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Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved?....Song viii. 5.

WHO! The wonder and joy of angels, the envy of devils, the contempt of the world, because a miracle of grace; upon whom shines the glory of God's justice, the riches of mercy, the abounding of his love, and the efficacy of his power. It is a poor sinner, hopeless and helpless in himself, coming up from a dismal, dreadful, dangerous state, leaning upon one who is mighty to save. Some over-rate christians: they paint their characters so very strong and perfect, as though they forgot that they are in themselves nothing but poor sinners, whose nature is only evil continually: and these people also under-rate them, not considering what they are in Christ, new creatures, perfectly righteous, without spot of sin, infinitely glorious and comely in God's sight. Consider, 1st. This wilderness you are in it, and will be coming up out of it, till you get out of the body: it is your fallen nature, called flesh; it is inhabited by none but beasts of prey and devils of destruction; cursed sins and devilish lusts; there is no path in it to life, only to death and damnation. Though you are out of it, as to your state, yet you are really in it, as to your experience; therefore you are still coming up from it. How? 2d. Consider this posture, LEANING. It implies weakness, weariness, languor, fainting; yet aspires to ascend, to get on and get out. Do not you find this exactly your case? You are weary of the wilderness of nature and sin, long to get out of it, yet find not strength in yourself to ascend. Bless your soul, that you have a beloved to lean upon. He is your beloved, if you take him as such. You will find him the beloved of your soul indeed, if you lean upon him. 3d. What is it to lean upon Jesus? 1st. It is to cast yourself, the whole weight of yourself, sin and misery upon him, as having undertaken to support and sustain you. 2d. To join or cleave to him and associate with him, refusing all other props and supports but him. 3d. To rejoice and delight your soul in him and in the company of him. 4th. To strengthen yourself in him and get strength from him; just as a weak person does by leaning upon his staff in his journey. Jesus is all this to the mind by faith. Well then is he called our BELOVWhat remains, but that we prove his love by the faith of our hearts? So let us glory of him, and honor and serve him as the beloved of our souls; till leaning upon him all our journey through the earth, we come to enjoy him in heaven.·

ED.

I'll trust, and lean, and sweetly sing
Of my beloved dear:
Tho' weak, in want of ev'ry thing,
He doth my spirits cheer.

I have no strength, support of hope,
But what from Christ doth spring,
His love does keep my spirit up,
While faith's kept on the wing. M.

But the body is of Christ, (or is Christ)....Col. ii, 17.

THERE is not a greater instance of the depravity of the human mind, and the corruptness of the judgment, than its seeking happiness in the shadow of things instead of the substance. What is all created good but the shadow of him who created it? Yet we are prone to grasp at the shadow and seek to be satisfied with it, while we neglect God the substance; but all, like a shadow, eludes our embraces; still we are restless and pursuing: it is just the same in spiritual things: we are prone to take up, and rest satisfied with the shadow of things, without the body, which is Christ: yea, so foolish are we, that unless we are kept, even after we have known the substance and fulness of Christ, and see that we are complete in him, we turn again to trust in the shadow of our own works and duties. This is awful!" But the body is Christ." 1st. Jehovah, Father, Son and Spirit, have put the glory of every attribute and perfection of the godhead in the body of Christ: "In him dwelleth the fulness"....no, that is not right: "ALL the fulness of the go dhead bodily."....Col. ii. 9. God the Father says, "Behold mine elect in whom my soul delighteth."....Isa. xlii. 1. God's soul can delight in nothing but where his glory is. Again, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, hear ye him."....Matt. xvii. 5. God cannot be well pleased with any one who is not like himself, perfect in holiness, righteousness and truth: these, not one of all the human race is possessed of: therefore, God is so far from being well pleased with us, as we are in ourselves, that he hates and abhors us. But, 2d. Here is our special mercy, God loves us, he hath chosen us, and blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the body of Christ by Christ's body we are redeemed from all our sins, "For he bare our sins in his own body on the tree."....1 Pet. ii. 24. In Christ's righteous body we are justified and sanctified "We are sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ, once for all." ....Heb. x. 10. Yea, "by his one offering he hath FOR EVER perfected them that are sanctified."....Heb. x. 14. Therefore, 3d. "Whereof the Holy Ghost is a witness to us."....Heb. x. 15. This is his blessed office, to glorify Christ to our view and in our hearts. The Father calls on us to BEHOLD Christ and to HEAR HIM. The Holy Spirit enables to this, and fills us with all joy and peace in believing in the body of Christ. Here then things are brought to one single point: all our righteousness, holiness, peace, comfort and joy, are in the body of Christ. Are God and we agreed? Has God put all his glory there? Then let us seek all our happiness there.

