The saints delight. To which is annexed a treatise of meditation

Use 2 Use 2. Exhortation, 1. Branch. If Christ be so infinitely lovely, ¹then let us labour to get a part in Christ, that the cursed deformity of our nature may be taken away, and the ⟨p. 385⟩bespangled beauties of holiness may shine in us. 'Tis little comfort for the soul to say, Christ is altogether lovely, unless it can also say, My beloved is mine, Cant. 2.16. Ignatius cared not what befell him so he had Christ^*. Clear the interest. The ground of privilege is union. There are (saith Bernard) many Christians who have nothing of Christ in them^*. Oh labour to be made one with Christ, to have Christ not only in thy Bible, but in thy heart^*; renounce thy own beauty, all thy parts, moralities, duties, these are a rotten bough to hold by, Phil 3.9. That I may be found in him not having mine own righteousness. When Augustus Caesar desired the Senate of Rome to join some with him in Consul-ship, The Senate answered that they held it ⟨p. 386⟩a great disparagement to him to join any Consul with him; ^*So Jesus Christ takes it as a great disparagement to him, to join our Duties in equipage with his Merits. O sinner cast away thy beggars rags, that thou mayest put on Christs lovely robes. I would not take thee off from duty, but from confidence in duty; Noah's Dove might make use of her wings to fly, but she did not trust to her wings, but to the Ark. A man makes use of his feet to go over a bridge, but he trusts to the bridge for safety; Christians while they walk with the feet of obedience, must trust to Christ as the bridge to lead them over the devouring sea of hell; in short, if thou wouldst get an interest in Christ, rely on Christ by faith, and resign up thy self to Christ by service. A believer with one hand receives Christ, with the other hand gives up himself to Christ. Christ