marriage, all things become common betwixt man and wife; even lo, by means of this fpiritual marrige, all things become common betwixt Chrift and you: for when Chrift hath married his fpoufe unto himfelf, he paffeth over all his eftate unto her : fo hat whatfoever Chrift is, or hath, you may boldly challenge as your own. He is made unto you, of God wisdom, righteousness, fanctification and re- demption,' 1 Cor. i. 30. And furely, by virtue of this near union it is, that as Chrift is called the Lord Dar righteousness, Jer. xxxiii. 6. even fo is the church called the Lord our righteousness, Jer. xxiii. 16. I tell you, man, you may by virtue of this union,boldly take upon yourself as your own *, Chrift's watching, abftinence, travels, prayers, perfecutions, and Manders; yea, his tears, his fweat, his blood, and all that ever he did and fuffered in the space of three and hirty years, with his paffion, death, burial, refur-rection, and afcenfion for they are all yours. And as Chrift paffeth over all his eftate unto his spouse, fo doth he require that she should pass over all unto him, Wherefore, you being now married unto Chrift, you muft give all that you have of your own unto him; and truly you have nothing of your own but fin, and therefore

therefore you muft give him that. I befeech you thenfay unto Chrift with bold confidence, I git to thee, my dear husband, my unbelief, my mi truft, my pride, my ar rogancy, my ambition, ma wrath and anger, my en vy, my covetoufnefs, my vil thoughts, and affections and defires: I make on bundle of thofe, and all my other offences, and giv them unto thee (o). And thus was Chrift made fi

t Bernardine in his fermen how a Chriftian must mak his laft will.

(a) This gift would indeed be a very unfuitable return for all the benefits received from Chrift by virtue of the fpiritual marriage if he did not deal with us in the way of free grace: like unto a phyfician who defires nothing of a poor man full of fores, but that he will employ him in the cure of them. But this gift fuch as it is, as it is all we have of our own to give, fo one needs make no queftion but it will be very acceptable. Pfal. lv. 22. Caft

thy burden upon the Lord and he fhall fuftain thee: not only thy burden of duty, fuffering and fuccefs, but of fin too, wherewith thou art heavy laden, Mat.xi. 28. We are allowed, not only to give him our burden,but to caft it upon him. He knows verywell that allthefe evils mentioned, and many more, are in the heart of the beft: yet doth he fay, Prov. xxiii. 26. My Son give me thine heart;' notwithstanding of the wretched ftuff he knows to be in it. In the language of the

Holy Ghoft, thefe things as black as they are, are gift, by divine appointmen to be given. Lev. xvi 21 fpeaking of the fcape-goat an eminent type of Chrift he faith, And Aaron fhal ----confefs over him all the iniquities of the chil 'dren of Ifrael; and all their tranfgreffions, in al their fins: and he fhall GIVE them upon the head of the goat. Thus the original expreffeth what wa read putting them,&c. View again p. 92. and note (b).

Now, the end for which the finner is to give thefe to Chrift is twofold; (r.) For removing of the guilt of them. (2.) For the mortifying of them. And though this is not an eafy way of mortification, fince the way of believing is not eafy, but more difficult than all the Popifhaufterities,forafmuch as thefe last are more agreeable to nature, yet it is indeed the fhort way to mortification, becaufe the only way; without which the practice of all other directions will be but as fo many

cyphers

for us, that knew no fin, that we might be made the righteoufnefs of God in him,' 1 Cor. v. 21. (p) then, faith Luther *, let us compare these things together, and we shall find inestimable treafure. Chrift is full of grace, life, and faving health; and the foul is freight-full of all fin, death and damnation: but let faith come betwixt these two, and it shall come to pafs that Chrift fhall be laden with fin, death and hell; and unto the foul fhall be imputed grace, life, and falvation. Who then (faith he) is able to value the royalty of this marriage accordingly? who is able to comprehend the glorious riches of his grace, where this rich and righteous husband, Chrift, doth take unto wife this poor and wicked, harlot, redeeming her from all devils, and garnishing her from all his own jewels. So that you, (as the fame Luther faith) through the affurednefs of your faith in Christ your hufband, are delivered from all fins, made fafe from death, guarded from hell, and endowed with the everlasting righteoufnefs, life and saving health of this your husband Chrift. And therefore you are now under the covenant of grace, and freed from the law, as it is the covenant of works; for (as Mr. Ball truly faith) at one and the fame time, a man cannot be under

under the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace t.

Neo.Sir, I do not yet well know how to conceive of this freedom from the law, as it is the covenant of works; and therefore I pray you make it as plain to me as you can.

Evan. For the true and clear understanding of this point, you are to confider, that when Jefus Chrift, the fecond Adam, had, in the behalf of his chofen, perfectly fulfilled the law, as it is the covenant of works (9); divine juftice delivered that bond in to Christ, who utterly cancelled that handwriting, Col. ii. 14. So that none of his chofen were to have any more to do with it,nor it with them. And now, you,by your believing in Christ, having manifested, that you are one who was chofen in him before the foundation of the world, Eph. i. 4. his fulfilling of that covenant, and cancelling that hand writing, is imputed unto you and fo you are acquitted and abfolved from all your tranfgreffions against that covenant, either past, prefent, or to come (r); and fo you are juftified, as

the

gainft that covenant, had they been under it ftill. And forafmuch as they could never have been freed from it, had not the glorious Mediator wrought their deli verance, by fulfilling it in their room and ftead; all their fins whatfoever, from their birth to their death, after, as well as before,their union with Chrift, were charged upon him, as tranfgreffions againft that covenant; and as fuch are pardoned to them in their juf tification. Even as he who redeems a flave muft pay in proportion to the fervice which 'tis fuppofed hewould

the apostle faith, freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in Jefus Christ,' Rom. iii. 24.

6. Ant. I pray you, Sir, give me leave to speak a word by the way: was not he justified before this time?

Evan. If he did not believe in Chrift before this time, as I conceive he did not; then certainly he was not justified before this time.

Ant. But, Sir, you know, as the apostle faith, it is God that juftifieth; and God is eternal: and as you have fhewed, Chrift may be said to have fulfilled the covenant of works from all eternity: and if he be Christ's now, then was he Chrift's from all eternity: and therefore, as I conceive, he was justified from all eternity,

O 3

have done his mafter during life: and the flave is loofed from all obligation to these feveral pieces of fervice onto that mafter, upon the ranfom paid, in compenfa tion of all and every one of them. And thus our author faith, that a believer, in his juftification, is acquitted from all his tranfgreffions against the covenant of works, not only past and prefent, but to come. So that he leaves no ground to queftion, but Chrift fatisfied for all the fins of believers what foever, whether in their state of regeneracy or irregeneracy. Nor does he make the leaft infinuation, that the fins of believers, after their union with

Chrift, are not properly tranfgreffions of that law which was (yea, and to unbelievers ftill is) in the covenant of works: but on the contrary, exprefly teach

Evan.

es, that it is the very fame law of the ten commandswhich is law ofChrist, and which the believer tranfgreffeth, that was, and is in the covenant of works. And although the revenging wrath of God, and eternal death, are not threatned againft the fins of believers, after

their union with Christ; and that for this one reafon, That thatwrath, and that death (the eternity whereof rofe not from the nature of the thing, but the infirmity of the fufferer, and therefore could have no place in the Son of God) were not only threatned before, but executed too upon their furety Jefus Chrift, to whom they are united: it is manifeft, that there was great need of Chrift's being made a curfe for thofe fins of believers, as well as for thefe preceding their union with him.