O, my friends, let us remember,
That Jesus is our loving head;

Each believer is his member,
And shall on sin and satan tread. M.

Adam begat a son in his own likeness, after his image.... Gen. v. 3.

Nor in the image of God, in which Adam was created, but after the likeness of himself, an apostate spirit, fallen from God into all the cursed, proud, wrathful tempers of a wicked devil, and all the vile, filthy lusts of a brute beast. Awful difference between God's creation and man's pro-creation! Where can we turn our eyes but we see the dreadful effects of it? The Holy Ghost hath left this truth upon record for our instruction. Consider, 1st. That we are begotten sinners, not created such by God. David confessed this: "Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me."....Psalm li. 5. He does not charge his sinful nature to God, and impiously demand, why hast THOU made me thus? Ever beware of such doctrines which have the least tendency to make a holy God the author of sin. 2d. See whence you sprung: boast not of your high birth and noble pedigree: you are born a sinner, under wrath and curse, and must shortly turn to ignoble dust: "Be clothed with humility." 3d. Trace the filthy streams up to the corrupt fountain: look not only at your sins, but consider your sinful nature also: these are only the fruits; that the root from whence they sprung, says our Lord, "that which is born of the flesh, is flesh."....John iii. 6. Earthly, sensual, and devilish. I know, says Paul, in my flesh or fallen nature dwells no good thing....Rom. vii. 18. The flesh is part of you: never expect the old man to be exchanged into a new one, or flesh into Spirit: be content to leave it as you find it, an enemy to the Spirit: treat it as such: crucify its lusts resist its motions: subdue its desires: put off the old man from day to day. 4th. View the glorious method God has taken for your recovery from your fallen state: O love and adore him for it! Does he repair, alter, and amend what is amiss in the old creation? No; this very notion is a species of deism: but by a new creation, making ONE NEW MAN....Eph. ii. 15. Even the Lord from heaven becomes the Son of man, that we may be the sons of God IN him. The Spirit begets us again into him: we are new creatures in him: thus we are born again into a new creation: here we live holy and happy, in perfect acceptance with God, and enjoy fellowship in his love as our heavenly Father. As we see our own vileness, we are commanded to put on this NEW MAN by faith, day by day; and beholding his glory, we are changed into his image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord....2 Cor. iii. 18.

Born into Christ the second man,

We have a nature new;

Hence holy strife in us began,

Which proves us christians true. M.

Of whom I am chief....1 Tim. i. 15.

