The rarest meats, and the most delicious drinks, can never make our bodies become immortal; Death snatcheth away the brother from the brother, the father from the child, and the wife from her husband. The stroke of the sword can separate a body from the healthiest and strongest head; nay, without any such violence, the head dies as well as the body; and the spirits that run in our veins are far from hindering the corruption of our bodies, for they corrupt of themselves, and vanish away. In short, the strictest unions of nature and art are dissolved by time, so that all things under the sun are subject to vanity and inconstancy. But the Spirit of our Lord Jesus is the principle of an eternal life, and the seed of an incorruptible glory. Whosoever is united to him by this Spirit, nothing can separate him from Christ, neither life, nor death, nor hell, nor the world, nor things present, nor things to come. Therefore our blessed Saviour could find nothing here upon earth, nor amongst all the creatures, worthy and able to represent this perfect and inseparable union. He seeks an image of it beyondallnatural beings in the holy Trinity; that unchangeable union, which was, which is, and which shall ever be, between him and God the Father. As we may see in his excellent prayer, "Father, I pray for them all which shall believe in me, that they all may be one, as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee; that they also may be one in us; that they may be one, even as we are one," John xvii. Banish, therefore, all fear, believing souls; for all the three Persons of the most holy, most glorious, and most wonderful Trinity, are engaged for your salvation, to bring you to your eternal happiness. The Father, by his infinite wisdom, hath found out a means to reconcile us to himself, to satify his offended justice, and to declare the riches of his unparalleled mercies. The Son hath purchased for us this great salvation, by suffering the shameful death of the cross, and by spilling his most precious blood for the forgiveness of our sins. And the Holy Spirit, by incorporating us into Jesus Christ, makes us partakers of the

infinite

infinite merits of his sufferings, Rev. iii. That is the true hyssop that sprinkles the divine blood of the Lamb, without spot or blemish, to cleanse our souls, Heb. xii. It is he that gives us the white stone, where the new name of Elect and Believer is written, Rev. ii. which none knows but he that hath it. He gives to eat of the hidden manna, and of the food of angels, John iv. which the world knoweth not. It is instead of a precious ring or jewel, by which our spiritual Bridegroom promises and confirms to us his conjugal faith. It is the seal of the living God, that seals to us the covenant of grace and the promises of glory and happiness made to us in the gospel, as the apostle himself tells us, Eph. i. that now having believed the gospel of our salvation, "we have been sealed by the Spirit of promise." Therefore he exhorts us, Eph. iv. not to grieve the holy Spirit of God, by whom we have been sealed for the day of redemption." Finally, this is the Spirit that witnesseth with our spirits, that we are the children of God." If we be children, we are heirs, heirs of God, and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ," Rom. viii.

Think not, Christian souls, that I design to persuade you, that this holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus shall come and whisper in your ears, or call unto you from within, that you are the children of God, as the extravagant Quakers amongst us imagine. The testimony that he gives to our spirits is a real and effectual testimony, if I may so speak; for he regene rates us, and makes us become new creatures; he gives a more certain assurance of his adoption, than if he did declare from heaven, "Thou art my child, and thy name is written. in the book of life." As the seal imprints its image in the wax, thus the Spirit of the Lord Jesus imprints in our souls the image of holiness and divine virtue. Now as the figure that remains upon the wax, makes us judge, without dispute, what manner of seal made the impression; likewise, when you find God's image printed in your hearts, acknowledge

the

the finger of God, and the virtue of his holy Spirit, who have been there: for none can have the blessed image, but he must needs be the child of God. The Holy Spirit, that gives it to our souls, kindles in us the blessed flames of holy love, and produceth in us tongues of fire; he makes us speak to God with boldness, as to our Father, and lift up our eyes to heaven with joy and gladness, as to the place of our inheritance. All the goodness of this present life may be, nay, will be, lost at last, Prov. xxiii. Riches take wings, and fly away, like an eagle; honour vanisheth away, -as smoke carried away with the wind; earthly delights and pleasures haste away as a torrent, or as the waters of a river that slide along the banks, and they end at last in the sea of bitterness and sorrow. If by chance these vanities continue with the worldlings while they remain on earth, Psl. xlix. they can continue no longer; for they are stript of them at the grave. Their riches and their honours are buried with them; and all their unsettled delights fly away with their breath. But Death hath no power over this Spirit of life, which is our true treasure and glory, and everlasting delight.

