a consent he that wants reason which is the root of liberty cannot consent If there be error personae a mistake of the person there is no consent errantis voluntas nulla est he that errs consents not if there be metus gravis ac violentus a weighty and violent fear extorting a consent the consent not being free is as none at all In all such cases the Rule is Vbi non est consensus non potest esse matrimonium where there is no consent there can be no marriage Consensus facit matrimonium the consent makes the marriage Answerably in the spiritual marriage between Christ and Believers there is a mutual consent there are arrhae sponsalitiae earnests and pledges given on both hands Quemadmodum nobis arrabonem spiritûs reliquit ita a nobis arrabonem carnis accepit Et vexit in coelum piguus totius summae illuc redigendae Tert. de Resur Carnis Christ hath carried the earnest of our flesh to Heaven and from thence sent down the earnest of his Spirit to us the consent is mutual on Christs part there is a consent though it be to espouse not Angels but men not men in their primitive beauty and integrity but men under a stain of sin and corruption yet he consents to it and that not out of error or mistake but out of choice and transcendent love which as early as eternity it self delighted in the sons of men and in time calls and draws them into conjunction with himself all the sweet wooings pathetical expostulations precious promises and free offers in the Gospel are as so many sure testimonies given to his consent On the Believers part there is also a consent they breathe after him rest upon him resign to him and accept of him upon the terms of the Gospel In their consent two or three things may be noted First There must be a right knowledg of Christ to an unknown Christ there can be no consent the knowledg of him must be right in the measure of it Under the Old Testament where Religion was much wrapt up in vails and shadows a less measure of knowledg might suffice but under the New when men live in the noon-day light and as it were directly under the Sun of righteousness a much greater measure of knowledg is necessary We should now study to know him distinctly in his offices and benefits that we may aptly and out of judgment join our selves to him If a man think that Christ is a Saviour only and not a Lord or that one may partake of Christ crucified and yet not take up his Cross in mortifications and patient sufferings nor yet follow him in holiness and true obedience here is error personae such an one knows not the true Christ but a Christ of his own fancy his consent which is proportioned to his knowledg is not to the real Christ but to the imaginary one no man can consent to more than he understands the knowledg must be right that the consent may be so Again the knowledg must be right in the nature of it it must not be a meer notion which may be in an heart like Nabals dead and cold in spiritual things but it must be a spiritual knowledg which discerns Christ spiritually and carries with it such a savour of him as makes the heart chuse and embrace him above all things Further As there must be a right knowledg so there must be a free choice of Christ Consensio volentis est consent is in the willing it is not a thing pressed out of the heart by fear but sweetly issuing out of it in a free option When Lewis the Eleventh of France was pressed under the fears of death he sent for the holy Hermite holy Oyl holy Cross and what not in his extremity Many men when upon their death-beds they are turning off from this world and entring upon eternity or possibly before that last hour when the wrath of God flashes into their consciences and sets them a fire with the dread of what is justly due to their iniquities may in such a strait seem very willing to have Christ But alas all this is but a force a meer pressure upon their wills Nothing like unto that pure genuine consent which is in true Believers who chuse and set their hearts upon Christ as seeing the excellency of his Person usefulness of his Offices rectitude of his Precepts preciousness of his Promises and greatness of his Rewards the intimate biass and bent of their hearts is such that leaving the world behind their back they embrace and fall in with their dear Jesus above all things Moreover This consent is a present actual one in Marriage there are words used not de futuro but de praesenti or else it is no Marriage but a promise only Believers do not say as the sluggard yet a little sleep a little slumber in sin nor as St. Austin in his delays before conversion did modo ecce modo but they give a present consent to Christ when he knocks they say not go and come again to morrow for that is not to consent to day nay not to consent at all but only to speak of it but they make haste and delay not immediately they open and own him as their Lord he is their greatest desire and they will not put him off no not for a world which is much less in their eyes than he is They have to their great shame too long served their corruptions now they join themselves unto him in a perpetual covenant never to be forgotten without any more ado a present actual consent is given to him It is indeed said by Divines that the true desires of Grace are Grace and so they are but then those desires do at least virtually and seminally contain in them a present consent for where those desires are in truth there the heart breaks off confederacy with sin and values Christ as its chief treasure Were such an one asked what he would have in the first place he would answer None but Christ Before I pass over the consent between Christ and Believers two things may be noted touching the excellency of it above that which is between man and wife The one is this Christs consent is a pure gratuitous act When a man chuses a wife the reason is in the object she is fair or virtuous or rich in estate one attractive or other draws out his consent but when Christ made his choice no attractive was in his Spouse Believers no less than others are naturally void of holy Graces and so extreamly poor that they have not of their own to cover their nakedness or pay their debts there was nothing in them to draw out his love towards them the only reason of his choice was in his infinite goodness his Grace had no other mover but it self It 's true he saith of his Church Behold thou art fair my love behold thou art fair Cant. 1.15 But
