SERMON 6

JOY IN THE LORD,
OPENED IN A SERMON, PREACHED AT ST. PAUL'S, MAY 6.
PHIL. 4:4.
Rejoice in the LORD always; and again I say, rejoice.

            THERE is nothing which believers either more willingly hear, or more difficultly observe, than those precepts which invite them to joy and gladness; they being on the one hand so suitable to the natural desires, and yet on the other so dissonant to the miserable condition of sinful man. Had our Apostle called on the blessed angels to rejoice, who have neither sin, nor sorrow, nor fear, nor sufferings, nor ene­mies to annoy them, it might have seemed far more congru­ous: But what is it less than a paradox to persuade poor creatures, loaded with guilt, defiled with corruption, cloth­ed with infirmities, assaulted with temptations, hated, per­secuted, afflicted by SATAN and the world, compassed about with dangers and sorrows, "born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward," that, notwithstanding all this, " they may rejoice, and rejoice always?" But we have a double corrective to all these doubts in the text; one in the object, another in the preacher of this joy. The object of it is CHRIST the LORD, as appears by the same thing twice before mentioned. (Chap. 3:1. 3.) The LORD that pardon­eth our guilt, subdueth our lusts, healeth our infirmities, rebuketh our temptations, vanquisheth our enemies, sweet­eneth our sufferings, heighteneth our consolations above our afflictions, and at last " wipeth all tears from our eyes." Here is matter of great joy, if we may be satisfied in the truth of it: And for that we have the word of an Apostle, who gave assurance of it by divine revelation, and by per­sonal experience. He who, next to the LORD himself, was of all his servants a man of sorrow, in " afflictions, in necessi­ties, in distresses, in stripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in perils, in deaths, in weariness, in watchings, in hunger, in thirst, in cold, in nakedness, beaten with rods, stoned with stones, shipwrecked at sea, beset at land;" he who in the prison, the inner prison, the stocks, (a kind of case of prisons one within another,) did yet rejoice and sing psalms unto Gov: (Acts 16:24, 25:) He it is, who from the LORD calls upon believers to " rejoice always." The servants of GOD may then securely, notwithstanding their sorrow for sin, their sense of sufferings, their certainty of temptations, their conflicts with enemies, their sympathy with brethren, yet I say securely " Rejoice:" and " rejoice always" they have the LORD to warrant it, they have his Apostles to witness it. Let worldlings delight in sensual pleasures, let false Apostles delight in carnal worship, and ceremonial privileges; but you, my brethren, have ano­ther kind of object to fix your joys upon: " Rejoice in the LORD, and again rejoice," and rejoice " always" and that upon the word and credit of an Apostle.

There are many particulars couched in the words.

            1. The subject of them, spiritual joy, or an holy exul­tation of the soul in the LORD, as the most beloved, desired, supreme good, wrought in it by the SPIRIT of grace, ren­dering CHRIST by faith present unto it; whereby it is not only supported under all afflictions, but enabled to glory in them, and to triumph over them.

            2. The difficulty of this joy intimated, in that believers are so often invited to it.

            3. The sureness and the greatness of it, noted in the doubling of the words.

            4. The stability and perpetuity of it; they may rejoice always in the midst of their sorest fears or distresses.

            5. The object of it, a glorious and replenishing object, CHRIST the LORD.

            (I. The apostolical attention given unto it, " again I say, rejoice; " I speak it by commission from the mouth of CHRIST requiring it; I speak it by the experience of mine own heart, enjoying it in the midst of all my sufferings: " Rejoice in the LORD always and again I say, rejoice." But, because I love not to crumble the bread of life into too many particulars, I shall comprise all in this one proposition, which I shall make the subject of my present service: That the LORD JESUS is the great, sure, and perpetual joy of his people.

            By accident, unto wicked and impenitent sinners, he is a stumbling block; as wholesome meat is offensive to sick stomachs, and the light of the sun to distempered eyes: But to those that believe, he is altogether lovely, precious, and desirable. "Abraham rejoiced" to see his day; "Mary rejoiced" more that he was her SAVIOR than her SON; SIMEON embraced him with a Nunc dimittis; MATTHEW made a great feast to receive him; ZACCHEUS entertained him at his house joyfully; the Eunuch, as soon as he knew him, went on his way rejoicing. (Acts 8:39.) The gaoler, who even now was ready to have killed himself, when CHRIST was preached unto him, rejoiced and believed. CHRIST is the Author of our joy; he calls it His "joy." (John 15:11.) It is the work and fruit of his SPIRIT. (Gal. 5:22.) And he is the object of our joy; it is fixed and terminated on him, as on the adequate matter thereof. (Phil. 3:3.)

There are many things belonging to the object of a full and complete joy. 1. It must be good in itself, and to us. 2. That good must have several qualifications to heighten it to that pitch which the joy of the heart may fix on.

            (1.) It must be a present good, in the view and posses­sion of him whom it delighteth: Absent good is the object of desire; present good, of delight. It is true a man may rejoice at some good that is past, as that he did at such a time escape a danger, or receive a benefit; but then the memory makes it as it were present, and the fruit of that past good is some way or other still remaining. Also a man may rejoice in a good to come; " ABRAHAM rejoiced to see CHRIST'S day," and believers " rejoice in the hope of glory;" but then faith gives a substance to the things so hoped for. (Heb. 11:1.) And the virtue and benefit of them is in being, though they themselves be but in hope; and so in regard of efficacy, " CHRIST was a Lamb slain from the beginning of the world," though not actually slain, before the fullness of time: So still the most proper ground of delight is fruition, which presupposeth the pre­sence of the thing enjoyed.