WHAT a mighty change does grace make! Paul was once in his own eyes the chief of saints. If but two went to heaven, he had no doubt but he should be one. Now he is really an eminent saint in Christ, he confesses himself the CHIEF of sinners. Why so? Did he love sin, lie down and wallow in sin, and glory in sin? No, far from it; he was now saved from all his sins: but he now sees the exceeding preciousness of Christ his Saviour; the exceeding sin fulness of sin, which dwelt in him; and the infinite holiness, spirituality, and perfection of the law of God: therefore he makes this pub lic declaration; not I have been, but I now AM the CHIEF of sinners. He as it were stands forth and challenges the whole race of sinners, and says, I will give place to no one: of all of you I will be the first rate, and stand foremost in the rank. But is not this glorying in sin, which was his shame? Self-righteous hearts think so; they cannot come into it. When any sinner adopts Paul's language, and says, "of sinners I am chief," they ignorantly reply, there can be but one chief. Who then is that one? Why every one who drinks into the same spirit with Paul, has the same views of himself which he had. For, 1st. They see sin, not only in its fruits, but as a root; not only its actions, but as a nature in which dwells no good thing. Such feel in their nature the vile lusts of the beast and the cursed tempers of satan. Though sin has not the dominion over them, yet sin dwells in them. When they look at their past sinful actions, they take into view their present sinful nature also, and therefore rate themselves according to their views of themselves: they have done with self-admiration and self-justification. I AM the chief of sinners: I see my self: I think no one has so wicked a heart and so bad a nature as I have. 2d. Such from their hearts give glory to the holy, blessed trinity. O how is God the Father glorified for his everlasting love to such sinners! How is God the Son's grace exalted in dying to save them, living to fulfil the law for them! How is the Holy Spirit's kind ness magnified, in convincing them of sin, bringing them to Christ to be saved from sin, and sanctifying them, by the faith of Christ, over the power of sin! 3d. Such, all such, and none but such, do cordially embrace and comfortably live upon this faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation (with the deepest humility and most inflamed joy) "Christ Jesus came into the world to save SINNERS:" there fore, as they are not under the power of sin, so they are delivered from the pride of their own righteousness. A sinner's righteous ness! They are not ashamed that they should ever be so arrogant and ignorant to talk of it, trust in it, or expect to be justified by it, in whole or in part.

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Let the lying lips be put to silence; which speak grievous things proudly and contemptuously against the righteous....Psalm xxxi. 18.

THE language of natural reason is, if I am righteous God will love me. It is the language of faith, though I am a sinner yet God loves me; and because he loves me, therefore he makes me righteous. How? The pen of inspiration answers: David describing the character of a sinner, renewed by grace and made meet to dwell with God, saith, "He shall receive RIGHTEOUSNESS from the God of his salvation."....Psalm xxiv. 5. Here we see plainly, that righteousness is a gift; that it is received, not worked out by the sinner; that it is given by the God of our salvation; it is the glorious robe our * elder brother, Jesus, wrought out for us, our heavenly Father imputes to us and puts upon us. God the Holy Spirit enables us by faith to receive it, rejoice in it, and boast of it; for, we see ourselves made infinitely and everlastingly righteous in it. Here observe, the gift of righteousness, to make poor sinners righteous, is an Old Testament doctrine. Lord establish our hearts in this fundamental truth of thy blessed word. Jesus, master, enable us to take comfort in thy one righteousness, and to give thee the glory of this inestimable blessing.

Is it so, that thou art thus righteous in God's sight? Then thou hast righteous hopes, righteous fears, righteous joys, a righteous heart, and a holy life: yea, and proud contemptuous foes too. Their lying lips will be opened against thee: the adversary of all truth will bring lying accusations against the truth thou believest, as surè as he brought them against Jesus Christ THE RIGHTEOUS, who is the TRUTH. Stirred up by him, marvel not if men charge thee with being an Antinomian, an enemy to all righteousness; that they say grievous things of thee; speak proudly against thy faith; contemptuously sneer at thy confidence; saying, how absurd the notion, that thou, who art a miserable sinner in thyself, should yet be perfectly righteous in Christ? And, in opposition to Christ's glorious righteousness, they will set up the sinner's filthy rags, and assert that we are to be justified first or last, or somehow, by what we do. What is thy duty here? Imitate David: give thyself unto prayer: "Let the lying lips be put to silence." How? By the grace of Jesus teaching thee to deny "all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world." So is the will of God, that with WELL DOING ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men.... 1 Pet. ii. 15. "We are the circumcision, which worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh."....Phil. iii. 3.

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