it is within in the very hearts and consciences of men He makes a willing people he inspires obedience into his subjects His own Unction doth in some measure fall down upon them Earthly Kings who yet are Politically unite to their subjects cannot rule after this sort or do any thing like it Hence it is clear that if there had been no other resemblance of the union between Christ and believers but that of a Kingdom only yet that union would not have been meerly Political because his Kingdom is what others are not spiritual and of internal efficacy In Scripture our union with Christ is not only set forth by the resemblance of a Kingdom but by many other none of which are or can be thought to be in vain all of them have their significancy and that to different purposes The conjugal union imports love the architectonical one shews supportation that of the Vine and the Head speak vital influence that of food expresses a very intimate conjunction These fignificancies are not forced or strained but natural and genuine such as run into our minds at the first sight The holy Scripture the best interpreter of its own resemblances assures us that they are used to this very end and intent that we might firmly believe that those things which are genuinely in the outward patterns are really and after an eminent manner in Christ He is an Husband for his dearest Love Ephes 5.25 a foundation for his never failing support to his Church Mat. 16.18 a Vine and an Head for his vital influence Joh. 15.4 5. Ephes 4.16 aliment for his near and intimate conjunction with believers Joh. 6.56 Such is the natural tendency of these resemblances such is the interpretation of them in Scripture but now if our union with Christ be meerly Political how can these things stand what tolerable account can be given of them It is certain that nothing in all the lower world is so apt and proper to declare that union as meerly Political as the resemblance of a Kingdom nothing is so significant and fully expressive of it as that when therefore the Holy Ghost had set it forth by a Kingdom why did not he stay his hand and rest in that resemblance why would he go on and set it forth by the love of Espousals by a building cemented to its foundation by the incision of branches into a root by the copulation of members to a vital head by the incorporation of food with the body What analogy is there in an union meerly Political to these things Which way shall the Scriptural interpretation of them be maintained a Political union cannot do it Were our union with Christ no more than so these resemblances would not be apt or true to say that Christ is an husband a foundation a root or head or incorporated food that is a Political King is not apt or true but very odd and strange because in Christ as a meer Political King there is nothing that answers to the proper genuine import of these resemblances in such a case the Holy Ghost which is blasphemy to imagine would seem to speak very unfitly nay and delusively as if he would have us believe that to be in Christ which is indeed not in him surely it becomes us much rather to conclude That our union with Christ is not meerly Political but such as bears a fit and just correspondence to all the patterns and resemblances of it in Scripture Such as the bonds of union are such is the union a meer Political union hath bonds of the same nature a spiritual union hath suitable ligatures in our union with Christ the primary bond is the holy spirit Hereby know we that we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his spirit 1 Joh. 4.13 in Christs Kingdom it is the Spirit which makes a willing people such as subject themselves to him In the supernatural marriage believers who are joined to Christ become one spirit in the spiritual edifice the living stones are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit In the heavenly Vine the Spirit is the juice which makes the branches fruitful in good works in the Mystical Head the Spirit is unction which falls down upon the members and communicates sense and motion to them In the divine aliment it is the Spirit which quickneth the eater and transforms him into the holy Image of Christ the Spirit is the primary ligature in our union with him that union therefore is not meerly Political but Spiritual A meer Political union is made and continued by some outward Law Policy is the Eutaxy or good order of a common society Multitudes in government conspire into unity the bond of conjunction is Law Hence the Law is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the soul of a City without it all the parts and members of the body-politick sink and dissolve into meer confusion but to the making and continuance of our union with Christ internal influences are requisite Faith the great unitive grace is not produced by a meer proposal of the object but by a