            (2.) It must be a precious good, which has some special value belonging unto it. ’We read of the " joy of harvest;" (Isa. 9:3;) because men then reap the precious things of the earth, as they are called. (Dent. xxxiii. 14, 16.)

            (3.) It must be a full good, sufficient and thoroughly proportionable to all the desires and exigencies of him that is delighted with it: Bring the richest pearl to a man under some sore fit of the gout or stone!; he cries, groans, sweats, is in pain still: The object, though good, though precious, yet is not suitable to his present condition; in that case he takes more pleasure in an anodine medicine, than in a rich jewel: It would be little good news to such a man, to tell him that his kidneys or his bladder were full of pearls, or diamonds, because there they would not be his treasure, but his torment.

            (4.) It must be a pure good, without any dregs or dross to abate the sweetness of it: All earthly delights are bitter sweets; wine tainted by the vessel, which brings a loathing along with it: The best corn has its chaff, the richest wine its lees, the sweetest oil its dregs, the sun itself its spots; nothing of mere creatures can cause an unmixed joy, free from all tincture of the vessel from whence it proceeds: And any one defect may corrupt all the content which the rest ministereth, as a "dead fly will spoil the whole pot of ointment."

            (5.) It must be rare, wonderful, glorious. The com­monness, even of good things, takes from the loveliness of hens. If diamonds were as plentiful as pebbles, or goldas iron, they would be as little esteemed; if there were but one balsam or drug in the world that would cure any mor­tal disease, a man would value the monopoly of that above the richest jewel. Because the pool of Bethesda had a rare healing virtue, multitudes of impotent, blind, halt, withered, were waiting continually for the moving of it.

            (6.) It must be various, like the holy anointing oil, compounded of many principal species. (Exod. 30:23, 25.) In rich hangings, in choice gardens, in great feasts, in select libraries, variety is that which greatly delighteth; were a table filled with one and the same dish, or a study with the same book, or a garden with the same flower, it would wholly take away from the delight of it. And this variety is then much more delightful, when each particular good does answer some particular defect or desire in him that enjoyeth it; when it is as a rich storehouse, as the shop of the apothecary, or as a physic garden, wherein a man may in any distemper fix on something proper to help him.

            (7.) It must be a prevalent and sovereign good, most efficacious against evils. Victory even in trifles, where no evil is to be removed, as in bowling or shooting, is that which makes the pleasure in those games; much more de­lightful must that needs be, which can help a man to overcome all the evils and enemies that assault him. No joy to be compared to the " joy of a triumph," when men divide the spoils. In this case JEHOSHAPIIAT and his people came to " Jerusalem with psalteries, harps, and trumpets to the house of GOD, rejoicing over their enemies." (2 Caron. 20:25, 28.)

            (8.) It must be a perpetual good, commensurate in dura­tion to the soul that is to be satisfied with it; they are but poor and lying delights, which, like Jordan, empty all their sweetness into a stinking and sulphureous lake. True comfort is a growing thing, which never bends to a declina­tion. That man will find little pleasure in his expedition, whose voyage is for a year, and his victuals but for a day, who sets out for eternity with the pleasures of nothing but mortality; such as are natural, sensual, secular, sinful joys. As the sheep feeds on the grass, and then the owner feeds on him; so poor sinners feed a while on dead comforts, and then death at last feeds on them.

            Lastly, That which crowns all, is, it must be our own proper good; all the rest without this signifies nothing to us. A beggar feels not the joy of another man's wealth, nor a cripple of another man's strength; the prisoner that is leading to death, has no comfort in the pardon which is brought to another malefactor. As every man must live by his own faith, so every man must have his rejoicing in himself, and not in another.

            Now then let us consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, CHRIST JESUS, and we shall find him alone, in every one of these particulars, to be a most adequate object of joy and delight to all his people.

            1. He is a good ever present with them: " I am with you always' (Matt. 28:2O.) Though bodily absent, and that for the expediency and comfort of his servants, (John 16:7,) yet in his ordinances, and by his SPIRIT, ever amongst them: " You shall see me," says he to his disciples, " because I go to my FATHER;" (John 16:16;) whereby is not only intimated his purpose of appearing to them before his ascension, but with all the full manifestation of himself unto them, when he was gone, by sending the HOLY SPIRIT, by whom his bodily absence should be abundantly compensated. By that SPIRIT his people are joined to him, as the feet below to the head above; (1 Cor. 6:17;) by that SPIRIT in the Gospel " he preacheth peace" unto them, (Eph. 2:17,) and is evi­dently set forth before them; (Gal. 3:1;) by that SPIRIT he dwells with them, (Eph. 3:17,) manifests himself unto them, makes his abode with them, (John 14:2O, 23; Rev. 3:2O,) walks in the midst of them, as in his house and temple, (2 Cor. 6:16,) is more present with them than any good thing they have besides. Some things are present with us, in our eye, in our possession, yet still without us, as goods, or friends; some things more inti­mate, but yet separable from us, as health, strength, oursoul itself; but CHRIST is not only with us, but in us; (Col. 1:27;) not only in us, but inseparably abiding with us.

