Vol 01 - Chapter 01 - What Jesus CHRIST is given us by our heavenly

Chapter 1. What Jesus CHRIST is given us by our heavenly
Father for an Antidote against the deadly poison of sin, and a Fountain, good against all the calamities and evils both of body and soul.
1. AS our distemper is exceeding great, mortal, damnable, and out of the power of any creature to remove, it is needful that we should also have a remedy proportioned to the disease; a great, a high, a Divine, an everlasting remedy, flowing out of the pure mercy and love of Godt Hence has he made the blood of CHRIST the grand restorative of our nature, and the cleanser of it from all the contagion of sin, and given us his quickening flesh, with the immortalizing power thereof, for our bread of life; his precious death, for an abolition of our death, both temporal and eternal. For he will swallow tip death in victory, and lead us unto the living fountain of waters, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of GOD, and of the Lamb. All tears shall be wiped away; and there shall be no more curse in nature; but the throne of God and the Lamb shall be in it, whereby it shall be made all paradisiacal and heavenly.
2. This most costly medicine man is incapable of purchasing; and by his own skill or power, it is impossible for him ever to reach it. What then is to be done We are altogether sick, sick at heart; there is no health in us. We by nature strive against this heavenly cure; and resist the remedy which should help us. Wherefore, unless you thyself, O most faithful Physician, administer to me what you }last prescribed for me, and lend thy hand to reach forth to me this precious medicine, which by thyself alone is prepared, it will avail me nothing, the disease will grow worse, and all will be lost upon me. See than that I take what you past ordered, and trust me not to myself, if it be thy will that I should be made whole. If you trustest me to myself, I am lost; for it is, you knows, in the very nature of my malady, to long for that which will hurt me, and to shun whatsoever is likely to do me any good. Yea, l am abundantly more afraid of the physic, than of the disease. O how dost you therefore wait upon me, that you may prevail upon me to accept life! O the amazing condescension! for thee, my Lord, and prince of life and health, thus to wait upon a vile and despicable Lazar!
But unless you didst wait, what would become of me Or what would become of all you have done for me You knows all mine infirmity, and thy heart has pitied me, and gently borne with me all this while. O bear with me yet a little longer; and leave me not, lest I perish: yea, lest I perish out of the city, the city of my GOD, and my name be written in the dust, with them that go down to the pit. O tarry with me yet a little longer; and let not my folly and my untowardness drive thee away, lest I descend into darkness, and the purchase of thy blood be lost. O let it not be! You hast caused me to hope, (blessed be thy name!) that this sickness of my soul shall not be unto death, but unto thy glory.
For again and again, you sayest unto me secretly, in the deep of my heart, what wiliest you Lord! what else should I will, but that I may receive my health To receive health I am indeed willing; but not to receive the medicine which alone can give it. I shrink back when I hear it mentioned. And hence I did not seek thee, but you has sought me; and thy will is, that I should be restored; for therefore art you come unto me. I find, alas! no disposition in me to take what you so kindly reachest forth. But’dispose you me, and I will be disposed for it: and so manage you my will, as that it may most freely submit to thine; that so I may obtain that perfect cure, which you art both willing and able to effect for me. O sweet constraint of love, that breaks the will! thy love and thy patience force me to yield. It is impossible longer to resist so great a love, so wonderful a patience. Needs must I follow) when you thus drawest me. Needs must I obey, when you so sweetly commandest me.
For while you drawest me with the cords of thy love, I run unto thee, in whom alone is my health; and thy commandments are sweeter to me than honey, and more precious than diamonds. But without this attraction of thine, thy commandments would have been even bitter as gall; and the very dust of the earth would have been by me preferred before them: I should have dreaded above all things thy presence, and should always have chosen death rather than life. O draw me therefore, that I may run after thee: O lead me to the springs’of salvation, and give me of the water thereof to drink, which is able to heal all my infirmities and miseries. For you knows, that without thee I can do nothing; there remaining no strength in me. To destroy myself is with me; but it is you only, Lord, that can restore me, Wherefore it is meet and right that I should cast upon thee, that you may in all things draw, leads and move me, as you wilt. Since if you sufferest me to run after the devices of my own will, I inevitably run upon my own rliin: and if you lettest me he in my sickness, without due provision, that I be obliged to take such medicines as you have appointed for me, there is no remedy, notwithstanding help is no near, but I must be for ever lost.
Let me not be left to my own care in this manner, but abide you with me, and give me thyself that which is prepared for me. Do all you seest fit with me, only trust me not in my own hands. In thee is all my hope. And were but my heart converted unto thee, all would go well with me, and my life would henceforth be laid up in thee, O Eternal Fountain of eternal life! Turn you me, therefore, and so shall I be turned; for you art the Lord my God. Heal me, O Lord, so shall I be holpen; for you art the health of my life, and my glory. So long as you keepest back thy mercy, I remain in the shadow of death. And so long as you forbearest to quicken me with thy salvation, and to bring up my soul from the horrible pit, so long am I holden in the chains of death, and am a captive to the powers of darkness. " Make haste to help me; you art my Helper and my Redeemer; O my GOD, make no long tarrying."
