[3.1 And then, thirdly, in regard to the end, to wicked men they do not further their salration. They have them not from God with grace to use them well. But God's children, as they have them from his love, and from God as a Father in covenant, so it is for their good. Wicked men they have donum Dei sine Deo, they have the gifts of God without God ; without the love and favour of God, as Bernard saith well (j). But God's children have the gifts of God with God too. Together with the gifts and good things from him, they have his favour, that is better than his gift. For all the good things we enjoy in this world, they are but conduits to convey his favour. God's love and mercy in Christ is conveyed in worldly things ; and the same love that moved God to us in heaven, and happiness in the world to come, it moves him to give us daily bread. There is no difl'erence in the love, as the same love that moves a father to give his son his inheritance, moves him to give him breeding and necessaries in the time of his non-age. We are here in our non-age, and God shares out such a state to us ; and from the same love that he gives us these things, he gives us heaven afterwards. Now wicked men have not this full degree of title. Yet they have a title, as I said before ; and they shall never answer for the possession of what they have, but for the wicked use of that possession.
Case 4. Again, a little further to clear one case I touched before.* If all things be om's because we are Christ's, may we as are Christians use all things as we list ? f
Ans. There is a fourfold restraint in regard of the use.
[1.] There is a restraint, /z/-.s?, of religion. Though all things be ours in regard of conscience : we may eat and drink, and use any creature of God without scruple ; yet there is a restraint put upon it sometimes in religion : that it be no prejudice to the worship of God. In the Lord's day we may refresh ourselves, but not so as to hinder the worship of God : here is a higher restraint put upon our liberty.
[2.] And then, secondly, sobriety, it puts a restraint upon our liberty. ' All things are ours' in Christ. We must not take liberty, therefore, to exceed sobriety. Licitis jjcrimns omnes, it is an ordinary speech, we all perish by lawful things (k). Howsoever, ' all things are ours,' for our use ; yet we must use them soberly, and not exceed.
[3.] And then, thirdly, charity puts another restraint. | It must be * Cf. page 16. — G. t That is, ' as we chooric' — G.
J In margin here, ' See Case 4 before.'
21 A chuistian's portion ; or,
without offence to others. We must not think to have a free use of that may offend others. In that case there is a restraint. Therefore St Paul saith, * I will never eat flesh whilst I live, rather than I will offend my brother,' 1 Cor. viii. 18.
[4.] And in the hid place, in case of obedience. There is a restraint upon 'all thinrrs' we have; that is, in outward things. Howsoever no man may meddle with the conscience ; yet the magistrate may restrain this or that creature. ' All things are ours,' because we are Christ's. This may satisfy in some doubts.
Now to come more directly to this branch, to shew how ' we are Christ's.'
We are Christ's in all the sweet terms and relations that can be. Name what you will, ' we are Christ's.' We are his subjects, as ho is a king : we are his servants, as he is a lord ; we are his scholars, as he is a pro- phet. If we take Christ as a head, we are his members ; if we take Christ as a husband, we are his spouse ; if we take Christ as a foundation, we are the building ; if we take Christ as food, he incorporates us to himself; if we be temples, he dwells in us. There is no relation, nor any degree of subjection and subordination, but it sets forth this sweet union and agree- ment between Christ and us. So that ' Christ is ours,' and ' we are Christ's' in all the sweet relations that can be. We are his members, his spouse, his children : for ho is the ' everlasting Father,' Isa. ix. G. He is all that can be to us, and we arc all that can be to him, that is lovely and good.
But yet all relations are short.* They reach not to set out the excellency and the truth and reality of this, that ' we are Christ's.' For what is a head to the body (which is one of the nearest) ? Can the head quicken the dead body ? No. But Christ can, agere in non menibnim ; he can v/ork in a dead member, that that is not a member, to make it one. Can a husband change his spouse ? Moses could not. He married a blacka- more. He could not alter her disposition or her hue (/). But Christ can alter his spouse. He is such a foundation as makes all * living stones.' Therefore, in St John xvii. 21, because there is no manner of imion in the world, that can serve to set out the nearness we have to Christ, saith Christ, * Father, I will that they may be one, as thou and I am one.' He sets it out by that incomprehensible union. He goes divinely above earthly things, to set out the reality of this, how we are Christ's and Christ ours. We are Christ's in the most intimate nearness that can be ; v/e are so Christ's, as nothing in the world else is, when we believe once. Though all things are Christ's, yet the church is Christ's i-n a more pecu- liar manner. There is a peculiarity in this that we are Christ's ; that is, we are in the nearest bonds, nearer to Christ than the very angels. For they are not the 'spouse' of Christ; they are not the 'members' of Christ. They are ministering spirits to Christ, and so to us. There is no creature under heaven, no, nor in heaven, that is Christ's, as we are. We are his 'portion,' his 'jewels,' his 'beloved.' We are Christ's in all the terms of nearness and dearness that can be.