of such mercies as have so raised him from the terrors of Hell unto the joys of Heaven CXLV THe truly Pious man is always blowing up his smoaking Flax to flaming Love for those daily mercies and blessings he receives from God so to teach others the felicity he finds therein to invite them to Heaven CXLVI TO hear to read to wâ—ite and meditate and to pray often are the means to understand our Duty unto God as also to â—ix our Faith But if we do not live and practise accordingly our great knowledge will aggravate our crimes and provoke God's anger against us for slighting those Divine Instructions which the Holy Ghost inspires us with and for which God expects an account from us CXLVII HE that can make a total resignation of himself with all his Interests into God's hands has made a great advance towards Heaven and may trust in God so the foundation of his Trust be laid deep in a fixed heart on a Spiritual Resurrection universally cleansed from all known sins and so Reconciled that God will accept of the Trust But we are too apt to mistake such Resignations and to flatter our selves with Peace of Conscience on that account without a due Examination whether all our actions and affections do justifie such a Resignation as we offer up to God without which it is a great presumption to pretend to Trust in God CXLVIII TO be Regenerate does include all Blessedness that we are capable of in this World with a joyful prospect into those Eternal felicities we shall have in Heaven and is a sure Testimony of our Reconciliation CXLIX THere is nothing more clear then that Holiness is the foundation of true Happiness even in this World and cannot be doubted in the next for whoever lives a Divine life will have his heart full of Divine love to God and then will soon find the felicity of Piety to be so much more pleasant then all other Diversions that he will take all the opportunities he can both day and night to approach God in Holy Meditations and humble Prayers as the most delightful entertainment his Soul is capable of on this side Heaven and will find God's favour confirmed to him by Grace sufficient to support his contented heart through all the Storms this World can raise and fill him with joyful thoughts of his Salvation at the hour of death which is our highest Aim by the perfection of Piety to obtain CL. A Prayer LOrd give us Grace to discern the bottom of our own hearts that we be not deceived by too slight a search for Divine Love there nor flatter our selves with hopes of being Favourites in Heaven while we prefer thy Creatures before Thee and see it not Lord guide us by thy Divine Light and make us see that true Devotion is the most satisfying diversion we can have and will enrich our hearts with desires to be with Thee in Paradise and will create courage to pass chearfully through the Grave so to â—ustifie our Faith by our last step out of this World into a glorious Eternity with Thee our God CLI IF we consider how many times we have stumbled in our Christian course and how many times fallen and by what small Rubs been overthrown we should take more care to stumble no more at such Straws but pray for Grace to enable us to run over all Mountainous temptations if they cross our way to Heaven and when God sees a vigorous sincerity to serve love and trust in Him He is then ready to support us through the whole course of our lives which no man can doubt of that observes how God admits of our many risings after so many great and wilful falls as most men make and yet He still invites us to repair past Evils by running out our new course better with a due prospect to our last step into the Grave from whence we must arise to claim the Crown we run for And this will raise all devout hearts to the brightest flame of Faith and Love that men are capable of when we consider that every moment of our life may be that last step by which we must gain or lose the Crown we run for CLII. BEcause Angelical obedience is a perfection of Holiness above the capacity of Humane Nature God does make allowance for sincerity in performance of Duties bâ—t Himself holds the Scales to see that our sincerity be full weight according to the grains He allows us And the Holy Ghost within us has a continual Treasury where those grains are so reposited as to be ever ready to supply our sincerity and to turn the Scales for our advantage according to every mans utmost endeavours which will never be rejected for want of weight CLIII LEt no man despair of the forgiveness of his sins if he do confess them to God and do turn from them to Him with sincere contrition and repentance devoutly practised for the future in Obedience Love and Faith trusting in Gods Mercy and Grace with our reliance on Christs Righteousness imparted unto us on which assurance we may live with comfort and die with joy And whoever doth entertain himself with such frequent Meditations will find them to be the most delightful diversions he can have to consider that though we may fail in our best endeavours Gods Mercy and Christs Righteousness can never fail can never be exhausted on our sins by supporting sincere Penitents until brought unto Heaven so that in this high expectation of future Eternal Bliss we