7
THE RICHES OF CHRIST.
raiſe and influence the minds of men with deſires ſuitable to the longing after a treaſure ſo ineſtimable, a pearl worth more than ten thouſands, a jewel no where elſe to be purchaſed, no where elſe to be found; a kingdom of all pleaſures and delights: theſe thoughts made the kingly prophet to have but a mean eſteem of earthly pomp and grandeur compared with this, when he cried our
'How amiable are thy dwellings, O 'Lord of hoſts! my ſoul panteth after 'thee, as the hart panteth after the water-'brooks,’ &c. And St. Paul counted all things as dung and droſs to the love of Chriſt, and courageouſly affirmed,‘That neither heighth nor depth, princi'palities nor powers, things preſent, nor ‘things to come,’ &c. ſhould be able to ſeparate him from the love or God, which was in Jeſus Chriſt, the bleſſed and amiable Lord of life, glory and immortality, the faireſt among ten thouſand.
But here let us conſider ; to gain the riches of Chriſt we muſt give up ourſelves wholly to his divine will, both ſoul and body, committing ourſelves to him, as to the hands of a faithful Redeemer; for ſeeing he has redeemed us from cur enemies, and, therefore, we
