lieason 1. First, As he is God and man. He is God full of all things; he is man full of all grace and void of all sin. He is Christ anointed to perform all his offices ; he is a prophet all-sufiicient in all wisdom. In him are the treasures of wisdom. He teaches us not only how to do, but he teaches the very deed. He is our high priest. He is the sacrifice, the altar, and the priest, and he is our eternal priest in heaven and on earth : on earth as suffering for us, in heaven as mediating for our peace. ' Who shall condemn us ? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, Avho is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us,' Rom. viii. 34. He is also our King. He is King of all. King of kings, and Lord of lords ; a king for ever and at all times, subduing all re- bellions within us, and all enemies without us ; and he is all these so as none is like him, and therefore is worthy of our glory.
lieason 2. Secondly, Christ is comnucnicative in all these. He is prophet, priest, king, for us ; he is God-man ; he is Christ for us. He sought not his own. It was his communicative goodness that drew him from heaven to take our nature.
Reason 3. Thirdly, He is present and ready to do all good for us ; he is present with us to the end of the world ; nay,
lieason 4. Fourthly, We are his members. He is in us. We are his wife; nay, we are him. 'Saul, why persecutest thou me?' Acts ix. 4. 1 Cor. xii. 12, seq., ' We are all one body with Christ.'
lieason 5. Fifthly, We are even whiles we are here glorified xvith Christ. He is our husband. If he be honoured, we his spouse also are advanced. If he be our king, we are his queen. If the head be crowned, the body is honoured ; and.
Reason 6. Sixthly, All this is from God, and freely comes from him. Christ is anointed by the Spirit and sent from the Father. 1 Cor. i. 30,
rniLIPPIANS CHAP. Ill, VER. 3. 75
* He is made of God wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption to us.' And John vi. 44, ' No man can come to me, except the Father who hath sent me draw him ; ' and it is further said that God ' sealed him,' John vi. 27. So that we may i-ejoice in Christ, because that thereby we come to joy in God, for he reconciles us to God who called him to this office, which was witnessed at his baptism, whenas the whole Trinity bare witness thereof.
Quest. But it may be questioned. What ! may we not joy in any other thing else but in Christ ?
Ans. I answer. There may be two causes of our joy. One principal, the other less principal. We must only rejoice in Christ as the main and principal cause of our happiness. But we may rejoice in creatures so far forth as they are testimonies of Christ's love, and in peace of conscience as coming from Christ, and in the word of God as it is the gospel of the revelation of Christ to us.
Use 1. For use. We may observe this doctrine as a ground of the necessity of i^articular faith. For none can boast, but the boasting must arise from a particular faith, which only is the true ground of every man's particular assurance.
Use 2. Secondly, Let it serve as a direction to every Cliristian that ivill rejoice ; let him go otit of himself and rejoice in Christ, his king, his priest, and his prophet. Let him observe what he hath done for him, and what he will do for him, and thereby see himself perfectly happy ; and,
Use 3. In the third place, Let us first hoast that we have Christ, and then in his benefits and blessings that follow him. First, rejoice that we have the field, then rejoice in the pearl. And therefore the apostle says not rejoice in faith or in obedience, but 'in Christ,' who being once mine, how shall I not have all things with him ?
Use 4:. Those that are burdened loith sorrow for their sin, let them consider. Wh}' do they grieve ? Do their sins trouble them '? Christ he came to die for sin, he is their high priest, he came to save sinners. Doth the devil accuse them ? Let them know Christ chose them, he pleads for them. Who can lay anything to their charge ? Christ he is dead, risen ; nay, he is ascended into heaven. Are they troubled with crosses ? That is the best time to rejoice in Christ. ' We jov in tribulation,' Rom. v. 3, When nothing comforts us, then hath Christ sweetest communion with our hearts. St Stephen, when the stones flew about him, and Paul in the dungeon, had the most sweet consolation and comfortable presence of God's Spirit that upheld them. Nay, in death we may glory most of all. It lets us into that state, into that sweet society with our Saviour and the saints, the very hope whereof doth now sustain us and cause us to glory here, as in Rom. v. 2. And death now is but a drone,* the sting is gone, all enemies are conquered.