impassioned sense experienced ! O that all might " behold his glory, the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father ; " " the brightness of whose glory he is, and the express image of his person"!" The effect of such a sight cannot be conceived by those who never yet beheld it : for we should be constrained by it to cry out, " How great is his goodness ! how great is his beautyP'." and, whilst beholding his glory, we should be *' changed into his image, from glory to glory, by the Spirit of our God''." Go, beloved, into the holy mount, and converse with him ; and you shall come down, like Moses, irradiated with the beams of his glory. Be conversant with this " lily," and ye shall become "lilies" yourselves.]
2. Let us receive kindly his overtures —
[We have before shewn, that this is a dialogue between Christ as a Bridegroom, and the Church as his Spouse. Into this relation Christ is desirous to bring us all. We come in his name, to invite you all to unite yourselves with him ; we come, that we may "present every soul among you as a chaste virgin to Christ "■." Hear the invitation given, as it were, from his own lips : " I will betroth thee unto me for ever : yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in loving-kindness, and in mercies : I will betroth thee unto me in faithfulness, and thou shalt know the Lord^." Beloved Brethren, Who is there that has such a title to your affections as He ? Who can make you so happy as He ? Have not all other sources of comfort proved as " broken cisterns, that can hold no water ?" Why then will ye not " come to the fountain of living waters ?"
Say not, " I am unworthy of this high honour." Who is not unworthy ? Who could ever have obtained it by any wor- thiness of his own ? Every creature that was ever united to him was first a wretched, helpless outcast, like thyself : and, if thou desire an union with him, be assured that '* he will never cast thee out." Only " come to his banqueting-house, and his banner over thee shall be love"."]
3. Let us duly estimate our privileges —
[The happiness of the soul that is united unto Christ, no words can declare, no imagination can conceive. Only hear the terms in which He and his Spouse speak of each other : her he calls, " My Love :" and of him she speaks in that endearing term, " My Beloved. " Think, for a moment, what immense, what inconceivable privileges are implied in these terms, whether as applied by him to us, or by us to him ! What- ever he is, he is for you : whatever he has, he possesses for
o John i. 14. Heb. i. 3. p Zech. ix. 17. i 2 Cor. iii. 18.
r 2Cor.xi. 2. « Hos. ii. 19, 20. t Ezek. xvi. 4—8. " ver. 4.
849.] THE church's fellowship with CHRIST. 431
you : whatever lie does, he does for you ; whatever he enjoys, he enjoys as your Head, your Representative, your Fore- runner : ""The glory which his Father has given him. He has given you." You may enjoy earthly sweets, and they will cloy ; yea, the most fragrant rose will fade. Not so " the Rose of Sharon :" its fragrance will be undiminished to all eternity. You may sit under the shadow of other trees, and their foliage shall fail ; yea, like Jonah's gourd, they may wither in a night : but not so " the apple-tree that grows in the midst of the Paradise of God :" there is no worm at the root of that : its benign influence shall endure for ever : and its delicious fruits be ever new. Make then these things your own, by '' apprehending Christ," and giving yourselves up to him : for "all things are yours, if ye be Christ's." Only " taste, and see, how gracious the Lord is :" and having once " tasted that the Lord is gracious, you will never rest till you can say " My Beloved is mine, and I am his."]