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rence, when, by the difcovery of one fin, in the light of a gracious manifeftation, he is led, in a fpiritually argumentive way, to infer his total deprivation, both in nature and practice; he may fay, confequently, at least, He told me all things that ever I did.

2. It may be faid inclufively and virtually; He told me all things that ever I did. As he that offends in one point of the law, is guilty of all, James ii. 10. in counteracting the authority that enjoins all; fo he that is humbled deeply for any one fin, may fee therein, that he hath broken all the commands of God, and may be faid, in a part, to have feen the whole. In tranfgreffing of one command, he may fee his being a tranfgreffor of all the commands of God, and a continual tranfgreffor thereof in thought, word, and deed; becaufe, as every imagination of the heart is evil, and only evil continually; fo, out of the heart, as out of a bitter fountain, proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, falfe witneffing, blafphemy, and all other pollutions befide. All the fins of people are included, inclofed, connected together as links in a chain; fo that when one link is feen, the whole chain may be faid to be seen. Suppofe a chain whereof fome links are above the ground, and all the rest of it hanging down into a dark and deep pit; when the upper links are feen, in their connection with the whole, then one may be faid to have feen all, becaufe all are included and inclofed in what he faw.

3. It may be faid potentially, He told me all things that ever I did; becaufe, by that one inftance he gave a proof of his ability fo to do. He that could tell me this, could tell me all; he that could obferve this, hath obferved all that ever I did, and can as easily tell me all as tell me a part; for none but the Searcher of hearts, that fees all my goings, could have told me this. He. that can fave to the utmost, can fee to the uttermoft.

4. It may be faid reprefentatively, He told me all things that ever I did; for this difcovery reprefented all other things, all my other fins. This reprefentation is like that which is made in a mirror; if one fet a looking

glafs

glafs before you to fee a fpot in your face, when you fee that, at the fame time you fee all the fpots there: fo, when Chrift fets the glafs of his word before you to fee fuch a particular fpot and blot; in the fame glafs you have a view and reprefentation of all the fpots, and all the blemishes of your heart and way. For, we may conceive this reprefentation like that which is made in a map; if one fhew you, for example, a particular city in the map of the world, why, at the fame time, he prefents to you all the terraqueous globe; the whole world at one glance: fo here, when, in the light of the Spirit, Christ discovers to you one fin, in the fame map you fee the whole world of wickednefs, a world of atheifm, enmity, unbelief, pride, felf, and other plagues innumerable.

Thus in the day of gracious manifestation, wherein Chrift, the Sun of righteoufnefs, discovers himself, the finner, that is privileged with it, cannot but fee a black fight of himself, which makes him fay, in effect, He told me all the ills that ever I did: he told me what I have been, and what I have done; that I have been a finner in Adam, and a tranfgreffor from the womb: that I have done evil as I could; and given innumerable inftances of a carnal mind, which is enmity against God; and of an unbelieving heart, which is enmity against Chrift; and of refistance to the motions of heaven, which is enmity against the Holy Ghoft. When the fun fhines into a dark houfe, by a fmall window, the beans difcover innumerable motes and hovering particles of duft in that part of the house where the light is fhining, by which we are made to fee and understand that the whole houfe is full of motes and duft: even fo here, when Chrift, the Sun of righteoufnefs, appears and fhines in upon the dark dungeon of a finner's heart, and difcovers any motes and blotes that are there, then it appears that the whole houfe, the whole heart and nature is full of the duft and fioke of hell; which makes the foul cry out with Job, Bebold I am vile! and hence the more precious that Christ appears in any man's eye, the more vile does he appear in his own eye, and debafe' himself to the lowest; he thinks himself the most loth

fome

fome finner that ever was feen, when Chrift tells him all that ever he did.--So much fhall fuffice concerning the foul debafing effects of Chrift's manifefting himself, imported in that expreffion, He told me all things that ever I did: at one glance he gave me a view of all the fins that ever I was guilty of.

III. The third general head propofed, was, To fhow, What are thefe Chrift-exalting commendations wherein fuch discoveries of Chrift vent themfelves, and which are imported in the words of the woman here, Come fee a man that told me all things that ever I did; is not this the Chrift? Here, confining myself to the matter and the manner of the commendation in the text, notice,

Ift, The matter of the commendation, or in what refpects fhe commends Chrift to her neighbours; and it is particularly in two refpects which are very comprehenfive. 1. She commends him in his natures.

his offices.

