With Life and Peace to such as me: Truth. My dear Friendly, since you desire a fresh interview with hopes of enjoying enlarged joy, and knowledge in divine things, to-morrow evening I shall be taking my usual walks in my Father's garden, in the shady path by the river side; there shall I always be glad to meet my dear Friendly. End of the first DIALOGUE. DIALOGUE II. Truth waits at the time appointed for his dear Friendly, and on a sudden sees him coming, and thus addresses him. TRUTH. Happily met, my dear Friendly, as your coun tenance indicates a heart full of joy, and sparkles with Heavenly pleasure. Friendly. The present joy of my heart, the cheerfulness of my countenance, the cream and quintessence of comfort that I enjoy, is owing to those delightful streams of knowledge, that so richly dropped from your lips, as a messenger from Heaven to my soul, as an interpreter, one amongst a thousand; it has engaged my attention, charmed every passion, elevated my mind, set my affections upon things above; never had I such an evening's joy before, adored be divine grace, from whence all my blessings flow, like the drops of the morning dew, which has filled my soul with all joy and peace in believing! O how transporting is my joy, how Heavenly my bliss, how sweet is divine love! If this, my dear Truth, is religion, let Angels sound the joy, with their golden harps, till Heaven and the Heaven of Heavens ring, with my dear Immanuel's praise; for Had I ten Thousand Thousand Tongues, O for a sweet seraphic Flame, To praise my Lord, to sing his Name, My dear Truth, as my heart is doubly engaged, touched with the fire from the Heavenly altar, I would flame forth the praises of him that has manifested himself unto me, so as he does not unto the world; in divine enjoyment, and in divine views; first in divine enjoyment, my gloomy fears are removed, my drooping hope is revived, my tossed soul is settled in tranquillity, my mind possesses a peace that passeth all understanding; liberty to cry, Abba Father,--My Lord, and my GOD; the streams of divine joy, the sealing of divine love; the witness of the Holy Ghost, the application of precious promises, hath enriched the powers of my soul with joy unspeakable, and full of glory, so that (through grace) I can say whom having not seen I love. If the superlative beauties, the ineffable glories, the surpassing dignity of the Lord Jesus, spread an happiness to us unknown, through the Heavenly host; how full and comprehensive must that joy be, that flows from the sweetness of his presence, the atonement of his blood, the communications of his love, to an immortal soul, sure it must be a pledge of Heaven, an antipast of glory, apples from the tree of life, streams from salvation's well: O what happiness is contained in the love of Christ that passeth all knowledge. The following lines repeat my Heavenly rapture, and contain the whole of my desire. His Love, the Life of all my Frame, The charming Sweets of Jesus' Name, His dear, his fragrant Blood, and prove Enrich my happy Mind. But secondly, my mind is not only engaged by divine enjoyment of pardon and peace, but with Heavenly views of an eternal possession of that happiness and joy my soul has been seeking after, for when my dear Truth was opening the consummate worth of Christ's righteousness, the infinite atone ment and inestimable price of his blood as the passage way to glory; my soul was charmed with these divine truths, such Heavenly beams and irradiations broke in upon my mind, that at once removed the veil of ignorance, and engaged all the powers of my soul with divine prospects of Christ's righteousness, as my security and title for glory: his blood as the foundation of my recovery from misery, his grace as my meekness and divine preparation for all that is happy. My dear Truth, forgive the rapture of my mind, and let me testify it with infinite pleasure, to men and angels, that whilst you were unfolding the glories of Christ's death, my soul viewed Justice, inflexible Justice, eternally satisfied with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without spot and blemish; in the sufferings of Christ, I viewed the Justice of Goo sparkle with infinite brilliancy, in all its demands, and satisfied with infinite price, in all its requirements: Here I have found divine love pouring forth all its happy streams of life, and joy to my immortal soul; here I saw divine holiness shine forth in all its radiant beams, and display its refulgent rays, with the honours of Deity: Faithfulness maintains its authority,-infinite wisdom its divine glories; peace like a river flows, and mercy displays all its silver streams, and delightful enjoyments to the mind; here I saw such exquisite order, and divine harmony in the perfections of GOD, as displayed in the death of Christ, as inconceivably glorified in his sufferings, in the securing, and accomplishing the salvation of my soul, that has filled my mind with Heavenly harmony, with joy unspeakable, with a divine rapture, Psalm lxxxv. 