they have the fame Spirit of God dwelling in their flcfh, as Chrift had dwelling in his flesh; fo that the very Spirit of God is found in the faithful, and therefore they are more glorious than the reft of the world.

3. They have a more excellent luftre than other Men. One thing that appertains to the excellency of precious ftones, is the luftre of them. Now this luftre in the Faithful, is the glory of God upon them: The Lord fhall arife upon thee, and his glory fhall be feen upon thee, faith Ifaiah, Ch. 60. And Paul faith, We all, beholding as in a glass, the glory of the Lord, are changed into the fame image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. So that as Chrift was taken into the glory of the Father, fo are we taken into the glory of Chrift, as he faith, Job. 17. And the glory which thou gavest me, I have given them; for the Head and Members are taken into the fame glory, according to their proportion.

4. They have more excellent operations; for the Faithful are not fuch precious ftones that are only for fhew, but they have alfo fome of Vertue in them, even the very Vertues of Jefus Chrift; for they having the fame Nature and Spirit of God as he had, are able according to the measure of the gift of Chrift, to do the fame works that he did; and fo the Saints are excellent, in the operations of Faith, Hope, Love, Humility, Meekness, Patience, Temperance, Heavenly-mindedness, &c. And in this regard alfo are more precious than the rest of the World. And therefore the Lord calls them his Jewels In the day wherein I make up my Jewels; and elsewhere they are called the precious Sons of Sion. The People of God are a moft precious People, Men and Women of a precious anointing; though fome wicked and scurriJous Libellers, against the Spiritual Church, will

not

not allow them this Name; but (according to the anointing they have received from Satan) reproach it. And yet ftill it is a truth, that the gates of Hell fhall not prevail againft. That the truly Faithful are precious ftones in the building of the Church, partaking of the Nature and Spirit of God, and of the luftre and operation of both.

Whereas, on the contrary, other People are the vile of the earth, the true filth and off-fcouring of all things, Pfal. 15. In whofe eyes, a vile Perfor is contemned; a Man that is a natural man, a finful and unregenerate man, who hath no other nature in him, but that corrupt nature he brought into the world, though in this prefent world he may be a Gentleman, or a Knight, or a NobleMan, or a King; yet in the eyes of God and his Saints, he is but a vile Perfon; and a poor mean Christian that earns his bread by hard labour, is a thousand times more precious and excellent than he, according to the Judgment of God and his Word.

And thus much for the first thing, the matter of which the Church of the New-Teftament is made, that is of precious ftones.

2. Now the next thing obferveable, is the va- The varies riety of these precious ftones. For the Spiritualty of the Church is not built up of precious ftones of one precious Stones in fort only, not all of Saphires, or all of Agates, or the buildall of Carbuncles; but of all thefe; both Saphires, ing of the Agates, Carbuncles, and many other precious ftones Spiritual of fair colours.

And this notes the diverfity of gifts in the Saints of God. For though all of them are precious ftones, yet they are of diverfity of colours, and luftre, and operations: And this alfo makes for the greater glory of the Church; for the variety of luftre adds to the Beauty and Ornament

Church.

of it. In the Body of a Man, there is not one member, but many. If the Body were all but one member, it would be but a lump of flesh, but the variety of members, with their feveral gifts and operations, are the glory of the Body. And fo it is in the Church, the Body of Jefus Chrift, wherein are divers members, with diversity of gifts and operations, excellently fet forth by Paul, I Cor. 12. 4. &c. Now there are diverfities of gifts, but the fame Spirit: And there are differences of adminiftrations, but the fame Lord; and there are diverfities of operations, but it is the fame God that worketh all in all. But the manifeftation of the Spirit is given to every one to profit withal: For to one, is given by the Spirit, the word of wisdom; to another, the word of knowledge, by the fame Spirit; to another, faith by the fame Spirit; to another, the gift of healing by the fame Spirit; to another, the working of miracles; to another, prophecie; to another, difcerning of Spirits, to another, divers kinds of tongues; to another, interpretation of tongues; but all thefe, worketh that one and the fame Spirit, dividing to every man, feverally as he will. Here you fee, are díverfities of gifts, and adminiftrations, and operations in the Faithful, but all proceed from one and the fame Spirit; and whatfoever gift proceeds from the Spirit, there is an excellent beauty, a Heavenly luftre in it.