Divine efficacy there must be inward teachings and tractions to make men come and close with Christ in like manner other graces which make the believer bear the image and resemblance of Christ are by the Spirit drawn and engraven in the heart Hence they are called the fruits of the Spirit When these graces are produced they are still but creatures and depend upon their original the continual spirations of the Spirit bear them up in being in all respects there is a necessity of internal influences Hence it appears that our union with Christ is more than a Political one were it no more than so the outward Law might have sufficed that first and rudest draught of Pelagianism which made grace to consist only in libero arbitrio lege in free-will which is a thing natural and in the Law which is a thing Political might have been a truth St. Austin at large disputes against it and tells us that God operates in the hearts of men De Grat. Christi c. 24. Non lege atque doctrinâ insonante foria secùs sed internâ atque occultâ mirabili ac ineffabili potestate not only by Law and Doctrine sounding without but by an internal and occult wonderful and ineffable power yet if the meer Law might have sufficed there had been no necessity of internal operations the Pelagian heresie might have passed for a very truth As therefore we would avoid this great error we must confess that our union with Christ is more than a Political one 2dly The union between Christ and Believers is not meerly a Moral one such as consists in a reciprocal Love in an harmony of Wills and confederacy of Affections Very true it is that there is a very great Union of Love between Christ and Believers All the Loves and Friendships in the world are but Pictures and little Images
being compared with the Love and Friendship which is between Christ and Believers wonderful is his Love towards them As early as eternity it self his eyes and his heart were upon them he assumed flesh to espouse them to himself he shed his Blood to purchase them he dyed on a Cross to redeem them he draws his own Image upon them he loves and delights in them as the purchase of his Blood and the little pictures of himself he is indeed wonderfully taken and ravished in them as if they had unhearted him or carried away his heart In like manner Believers though not in equal degrees have a great Love to him they put off corrupt self for him their old earthly members are crucified with him their souls thirst and faint in holy desires after him so high a rate and value is set upon him that all other things are but as dross and dung in comparison such are the pleasures and complacencies which they have in him that they can joy in sufferings and glory in reproaches for him his Presence and Love sweetens every condition thus there is an union of Love between Christ and Believers But this is not all some of the ancient Fathers seem to hint somewhat more De Trinit lib. 8. in Joh. St. Hilary and St. Cyril of Alexandria contend that our union with Christ is not meerly per concordiam voluntatis by a Concord of will St. Chrysostome saith That we are not only united to Christ 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in a way of Love In Joh. Hom. 45. but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the thing it self To make it appear that our union with Christ is not meerly a moral one I shall offer some Considerations The conjugal union which is the highest pattern of Love here below is not meerly a Moral one In the first Marriage there was somewhat antecedent to Love Eve was taken out of the side of sleeping Adam Hence he said That she was bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh In the spiritual marriage there is somewhat antecedent to the Churches Love she was taken out of the side of Christ dying on the Cross Hence the Apostle after he hath compared the Love of Husbands and Wives with that which is between Christ and the Church doth in allusion to the Primitive Marriage tell us We are members of his body of his flesh and of his bones Ephes 5.30 Flesh may be considered either as to its substance or as to its sanctity as to its substance Christ is of our flesh and bone but as to its sanctity we are of his flesh and bone all the holy flesh in the world is from Christ Again in common ordinary Marriages there is not meerly Love but Man and Wife become one flesh In the spiritual Marriage there is not meerly Love but Christ and Believers become one Spirit the same holy Spirit which is upon Christ the Head falls down on his Members there are continual influences of Grace coming down from him unto them Nothing in all the world is more apt or proper to shadow forth our union with Christ as Moral than the conjugal Union is though as I said but now there is more in it than meer Love yet is it the highest Samplar of Love on Earth and on that account very apt to set forth our Moral Union with Christ but though it be so yet the Holy Ghost doth not in shewing forth our union with Christ rest in that resemblance but goes on to shew it forth by others of a different tendency as by a Foundation a Vine or Head an Aliment whose proper genuine import is not love but support or vital influence or intimate conjunction The Holy Ghost in these resemblances speaks like it self aptly and truly though there be no propriety in the words yet there is an aptitude in the things to denote Heavenly Mysteries though the terms be metaphorical yet the truths are real there is a proportion and just Analogy between the earthly shadow and heavenly mystery there is that in Christ which answers to all the resemblances he is to his Church a foundation