Baxter - BV4253 B39 C78 1658

By the Crofs ®f Chrift.' 53 and that which appeareth the greater Good to us,, will carry it , and have admittance. If God hadnot fet a Greater Good againft, the,world,,it would have been every mans wifdom and duty to have been tuorldlings. But when he revealeth to us another world of infinite value , yea whenhe offerethus the fruition of himfelf, this turneth the fcales withwife men in a moment , and ihameth all competitors. whatfoever. Now it ;s the Crofs of Chrift that opened the Kingdom of heaven to all true Believers; which fin had before (hut up againft all mankind. This marts the markets of the world Its nothing worth to them that have tatted of the bleffednefs of this Kingdom. Were it not for this , the temptations of the world and fielh might prevail. What fhould we fay to them ? or how thould we repulfe them ? Reafon would fay, Its better have afinal and unfatufaaory Good , tken none. But nowwe have enough to fay againft any fuch tempts? lion. Oneargument from the everlaftingKingdom is fuñiciene (where grace caufeth a right apprehenf on of it) tö confound all the temptations, by which the enemies of our happinefs can affault us. Whit I Shall we ,prefer a molehill before a King- dom ? albadowbefore the fúbftance ? an hour before eternity Nothing before all things ? Vanity and Vexation before Felici- ty ? The world is now filenced : It bath nothing to fay r which may take with right Reafon,It Enuff now creep in at the backdoor of fenfe, and bribe our bruitifh part to befriend it, and to enter_, tain it fiat;and fo to betray our reafon, and lead it into the inner rooms. The Crofs of Chrift bath fet up fuch a Sun, as quite darkeneth the light of worldly glory. Whowill nowplay fo low a;gart e , that bath an Immortal Crown propounded tohim ? Thoughearth. were Something, if there were no better to be had, yet it is Nothing when Heaven ftands by. This therefore is the deadly blow by which the world is Crucified by the Crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift. 4. Anothermortal! wound that the Croisof ;Chrift bath given it, is this. The Crois bath purchafed for us that Spirit of Power, and all thofe Ordinancesand Helps of Grace , bywhich we our felves in our own perlons may ActuallyConquer and Crucifie the world, as Chrift did before us. His Crofs is the meritorious caufe of his followingGrace. And as he hath there procured our J u- fti f ation, fo alfo our San&ificarion, by which the world is re- H 3 nounced

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