Let us therefore try ourselves hy these, whether we he anointed or no. What cheerfulness is there ? What joy '? What strength ? What nimble- ness to that which is good ? What sovereignty hath grace in our hearts ? You have a company that profess religion, but make it serve their own turn, that make heaven to come under earth, that make the service of God to stoop to other ends. Beloved 1 grace it is a superior thing, and religion makes all subordinate. Grace, and religion, wheresoever it is in truth, is of a ruling nature ; and so it is sweet, and it is strong wheresoever it is. It is curing, and purging, and cleansing wheresoever it is. Therefore, I be- seech 3'ou, let us not deceive ourselves.
I need say no more of the point ; you may enlarge it in your own medi- tations. I come to the persons.
As this anointing hath reference to the ointment, so it hath relation to tJifi 2)erfioiis that iirrc coiointed.
Now the persons anointed were first dedicated by anointing ; they were consecrated to God, and separated from the world. And as they were dedicated and separated, so they were dignified by this anointing. It raised them above the common condition. And likewise with this anointing God gave them qualifications suitable.
You have three eminent persons that were anointed, and so raised above the common condition of other men.
Prophets, to teach the people.
Priests, to offer sacrifice.
Kuif/s, to govern them.
Now Christ is principally all these. He is the principal Prophet of his church, ' the Angel of the covenant,' Gen. xxxii. 24, 25-29. He is ' Logos,' the Word, John i. 1, because as the inward word, the mind of a man, is known by the outward word, so Christ is called the Word, because, as a Prophet, he discovers his Father's mind, and makes known his Father's will unto us.
And he is the gi'eat High Priest. He makes atonement between God and us ; he stands between his Father and us.
And he is the great Iving of his church, that rescues it from all its ene- mies, to protect and defend it.
But as Christ hath received this anointing primarily, and ' above his fellows,' Ps. xlv. 7, yet, as I said before, he hath received it /or his fellows. Every Christian hath his anointing from Christ's anointing : all our graces and all our ointment is derived from him. 'He,' saith the apostle. Rev. i. 5, ' hath loved us, and washed us in his blood.' He loved us first, which is the cause of all, and then he w^ashed us in his blood. He did not only shed his blood for us, but he ' washed us in his blood.' He hath applied his blood to our souls, and by applying that and sprinkling it upon our Bouls, ' he hath made us kings and priests to God his Father,' Rev. i. 6. And indeed, the great King of heaven and earth, he is and will be attended upon by none but kings and priests. He hath no servants but such as are anointed. He is followed of none but eminent persons, such as are sepa- rated from the world, and dignified above all other people ; for the glory of
2 CORINTHIANS CHAP. I, VER. 22. 447
his followers tends to his honour. Therefore those whom God chooseth to be his attendants, he qualifies them, gives them the hearts of kings, royal qualifications, and the hearts of priests, and the hearts of prophets. But this in the general.
To shew it therefore in particulars.
A Christian is anointed : he is a person severed from the world, dedi- cated to God, and dignified above others, and that from good reason, be- cause God hath given him an inward qualification, which is the foundation of all.
1. And first, he is a trne prophet, for he hath received ' the anointing' of the Spirit, 1 John ii. 27, whereby he is enabled to discern of things. He knows what is true honour, to be the child of God ; he knows what is true riches, grace ; he knows what is true nobility, to be ' born of God,' 1 John ii. 29 ; what is true pleasure, ' peace of conscience, and joy in the Holy Ghost,' 1 Thess. i. 6 ; he can discern between seeming and real things, and only he that hath received this ' anointing of the Spirit.'
And again, as a prophet, he knows not only the things, but the doing of the things. He hath with the anointing of the Spirit ability to do that which he knows. The grace of God teacheth him not only the duty, that he should live 'justly, and soberly, and godly,' Tit. ii. 12, but teacheth him to do the things. For God writes his laws in his bowels, that is, in his afiections. He can love and joy in God, and hate sin, and overcome re- venge, &c. The Spirit sheweth him divine things by a divine light. He sees heavenly things with a heavenly light ; and divine and spiritual know- ledge is a working knowledge, of the same nature with the things known. The poorest Christian in the world, having this anointing, sees good things with such a convincing light, and evil things with such a convincing hatred, that he is doing and acting ; whereas a Christian that hath not the Spirit, he may know heavenly things by a natural light, by a discoursive know- ledge. He may know what he should do, and so perhaps he may talk, but he cannot do ; he may talk of death, but he cannot die ; he may talk and discourse of suffering, but when it comes, he cannot sufier ; he may speak much of patience, but he cannot act patience when occasion is. A true Christian hath the knowledge of doing things.