"Our God is in the heavens, he hath done whatsoever he pleased."

The other great confequences of believing, is an admirable unparalleled communion; by virtue whereof, 1. The parties themselves do belong to each other. The Lord is the God of his people; he himfelf, Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft, is their God, in all his glorious at tributes; his juftice as well as his mercy; his wifdom, power, holiness, &c. for he becometh the God of his people, as he often speaketh in the covenant.

1

On the

other part the believers are his people. In their very perfons they are his, as the covenant doth speak they fhall be his people; their head, their heart, their hand, &c. whatsoever they are, they are his.

2. By virtue of this communion they have a mutual intereft in one another's whole goods and money, in as far as can be useful. All the Lord's word doth belong to the believer, threatenings as well as promifes, for their good; all his ways, all his works of all forts, fpecial communications, death, devils, even all things, in fo far as can be useful; "All things are your's; whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things prefent, or things to come; all are your's, and ye are Chrift's, and Chrift is God's." On the other fide all which belongeth to the believer is the Lord's; heritage, children, life, wife, credit, &c. all is at his difpofing; if any of thefe can be useful to him, the believer is to forego them, elfe he falfifieth that communion, and declareth himfelf, in fo far, unworthy of Chrift; "If any man come to me, and hate not his father-yea, and his life alfo, he cannot be my difciple."

3. By virtue of this communion there fhould be much homeliness and familiarity between God and the believer. The Lord may meddle with any thing which doth belong to the believer, and do unto him what feemeth good to him; and the man is not to mistake, or fay unto God, "What doft thou ?" except in fo far as concerneth his duty yea, he is fill to fay in every cafe, "Good is

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the word and will of the Lord." On the other part, the believer may, in an humble way, be homely and familiar with God in Chrift: he may come with boldnefs to the throne of grace," and not use a number of compliments in his addreffes unto God, for he is no more a stranger unto God," fo that he needs not speak unto God as one who has acquaintance to make every hour, as many profeffors do; and it maketh a huge inconfiftency in their religion.

The believer alfo may lay open all his heart unto God; "I have poured out my foul before the Lord," and impart all his fecrets unto him, and all his temptations, without fear of a mistake. The believer alfo may inquire into what God doth, in fo far as may concern his own duty, or in fo far as may ward off miftakes of the Lord's way, and reconcile it with his word; fo Job xiii. 15. "Though he flay me, yet will I truft in him; but I will maintain mine own ways before him." The believer is a friend in this refpect, as "knowing what the Mafter doth." See Gen. xviii. 23, &c. Jer. xii. 1. Ifa.

Ixiii. 17.

The believer alfo may be homely with God, to go in daily with his failings, and feek repentance, pardon, and peace, through Chrift's advocatefhip; "Him hath God exalted with his right hand, to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgivenefs of fins." "If any man fin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jefus Chrift the righteous." O how often in one day may the believer plead pardon, if he intend not to mock God, or to turn grace into wantonnefs! The Lord hath commanded men to forgive seventy times feven times in one day;" and hath hinted there in the parable" of a King who took account of his fervants," how much more the Mafter will forgive, Mat. xviii. 22-28.

The believer alfo may be homely to intruft God with all his outward concernments, for he doth care for these things; "If God fo clothe the grafs of the field-fhall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?

Therefore take no thought, faying, What fhall we eat ? or, What fhall we drink? or, Wherewithal fhall we be clothed? For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Cafting all your care upon him, for he careth for you." Yea, the believer may humbly put God to it, to make him forth-coming for him in all cafes as befeemeth, and to help him to fuitable fruit in every feafon, even grace in time of need." Yea, how great things may believers feek from him in Chrift Jefus, both for themselves and others! "If we afk any thing according to his will, he heartheth us. Whatfoev

er ye fhall afk in my name, that will I do. Afk me things to come concerning my fons; and concerning the work of my hands command ye me.' It is the fhame and great prejudice of his people that they do not improve that communion with God more than they do: Chrift may juftly upbraid them, that they afk nothing in his.

name.

