofTorings to freo-will ofTt-rings.
3 Saul had but fiveppuce to give the seer ; the seer, after mucli good cheer, gives hira no leas than the kingdom, 1 Sam. ix. 8, 10. So God doala with his.
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. 11]
When Csesar gave one a great reward, ' This,' saith he, ' is too great a gift for me to receive ;' * But/ says Csesar, ' it is not too great a gift for me to give.'^ So, though the least gift that Christ gives, in some sense, is too much for us to receive, yet the greatest gifts are not too great for Christ to give.
It is said of Araunah, that noble Jebusite, renowned for his bounty, that ' he had but a subject's purse, but a king's heart.' But the Lord Jesus hath not only a king's heart, but he hath also a king's purse, and gives accordingly.
[3.] Thirdly, The world give, hut they give tauntingly, they give upbraidingly ; they hit men in the teeth vAth the gifts they give. Ay, hut the Lord Jesus Christ gives, and he gives willingly, he upbraids none with the gifts he gives : James i. 5, ' If any man lack wisdom, let him ask it of God, that gives liberally, and upbraideth no man.' Where Christ gives, there he won't upbraid, neither with present failings nor former infirmities. Christ is not wont to reproach those to whom he gives the best gifts ; he will not cast it in their dish, that he hath been thus and thus kmd to them, but will always ' rejoice over them to do them good.' But the world gives, and then reproaches the receiver for receiving, and this turns all into gall and wormwood, &c.^
[4.] Fourthly, The world gives, but they give more rarely, hut Christ gives, and he gives frequently. He [is every' day, every hour, yea, every moment, a-giving of royal favours to his people. Here is peace for you that are in trouble, says Christ ; and here is pardon for you that groan under guilt, says Christ; and here is comfort for you that are mourners in Zion, says Christ, &c. His hand is ever in his purse, he is still a-scattering pearls of glory, ay, the very jewels of his crown, among the beloved of his soul.^
[5.] Fifthly, The world gives, hut they give the ivorst, and keep the best ; ay, but Christ gives the best, he gives the best of the best. He gives the best joy ; the best comfort, the best peace, the best love, the best assistance, &c., he gives adoption, remission, justification, sanctification, acceptation, reconciliation, and glorification, &c. He gives the best ; as that king in Plutarch said of a groat, ' it is no kingly gift ;' and of a talent, 'it is no base bribe.' The world gives groats, ay, but Christ gives talents, 2 Cor. ix. 15, 1 Peter i. 8, Philip, iv. 7, Ps. Ixxxviii. 10, 11.
[6.] Sixthly, The tvorld gives a little, that they may give no more; ay, but Christ gives thai he may give. He gives a little grace that he may give grace upon grace. He gives a little comfort that he may give fulness of comfort, John i. 16. He gives some sips that he may give full draughts, he gives pence that he may give pounds, and he gives pounds that he may give hundreds.
The third particular that I am to shew you is,
III. The excellency of those gifts that Christ gives, above all other gifts that the world gives.
' Query, Alexander : Plutarcli ? — G.
* Jer. xxxii. 40, 41 ; Prov. i. 20-25 ; viii 1-13; and ix. 1-7.
3 Augnstu.", in his solemn feasts, gave gold to some, and trifles to others. The Lord gives the gold, the best things, to his own ; but the triiles of this world to the men of the world. [Suetonius, Octavius, cap. 75. — G.]
112 THE UXSEARCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.
In this I shall mind brevity, and,