Serm. 25. How are we compleat in Chrifi ? 581 their deirudiorl. He that is to force the chief corner _gone, is to others I pet.2,6,a. no better than a ¡tone o f ftnmbling, and a roch`of offence. This was pro. phefied of Chrii, This childe _hall be for the fall and rifing again of MANY in Ifrael. There's no mercy fo eminently good, but through our Luk.2.34 . corruptions it may become an occafion of evil. Chrift himfelf the greatet of mercies that ever God vnuchfafed to creatures, is yet fo fat from Paving force from their fins, t hat he only encreafes their fin. If I had not come and fpoke unto them they had not had fin, but now they John 19.22. have no cloak for their fin. Thofe who enjoyed the Miniftery of Chris in his own perfon, and were not wrought upon thereby,all their fins would ccmpiratively have been a kind of innocence, had they not difcovered fuck an height of obiinacy : 'cis therefore no com- mon priviledge. But what fliould we do that it may be ours ? Take thefe few Diredions. r. Labour to get your judgements fetled in the belief of this great truth : That all things in the world are a very nothing with- out Chris : That you are poor in the midi of worldly riches, and miferable in the midfl of all earthly happinefs while you remain in your eirangements from Chris : And that of all kind of poverty and mifery this is the wora, becaufe it is in thofe fpirituall bleflings wherein conffts both our prefent and future happinefs. 'Tis but little Chafe perlons underiand of their great concernments that can with that Gofpel -fool, think thernfelves fufficiently provided for in the things of this world, and fay to their fouls as he to his Soul, Luk.i2.19. thou heft goods laid up for many years, eat , drink, and be merry. Doa thou know thou live__ in this world upon the very brink of eternity ? And doll thou know whether there he more than one frep between thee and another world? And cans thou take up with z Sam.2o.3: any thing on this fide CThrii ? it is an argument you know but little of your own concernments. Some of the groffer Platonils thought the world to be a great Animal , and the foul which ailed it was God; now if the foul be d:parted from the body, what is it but a meer carkafs without life. ChriCa is the very life and foul of all our comforts, and without him all our creature - enjoyments are but as fo many cyphers without a tfgure, which have no fiignifican- cy in them, but are fo many nothings. Nothing in refped of true comfort here ; nothing in refpea of your preparations for another world. Labour therefore through the glafs both of Scri- pture and experience , to behold all the excellencies of this world as fo many bladders filled with wind, and at belt to be like Hagar:: E e e e a Bottle
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