THE

CHURCH'S ECHO.

IN ONE SERMON.

REV. xxii. 17.

"And the fpirit, and the bride, fay, Come."

THIS book of the Revelation is a hiftory of the state of the church from the first coming of Chrift to his fecond coming. These two laft chapters fet down the glorious condition of the church, in the latter end of the world, and as it fhall be at the confummation of all things; when the prefent ftate of things fhall determine in the second coming of Chrift. For, howsoever, no doubt but there is fet down the glorious condition of the church in this world in part: yet the defire of the church rests not in any condition here, therefore it is carried to the confummation and perfection of all. There shall be a kind of new world at the converfion of the Jews. But when the church is under that bleffed condition, yet it is under defires still of farther perfection, till an end be made of all things. Therefore, this faying here," Come," hath reference to the future ftate of the church. All the defires of the church are restless till the confummation of all things in the latter coming of Chrift. It carries all before it in a defire, Come Lord, therefore, to call the Jews; Come Lord, to confound antichrift, which must be before that for the Jews will never come in, till the scandal of idolatry be removed. And when all this is fulfilled, then come Lord, to make an end of this finful world.

As it is with a river, it carries all before it, till it discharge itself into the ocean, where it is swallowed up; fo it is with the defires of a christian; they carry all in the mean time, between heaven and them, in a stream, and never rest till they be swallowed in heaven itself, and the fecond coming of Chrift to finish all things; and then is the period of all happiness, and the accomplishment of all promifes, when Chrift fhall come to be glorified in his faints.

The words are, as it were, an echo, an answer back again, of the bride, the spouse of Chrift, unto his promife of his coming, which he makes twice in this chapter. In ver. 7. "Behold, I come quickly ;" and in ver. 12. “Behold I come quickly ;" and he comes not empty handed, "My reward is with me." Now the church here echoes back again; Chrift faith, "I come," and," the spirit, and the bride, fay, Come." The words contain the most heavenly defire that can be, of the most excellent perfonage in this world, the queen, the bride of Chrift; and it is a defire of the most excellent perfon abfolutely, Chrift himfelf, a defire of his coming; and it is stirred up by the most excellent fpirit, the holy fpirit of God: for the meaning of the words is this," The fpirit and the bride fay, Come," not as diftinct and separate; but the bride by the fpirit faith, "Come," the Holy Ghoft in the bride, as it is in Rom. viii. 26. “ We know not what to pray for, but the spirit makes interceffion;" How is that? The spirit makes interceffion, by making us make interceffion for what Chrift doth, the fpirit caufeth us to do; for there is one fpirit in Chrift, and us. So the bride, by the motion of the holy and bleffed fpirit, fays, "Come." The order of our discourse upon these words shall be this,

First, to speak of the person wishing, and her condition, “the bride."

And then of the defire of this excellent perfonage, the bride. And then of the moving cause that stirs up the bride to defire the coming of Chrift.

Firft, for the perfon, the bride.

The church is fometimes compared to a woman for weakness; fometimes to a wife, for faithfulness to her husband Chrift; fometimes to a bride, because fhe is contracted to Chrift in this world; fometimes to a mother for her fruitfulness; fometimes to a virgin, for her chastity: here to a bride, because this life is

but

but the time of contract; but the confummation of the marriage fhall be in heaven. Now, this contract is between the church and Chrift, and between every particular foul and Chrift: for both are the bride of Chrift. Even as it is the fame foul that is in the little finger, and in all the whole body, the fame foul enlivens both fo it is the fame fpirit in the bride in general, and in every particular chriftian, therefore the bride is both every particular chriftian, and the whole church. Now the contract that is made between the foul, and between the church and Christ, it is by the spirit of God, which knits the foul to Chrift, and Chrift to the foul. And for this end, that Chrift might be a husband, and contract this bride to himself in our nature, he married our nature, that he might marry our persons.

There is a threefold degree of union:

1. An union of nature. 2. An union of grace. union of glory.

3. An

The union of nature was, when Chrift took our nature upon him. The union of grace, is when we take his nature, when we partake of the divine nature. The union of glory is when we fhall all be in heaven. The firft is, for the fecond, and the fecond for the third.. Chrift became bone of our bone, in nature, that we might be bone of his bone, with him, in grace; and fo perfectly one with him in glory. We fee the bride, that is the perfon. Here I might take occafion to speak of the sweet comfort that iffues from this, that the fecond perfon in the Trinity fhould dignify us fo much, as to take us to unity with, and contract us to himself. But I will not fpeak much of this point, having spoken more at large of it out of the Canticles.

