when a man hath found, he hideth; and for joy thereof, goeth and felleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field." Well, did the man buy the treasure only and not the field; as many think they can take Chrift, and reject the gofpel? No; he went and bought the field where the treafure was. The treasure is Chrift; the field is the gofpel; and he bought, he received the gofpel; and fo had the treasure in it. Every true believer values the gospel at a very high rate; and the reafon is, because it is the field where the treafure is hid, where Chrift is to be had. And yet withal many may receive the gofpel-doctrine by a dogmatical faith, an opinionative faith, and not receive Chrift himfelf. This is a faith that thousands perifh by; but true faith receives the gofpel, and Christ in it. Therefore,

2. By Chrift hçre, as the object of faith, we are to understand Chrift himself to be received; Chrift personally confidered. The object of faith is Chrift the Son of God, not excluding the Father, and the Holy Ghost, for each perfon of the glorious Trinity is the object of faith; Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, one God; but this God would be as inacceffible to us as to the fallen angels, were it not through Chrift, Chrift, you know, fignifies ANOINTED, and to receive Chrift is to receive him as the Meffiab, the Sent, Sealed, and Anointed of God, Ifa. lxi, 1. His anointing fignifies his fingular ordination to be our Redeemer, and to perform the work of our redemption; for, Him hath God the Father fealed, John vi. 27.; SEALED, by the fupereminent unction of the Holy Ghoft, and authorized of the Father to it: he did not undertake this work prefumptuoufly, without a call, but by the ordination and appointment of God. His being the Chrift, points out his eminent qualifications for the work of our redemption; as he is a Redeemer of God's fending, fo of God's qualifying; He hath laid belp upon One that is mighty; One that is able of himself, and enabled of his Father to work out our falvation and redemption-work: and fo to receive Chrift, is to receive God's Sent, God's Anointed, God's Sealed One. And here faith views the divine authority of his commiffion, in that he is given of the Father to be a

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Prophet, Prieft, and King; and came from the Father in his name and authority. And hence there is nothing that Chrift commends more in the New Teftament than this faith that believes his divine miflion, his divine ordination to this mediatory work; as John xvii. 8. "I have given unto them the words which thou gavest unto me, and they have received them, and have known furely that I came out from thee; and they have believed that thou didst fend me." To receive Christ then, is to receive God's Ambaffador, God's Anointed; and that is a noble faith,

But again, to confider the termination of faith upon this glorious object: the man that receives Christ, receives him as a living root, and as a glorious head: as a living root, in whom he is implanted; and as a glorious head, to whom he is united, Faith goes in to him; and fo by faith there is a faving implantation in him, a fpiritual union to him; and fo this receiving of him makes all that is in Chrift yours. If a man fhould look for life and righteoufnefs from Chrift, without union to Chrift, it is as if a woman fhould look for an eftate from a man by conveyance, and not by marriage: now, God gives not any faving benefit to finners by conveyance, but by marriage and union with Chrift. Many indeed have a great deal of gifts, parts, and abilities; and fuch knowledge as peradventure you may call it revelation; these things are given to men thro' Christ, but with this difference; fome, they receive thefe things from Chrift as a fteward, that may difpenfe them; but not from him as a head, flowing in to them as members. To natural men, and wicked men, thefe things come from Chrift as a fteward; but they come not from him as a head of union; for thefe only that are united to him by faith, have fpiritual bleffings flowing to them from Chrift, as the head, to them as members. It is true, that unions are great myfteries; the union of God and man into one Chrift, is a great myftery; the union of Chrift, and all his members into one body, is a great mystery; the apoftle calls it a great mystery, faying, I speak concerning Chrift and his church, Eph. v. 32. The believer receiving Christ, is in him as a member is in the head, and as a branch is in the root;

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and in him fo as that he lives by the life of Christ, and is righteous by the righteoufnefs of Chrift, and is acted by the Spirit of Chrift. Neither is this union to Chrift by receiving him, leffened by this, that Chrift is in heaven, and we upon earth; for, as the union between. man and wife is not leffened, the one towards another, though they be a thoufand miles afunder, (though the communion is not fo much :) fo here, the union that we have to Chrift, by receiving him, is not leffened by his being in heaven and we upon the earth: It is true, the communion is not fo clofe, nor fo intimate, as it would be, if we were in the fame place with him; but the union is not leffened: they are united and married to the perfon of Chrift by receiving him.

