Again, It should be a motive to have good Christians in high estimation, and to take heed how ice urong them, for their brotber will take their part. ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ? ' Acts ix. 4, saith the Head in heaven, when bis members were trodden on upon earth. It is more to wrong a Cbi-istian than the world takes it for, for Christ takes it as done to himself. Absalom was a man wicked and unnatural, yet he could not endure the wrong that was done to his sister Tamar, 2 Sam. xiii. 1. Jacob's sons took it as a high indignity that their sister sbould be so abused. Gen. xxxiv. Hath Christ no affections, now he is in heaven, to her that is so near bim as tbe church is ? Howsoever he suffer men to tj-Tannise over her for a while, yet it will appear ere long tbat he will take the church's part, for he is her brother.
' My sister, my spouse.'
The cbui'cb is tbe daughter of a Eng, begotten of God ; the sister and spouse of a King, because she is the sister and spouse of Christ, and the mother of all that are spiritual kings. The church of Christ is every way royal. Therefore we are kings because we are Christians. Hence the Holy Ghost doth add here to sister, spouse. Indeed, taking the advantage of such relations as are most comfortable, to set out the excellent and tran- scendant relation tbat is between Christ and his church ; all other are not what they are termed, so much as glasses to see better things. Riches, beauty, marriage, nobibty, &c., are scarce worthy of their names. These are but titles and empty things. Though our base nature make gi-eat matters of them, yet the reabty and substance of aU these are in heavenly things. True riches are tbe heavenly graces ; tnie nobibty is to Ije bom of God, to be the sister and spouse of Cbrist ; true pleasures are those of tbe Spirit, which endui-e for ever, and will stand by us when all outward comforts will vanish. That mystical union and sweet communion is set down with such vai-iety of expressions, to shew that tvhatsoever is scattered in the creature severally is in him entirehj. He is both a fi-iend and a brother, a bead and a husband, to us ; therefore he takes tbe names of aU. Whence we may observe further,
That the church is the spouse of Christ. It springs out of him; even as
24 BOWELS OPENED. [SeEMON II.
Eve taken out of Adam's rib, so the spouse of Christ was taken out of his side. When it was pierced, the church rose out of his blood and death; for he redeemed it, by satisfying divine justice ; we being in such a condi- tion that Christ must redeem us before he would wed us. First, he must be incarnate in our nature before he could be a fit husband; and then, because we were in bondage and captivity, we must be redeemed before he could marry us: 'he purchased his church with his own blood,' Acts xx. 28. Christ hath right to us, he bought us dearly.
Again, another foundation of this marriage between Christ and us, is consent. He works us by his Spirit to yield to him. There must be con- sent on our part, which is not in us by nature, but wrought by his Spirit, &c. We yield to take him upon his own terms ; that is, that we shall leave our father's house, all our former carnal acquaintance, when he hath wrought our consent. Then the marriage between him and us is struck up.
Some few resemblances will make the consideration of this the more comfortable.
1. The husband takes his wife under his own name. She, losing her own name, is called by his. So we are called Christians, of Christ.
2. The wife is taken with all her debt, and made partaker of the honours and riches of her husband. Whatsoever he hath is hers, and he stands answerable for all her debts. So it is here : we have not only the name of Christ upon us, but we partake his honours, and are kings, priests, and heirs with him, Rev. i. 5, 6. Whatsoever he hath, he hath taken us into the fellowship of it ; so that his riches are ours, and likewise, whatsoever is ours that is ill, he hath taken it upon him, even the wi'ath due to us. For he came between that and us, when he was made sin and a curse for us, 2 Cor. v. 21 ; so there is a blessed change between Christ and us. His honoui's and riches are ours. We have nothing to bestow on him, but our beggary, sins and miseries, which he took upon him.
3. Those that bring together these two difierent parties, are the friends of the bride ; that is, the ministers, as it is, John iii. 23. They are the ■paranijmphi, the friends of the bride, that learn of Christ what to report to his spouse, and so they woo for Christ, and open the riches, beauty, honour, and all that is lovely in him, which is indeed the especial duty of ministers — to lay open his unsearchable riches, that the church may know what a husband she is like to have, if she cleave to him ; and what an one she leaves, if she forsake him. It was well said in the council of Basil, out of Bernard, ' Nemo committit sponsam suani Vicario ; nemo enim Ecdedce sponsus est,' — None commits his wife to a vicar, for none is the husband of the church. To be husband of the church is one of the incommunicable titles of Christ, yet usurped by the pope. Innocent the Third was the first that wronged Christ's bed by challenging the title of Sponsus, husband of the chm-ch. Bernard forbids his scholar Eugenius this title (Epist. ccxxxvii. ad Eugenium). It is enough for ministers to be friends of the Bride. Let us yield him to be husband of the church, that hath given himself to sanctify it with washing of water and blood, Eph. v. 26. We are a wife of blood to him.