ought to be contented with our Lots on Earth whatever they be trusting in Gods free Mercy and Christs Merits without despairing of our Salvation if we can repent past crimes and forsake them for the future But if we have not a Resurrection from sin in this World we shall have no Resurrection to Glory in the next World CLIV. PIety and Faith include all Christianity but we often mistake Praying Preaching and Godly talk for Piety which are but steps towards it for we are obliged to do Righteousness or else we are not of God and so it is with those who think their Faith sufficient that can Parrot-like repeat their Creed when 't is our active Faith that is required to do what the Gospel teaches So that if a due regard to Faith and Piety be settled in our hearts we should find more time for Meditations on those great concerns whatever our Callings or Imployments be for our Bodies cannot be so engag'd to labour or in any Courtcrouds so imploy'd but our Souls may be raised up to God in â—ervent Ejaculations without any Tongue-noise or Facediscovery to inform God who knows our hearts better then our selves do So that by Faith and Piety we may converse with God here and begin our Eternal happiness on Earth CLV IT is a wonder to see that all mankind should be loth to leave this World where so few are truly happy or that think themselves so as to be contented The weak
mans best policy is to lead a pious Life which will fully satisfie all his ambitions and answer the highest affections his heart can fancy by having God so by whom he has all that is in Heaven and in Earth And whoever God does thus give himself to will find that he has Him and will perceive this is his Spiritual Adoption to incourage and inable him to live Righteously all his days in more honour Glory wealth and felicity then all the Empires of this World can afford without God so that Piety is the best policy to establish our happiness in this World and the next XXXVI THere can be no comfort in this World beyond an assurance of sins forgiven with a full reconciliation to God and no man can have surer marks of his Election then to find his former contempt of God turned into Divine Love of him with the Holy Ghost converting the Hell that was in his heart into a Paradice by his habitation there which is an infallible earnest of Glory for when God gives us grace to will and to do his will by the power of his Spirit we shall want no comforts here and be also filled with holy courage and a joyful Faith to turn the terrors of the Grave into a delightful desire to be with God which is a Righteous mans greatest consolation XXXVII IF a Regenerate man blessed with Divine Love do observe how the Holy Ghost works in his heart at the time of his sincere vigorous Addresses to the Throne of mercy He will find that his delight in the service of God does increase with his devotion and that his devotion is raised by that delight so that his Soul by custom in such approaches does grow higher and higher by so joyful a confidence in God's favour that no allurements can divert his Love nor storms shake that trust on which his peace of conscience is surely founded here and his salvation at the Resurrection as sure Yet care must be had that such Elevations of the Soul may not grow beyond those Gospel Rules set us to follow So that the felicity of piety may be sometimes allayed by humble recollections of our own unworthiness when at best lest Spiritual pride do puff up our hearts with such Seraphick joys as use to rise from such extasies in devotion so as to think if Angels in the presence of God do rejoyce at the conversion of a sinner what joy may that sinner have above those Angels who is so much more concerned then they are when he finds himself snatched up from the brink of Hell and become as an Angel in Heaven before he arrives there Which is a kind of Epicurism in devotion and may be too much indulged if not acknowledged from whence it comes with gratitude for so great a benefit received XXXVIII CHrist gave us a sure Rule to know and to shew our Love to God which is to obey his Commandments and not to treat Him like our fellow creatures with passionate words sighs or tears or joys but by the sincerity of our thoughts and actions to shew our obedience better thâ—n by vehement extasies in devotion though such exterior declarations from the heart do advance our zeal they may deceive us with flattering hopes of our being better then really we are for 't is not our frequent prayers nor hearing the Word preached with dâ—light nor receiving the Holy Sacrament with an elevated Faith that â—ully expresses or denotes such Love to God as He expects from us but it is our 〈◊〉 endeavours in all selfdenials towards an uniform obâ—dience to all his known Commandments an Evangelical sincerity in the duty required that manifests our Love to God and is most acceptable to Him for though our performances do prove short of our Duties God sees our integrity and esteems us for that our sincerity towards obedience is very acceptable with God XXXIX GOd sees our frailties and knows that no mans fancy can reach the felicity of Divine Love but his who is endued with it from Him nor can that man by words express those joys that