Now, the object of faith being Chrift's perfon, and the receiving of Chrift, a clofing with this perfon, here is the honour of all the faints. What a comfortable and honourable station is it, to be a member united to this glorious Head! And therefore, before I pafs this, I would acquaint you with a thing which you will find true in your experience. namely, many are very much troubled and tried in feeking this and the other benefit from Chrift, fuch as, the pardon of fin, and mortifying of corruption; they feek and are never the better; and what is the reafon? Even because they begin at the wrong end of the gofpel; at the wrong end of religion and Christianity: they feek the things of Chrift but not the perfon of Chrift; they look out for his graces and benefits, without clofing with his perfon. O! fays one, for fuch and fuch a benefit from Chrift, and fuch and fuch graces of his Spirit; very well: but would you have them from Chrift without union to him? Would ye have bleffings from Chrift, without Chrift himself? Why, what though you fhould get fome bleffings from him, if you live and die without him. O, fays one, that goes to a facrament, O for fome communion with Chrift! very good; but here is the falfity; you would have communion without union to him, and that cannot be. Union to his perfon is the foundation of true communion with him in his benefits; and therefore you may feek communion with him, and yet negle& the C 4

foundation. You cannot have true communion without union by faith, receiving Chrift himfelf; for as the graft cannot have fap from the root, unless it be set into the ftock; if it be not ingrafted, it cannot have communion with the root: fo, neither can you have thefe graces and comforts that you would have in a way of communion with him, unless it be firft in a way of union to him. And therefore, let it be your great business, through grace, to clofe with Chrift himself, the perfon of Chrift, as he is handed to you in the doctrine of the gofpel: never reft till the offering hand of the gospel, and the receiving hand of faith meet together; for when Chrift is received, then, and not till then, is there a real union; and this is the foundation of all true and fpiritual communion. Thus much fhall fuffice concerning the object, namely, Chrift doctrinally and perfonally confidered.

SERMON

COLOS. ii. 6.

XXXV.

As ye have received Chrift Jefus the Lord, fo walk ye in him.

IN

[The Second Sermon on this Text.]

IN the illuftration of the first head of method, which was to speak of the believer's character and dignity as a receiver of Chrift Jefus the Lord, we proposed to confider the act of faith, as it is a receiving of Chrift next the object of it, Christ; and then the capacity or reSpect under which this object is received, viz. as he is Chrift fefus the Lord. We have confidered the firft two, the act and object. It remains,

Thirdly, That we confider the CAPACITIES or refpects in which Chrift is to be received, namely, as a Jefus, and a Lord; which will ftill farther clear the object. There are three letters of Christ's name here that point

him out beyond all other names in the world. I have formerly told you, that Chrift is offered in thefe capacities, and I have juff now fpoke of the firft letter of his name, viz. CHRIST, the Anointed of God; and indeed it is not found faith that doth not take him as the Sent of God, and qualified of God for the whole redemption work. But the other two letters of his name remain yet to be touched at. And you may confider them under this view as the two-fold capacities in which we are to receive Christ, namely, as Jefus the Lord. 1. As he is Jefus.

2. As he is the Lord.

1. As he is JESUS, that is, a Saviour. This is the firft name given Chrift in the New-Teftament, Mat. i. 21. "His name fhall be called JESUS, because he fhall fave his people from their fins;" and it is the best name that finners can hear tell of: it is a name above all names, both for the glory of him that bears it, and the comfort of them that hear of it. Now, to receive Christ as a Jefus, is to receive him as a fingularly mighty Saviour, that is able to fave to the utmost, as appears by his doing, dying, fuffering, fatisfying, conquering; and furely, he that was able to atone God, and conquer the devil, is able to fave finners. To receive him as a Jefus, is to receive him as an univerfal Saviour; I mean, not only in the apostle's fenfe, 1 Tim. iv. 10. that he is the Saviour of all men, but especially of them that believe; but I mean in refpect of the falvation that he brings to them whom he makes to believe in him: and fo I mean, in the fenfe of the fame apoftle, Acts xiii. 39. "By him all that believe are faved and juftified from all things, from which they could not be juftified by the law of Mofes." What law of Mofes? Why, as his ceremonial law could not do the bufinefs; for, It was impoffible that the blood of bulls or goats fhould take away fin, fatisfy offend. ed justice or pacify a wounded confcience; fo his moral law could not juftify; for we having broken and tranfgreffed it, instead of justifying us it condemns us; therefore, What the law could not do, in that it was weak thro' the flesh, that Chrift by the gofpel does: he juftifies from all things; from all guilt, fo as the believer can never become liable to the fanction of the law. Some would have the be