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Again, The true and lively faith, that embraceth Jesus Christ our Saviour, shall cease; and hope, that considers the advantages to come, shall one day be abolished. While we are in this earthly pilgrimage, we walk by faith, and not by and down up sight; and while we are tossed this dangerous sea of the world, Heb. vi. we have need of the anchor of our hope, and to expect with patience the fulfilling of that we hope for, Rom. vii. But when we shall come to our heavenly country, we shall have no need of a staff to walk with, nor of a shield to defend us, and to quench the fiery darts of the devil. When we shall be secure in the haven of eternity, we shall have no occasion to make use of this anchor; for our hope shall be changed into a perfect fruition. When we shall be in paradise, we shall need no

wings to carry us up to God, but only to fly about his throne, as the seraphims. In short, we shall need no looking-glass to see the glory of God; for we shall behold him face to face. All that we believe at present without seeing, we shall then see, and believe no more. But the Spirit of the Lord Jesus, whom the world knoweth not, and cannot receive, is not given to us for a time, but to dwell in us for ever. As the humanity, which our Lord took from us, was never cast off, nor ever shall be; thus, the Spirit which he hath given us, shall never be taken from us. The humanity which our Saviour united in the person of the divine Word, hath been glorified by this eternal union; but the Spirit which he hath united to our spirits, by this gracious union, is the foundation of glory, and of our eternal happiness.

This Spirit of life is not only the seal of the promises of God, but also the earnest of our incorruptible inheritance, reserved for us in heaven. This is St. Paul's doctrine, Eph, i. for when he had said, "You have been sealed by the holy Spirit of promise," he adds, "which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Because this divine Spirit is the seal of the living God, it is the earnest of our inheritance; for this heavenly image that it imprints in our souls, shall be part of that glory with which he will crown us in his holy paradise. Therefore the Wisdom that is veracity in every respect, doth not call this Spirit a pledge or gage, but an earnest. For tho' both be given as a confirmation of promises, and an assurance of their accomplishment; there is this difference, that men commonly take back again the thing engaged, when that which is promised is done; but the earnest remains always, and is part of the sum to be paid. As therefore the earnest which is given, is never taken away, but men commonly add to it the remaining sum promised; likewise our Saviour never takes away from his elect the Spirit of adoption, which

hath been once bestowed upon them; but he increaseth its graces and advantages, until he hath raised them to the highest glory, and most divine happiness, which he hath promised.

It is in this case, as with the sun, which, as soon as it appears upon our horizon, increaseth the light more and more, until it ascends up to our meridian; or, as the streams and rivers, which the farther they run, the more they increase, until they come to the sea: Therefore, when our Lord and Saviour speaks of this Spirit of grace, which such as believe in him receive, he tells the Jews, John vii. "He that believeth in me,rivers of living water shall flow from his belly." And to the Samaritan woman he speaks in this language, John iv. "He that shall drink of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water, that I shall give him, shall become to him a fountain of water, springing up to eternal life. This was sometime shewn in a vision to the prophet Ezekiel, Ezek. xlvii. by the waters that ran down from the sanctuary; for, at the first, they reached no higher than the prophet's ankle-bones; afterwards they rose up to his knee, and then to his middle; at last they increased in such a manner, that they became a great torrent, and a deep river, which was not to be forded over, and which discharged itself into the sea.

As David, in the beginning of his reign, commanded but one tribe, but afterwards he enlarged the limits of his kingdom over all the tribes of Israel, that small portion of the kingdom was not then taken from him, but only increased and became greater: Thus it is with us during this life; we have a small part of the kingdom of heaven intrusted in our hands; or, if I may say so, we have now some jewels of the incorruptible crown, which is promised hereafter. This part shall not be taken from us, this bright beam of our future glory shall never be put out in the life to come. We shall possess as much of this kingdom as we are able, and shall

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