The Things that God Hath Prepared for Them that Love Him

Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; but when he intends to make us happy, it is a shame that we should not bestow our affections upon him.

Much might be said to this purpose for the trial of ourselves, whether we love God or no. Let us not then forget these things; for it is the command both of the Old and New Testament; they run both upon love. 'I give you a new command,' saith Christ, John 15:12; and yet it is no new command, but old and ordinary. But it is commanded now in the gospel; that is, it is renewed by new experiments* of God's love in Christ, 'that we should love him, as he hath loved us,' John 13:34, which is wonderfully; that we should love him, and 'love one another.' And all this is in this affection, as we see when the Holy

Ghost would set out the disposition and qualification of such as those great things are prepared for, that 'neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man,' he sets it down by this, 'They are for those that love him.'*

THE END OF THE THIRD SERMON.

The Things that God Hath Prepared for Them that Love Him As it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love him.—1 COR. 2:9.

That which hath already been said should force us to beg the Spirit of God to teach the heart, to teach us the things themselves, the inside of them. For a spiritual holy man hath a spiritual knowledge of outward things of the creatures; he sees another manner of thing in the creature than other men do. As another man hath a natural knowledge of spiritual things, so a holy man hath a spiritual

knowledge even of the ordinary works of God; and raiseth and extracts a quintessence out of them, that a worldly man cannot see, to glorify God, and to build up his faith in the sense of God's favour,

&c. This I add by the way to that.

But the highest performance of this, that there are things provided for God's people that 'neither eye hath seen nor ear hath heard,' &c., it is reserved for another world. For the promises of the gospel have then their fulfilling indeed. These words are true of the state of the gospel here now, but they have their accomplishment in heaven. For whatsoever is begun here is ended there. Peace begun here is ended there. Joy that is begun here it shall be ended there. Communion of saints that is begun here it shall be ended there. Sanctification that is begun here it shall be ended there. So all graces shall be perfect, and all promises performed then. That is the time indeed when God shall discover things that 'neither eye hath seen nor ear heard,' &c. In the mean time let us learn to believe them, and to live by faith in them, that there are such things.

And God reserves not all for another world, but gives his children a taste of those things beforehand to comfort them in their distresses in this world, as indeed there is nothing in this world of greater use and comfort to raise them, than the beginnings of heaven upon earth. A little peace and joy in the Holy Ghost will make a man swallow all the discontents in the world. Now God is so far good to us, as that he lets us have some drops of these things beforehand to raise up our spirits, that by the taste we may know what great things he hath reserved for us. But of these things, and the use of them, I spake before.

We come then to speak of the qualification of the persons.

'For them that love him.'

Not that we love God first, and then God prepares these things for us; but God prepares them, and acquaints us what he means to do with us, and then we love him. A Christian knows before what title he hath in Christ to heaven, and then he works. He knows Christ hath wrought salvation for him, and then he works out his salvation in a course tending to salvation. For there must be working in a course tending to the possession of salvation. That Christ hath purchased; we must not work and think by it to merit heaven. We know we have heaven, and those great things in the title of Christ, and then we fall on loving and working. There is a clean contrary order between us and those mercenaries. They invert the order of God; for, for whom

God hath prepared these things, he discovers them to the eye of faith, and then faith works by love. This I add by the way.

Now he sets down this description of those persons for whom these excellent things are prepared, by this affection of love, by this grace of love, as being the fittest for that purpose to describe a Christian.

Faith is not so fit, because it is not so discernible. We may know our love when we cannot know our faith. Ofttimes those that are excellent Christians, they doubt whether they believe or no; but ask them whether they love God and his truth and children or no? oh yes! they do. Now God intending to comfort us, sets out such an affection as a Christian may best discern; for of all affections we can discern best of our love. But to come to the affection itself, there are three things in love.

There is the affection, passion, grace of love. We speak of the grace here.

The affection is natural.

The passion is the excess of the natural affection when it overflows its bound.