for support a root or head for vital influence an Aliment for nourishment and intimate conjunction Hence it appears that our union with Christ is not meerly a Moral one but such as corresponds to all the resemblances not only to the conjugal one in Love but to all the other in their several imports One Christian is united to another in Affection Love is the badg of Christianity The Primitive Christians were of one heart and one soul Acts 4.32 They were as it were but one Man the very Pagans pointed at this saying Tert. Ap. Vide ut se invicem diligant see how they love one another Love is the very bond of perfection Col. 3.14 it couples all Virtues together as in a chain it conjoins all Christians in the mystical body where Love is there are all other Virtues where one Christian is there are all the rest in heart and affection Love which is a sacred fire kindled upon the heart by the Holy Spirit first ascends up to God its primary object who is to be loved for himself and then it goes on to our neighbour its secondary object who is to be loved for Gods sake this is the way of Love if it ascend to God it will go out to our Brother if it go not out to our Brother it never ascended to God Hence St. John saith He that shutteth up his bowels from his brother how dwelleth the love of God in him 1 Joh. 3.17 The Love of God can no more be severed from the Love of our Brother than the first Table of the Law can be rent off from the second All true Christians are born of the same Father in Heaven washed in the blood of the same Saviour inspired by the influences of the same Holy Spirit interested in the same Charter of the Gospel and instated in the same Inheritance above Sic muto quod doletis amore diligimus quoniam odisse non novimus sic nos quod invidetis fratres vocamus ut unius Dei parentis homines ut consortes fidei ut spei coharedes Minuc Fel. in Oct. All of them therefore must needs be united together in Love nothing is more evident than that one Christian is united to another in Love but yet he is not so united to him as he is unto Christ Who where is the Saint that will or dare say to his fellow Christians I am the foundation ye are the building born up by me I am the vine ye the branches without me ye can do nothing I am the head ye are the members from me is all that effectual working which is in you Who can or may speak after such a rate such words are proper for Christ only we are to fix our Faith upon him not upon our fellow-Christians This is his Commandment that we should believe on the Name of
his Son Jesus Christ and love one another 1 Joh. 3.23 Love is for our Brother but Faith for Christ only no meer creature is an object fit for it Cursed is the man that trusteth in man Jer. 17.5 We are united to Christ as an influencing Head not so to our fellow-Christians The Wise Virgins had Oyl little enough for themselves the most excellent Christians have no Grace to spare the great spring of all Grace is in Christ the Head to go to another than him for it is to fall off from him and as the Apostle speaks of the Worshippers of Angels Not to hold the head from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministred and knit together increaseth with the increase of God Col. 2.19 Might we have Grace from another He who is the Head and universal Principle of Grace would become useless and altogether superfluous The Romanists who earnestly contend that the Pope is Head of the Church do yet qualifie their opinion Aqu. 3. pars qu. 8. and say That the Pope is only Head secundum exteriorem gubernationem according to external government but Christ alone is Head secundum interiorem influxum according to internal influx Christians are united one to another by Love but unto Christ they are united as unto an Head of influence Hence the union is more than a Moral one There is an union of Love between Christ and the Holy Angels they are the top of the Creation sublime in Knowledg unspotted in Sanctity excellent in Perfections ever a ministring to the Church and doing one piece of the Divine Will or other it cannot be otherwise but that he must have a great Love for them he is the brightness of the Fathers Glory the Character or express Image of his Person he made the Angelical World and all its perfections he came down into the humane nature to repair us and raise us up out of the ruins of the fall the highest design of Gods Glory was carried on by him the Divine Wisdom Holiness Justice Mercy Truth did shew forth themselves upon the Theater of his humane Nature the Holy Angels cannot but have a Love for him and because he is an object of Excellency and they creatures of perfection their Love to him must be a very Eminent one their Intellects have not as ours any blinds or dark shades in them but are full of pure and coelestial light they have not as we only some glimpses but a full view of the attractive Beauties and Excellencies in him their Love is not as ours subject to damps and clogs of corruption but ever pure and in holy Orders they do not as we dwell here below in houses of Clay but stand above attending upon his glorious Person All which must needs promote their Love in a very high degree Thus there is an union of Love between Christ and Angels But if in the glass of Scripture we look upon the union between Christ and Believers we shall find much more in it than in that between him and Angels there is a different foundation Christ took on him not the nature of Angels but of men he died on a Cross not for Angels but for men our union with him is founded on his Incarnation and atoning-Passion but the union of Angels is not so There is also a