A little of this friendship, in this world, naturally, and even neceffarily, leads thefe Chriftian friends, while they feel the imperfections, impediments and interruptions of this love and friendship here, to look forward to, and long for, that perfect ftate, where this divine affection fhall be exercifed and gratified to the highest degree, and they fhall eternally fwim in a boundless ocean of love. The more this friendship flourishes in their breasts now, the more weaned are they from earth, and all its enjoyments; the more are their hearts fixed on heaven, and the higher and ftronger are their longings for the enjoyment of the fociety and friendship of that world of love; and the greater is their hope and affurance of enjoying it forever.

And who can be willing to live and die a ftranger to this Chriftian love and friendship, and fo mifs of that world of happiness in which it fhall iffue, and where it fhall flourish forever! Who can be content to give up his heart to that love and those friendships only, which are attended with certain difappointment, and only ferve to perplex and torture the mind, and will affuredly iffue in darkness, horror, and eternal hatred and difcord!

Bleffed, unfpeakably bleffed, are they in whose hearts this love and friendship is begun; who, because they love Christ, love his people alfo; and know that they love Chrift, and have paffed from death to life, because they love the brethren.

Let us then love one another, not in word, neither in tongue only, but in deed and in truth; that hereby we may know that we are of the truth, and affure our hearts before God. For this is his commandment, that we believe on the name of his Son Jefus Chrift, and love one another.

SERMON

I

Sermon VI.

The Friendship between Jefus Chrift and Believers.

Cant. v. 16. This is my beloved, and this is my friend.

PROCEED to mention other particulars relating to Jefus Chrift, confidered in the character of the believer's friend, and the distinguished privileges and happinefs of this friendship.

12. Jefus Chrift is an unchangeably faithful and everlasting friend. Faithfulness is effential to the character of a friend: without this there can be no fafety in intimacy with and confidence in him. Through unfaithfulness and inconftancy profeffed friends often betray one another; and many friendships are very shortlived, and diffolve and turn into enmity and difcord. But Chrift is a most faithful, unchangeable friend. He never will forfake those who give themselves up to this friendship; but will do all for them, and be all to them, that they truft in him for, or can expect from him, in the character of a most able and kind friend; yea, he will always outdo all their expectations and wifhes. Moreover, he will take effectual care to fecure and perpetuate their love and friendship to him; fo that the friendship on their parts fhall never ceafe after it is once begun. We have great need of fuch a friend as this: yea, fuch a friend is abfolutely neceffary for us in this ftate of weaknefs, darknefs and fin, and where we are furrounded with innumerable, implacable enemies to Christ and to us; who are potent and fubtle, and are continually doing their utmost to prevent, interrupt and destroy this friendship. If Chrift was not fecurity for us in this respect; if he was not able, and had not undertaken, to O

prevent

prevent our falling away from this union and friendihip; alas! how foon fhould we break our most folemn engagements and vows, violate the most facred obligations, and ties of the dearest friendship, and turn enemies to the greatest and best of friends! There is no trust to be put in any man with refpect to this. But in him there is fafety; he has engaged that they who once choose him as their Almighty and beft friend, fhall perfevere in their love to him. And he is faithful who has promifed. With regard to this, the eternal God and Redeemer is their refuge, and underneath every faint are the everlafting arms of this Almighty and moft faithful friend and Saviour. This is he who was Peter's friend, and prayed that his faith and love might not fail in the fore trial and dangerous conflict he had to go through. And it was wholly owing to his care and faithfulness, that Peter did not wholly fall from his friendship to Chrift; but his trial and fall were the occafion of the increase of his love to his beft, most faithful and dearest friend, fo that it foon rofe to fuch an ardent flame, that he was able with the greateft confidence to fay, "Lord, thou knoweft all things; thou knoweft that I love thee.' Such a friend have all who love our Lord Jefus Chrift in fincerity; for whom he once loves, he always loves to the end. How fafe and fecure then do they feel themfelves in this love and friendfhip, that it fhall certainly continue and flourish to eternity, who are able to fay, This is my beloved, and this is my friend!

