Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

4. Let us quicken, provoke, and rouse up our Souls to this conformity; let us set before them exciting Arguments, ex. gr. The greatest glory that a Christian can attain to in this world, is to have a resemblance, and likeness to Jesus Christ. Again, the more like we are to Christ, the more we are in the love of God, and the better he is pleased with us: It was his voice concerning his Son, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; and for his sake, if we are but like him, he is also well pleased with us. Again, a likeness or resemblance of Christ is that which keeps Christ alive in the world: As we say of a child that is like his Father, This man cannot die so long as his Son is alive: So we may say of Christians who resemble Christ, that so long as they are in the world, Christ cannot die; he lives in them, and he is no otherwise alive in this nether world, than in the hearts of Gracious Christians, that carry the picture and resemblance of him. Again, a likeness to Christ in his death, will cause a likeness to Christ in his Glory, If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, ¹we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection: As it is betwixt the Graft and the Stock, the Graft seeming dead with the Stock in the winter, it revives with it in the Spring; after the Winter's death, it partakes of the Spring's resurrection; so it is betwixt Christ and us; if with Christ we die to sin, we shall with Christ be raised to Glory; being conformed to him in his death, we shall be also in his resurrection. Thus let us quicken and provoke our souls to this conformity.

4. Let us quicken, provoke, and rouze up our Souls to this conformity; let us set before them exciting Arguments, ex. gr. The greatest glory that a Christian can attain to in this world, is to have a resemblance, and likeness to Jesus Christ. Again, the more like we are to Christ, the more we are in the love of God, and the better he is pleased with us: It was his voice concerning his Son, This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased; and for his sake, if we are but like him, he is also well pleased with us. Again, a likeness or resemblance of Christ is that which keeps Christ alive in the world: As we say of a child that is like his Father, This man cannot die so long as his Son is alive: So we may say of Christians who resemble Christ, that so long as they are in the world, Christ cannot die; he lives in them, and he is no otherwise alive in this nether world, than in the hearts of Gracious Christians, that carry the picture and resemblance of him. Again, a likeness to Christ in his death, will cause a likeness to Christ in his Glory, If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,