Grace is the rectifying of the natural affection, and the elevating and raising it up to a higher object than nature can pitch on. The Spirit of God turns nature into grace, and works corruption and passion out of nature, and elevates and raiseth that which is naturally good, the affection of love to be a grace of love. He raiseth it up to love God

(which nature cannot discover), by spiritualizing of it. He makes it the most excellent] grace of all. So that while I speak of the love of God, think not that I speak of the mere affection, but of the affection that hath a stamp of grace upon it. For affections are graces when they are sanctified. And indeed all graces (set illumination aside, which is in the understanding) spring from this. What is true grace but joy, and love, and delight in the best things? And all others spring from love. What do we hate but what is opposite to that we love! And when are we angry, but when that we love is opposed and wronged? Then there is a holy zeal. So that indeed all grace is in the affections, and all affections are in this one primitive affection, this first-born and bred affection, love. I speak of it then as a special grace. Now the way of discerning of it we heard partly before. The way to discern of this sanctified affection, this grace, is to know what we esteem, for love, it is from an estimation. And likewise, in the second place, esteem breeds a desire of union. And desire of union breeds content in the thing when we have it. And contentment in the person breeds desire of contenting back again. These things I stood on, and will not press further.

Let us examine and try ourselves oft by our affections, how they stand biassed and pointed, whether to God and heavenward, or to the world; for we are as we love. For what we love, we, as it were, marry; and if we join our love to baser things, we marry baser things, and so debase ourselves. If we join in our affections to things above ourselves, to God, and spiritual things, we become spiritual as they are. So that a man stands in the world between two goods, somewhat

that is better than himself, and something that is meaner; and thereafter as he joins in his affections, thereafter he is. For the affection of love to God and to the best things makes him excellent; and his affection to baser things makes him base. Let a man be never so base in the world, if his affections be base, he is a base person.

Therefore we have the more need to try our affections.

But to answer some cases briefly.

1. It will be objected, may we not love anything but God and holy things? May we not love the creatures, because it is here specified as a note of those, that these things are 'prepared for those that love

God'?

Yes. We may love them as we see somewhat of God in them, as every creature hath somewhat of God in them. Whereupon God hath the style of every creature that hath good in it. He is called a 'Fountain,' a 'Rock,' a 'Shield,' everything that is good, to shew that the creatures every one hath somewhat of God. He would not have taken the style of the creature else. We may love the creature as it hath somewhat of God in it, a being, or comfortable being, or somewhat; and as it conveys the love of God to us, and leads us back again to God. There is no creature but it conveys some love, and beams, and excellency of God to us in some kind, and leads us to God. So we may love other things. We may love men, and love God in them, and love them for God, to bring them to God, to leave a holy impression in them, to be like God. There is no question of this. But the love of God, that is the spring of all.

But it will be said by some weak conscience, How shall I know I love God, when I love the world and worldly things? I love my children, and other things, perhaps that are not ill; I fear I love them more than God.

We must know for this, that when two streams run in one channel they run stronger than one stream. When a man loves other good things, nature goes with grace. So nature, going with grace, the stream is strong. But when a man loves God, and Christ, and heavenly things, there is grace only; nature yields nothing to that.

When a man loves his children or his intimate friends, &c., nature going with grace, it is no wonder if the stream be stronger when two streams run in one. So corruption in ill action ofttimes carry the affections strong. As in many of our loves there is somewhat natural that is good, yet there is some corruption, as to love a man for ill.

Here nature and corruption is strong, but in supernatural things grace goes alone.

Then again, we must not judge by an indeliberate passion, by what our affection is carried suddenly and indeliberately to; for so we may joy more in a sudden thing than in the best things of all, as in the sight of a friend there may be a sudden affection. But the love of God, it is a constant stream. It is not a torrent, but a current that runs all our lifetime. Therefore those affections to God and heavenly things, in a Christian, they are perpetual. They make no great noise, perhaps, but they are perpetual in the heart of a Christian. A sudden torrent and passion may transport a man, but yet he may have a holy and heavenly heart. I speak this for comfort.

2. Ay, but my love to God is faint and little.

Well, but it is a heavenly spark, and hath divinity in it. It is from heaven, and is growing, and vigorous, and efficacious; and a little heavenly love will waste all carnal love at length, it is of so vigorous and constant a nature. It is fed still by the Spirit; and a little that is fed and maintained, that is growing, that hath a blessing in it (as the love of God in the hearts of his hath; for God continually cherisheth

his own beginning), that little shall never be quenched, but shall overgrow nature at length, and eat out corruption, and all contrary love whatsoever. Though for the present we see corruption overpower and oppress grace, yet the love of God being a divine spark, and therefore being more powerful, though it be little, than the contrary, it hath a blessing in it to grow, till at length it consume all. For love is like fire; as in other properties so in this, it wastes and consumes the contrary; and raiseth up to heaven, and quickens, and enlivens the persons, as fire doth. And it makes lightsome dead bodies; it transforms them all into fire like itself. So the love of God, by little and little, transforms us all to be fiery; it transforms us to be lovers. These cases needed a little touching, to satisfy some that are good and growing Christians, and must have some satisfaction.