By what is faid, it doth appear of how great confequence this duty of believing is, by which a man clofeth with Chrift Jefus, whom the Father hath fealed, and given for a covenant to the people. It is fo honorable for God, anfwering his very design, and ferving his intereft in the whole contrivement and manifeftation of the gofpel; and it is fo advantageous to men, that Satan and an evil heart of unbelief do mightily oppofe it, by moving objections against it. I fhall hint fome moft ordinary.

Chapter III.

Objections taken from a Man's Unworthinefs, and the Heinoufness of his Sin, anfwered.

Object. I AM fo bafe, worthless, and weak

of my felf, that I think it were high prefumption for me to meddle with Chrift Jefus, or the falvation purchased at the rate of his blood.

Anfw. It is true, all the children of Adam are bafe and naughty before him," who chargeth his angels with folly All nations are lefs than nothing, and vanity before him." There is fuch a difproportion between God and men, that unless he himself had devised that covenant, and of his own free will had offered fo to tranfact with men, it had been high treafon for men or angels to have imagined that God fhould have humbled himself, and become a fervant, and have taken on our nature, and have united it by a perfonal union to the bleffed Godhead; and that he fhould have fubjected himself to the fhameful death of the crofs; and all this, that men, who were rebels, fhould be reconciled unto God, and be made eternally happy, by being in his holy company

for ever.

But I fay, all that was his own device and free choice: yea, moreover, if God had not fovercignly commanded men fo to close with him in and through Chrift, Ifa. lv. 1, 2, 3. Mat. xi. 28. 1 John iii. 23. 2 Cor. v. 20. no man durft have made ufe of that device of his. So then, although with Abigail I may fay, "Let me be but a fervant, to wash the feet of the fervants of my lord," yet, fince he hath in his holy wisdom devised that way, and knoweth how to be richly glorified in it, "The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that ye may know what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance. in the faints. All mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in them;" and he hath commanded

me, as I fhall be anfwerable in the great day, to close with him in Chrift, as faid is, I dare not difobey, nor inquire into the reafons of his contrivements and commands, but muft adventure on the business, as I would not be found to "fruftrate the grace of God," and in a manner difappoint the gofpel, and falfify the "record which God hath borne of his Son, that there is life enough in him for men," and fo "make God a liar," and add that rebellion to all my former tranfgreffions.

Object. I am a perfon fingularly finful, beyond any I know; therefore I dare not prefume to go near unto Chrift Jefus, or look after that falvation which is through his righteoufnefs.

Anfw. Is your fin beyond the drunkenness and inceft of Lot; adultery covered with murder in David; idolatry and horrid apoftacy in Solomon ; idolatry, murder, and witchcraft in Manaffeh; anger against God and his way in Jonah; forfwearing of Chrift in Peter, after he was forewarned, and had vowed the contrary; bloody perfecution in Paul, making the faints to blafpheme? &c. (but woe to him who is emboldened to fin by thefe inftances recorded in fcripture, and adduced here to the commendation of the free and rich grace of God, and to encourage poor penitent finners to flee unto Chrift); I fay, are your fins beyond thefe ? yet all thefe obtained pardon through Chrift, as the fcripture doth fhew.

Know therefore, that all fins do ly alike level before the free grace of God, "who loveth freely," and looketh not to lefs or more fin. If the perfon have a heart to" come unto him through Chrift, then he is able to fave to the uttermoft :" Yea, it is more provoking before God not to close with Chrift when the offer cometh to a man than all the reft of his tranfgreffions are; for "he that believeth not hath made God a liar, in that record he hath borne of life in the Son: And he who doth not believe, fhall be condemned for not believing on the Son of God;" That fhall be the main thing in his ditty; fo that much fin cannot excufe a man, if he fcar at