Christ Alone Exalted
Question – But some may say, how shall I know that I do {not “I do,” but rather that “he is” – God has} indeed exalt Christ in my soul? Answer – First, Christ is then exalted in the soul, when the Lord brings over the soul to look upon Christ, as its alone justification. O beloved then is the Lord exalted, when the soul comes to see that there is nothing but emptiness in itself, when the soul can through the power of God cast down all at the feet of Christ, and look upon all its own righteousness as dung and dross in comparison of Christ, so the Apostle Paul, {Phil.3:7-9,} the Apostle having in the 5th & 6th verses laid down what he was once in divers particulars in his own righteousness, he amongst all the grounds, {as once he thought them grounds of comfort,} one and the least was, he walked “as touching the Law blameless;” but what things were gain that is, I counted gain, and rested upon them, I now count them loss for Christ’s sake; “yea doubtless, I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord,” and ver.9, “and be found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the Law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.” O here is a soul exalting Christ above all, laying all his own righteousness low, even as low as dung and dross in comparison of Christ. What saith thy soul to this, now man, woman, didst ever see thine own righteousness, or at least thine own unrighteousness? Hath the Lord opened thine eyes to see a vanity, emptiness in that you once trusted? Hath the Lord let forth a glimpse of his glory into thy soul, shining down in the face of Jesus Christ? Can you say, “Yea doubtless, I account all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Is thy soul carried forth above, and beyond thy self to the Lord Jesus Christ as thine alone righteousness? “Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness and strength; even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed. In the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory.” {Is.45:24,25} In the Lord Christ thou seest thy justification, and in him thou dost glory, thou canst say, God forbid, I should glory in anything below Christ. “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” {Jer.23:6} This is his name by which he shall be called, “The Lord our Righteousness,” the Lord our covering, our justification; this is the ground, when thou canst look upon Christ as thy alone righteousness and justification, and so seeing an excellency in the knowledge of Christ in this particular. A soul then exalts Christ, when it looks so upon Christ, as that it is carried with a principle of love after him, and it is by love as it were glued and knit up to him, so the Apostle; “who shall separate us from the love of God?” {Rom.8:35-38} And when love constrains thy soul to follow God, “the love of Christ constrains us,” {II Cor.5:14,} and when love so glues and knits thy soul to Christ; when thou canst follow Christ in all conditions, to trial, prisons, death, nothing severs thee from him, when as with Abraham thou goest forth from thine own Country, thy sins, sinful companions, and followeth Christ, not knowing whether thou goest, whether to liberty or prison, that makes nothing with thee. “By faith Abraham…obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went;” {Heb.11:8;} this flows from faith; “faith which worketh by love.” {Gal.5:6} Thirdly: When the Lord Jesus is the alone delight and joy of thy heart, believe it beloved, if the soul exalt Christ rightly, he will be thy delight and joy, thou wilt be able to sing the song of Mary. “My soul doth magnify the Lord, and my Spirit rejoyceth in God my Saviour;” {Lk.46:47;} there will be joy and peace come in through believing, “joy unspeakable and full of glory.” “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again, I say rejoice.” {Phil.4:4} The soul that truly exalts Jesus, is satisfied in the enjoying of him, and now the soul hath enough, when it hath Christ, let who will have the world, sin, pleasure, “I have Christ,” saith the soul, a goodly portion; now the soul is fitted for any condition, come affliction, persecution, the soul glories in all, because it enjoys God through Christ in all. After the Apostle has mentioned his afflictions, he concludes that he will glory in all. {II Cor.11:30, 12:9} Lastly, when Christ is all in all to the soul, then doth the soul rightly exalt and lift up Christ, when it enjoys a fullness in Christ in the want of all things, and sees an emptiness in all things without Christ; this the Apostle could see and say, “he is all and in all.” {Col.3:11} Christ is all and in all, he is the way, the truth and the life. {Jn.14:6} He is the light and life of men. {Jn.1:4} He is meat, drink and clothing as we use to say, to the Saints, he is their meat and drink. “My flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.” {Jn.6:55} O beloved, every believer spiritually eats and drinks the flesh and blood of Christ; that is, lives upon Christ, as he doth not build upon ordinary prayers, duties; “No, No, give me Christ,” saith the believing soul, Christ in hearing, Christ in preaching, Christ in the Ordinances of the Lord &c. Believe it, beloved, nothing less than Christ can satisfy the living, the believing soul and likewise in temporal things, the believer sees all purchased for him by the blood of Christ, and so in every situation, he lives upon the flesh and blood of Christ, and believe it beloved, thus every believer lives upon Christ. “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.” {Jn.6:53} Hearken ye friends; he that doth not thus spiritually eat and drink the flesh and blood of Christ hath no life in him; a sign of a dead soul that lives upon ordinary creatures without Christ. Christ is clothing and covering also, as he covers the nakedness of men and women that believe. “I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed.” {Rev.3:18} What is this clothing? The righteousness of the Saints. “And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white; for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.” {Rev.19:8} The fine linen is the righteousness of the Saints; Christ Jesus is the Saints righteousness. “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.” {I Cor.1:30} “In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS;” {Jer.23:6;} and so the Saints covering. The Saints spiritually enjoy Christ also in their external covering, so that I say, he rightly exalts Christ in his soul, that sees Christ to be all, and in all to him, &c. Thomas Collier
God Loves... Himself 
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