Now, what is the foundation of this, that God is our. God in the cove- nant of grace ? We say it is founded on Christ. God is Christ's God, and then our God ; and that is the reason why Christ is called ' Immanuel,' which is as much as to say, as it is expounded, ' God with us.' Not only because when he took our nature on him, there was God and man in one person ; but the meaning of the word is, Christ is Immanuel, ' God with us ;' by being God in our nature, and satisfying divine justice in our nature, hath brought God the Father and us into a sweet covenant. So that God may he our God and our Father, notwithstanding his justice ; because all is satisfied by Christ, who took our nature to die for us. Christ is Im- manuel, because he hath made God and us one. So that God is our God, and not only so, but our Father in him. Thus you see how it cometh to pass that God is our Father by Christ, who came to bring us again to God, as his whole office was to bring a few that had been singled out of mankind to God again, from whom they fell ; for we all had communion wuth God in Adam, but we lost it ; and now must be brought again to God, which must be done by Christ, God and man.
Thus much for the foundation of the point, that God is Christ's God, and God in Christ is our God, to do all things for us, to bring us to an happy condition here and an everlasting happy condition in heaven.
We see here it is brought as a ground of comfort, and so indeed it is. And we may observe from hence, that now by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, God is not only become a Father to us, but a God. This is a ground of many comforts. * Go, tell my disciples,' now I am risen again ; and therefore justice is satisfied ; and now they may have lively hope of a better condition hereafter. For God is my God, thai hath raised me up, and who will raise up mine too. So that now we are copartners with Christ, sharers with him in the fatherhood of God, and God is God in common with Christ and us.
This may well be brought as a ground of comfort. If there were any comfort in the world of sweeter efficacy than this, our Saviour would have sent it to his disciples. Comfort being his main office and his main end, he would have the best comfort after his best resurrection. And he picks this from amongst them all, ' Go, tell them, I go to my Father, and their Father ; to my God, and their God.' And therefore it is a pregnant comfort ; and indeed no heart can conceive the comfort of it, that we have interest together with Christ in God, and with the Fatherhood of God. And both these the Scripture joineth together : 2 Cor. ii. G, ' I will be your Father, and your God.'
To unfold the comforts more, God is said to be our God in covenant in Christ. He is the God of Christ, and therefore of us, because he hath made himself over to us. A thing is said to be another man's when the title is passed to another man. Now, God hath as it were passed over himself to his believing children and members of Christ. He hath made over himself to them to be their God ; as he was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all the patriarchs, prophets, and apostles, so he is of every good, believing Christian to the end of the world. God maketh
A HEAVENLY CONFERENCE. 40)5
himself over to be theirs ; and, as the Scriptures' style is, he is their por- tion and their inheritance ; a blessed portion, a blessed inheritance, more to us than if all the world were ours, than if heaven were ours, than if ten thousand worlds were ours, for he is our God that can create miUions of worlds more than this if it were needful. Hahet omnia, qui hahet habentein omnia: he hath all things that hath him in covenant that hath all things. And therefore when the Scripture saith, ' I go to their God,' it implieth, I go to him that is all in all to them, that is larger than their hearts can be; for what heart can conceive the fulness of the comforts arising from hence, ' that God is our God ' ? Many know they need comfort of such a tran- scendent nature. The heart of man is so distrustful, so faithless, and the conscience is such a clamorous thing, and therefore he cannot think this is too much. I beseech you, therefore, do not lose the comfort of it, that in Christ God is our God ; though we can say of nothing else, it is ours. Perhaps we cannot say, great houses are ours, or friends are ours, or in- heritances ours. That is no matter. We can say, that is ours which is infinitely more than that. We can say, God is ours in Christ. Nay, being exhorted to say by the Spirit of faith, that God is ours in Christ, all things in the world are ours. As you have it in that place of Scripture, ' All things are yours.' Why ? ' Because you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' ' Whether things present, or things to come, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, life, death, all is yours ; you are Christ's, and Christ is God's ;' that is, all things must by a command from God conspire to make us happy : affliction, or Satan, or death, or trouble of conscience, or deser- tion, or everything to help us to heaven. The curse is. taken away, and there is a blessing hid in everything that befalleth a Christian, to bring him to heaven. Therefore it is a comfort of infinite extent. All is yours> because God is yours.