feen, but to the things that are not feen: for the things that are seen, are temporal; but the things that are not feen, are eternal. Heaven is his foil, his element, the centre of his love and defires: he longs, he prays, he greatly defires, he weeps to be there. The defire of the full and naked embracements of the Chiefeft of ten thousand overtopsand fwallows up his defire and love to all other things. What though he hath fair, pleafant poffeffions of earth, many dear friends, and pleasant com. panions? What though he have an excellent wife, and hopeful children? All thefe are but dross and dung unto the very knowledge of the excellency off "Jefus his Lord: they are good and pleasant, but nothing to the only Wellbeloved. He can leave them all gladly, to be with him. O my confort, my children, my friends, my poffeffions, my hopes hereaway, my life, I could not but with exceeding great grief, be thus feparate from you, were Inot going to one who is fweeter, dearer, and more lovely to me, above all expreffion, than you alls the lofs of all things is no lofs, if I go to the full enjoyment of him whom my foul loveth. Whom have I in heaven, er in earth, but him? Whom do I love and defire but him? no enjoyments whatfoever can quench my longing to be with him he is my all, and only One. Farewell, all lower enjoyments, the love of my faireft Wellbeloved fwallows up all other loves. all other loves. Be clofed, my bleffed fenfes, from receiving any more fublunary objects, that ye may be everlaftingly filled with his tranfcendent lovelinefs, fweetnefs, and excellency. And no wonder the faint cannot want Chrift, fince he is transformed into his lovely image, a partaker of his divine nature; one who is endued with the fame mind that was in him; one who hath Chrift dwelling dwelling in him; one who hath the kingdom of heaven within him: so that it is natural unto -him to tend God-ward and heaven-ward; even as it is natural for the worldling to tend earth ward and hell ward. Every thing hath a propenfity and love to its own centre and like, and bends off from its oppofite: the fire afcends towards the centre and great globe of fire; every bit of earth dif joined, tends back to the whole again. Though there were neither reward nor punishment; yet a holy one must love, ferve, obey, praife, and adore: his God; for heaven muft operate like heaven, even neceffarily, though freely, fweetly, and without compulfion. Again, wordlings must tend earth ward, though they should find never fo much vexation, torment, and grief into it; though he should be never fo often threatened and perfua ded of all the miferies that follow an earthly, fen fual, and brutish way of living; fince he is all fenfe, earth, and corruption, altogether deititute of the divine nature. In a word, a worldling is a vifible incarnate devil; a faint, a visible incarnate angel; only hell, on this fide of time, is not fully accom plished in the one; nor heaven fully perfected in the other. The holy one fmells ftrongly of glo ry; and the nearer he approacheth to his journey's end, the more refplendent a luftre hath he of hea ven: the path of the just being as the fhining light, that fhineth more and more unto the perfect day. O tincture of heaven! their actions have still a greater fmell of glory; but all is nothing to the glory and excellency of their invifible and inward operation little or nothing appears without, in comparison of that which is within. O the noble and feraphic thoughts! O the frange motions of love, and joy, and admiration, above all poffible expreffion xpreffion 1 O the ravishing perfumes of paffing joys and sweetness, wherewith the Beloved fills the heart! it is impoffible for the fint, to put down in black and white, what he feels on his foul: all the tongues of men and angels cannot manifeft his fweet and noble thoughts of his only Wellbeloved. He would gladly exprefs them to all that are about him, but he finds it impoffible. He is fometimes contending with his narrow fancy, that it cannot find out a more fublime, clear, and excellent way of expreffing the matchlefs worth of his Wellbe loved: other whiles, he is angry at the cold, fhallow, and putrid manner of others difcourfing: he would have all men fpeak nobly, write nobly, do nobly, for Jefus. Nothing vexeth him more than to perceive the generality of men forget him; or, when they fpeak of him, to talk fo coldly and creepingly, as if he were a common, ordinary beloved. He would have his lovely One filling the hearts and mouths of all: he hates the fellowship where he is not highly effeemed, loved, praifed, and adored: he greatly honours, and loves that, (though otherwise never fo low and despicable), where he is praised, worshipped, and much accounted of. It is his continual torment and affliction, he hath flow and unbefeeming thoughts of him he is in great rage at his heart, that it should, at any time, go. attray from fuch an excellent object, after vanity: he lays bands on, watcheth over, and commands his heart, that it have noble and excellent thoughts of him, and entertain no other beloveds befide him he defires nothing more than to have his heart wholly fet upon him, and for ever ravished and overcome with his love. And no wonder; fince Chrift and he are one; one în nature, mind, affections, fpirit, and all things: as the Lord. Jefus Jefus is, fo is he, in a great part. Every one of the faints resembles the children of the King of kings: among all the fans of Adam, there are none their like; for they are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people : that they should bew forth the praises of bin whe bath called them out of darkness unto his marvellous light. The generality of mankind bath, ever from the very beginning, looked upon them as ftrange manner of perfons, and nick-named them with va, rious and strange forts of names, according to the iniquities of the times and places they lived in; because of their rareness in number, fingularity intheir way of living and practice, precifenefs in their principles, and oppofing the fins of the times their lot is caft into. 心 Ah! poor worldlings, do ye not fee, that a faint is another manner of person than you i.* magined? Do you not perceive, that you are as far below. real holiness, as earth is below heaven? Is it not manifelt to yourselves, that you are not the creatures, whofe minds and affections are heavenly and divine? that you are not of a more noble and excellent spirit than your neighbours? True, your own defperate, deceit. ful heart will caufe you imagine, yourselves rare pieces of excellency; yet it will give you no de monftration, but only becaufe I; as fuch, appear great; and fo confound every thing, as you may evade us, one way or another. So defperate art worldlings, that they cannot abide to examine their conditions; and when others hold out the light, that they nay difcover them, they wink, left they behold their own mifery and vilenefs. But, worldlings may you not fee your nakedness, if you will but ask seriously at yourselves, a few or dinary queftions, and folve them faithfully, ac eording to the answer of your confcience? First, Have you ever felt the pangs of the new birth? Are you strangers to this? Know you not, Except a man be born again, he cannot enter inte the kingdom of heaven?. This is ftrange! a faint, a regenerate creature, a man born over again; and yet without pain, or labour: fuch a great mutation, without great fymptoms and concomitants, cannot be. Ah! moft mens religion hath come to them in a night-dream. 2dly, Were you ever at, What shall I do to be faved? Here, bleffed Jefus, I fubfcribe a blank, put in any thing thou wilt; and, in thy ftrength, I will gladly endeavour the performance of all; only fave me; O fave me, elfe I eternally perith. It is frange, you have not come this length that many reprobates have come, and yet imagine yourfelves faints. 3dly, Hath the great falvation appeared fo great in your eyes, filled fo your minds, that it hath overtopped and fwallowed up the thoughts of all other concernments? Are you not come thus far, that fome reprobates have, for a time, attained unto? And can you imagine yourselves partakers of the great falvation? Ah; mad delufion ! 4thly, Were you ever fick of fin? Have you been more burdened under your iniquities, than ever you were under any earthly affliction? Do you not find the grievous weight of a body of death? Yea, go you not lightly under your iniquities? Only fome of the groffeft of them torment your natural confcience; as for original fin, you know it more by fpeculation, than by feelings this doth fhow you are dead in fins and trefpaffes, alienated from the life of God. Can you then i |