different way it is very proper for us fallen creatures to be joined to a Mediator not so for Angels who stand in their integrity without need of a Mediator in us there is an unitive Grace Faith in a Mediator not so in Angels they have a Faith of dependance on God but I suppose they have not a Faith of recumbence in a Mediator it is through the satisfactory and meritorious Sufferings of Christ that the same Holy Spirit which is upon him the head comes down upon us his members to repair the Divine Image in us but it is not so with Angels the Grace given unto them is not repairing but confirming neither doth it proceed through the blood of a Mediator but immediately from God These things considered our union with Christ must needs be more than a Moral one as having that in it which cannot be found in the union of Angels with him 3dly The union between Christ and Believers is such that he doth support them The resemblance of the foundation and building is a very lively and genuine proof of this the building doth not bear up it self but is supported by the foundation Believers do not bear up themselves but are supported by Christ this is a very admirable thing to consider Adam in Innocency had not the least seed of corruption in him yet he fell Angels much greater than he had no corruption or tempter yet many of them fell but Believers are supported there are dregs and reliques of corruption in them there are alluring and flattering objects round about them there is a subtile Devil using many arts and methods to draw out their corruption into act yet in these dangerous circumstances they are supported because they are united to Christ there is a very remarkable difference between Angels and men Angels stood or fell personally only not in another in an head of their own nature but it is otherwise with men All mankind fell in Adam their root or head and all believers stand in Christ the root and head of the Church hence it is that they are supported hence they are said to be preserved in Christ Jesus Jude 1. Adam in Innocency was soon unframed but they stand in Christ in him one sin drove out a stock of pure immaculate Grace in a moment in them the many remnants of corruption cannot do so the reason is he with his perfect Graces stood alone but they with their imperfect ones are in union with Christ Hence it is that their Graces live like a spark in water and spring up even in the midst of briars Corruption is driven out by little and little and at last perfection is attained in Heaven if they stumble and fall in the way thither yet they rise again the Holy Spirit visits them again fresh acts of Faith and Repentance are put forth Aug. de Cor. cap. 9. Humiliores redeunt doctiores they become more humble and learned especially in that great point of dependance upon Christ they see plainly that they are weak in themselves and all their support is in him One object one forbidden tree drew away Adam from God but many objects cannot draw away Believers from Christ though their corrupt flesh such is its inordinate propensity to outward and sensible things would close with every thing and turn the whole world into Snares and Idols yet are they not drawn away their Faith is a victory over the World 1 John 5.4 not meerly in it self as it is a Divine Grace but as it unites them to Christ who overcame the world not as a private person but as a publick one on their behalf
might unite us to him being God-man in one Person that the same Spirit which sanctified his humane nature might sanctifie us members of him It may yet further be observed that that very Spirit which as St. Austin speaks Spiritus Sanctus ineffabilis est quaedam Patris Filiique communio Aust de Trin. lib. 5. cap. 11. Insinuatur nobis in Patre authoritas in Filio nativitas in Spiritu Sancto Patris Filiique communitas in tribus aequalitas quod ergò commune est Patri Filio per hoc nos voluerunt babere communionem inter nos secum per illud donum nos colligere in unun quod ambo habent unum hoc est per Spiritum Sanctum Deum Dei donum Aust de Verb. Domini in Math. Ser. 11. is the communion of the Father and the Son doth unite us to Christ If we put all together we shall see the Spirit to be a most excellent bond In the Trinity it is the communion of the Father and the Son in Christ it is that which united the two natures and sanctified the humane in us it is that which unites us to Christ This is the primary Bond between Christ and Believers Touching this bond it is first to be noted that in Scripture not only the graces of the Spirit but the Spirit it self is said to be communicated to Believers To quote some places for this The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy Ghost which is given unto us Rom. 5.5 He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you Rom. 8.11 As many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God verse 14. The spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God verse 16. Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you 1 Cor. 6.19 God hath sent forth the spirit of his son into your hearts crying Abba Father Gal. 4.6 In these Texts two things may be observed The one is this the Spirit it self is meant it is the Spirit it self which sheds abroad the love of God in the heart which quickens the mortal body which leads the sons of God which beareth witness with our spirit the Text is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Spirit it self in express terms it is also the Spirit it self which hath a Temple in us which makes us cry Abba Father The other is this The Spirit it self is communicated it is given to us it dwelleth in us it leads and acts us it bears witness with our spirit it is in us as in its Temple it is sent forth into our hearts all which do import communication Also we may note as much in that Apostolical Prayer The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all Amen 2 Cor. 13.14 Here are all the persons in the Sacred Trinity named here the Holy Ghost must needs be the Spirit it self none other but he is capable of being ranked with the Father and the Son yet there is a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a communication of him Also we may gather the same thing from the Promises of the Spirit made by our Saviour in the 14 15 16 Chapters of St. John there it is the Spirit it self which is promised it is the comforter the spirit of truth it is that spirit which proceedeth from the Father which teacheth all things and bringeth all things to remembrance which convinceth of sin and glorifies Christ which takes the things of Christ and shews them unto men all which shew that it is the Spirit it self Also there it is promised to be communicated it was to be sent to them to guide them into all truth to dwell in them to be in them to abide with them for ever all which do shew a communication of it When the Greeks erroneously held That the Spirit did proceed not from the Father and the Son but from the Father only one argument used against them was this If the Spirit was sent from the Father and the Son then it did proceed from both To this the Greeks replied That this sending meerly concerned the gifts of the Spirit not himself but this is directly contrary to the scope of those chapters in St. John if the Spirit be sent meerly because we have his gifts then the Father which we no where read may be said to be sent because we have his gifts when the Scripture saith that the Son was sent it was himself not meerly his benefits in like manner when it saith that the Spirit is sent it is himself not meerly his gifts I may here add somewhat out of the Fathers Ignatius tells them that they were blessed being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epist ad Ephes such as carried God the Spirit a Temple within them St. Ambrose saith that the Holy Spirit dwells in us as in his Temple Non quasi Minister De Spir. Sancto lib. 3.13 sed quasi Deus inhabitat he dwells in us not as a Minister but as a God St. Austin speaking of the gift of the Spirit saith De fide sym cap. 9. that God doth not give seipso inferius donum a gift less than himself And again Euch. cap. 37. that the Spirit is donum aequale donanti a gift equal to the giver And in another place That the Spirit seipsum dat sicut Deus De Trin. lib. 15. cap. 19. In Oct. Pasc Serm. 1. gives himself as God St. Bernard hath this passage Est enim Spiritus ipse indissolubile vinculum Trinitatis per quem sicut pater filius unum sunt sic nos unum sumus in ipsis the Spirit it self is that indissoluble bond by which as the Father and the Son are one so also are we one in them I might add much more out of the Schoolmen but this may suffice It seems by these things to be clear that the Spirit it self is communicated to Believers neverthelss it is a Quaere how or in what sense the Spirit it self is communicated to them In answer to this I shall first take notice of three memorable expressions in Scripture That is the sending of the Spirit the giving of the Spirit the dwelling or inhabiting of the Spirit in us The first expression is the sending of the Spirit It may seem strange that an Almighty Alwise Alpresent Spirit should be sent but this mission is not per imperium as from one more potent than himself commanding him he is as high in power and majesty as the other two persons are it is not per consilium as from one more wise than himself counselling him he is one of the Domus judicii as some Rabbins call the Trinity one of the Three who fit in counsel together in Heaven Here is no local motion which cannot be
in an immense one but an excellent manifestation The Spirit as St. Austin observes De Trin. lib. 2. c. 5. illuc mittitur ubi erat is sent thither where it was but being sent he is there in such sort as he was not he is present there novo modo in a new manner where he was not so present he appears there in gracious operations where he did not so appear he is raising up a new creature or actuating the graces or letting out his glory in some supernatural work but this is not all that is in mission this may be in a coming the Father is said to come but never said to be sent there is therefore somewhat more in mission the Spirit doth not only operate but it operates secundum originem as he subsists from the Father and the Son so he operates from them as he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the manner of subsisting so he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the manner of operating He is therefore said to be sent by the Father and Son because he subsists and operates from them The second expression is the giving of the Spirit This in some respect differs from the former mission imports a procession of the person sent from the Sender giving imports the free bounty of the donor in communicating something The Spirit did not send himself for he did not proceed from himself but he may and doth give himself because he is sui juris and may communicate himself as he pleaseth In giving a thing is communicated ad utendum vel fruendum to be used or enjoyed The Spirit is communicated to Believers in his graces and in himself in his graces he is communicated to be used in himself he is communicated to be enjoyed he is now had as he was not before in knowledg and love by these the Believer