the beams of the Sun of righteoufnefs, or with the fire of the Spirit? Why, it is melted enough when it runs into the gofpel-mould. There are fome, as I have noticed on a former occafion, that have, as it were, too much of the fire; these are they that apprehend themselves fuch great finners, that they dare not come to Chrift: There are others that have, as it were, too little of the fire; thefe are they that only think they are not fo good as they ought to be, and therefore they fhould not come to Chrift: There are others that have nothing of the fire at all, and these are they that think they are good enough already, and they need not come to Chrift: but then only is the foul fuffici-. ently melted, when it runs into the mould. What is the gospel-mould? It is even Chrift; and when the melted foul runs into this mould, there does it get the right fhape and form, and there only. As it is not the melting of the metal that gives it a shape, fashion, or form, but the mould that gives it the form; fo never expect to have any good form, any good fhape, any good qualifications, till your fouls run into this mould. It is the very defign of the Spirit's coming, to induce. people to relinquifh their own fancied goodness, and oblige them to come to Chrift for all. Try then, if ever you was gathered to Shiloh, by this, namely, whether your foul, in a day of divine power, was made to run in to him like melted lead into a mould, closing with, and cleaving to him by a particular application. But how the foul acts here, by a particular appropriation and fiducial perfuafion, upon the divine word, under divine conduct, I have formerly defcribed *; therefore I proceed to another mark. 3. If ever you was gathered to Shiloh, then the gathering place will be very precious to you; I mean the promised Shiloh, Christ himself, 1 Peter ii. 6, 7.There he is held forth as the chief corner-ftone, to which all the ftones of the fpiritual building are gathered together, and unite; and to all fuch as are gathered to * See this interefting point of doctrine copioudly handled, Vol. III. page 27,33. 107, 108. 117, 118. : him, it is declared, He is precious and the word fignifies, He is HONOURABLE; he is an honour to them, and they put honour upon him, and entertain him honourably, in a fuitablenefs to his high quality, as he is God-man; and particularly, as he is the Shiloh, that is, the Meffias, the Sent of God, the Father's extraordinary Ambaffador. Some efteem Chrift, but not according to his grandeur and glory; and therefore, it is evident, they are not gathered to him as the Shiloh, the Sent of God; but they that are gathered to him, they receive, efteem, and entertain him, according to his dignity. If a fubject fhall receive, or entertain his prince, or the king's extraordinary ambassador, no otherwife than he would do his country neighbour, this would be interpreted a contempt: fo, if Chrift be not received, efteemed, and entertained according to his grandeur, dignity, and ftate, he counts it a contempt, rather than a due reception or estimation of him. If Chrift be not efteemed as a King, he is but difregarded; if he be not honoured as the Father's Ambaffador-extraordinary, he is but defpifed: for, as Shiloh, he hath Heaven's fealed commiffion; Him bath God the Father fealed. The unbelieving Jews were content to receive and efteem Chrift as a great prophet, as the Mahometans do; but they would not receive and entertain him according to his greatnefs, grandeur, and glory, which he was invefted with: therefore they were challenged as rejecters and defpifers of him, Acts xiii. 41. "He came to his own, but his own received him not ;" for they did not receive him as the Son of God, and the Sent of God; whereas, it is faid of the believing Jews, who received Chrift, That they beheld his glory, as the glory of the only begotten of the Father: that is, they fo received him in all his glory, grandeur, majesty, and splendour, that they elteemed honourably of him.-Hence, fays Chrift, John xvii. 8. "They have known that I came out from thee, and have believed that thou didst fend me." If you be gathered unto Shiloh, then you efteem honourably of him, as he is the glori ous Shiloh, the Sent of God. Is Chrift thus precious to you, and honourable? 4. If you be gathered unto Shiloh, then you will be cloathed with him, for he is fent to be a robe of righteoufnefs; and all that are gathered to him, do put on that mantle, and gather in under that cover; and in that cloathing do they ftand perfectly righteous in the fight of God; being accepted as righteous in his fight, only for the righteoufnefs of Chrift. Hence, it is given as a mark of the true church and children of God, that are gathered to Chrift, that they are cloathed with the Sun, Rev. xii. 1. It is indeed called a great wonder; for the mystery of free and perfect juftification, and of being cloathed with a perfect righteoufnefs, is fuch a myftery, that natural men cannot conceive it, nor believe it, though a man fhould declare it to them, as the apostle speaks, Acts xiii. 41. Yea, the believer himself cannot believe it, without holy wondering, and joyful trembling, Jer. xxxiii. 