And therefore labour to distinguish between thofe gifts that are co-natural to thee, and flow from thy own Spirit, and thofe gifts that are fupernatural, and flow from Gods Spirit. In all the operations of thine own Spirit, in all thy natural abilities, parts, wisdom, learning, actings, there is nothing but unglorioufnefs, deformity, darkness, death, how fpecious foever they may appear to the world; but in the gifts and operations that flow from Gods Spirit, there is a Hea

venly beauty, and luftre and glory; yea, even in weak Chriftians, that are true Chriftians, you fhall oft fee and difcern an excellent beauty in fome gift or other, which they have received from the Spirit, which fhines not forth fo clearly, in fome stronger Chriftians. And therefore let us not expect all gifts in all men, and that every man hould excell in every gift; for then one would be faying to another, I have no need of thee. But God hath given diverfity of gifts to divers Saints, that each may acknowledge fomething in another, which he hath not himfelf, and may reckon his perfection to lie in his Union and Communion with them; that fo the Communion of Saints may be kept up in the world, in despight of the world. One Chriftian hath the gift of Faith, another the gift of Prayer, another the gift of Utterance in Preaching, another the gift of Courage, another the gift of Meekness, and the like; and no man hath all things in himself, that every man in the fight of his own wants, may be kept humble. And this is a glorious thing in this Building, that the luftre of each stone, adds to the luftre of all; and the luftre of all, is communicated to each ftone; and fo in the Spiritual Building, what one hath from the Spirit, it is for all; and what all have, is for each one. If thou haft the gift of utterance in the ministration of the Spirit, it is to build up me; if I have the Spirit of Prayer, it commends thee as carefully to God as my felf; one watches over another, as over his own Soul; and if any be weak, the ftrong fupport them; if any be doubtful, they that have the gift of knowledge direct them. If one be troubled, the reft mourn with him; if one be comforted, the reft rejoyce with him; and they are all fo linked together in the body of Chrift, that the good and evil of one extends to all. Where

G 3

Where thou canst find fuch another Communion, there joyn thy felf; but if this be the only excellent Communion in the world, who would not willingly joyn himself to that Spiritual People, where no man calls his grace his own, but all gifts are in common' among all, every one having a fhare in the faith, hope, love, prayer, peace, joy, wisdom, ftrength of all; and all having a fhare in thefe gifts and graces, that are in any one? And thus much for the diverfity of the ftones, as well as the preciousness of them. ›

The SpiI. 3. The third thing, that reveals the sense of the ritual words, is,to obferve, that this Spiritual Building of Church is theChurch of the New Teftament,is made up all of made up Only of precious fones, without any mixture of common tones; is made up of Saphires, Agates, Carbuncles, and adds, And all thy borders of pleasant ftones.

precious

Stones.

Here then must be no mingling, of the precious and the vile, the holy and the prophane, the faithful and the unbeliever, the fpiritual and the carnal, but all must be precious. If a Man had a Jewel, that had here and there only a precious stone in it, and all the reft common pebbles, there would be no great glory in fuch a Jewel; but the common ftones, would take off from the luftre of the precious ones: And fo the Church, is God's Jewel in the world, and it must be made up only of precious ftones, as you fee here. And where are their eyes, that perceive not this?

There be fome that talk much against New Doctrine, which is the old reproach of the Gofpel; but furely there was never newer Doctrine than this, That the Spiritual Church of the New Teftament, fhould be made up of all the People that live in a Kingdom; and that all that are born in fuch a Nation, Jhould neceffarily be ftones for the building up the New Jerufalem. This is a new Doctrine indeed, which neither the Old for the New Tefta

ment