2. In

1. In his natures, as the Man-God, or the God-man, that told me all things that ever I did. Here is his human nature; but, O fhe faw his divinity through the vail of his humanity; He told me all things that ever I did, and gave me thus an infallible proof of his being the fupreme God. She was neither an Arian nor a Socinian; neither will any be fo that gets fuch a difcovery of Chrift as she got. And furely the blafphemous Arians of our day † bewray their ignorance, and want of true learning and fpiritual knowledge, fuch as this poor woman had. O but a little glance of Chrift's glory can make a poor illiterate woman wifer than the learned Rabbies, that were never taught of God, and yet think themselves the only wits of the world. Those to whom Christ difcovers himself, as they will fee, fo they will commend him to others as God in our nature; God manifefted in the flesh. Who ever queftioned but the Searcher of hearts, who knows all things, is the true and supreme

†That Arianifm was much upon the increase, about this time, both in Scotland and England, was formerly noticed, Vol. II. p. 466, 467.

preme God, that can give laws to bind the heart and confciences of men, and then difclofe their hearts to them, and tell them all these things wherein they have violate and broken that law, in heart or way? Yet Chrift is here declared to be fuch an one; He told me all things that ever I did. Why, this can be no more denied, than it can be queftioned whether it was the great God, the true and fupreme God, that gave out the law upon mount Sinai? No-body doubts that, fay you; why then, it is declared in fcripture that it was this fame Jefus that did fo; Pfalm lxviii. 17, 18. "The Lord is among them, as in Sinai, in the holy place. Thou haft afcended on high; thou haft led captivity cap. tive; thou haft received gifts for men, even for the rebel. lious, that the Lord God might dwell amongst them :" And of whom all this is fpoken the apoftle fhews, Eph. vi. 8.; and every believer knows: He told me all things that ever I did; he told me all my fins and tranfgreffions of his law, which he gave forth at mount Sinai. By a fanctified fight of fome fins, he opened my eyes to fee more and more; yea, to fee all my fins, and that I was nothing but a mass of fin, enmity, and pollution. And thus I faw the Revealer to be the true and fupreme God, even the eternal Son of God, clothed with human nature; A man that told me all things that ever' I did; a man that told me what none but God can do; a man that proved himfelf to be God, by au argument of pow er upon my heart and confcience; an argument drawn from his omnifcient eye, and driven in upon my heart by his omnipotent hand.

2. In his offices he is here commended and exalted; Is not this the Chrift? that is, Is not this the true Meffias promifed, prophefied of in the Old Teftament? This is her Evga like that, John i. 45. "We have found him, of whom Mofes in the law and the prophets did write:" even fo, I have found him, might fhe fay; he hath been with me, and I have been with him. He hath spoken to me, and I have spoken to him. He hath not only told me what I am, and what I have been, and what I have done, but told me what he is; and I have found him to be God as well as man. And who is he then,

but

but the promised IMMANUEL, God with us.-Is not this the Chrift? That is, the Ancinted of God, to the faving offices of Prophet, Prieft, and King; this the word Chrift efpecially imports, and has a particular reference to. He is anointed, as a Prophet, to declare the mind of God; anointed, as a Prieft, to make reconciliation with God; and anointed, as a King, to fubdue finners to God; and make them friends that are enemies to God: He is anointed with the Spirit above meafure, John.iii. 34. To render him a fit Prophet, he hath the Spirit of wisdom and understanding above meafure; to make him a fit Prieft, he hath the Spirit of love and compaffion above meafure; and that he may be a fit King, he hath the Spirit of power and of government.--Is not this the Cbrift? That is, the Sealed and Sent of God, clothed with a commiffion from God to feek and fave loft finners, John vi. 27. "Him hath God the Father fealed; that is, authorised unto this work, according as himself declares, Ifa. lxi. 1. compared with Luke vi. 18. Is not this the Chrift? Namely, he that is anointed that he may anoint; anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. Believers are faid to receive the anointing: but there is a vaft odds betwixt the anointing of Chrift, and the anointing of believers; for, Chrift is the fountain, from whom all the ftreams flow; the fun, from whom all the beams of grace fhine: grace in believers, is like water in a brook; but grace in Chrift, is like water in the ocean: grace in the believer, is like broken beams; but in Chrift, it is like the bright centre of all light. He received the Spirit of all grace for this very end, to be bestowed upon others. The firft Adam brought an emptinefs on the whole creation; but the fecond Adam came to fill all things and perfons; to fill Jew and Gentile, that of his fulnefs we might receive grace for grace. The oil of grace and gladnefs was poured out upon our IMMANUEL, of purpofe that he might pour it down upon the barren mountains.Thus we fee in what refpects he is here recommended, or the matter of the commendation. Let us view,

2dly, The manner of the commendation; or in what VOL. III. + Hh

way

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