DISC. IX.1 FAITH BtILT ON KNOWLEDGE. 241 andhis special character, or commission, as one appoint- ed to take care of souls. I. A believer knows the particular and personal qua:. lifications of Christ, which render him able to take care of what is committed to him. Now these qualifications depend not onlyupon the constitution of his person, as one in whom God and man are united, but also upon thelabours ofhis life, and the virtue of his sufferings, his death, his resurrection, and his exalted state. Let us descend a little into particulars upon this subject, and take a short and pleasurable survey howwell our Lord is qualified to take the charge of souls, and of their eternal welfare.. 1. He has almighty power, and can secure whatsoever is committed to him, against all oppositions and dan- gers ; for it is by him that God the Father created all things, and he háth sufficient influence over all the works of his hands ; a divine ability to save his favour= ites, and destroy all that oppose : to ensafe them from every peril that arises from their own weakness, and de- fend them against every adversary that designs mischief. It was by him that our souls were formed at first in his own and his Father's image ; and he can new-mould them into the same form, though it be quite defaced. What iniquity is there in nature, which such almighty grace cannot subdue ? What wild imagination, or rebel- lious thought, in man, which a God cannot reduce to obedience ? Should all the wicked of the earth conspire to ruin a christian, what could the impotent malice of creatures avail, if the Creator forbid their violence ; or if he who made them encompass the saint round as with a wall of brass, and coyer him as with a shield ? And what can Satan, the tempter or the destroyer do, ifJesus hold him in his chain, and forbid him to come nigh the believer ? The lion of the great deep cannot so much as roar, to affright the meanest lamb of the flock, without the permission of Christ their Shepherd. He can neither tempt us from our duties, nor rifle us of our comforts, if the Son of God command him to silence. And what are all the angels in heaven but the servants of Christ, etti nzinistring spirits, sent forth to secure them that are heirs of ,salvation? Heb. i. 14. What is there within us, or without us, in heaven, earth, or hell, that ca,n en- VOL. III, 1t
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