8, 9. This wonder is faid to be of a Woman in heaven; that is, the church militant, and every particular believer under a gofpel difpenfation, wherein there is a full revelation of this righteoufnefs. Now, here it is faid alfo, fhe was cloathed with the Sun; that is, with Chrift, the Sun of righteoufnefs; the Woman being married to Chrift, as the Lord her righteousness, fhe is, as it were, gathered in to the Sun in the firmament, and fo cloathed with the perfect righteousness of Chrift; that however black and dark fhe is in herself; yet, in point of juftification, this Sun, wherewith fhe is cloathed, makes her fhine in a perfect righteousness, as glorioufly in God's eyes, as the bodily fun fhines glorioufly in our eyes, when it fhines in its meridian fplendor. The believer is not only fair as the moon, in the fight of men, in point of fanctification; which moon, may be indeed, and is full of spots, and very changeable; but clear as the fun, in the fight of God, in point of juftification; the Sun of righteoufness with which he is clothed, being perfectly glorious. But, perhaps, fome may fay, If this be an evidence of one that he is cloathed with the Sun of righteousness, how fhall I examine myself by this, or know that I am. thus cloathed? Why, you may examine it by what follows. If you be cloathed with the Sun, then you have rot got the moon under your feet, and upon your head a crown of twelve ftars. Have you got the moon under your feet? What is that, may you fay? I find fome understand two things by it; the one is, the moon of your own righteoufnefs, and the other is the moon of the world. As to the former then, if you be gathered to Chrift, and cloathed with the Sun of righteoufnefs, then you have got the moon of your own righteousness under your feet; that is, you will make no account of your own righteoufnefs of fanctification before God, in comparison of the garment of Chrift's righteousness, which is the Sun that you are fo glorioufly cloathed with. Nay, when your own righteoufnefs, or graces, put in for any share of juftification before God, you will in this refpect, trample them under your feet as a menftruous cloth, as the prophet Isaiah did, chap. Ixiv. 6. "All our righteoufnefs are as filthy.rags." Yea, when it claims to be a righteoufnefs, before an infinitely holy and juft God, you will trample it under your feet as dung, as the apoftle Paul did, Phil. iii. 8. "Yea, doubtlefs, I count all things but lofs, for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift; yea, I do count them but dung, that I may win Chrift, and be found in him, not having mine own righteoufnefs, that is after the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteoufnefs of God by faith." This he speaks not only of his Pharifaical righteousness before his converfion, but his righteousness of fanctification after his converfion. The man that is cloathed with the Sun of righteoufnefs, accounts his own righteousness a contemptible nothing, in comparison of Chrift's righteoufnefs. It is not gain, but loss, because, as Chryfoftom, one of the Fathers, fays, "When "the fun fhines, it is but lofs to fit by a candle-light :" Why? because his righteousness is God's righteoufnefs. God is the worker of it; and in comparison thereof, our beft righteoufnefs, whereof we are the workers, even with divine affiftance, is but dung, to be trampled upon, when it competes with the other, or would have any fhare in the matter of our juftification before God. If you be clothed with the Sun then, and be thus gathered to Shiloh, you have got this moon under your feet; and whatever light of fanctification you have, it will flow from your juftification, as the light of the moon does come from the fun; and as the moon gives light in the dark night, fo will the moon of your fanctification give light to other men, walking in the dark night of this world: Your light will fo fhine before men, that they feeing your good works, may glorify God. And here is a mystery in the believer's life; he fhines like the moon, in point of fanctification, doing all the good works he can, that he may glorify God, and edify his neighbour in the world; and yet he keeps this moon of his own works and righteoufnefs under his feet, and tramples upon it, in the matter of juftification, because, in that refpect, his only cloathing is the Sun of righteousness,-Again, as to the other sense, if you be cloathed with the Sun, and gathered to Shiloh, then you will have the moon of this world under your feet; the profits, honours, and pleafures of the world, which being changeable and unconftant, as the moon, the believer hath it under his feet; because, being cloathed with the glorious Sun of righteoufnefs, and thereby difcerning the glory of God and Chrift, and heavenly things, he cannot but despise and undervalue all earthly things, when coming in competition with heavenly; as Mofes did, Heb. ix. 25, 26. when he vilified all the glory and grandeur of Pharaoh's court, "Choofing rather to fuffer affliction, with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of fin for a feafon; efteeming the reproach of Chrift greater riches than the treafures of Egypt." You that had never the moon of this world under your feet, but have the world in your heart, and nothing but the world, furely you are not gathered unto Shiloh; for they that are gathered to him, they are gathered out of the world, and fet apart from the rest of the world; "They are not of the world, but chofen out of the world." Hence, they that are gathered to Shiloh, are brought from their old worldly companions: there are finful gatherings, wicked clubs and cabals, that will be hateful to them; of which their heart will fay, as Jacob faid of Simeon and Levi, Gen. xlix.6."Omy foul, come not thou into their fecret; to their affem |