his transported Soul finds in such welcoms as God affords in his Divine endearments to his true Lover by such Celestial Raptures as do make him forget that he dwells on Earth while that bright flame of his Devotion lasts and on his return from Heaven while the thoughts of that Blessed Address remains it grieves him to find that he is still on Earth so that his body cannot mount upwards with his Soul to the Throne of Glory and fix there together XL. HOw weak is our Faith in the matter of Death and how strong the frailty of our nature that makes us fear to go where we desire to be So to create terrors in the passage when there is really none or if any they are such as cannot be avoided how vain then is it to raise melancholly-Clouds to Eclipse the Glory and dull the joy we are entring into the moment that we Die XLI GReat converted sinners ought frequently to consider the wonderful goodness of God for his double mercies who does not only forgive all past transgressions on our reconciliation but on our future obedience our Faith Love and gratitude He rewards such great sinners with grace to obtain Eternal Bliss easie conditions to be admitted by God's immense goodness unto this purchase of mercy and reward on Christs account Which grace we must improve by rising still higher and higher in God's favour for the future and then we shall have a double joy in all such fruitions and diversions as we may own in God's sight here and at the day of Judgment and may now thank him for with hearts full of purity and such bright shining innocence as God delights in XLII GOd's Spirit is never absent from those that seek him sincerely and whoever observes it will find it so God Loves a Souls whiteness that flies all approaches towards sin with detestation When God delivers a penitent sinner from the slavery of Satan to rejoyce in the freedom of his service it is to shew him a glimpse of Heaven to invite him thither XLIII AS a good conscience is a continual feaâ—t and a great blessing so 't is a dangerous thâ—â—g to â—e over-much delighted 〈…〉 duties though peace be in 〈…〉 should forget from whenâ—â—â—ll 〈◊〉 pâ—â—â—ormances do come and so 〈◊〉 attribute holiness to our seâ—â—es â—â—ich is God's peculiar gift There ought also great care to be haâ— that 〈◊〉 be not mistaken to think we do enjoy truâ— peace of conscience when we have it not and that we do not flatter and abuse our own hearts with some things of fancy like more holiness then we have and so believe our vows and desires to Piety are effectual performed before our actions do justifie those good resolutions and self-denials to avoid such snares as lie concealed under innocent diversions lest we fall when we think our selves most safe So that a Pious man is to be
and though we cannot reach David's highest perfections as an inspired Prophet we may like him give continual thanks to God for all we have and sing praise honour and glory to his Holy Name whose mercy endureth for ever CIII DId men watch the deceitfulness of sin and would heartily check the first appearance of evil thoughts with the remembrance that our All-seeing God is ever present to observe if we do fight or do invite our long known Enemies to their accustomed conquest of us such precautions would make us either fear to offend or joy to please our God and would soon teach our careless hearts how to subdue those Tyrant appetites a far off which so often do enslave us when permitted to approach at a nearer distance who do hold such a natural intelligence within that if we but admit a Parley to Treat with those subtle Enemies they will with fair pretences lead us on until they undermine our Souls and blow us up before we can discern the danger we are in and when once entred at such a Breach 't is then too late to grapple with a Foe that is in possession of a Fort without resistance gained Yet this sad truth by long experience taught is seldom learnt because we too much love those glistering Fetters and consent to put them on before they be imposed and then fear to be too soon freed from such a pleasant Bondage vainly thinking we can at our own pleasure shake such shackles off and be at liberty until surprized by some unlook'd-for Doom from whence is no redemption CIV A Frequent examination of our hearts is of use to keep men close up to Godliness and some Rules are very necessary to examine our hearts by to know when we walk aright as well to check remissness as to cherish those Divine motions which do raise hearts up to Heaven and may keep them there when so raised which is a great assurance for flesh and bloud when converts and will beget a joyful hope of being received into God's Bosom when become so Regenerate as to find a sincere delight to dwell there which is a great degree of blessedness and a good assurance that we shall be so for ever in the next World What labour then or what time spent can be too much to obtain Grace to become so universally cleansed from sin and universally obedient to Gods commands as will produce a total resignation of our selves and all our Interests into Gods hands and keep our hearts close up to Heaven until we arrive there For when God is the prime object of our Souls desire we shall take all