Chap.3. Seer.;. ,Looking.unto !ftfus. Book.I. Chri'ft onely is Gods beloved/and therefore as 'Joflphs brethrea might not look him in the face, unle!fe they brought their brother 'B enj11min, fo cannot we look God in the fa.ce with any confidence or acceptance , unle!fe we bring Chrifr with us in ~he armes of our faith; without Cbrifr man is fiubble, and God is a confuming fire to dellroy him; ~an is a guilty malefador,~nd God a fevere Judge to condemne htm.; the whole of man wtthout Jefus Chrift is a very abomination in Gods prefence, 33 7· Such a one is withoutlife: he that hath not the S onne, hath not life, faith {ohn; Chrift lives not in that foul; it is a dead fotil, 1 John ~·11• de.td in (innes and treJPafl'es. As the dead fee nothing of all that Eph;C. :~.. l• fweet and glorious light which the Sunne cafts forth upon them, fo the dead in Gnne have no comfortable apprehenGon ofChrift, though he fuine in the Gofpel more gloriouf1y then the Sunne at noone. And as the dead k!zow not any thing; fo the dead in Gnne Ecclcf 9 )t know nothing at allofthe wifdome ofChrift guiding them, or ofthe holine!fe ofChrift fanetifying them, or of the fulne!fe of Chrift fatisfying them, or ofthe death of Chrifr 1!\0rtifying their lulls, or of the refurreetion ofChrift quickning their fouh;, or of the dominion ofChri£1: reigning tn their hearts. 0 what a mifery is this! All this you m'ay fay is true to a chriftle!fe foul, hut what evil to himtthat may have a title co Chrifr,and yet mindes not Chrift makes not ufe ofCbrift,doth not fook unto {efm? · ' Such a cafe I confelfe may be; yea, as many duties are negled:ed by fome godly, fo this maine duty is (I may tremble to think it) exceedingly neglected. But 0 the Gnne, and fadne1fe of thofe fouls ! 0 _the wants atte.nding fuch poor creatures ! Confider them in thefe particulars. • I . They have not that wifdome, knowledge, difcerning of Chrift asotherwife they might have.. By fookjmr, ahd ferious obferving ofChrift, we gaine more, and more kn~wledge ofChrift. hut if we will not loolz., how iliould we underftand thofe grea~ myfteries of g~ace? nor fp~ak I onely of~pecularive knowledge, but moreefpectally of praettcal and expenmenral, without /uofzing ~ ChriH, ~e cannot expeCt: that vertue iliould go out of Chnft ; there ts ·but a poor character or cognizance of Chrift up- ' on them that are fuch; they have not fo clear, and comfortable and inward, and experimental a knowledge of J efus Chrift. ' F 2. They
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