10. Mercy and truth have met together, righteousness and peace have kissed each other. I. The beaming Honours of my God, A witness of my Praise, Of my Praise, dear GoD, to thee, Thou Life of all my Joys, And sum of bliss to me. II. 0, for a Heart inflam'd with Love My Spirit burn with inward Flame, Till I mount up to sing thy Name But I forbear, my dear Truth, lest I mar and spread a disappointment upon our meeting together, which was to converse upon the resurrection and intercession of Christ, as the passage way to glory. Therefore, my dear Truth, let us take our spiritual walk in the fields of boundless grace, and see what blessings there grow, what blessings abound, for our evening enjoyment. Truth. With peculiar pleasure, my dear Friendly, I shall renew the delightful subject, seeing, that the views of your interest in the consummate righteousness of Christ, and the infinite worth of his blood, hath spread such heavenly peace upon your mind-such divine life and fragrancy upon your soul, such a possession of joy, such gratitude of love, and returns of praise to him that has loved you, and given himself to God for you, as a sacrifice of a sweet smelling savour. I begin, then, to describe to you the worth and inestimable value of the resurrection of Christ, as the way prepared for the enjoyment of this happiness. First, then, the resurrection of Christ is the solid, substantial proof of the infinite atonement, and plenary satisfaction of his death;-his resurrection is a living proof of his dying merits,-for Christ, as the surety of his people, was charged with a debt too large for either men or angels to pay,—a wrath too ponderous for them to endure ;-a demand too extensive for all the finite beings in heaven or earth to answer for,-Isaiah lxiii. 6. but Christ's resurrection from death proves the payment to be complete, the price to be infinite, the satisfaction to be eternal; for hrist's resurrection was his own personal discharge from every obligation and accusation that either the purity of the law, or the demand of infinite justice could, as the sinner's surety and saviour bring against him.—I add, the resurrection of Christ is an infinite receipt given to him by the great creditor, (as our surety and paymaster) to carry with him in triumph to glory, to file it in the court of Heaven, as the standing plea for the redemption of sinners, therefore says the Holy Ghost, Psal. Ixviii. 1. Let God arise: In short, we find that the authority of scripture lays such a weight and emphasis upon the resurrection of Christ, that it places our divine security therein,--and proves our salvation to flow therefrom; therefore we find that the apostle breaks forth in such a triumphant challenge, Romans viii. 33, 34. Who shall lay any thing to the charge of GOD's elect? It is God that justifieth, who is he that condemneth? it is Christ that died, yea rather that is risen again; thereby the apostle gives an unshaken proof of the compensation, and value of his death, that it was every way commensurate to the demands of infinite justice,-Christ's life of obedience, his death of sufferings, his grave of humiliation, were payments demanded in the court of Heaven for the redemption of sinners; therefore it follows that his resurrection proves the payment to be eternally complete-on which account his dying groans were received in heaven as sure payments, being stampt in blood royal, as you have them in John xix. 30. He said, it is finished, and gave up the Ghost. -- My dear Friendly, doubtless you are well acquainted with the nature of the obligation that a surety stands in to the creditor,-and the obligation that he is under to the debtor; the one he is bound to answer for,-the other he is bound to satisfy; upon the surety paying the creditor's full demand, he can legally demand a discharge from the creditor's hands, which when given, proves the satisfaction of the payment, and the freedom both of the surety and the debtor, from that obligation. Now I would observe to you, that Christ is by the apostle stiled the surety of the better covenant, and as such engaged the honour of his person,-that with the strength of his love, the price of his blood, the infinite sacrifice of his death, he would fulfil every demand that should be made in the court of heaven, for the redemption and freedom of his people ;-which payment he made when he died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us near to GOD:-therefore, says the apostle, Rom. iv. 25. Who was delivered for our offences; upon which account Christ demands a discharge himself, and thereby an eternal freedom for his people, for whom the payment was made ;-therefore, Christ says by the prophet Isaiah at the close of his sufferings, chap. 1. 8. He is near that justifieth me. If you enquire, my dear Friendly, what this justification was, that Christ received from his Father, I answer it was the resurrection of his human nature, from the powers of death and the grave :-Acts ii. 24. Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should be holden of it:-why so, -because the debt, by his death was paid, justice was satisfied, therefore he says, Father, I have finished the work which thou |