In a word, whatsoever is in Christ is for our good. He is all mine ; his life is mine ; his death is mine ; his resurrection is mine ; his ascension is mine ; all is mine. He is expended and laid open for my good. That is the first.
Again, As in the bodily life there is a stomach, a jjoiver to work out of the meat that ichich is for strength and nourishment, so in the soul there is faith, the spiritual mouth and stomach of the soul, to. work and draw out of Christ whatsoever is for the comfort and nourishment of it. As there is comfort in Christ, so the Spirit of God gives a man a hand, a mouth, as it were ; gives a man faith to work out of Christ somewhat for comfort. What were food if there were not a stomach to digest it, to make it a man's own? So what were Christ if we had not faith to lay hold on him?
Again, thirdly, As our life is nourished and maintained with that ivhich is dead, ivith dead things, so the chief dish that maintaineth and nourisheth the life of the soul, as I said before, is ' Christ crucified.' ' God forbid,' saith the apostle, ' that I should rejoice in anything but in Christ crucified.' When the soul of a poor sinner is pursued with accusations from Satan and his own conscience, when they take part with God against him, whither runs it ? To the city of refuge. It runs to Christ, to Christ crucified. Thither the soul flies, being pursued with the guilt of sin ; ' to the horns of the altar,' as Joab did when he was pursued, but with better success, for he was pulled from thence, 1 Kings ii. 28. But the soul that flies to Christ crucified, to the death of Christ, to Christ abased, to his satisfy- ing the wrath of God by his death, and making of us friends with God, there it holds ; there it lives ; and there it will continue for ever. This keeps the soul alive.
And then again, as in meat, before it can nourish us, there must be an union, an assimilation, a turning of it into us, so Christ, except he be made one with us by faith, unless there be an union between him and us, he can never nourish and comfort us savingly.
Again, As we oft eat, and after we have received food once, yet we eat again every day, because there is a decay of strength — and there are still new busi- nesses, new occasions that require neiv strength — and therefore there is need of a continual repairing of our stretigth by food, even so there is a perpetual exigence, a continual need that the soul hath to feed upon Christ, upon the promises of Christ, and the prerogatives by Christ, because every day we
3GG THE FEUITFUL LABOUR
have fresli impediments, fresh assaults, and therefore wo have need to fetch fresh supplies and refreshment from Christ, to have meat from Christ every day ; to live on Christ not only at the first, hut continually ; that as our corruptions, and temptations, and infirmities return every day, so every day to feed on Christ for the repairing of our spiritual strength. Especially we are to make daily use of the death of Christ ; for howsoever the death of Christ be transient in respect of the act of it, as one of the ancients saith («), yet the fruit of it remains for our daily comfort and refreshment. His blood runs every day in the church afresh, like a fountain always poured out, for Judah and Jerusalem to wash in, Zech. xiii. 1. It always runs ; that is, in regard of God's imputation, in regard of the fruit that comes to the soul ; and therefore we should make daily use of it for the comfort and strength of our souls upon all occasions, * We have an advo- cate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and he is the propitiation for our sins,' 1 John ii. 1. He is now an intercessor in heaven*; he con- tinually applies the fruit of his death now by his intercession in heaven.
Again, As, after meat received and eaten, there is stren(jth and comfort gotten for the affairs of this life, so likewise after the soul hath digested and relished Christ, and the benefits and prerogatives that come by him, after we have made the heavenly truths of Christ our own, the soul is strength- ened to holy duties. It is fit to do ; it is fit to suffer ; it is fit to resist temptations ; it is fit to perform all the services of Christianity.
In these and divers other respects Christ is the blessed meat here men- tioned ; not himself alone, but considered with all the blessed good things which we have by him. For Christ, as I said before, is never alone. If we have him, we are sons in him ; we are heirs in him ; we are free in him ; we are redeemed in him ; we are kings in him ; priests in him ; prophets in him ; we are all in him ; we have with him all the good things that he hath ; for as we have not them without him, so we have not him without them. Those that have the field, have the pearl in the field ; and they that have the pearl in the field, have the field. They that have Christ, have Christ clothed with all his blessed prerogatives, and privi- leges, and comforts.