opportunities to retire from the World to converse with God in humble Addresses for our Eternal hâ—bitation with Him in Glory But if this Duty of Meditation be used as a servile Drudgery to avoid a Rod held over us we are not right at heart and far from being Regenerate far from loving God if we take no delight in being with him for though Humane Nature cannot reach to Angelical Holiness yet Evangelical sincerity may be acquired by the Divine assistance if rightly sought and then as many as are led by the Spirit of God are become the Sons of God beyond which no man can wish nor think and when this state of Bliss is obtained with what diligence ought we to keep it up to the highest pitch of love and gratitude that our fancy and our Faith can reach for by such emanations from the Holy Ghost we may judge of Gods love to us and thereby guess what immense Glory we shall have in Heaven And thus we may daily feast our Souls with Angels food if we can conveâ—se with God aright So that to be Regenerate multiplies our joys here and assures our happiness in Heaven and though no man can of himself attain to this state of Grace without the Divine assistance it is never denied if sincerely begged nor was â—ver given in vain to deceive any man in the point of being Regenerate CV WE have no better way to express our love and gratitude to God for all his Mercies and Blessings then by our self-denyals For our obedience to his Laws is duty and no virtue to forbear a sin that we take no delight in but to crucifie a beloved darling Lust rather then offend God by it that is self-denyal And unto whomsoever God gives grace to do so he gives a joyful satisfaction to his Soul for so great a victory as lays a firm foundation to raise his Thoughts to Heaven on And is a good argument to shew that he fears Gods Threats and trusts in his Promises as the greatest Testimony of an active Faith so much required And when all this is done our Christian Warfare is not done For when Carnal sins do cease and our Appetites are overcome by Grace Satan still pursues in hope to frustrate the felicity of our Conversion by disturbing our Piety with Spiritual Pride or some Enthusiasms to reduce us into his power again So that when we are best we must Watch and Pray most for supplies of Grace to enable us to fight on lest we end worse then we begun The sum of all that can be taught is to bring men to Godliness and Honesty which is the perfection of Christianity CVI. IT is said in Scripture That without holiness no man shall see the Lord By which we may observe that Gods Injunctions are designed for mans greatest Happiness because Holiness is certainly our only true Felicity in this World and cannot be less in the next For if by Righteousness and Faith we may see a glimpse of Gods Glory here We shall see him in fulness of Glory at the Resurrection and enjoy him too on Christs account CVII NO man did ever seek God with a sincere heart that missed to â—ind him God loves to be so sought and to be so found as we shall be sure we have found him by our delight in him All which is the work of the Holy Ghost within us to our great comfort here always to enjoy God if our delight be set on him above all earthly fruitions And thus we may find God and enjoy him as well in Courts of Princes as in a Wilderness if we prefer nothing before the finding of him and so the greatest Courtiers may live like Saints on Earth and be Saints in Heaven when they die CVIII 'T Is not amiss for a Righteous man sometimes to fancy himself on hâ—s Death-Bâ—d with his Friends bewailing his deparâ—ure from them while he pities their mistake who pities him that is going to see the face of God in the face of Death and to meet Christ who with open Arms comes to receive his Soul into his Eternal rest Such Meditatations will raise our hearts to endeavour to die so and will bring us great Consolation while we live so in Gods favour that our Faith fail not at the last gasp CIX THere is no Felicity like Piety no Peace no Security
is a continual Inquisition on our own hearts to consider all our thoughts how they work towards a good or a bad end and then to cherish or suppress them as they arise for some appear in forms at first fight so ugly they cannot be too soon smothered and some so disguised in pleasing shapes as may deceive a careless heart if not acquainted with the marks the wearâ— and that way Armed and well warned by former harms so as to avoid new wounds from Enemies so dangerous that we must not Treat nor dally with but make them Retreat by a brisk Charge and bold Defie We are also to study to discover another sort of Foes more dangerous then all the rest who lye in close Ambush until some opportunity do call them forth for an Assault and are of form so lovely and so innocent in shew that Charity her self would warm their cold Limbs in her own Bosom and not discern the danger until these cunning Serpents bite beyond resistance and then declare for the Supremacy over the whole man and then muster up all his senses and all his faculties against himself and thus steal a Victory by corrupting those Guards that were given for his defence So that by a long negligence we grow so ignorant of our selves that every assault from