• I Thes. V. 23 ; John iii. 5-8, and chap. i. 16 ; Ps. xlv. 13. The new creature hath all the parts and lineaments, as in the body there is a composition of all the elements, and a mixture of all the humours.
* Mat. V. 3-6, &c. Every child of God hath all the graces of the Spirit in him radi- cally, though not gradually. ' Qu. ' Tamar "?— Ed.
Chap. I.] a cabinet of jewels. 255
up all celestial contentments and delights. And this is most certain, that all a Christian's conclusions of interest in any of those choice and precious privileges which flow from the blood of Jesus Christ ought to be bottomed, grounded, and founded upon the rich and free promises of grace and mercy.
Quest. But how may a 'person come to know whether he has a real and saving interest in the 'promises, or no ? Now, to this great ques- tion, I shall give these nine following answers :
[1.] First, A holy reliance, a holy resting, a holy staying of thy soul upon the promises, makes the promises thine own ; yea, it makes all the good, and all the sweet, and all the happiness and blessedness that is wrapped up in the promises thine. Even as thy staying, relying, and resting on Christ makes Christ thine, and all that is in him, and that comes by him, thine, so thy staying and resting upon the pro- mises makes them thine.
[2.] Secondly, If thy heart ordinarily, habitually, lies under the ivord of command, then the word of promise does assuredly belong to thy soul, Ps. cxix. 6 ; Acts xiii. 22 ; Luke i. 5, 6.^ There is no soul under heaven that commonly lies under the commanding power of the word, but that soul that has an interest in the word of promise. Men that have no interest in the word of promise, commonly live in the neglect of the word of command. If the word of command commonly carries thy soul, then the word of promise, without all peradventure, belongs to thy soul. Many deal with the commands of God as the heathens dealt with the commands of their gods ; when their gods called for a man, they offered a candle ; or as Hercules offered up a painted man, instead of a living man. Such as deal thus with the commands of God, they have no interest in the promises of God. Flesh and blood looks upon the commands of God as impossible to be obeyed, like the unbelieving spies ; ' Oh we cannot conquer the land ;' but faith and love, like Caleb and Joshua, conclude the land may be conquered, the commands may be evangelically obeyed; and accordingly they readily undertake it. Now, to such a frame of heart the promises are entailed. But,
[3.] Thirdly, If in the face of all objections, discouragements, and diffioculties, thy soul be kept up hi a loaiting frame, for the fulfilling of the promises, as Abraham's was, Rom. iv., then certainly the pro- mises belong to thee} There are some promises that relate to the subduing of sin, as that, Jer. xxxiii. 8 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 25-27 ; Micah vii. 19 ; Ps. Ixv. 3. And there are other precious promises that relate to a growth in grace, as that, Malachi iv. 2 ; Job xvii. 9 ; Ps. xcii. 12-14 ; Prov. iv. 18 ; Hosea xiv. 5-7. Now, if thy heart be kept up in a wait- ing frame for the accomplishment of these promises, then they do cer- tainly belong to thee. The same I may say of all other promises ;
' It was a good saying of Augustine, Da quod juhes, et juhe quod vis, give what thou commandest, and command what thou wilt. To such a frame the promises belong, Num. xiii. 28 to the end.
'^ The longer, said the emperor's son, the cooks are preparing the meat, the better cheer I shall have. His meaning was, that the longer he staid for the empire, the better and greater it would be ; so the longer the soul waits for a mercy, the better and greater it will be when it comes, &c.
256 A CABINET OF JEWELS. [ChAP. I.
the waiting soul shall be sure to speed, Ps. xl. 1-3; Isa. xl. 29-31, XXX. 18 ; Heb. vi. 12, &c. God never did, nor never will, frustrate the expectations of the patient waiter, &c. But,
[4] Fourthly, He that liath those divine qualities or supernatural graces in him, to which the promises are made, as faith, repentance, love, fear, hope, uprirjidness, p)aHence, a waiting frame, &c., he has an undoubted interest in the 'promises. He may lay his hand upon any promise, and say, this promise is mine ; and all the blessings, the benefits, the heavenly treasure that is laid up in it, is mine. But,
[5.] Fifthly, He that lives upon the promises as his daily food, he has an unquestionable interest in the promises. Wicked men may make use of promises as of physic, in some cases, as when they are under anguish of spirit, or gripes of conscience, or in fear of hell ; or else when they are under some outward wants or straits, &c., but he that lives upon them as his daily food, he has a most assured interest in them. Our outward man lives not upon kickshaws, though now and then we may taste of them, but we live upon wholesome food ; so here, no man lives upon the blessed promises as his appointed food, but he that has a real interest in the promises. Look, as there is a nourishment proper to every animal, — spiders feed on flies, moles on worms, the horse on grass, the lion on flesh, &c., — so there is food, nourishment, that is proper for men's souls, viz., the precious promises and Christ's 'flesh,' which is meat indeed, and his blood, which is drink indeed, John vi. 53, seq. ; and he that daily feeds on this food will be happy for ever. But,
[6.] Sixthly, If you are united and married to Christ by faith, then you have a real, a saving interest in the promises : Gal. iii. 29, ' And if you be Christ's, then are you Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.' The promise is the jointure, and there is no way under heaven to enjoy the jointure but by matching with the person of Christ, Col. iv. 28 ; Heb. i, 2 ; Rev. xxi. 7. And faith is the grace of graces, by which the soul gives both its assent and consent to take the Lord Jesus Christ, as he is tendered and offered in the gospel, and is therefore called sometimes a receiving of Christ, John i. 12. The only way to enjoy a lady's jointure, is to marry her person; and so the only way to enjoy the promise of Christ, is to be willing to marry the person of Christ. It is our marriage union with Christ that gives us a riglit and title to all the promises of Christ : 2 Cor. i. 20, 'For all the pro- mises of God in him are yea, and in him. Amen.' All absolute and conditional promises, either of grace or unto grace, are made to us in Christ, and only enjoyed by our enjoying of Christ.