            2. He is not an ordinary good; which, if a man want, he may compensate by some other thing; but " a treasure, and pearl of highest price," in whom are unsearchable riches, hidden treasures; in comparison of whom, all other things are loss and dung; most precious in the eyes of his people. (1 Pet. 2:7.) Precious in his own immediate excellencies, " the chiefest of ten thousand." (Cant. 5:1O, 16.) Precious in the respects he bears towards us; in the sweet and intimate relations of an Husband, a Head, a Savior, a Brother, a Father, a Friend, a Surety, a Mediator, a Propitiation, an Advocate: Precious in the great things he has done for us, in the rich supplies of grace and peace he does bestow upon us, in the high dig­nity whereunto he advanceth us; (John i, 12; 1 John 3:1; Rona. 8:15, 16;) in the great promises he makes unto us; (2 Pet. 1:2—4;) in the glorious hope which he sets before us, and blessed mansions which he prepareth for us; (Col 1:27 John 14:2;) in the light of his countenance shining on us, in the fruits of his SPIRIT wrought in us, in the present life of faith, in the hidden life of glory, in the great price he paid for us, in the great care which he takes of us, in the effusions and manifestations of the love of GOD unto us; in the seals, pledges, testimonies, and firstfruits of our eternal inheritance, which he is pleased by his SPIRIT to shed forth upon us, in the free and open way which he has made for us unto the throne of grace; in these, and. many other the like, is the LORD CHRIST more honorable and precious in the eyes of his people, than a thousand worlds could be without him.

            3. He is not only a most present, and a most precious good, but full and sufficient for his people: " He ascended on high, that he might fill all things;" (Eph. 4:1O;) that he might pour forth such abundance of his SPIRIT on his church, as might answer all the conditions whereunto they may be reduced, righteousness enough to cover all their sins, plenty enough to supply all their wants, grace enough to subdue all their lusts, wisdom enough to resolve all their doubts, power enough to vanquish all their enemies, virtue enough to cure all their diseases, fullness enough to save them, and that to the uttermost. All other good things below, and without him, have a finite and limited be­nignity. Some can clothe, but cannot feed; others can nourish, but they cannot heal; others can enrich, but they cannot secure; others adorn, but cannot advance; all serve, but none satisfy: They are, like a beggar's coat, made up of many pieces, not all enough either to beautify or defend; but there is in CHRIST something proportionable to all the wants and desires of his people. He is " bread, wine, milk, living water," to feed them. (John 6:51, and 8:37.) He is a garment of righteousness to cover and adorn them, a Physician to heal then, a Coun­sellor to advise them, a Captain to defend them, a Prince to rule, a Prophet to teach, a Priest to make atonement for them, an Husband to protect, a Father to provide, a Brother to relieve, a Foundation to support, a Root to quicken, an Head to guide, a Treasure to enrich, a Sun to enlighten, a Fountain to cleanse. As the one ocean has more waters than all the rivers in the world, and one sun more light than all the luminaries in heaven; so one CHRIST is infinitely more to a poor soul, than if it had the all of the whole world a thousand times over.

            4. He is a most pure good, without any mixture of dross, or bitterness; to abate or corrupt the excellency of it: " A Lamb without spot and blemish; he did no sin, no guile was found in his mouth; holy, harmless, undefiled:" Never any believer found any thing in him' for which to repent of making choice of him: As holy POLYCARP said, I have served him these eightysix years, and he never did me any hurt.' Even the severest things of CHRIST are matter of joy to his servants: If he make them sorrowful, their sorrow is turned into joy; (John 16:2O;) his very " yoke is easy, his burthen light, his commandments not grievous:" Nay, his very cross and afflictions, matter of choice, of joy, of glorying, of triumph. (Heb. 2:25, 26; Acts 5:41; Rom. 5:3; Rom. 8:37.) It was an heroical speech of LUTHER: Maio ego cum CHRIST ruere quam cum Cesare stare: I had rather fall with CHRIST, than stand with CtESAR. And if his sufferings are so sweet, O how glorious are his consolations!

            5. He is the rarest good in the world; his whole name is " Wonderful;" (Isa. 9:6;) his whole dispensation mysterious; (1 Tim. 3:16;) the invisible GOD " mani­fested, a Son born of a virgin, the Lawgiver made under the Law, the LORD of glory, who thought it no robbery to be equal with GOD, humbled, emptied, in the form of a servant, reckoned amongst transgressors, without form or comeliness, rejected, despised, put to shame, a man of sorrows," a dead man raised by his own power, and advanced to the throne of GOD: These and all the par­ticulars of CHRIST crucified, are things so profound and unsearchable, that " the very angels desire to look into them with wonder and astonishment." (1 Pet. 1:12.) The best and most excellent things GOD has made single, one sun in the firmament, one tree of life in Paradise, one heart, one head on the body: So to us there is but " one LORD JESUS CHRIST, by whom are all things, and we by him. He is the alone living, elect, precious, chief cornerstone; no other name under heaven is given amongst men, whereby we must be saved."