Satan shakes the whole man until at last he Roots him up for ever But if our Eternal Being is considerable we should allow some tiâ—â—le to study our own natural inclinations and affections to good or evil and to learn such Rules as may rectifie our senses to submit unto our more rational Souls when led by Grace to work upward towards God which will teach us the wisdom of Salvation and raise our Faith to such dependance on Christ as no worldly Learning can contest for the priority Let us then imploy our time so as to learn to know our selves and our duty unto God in which our everlasting happiness is most concerned CLXX THere can be no better Arguments for frequent Meditations then to think seriously of our sins of Death and our Resurrection to Judgment as we ought and to prepare for so great a concern at a minutes call to step into Eternity so ready that we may so love God and fear Him as to serve him with delight here and to have Celestial joy when we expire CLXXI. NO man ought to think himself above the reach of temptation for when Satan finds us but a little relaxed in our Devotion or any thing cold in our affection to God he can dress an old forsaken sin so like to an Angel of Light as to surprize a young Divine Lover at first sight when his Guards are withdrawn but when his Beloved sees him in such danger He will by His Divine guiding Light unmask the disguised Fiend and so reclaim his near lapsed Lover unto his devout Addresses as before and make him see by such Assaults that he can stand no longer in favour then by his Grace supported But he that is become a well-settled Regenerate man so as to stand ever on his Guard with holy courage to repell all approaches from Satan as fast as they appear will make such frequent Victories his chief delight and when our common Enemy sees that all his attempts on such a man are in vain he will desist who only watches opportunities for his attempts on those he finds remiss and who is often belyed by some men who do invite him to such easie Victories on those of his own complexion as black within and as great Devils as himself CLXXII ALas poor man dost thou complain because thou canst not sleep ten hours every night when Nature doth require but five Thou fearest to die Yet wouldst be dead near half the time thou hast to live for sleep is so like death that we cannot distinguish wherein they differ until we awake But thou art tired for want of entertainment in long Nights Alas poor man that is a sad grievance indeed and worthy of pity for thy Saintship has no sins to confess nor pardon to ask of God no cause to wash thy Bed with tears Heaven and Hell with Eternity to come are not worth thy thinking on until the Bell toll thee to thy Grave and then too late thou wilt wish for some of thy time lost in sleep then to watch and pray and to lament in Sackcloth and Ashes While the Regenerate man finds no time so fit to raise his Soul to Heaven as when he awakes at Mid-night nor any consolation so great as in those hours borrowed from sleep to converse with God in holy Meditations which fills his heart with present joy and peace of conscience that lasts the whole day after and is a good remedy to prevent such fancies as do invade the drowsie Souls of lazie men when they cannot sleep CLXXIII ARt thou fallen by a surprize who has not or may not fall so But if these falls be frequent there is much danger in such Relapses and though not fit to cause despair yet worthy of great care for the future lest thy surprizes grow into a habit and prove but an excuse when thy self betrays thy self so often which will find no credit at the day of Judgment to procure a pardon from the Almighty searcher of our hearts whose Omnipotence is affronted if we think by a trick to hide from Him those crimes we are commanded to confess bewail and forsake CLXXIV WHen God gives us grace to make holy Vows for self-denials with power to perform them He fails not by his Holy Spirit to assure us of his acceptance thereof by the joy our hearts will feel after every resistance of Satanical assaults which will in little time encourage us to take more and more delight in those Victories over our selves who are the greatest Enemies we have CLXXV IT is no easie work for men in health and prosperity to think so often and seriously of Death as is requisite for our preparation to the Grave though no other time is so proper for it For when pains and sickness dâ— distract our minds we are only diligent to seek remedies for cure and often find none but do die with a short prayer sighed out as if Lord have mercy on us were a charm to redeem threescore years mis-spent in sins and vanities without any thought of our Salvation all that time as if Heaven were too melancholly a business to trouble our idle heads with while Youth in vigour reigns which seldom affords any credit for the felicity of Piety and such Romance discourses as they understand not while a Righteous man knows no joy on Earth like his expectation of Heaven and living ever ready to die in hope to be with God there CLXXVI WHen God endows the hearts of men with Holiness it is a sure mark of his especial favour to give us a free admission into the Court of Heaven to be with Him there as often as we please in our Meditations
