A cabinet of choice jewels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…A cabinet of choice jevvels, or, A box of precious ointment being a plain…

Though a Christian may really rejoice in his graces and gracious evidences, yet above all he ought to rejoice in Christ Jesus, to triumph in Christ Jesus,¹ and to take up in Christ Jesus as in his great all. There is a great aptness and proneness in many (may I not say in most) gracious Christians, to gaze so much and so long upon their graces, upon their gracious dispositions, upon their gracious evidences, and upon their ⟨p. 386⟩gracious actings, that too often they neglect the exercise of faith upon Christ, upon the promises; they gaze so much and so long upon what is wrought in them, and done by them, that they forget their grand work, which is immediate closing with Christ, immediate embracing of Christ, immediate relying upon Christ, immediate staying, rolling, and resting upon Christ, for justification and salvation. Now, from these frequent miscarriages of Christians, some have taken the liberty and boldness very hotly and peremptorily to cry down the total use of all characters, signs and marks, the evil of which I have formerly pointed at, and therefore let this touch suffice here. Grace is excellent, yea very excellent, but Christ is infinitely more excellent than all your graces, and therefore above all let Christ still have the preeminence.² Now, though it must be granted that a Christian may lawfully make use of his graces and gracious evidences in order to his support, comfort and encouragement, yet it cannot be denied but that the noblest, purest, highest and most excellent acts and exercises of faith,³ are when a Christian closes with Christ, embraces Christ, hangs upon Christ, and stays himself upon Christ, and upon free and precious promises, when sense and feeling fails, when joy and comfort fails, and when his gracious evidences for heaven fails. O now, to turn to Christ, and to turn to the breasts of a promise, and to live upon Christ, and to hang upon a promise, is the way of ways to exalt Christ, and to glorify Christ; there is nothing that pleases Christ, or that delights Christ, or that is such an honour to Christ, as these pure actings of faith are. Signs and evidences, are most sweet, comfortable and pleasing to us;