            6. As a rare good, so he is full of exquisite and copious variety, " wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and re­demption." " It pleased the Father that in him all fullness should dwell." (Col. 1:19.) " In him he has made known unto principalities and powers, the manifold wis­dom of GOD." (Eph. 3:1O.) As the curious ephod in the Law was made of " gold, blue, purple, scarlet, and fine twined linen;" and the " breastplate set with twelve curious precious stones:" So CHRIST, the substance of those types, was " filled with the spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, might, knowledge, and the fear of GOD," (Isa. 11:2,) and that " above measure," (John 3:34,) that there might be enough in him to answer all the desires of his people: Wisdom to teach, righteousness to justify, grace to renew, power to defend, peace to comfort, life to quicken, glory to save them; " seven eyes upon one stone."

            7. He is a most prevailing and victorious good, " stronger than the strong man; casting out and judging the Prince of the world; abolishing death; taking away sin, destroying the works of the Devil, and overcoming the world and the lusts thereof; treading all his church's enemies under his feet;" triumphing openly over them in his cross, before GOD and angels; " ascending up on high, and leading captivity captive."

            8. He is a perpetual and durable good: " Death has no more dominion over him; he ever lives to make intercession:" There is an " oath," an " Amen" upon the perpetuity of the life and priesthood of CHRIST: " Behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen." And he lives not only for ever in his person, but he is for ever the life, portion, and blessedness of his people: " Because he lives, they live; they shall appear with him; they shall be like him:" As he is set on his FATIIIIR's throne, so shall they sit on his throne, never to be degraded.

            Lastly, He is the proper good of his own people: He has not only given himself to GOD for them, as their sacrifice, but he has given himself likewise to them, as their portion: " He is theirs, and they are his." (Cant. 6:3.) " They are his" by a dear purchase, and " he is theirs" by a sweet communion: They are said to " have him," (1 John v, 12,) as a man has his most peculiar possession; his name is, " the LORD our Righteousness: He is made unto us of GOD, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctifi­cation, and redemption:" He is more ours than we are our own; • we have and possess infinitely more in him, than in ourselves; weak in ourselves, strong in him; dead in ourselves, alive in him; miserable in ourselves, blessed in him. Thus we see there is nothing necessary to the completing of an object of joy, which is not fully to be found in CHRIST.

            Unto these grounds of joy," drawn from the nature of delectable objects, I shall add a few more mentioned by the Prophet ZECHAR1AH, (Chap. 9:9, 1O.) drawn from the royal office of CHRIST: " Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Sion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: Behold, thy King cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation, lowly, and riding upon an ass."

            1. He is a King, "thy King," the promised MESSIAH, in whom all blessings were to be made good unto Israel. They had been " servants under strange lords," (Nell. 9:86, 37,) and so had we: The Prince and GOD of this world had the possession of us: But " they were to have a King of their own from among their brethren." (Deut. 17:15.) " Their governor was to proceed from the midst of them." (Ter. 30:21.) And this must needs be matter of great joy;" that whereas " oppressors did pass through them before," (verse 8,) the King now promised them should be a near kinsman, " should not be ashamed to call them breth­ren." (Heb. 2:11.) " The shout of a King should be amongst them, who should have, the strength of an unicorn, able to break the bones of his enemies." (Numb. 23:21, 22.)

2. His approach: " He cometh." When SOLOMON, a type of CHRIST, " was made King, they did eat and drink with great gladness before the LORD." (1 Chron. 29:' 2.) At such solemn inaugurations, the trumpets sound, the people shout, the conduits run with wine, honors are dispensed, gifts distributed, prisons opened, offenders pardoned, acts of grace published, nothing suffered to eclipse the beauty of such a festivity. Thus it was at the coming of CHRIST: " Wise men of the East bring presents unto him, rejoicing with exceeding great joy: The glory of GOD shines on that day, and an heavenly host proclaim the joy: JOHN BAPTIST leapeth in the womb, MARY rejoiceth in GOD her SAVIOR, ZACHARY glorifieth GOD for the horn of salvation in the house of DAVID;" SIMEON and HANNAH bless the LORD for the glory of Israel:" And after, when he came to " Jerusalem, the whole multitude spread garments, strewed branches, cried before him and behind him, Hosanna to the son of DAVID, Hosan­na in the highest." And the Psalmist, prophesying long before of it, said, " This is the day which the LORD has made, we will rejoice and be glad in it."

            3. His character: (1) He is just. And this is the great joy of his people, (Isa. 9:3, 7,) especially being such a King as is not only just himself, but maketh others just likewise: " In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory." (Isa. xlv. 25.) Sin pardoned, guilt covered, death vanquished, conscience pacified, GOD reconciled, must needs be a glorious ground of joy and peace to believers. (Rom. 5:1, 2; Luke 10:2O.) But a prince may be just himself, and yet not able to deliver from the injustice of enemies that are stronger than he; as JEHOSHAPHAT said, " We have no might against this great company." (2 Chron. 20:12.) Therefore,

            (2.) Our King here has " salvation," is able to save himself and his people from their enemies, and that to the utmost. It was his name, his office, the end why he was sent, why he was " exalted to be a Prince and a Savior." And this surely is matter of great joy. It is an angelical argument, " I bring you tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people; for unto you is born this day in the city of DAVID a Savior, which is CHRIST the LORD." (Luke 2:1O, 11.) But princes possibly, the more powerful they are, may be likewise the more stately: It is not unusual with men, where they do much good, to be supercilious and haughty towards those to whom they do it: But lo, here,

