Christ is so mild that yet he will govern those that enjoy the comfort of his mildness

THE first conclusion from the connexion of this part of the verse with the former is, that Christ is upon those terms mild, so that he will set up his ‘government in those whom he is so gentle and tender over. He so pardons as he will be obeyed as a king; he so taketh us to be his spouse, as he will be obeyed ‘as a husband; the same spirit that convinceth us of ‘the necessity of his righteousness to cover us convinceth us also of the necessity of his government to tule us. His love to us moveth him to frame us to ‘be like himself, and our love to him stirreth us up to ‘be such as he may take delight in, neither have we ‘any more faith or hope than care to be purged as he its pure; he maketh us subordinate governors, yea, kings under himself, giving us grace not only to set ‘against, but to subdue in some measure our base affec(tions. It is one main fruit of Christ’s exaltation that he may turn every one of us from our wickedness, Acts iii. 26. For this end Christ died and rose again and liveth, that he should be Lord of the dead and living, Rom. xiv. 9. God hath bound himself by an ‘oath that he would grant us, that without fear we might serve him in holiness and righteousness in his sight, Luke i. 75, not only in the sight of the world. 1. This may serve for a trial to discern who may lay just claim to Christ’s mercy ; only those that will ‘take his yoke, and count it a greater happiness to be under his government, than to enjoy any liberty of the flesh ; that will take whole Christ, and not single out of him what may stand with their present contentment; that will not divide Lord from Jesus, and so make a Christ of their own: none ever did truly desire mercy pardoning, but desired mercy healing. David prayeth for a new spirit, as well as for sense of pardoning mercy, Psalm li.

2. This sheweth that those are misled, that make Christ to be only righteousness to us, and not sanctification, except by imputation: whereas it is a great part of our happiness to be under such a Lord, who was not only born for us, and given unto us, but hath the government likewise upon his shoulders, Isai. ix. 6, 7, that is our sanctifier as well as our saviour, our saviour as well by the effectual power of his spirit from the power of sin, as by the merit of his death from the guilt thereof; so that this, 1. be remembered, that the first and chief ground of our comfort is, that Christ as a priest offered himself as a sacrifice to his Father for us. The guilty soul flieth first to Christ crucified, made a curse for us. Thence it is that Christ hath right to govern us, thence it is that he giveth us his spirit as our guide to lead us home.

2. In the course of our life, after that we are in state of grace, and be overtaken with any sin, we must remember to have recourse first unto Christ’s mercy to pardon us, and then to the promise of his spirit to govern us.

3. And when we feel ourselves cold in affection and duty, it is the best way to warm ourselves at this fire of his love and mercy in giving himself for us.

4, Again, remember this, that Christ as he ruleth us, so it is by a spirit of love from a sense of his love, whereby his commandments are easy to us; he leadeth us by his free spirit, a spirit of liberty: his subjects are voluntaries ; the constraint that he layeth upon his subjects is that of love: he draweth us with the cords of love sweetly. Yet remember withal, that he draweth us strongly by a spirit of power, for it is not sufficient that we have motives and encouragements to love and obey Christ from that love of his, whereby he gave himself for us to justify us; but Christ's spirit must likewise subdue our hearts, and ‘sanctify them to love him, without which all motives would be ineffectual. Our disposition must be changed, we must be new creatures ; they seek for heaven in hell that seek for spiritual love in an unchanged heart. When a child obeys his father, it is ‘so from reasons persuading him, as likewise from a child-like nature which giveth strength to these reasons: it is natural for a child of God to love Christ ‘so far as he is renewed, not only from inducement of ‘reason so to do; but likewise from an inward principle and work of grace, whence those reasons have their chief forces ; first, we are made partakers of the divine nature, and then we are easily induced and led ‘by Christ’s spirit to spiritual duties.