Sol. Not so easy a matter as you guess it to be. It were easy indeed, were there nothing but saying the word to make man and Wife; there are terms and conditions to be agreed upon. God casts not his Son away, he looks there shall be conditions on thy side; he must be thy King, and Head, if thou wilt have him to be thy husband. But what shall I get by him then, saith the wife? Get? there is no end of thy getting. All is thine, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Life. &c. Thou art Christ's, and Christ is God's, 1 Cor. 3.22, 23. Every man will take Christ thus for the better; but there is somewhat else in the match. If thou wilt have him, thou must take him for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. Indeed there are precious things provided for you; It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, Luk. 12.32. Rom. 8.17. You shall be Heirs with Christ, but for the present, while you are in the Church Militant, you must take up your Cross; you must not look for great things in this world: In this world you must have tribulation, you must deny your selves, and your own Wills. What? would you have Christ the wife, and you the husband? No, if you think so, you mistake the match. Christ must be the Husband and the Head; and as the wife promises to obey her husband, to stick to her husband in sickness and in health, and to forsake all others; so Christ asketh, wilt thou have me? if thou wilt, thou must take me on these terms, thou must take my Cross with me, thou must deny thine own Will; yea, it may be thine own life also. Let a Christian consider all these things, these are the words, and these are the benefits, and then compare them together; and then if he can say, I will have Christ however, for I shall be a saver by him: I will take him with all faults, and I know I shall make a good bargain, therefore I will have him on any terms, come what will; when a man can have his will so perpendicularly bent on Christ, that he will have him, though he leave his skin behind him: there is a true acceptation of him. We must not here distinguish with the Schools about Velleities, a general wishing and woulding, and true desires after Christ: Wishers and Woulders never thrive; but there must be resolution to follow Christ through thick and thin, never to part with him: a direct Will is here required. And therefore Christ bids us consider before-hand what it will cost us.
Sol. Not so easie a matter as you guess it to be. It were easie indeed, were there nothing but saying the word to make man and Wife; there are terms and conditions to be agreed upon. God casts not his Son away, he looks there shall be conditions on thy side; he must be thy King, and Head, if thou wilt have him to be thy husband. But what shall I get by him then, saith the wife? Get? there is no end of thy getting. All is thine, Paul, Apollos, Cephas, Life. &c. Thou art Christ's, and Christ is God's, 1 Cor. 3.22, 23. Every man will take Christ thus for the better; but there is somewhat else in the match. If thou wilt have him, thou must take him for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer. Indeed there are precious things provided for you; It is your Father's good pleasure to give you the Kingdom, Luk. 12.32. Rom. 8.17. You shall be Heirs with Christ, but for the present, while you are in the Church Militant, you must take up your Cross; you must not look for great things in this world: In this world you must have tribulation, you must deny your selves, and your own Wills. What? would you have Christ the wife, and you the husband? No, if you think so, you mistake the match. Christ must be the Husband and the Head; and as the wife promises to obey her husband, to stick to her husband in sickness and in health, and to forsake all others; so Christ asketh, wilt thou have me? if thou wilt, thou must take me on these terms, thou must take my Cross with me, thou must deny thine own Will; yea, it may be thine own life also. Let a Christian consider all these things, these are the words, and these are the benefits, and then compare them together; and then if he can say, I will have Christ however, for I shall be a saver by him: I will take him with all faults, and I know I shall make a good bargain, therefore I will have him on any terms, come what will; when a man can have his will so perpendicularly bent on Christ, that he will have him, though he leave his skin behind him: there is a true acceptation of him. We must not here distinguish with the Schools about Velleities, a general wishing and woulding, and true desires after Christ: Wishers and Woulders never thrive; but there must be resolution to follow Christ through thick and thin, never to part with him: a direct Will is here required. And therefore Christ bids us consider before-hand what it will cost us.
