To express to us, that the bond of this sacred union is love, our Lord Jesus Christ is represented as our brother, our father, and our bridegroom. Accordingly the apostle tells us, That he is not ashamed to call us brethren, saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, Heb. ii. 11. 12; and elsewhere, That God hath predestinated us to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brethren, Rom. viii. 29; and after his resurrection, our Lord himself speaks thus to Mary Magdalene, Touch me not, for I am not yet ascended to my Father; but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, and to my God and your God, John xx. 17. Likewise, this glorious Redeemer, showing himself unto God with all the elect, saith, Behold, I, and the children which thou hast given me, Heb. ii. 13; and speaking to his church by the mouth of the prophet Hosea, he makes her this promise, 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, chap. ii. 19. Hence the church is often called in the Revelations, the. Bride, the Lamb's Wife; and in the Canticles, the spiritual union betwixt Christ and his church is all along represented by the allegory of a marriage.

And because the meat and drink which we take for our nourishment, unites with the body in such a manner as to become one substance with it, Jesus Christ assures us, That his flesh is meat indeed, and his blood is drink indeed; that he is the true bread which came down from heaven, which giveth life unto the world; and that if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever, John vi.

But, among all the similitudes employed to represent to us our union with Jesus Christ, by his Holy Spirit that quickeneth us, there is none more frequently made use of in Holy Scripture, than that of the human body; nor indeed is there any more proper: for as all the spirits that give life and motion to the body proceed from the head, and the members die as soon as separated from it; in like manner, the Spirit that quickeneth us, and maketh us become new creatures, proceeds from Jesus Christ; so that every one that separates himself from this head, falls into death and eternal destruction. And as there are many members, which nevertheless, make up but one body, because they are all animated with the same Spirit, and are kept alive by the same head; so there are many members belonging to Christ's mystical body, some fighting the good fight upon earth, and others glorified in heaven; nevertheless, they make up only one mystical and spiritual body, forasmuch as they are all quickened by the same Spirit, and receive their celestial influences from the same head. This is what St. Paul expressly teacheth us in these divine words, For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body; so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit, 1 Cor. xii. 12, 13. Finally, because the same Spirit that is in our Lord, as in the head and fountain, and in the church in general, as in the body quickened and moved, is also in every member. The holy apostle is not satisfied with calling by the name of Christ, this precious body, composed of Christ and his church, but he tells us

moreover, with respect to every believer in particular, But he that is joined unto the Lord, is one spirit, 1 Cor. vi. 17.

These, and all other representations of the same nature, however lively and noble they may appear, are but dark shadows, and imperfect images of our union with Jesus Christ by his Holy Spirit that quickeneth us. For the richest and most magnificent garments cannot keep off diseases, nor hinder the corruption of the body which they invest. There is no foundation, though ever so firm and well settled, that can secure the house built upon it from the breaches of time. Although the sap mounts up from the root of the vine, and circulates into the twigs and branches, they wither at last, and are cast into the fire. The rarest meats, and the most exquisite drinks, cannot make our bodies immortal. Death snatches, every day, the brother from the brother, the father from the child, and the wife from the husband, A stroke of the sword can separate the head from the healthiest and most vigorous body; nay, without any such violence, the head dies as well as the body; and the spirits that proceed from it are so far from hindering the corruption of the members, that they corrupt of themselves, and disappear. In short, the strictest unions of nature and art are dissolved by time; and every thing under the sun is subject to vanity and inconstancy, Eccl. i. But the Spirit of our Lord Jesus Christ is the principle of an eternal life, 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 the world, nor hell, nor things present, nor things to come, Rom. viii. 38. Therefore, when our blessed Saviour could find nothing upon earth, nor amongst all

the creatures, worthy and able to represent this perfect and inseparable union, he seeks an image above the highest heavens, in that unchangeable union, which was, which is, and which ever shall be, between him and God the Father; as we may see in his excellent prayer, John xvii. Father, I pray for them which shall believe on me that they may be one, as thou Father, art in me and I in thee; that they also may be one in us, even as

we are one.

Tremble not, therefore, Christian souls, nor be dismayed; for all the three persons of the most Holy, most Glorious, and most adorable Trinity, are engaged for your salvation, and eternal happiness. The Father, by his infinite wisdom, hath found out a means to reconcile us to himself, to satisfy the rigour of his justice, and to declare the riches of his unparalleled mercies; the Son hath purchased for us this great salvation, by offering himself up a willing sacrifice upon the cross, and by shedding his most precious blood for the remission of our sins; and the Holy Spirit, by uniting us with this our High-priest, makes us partakers of the infinite merits of his sufferings. This is the true hyssop that sprinkles the divine blood of the Lamb, without spot or blemish, to the cleansing of our souls, Heb. xii. 24. It is this Spirit that gives us the white stone, wherein the new name of elect and believer is written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it, Rev. ii. 17. He gives us to eat of the hidden manna, the food of angels, which the world knoweth not, John xiv. 17. It is instead of a precious ring, by which our heavenly Bridegroom plights to us his conjugal faith. It is the seal of the living God that seals to us the covenant of grace, and all the promises of glory and happiness, made to us in the

gospel; as the apostle tells us, Having believed in the gospel of our salvation, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, Eph. i. 13; therefore he exhorts us, Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption, Eph. iv. 30. Finally, this is the Spirit that beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ, Rom. viii, 16, 17.

Think not, Christian souls, that I intend to persuade you, that this Holy Spirit of our Lord Jesus shall come and whisper in your ear, or call unto you from within, that you are the children of God, as some extravagant enthusiasts imagine. The witness that he bears with our spirits is a real and effectual witness, if I may say so; for by regenerating us, and making us become new creatures, he gives us a greater and more certain assurance of our adoption, than if he declared 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 our Lord Jesus imprints in our souls the image of its holiness, and of all its divine virtues. Now, as the figure that remains upon the wax enables us to pass a sure judgment, what manner of seal made the impression; so when you find the image of God engraved in your hearts, acknowledge the finger of God, and the power of his Holy Spirit; for no one can bear this blessed image, except he be the child of God. The Holy Spirit, that engraves it in our souls, kindles there the flames of seraphic love, and gives us tongues of fire. He causes us to speak to God with boldness, as unto our Father; and to lift up our eyes to heaven with an holy joy; as unto our inheritance.