W heresoever grace is trubj begun and stirred up, there is still a further desire of Christ's presence ; and approaching daily more and more near to the soul, the church thinks Mm never near enough to her until she be in heaven with
14 BOWELS OPENED. [SeRMON I.
him. The true spouse and the bride always, unless in desertion and temp- tation, crieth, ' Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly,' Rev. xxii. 20. Now, these degrees of Christ's approaches to the soul, until his second coming, are, that he may manifest himself more and more in defending, comforting, and enabling his church with grace. Every further manifestation of his presence is a further coming.
Quest. But why is the church thus earnest ?
Reason 1. First, because grace helps to see our need of Christ, and so helps us to prize him the more ; which high esteem breeds a hungering, earnest desire after him, and a desire of further likeness and suitableness to him.
Secondly, because the church well knows that when Christ comes to the soul he comes not alone, but with his S2nnt, and his Spirit with abundance of peace and comfort. This she knows, what need she hath of his presence, that without him there is no comfortable hving; for wheresoever he is, he makes the soul a kind of heaven, and all conditions of life comfortable.
Use. Hence we may see that those that do not desire the presence of Christ in his ordinances are, it is to be feared, such as the wind of the Holy Ghost never blew upon. There are some of such a disposition as they cannot endure the presence of Christ, such as antichrist and his hmbs,* whom the presence of Christ in his ordinances blasts and consumes. Such are not only profane and worldly persons, but proud hypocrites, who glory in something of their own ; and therefore their hearts rise against Christ and his ordinances, as laying open and shaming their emptiness and carnalness. The Spirit in the spouse is always saying to Christ, ' Come.' It hath never enough of him. He was now in a sort present ; but the church, after it is once blown upon, is not satisfied without a further presence. It is from the Spirit that we desire more of the Spirit, and from the presence of Christ that we desire a further presence and communion with him. Now,
The end and reason tvhy Christ is desired by the Church to come into his garden is ' to eat his pleasant fruits ; ' that is, to give him contentment. And is it not fit that Christ should eat the fruit of his own vine ? have com- fort of his own garden ? to taste of his own fruits ? The only delight Christ hath in the world is in his garden, and that he might take the more delight in it, he makes it fruitful ; and those fruits are precious fruits, as growing from plants set by his own hand, relishing of his own Spirit, and so fitted for his taste. Now, the chm'ch, knowing what fitted Christ's taste best, and knowing the fruits of grace in her heart, desireth that Christ would de- light in his own graces in her, and kindly accept of what she presented him with. Whence we see that
A gracious heart is privy to its own grace and sincerity when it is in a right temper, and so far as it is privy is hold with Christ in a sweet and reverend f manner. So much sincerity, so much confidence. If our heart condemn us not of unsincerity, we may in a reverend f manner speak boldly to Christ. It is not fit there should be strangeness betwixt Christ and his spouse; neither, indeed, will there be, when Christ hath blown upon her, and when she is on the growing hand. But mark the order.
First, Christ blows, and then the church says, ' Come.' Christ begins in love, then love draws love. Christ draws the church, and she runs after him. Cant. i. 4. The fire of love melts more than the fire of affliction.
Again, we may see here in the church a carefulness to please Christ. As it is the duty, so it is the disposition, of the church of Chidst, to please her husband.
* That is, ' members,' = adherents. — G. t That is, ' reverent.' — Ed.
Cant. IY. 16.] 'and eat his pleasant fruits.' 15
1. The reason is, first, our happiness stands in his contentment, and all cannot but be well in that house where the husband and the wife delight in, and make much of, each other.
2. And again, after that the church hath denied herself and the vanities of the world, entering into a way and course of mortification, whom else hath she to give herself to, or receive contentment from ? Our manner is to study to please men whom we hope to rise by, being careful that all we do may be well taken of them. As for Christ, we put him off with anjiihing. If he likes it, so it is ; if not, it is the best that he is hke to have.
Uses. 1. Oh! let us take the apostle's counsel, 'To labour to walk worthy of the Loi'd, &c., unto all well-pleasing, increasing in knowledge, and fruitfulness in every good work,' Col. i. 9, 10. And this knowledge must not only be a general wisdom in knowing truths, but a special under- standing of his good- will to us, and our special duties again to him.