            (3.) A Prince great in honor, righteous in peace, vali­ant in war; and yet humble and lowly still: So lowly as to minister to his own servants, and to " wash their feet," as to be an example of meekness unto them. (Matt. 11:29.) The meanest of his people have access unto him, may present their wants before him; nay, he stays not for them, he comes to seek, as well as to save, calls on us, stands and knocks at our doors, " waits that he may be gracious;"bears with us in all failings, expects us in our delays, forgives our wanderings, prays us " to be reconciled to GOD." (Isaiah 13:18; Rev. 3:2O.) Now there is nothing that more rejoiceth the hearts of a people, than the mildness, gentleness, and clemency of their Prince, when " his heart is not haughty, nor his eyes lofty," as DAVID said of himself, (Psalm cxxxi. 1,) when he is as a servant to his people; and speaketh good words to them, as the old men advised REHOBOAM. But a Prince may have a righteous heart, a valiant hand, a meek temper, and yet do the less good by a natural slowness and indisposedness to action. There is nothing more acceptable to the people, and necessary for the Prince, than vigor and dispatch in works of justice and prowess. Therefore,

            (4.) Our King is here set forth riding: He did always " go about doing good," made it " his meat and drink to do his Father's work:" And here, when it seemed most reasonable for him to have drawn back and spared himself, when he was to be crucified, he shows his cheerfulness in that service, by riding to Jerusalem about it, which we read not that he did upon any other occasion: He did ear­nestly desire that passover; he did severely rebuke PETER, when he dissuaded him from that work; he did express his singular readiness to become a sacrifice, " Lo, I come to do thy will, O God!" And though in his agony he did earnestly desire that " the cup might pass from him," yet those groans of his nature under it, did greatly set forth the submission and willingness of his love to undergo it. Now this is a further ground of " great joy " to a people, when all other princely endowments in their sovereign are vigor­ously exerted and improved for their safety and protection; when they see him deny himself his own ease and safety, that he may be ever doing good to them. We see what an high value the people set on DAVID, " You art worth ten thousand of us;" and this the occasion, " I will surely go forth with you myself." (2 Sam. 18:2, 3.) But a Prince may have all the endowments requisite to render him ami­able in the eyes of his people, just and meek to them, valiant and active against their enemies, and yet fail of success in his undertakings, and they consequently have the joy of his government much abated; for, " the race is not always to the swift, nor the battle to the strong:" But it is otherwise with our King here. Therefore it is added,

            (5.) He " cuts the chariot and the horse, and the battle bow; he speaks peace to his people; he extends his domi­nion from sea to sea, from the rivers to the ends of the earth; he rides on in his majesty prosperously, the people fall under him." (Psalm xlv. 4, 5.) " He goes forth con­quering, and to conquer." (Rev. 6:2.) " He takes from the strong man all his armor, and divides the spoil:" He never fails of full and final victory; " he reigns till all his enemies are put under his feet." And this is the crown of his people's joy, that they have not only a just, a valiant, an humble, an active, but a prosperous and successful Prince, making his people " rejoice in the spoils of their enemies, breaking the yoke of their burden, the staff of their shoulder, the rod of their oppressor, extending peace to them like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream; causing them to put their feet on the necks of their adversaries." Thus, many ways are the people of CI1E13T encouraged to rejoice in him.

            This then serveth, 1: To reprove the sin and folly of all those who seek for joy out of the broken cisterns of the crea­tures, which can hold none, and leave that Fountain out of which it naturally floweth. Some seek it in wealth and greatness; others in sensual `pleasures, feasting and luxury; some in titles of honor; others in variety of knowledge; some in stately structures, magnificent retinue, and goodly provisions; others in low, sordid, and brutish lusts. Unto all of. whom we may say, as the angel to the woman, " Why seek ye the living among the dead?" or, as SAMUEL did unto SAUL, " Set not thy mind upon the asses;" there are nobler things to fix thy desires upon. SOLOMON had more variety this way, and more wisdom to improve it," than any now have; and he made it his business critically to examine all the creatures, and to find out " all the good which was under the sun." And the result of all his inquiries amount­ed at last to a total made up all of cyphers, of mere wind and emptiness: " Vanity of vanities, all is vanity:" So he begins his book; and to show that he was not mistaken, so he concludes it. Every particular vanity alone, and all in a mass and collection, vanity together, enough to vex the soul, enough to weary it; but never enough to fill it: Many of them sinful delights, poisoned cordials, killing, cursing, damning joys; dropping as an honeycomb; smooth as oil, but going down to death, and taking hold of hell." (Prov. 5:35.) All of them empty delights; in their matter and expectation, earthly; in their acquisition, painful; in their fruition, nauseous and cloying; in their duration, dying and perishing; in their operation, hardening, effemi­nating, leavening, puffing up, and estranging the heart from GOD; in their consequences, seconded with anxiety, solicitude, fear, sorrow, despair, and disappointment; in their measure, shorter than that a man can stretch himself on, narrower than that a man can wrap himself in; every way defective and disproportionable to the vast and spacious capacity of the soul, as unable to fill that, as the light of a candle to give day to the world. Whatever delights men take pleasure in, leaving CHRIST out, are but as the wine of a condemned man; as the feast of him who sat under a naked sword, hanging over him by a slender thread; as ADAM'S forbidden fruit seconded by a flaming sword; as BELSHAZAR'S dainties with an handwriting against the wall: " In the midst of all such joy the heart is sorrowful, and the end of that mirth is heaviness;" like a flame of stubble, or a flash of gunpowder; a sudden and flaming blaze, which ends in smoke and stink. " The triumph­ing of the wicked is short, and the joy of the hypocrite is but for a moment." (Job 20:5.)

