In this speech, likewise, she desires to have confirmation of her estate from the apostles. And indeed it is a great confirmation of weak Christians to have the judgment of strong Christians that they are good, If you have judged me faithful,' do me this courtesy. And would it not comfort her soul to have the judgment of so strong a man as Paul? It is a great strengthening, not only to have the Spirit of God witness for us, but the Spirit of God in others. And sometimes in temptations, the judgment of others will do us more' good than our own in a dark state. Therefore we should appeal to those that fear God to judge us faithful, though we be in a mist and in darkness sometimes, that we are not able to judge of our own condition. And indeed, when we judge the people to be truly good and true-hearted to God, we owe them this duty to think them good people, and to show it, it is a debt. We wrong good persons when we take wrong conceits of them. Shall we not affect and love them that God loves? It is as if she had said, God hath taken me into his family, and will admit me to heaven, and will not you come to my house? When Christ shall take men to be members of his body, shall not we take them into our company. It is a wrong to good people to be strange to them. Sometimes there may, by way of censure in some sin, be a little strangeness, but ordinary strangeness becomes not Christians. It becomes not that sweet bond, the communion of saints.' have judged me faithful.' That is the bond. Her invitation is, If f you 'Come to my house, and abide there.' 1 You see many sweet graces presently after she believed. Here is a loving heart. Why did she desire them to come to her house? To express the love she did bear to them for their work's sake. She felt the love of Christ by their ministry; and now she desired to express the fruit of her love in maintaining them. She was And not only so, but she desired to be edified by them. youngly planted, and she desired to be watered from them. She knew Paul would drop heavenly things, and give her that that might stablish her; therefore she desired that they would stay at her house, that she might have benefit by their heavenly discourse, and be built up and edified further and further. So you see these two graces especially upon believing, a bountiful, loving heart. She entreated them not only to come to her house, but to abide there a good while, as they did. And here was her desire to be edified, and a boldness to appear to own Christ and his ministers in dangerous times. For in those times it was a dangerous thing to appear to be a Christian. They were worse hated than the Jews were. Though both were hated, yet Christians were above all. Therefore false Christians would be circumcised,' they would be Jews to avoid the cross, that they might not be accounted Christians. 1 You see in general true faith, that works love, and works by love. It works love in the heart, and by love it works all duties of hospitality and bounty by love. When it hath wrought that holy affection, it works by that holy affection. You see here it is never without fruit; presently faith brings forth fruit. As soon as she was baptised, she shews her love to the apostles, and their company, and her bounty and her boldness in the cause of Christ. 7 We say of a graft, it is grafted to purpose if it take and bring forth fruit; * That is, 'choose.'-G. so she being a new scion* graft into Christ, she took presently. As soon as she was baptised into Christ, here is the fruit of love, and bounty, and boldness in the cause of Christ. Zaccheus, as soon as ever he believed, Half my goods I give to the poor,' Luke xix. 8. So we see the jailor afterwards, presently upon believing he entertained the apostles with a feast, and washed their wounds. . Take heed of a barren, dead faith. It is a false faith. If thou believe indeed, faith will work love, and work by love, as it did in this blessed woman. Her faith knit her to Christ in heaven. Her love was as the branches of the tree. Her faith knit her to the root; but love as the branches reached to others; her branches reached fruit to the apostle and his company. So it is the nature of faith that knits us to Christ. The same spirit of love knits us to others, and reacheth forth fruit to all we converse with.. As we desire to have evidence of the soundness of our faith, let us see what spirit of love we have, especially love to these three things, 1. Love to Christ, to whom we are engrafted, and, 2. Love to the ministers of Christ. We cannot show kindness to Christ. He is in heaven. But his ministers and his poor are upon the earth; when we can, buy ointment to pour on Christ's feet, his poor members, and his ministers. 