1. This may serve for a trial to discern who may lay just claim to Christ's mercy ; only those that will take his yoke, and count it a greater happiness to be under his government, than to enjoy any liberty of the flesh ; that mil take whole Christ, and not single out of him what may stand with their present contentment ; that will not di^-ide Lord from Jesus, and so niake a Christ of their o\\ti : none ever did truly desire mercy pardoning, but de- sired mercy healing. Da^dd prayeth for a new spirit, as well as for sense of pardonmg mercy, Ps. li. 10.
2. This sheweth that those are misled, that make Christ to be only righteousness to us, and not sanctification, except by imputation : whereas it is a great part of our happiness to be under such a Lord, who was not only bom for us, and given unto us, but ' hath the government likewise upon his shoulders,' Isa. ix. 6, 7, that is om- Sanctifier as well as our Saviour, our Saviom' as well by the effectual power of his Spirit from the power of sin, as by the merit of his death from the guilt thereof; so that this, 1, Be remembered, that the first and chief gi'ound of our comfort is, that Christ as a priest offered himself as a sacrifice to his Father for us. The guilty soul flieth first to Chxist crucified, made a curse for us. Thence it is that Chi-ist hath right to govern us, thence it is that he giveth us his Spii'it as our guide to lead us home.
2. In the com'se of our Hfe, after that we are in state of grace, and be overtaken with any sin, we must remember to have recourse first unto Christ's mercy to pardon us, and then to the promise of his Spirit to govern us.
3. And when we feel ourselves cold in afiection and duty, it is the best way to warm ourselves at this fire of his love and mercy in giving himself for us.
4. Again, rejnember this, that Christ, as he ruleth us, so it is by a spirit of love from a sense of his love, whereby his commandments are easy to us. He leadeth us by his free Spirit, a Spirit of liberty : his subjects are volun- taries. The constraint that he layeth upon his subjects is tliat of love : he
80 THE BRUISED REED
draweth us witli the cords of love sweetly. Yet remember witlial, that he draweth us strongly by a Spirit of power, for it is not sufficient that we have motives and encouragements to love and obey Christ fi'om that love of his, whereby he gave himself for us to justify us ; but Christ's Spirit must hkewise subdue our hearts, and sanctify them to love him, without which all motives would be inefi'ectual. Our disposition must be changed, we must be new creatures ; they seek for heaven in hell that seek for spiritual love in an unchanged heart. When a child obeys his father, it is so from reasons persuading him, as likewise from a child-like nature which giveth strength to these reasons : it is natural for a child of God to love Christ so far as he is renewed, not only from inducement of reason so to do, but like- wise from an inward principle and work of grace, whence those reasons have their chief forces ; first, we are made partakers of the divine nature, and then we are easily induced and led by Christ's Spirit to spiritual duties.
[Chapter XX. — The spiritual government of Christ is joined with judgment and wisdom.]
The second conclusion is, that Christ's government in his church and in his children is a wise and well-ordered government, because it is called judgment, and judgment is the life and soul of wisdom. Of this conclusion there are two branches : 1. That the spiritual government of Christ in us is joined with judgment and wisdom. 2. Wheresoever true spiritual wisdom and judgment is, there likewise the Spirit of Christ bringeth in his gracious government. For the first, a well-guided life by the rules of Christ standeth with the strongest and highest reason of all ; and therefore holy men are called the ' chikh'eu of wisdom,' Luke vii. 31, and are able to justify, both by reason and experience, all the ways of wisdom. Opposite courses are folly and madness. Hereupon St Paul saith, that a ' spiritual man judgeth all things,' 1 Cor. ii. 15, that appertain to him, and is judged of none that are of an inferior rank, because they want spiritual light and sight to judge ; yet this sort of men will be judging, ' and speaking ill of what they know not,' 2 Pet. ii. 12 ; they step from ignorance to prejudice and rash censure, without taking right judgment in their way, and therefore their judgment comes to nothing. But the judgment of a spiritual man, so far forth as he is spiritual, shall stand, because it is agi'eeable to the nature of things : as things are in themselves, so they are in his judgment. As God is in him- self infinite in goodness and majesty, &c., so he is to him ; he ascribes to God in his heart his divinity and all his excellencies. As Christ is in him- self the only mediator, and all in all in the church. Col. iii. 11, so he is to him, by making Christ so in his heart. ' As all things are dung in com- parison of Christ,' Phil. iii. 8, so they are to Paul, a sanctified man. As the very worst thing in religion, ' the reproach of Christ is better than the pleasure of sin for a season,' Heb. xi. 26 ; so it is to Moses, a man of a right esteem. ' As one day in the courts of God is better than a thousand else- where,' Ps. Ixxxiv. 10, so it is to David, a man of a reformed judgment. There is a conformity of a good man's judgment to things as they are in themselves, and according to the difi'ercnce or agreement put by God in things, so doth his judgment difl'er or agree.