Chap. 3.sea. 5. It..rokmg unto jjefuz. Book I. 10 and peace in the !10ly Ghofiwirhout Jefus Chrifi. J.ram askingJehJ<, io it peace? was >ti:ings9.u. anfwered, what haft rhoH to do with peace fo lo11g .u the w.hordo'?'". of thy mother Jezabd, a>td her witchcrafts are fo many? a Chri!llefs man asktng , ts lt peace 0 Melfenger of God ( he can look for no other but 'lehu's anfwer, :What hall thou to do, 0 carnal man, with peace, fo long as thy lu!ts are fo flron~; wirl)in thee, and thy efl.rangemems from the Prince of peace, fo gre~t? the foul t!llt IS Without Jefus Chrtfl, IS an enemy to the Go<t of peace , a {!:ranger ro the Covenant of peace , uncapable of the word of peace , an alien ro the way of peace, there is no peace to the.wickfd, faith !fa q. a:. ~~ . . . . · 6. Such a one is without acceptatton Wtth God the Father: Chnfl:,onely IS Gods beloved, and therefore as 'fofephs brethren might ·not look him in the face.' unlefs they. brought their brother JJmjami>t, fo cannot ~e look God tn the face wt:h any _confi– dence or acceptance, unlefs we brmg Chrt!l: With us m the armes of our fa1th; Without Chri!l: man isfl:ubble, and God is aconfumingfire to detlroy him; man is aguilty ma– lefactor, and God afevere Judge ro condemn him; the whole of man without Jefus Chri:l is a very abomination in Gods prefence. 7. Such a one is without life: he that bath not the Son, bath not life, faith J~~n; ' John 5· "' Chritl Jives not in that foul, it is adead foul, dead _in jinJand treJPaf{es. As the dead fee Ephd. 1,,. norhina of. all that f1veet and glorious light which the Sun calls forth upon them,· fo rhe dead i~ tin have no comfortable apprehenlion of Chrifl:, though he fl1in~ in tl1e Gofpel more dorioufly then rhe Sun ar noon. And as the dead kt1oJV not nny thing· fo the Ecdcf. ,. !• dead i~tio know nothing at all ofrhe wifdom of Chrifl: guiding them, or of the '!JOline(s . of Chrif\_ fanctifying rhein, or of the fulnefs of Chrifl fa~isfying them, or of rhe death of Clu·iit mortifying. their lu!l:s, or ?f ~he .refurrectton of Chriit quickning their fouls, or cf the do1mmon of Chnfl: re1gmng m rhe1r hearts. 0 what a mifery is this! · All this you may fay is rrue to a chrifilefs foul, but what evil to him that may have a title to Chrifr, and y~r minds nor Chrifr, makes not ufe of Chrift, dotli nor look. t~nto /tfiu? · Such a cafe I confcfs may be; yea, as many duties are neglected by fome godly; fo this main d~tty is ( I may tremble to think it) exceedingly neglected. But 0 the !in, and fadnefs of thofe loul> ! 0 the wants attending fuch poor creatures ! Confider them in thefe particulars. ' · I. They have nut that wifdom, knowledge, difcerning of Chrift, as orherwife they might lm·e. By looking, and ferious obferving of Chrifr , we gain more, and more knowle.Jge of Chrift; bur if we will nor loo/z., ~ow fl10uld we underfrand rhofe great '> ·\ myfrenes of grace? nor fpeak I onely of fpeculauve knowledge, but more efpecially of practical and experimental; without looking O/ll Chrift, we cannot expect: that venue lhould go our of Chrifr ; there is bur a poor character or cognizance of Chrift upon them tha't are fuch ; chey have nor fo clear, and comfortable, and inward, and expedmenral a knowledge of Jefus Chrift. 2. They donor fo rafte. the goodnefs of Cbrifr, as otberwife they might; Chrifr is no orherunro them, wh1lfr neglected by them, bur as an ecl1pfedSrar, with whofe light they are nor at all affected; Chrifr is nor fweet ro them in bis Ordinances they find not in them that delight and refreflJment, that comfort and contentment: which they ufually minifer : rhey cannot f:cy of Chrifr as the Spoufe did, I fate down <lant. 2. $' n•derhujiJ.,dow WithgrMtdelight, andhufrJtit w.ujiveet to my taJfe; rhey are in the cafe of Barz.,f/a, , who could not ta.fte what he did C.<t , or what he did drink_. nor couldhcar ,my more the -voice of jing!nt mm, or of jinging wpmw: fo they cannot' rafte the thmg, of God, n~r bear the fp1mual melody w!uch Chrift makes ro the fouls of them that look, "P to lmn. 3• They have ·nor that love to Chrifr, which Chrifts beholders have; they medi– tate notupon Chrtft _as lovers on their love; they delight not themfclves in Chrifr, as the nch man m Ius treafure, ~nd the bride in the bridegroQm, which tltey love. thetr thougbt, are rather on the world then Chrifr ; their palates are fo diftemper~ ed, that they hJ>e no pleafure in the choycefr wine, they cannot fay rhar their fouls long after hun; and no wonder, for how lhould they love Chrift, who turn their eyes from !urn wlto IS 1he f.•irejf of ten thoufands ro other objec'ls? Surely they have no flamtng; bUl'm~g hve to Chrift, that will give every bafe tbing a kind of prcheminence aoovc Lnnfr, · · · - 4· !hey
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