doth in mind and heart possess him as an object able to make every one who hath him happy for ever The third expression is the dwelling or inhabiting of the Spirit he is in Believers as in his House or Temple he is there in the tokens of his special presence the love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance that is there shew him to be the inhabitant he hath not a more proper place here below than an heart furnished with those graces Also he is there as an object of inward Worship there is a mind which knows him a will which subjects to him a love which embraces him a fear which reverences him there without question is a Sanctuary an holy place for him there it is that his Honour dwelleth But I shall here add no more touching this inhabitation only it must be remembred that where the Spirit dwells there the Father and the Son dwell also the blessed Three are inseparable one of them cannot be separated from the other where the Spirit dwells there dwell also the Father and the Son with him Besides these three expressions there is one more that is the operation of the Spirit All these worketh one and the self-same spirit dividing to every man severally as he will 1 Cor. 12.11 Touching this I shall at present only observe that this operation doth in several respects fall in with the other three as it is the operation of the Spirit proceeding from the Father and the Son so it falls in with mission as it concerns the using the Spirit in its graces or enjoying him in himself it falls in with giving as it relates to the tokens of his presence or the inward worship done to him it falls in with inhabitation Further In answer to the Quaere it is to be considered that there is a double presence of God one universal in all things another special in the Saints the first is in respect of his essence which is immense and every where the second is in respect of his operations which are peculiarly here and not there Those special operations are not every where where the essence is for the there could be no special presence but the essence is wherever those are else the universal presence would fail When Vorstius said That God was in the Saints per gratiosam praesentiam by a gracious presence Piscator notes That there is another ther presence namely a substantial one Operatio Dei a substantiâ divelli non potest the operation of God cannot be divided from his essence When Crellius saith that we live and move not in the Divine substance but in his virtue and efficacy the Learned Maresius answers him Inepta est oppositio inter virtutem substantiam illa hanc praesentem supponit Deus nusquam operatur visi essentialiter praesens It is a foolish thing to oppose the Virtue of God to his Substance that supposeth this present God no where operates unless he be essentially present Thus he To me it is plain that wherever there is a work of God there he is essentially present for his Immensity hath no stint we cannot say it goes hither and no further His Power which reaches every work is not distinct from his Essence nor can no more reach beyond it than a thing can exceed it self These things may give some light to the point in hand the Spirit is very God his special presence is not every where where his essential one is but his essential presence is every where where his special one is his essential presence is that without which there could be no special one at all his special presence is that in which the essential one appears in some excellent operation When the Spirit is communicated to Believers Est Spiritus Sanctus in regeneratis non tantùm ut in omnibus rebus Immensitate essentiae sed prasentiâ gratiae effectorum Par. in Rom. cap. 8. there is not meerly an essential presence but an essential presence and a special operation waiting on it such as He who is every where puts forth no where but in Believers there is not a meer simple presence but an actuous vigorous one such as discovers it self in excellent supernatural operations he is not here moving upon the waters to bring forth an outward sensible world but he is moving upon the heart to bring forth a spiritual one a glorious new creature in which more of himself appears than in all other things besides and when it is brought forth he sweetly presses in upon it by motions impulses and influences to actuate the holy principles to make the spicy graces flow out to quicken strengthen and enlarge the soul to every good work and all this against the bias and contradiction of the corrupt flesh which however cross and repugnant it be is potently overborn and overset by his excellent presence At last he seals up the Believer marks him out for his own irradiates him with the beams of his favour and sheds the sweetness of his incomparable love in his heart and which is much to be observed he doth in