8. And love to the word of God. They are the three issues of a gracious, believing heart, and where they are not there is no faith at all. I beseech you, let us imitate this blessed woman. You see here the name of Lydia is precious in the church. The name of Lydia, as it is said of Josiah, it is a box of ointment poured out. The name of Lydia cannot be named in the church, but there is a sweet savour with it. As soon as she believed, the Holy Ghost, the Spirit of God blowing upon the garden of her heart, where the spice of grace was sowed, stirred up a sweet scent of faith, and of bounty, and liberality in the cause of Christ. Let not this be in vain to us, but every one of us labour to be like Lydia. You see what loadstone drew Paul here to go unto her house; she had faith, and she expressed it in love. Let us labour to have faith, and to express it in love to God, unto Christ, to his people, and word, and ordinances, that have his stamp on them; and let us boldly own the causo of Christ; let us not regard the censures of vain men that say thus and thus. Faith and love forget danger; it is bold. She forgot all the danger that she was in by countenancing Paul and such men. Let us labour for faith and love, and we shall not say this and that. There is a lion in the way,' Prov. xxii. 18; but we shall go on boldly until we do receive the end of our faith and love, the salvation of our souls.' 6 Spelled 'sience.'-G. NOTES. (a) P. 521,- Purple.' Probably the reference is to Tertullian. Cf. footnote, page 89. (b) P. 625.-The word signifies to apply and set her mind,' &c. The word is gooix, on which cf. Dr Robinson's interesting article in his Lexicon, sub voce. Literally here to apply the mind; but often in the Classics with the accessory idea of believing, giving credence. G. THE BRIDE'S LONGING. NOTE. 'The Bride's Longing for her Bridegroom's Second Coming' forms a small volume (18mo), published in 1638. Its title-page is given below. Of Sir Thomas Crew, known by the venerable title of 'The poor man's lawyer,' nothing need be added to the splendid eulogium of Sibbes, which, as in the case of Milton's upon Bradshaw, has proved a more enduring monument than marble and brass. Prefixed to the volume is Marshall's miniature portrait of Sibbes. I have not traced a second copy of The Bride's Longing.' ་ G. LOVING READERS,-Lo, here the verifying of that ancient adage, Quod differtur, non aufertur, for long looked for comes at last. That which, before a solemn and sad assembly, was publicly preached and committed to the ears of some, is now printed and committed to the eyes of all that have a mind to read it; which thing hath with a long and longing desire been wished and waited for by sundry. This funeral sermon bespake your receiving and respecting of it in a double consideration, each of which, in my opinion, hath an important, rare, and singular ponderation. Behold, first, the man; secondly, the matter. The man by whom, and the man for whom it was made: the one, that worthy divine Dr Sibbes, who in his lifetime intended and approved it for the press, as it now comes forth; the other, that worshipful serjeant, Sir Thomas Crew; men of more than ordinary worth and goodness, whom to name is enough to those that knew them; for if I should enter into a particular discourse and discovery of their deserved worth, I fear I should more dishonour my undertakings, and wrong your expectation, than in any proportion answer the excellency of two such worthy themes. Secondly, for the matter, as the occasion and men's expectations were extraordinary, so shall you find his preparation. Read, and then judge. It sweetly and to the life sets forth the duty, desire, and disposition of the church and spouse of Christ echoing a faithful and prayerful Amen to all the truths of God, especially to the precious promises, and chiefly to that promise of promises, Christ's 'second coming;' which in cold blood undauntedly to desire, is an infallible mark of a true and thorough convert; which that we may do, we must make sure our espousal to Christ here, and get to be clad with the wedding garment of faith and repentance, teaching us to ponder and pray much, and then admirable shall be our confident standing before God, our rich hope, our quietness and heart's ease, our joy, as if we had one foot in heaven already. We shall be able with St Paul to cast down our gauntlet and bid defiance to devils, to men, to height, to depth, to things present and things to come. If all the hearts in the world were one heart, it could not comprehend those rich blessings wherewith true Christians are richly endowed, and those spiritual joys and comforts which shall rain upon them in sweet showers from heaven; rich they are in hand, but richer in hope; rich in possession, but richer in reversion. For what ravishing joy, what inexplicable sweetness shall then everlasting[ly] possess our souls, whenas we who have been a long time contracted to our Lord and husband, shall see that blessed time come, when we shall have that glorious marriage between |