If marriage be honourable, what is this marriage and contract? which is indeed the pattern of all others; others are but fhadows to this. Hence comes the fweet fecurity and peace of the church, from this contract between Chrift and it: for all our debts are discharged by this, he took upon him our fins. And then the church hath intereft in him, and all his, in this contract and marriage which is to be confummate, all that he is and hath, is the church's. "All is yours, because you are Chrifts." What a large comfort is this, if we had hearts to confider of it, and to improve it! His grace ferves for the church, "Of his fulnefs we receive grace for grace So we may fay of all the privileges that Chrift hath; they are firft in him, and then

in the church; the church fhines in his beams. And, as it is matter of wondrous comfort, fo it is likewife matter of more fpecial comfort, in cafe of infirmities. The church is a woman, therefore the weaker veffel. Now God, that bids us "bear with the woman as the weaker veffel," to honour her with the honour of gentle ufage; for that honour is meant. He that teacheth man his duty, will he not perform it himself? to bear with his church, as the weaker veffel. Efpecially when it is the condition of the marriage, Hofea ii. "I will marry thee to me in mercy." We may claim mercy as a part of our dowry by Chrift, pardoning mercy; we make not ufe of this comfort, when we are difcouraged.

But this teacheth us likewise how to carry ourselves to Christ as we should do, chastely; to take heed how we judge of things, we must keep our judgements chaste. A chriftian hath not liberty to riot in his opinion, to run at random, to see what carnal reason faith: No, he must think as Christ thinks, and submit his judgement to him. And he must have no will of his own, he must give it up to his contracted husband, Christ, and be content to be ruled by him in all things; he must forget his father's house, and his former condition; and not to make this marriage, (as carnal profeffors do), a cover for their adulterous unfaithfulness. What is the course of many chriftians? They make the profeffion of religion a cover for their ill dealing, for their unfaithful courfes-what a fhame is this! it is abominable. What makes the faults of wives worse than the faults of single perfons? because they are contrary to covenants, befides many other inconveniences, the confufion of offspring, and the like: but this is one grand difference to make the exaggeration of the fault, it is contrary to former covenant. Thofe that are swearers, and filthy perfons, that difgrace religion, and yet notwithstanding cover themselves under pretence that they are contracted to Chrift, they are baptifed, and come to the facrament, &c. fuch wretched perfons fhall know ere long what it is to dally with religion. What is the aggravation of the faults of such persons ? They deal as filthy adultereffes do, they make religion a cover for their wretched courfes. God is merciful, Chrift died, we are chriftians, we are baptifed, &c. This is an obligation to a ftricter life; it gives men no liberty, but is a ftricter bond to a holy life, the renewing of the new covenant again and again. Therefore there is no comfort for any fuch wretched perfons that countenance themselves under the profeffion of religion; it

adds

adds a greater degree to their offence: "Oh ye adulterers and adultereffes," faith St James, "know ye not that the love of the world is enmity with God?" When we let our hearts loofe to vain things, and yet pretend that we are contracted to Chrift, we are adulterers and adultereffes.

I beseech you, therefore, in the name of Christ: for it is our office that are minifters, to bring Chrift and his spouse together, we are paranymphi, friends of the bridegroom, as it is in the New Testament. Let me entreat you in good earnest, those that have not seriously given up their names to Chrift to be contracted to him, to join with him in good earneft; and to resign all to him in your inward man, in your judgements, and wills, and affections, and then you fhall find it the most comfortable condition in this world Indeed, all is nothing to the comfort of this condition, to be indeed, and not in outward profeffion only, in in covenant with Chrift, to be contracted to him. If not, if you will take liberty under the profeffion of religion, to live loosely, to be fwearers, and filthy perfons; to ufe your tongues as you lift, as if you had made no promise to Chrift, as indeed we all have, what will be the confufion of your fouls ere long? Oh, that we dallyed with religion, that we were entreated to be as we should be by all sweet bonds, and yet we preferred our own lusts, and bafe affections. This will be the aggravation of hell and damnation itself, this entreaty of Chrift, and the excellent prerogatives and privileges that we have in Chrift; and in the mean time, we stand upon our own base courses, and will not leave any thing, to give up ourselves to Chrift. But I mean not to dwell on this This is the perfon," the bride;" she is called the bride, and not the wife, becaufe fhe is only contracted here on earth; and fhe is called the bride, in oppofition to the whore of Babylon in this book, that is, the filthy adulterefs, the falfe church The true church of Chrift is a bride, and a virgin; in heaven, the fhall be a wife: the falfe church is a whore; fhe defiles herself with idolatry and abominations. So, partly for distinction from itself, in heaven, where it fhall be a wife, and partly in oppofition to the falfe church, fhe is here called a bride.

To come, in the next place, to the defire of the church. How fhould the church know fhe is a bride? This is one way-the defire of the marriage, of the confummation of it, a defire of the coming of Chrift. In this there are two things confiderable.