Note. Observe then, I beseech you, in the words, the sweet intercourse that is between Christ and his spouse. Christ promiseth again and again, * Behold I come quickly ;' and the church saith, ' Come ;' ' Amen. Even so, come. Lord Jesus.' There is no intercourse in the world so sweet as is that between Christ and his church. But we will come unto the words themselves : ' Amen. Even so, come. Lord Jesus.'
In these words you have, first, the assent of the church ; secondly, the consent — -her assent to the truth ; her consent to the goodness of the truth. 'Amen : ' it is so. Nay, 'Amen : ' it shall be so. Nay, ' Amen : ' be it so ; or, let it be so. There is a wishing included in it. All these are wrought by the Spirit. The Spirit convinceth us both of the truth and of the goodness of the truth. And besides that, in the next words, the same Spirit stirs up a [desire and prayer : ' Even so, come. Lord Jesus.' Holy desires are turned into fervent prayers.
Note. 'Amen' is a short word, but marvellously pregnant, full of sense, full of spirit. It is a word that seals all the truths of God, that seals every particular promise of God, And it is never likely to arise in the soul, unless there be first an almighty power from heaven, to seize on the powers of the soul, to subdue them, and make it say, ' Amen.' There is such an inward rising of the heart, and an innate rebellion against the blessed truth of God, that unless God, by his strong arm, bring the heart down, it never will nor can say, ' Amen.'
Note. But now the heart will not be pent in or restrained. The Spirit is an enlarging thing; and therefore, besides 'Amen' (though 'Amen' includes that which follows), the spirit breaks forth and saith, ' Amen. Even so, come. Lord Jesus.'
A little of ' Amen.'
Christ is said, in the beginning of this book, to be ' Amen, the true and faithful witness,' Piev. iii. 14. And all the promises are said, in Christ
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Jesus, ' to be yea and amen,' 2 Cor. i. 20 ; that is, they are made for his sake, and performed for his sake ; they are made in him, and for him ; and they are performed in him, and for him. And when 'Amen' — that is, Chi'ist himself — shall say his * Amen ' to any thing, is it so much for us to give our ' Amen ' ?
The point I mean to raise out of this word '• Amen ' is this :
Doct. 1. Tliat the hearts of the children of God are pliable to divine truths, to yield to the ivhole icord of God, especialhj to the good icord of God, viz., the promises ; and of all p)romises, to the promise of promises, the second coming of Christ.
They say * Amen ' to that, and that for these reasons :
Reason 1. Because tliere is a suitdhleness of disijosition, and a kind of con- naturalness, hetween a sanctified heart and sanctified truths, between an holy heart and holy things ; insomuch, that if an holy truth, never heard of before, be heard by an holy heart, it will yield present assent ; for his heart is subdued so, that he hath an 'Amen' for it presently.
Eeason 2. There is a sweet relish in all divine truths, and suitable to the sweetness in them, there is a spiritual taste, which the Spirit of God puts into the soul of his children. Though there be never so much sweetness in things, if there be not a suitable taste, there is no relish in them. There- fore, the Spirit of God, in his children, works a taste of the sweetness that is in the word of God. And that is a main ground why they say ' Amen,' especially to comfortable truths.
Eeason 3. Again, when the soul is once contracted un.to God, it hath no will of its own, but it yields up his will to God's icill. The spouse hath no will of her own, but her husband's will is her will. So if Christ say ' Amen, I come quickly,' the spouse of Christ saith ' Amen' too.
Reason 4. God deals with his children, likevnse, by ivay of a covenant and a contract. And above all other covenants, the covenant of a contract is the sweetest covenant. Now, in it there must be a consent on our part ; and therefore it is, that the Spirit always stirs up an ' Amen ' on our parts too. When he saith ' Amen,' it shall be so, then the soul saith, ' Amen, Lord ; let it be so.' As in civil marriage there is a contract, so here, in the spiritual ; and seeing there is a contract, there is also an assent to the ' second coming' of Christ. The contracted spouse must needs say 'Amen' to the marriage day.
Eeason 5. Lastly, the Spirit of God, in the hearts of his children, stirs up in them this ' Amen,' as a seal of their effectual calling. If you should ask me what effectual calling is, I answer, it is nothing else but the heart's echo and answer to God's speech. God calls, and we answer. This is by St Peter called, ' the answer of a good conscience,' 1 Pet. iii. 21. There must be in the soul the answer of a good conscience to all divine truths. Doest thou believe ? I do believe. Doest thou repent ? I do repent. ' Seek ye my face. Thy face. Lord, will I seek,' Ps. xxvii. 8. ' Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee ; for thou art the Lord our God,' Jer. iii. 22. Unless there be thus the answer of a good conscience, there is no effectual calling. Our calling is then effectual, when the Spirit stirs up in the heart an answer unto it. Therefore, you see there must needs be an ' Amen ' wrought in the hearts of the children of God.