But wherein lieth the difierence between this meat, this food of the soul, and other meat ?
In these things. First of all, Christ, as he is from heaven, so all the graces and comforts that irc have by him, are all from heaven, and they carry us to heaven. All the other things are earthly.
Secondly, All earthly food doth not give, hut maintain life u-here it is; but Christ he is such a food as gives life. He is as well life as food : 'I am the life,' John xi. 25.
Again, thirdly, The nourishment we have from this outward food, we turn to ourselves; but Christ, this spiritual meat, turns us into himself, transforms us into his own likeness ; for Christ ofiered to us in the gospel being digested by faith, doth by his Spirit change us every way into his own likeness.
Lastly, All other meats are consumed in the spending, and there will a time come ivhen we shall not be able to relish any worldly thing ; our mouth will be out of taste with these outward things. But Christ, the food of the soul, is never consumed, but grows more and more ; and when we can relish no other, we may relish this food that endures to everlasting life. It always satisfies the soul. All earthly things are as salt water, that increase the appetite, but satisfy not. Only Christ and grace, and the comforts we have by him, satisfy, and that everlastingly. They are as a spring that never dies.
FOR ETERNAL FOOD. 3G7
As he himself in his own person endures to everlasting life, so all that we have by him is everlasting. Grace is everlasting. Grace ends in glory. Christ always satisfies, though not wholly here, because there must be a continual recourse to him ; yet he will satisfy hereafter. ' Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,' Mat. V. 6.
Thus you see what is meant by the ' food that endures to everlasting life,' and the reason of the resemblance and the difference that is between this and other meat.
Here are arguments enough then to enforce us to a labouring after this meat that endures to everlasting life, that is so agreeable to the best part of us, that is able to make us happy ; to labour by faith to get them to be our own.
Now the labour required is especially to get a stomach to this meat. God requires nothing of us when we come to his delicacies but that we bring a good stomach with us. I will therefore speak a little of that, what we must do to get an appetite to this spiritual meat.
A good stomach, we know, is procured by sharp thinr/s. The paschal lamb was ' to be eaten with sour herbs,' Exod. xii. 8. If we would have an appetite after Christ, labour daily to consider what a cursed estate we are in without Christ. God hath left the law, as for other purposes, so for this, that we should feed upon the threatenings of it, that it should drive us to Christ. A legal faith is the way to evangelical. Labour therefore thoroughly to be convinced of the need thou standest in of Christ, and then I need not bid thee to labour for the food that endures to everlasting life. That will sharpen thy appetite after it. And beg of God illumination to see the ill that is in thee, and the ill that belongs to thee. God hath left infirmities and corruptions in us on purpose for this end, and likewise we have temptations without us. We carry not only a hell within us, which if God should not keep in would carry us to despair ; but there is a hell without us, the temptations of Satan, the accusations of the law, the anger and wrath of God. Thus we should labour to be convinced of our wretched estate without Christ, the danger we are in if God should take us hence on a sudden. This will force every day a fresh appetite and stomach in the soul to feed on Christ.
Secondly, If we would sharpen our appetites to this food, ive must purge our stomachs, which naturally surfeit of earthly things. Purge the soul by a consideration of the vanity of all other things that draw us from Christ. The reason why we have no better relish of Christ and heavenly things is, because we cleave in our afiections so much to earthly things. We set up idols in our hearts instead of Christ, and we cleave in an adulterous and false affection unto them. Let us set before us arguments of the vanity of all things but Christ ; and there can be no better argument than here is set down, ' they are all perishing things.' That which the soul neglects Christ, and heaven, and happiness for, and is so madly set upon, alas ! they are all base in respect of the soul. The whole world is not worth a soul. They are all perishing things, of less continuance than the soul is. We should purge our souls by such considerations as these.
Then again, thirdly, exercise rjetting a stomach. Let us every day spend our spiritual strength in spiritual exercises, in resisting temptations, in withstanding the snares of Satan, in bearing those daily crosses that God lays upon us. Live as Christians should live, and the exercise of a Christian life will enforce us to go unto Christ tr feed on him, to fetch