            2. This discovereth the great sin and folly of those who take offence at CHRIST; and when others entertain him with Hosanna and acclamations, are displeased at him, as the Scribes; and with the young man in the Gospel, " go away sorrowful" from him. Our SAVIOR pronounceth them " blessed," who are " not offended with him; " thereby intimating the misery of those who, stumbling at him, as " a rock of offence," are thereupon disobedient unto his word. CHRIST does not give any just cause of offence to any; but there are many things belonging to CHRIST, which the proud and corrupt hearts of men turn into matter of grief and offence unto themselves.

            (1.) Some are offended at his person, in whom the Godhead and Manhood are united; who, though the LORD in his word call him " the mighty GOD," (Isaiah 9:6,) tells us that " the word was GOD," (John 1:1,) " GOD blessed for ever," (Rom. 2:5,) " equal with GOD," (Phil. 2:6,) " the true GOD," (1 John 5:2O,) " the great GOD," (Tit. 2:13,) " a GO), whose throne is for ever and ever," (Heb. 1:8,) " the LORD, who in the beginning laid the foundations of the earth," (Ver. 1O,) " JEHOVAH our Righteousness;" (Jer. 23:6;) yet will not endure to have him any more than a mere man.

            (2.) Others are offended at his cross, both Jews and Greeks. (1 Cor. 1:23) Those pitching in their expecta­tions upon a glorious Prince, who should free them from the Roman yoke, could not endure to be so disappointed, as, in the stead thereof, to have a crucified man, one " in the form of a servant," to be their MESSIAH. These judg­ing it a foolish thing to expect life from a dead man, glory and blessedness from one who did not keep himself from shame and curse; hearing doctrines wholly inconsistent with the principles they had been prepossessed with, did thereupon refuse to submit to CHRIST; who, notwithstand­ing, " to them which are called, was the power of GOD, and the wisdom of Gov;" had more power than that which the Jews required, more wisdom than that which the Greeks sought after. The cross of CHRIST, likewise to be taken up by his disciples and followers, is matter of offence to many others, called " the offence of the cross." (Gal. 5:11.) When they hear that " they must suffer with him, if they will reign with him;" that " through many tribulations they must enter the kingdom of GOD;" that affliction is an appendix to the Gospel, and find the truth of it by experience, persecution arising because of the word, then " presently they are offended."

            (3.) Others are offended at the free grace of CHRIST, cannot endure to be shut out from causing their own salva­tion. Thus the Jews, " not willing to seek righteousness by faith in CHRIST, but as it were by the works of the Law, stumbled, at that stumbling stone." Men would fain' owe some of the thanks for their salvation to themselves, to their own will, their own work: But when they have used all the arts and arguments they can to have the efficacy of divine grace within the power of their own will; yet still it is GOD "that worketh in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure." (Phil. 2:13.) " By grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves." " It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of GOD that shows mercy."

            (4.) Others are offended at the doctrine of CHRIST; they are not able to endure the things that are spoken by him.  [1.] Some at the sublimity of it, as being above the dis­quisition of reason: The philosophers mocked at the doc­trine of the resurrection. (Acts 17:32.) JTJLIAN scorned Christians, as yielding up their souls captive to a blind belief: Pride of reason, disdaining to admit any thing be­yond its own comprehension, has been the cause of that offence which many have taken at the evangelical doctrine. It has been noted by learned men, that the eastern nations, by reason of the pride and curiosity of their wits, have been most troubled with horrid and prodigious heresies: And it has been the constant presumption of heretical spirits, to oppose sound believers, as unskillful and illiterate persons, with the name and pretence of reason.

            [2.] Some at the simplicity of it: The doctrine of the cross was esteemed foolishness by the grandees of the world, partly because delivered without "the enticing words of man's wisdom," (1 Cor. 2:4,) partly because the things were such as pride and lust judged unreasonable to stoop to Christian doctrine is above reason natural, against rea­son sinful.

            [3.] Some at the sanctity and severity of it. When it teacheth selfdenial, "pulling out the right eye, cutting off the right hand, taking up a cross, following CHRIST without the camp, hating and forsaking all for him, walking in the narrow way, having our conversations and affections in heaven, mortifying our lusts, loving our enemies, wrestling against principalities and powers, praying always, abstaining from all appearance of evil, exercising ourselves in a good conscience toward GOD and men, living without rebuke in a crooked generation, walking circumspectly, setting the LORD always before us, choosing the reproaches of CHRIST rather than the pleasures of sin, or honors of the world:" When sensual and earthly minded men are held close by such doctrines as these, they conclude with the men of Capernaum, " This is a hard saying, who can hear it? " (John 6:6O.)