to find how much better and pleasanter it is to delight in God and by our utmost endeavours to improve that delight by frequent and fervent Addresses until we obtain new Celestial joys which soon discard all our old Carnal fruitions by a constant fixing of our whole hearts on Heaven so as to be really offended at the most necessary diversions when they interrupt our Divine communication with Christ for the hastning on of our preparation towards that Eternal Glory he has purchased for us Which is the most joyful expectation of a Regenerate man who sees the difference between momentary Vanities and everlasting Bliss and sets him on fire to desire above all things to fix his heart on God and to delight in Holiness as his supreme felicity on this side Heaven CXCI. WHoever has the patience to read and the Piety to practice these plain Lessons if he observe it will find that his felicity does increase with his Devotion and that his days will grow fuller and fuller of tranquility in the midst of Worldly Storms and feel them not Let him also observe with what security he sleeps with what joy he awakes at all hours to find his heart at work with God before his Eyes are quite open giving God thanks for all his Mercies and above all the rest for thus turning him from all his Iniquities before it be too late that he might not trust unto the uncertain security of the best Death-bed Repentance but to live and die so reconciled to God as to manifest his pre-conversion by a chearâ—ul Righteous life and a joyful Resignation of his Soul unto Christ when he expires will be joy indeed CXCII JUdge not the serious looks of every pensive man as if his heart were oppressed with discontents who may that minute be conversing with God in Meditation and triumphing over the Glories of this World which thou enjoyest with all its delights and which he may have had as high as mortal man can fancy fading happiness But now as tired with busie Crouds and cloyed with glistering Vanities He entertains his Soul with inward elevated joys for so great a Victory over himself which thou seest not and dost therefore pity or condemn what thou wouldst admire if clearly understood CXCIII IF the Spirit of Divine Meditation were wâ—th sincere affection fully improved by the diligent practice of raising our Souls as near to God as our mortal fancies can reach the Holy Ghost would at such times assist us with such increase of Piety and such growing joys in our near approaches to the Throne of Mercy as would shew us some bright Rays of that glorious Majesty we adore to affect our Souls with such transporting thoughts as would set our hearts on fire with eager desires to be amongst those Angels that do attend on the Majesty of Heaven whose love and goodness in mercy admits us Dust and Ashes so to converse with Him as a clear Testimony to our own hearts of our Adoption by which pious practising to fix our affections on God we shall so delight in Him as now to conquer all those Imperious Appetites that have so often conquer'd us and may soon learn the Celestial Military Art to subdue all temptations that assault us and from their Ruines raise fresh Trophies every day most acceptable to God and so beneficial to our selves that we may discern our Souls mounting up to Heaven thereon CXCIV WE ought to look on Death as chief Goaler on Earth God's prime Officer by Him intrusted only with the custody of our imprison'd Bodies in the Grave until the great Goal-delivery at the day of Judgment when Death must deliver up our imprison'd Dust at a moments warning to meet our Souls at God's Tribunal where his Office ends with Himself who is then no more So that instead of quarrelling with Death for doing of his duty let us make peace and get a Reconciliation with his great Master that we be not lodged in Deaths Dungeon amongst the impenitent Malefactors but may be placed in his best Apartment with the Reconciled sinners by God's Grace become Saints and pray that we may with them appear in their glorious Resurrection with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. CXCV. I That write my own thoughts only to review them for my own satisfaction must say again and again that whoever seeks God with sincerity will certainly find him and shall find that he has found him And though early seeking and early finding be best as most safe because no man can promise himself one minute longer to seek God then his first call to it yet if he find favour to be called again and be sent to work in God's Vineyard at the last hour of his day and God see that he works then with such vigour in that last hour as if he would equal or out-do any that came in to work before him the Lord of the Vineyard observes his endeavours and rewards him equal with the first comers Though no man ought to trust unto a Death-bed Repentance on this Argument Because the best Rule is to remember thy Creator in the days of thy Youth the next best is to remember Him in the time of full Manhood in the strength and vigour of thy Age but if not then the next best is to remember him in thy Old Age before thou hast quite forgot him lest it be too late for though it be last and worst yet then is not