My noble Lord, for the great things you have already done for this kingdom, the high praises of God are in the mouths of the saints, and the children unl)orn shall bless you, and bless God for you. And when the name of tyrants, malignants, neuters, and apostates shall rot, the memorial of your name shall be for ever precious among the ' precious sons of Zion.' And that your Excellency may do yet more and more gloriously, the breathing and desire of my soul to God for your Lordshi]) is, that the Lord would take up your spirit into such sweet and full enjoyment of himself and of that glory above, that may enable you divinely to trample upon all those things that may anyway hinder you from solacing and delighting your soul in the love, light, and sweetness that is in the bosom of Christ ; that the Lord will take you by the hand, whenever you are in the dark, and lead out your spirit in such ways that may be for the honour of his name, for the joy of his people, and for the real happiness and welfare
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of this kingdom. That in all your hours of temptation you may find the power of the lively prayers of the saints — in which and in whose affection you have as great a share as any mortal that breathes — strengthening and raising you above them all. That no weapon nor device nor counsel that is formed against you may prosper ; that the eternal God will be your refuge, and that under you may be his ever- lasting arms ; that your soul may be swallowed up in the sweet enjoy- ment of God, that so every bitter may be made sweet unto you, and that your last days may be your best ; that the longer you live, the more glorious for God and his people you may act; that God will ' guide you by his counsel here, and after all receive you to glory/
My Lord, you know that God doth not ' despise the day of small things ;' and I believe that the fear of the great God is so strong upon your Lordship's spirit that your Honour will not. I humbly crave your Excellency, and all others that shall read this sermon, to overlook the mistakes of the printer, I having no time to wait upon the press to correct what haply may be found amiss. The perusal and acceptance of what I here present in love and out of a due respect unto your Excellency, I submit to your wisdom, and humbly take my leave, remaining your Lordship's, in all humble and due observance,
CHRIST IS THE LIFE OF BELIEVERS.
When Chris/, u-ho is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear loith him in glory. — Col. III. 4.
The apostle, in the verse before, tells them that their ' life is hid with Christ in God.' These saints might object : but when shall that hidden life be discovered ? when shall that life of glory be manifested ? He answers in the text : ' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.' The words do speak out the time when the glorious life of believers shall be manifested, and that is, Avlien Christ shall appear in glory. I have in some other place observed from these words this point — namely, that the Lord Jesus Christ is the life of believers.
' When Christ, who is our life, shall appear.' Life here is, by a metonymy, put for the author of life.
We have shewed that Jesus Chi'ist, he is first the author of a be- liever's spiritual life. In the 14th of John, ' I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life,' (ver. 6.)
Secondly, Jesus Christ, he is the matter of a believer's spiritual life : in John vi. 48, ' I am the bread of life.' The original hath it more elegantly, iyo) et/xt 6 dpTo<; t/}? ^oxf;?, ' I am the bread of that life,' that is, of that spiritual life of which before the Lord Jesus Christ had spoken.
Ill irdly, Jesus Christ is the exerciser and actor of the spiritual life of believers : John xv. 5, ' Without me ye can do nothing.' The original is, x^P''^ efi,ov, seorsini a me ; [Calvin, Cameron, <fcc.] separate from me, or apart from me, ye can do, &c.
Fourthly, The Lord Jesus Christ, he is the strengihener aiid the cherisher of a believer's spiritual life, Ps. cxxxviii. 3, ' In the day when I cried, thou didst answer me, and strengthen me with strength in my soul.'
Lastly, The Lord Jesus Christ, he is the completer, he is the fnisher of the spiritual life of a saint, Heb. xii. 2 ; Phil. i. 6. We have opened this point, and have made several uses of it. There were one or two things that we could not reach nor speak to when we treated upon this subject ; I will only mention them, and so I pass to that Bpccial point that 1 intend to speak to at this time.
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Is the Lord Jesus Christ a believer's life ? To pass by what we have further spoken upon this point — this same, by way of use, doth serve to bespeak all believers not to repent of any tiling they have done, or suf- fered, or lost, for the Lord Jesus. Oh, is the Lord Jesus Christ a believer's life ? Why, then, let no believer be disquieted, nor over- whelmed and dejected, for any loss or for any sorrow or suffering that he meets with for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake. What a base and unworthy spirit is it for a man to be troubled and disquieted in himself for anything that he shall do or suffer for his own natural life ! Oh, Jesus Christ is thy life ; do not say this mercy is too dear for Christ, nor that comfort is too great for Christ. Christ is the life of a believer : what wilt thou not do for thy hfe ? The devil hit right when he said, ' Skin for skin, and all that a man hath will he give for his life.' Oh, what should a man then do for Jesus Christ, who is his life ! You noble hearts whose particular God hath come near in this sad loss, remember this, that Christ is a believer's life ; Christ is that glorious champion's life. Therefore be not over- whelmed, for doubtless he is now triumphing in the love, in the light, in the goodness, and in the glory of him who is his life. Let the sense of this sad loss kindly affect you, but let it not discourage you.