The Excellency of Heavenly Treafores." be Rich,, Rn;. 13. t8. His Blood, his Righteoufnefs, h~s Merit, they areartinexhaulhble Treafure, and all becomes ours, upon wh1ch we nny live and fubfift ; Iu him are bid all the Truf:rru of wifdom, and lmowledge : But what is this to us? Yes, thcfe Treafures of Wifdom that arc hid in him, arc made over unto us alfo: 1 Cor. t. 301 He it. ma~e of God unto.us_wifdom, righttoufne{s,fanEtiftcation, alld redemption. 0 how Rtch IS a true Chnfban, that bath fuch a Treafury, and fuch a Treafure as Chrift is to be his Treafure! You find, Hcb. t r. 26, That Mofes eflecmed the rcprtMch of Chrift greater Treafure than all the Riches of Egypt. Certainly it the H.eproa~h of Chrifl: be fuch a Treafure, what then is Chrifi: himfelf, and all thofe glonous Benefits that do accrew unto the Soul in and by him.? 3· The Promt{cs al{o are a Chriftian's Trea(ure. They are the Veins wherein this Gold runs, the Mines wherein this unfearchable Treafure is; and the Work of Faith upon the Promifes, is to ftamp this Golden Ore into ready Money for the prefent neceillty of the Soul; fo Faith lives on the Promifes. 4· And laftly, A Chnftittn's Graces alfo are hM 'Treaji1re.. Yea, though we have this Treafure in ermhm Vr/Jcls, _yet is ~t heayenly and prec~ou~ _Treafu_re ; yea, t~ough there be much Drofs mtxed_ wtth thts Gold, yet ftt11 It ts l?rect?US Faith, nch Love , firm Hope, tryed Patience, yea, every Grace that flunes Ill a Chriftian is Glorious; the Crown of Grace, as weU as the Crown of Glory, hath uot a fparkle in it, but what is more Precious than the World it felf. Thefe now are a Chriftian's Treafure. I come now to make fame improvement of this, to bring down what hath been fa id to fome praCl.ical Ufc. And, Vfe y, Firft then, HajJ thou fo Rich a 'Trtafure laid up in HMven then? 0 Chri.. ftian! be confcious of thine orrm worth: Henceforth know thy folf to be no conremptibl, Perfon. Shall worldly Men rnfHe:, and brave it, and think none comparable to them, only becaufe their Heap of Dung is bigger tban another's? And lhalt thou be low and abjefr-fpirited, that hath God himfelf for thy Portion, and Chrift for thy Husband, and the whole Number of Stars told down to tbee for thy Dowry? In~eed, if you will value your felvcs according to the World's eft:imation of you, then you are no better than the Drofs and Dung of the World, and the 0/f-fcouring of all things. But fee how the Scripture accounts of poor, perfecuted, depifed Chri... ftians, Heb. I 1. 29. 'They wandred up and down in /heep-skim and goat-skins, being dejfttutc, af!Mled, tormented. A ftrange Generation of defpicable Perfons! But fays the Holy Ghoft, of whom the WorLd was not worthy. And how dothDa"Jid prize them, and call ~hem, the excellent ones of the Earth, Pfal. 16. 3· My ~e~ight inn the Saints, and in the ex,ellent ones of the -E~trth ! Therefore now, 0 Chnfttan, begin to know thy felf, know what great Relations thou haft, thou art no lefs than the.Son of a Great King: Know thy great Poifeffions, thou haft no lefs at prefent, than the Love and Favour of God, and every thing thou haft, thou haft it with a Blefling; yea, though thou haft nothing in the World befides Afflictions, yet thou haft that Nothing with a Blefling, and thou rather enjoyeft than fuffercft thofe Afflictions that lye upon thee: Know thy great Revedions alfo; that art an HeiY of Glory, a Co~hicr with Jefus Chrift, and what he bath put·chafed for himfelf, he bath alfo purchafed for thee ; and thou in due time ihalt be inftated into that Inheritance, whereof Jefus Chrift is Heir, and thou alfo lhalt b~ Co..heir. Wilt thou now, who haft fo vaft a Treafure as this amounts to, go drooping and difconfolate,as a helplefs and hopelefs Perfon,when thou wanteftnothing lefs than to pity thofc that [corn thee ? Let the World know, that a Chriftian bath Self-fufficiency, and that at all times, and that he can live plentifully and fplendidly upon his own Stock: Let the World know and fee this by thy Converfation. lt was a noble and gallant Speech of St. Pa11l, when he ftood in Bonds and Fetters before King Agrippa, who fate upon the Judgment~Seat to Sentence him, Would to God, fays he, thai thou werr foch a one M 1 am. What ! fuch a Prifoner as thou art? A ftrange Complement for a Prifoner Eo ufe to a Judge) yet you fee how he values himfelf; he was not dazled with Agrippa's Crown and Pomp, and all that Fancy that he came with into the Judgment~ Hall, for he faid not, Would I W(re as thou art, but, Would to God thou wen fuch a one M I am, and then -thou wouldft be truly Happy. This is the Value that every true Chriftian fl10uld fet upon hirufelf, when
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