too late with God if we answer whenever He calls He will give us Gâ—ace to do whatever he calls for And to give him then our whole hearts bathed in peniâ—ential tears full of contrition for all past offences he will accept thâ—m and make us see that his Mercy has â—ollowed us through all our wild insolent conâ—empts of the highest nature which aggravates repeated sins after pardons upon pardons begged So that when God doth not forsake but follow and watch over such Reprobates and does snatch them from the brink of destruction it is to bring them to a Reconciliation and such a Resurrection from sin as will support them for ever after by his Holy Spirit which shews that his Mercy and his Grace are beyond the power of our sins to deface for if our Repentance and Contrition be His own work within us the operation of that Grace will testifie that his Mercy endureth for ever Let no man then despair of Gods Mercy or think it too late to repent if he can forsake his Iniquities so as for the future to love and serve God as he ought for above all things we must believe that God does abound in Mercy and Grace more then we can do in sins and that Jesus Christ is the Lord our Righteousness and when we find that the Holy Ghost dwells so in our hearts as to create an effectual application of God the Father and the Sons work within us we may comfort our selves with an humble assurance that all three the whole Trinity
way thither as will make their hearts glad to think they shall Arrive where they are to Rest for ever in peace and Glory CCXXX IF we believe Charity to be a prime Christian Duty to relieve the Poor by our purses and by our good councel and vertuous lives to reform sinners How great an offence is it for Christians to oppress their Neighbors by unjust power and to seduce others unto evil actions or to defame and scandalize the most Innocent on any design or for envy and in general to be more eminently wicked than Heathens as if we strove in emulation to out-do the Devil in Malice and rapine to shew how we can defye all Christian principles that should lead us unto our salvation CCXXXI HE who truly loves desires to be much with his beloved and if God be that object of his hearts delight he will desire to be ever with him and may assuredly have what he so desires by raising his soul in frequent Meditations unto the Divine Presence where God will sometimes admit of his transported elevated affection in prayer to some degree of his Celestial Bliss and will sometimes send down his Holy Spirit to sanctify his heart with such growing comforts there as will consecrate that to be his Temple where he will abide so long as he finds a sincere welcome with a total resignation unto Him And this Divine felicity this pre-possession of Heaven this holy conversation with God will invite such a man unto continual ambitious endeavors to get nearer and nearer with delight towards his entering into the eternal joy of his beloved And by such a dayly practice he will find his heart so fill'd with grace and so Armed with Holy courage as to be always ready to die Cheerfully which is our only way to shew our love and our desire to be with God And is the chief business that we were born for and when rightly understood is the supremest pleasure we can have on Earth in our way to heaven to be ever so ready for our summons thither that no crosses losses or afflictions in this world nor all the glories therein shall be able to give us any interruption in our journey thither CCXXXII IT may sometimes be useful in our Meditations to compare small concerns with greater and so to set our frequent troubles opposite unto our delights in this world and then to Judge ingeniously between them and if our joyes do weigh down the scales then to re-weigh those joyes below with the joy and glory above that when we are most Laden with wealth and honors most elevated with the smiles and favours of great Princes here then to raise our souls unto a holy emulation with the Saints in Heaven for Gods favor there as our supream felicity which will creat such a purity of heart within us as will be more constantly delightful than all this world can give us And by such a Resurrection from earthly pleasures to long after the next worlds everlasting joys will fix our affections on that eternal Bliss with a Divine transporting joy to foresee that glory we shall find â—he moment we expire CCXXXIII A Regenerate Mans frequent devout Meditations do raise in him a delight to converse so with God and doth increase that delight unto the most immense joys that the soul of man can reach on earth It is like the adding of Ciphers to a formeâ— summ payable from a Banck of treasure that can never be exhausted but the more we multiply that score the more we may and the greater our account grows this way the surer will our payment be by fast linking our earthly joyes unto the everlasting chain of Joys in Heaven FINIS ERRATA PAge 9. l. 12. r. will so fill it p. 10. l. 17. induced r. endued p. 14. l. 9. then r. there p. 25. l. 9. mark r. work p. 26. l. 12 times r. Aims p. 47. l. 8. concealed r. cancelled p. 49. l. 11. r. without p. 150. l. 13. r. despair p. 151. l. 19. of r. our p. 155. l. 7. r. marks they wear