13. Chrift is a moft meek, tender, compaffionate, forgiving friend.

If he did not excel in these things to an infinite degree, he could not be our friend. We have injured him more than any other person in the univerfe; and have done more to affront him, and provoke him to anger, than ever was done to any other. And even his friends have comparatively but a very fmall degree of love and friendfhip to him; it is a mere nothing, com. pared to what they ought to have, and he is moft worthy of. They are guilty of the most amazing ftupidity,

and

and base ingratitude, and in many ways and refpects act a moft foolish, wicked and unfriendly part towards him, by which they are violating the moft facred laws of friendship, and the highest imaginable obligations. No friend but this in the univerfe would bear fuch treatment, and yet continue his love and friendship. And was he not meek, tender, compaffionate and long fuffering beyond any parallel, he would fo refent fuch treatment and horrid abuse of him as to withdraw his friendfhip, and renounce them forever. But as a tender father pitieth his children, fo he pitieth his friends; he is longfuffering, abundant in goodness and tender mercy, and ready to forgive all their folly, and wicked abufe of his love. He will forgive them, not seven times only, but feventy times feven; yea, without any bounds or limits. His loving kindness he will not utterly take from them, nor fuffer his faithfulness to fail. We have a striking inftance of this in his treatment of his friends when he was on earth. They remained in a great degree ignorant and unteachable under his conftant inftructions. They were inattentive, stupid, perverse and unbelieving, in a manner and degree that was very criminal and provoking. Yet he bore with them, and forgave them, and continued his love and kindness to them. He continued to treat them with the greatest tenderness and love. He conftantly attended to their intereft, and laboured for their good, and his love and gentleness made them great. In the last hours of his life, when the dreadful fcene of his fufferings for his people was just before him, he, as a most tender friend, accommodated himself to their weaknefs; he attended to their case, their forrow and trouble touched his heart, and he pitied them, and fet himfelf to inftruct and comfort them, in the most kind and tender manner. Such an aftonishingly kind, tender and forgiving friend had they. And with tranfports of joy may every one of his true difciples fay, This is my beloved, and this is my friend.

14. Chrift is the most wise, kind and able phyfician, to heal and cure all his friends of the diforders and dif

cafes

eafes that attend them. Such a friend they want, and no other could anfwer the end of a friend to them but fuch an one. He finds them in a moft dreadful condi tion, even dead in trefpaffes and fins. They are undone and flain, having died a moft fhockingly dreadful and truly accurfed death. Their fouls are bruifed and mangled in the most horrible manner, and torn all to pieces, as it were, limb from limb. And the devil, who has had a great hand in the horrible flaughter, and has the power of death, fits brooding over and watching his prey. In this refpect they may be compared to a dead corpfe of one who has been moft cruelly broken on the rack, every joint being dislocated, and each bone broken to pieces, and all the flesh terribly bruised, and torn from the bones and finews. In this ftate Chrift finds them. He difpoffeffes the devil, and breathes into them a degree of life, and healing influence. He finds them thus caft out as in the open field, and speaks the fovereign, omnipotent word, and bids them lives and that time is a time of love. The foul in the exercife of this new life cleaves to Chrift as its healer and husband, and becomes his in a cove nant of love and friendship which never can be broken. Christ brings them into his house, and his banner over them is love. He binds up their wounds, pouring in oil and wine; and washes away their blood from them. And now do they first begin to have a degree of fenfibility, and to feel their dreadful diforders, their wounds, bruifes, and putrefying fores. They who are wholly dead in trefpaffes and fins, and under the dominion of enmity against God and the Redeemer, are in this refpect like the dead corpse: whatever dreadful wounds and diforders are upon them, they are quite infenfible of the matter. But as foon as a degree of life and reftoration takes place, there is a proportionable degree of fenfibility: they feel their disorders and wounds, and the need they stand in of healing; and that they want a physician infinitely dif tinguished from any mere creature in wisdom, power and goodness; who has a remedy which no other has or can have. They fee Chrift to be fuch a phyfician.

They