            3. We should therefore be exhorted so much the more to this comfortable duty, to stir up in our hearts that joy in CHRIST, which the inestimable benefit of our high call­ing requires of us. It is a " comely thing for the righte­ous to rejoice." (Psalm xxxiii. 1.) Shall wicked men glory in that which is their shame, and shall not the righteous rejoice in Him who is their Salvation? Shall he " rejoice over us to do us good," (Jer. xxxii. 41,) and " rest in his love to us," (Zeph. 3:17,) and shall not we rejoice in him who is " the chiefest of ten thousand? " Are not all the objects of joy, which are scattered amongst the crea­tures, heaped up, and everlastingly treasured in him alone? Do we delight in wealth? (as many will say, " Who will show us any good?") Behold here "unsearchable riches," (L'ph. 3:8,) " durable riches," (Prov. 8:18,) without bounds, without bottom, without end. Do we delight in pleasure? Behold here, " rivers of pleasure, pleasures for evermore." Do we delight in beauty? He is " fairer than the children of men." In sweet odors? All his " garments smell of myrrh, aloes and cassia;" he is "perfumed with all the spices of the merchant." (Psalm xlv. 8; Cant. 3:6.) In plentiful provision? Behold here " a feast of fatted things; " (Isa. 25:6;) " living water, bread of life, meat indeed." In profound learning? Here is " knowledge that passes knowledge," *; * (Phil. iii. 8,) " the excellency of knowledge," knowledge that is life. (John 17:3.) In honor and dignity? Here is " the LORD of glory," honorable in himself, an honor to his people, making them all " kings and priests to GOD." In safety, and security? " This man is our peace, when the Assyrian is in the land." (Mic. 5:5.) " He will cast out our enemies, he will undo those that afflict us." (Zeph. 3:15, 19.) In him is the "fullness of all delectable things;" and that which makes all the more delightful, it is a good, though so superlatively precious, yet not to be purchased at a dear  rate, set before us, offered unto us, "without money, without price." " A gift, a free gift, a gift of grace, a gift of righteousness." (Rom. 5:15, 18.) Well might the Psalmist bid us a rejoice, and exceedingly rejoice." (Psalm lxviii. 3.) Well might the Prophet bid us " sing, and shout, and re­joice, and be glad with all the heart." (Zeph. 3:14.) Well might the Apostle call it, "a joy unspeakable, and full of glory:" Since the LORD JESUS is not only the joy of saints, (Luke xix. 37, 38,) but of blessed angels, (Luke 2:13,) yea, of GOD himself. He is called " the Lord's delight." (Prov. 8:3O.) Surely, then, GOD’s people cannot but be fully agreed upon it, to "rejoice in him." But how in him?

            1. In his person and immediate excellencies, those glori­ous treasures of wisdom and grace, wherewith he is re­plenished, a spectacle of angelical adoration.

            2. In his mediation, the great things he has done, the great benefits he has procured for us. " GOD forbid," says the Apostle, " that I should glory, save in the cross of our LORD JESUS CHRIST."

            3. In our knowledge of him, and communion with him in all those benefits; a knowledge in comparison of which the Apostle esteemed all other things " as loss and dung."

            4. In all the means which he has appointed to bring men to this knowledge of him, and communion with him: In his ordinances, which are his voice speaking from hea­ven to us: In his Ministers, to whom he has committed the word of reconciliation, unto whom what respect or disrespect is showed, CHRIST looketh on as done unto himself.

            5. Rejoice we in that work whereunto by these he calls us. As it was his joy to do his FATHER'S work, so it is the joy of believers to do his work; they live not, they die not unto themselves, but unto him.

            6. In the graces he supplies us with for the performance of that work: Thus we read of the " joy of faith," (Phil. 1:25,) not only in regard of the good things it assureth unto us, but of the efficacy which it has in us, enabling us to work by love.

            7. In the light of his countenance shining upon us, which is much "better than life itself." We may all say to him, as he said to his FATHER: " You shall make me full of joy with thy countenance." (Acts 2:28.)

            8. In the hope of his glory: The SPIRIT of adoption is even now a glorious thing; (John 1:2;) " but it does not yet appear what we shall be;" only this he has assured us of, that we shall be " like unto him," shall " see him as he is," shall " appear with him in glory," shall " sit upon his throne," and " be ever with him." (1 John 3:1, 2; Col. 3:4.) And this blessed hope, secured by the witness of the SPIRIT, (who is the seal and earnest of oureternal inherit­ance,) filleth the hearts of believers with " joy unspeakable and full of glory;" while they look not on the things that are seen, but on the things that are not seen.

            9. In the fellowship of his sufferings, which though to sense they be matter of sorrow, yet to faith are they matter of joy. When God,'s servants consider, that unto these suf­ferings they were appointed, (1 Thes. 3:3,) that CHRIST owns them as his, (Col. 1:4,) that they work for them " a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," that. thereby the "SPIRIT of glory resteth on them," and that Got, himself is glorified in them; (1 Pet. 4:14;) in these respects they not only rejoice, but triumph, as " more than conquerors" in all their afflictions.

            Thus are believers to rejoice in CHRIST: And that, (1.) Greatly, again and again. Other delights may please the senses, gratify the reason; but there is no joy that can "fill all the heart," but the "joy of the LORD." (Zech. 3:14.)