now lives to perfect the work to save 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hebr. 7.25 not by halves but altogether to give our Salvation its last act and complement he is a Priest for ever his Sacrifice but once offered up is in his Intercession virtually continued to perfect for ever them that are sanctified Here believers have a tree of life bearing as many excellent fruits as Christ paid for in his Death To instance in some of them Here 's a pardon for them He that on earth made satisfaction for sin in Heaven pleads for the pardon of it his Blood crys That the sin which is satisfied for in the head may not be charged upon the members If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous 1 John 2.1 He pleads that righteousness which being put into the opposite ballance outweighs all the sins of his people Here 's the supply of the Holy Spirit given to them he that here below dyed to merit the communication of the Spirit lives and intercedes above to have it done I will pray the Father and he shall give you another Comforter that he may abide with you for ever John 14.16 Our Saviour prays in the force of an infinite price therefore the Spirit is given to them he lives for ever and continues praying therefore the Spirit abides with them that which he by Prayer obtains for us by Power he confers upon us therefore as Dr. Reynolds observes in the Psalm he is said to receive gifts for men noting the fruit of his Intercession On the 110 Psalm fol. 438. Psal 68.18 And in the Apostle to give gifts to men noting the power and fulness of his Person Ephes 4.8 Having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost he hath shed forth this which you now see and hear Acts 2.33 The Intercession of Christ never fails to communicate the Spirit to his members Here 's an access to God a free ingress for them unto the Mercy-seat whilest he is at Gods right hand none can bar them out from the divine Presence The Apostle tells us That we have a great High Priest passed into the Heavens one no less than the very Son of God and withal one as man touched with the feeling of our infirmities no less willing and compassionate than able to help us And from thence he concludes Let us therefore come 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with boldness with a liberty to speak all our mind unto the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need Hebr. 4.14 15 16. Believers need not fear to approach unto the great God his Glory will not swallow them up his Justice will not be a devouring fire to them they may freely open their wants before him their regular prayers shall surely speed in Heaven Christ intercedes there for them and which is the Eccho of that Intercession the Spirit makes intercession in their hearts the success therefore cannot fail though their prayers as they are in their bosoms have much weakness and imperfections yet as soon as they are put into the hand of Christ and perfumed with the sweet incense of his Merits they are glorified prayers and have power with God to procure the thing desired Another priviledg is Adoption All men in a sense are the off-spring of God the immortal Spirit in them had in the very make of it the natural Image of God which was a nobler print of the Deity than that which was upon all the material world besides Adam in Innocency was in an higher way the Son of God the holy Graces in him which made up the Moral Image had more of the divine Beauty shining in them than that which was to be found in the Essence of the Soul but Believers are the Sons of God in a more excellent manner To as many as received him to them he gave power to become the Sons of God John 1.12 By conjunction with Christ the natural Son they become adopted ones Adam was a Son only by Creation his Soul had in the Essence of it a natural Image of God and in the holy Graces of it a Moral one but Believers are sons by mystical union with Christ the natural Son neither is this a meer empty title but they are born of God they are of the seed-royal of Heaven the Blood of God runs in their consciences the divine Spirit which formed Christ in the womb doth by a supernatural overshadowing form him in their heart in their adoptive Sonship there is a shadow of the eternal one the splendor of grace in them resembling God in a measure is a little picture of Christ who is the brightness of his Fathers glory This priviledg as it is from God is a piece of admirable love Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us that we should be called the Sons of God 1 John 3.1 The Apostle stands and wonders at it as an object of glorious and amazing Eminence Also as it is upon Believers it is a piece of incomparable Dignity such as doth far outshine all that lustre which is upon the Potentates of this world all the glory of earthly Princes is but fumus seculi the smoak of this lower Region their titles glitter only in carnal eyes but adoption is radius coeli a ray of heavenly glory making believers though but worms in themselves shine to the eyes of Angels who look upon them as mystical parts of Christ Touching this priviledg I shall only touch on two or three things Believers as Sons have an heavenly freedom in the ways of God They are not drag'd to holy things by the cords of Hell and Death they do not bring forth their duties meerly under the pressure of the Law-letter or in the power of fallen nature in a dead carnal servile manner no they are spirited for holy things the Law is in their hearts the rectitude of the commands attracts them the Love of Christ constrains them the great rewards in Heaven ravish them the Holy Spirit inspires obedience into them Holiness becomes natural to them Duties are brought forth in the easiness of the new creature they can walk run fly on in the pure ways towards eternal happiness this is a very choice priviledg indeed they are no longer in the straits of sin and earth but in a divine amplitude and liberty their hearts rest not in * Liber ab infinito ad infinitum super infinitum movetur finite things but go out to the infinite One their thoughts are upon the first Good their aims at the last End their liberty is joyned to its great fountain their motion is to the true center this is a right noble royal posture of Soul towards God in whom all our happiness is Believers as Sons live under the continual Indulgences of God in temptations he bears them up upon the wings of grace in a world of snares he plucks their