3. Ah Lord! shall not thy mercy raise up a poor sick man, seeing I am not able to raise up myself Is thy mercy too weak to help such a weak one as here lieth before thee Is thy love too cold to communicate some of its living warmth to such a miserable object as I am Wilt not you be so condescending as to come unto me; seeing I cannot of myself come unto thee Have you then first loved me, before ever I loved thee Is thy mercy so strong, so powerful, so mighty, as that it, should even overcome thyself; as that it should be able to liftt thee up upon the cross, and to sink thee dove into death! Who, or what., is so strong as to overcome thee, the Strong One, with whom is all power, but thy mercy Who, or what, has so great might as to apprehend thee, to hind thee, to crucify thee, to put thee to death, but thy love; even the love wherewith you didst love us, when we were dead in trespasses and sins. For you wouldst rather thyself suffer death, than that we should abide in’death.
4. Thy mercy, Lord, has made thee to be all ours, and given us a full propriety in thee. For us vast you born: for us wast you given; that so the Father might accept thee in our stead, and we for thy sake might have all things given us. For us a Lamb is given; for us salvation is brought forth; and therefore will we rejoice, " drawing water out of the wells of salvation," because GOD, even our GOD, has now given us all things in thee, O Lamb of God.
5. Behold the wisdom of God! God has made himself to be ours, that we might be made his. For, being purchased with a price, we are not our own, but his who has bought us, and has given himself for us. Whence it follows, that we ought to " glorify God both in our body and in our spirit, which are God's." And as we are God's and CHRIST's, so God and CHRIST are ours. Now whosoever possesseth any good for his own, may doubtless make use of the same to his own profit, in the best manner that he can. And so is CHRIST become ours, that we may use him for our salvation, which is an everlasting profit, according as we will ourselves. Where-fore you may make use of him, for, The Medicine of thy soul, to restore thee; Thy Meat and thy Drink, to refresh thee; Thy Fountain of Life, to quench thy soul's thirst; Thy Light, in darkness; Thy Joy, in sadness; Thine Advocate, against the accuser; Wisdom, against thy folly; Righteousness, against thy sin; Sanctification, against thy unworthiness: Redemption, against thy bondage; Thy Victory, against all thine enemies; Thy Champion, against all thy persecutors; Thy Way, against thy wandering; Thy Truth, against lying and vanity; Thy Life, against death; Thy Everlasting Father, when you wast an orphan and desolate t Thy Prince of Peace, against the adversary; Thine Everlasting High-priest, who intercedeth for thee.
6. Behold what CHRIST is given unto thee for! And pray you daily, that the proper use may be made by thee, and that in thee may he fulfilled all that is contained in any of these his relations or offices: but pray you in faith, not doubting, and it shall be so. Wherefore, since he is thy medicine, fear not but you shall be healed since he is thy bread, fear not but thy soul shall, be satisfied, and you shall be made to hunger no more. Is he to thee a fountain of life then shall you be no more athirst. Is he to thee thy light then shall not you remain in darkness. Is he.tliy joy, who then shall afflict thee Is he thy Advocate, who then shall gain the cause from thee Is he thy Truth, who then shall deceive thee Is he thy Way, who then shall make thee to err Is he thy life, who then shall slay thee Is he thy Wis(loin, who then shall be too cunning for thee Is he thy Righteousness, who then shall condemn thee Is he thy Sanctification, who then shall cast thee away Is he thy Redemption, who then shall be able to hold thee in captivity Is it he that is thy Champion, and the Captain of thy Salvation, who fighteth for thee, of whom then art you afraid in the battle And who is he that shall be able to strive with thee Is he thy King, who then shall expel thee out of his kingdom Is he thy High-priest, who then shall hinder thy sacrifice and thy intercession from being accepted Is he thy Savior who blesses thee, who then shall unbless thee Or who shall make the salvation which he has wrought for thee of no effect If he save, who shall damn How can you have a greater present It is a present of more worth than you thyself, than all mankind, or than all the world, and all that therein’ is. It is a present which is even greater than all. the sins, miseries, and calamities of the whole world; and which is of sufficient virtue to extinguish and annihilate them all.
7. See now, what an infinite good you has in CHRIST, to oppose all thy miseries and calamities. Didst you but rightly understand this, then would no dross -be grievous to thee. Because CHRIST is become to thee all; and all things are thine; forasmuch as he is thine r thine, I say, not only as a crucified CHRIST, but also as a glorified CHRIST, with all his glory, and all his majesty. a For all things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world; whether life or death; whether things present, or things to come; all are yours, and you are CHRIST's, and CHRIST is God's."
8. O poor, miserable, reprobate, accursed, damned sinners, as’we by nature all are, how came we to be thus favored and honored with so high a present! Because You, O Lord Jesus, art to us Jehovah: yea, you art Jehovah our Righteousness; A Mediator between God and man; Our Everlasting Priest; The CHRIST of God; The Lamb without spot; The Desire of the patriarchs; The Inspirer of the prophets; The Light of the confessors; The Crown of the martyrs; The Praise of all the saints; The Glory of the blessed; The Joy of the angels; The Consolation of mourners; The Righteousness of sinners; The Hope of the afflicted; The Strength of the weak; The Health of the sick; The Protector of the simple; The Author of faith; The Anchor of hope; The Incense of prayer; The Tree of health; The Fountain of blessedness; The Bread of life; The Head of the church; The Bridegroom of the soul; The Precious Pearl; The Rock of salvation; The Living Stone; The Heir of all things; The Prince of Peace; The mighty Lion of Judah; The Sun of Righteousness; The Morning Star; The Brightness of the everlasting glory; The Splendor of the Divine majesty; The Treasure of wisdom; The Abyss of eternity; Lo! here is the great and infinite gift which God has bestowed freely upon mortal man, out of the unsearchabl,e deep of mercy, and his love past finding out.,