            (2.) Always " Rejoice evermore." All other joys have their periods and vacations, they flow and ebb, they blossom and wither. In a fit of sickness, in a pang of conscience, under a sentence of death, they are all as the white of an egg, without any savour. But no condition is imaginable, wherein a conscientious believer has not a foundation of joy in CHRIST. The COMFORTER he sends, abides with us " for ever." (John 14:16.) The joy he gives " none can take it away." (John 16:22.) Though GOD's people have many causes of sorrow in themselves, strong corruptions, hard hearts, little strength, weak graces, many tempta­tions; yet in CHRIST they have still matter of rejoicing; in the abundance of his pardoning mercy, in the fullness of his SPIRIT, in the sufficiency of his grace, in the fidelity of his promise, in the validity of his purchase, in the vigilancy of his eye, in the readiness of his help, in the perpetuity of his intercession; we disparage so good a LORD, discredit his service, disquiet ourselves, discourage others, grieve his SPIRIT, expose his ways to prejudice and reproach, weaken our hands in his service, and our hearts in love, when we pine and languish under a groundless perplexity, and waste that time, which should be spent in his work, about our jealousies of his favor.

            (3.) With trembling and holy reverence, without levity, without wantonness, without presumption, without arro­gance. (Psal. 2:2:) So rejoice in him, as withal to fear to offend him, to work out our salvation with fear and trembling;" even for this very reason, because he is so gracious as to give us both " to will and to do of his own good pleasure." (Phil. 2:12, 13.)

            (4.) With improvement of this joy: [1.] Unto thankfulness for CHRIST, and any thing of CHRIST in ourselves; having tasted that the LORD is gracious, let us ever be speaking good of his name; though our measures are not so great as some other men's, yet we may not esteem any thing of salvation small or little; " it will grow unto perfection."

            [2.] Unto more cheerful service: The more we triumph in his victory, the more we shall abound in his work: (1 Car. 15:57, 58:) " The joy of the LORD is our strength." (Nehem. 8:1O.) " Return to thy rest, O my soul;" there is DAVID'S joy: " I will walk before the LORD;" there is the work of that joy. (Psalm cxvi. 8, 9.) None are more fruitful in his service, than they who are most joyful in his favor.

            [3.] Unto consolation against any other evils; though we have not the wealth, health, gifts, employments, honors that others have, yet if CHRIST have given us himself, his blood to redeem us, his SPRIIT to quicken us, his grace to renew us, his peace to comfort us, should such "consolations seem small unto us?" What wants are there which the joy of the LORD does not compensate? What sufferings are there which the joy of the LORD does not swallow up? Would we exchange CHRIST if we might have all the world without him? And shall we be displeased if we have not all the world with him? Nay, have we not in him all other things more eminently, sweetly, purely, richly to enjoy, than in all the creatures besides? Does thy journey to heaven displease thee, because the way haply is deep and stony? Admit it were a carpetway, haply there you wouldst loiter more, haply there you wouldst be more assaulted; whereas in a deeper way you art more careful of thyself, and more secure against thine enemies.

            [4.] Unto a zealous provocation of others to come in and be partakers of the same joy. In times of festivity, men use to " call in their neighbors under their vines and figtrees." (Zech. 3:1O.) The LORD JESUS is the feast of his servants. Unto him therefore we should invite one another as ANDREW did SIMON, and PHILIP, NATHANAEL. Joy is of all affections the most communicative: It leaps out into the eyes, the feet, the tongue; stays not in one private bosom; but, as it is able, sheds itself abroad into the bosoms of many others. It was not enough for DAVID to express his own joy by dancing before the ark; but he " deals amongst all the people cakes of bread, pieces of flesh, fla­gons of wine," that the whole multitude of Israel might rejoice in the ark of GOD as well as he. (2 Sam. 6:14, 19.) I will shut up all with removing an obstacle which seems to stand in the way of this joy.

            If I must always rejoice, how then or when shall I sorrow for sin? I answer; these two do sweetly consist. As the passover was a feast, yet eaten with bitter herbs; so CHRIST our passover may be feasted upon with a bitter sense of our own sins. As in the spring many a sweet flower falls, and yet the sun shines all the while: So there may be sweet flowers of Godly sorrow, and the Sun of Righteous­ness still shines on the soul. None more mourn for offending CHRIST, than those who most rejoice in the fruition of him.

            We have thus considered the LORD JESUS as a present, a precious, a full, a pure, a rare, a various, a victorious, a perpetual, a proper good of his people; a Prince adorned with justice, with salvation, with humility, with dispatch, with success and peace. We have showed the folly of those who fix their delights upon empty creatures; the danger of those who are offended at the person, the cross, the grace, the doctrine, the sublimity, the simplicity, the sanctity of the ways of CHRIST. We have exhorted his servants to rejoice in his person, in his mediation, in their knowledge of him, in the ordinances and instruments he has appointed to bring unto that knowledge, in the service whereunto he calls us, in the graces wherewith he supplies us, in the light of his countenance, in the hope of his glory, in the fellowship of his sufferings; to rejoice in him fully, to rejoice in him alway, to rejoice without trembling, to improve this joy unto thankfulness for his benefits, unto cheerfulness in his service, unto consolation against all evil, unto the provocation of one another unto the same joy. " Now the GOD of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing, that we may abound in hope, through the power of the HOLY GHOST; that the peace of GOD, which passes all understanding, may rule in our hearts; that we may rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory, receiving the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls. And. the GOD of peace, who brought again from the dead our LORD JESUS, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make us perfect in every good work to do his will, working in us that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through JESUS CHRIST; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen."