́ed, O Jerusalem, lest my soul depart from thee; lest thou become desolate, a land not inhabited, Jer. 6. 8. They may think, it may be, that it will be with them as with other nations, when God is gone: but see what a rebuke any such hope meets with, in Hos. 9. 1. Rejoice not, O Israel, for joy, as other people; for thou hast gone a whoring from thy God, &c. The case will not be with you as with other people; you have forsaken your God, torn yourselves off from him. When the staff of beauty is broken, the staff of bands is broken too; and such a people as fall off from God, fall asunder: that it comes to at last; as the body of a man, when the soul is gone, dissolves and turns to dust.

And in the last place, tenthly, In the time of the revival of the church from under the state of death they have been in; when God so revives it, he unites it part to part. How clearly have you this represented in vision after vision, in the whole 37th chapter of Ezekiel? when the Spirit of life entered into those dry and dead bones, when he breathed upon them and made them live, he made them one, he made them a great army, ver. 10. And the next thing that you hear of is, this people's being made one stick in God's hand; Judah and Israel one stick, united with one another; and in God's hand, to signify him to be the centre of that union, ver. 19. When there is a recovery of the church out of a lapsed, apostatized state, out of that death that hath been upon it; then also part comes to part; as there the bones came together; and flesh, and sinews; and so every thing falls into its own place and order in each particular body; and all these bodies into such an order, as to make one collective and well-formed body. And so it is very plain too, that when God doth design to bring that state of things about in his church, as that he will now have his covenant with them to obtain everlastingly, so as never more to turn away from doing them good; then he hath promised that he will give them one heart and one way. Even at the same time, when he comes to be more visibly and eminently in the view of the world engaged to such a people as their God, and to have taken them exemptly from all other people to be his people; when this comes to be more explicit and notorious, so that all the world may take notice of it, and so that he will dwell with them, and be visibly present amongst them, have his glory amidst them, and not cease to do them good; (so these things are expressed, Jer. 32. 37,-41.) at the same time he gives them one heart and one way, so as that they are no more a rent and torn and shattered people, but all one, all agreeing about the very way of their walking with God according to that relation wherein they stand to him.

All these things do evidence, that such a union is the proper work of the Spirit; and that when it shall be poured forth generally and copiously, then this union shall obtain in a very great and visible glory. I should after all this speak a little more particularly to a twofold inquiry concerning this union: but of that hereafter.

From what hath thus far been said we may take notice, that our own divisions are a very sad argument to us, that the Spirit is in a great measure retired and withdrawn; that little of the Spirit is working amongst christians in our times, in comparison of what hath been, and in comparison of what we may hope will yet be. But it is grievous, whatsoever hath been, whatsoever shall be, that it is our lot to be in such a time, when there should be such a gloomy overcast upon the glory of the Christian church in this respect. What we see and what we hear of that distance and disunion amongst christians, is a sad argument, that the church is in a dismal lapse, the Spirit of God is in a great measure gone from amongst us, life retired and gone. If it were amongst us to enliven, it would be amongst us to unite.

SERMON XII*.

THAT which we have been upon in the last discourse, was; -that union amongst them that own and bear the Christian name, we may reckon, will be one great effect of the Spirit poured forth; upon which the happiness of the church will greatly depend. Two things have already been spoken to upon this head, namely, that such a union is of great concernment to the happiness and prosperity of the church: and that it is the proper work of the Spirit of God to effect it; and consequently, that when that Spirit shall be generally poured forth, such a union cannot but generally obtain.

[iii.] There are two farther inquiries, which it will be requisite we somewhat insist upon relating to this matter: namely,What kind of union this shall be, which we may expect the Spirit poured forth to accomplish: and-secondly, in what way we may expect the Spirit to accomplish it.

We inquire, first, what kind of union we may expect it to be. And we may expect it shall be such in the general, as wherein the duty and happiness of the Christian church shall in very great measure consist; such as is required as matter of duty, and promised as matter of gift; and which will contribute much to the church's felicity. But inasmuch as we neither ex

Preached September 25th, 1678.

pect the church of God on earth to be perfectly sinless, nor perfectly happy; therefore we cannot expect this union to be perfect nor therefore can we suppose any such things requisite to it, as must be thought requisite unto a perfect union. We cannot think it necessary, that this Spirit poured forth should be, as poured forth or communicated, an infallible spirit in order thereto, when it comes to be amongst men or in them which you know some have thought very necessary in order to any union in the church of God; but have pretended highly to it, without being able to agree where to fix the seat of the spirit of infallibility they pretend to have amongst them. And since a union and agreement in holiness is as necessary for the church of God, as in truth; one would think there should have been as much pretence to an impeccable spirit as to an infallible, and every whit for as valuable reason: but they have been ashamed to pretend to the former, whilst the pretenders have been so notoriously vicious and vile in the view of all the world. And certainly, if there were an infallible spirit amongst such men, we may justly say it did male hibitare, it was ill-lodged and unfitly in the midst of so horrid impurities; and did no more become them, than a jewel of gold a swine's snout. But that we may be a little more particular here, we shall briefly shew,-what a union we are not to expect:what union there already is amongst all living christians and-what union we are farther to look and hope for.

Consider, first, what union we are not to expect.

Not such, as that all shall agree in the same measure of knowledge; and consequently, that there will not be an identity and sameness of apprehension throughout in all things; for then there must be the same measure of knowledge. There is no man, that thinks differently from another man but he thinks so differently either truly or falsely; and wherever the falsity lies, on the one hand or the other, there lies so much ignorance but it is never to be thought, that all will have just the same measure of knowledge.

Nor can we, reasonably expect an agreement with all in the same pitch of holiness; that all will be holy alike; no one more holy, more spiritual, more heavenly than another.

Nor are we to expect, that all should agree in the same measure of joy or consolation; that there should be the same sensations of divine pleasure in all, the same pleasant motions of holy and spiritual affections; which, be they as holy and spiritual as they will, yet must also be complexional in a degree, and depend much even upon the bodily temper, wherein no man can think that all shall ever agree.

Nor can there be, such a union, as shall infer, that all

must be of the same rank and order, the same station and use in the church of God; which indeed would not belong to the perfection of union, but imperfection; it would be confusion, instead of regular and perfect union. Such kind of union we are not to expect.

And it is to be considered farther in reference to this matter, secondly, What kind of union there already is., And certainly some union there is among all these that are sincere and living christians: such I chiefly intend as the subject of the union, whereof I am discoursing. And there is,

and cannot but be amongst all such, a union in those great and substantial things, which we have already had occasion to take notice of, in Eph. 4. 3, 4. They are all one body, one living, animated body by one and the same Spirit. They have all one hope of their calling, one happiness and end; one Lord, one faith; they are all substantially of one religion; one baptism, meaning by that (as hath been noted,) not so much the signum as the signatum; they are all comprehended within the bond of the same covenant of life and peace. They have all one God the Father of all, who is of all, and in all, and through all.

And, which sums up all this, one way or another, they are all united in one common head. The apostle, speaking of Christ, says, He is the head of the body, the church, Col. 1. 18. And to the same purpose, in Eph. 1. 22, 23. And by virtue of that union they have with Christ the Mediator, the head of the church, it comes to pass, that they do unite and agree besides in all the other things that were mentioned. They are all of his body. It is from him they all partake of that one and the same Spirit. It is he that hath opened heaven to them, given them a prospect of an eternal blessed state, brought life and immortality to light before their eyes: they are called by him in that one hope of their calling. It is a revelation from God by him, that is the matter of their common faith. He is the Mediator of that covenant, that comprehends them all. It is he that reduces and restores and reunites them to God, and sets all things right between him and them. Therefore herein is the sum of their union, that they have all one Head, wherein they are united.

And this their common Head is not only a political, but a vital Head; as is apparently enough represented in those most emphatical expressions, Eph. 4. 15, 16. where the metaphor is distinctly pursued of a union between the head and the body: that speaking the truth in love, we way grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted, by that which