In earth; lest thou learn thy experience with the loss of thy soul, which thou mightest have learned on easier terms; even by the warnings of God in his word, and the loss of thousand of souls before thee. If Satan should take thee up to the mountain of temptation, and shew thee all the kingdoms of the world, and the glory of them; he could shew thee nothing that is worthy thy thoughts, much less to be preferred before thy rest. deed, so far as duty and necessity require it, we must be content to mind the things below; but who is he that contains himself within the compass of those limits? And yet if we ever so diligently contract our cares and thoughts, we shall find the least to be bitter and burthensome. Christian, see the emptiness of all these things, and the preciousness of the things above. If thy thoughts should like the laborious bee, go over the world from flower to flower, from creature to creature, they would bring no honey or sweetness home, save what they gathered from their relations to eternity. Though every truth of God is precious, and ought to be defended; yet even all our study of truth should be still in reference to our rest: For the observation is too true, "that the lovers of controversies in religion have never been warmed with one spark of the love of God. And as for minding the affairs of church and state;" so far as they illustrate the providence of God, and tend to the settling of the gospel and the government of Christ, and consequently to the saving of our souls, and those of our posterity, they are well worth our diligent observation; but these are only their relations to eternity. Even all our dealings in the world, our buying and selling, our eating and drinking, our building and marrying, our peace and war, so far as they relate not to the life to come, but tend only to the pleasing of the flesh, are not worthy the thoughts of a Christian. And now doth not thy conscience say, that there is nothing but heaven, and the way to it, that is worth the minding? 19. Now, reader, are these considerations weighty or not? Have I proved it thy duty to keep thy heart on things above, or have I not? If thou say, not; I am confident thou contradictest thy own conscience. If thou acknowledge thy self convinced of the duty; that very tongue of thine shall condemn thee, and that confession be pleaded against thee, if thou wilfully neglected such a confessed duty. Be thoroughly willing, and the work is more than half done. I have now a few plain directions to give you for your help in this great work; but alas! it is in vain to mention them, except you be willing to put them in practice. However, I will propose them to thee, and may the Lord persuade thy heart to the work! CHAPTER XII. DIRECTIONS HOW TO LIVE A HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. §1. (I.) Hinderances to a heavenly life must be avoided; such as §2 (1) Living in any known sin; 3. (2) An earthly mind; § 4. (3) Ungodly companions; §5 (4) A notional religion; § 6. (5) A haughty spirit; §7. (6) A slothful spirit; § 8. and (7) resting in preparatives to a heavenly life, without the thing itself. § 9. (II.) The duties which will promote a heavenly life are these; § 10. (1) Be convinced that heaven is the only treasure and happiness; § 11, 12. (2) Labour to know your interest in it; 913. (3) And how near it is; § 14. (4) Frequently and seriously talk of it; 15 (5) Endeavour in every duty to raise your affections nearer to it; 16. (6) To the same purpose improve every object and event; § 17, 18. (7) Be much in the angelical work of praise; § 19 (8) Possess your souls with believing thoughts of the infinite love of God; § 20. (9) Carefully observe and cherish the motions of the Spirit of God; § 21. (10) Nor even neglect the due care of your bodily health. 1. AS thou valuest the comforts of a heavenly conversation, I must here charge thee from God, to avoid carefully some dangerous hinderances; and then, faithfully and diligently to practice such duties as will especially assist thee in attaining to a heavenly life. And (I.) The hinderances to be avoided with all possible care, are, living in any known sin, an earthly mind, the company of the ungodly, a notional religion, a proud and lofty spirit, a slothful spirit, and resting in mere preparations for this heavenly life without any acquaintance with the thing itself. § 2. (1) Living in any known sin is a grand im pediment to a heavenly conversation. What havoc will this make in thy soul! O the joys that this hath destroyed! The ruin it hath made amongst men's graces! The soul-strengthening duties it hath hindered! Christian reader, art thou one that hast used violence with thy conscience? Art thou a wilful neglecter of known duties, either public, private or secret? Art thou a slave to thine appetite, or to any other commanding sense? Art thou a proud seeker of thine own esteem? Art thou a peevish and passionate person, ready to take fire at every word, or look, or supposed slight? Art thou a deceiver of others in thy dealings, or one that will be rich, right or wrong? If this be thy case, I dare say heaven and thy soul are very great strangers. These beams in thine eyes will not suffer thee to look to heaven; they will be a cloud between thee and thy God. When thou dost attempt to study eternity, and gather comforts from the life to come, thy sin will presently look thee in the face, and say, "These things belong not to th. How shouldest thou take comfort from heaven who takest so much pleasure in the lusts of the flesh ?" How will this damp thy joys, and make the thoughts of that day, and state, become thy trouble, and not thy delight! Every wilful sin will be to thy comforts, as water to the fire; when thou thinkest to quicken them, this will quench them. It will utterly indispose and disable thee, that thou canst no more ascend in divine meditation, than a bird can fly when its wings are clipped. Sin cuts the very sinews of this heavenly life. O man! what a life dost thou lose! What daily delights dost thou sell for a vile lust! If heaven and hell can meet together, and God become a lover of sin, then mayest thou live in thy sin, and in the tastes of glory; and have a conversation in heaven, though thou cherish thy corruption. And take heed, lest it banish thee from heaven as it does thy heart. And though thou be not guilty, and knowest no reigning sin in thy soul, think what a sad thing it would be, if ever this should prove thy case. Watch therefore; especially resolve to keep from the occasions of sin, and out of the way of temptations. What need have we daily to pray, Lead us not into temptations but deliver us from evil? § 3. (2) An earthly mind is another hinderance to be carefully avoided. God and Mammon, earth and heaven, cannot both have the delight of thy heart. When the heavenly believer is blessing himself in his God, and rejoicing in hope of the glory to come; perhaps thou art blessing thyself in thy worldly prosperity, and rejoicing in hope of thy thriving here. When he is comforting his. soul in the views of Christ, of angels and saints, whom he shall live with forever; then thou art comforting thyself with thy wealth, in looking over thy bills and bonds, thy goods, thy cattle, or thy buildings, and in thinking of the favour of the great, of the pleasure of a plentiful estate, of larger provision of thy children after thee, of the advancement of thy family, or the increase of thy dependents. If Christ pronounced him a fool, that said, Soul, take thy ease, thou hast enough laid up for many years; how much more so art thou, who knowingly speakest in thy heart the same words? Tell me what difference between this fool's expressions, and thy affections? Remember, thou hast to do with the Searcher of hearts. Certainly, so much as thou delightest and takest up thy rest, on earth, so much of thy delight in God is abated. Thine earthly mind may consist with thy outward profession and common duties; but it cannot consist with this heavenly duty. Thou thyself knowest how seldom and cold, how cursory and reserved, thy thoughts have been of the joys above, ever since thou didst trade so eagerly for the world. O the cursed madness of many that seem to be religious! They thrust themselves into a multitude of employments, till they are loaded with labours, and clogged with cares, that their souls are as unfit to converse with God, as a man to walk with a mountain on his back; and as unapt to soar in meditation, as their bodies to leap above the sun! And when they have lost that heaven upon earth, which they might have had, they take up with a few rotten arguments to prove it lawful: though, indeed, they cannot. I advise thee, Christian, who hast tasted the pleasures of a heavenly life, as ever thou wouldst taste of them any more, avoid this devouring gulf of an earthly mind. If once thou come to this, that thou wilt be rich, thou fallest into temptation, and a snare, and into many foolish |