pleated to dwell by his holy Spirit. Ye are the Temple of the living God, a; God bath [aid I will d 1 vell ill them , and walk, m them, a"d f>w/l be thetr God, andtheyjhallbe ]oh. '7· tol my people, 2 Cor. 6. 16. Was notthis Chrifls prayer.in our behalf/ I pray not for thefe ,,, alone, bm f or themalfo which foal/ believe oil me thrOJ<gh their word, th<~t they ail may be ~•, one 11 ;rhouFatherartinme, andimtltee, thatthey alfo may be oruw tlf,thatthe >l· world may believe thatthouhaftJent me, I in them, and thou ill me, thattheymifybeperfeE/: in one a11d th,rt the world may k_no\V that thOH haft Jent me-, and h4f loved them M thQis h~ft loucd me. By-reafon of this hypo!1atical union 9fChrifl:, the Spirit of Chrifl 1 is given to us in the very moment of our regeneration , And becatfe ye t~rc fom , God Ga • 4 • 6 • harh Jent fo. ·h the Spirit of hu Son .nto yo~~r hearts, crymg AbbaFathet; and hertby 1 ve iznow that we dwell in him, a~tdh:mUI, becaufe heh.rhgrvenllfof hu Sp~rtt. A~ tbe members ofthe body howfoever d1fltnct amongfl themfelves, .and all d1ffenng from t1 1 e head, yet by reafon of one foul infor_ming ?oth th~ head and mem?ers , they all make one compojitM», or man ; fo all behevers m Chn11 , howfoever d1lhnct perfons' among!l: themfelves, and all difbnctfrom the perfon of Chrift,. and ~f~eci~lly fr~m the Godhead which isincommumcable, yet by one and the fame fpmt abtdtng 10 Clmtl: and all his members, they become one, there iJ_one body and one fpirit : he that i< joyned to the Eph. 4· 4· J,grd u one Spirit. 0 my foul, confider of this _; and in confide.ring, believe.thy pa~t in 1 Cor,~. q; this, and tbe rather, becaufe the,means of this umon on thy part IS a true and lively fa~th; 'fJith i• the lirtl: effect and inllrument ofthe Spirit of Chritl: , difpofing and enabling· thy foul to cle~ve unto Chri!1, and for thu caufe I bow my kztm unto the Father of our Lord . fefu< Chrift that Chrift may dwell in your hearts by faith.. , . Eph. 3· •4·'7; · 6. Con!ider 1he birth of Chrift, thisman-God, God-man who.in his divine generation was the Son of God , in his humane genep,tion was born in a liable, for the faving ef the children of men who were as the oxe and mule having no underftanding~ It were a f•·uirful meditation to confider over and over that fweet refemblance of Chrifl: beit¥,l aVme; me-thinks I hear the voyce of my beloved, rife up my love-the fig~tree Cant.uo.I3• pntteth forr"h her green figs, and the vine with 'rh: tender grapes gives a goo;J [melt ; arife my love, my fair one, and come away; 1fChntl: knocks at the dore, who _will not :\wake, and arife? ·jf Chritl:comes in view, who will not look unto 'feJM? if Chrifl: the Vine calls us to come fee the Vine with the tender grape, who will not talfe the goodnefs, fmell the fweetnefs? and after a little ta!l:e of that goodnefs , and fweemefs that is inhim, who would not long after more, till we come from the lirtl:-fruits to the !aft-fruits of the fpirit, even to thofe vifions an~ fruitions of Chri!1 in glory? Conlider , 0 my foul of this Vine till thou hafl: brought Chrif1: near and clofe unto thy felf. Suppofe thy heart the garden wherein this Vine was planted , wherein it budded, blo!fomed, and bare fruit; fuppofetheholy Gho!1to comeupon thee, and to form andfafhion in thee Jefus Chri(\; (rhus Paul befpeaks the Galathiam, my little children of whom I travelitz birth again until Chrifl he formed in you;) would not this affect? would not the whole foul be taken up wirh this? come , 'receive Chrlfl: _imo' thy foul , or 1f that work be done, if Chrift be formed in thee, 0 cherifhhim I (I fpeak of the fpirirual birth) ,0 keep him in thy heart ! )et him there bud, and bloffom, and bm· fruit; let him fi ll 'thy foul with llis divine graces; 0 that thou couldefi fay it feelingly, I live, Y." not / , bm C"'rijlliveth in me : 0 that this were the i!fue of thy GJI, t . , 0 , meduanon on Chn!1s b~rth 1even wh1les thou art gomg w1th the lhepherds to Bethlehem, ond there findeft thy Saviour lying in a cratch, that thou wouldft bring him ihence, and make_thy heart to be his cradle ! I would not give a farthing for a meditation meerfy on thd!t!1ory of Cbrifts birth; either draw venue from him, by feeling him within, orrhy meditation w11l be fruitle[$. -- 7 ·.Confider rhofe few conf<quems after Chritl:s birth; every action of Cliritt is our mtl:ruchon ; here are many particulars, but none in vain . Cbritl: is conlidered under much variety of notion, but he is !till fweet under all. 'Is it poffible,, 0 my foul, th~t thou fl10uldft tyre thy felf in the contemplations of Jefns Chriff? if one floweqneld thee not pleafure, ~r delight, go to a fecond, 11 third; obferve how the Bees gather honey, after a while that they have fucked one flower, they go to another. fo for a wlule obferve the circumcifion of jefus Chri!l:, and fuck there, and gather fom'~ honey Out of that flower; Chri!l: had never been circumcif:d, but that-the fame mighr ?e done to our fouls, that was done to his body, 0 that the fame Chritl: would d·o·chat In us , that was done to him for us . Again , obferve Chrif1:s prefentation in th,e Temple, tlus was the Law of thofe that firf1: opened the womb, now Chrif1: was t1Je firfi- - - u · ·· - &orrt'
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