We have heard of some, whose hearts being filled with vexing cares have filled their heads with grey hairs in a very short time. As some have an Art to ripen Fruits, before nature ripens them; so the Lord hath a power to hasten old age, before nature makes us old. Thou hast made my skin old; that is, full of wrinkles and leanness; these are the liveries which old age gives. The Apostle assures us, that Christ shall one day present the Church to himself, in the perfection of spiritual beauty and glory; that beauty and glory is described by the removal of that from her spiritual estate, which Job complains of in his temporal estate: Job was full of spots and wrinkles, but she shall appear, Not having spot or wrinkle (Ephes. 5.27.) that is, Without any note or mark of old age upon her. A spot defaceth the beauty of a Garment, and wrinkles spoil the beauty of the face. An old Garment is full of spots, and an old face is full of wrinkles. Old things pass away when we are made new creatures by grace; yet in that state (because we are not perfectly freed from the old man) our garments have some spots, and our faces some wrinkles upon them: But in the state of glory, when all old things, even all the image of the old Adam shall be totally abolished, we shall not have so much as one spot or one wrinkle. Believers have now a righteousness in Christ without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; they shall then have a holiness in themselves, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing▪ that is, They shall not only not have any spot or wrinkle upon them, but they shall have nothing like it, nothing which hath any relation to it, nothing which either themselves or others shall mistake for it, they shall neither suspect nor be ⟨p. 258⟩suspected to have a spot or a wrinkle about them. A perfect soul-state, and a perfect state of body, hath no wrinkle in it. Job to show the decays and blemishes of his body, saith he was full of wrinkles.
We have heard of some, whose hearts being filled with vexing cares have filled their heads with gray hayres in a very short time. As some have an Art to ripen Fruits, before nature ripens them; so the Lord hath a power to hasten old age, before nature makes us old. Thou hast made my skin old; that is, full of wrinckles and leannesse; these are the liveries which old age gives. The Apostle assures us, that Christ shall one day present the Church to himselfe, in the perfection of spirituall beauty and glory; that beauty and glory is described by the removall of that from her spirituall estate, which Job complaines of in his temporall estate: Job was full of spots and wrinkles, but shee shall appeare, Not having spot or wrinckle (Ephes. 5.27.) that is, Without any note or marke of old age upon her. A spot defaceth the beauty of a Garment, and wrinckles spoyle the beauty of the face. An old Garment is full of spots, and an old face is full of wrinkles. Old things passe away when we are made new creatures by grace; yet in that state (because we are not perfectly freed from the old man) our garments have some spots, and our faces some wrinkles upon them: But in the state of glory, when all old things, even all the image of the old Adam shall be totally abolished, we shall not have so much as one spot or one wrinkle. Beleevers have now a righteousnesse in Christ without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing; they shall then have a holinesse in themselves, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing▪ that is, They shall not onely not have any spot or wrinkle upon them, but they shall have nothing like it, nothing which hath any relation to it, nothing which either themselves or others shall mistake for it, they shall neither suspect nor be ⟨p. 258⟩suspected to have a spot or a wrinkle about them. A perfect soule-state, and a perfect state of body, hath no wrinkle in it. Job to shew the decayes and blemishes of his body, saith hee was full of wrinkles.
