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and the day of confummation in heaven; and we may: compare these two together in a few words.

1. The day of efpoufals here is ufhered in with a very dark morning, or rather an evening, upon the bride's part, with the wrath of God, and the law as it was faid, "The evening and the morning was the day;" fo, in this contract, the evening of legal terrors, at leaft fome humiliation, ufhers in the morning: But as to the confummation, there is a great deal of glory before it, the foul being taken to heaven already, and the body fleeping fweetly in the grave, a bed where the Bridegroom lay three days before her.

2. In the day of efpoufals, when the perfon gets a victory over corruption, and finds little flirring of it, no fenfible working of it, yet there is a party within, at the fame time, that oppofe the match, and which will afterwards get out its head, and will be ftill affaulting the believer, while he is on earth: but, in the day of confummation, there is no fuch thing; no enemy,, no fin, no corruption; but the whole foul goes out wholly upon the Bridegroom.

3. The efpoufals are carried on fecretly; it may be the perfon is fitting at your fide, and you do not fee, nor know when Chrift is making up the match; or, perhaps, on his knees at home, there is a fecret tranfaction: But the confummation will be before millions of angels, millions of faints, and millions of fpectators. Here is a great difference: after the day of espousals is over, the bride may give many fquint looks to her old lovers, looking back to Egypt, departing from her husband, doubting of his love, diftrufting his word, fearing his difpenfations: But, after the confummation, no fhadow of fin, no fhadow of jealousy, no fhadow of mistakes, or fears, can overtake her for ever; no cloud can interveen, for the fun of righteousness fhall never be eclipf ed any more. But then,

2d, A fecond remark is, that the precife time of the efpoufals is condefcended on by the Bridegroom and his Father, from all eternity; the very moment when the bride fhall be made to fign the contract, and flee to Christ, and pour out her whole foul upon him; that

precife

precife moment is agreed upon betwixt the Father and the Son, in the covenant of redemption, from eter nity.

3d, We remark, that the Bridegroom waits patiently for that moment that is agreed upon betwixt the Father and the Son; he longs for it, he defires it. The believer many times is ready to think, O, Chrift is not willing! I have fet days apart, I have gone to my knees, I have fought him in and about this and the other or dinance, and yet I could not clofe with him: I have been almoft dipt in hell with affliction, yet my heart was never melted; furely Chrift is not willing. O let us flee the borders of blafphemy! The Lord Jefus is willing; but the fulness of time is not yet come: there is a fet moment of his coming to his people, and for this they are to wait; yea, for this he waits himself, according to that fcripture, which I fhall read to them that cannot get that in duties and ordinances which they have been long looking for; Ifa. xxx. 18. "Therefore will the Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you; and therefore will he be exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: For, the Lord is a God of judgment; bleffed are all they that wait for him." He will wait upon the very moment of time, for the day of Salvation; he knows the proper feafon. The crane, the swallow, and the ftork know their seasons, by the natural inflinct God hath given them; and will he not know his own feafon? yea, he waits to be gracious.

4th Remark, That when the time comes, then there is a fweet conjunction of all circumftances to conclude the work; all things work pleasantly together to compleat the match; confcience goes right to work, the word is made lively, the Spirit acts powerfully and fweetly in the foul: there is an aufpicious conjunction of all favourable circumftances, for determining the bride, and drawing out her heart.

5th Remark, That there are feveral figns and characters of this day, by which it may be known. What are the figns of it? you fhall fay. I fhall not ftand on this, only it is a day of light; great light breaks in upon the mind: it is a day of love; much love is let in

upon

upon the heart it is a day of power, wherein the bride is perfuaded and overcome; difficulties are furmounted, enemies conquered, and the bride's will is moulded into a compliance; it is a day of amazement. O what

an extafy of wonder is raifed in the perfon's heart! I was blind, now I fee; I was dead, now I live, I was weak, now I am flrong; this morning, perhaps, I was under affliction, and under the terrors of God, and now he hath ravifhed me with the confolations of his Spirit I was afraid of hell, now I have the hope of heaven and eternal life. O what a day of wonder is it! Laftly, It is a day of vows; the foul will be ready to break forth in fuch a day, crying, What fhall I fpeak for him? What fhall I fuffer for hint?

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A fixth and lait remark, on this head is, that, in this ftated day of efpoufals, the bridegroom manifests his glory to the bride; when He intimates to the foul, "Thy Maker is thy Hufband," he fhews nis glory; his abfolute glory, his comparative glory, his relative glory; they are all one upon the matter, yet there is a formal different confideration of them.

