rent. In some it meets with different affections, or it makes them,
and moves them, and these do justify wisdom. The accomplishment and
performance of God's purposes, in the salvation of souls, justifies his
word. They justify Christ by believing in him; Christ justifies us, by
making us to believe in him, and applying his own righteousness to us. He
that believes justifies the word, and Christ in the word, because he sets
to his seal that God is true; and Christ likewise justifies the believer,
by applying his righteousness unto him. The believer justifies wisdom, by
acknowledging it as the Father's wisdom; Christ justifies the believer by
making him and pronouncing him righteous, and a son of God. But in others,
and in these a great many, it generally meets with hard hearts, stupid and
insensible, incapable of these impressions. You know music is very apt to
work upon men's spirits, and doth stir up several passions in them, as joy
or grief. Now Christ and his ministers are the musicians that do apply
their songs to catch men's ears and hearts, if so be they may stop their
course and not perish. These are blessed Sirens(454) that do so, and pipe,
day and night, in season and out of season, some sad and woful ditties of
men's sin and God's wrath, of the day of judgment, of eternal punishment,
that if it be possible, men may fore-apprehend these ills, before they
fall into them without recovery. These are the boys in the market places
that strive to sadden your hearts, and make you lament in time, before the
day of howling, and weeping, and gnashing of teeth. These also have as
many joyful and glad ditties, sweetening the sad. It may be, diverse men
have diverse parts of this harmony. John had the woful and sad part,
Christ took the joyful and glad part; so the one answered the other, and
both made a complete harmony. It may be, one man in one spring mixes these
two, and makes good music alone. The one part is intended to move men to
grief, and mourn once, that they may not mourn for ever; the other to
comfort in the meantime these that mourn, to mix their mourning with their
hope of that blessed delivery in Jesus Christ. Now what is the
entertainment these get from the most part? They can neither move men to
one affection nor another; they will neither mourn nor dance. As the
children complain of some rude and rustic spirits, that are uncapable of
music, and cannot discern one spring(455) from another, so does Christ
comp