Excellency and worth of Chri, f%. 49 ^- What was Paradife to Adam when he had deprived himfelfe of the tree of life, by eating of the tree of forbidded fruit, but As a Wildernefse of thornes and bryars, a place of ex- tream torture and difquiet ? The worlds choyceft Paradife proves at length full of bitternefse to him that hath deprived himfelfe of Chrift Jefus. Auguffine faith, r What doth that profit the rich man which he hath,if he hath not God which gave all ? What availes the having of the cifterne without the fovntaine? The having of all things is as nothing, if man hava not Chrift with them. Happy is the man that fo looks upon the creatures "emptinefse, that he is thereby ftirred np tofeek C hrift and his fulnefse. The excellency and worth of Chrift. As they Paid of Da- vid, He is better, more worthy then all the y tbouf ands. of the world : As they faid of the Centurion,He is z wrrthy for whom thou [bait doe this thing : Much more may I fay of Chrift, He is worthy -that you fhould come unto him ; in him are all the Load - ftones ofvertue, power, beauty, and whatfoever can be fpo- ken, to more and draw the foule of man towards him : In him is wifdome furpaffing the brightnefse of the Sun, even all the a treafures of wifdome hidden In him is power excelling the ftrength of all Rocks ; he is not only ftrgng, but b ffrengtb it fel fe : In him is honour, tranfcending all the Kings of the earth ; for he is c King of Kings, and Lord of Lords ; he is d cloath- ed with honour and Ma jelly, and convered with light as with a gar- ment : In him is beauty excelling the e Rofe of Sharon, and the Lilly of the Valley ; he is the f faireff of ten thoujand, fairer then all the flowers of the field, then all the precious Stones of the earth, then all the lights in the Firmament, then all Saints and Angels in-the higheft Heavens : In him is g riches above all the riches of the world, as in the Pearle above the drofse. All worldly wealth is but poverty to the riches which is in Chríff : Tn him are h pleafures excelling all earth- ly pleafures, more then ever Paradife excelled the barren Wildernefl'e. All pleafures are but forrowes and tortures to the pleafiwe which the foule doth finde in Chrift. Surely,all wifedome is folly, all power weakneffe, all honour igno- miny, all beauty deformity; all riches poverty, all pleafures anguifh, )'sid pYÓdejt divat; tasod ha- bet,. f"; D cum gut amnia Ce- dit non habet. 3 Dignicy of yzSarn.i8.3 Luk7.4. a Col, z. ;. b Pfa. i 8.T. e Rev :ig.i6. d Pfa.io4.1,z e Cant z. z. f Cant, 5.1o. g Ephe.;.8. b Pfa.T6.ai.
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