1. His abfolute glory is manifefted. What does the Toul fee, that is matched and married to Chrift? Alas! fome fee nothing but dreams and fancies; but when the believer is matched with Chrift, he fo deals with him as with Mofes, he makes all his glory to pass before him: The perfon gets a view of the glorious attri butes of the Son of God.

2. He manifefts his comparative glory; "Thou art more excellent than hills of prey; fairer than the fons of men:" the bride, the believer fees him as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, every way incomparable. Whatever he be compared to, he excells it; if he be a lily, he is the lily of the valley; if he be a rofe, he is the rofe of Sharon; if he be a plant, he is the plant of renown; if he be a phyfician, he is the phyfician of value; if an advocate, he is an advocate with the Father: he is - reprefented without any parallel.

3. His relative glory is manifefled: he is difcovered as a glorious Prieft, a glorious Prophet, a glorious King, a glorious Hufband, a glorious Redeemer and Saviour!

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Saviour; and there will be a fight of his glorious fulnefs in all thefe relations, and the glorious fitnefs of that fufficiency and fulness, all suited for the foul: and, thus revealing himself, he removes all jealoufies and miftakes from the bride, fuppliès all her wants, heals all her difeafes, and out-bids all her rivals, who can of fer nothing to allure the foul, while he can, and doth fay, I am All-fufficient to help thee.

III. I come now to the third thing propofed, namely, To offer fome reafons of the doctrine, why Chrift comes under a married-relation to believers. I answer,

1. His own fovereign will is the best reason why he comes under a marriage-relation in this cafe; "Even fo Father, for fo it feems good in thy fight," Matth. xi. 28. His actions are not to be examined at the bar of our reafon: He hath mercy, becaufe he will have mercy."

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2. His love to them makes him come under such a relation to them; I have loved thee with an everlasting love; therefore with everlafting kindness have I drawn thee." Love is the motive that engages him; love brought him out of heaven for them; love nailed him to the cross for them; love laid him in a grave for them; and love engages him to a marriage-relation with them. 3. He does it for the glory of his own free grace, mercy, and love. As love and mercy was his motive,, fo it was his end, that he might display and discover it to the utmoft. This attribute is at its utmoft line. Infinite wifdom could have contrived a thousand worlds, and infinite power could have made them, but the love of God hath gone to its utmost height; it is not poffible for Chrift to give a greater demonftration of his love than he hath done, in giving his life for the bride, and entering into a marriage-relation with her.

4. He does it, that he may furnish work for the bleffed company in the higher houfe; for on the earth the contract is only drawn up: this is only the day of efpoufals; heaven will be the day of confummation of the marriage: this is only a courting and wooing time; but the day will come when the nuptial folemnity shall be celebrated, and that fhall continue while the day of

eter

eternity lafts. This fhall fuffice for the reafons of the doctrine.

IV. The fourth thing was, To make fome applicati on; and it may be, 1. For Information. 2. Lamenta tion. 3. Examination. 4. Exhortation. Now of thefe in their order.

(1.). For Information. Is it fo, that there is a marriage-relation betwixt Chrift and belieyers?

I. This informs us of the infinite love of God towards loft finners, in giving his own Son to be a Hufband and Redeemer unto them; "God fo loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whofoever believeth. in him might not perifh, but have everlasting life," John iii. 16. God fo loved the world, as neither angels

nor men can tell.

2. This informs us of the infinite love of Chrift, in condefcending to be a husband to fuch a bride. It could never have entered into the heart of the wifeft angel in heaven, that Chrift, the eternal Son of God, fhould become man; and far lefs that he fhould take fuch a filthy and deformed creature and bride by the hand, as finners are: if he had given us our deferving, he would ha ẽ made his juftice to ride in triumph over us, and hell to refound with eternal hollows of praife to incenfed juftice; but, to the quite contrary, he hath fo ordered, that heáven fhall refound with eternal hallelujahs of praife to his gracious mercy and free grace, in chufing thofe that were enemies, and admitting them to his bleffed bofom.

3. This doctrine informs us of the believer's fafety. Having Chrift for her husband, who can hurt her? It is the duty of a husband, you know, to protect and defend his fpoufe; and to be fure Chrift will not be wanting in this to his bride: He will hide them in the fecret of his prefence from the pride of men; he will keep them fecretly in a pavilion from the ftrife of tongues, Pl. xxxi. 20. About all the glory he makes a defence," Ifaiah iv. 5. He covers them with the mantle of his providence, the mantle of his righteoufnefs, the mantle of his interceffion, the mantle of his Spirit; fure, then the bride of Chrift

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