3. But it may be asked again, as indeed we see it is true, what is the reason that sometime meaner Christians have more loving souls than great scholars, men of great parts? One would think that knowledge should increase love and affection?

So it doth, if it be a clear knowledge; but great wits and pates* and great scholars busy themselves about questions and intricacies, and so they are not so much about the affections. A poor Christian ofttimes takes those things for granted that they study, and dispute, and canvass, and question. There is a heavenly light in his soul that God is my Father in Christ, and Christ, God and man, is my

Mediator. He takes it for granted, and so his affections are not troubled. Whereas the other, having corruption answerable to his parts, great wit and great corruption, he is tangled with doubts and arguments. He studies to inform his brain; the other to be heated in his affections. A poor Christian cares not for cold niceties, that heat not the heart and affections; he takes these for granted if they be propounded in the Scripture. Instead of disputing, he believes, and

loves, and obeys; and that is the reason that many a poor soul goes to heaven with a great deal of joy, when others are tangled and wrapped in their own doubts. So much for satisfying of these things. To go on, therefore, to give a few directions how to have this heavenly fire kindled in us, to love God, considering such great things are provided for those that love God. It is a matter of consequence: as we desire heaven, we must desire this holy fire to be kindled in us.

Let us know for a ground, as it were, that it is our duty to aim at the highest pitch of love that we can, and not to rest in the lowest. The lowest pitch of loving God, is to love God because he is good to us.

That is good. The Scriptures stoops so low as to allow that God would have us love him and holy things for the benefit we have by them.

But that is mercenary if we rest there. But God stoops to allure us by promises and favours, though we must not rest there. But we must love God, not for ourselves, but labour to rise to this pitch, to love ourselves in God, and to see that we have happiness in God, and not in ourselves. Our being is in him. We must love ourselves in him, and be content to be lost in God; that is, so to love God, that if he should cast us away (his kindness is better than life), do others what they will, we will love him, and ourselves for his excellencies, and because we see ourselves in him and are his children. We must labour to rise to that, and that is the highest pitch that we can attain to. We must know that for a ground.

And know this for another, that when we speak of the love of God, we speak of love incorporate into our conversations and actions; not of an abstracted love and affection, but of love in our places, and callings, and standings, love invested into action. Therefore the Scripture saith, we must love God 'with all our mind, with all our heart, with all our power and strength,' Deut. 6:5; that is, in our particular places. To make it clear. When we speak of love to God, we

speak of love to him in our particular callings. He loves God that is a magistrate and executes justice for God's sake; and he that is a minister, and teacheth the people conscionably for God's sake, and shews them the way to heaven. He loves God as a man in the commonwealth, a statesman, &c., that in that place seeks the glory of God, and the good of the church and religion. Shall men talk of love to God, and their affections are stirred up I know not whereabout?

No. It is an affection that is discovered in actions.

How can we love God with all our might, except as far as our might extends, our love extends? How far doth thy activity, thy power, thy sphere, that thou canst do anything, stretch? So far must thy love; and thou must shew thy love in all the powers and abilities that God hath furnished thee with.

For a man that hath great place and opportunity to do good, and to think it enough only to love God in his closet, &c., this is not the love we speak of. A man must love God with all his might, as he stands invested in relation this way or that way.

The love of God in a private man will not serve for a magistrate or a public man. He must shew his love in his place by standing in the gap, to hinder all the ill, and to do all the good he can. Every man must do so, but such a one more especially, because God hath trusted him with more. Well, these things premised, to come to some directions how to come to love God.

First of all, the way to love God is to have a heavenly light to discover what we are in ourselves and our emptiness; for being as we are, we can never love God till we see in what need we stand of his favour and grace, that we are damned creatures else.

Now when we come to have our eyes opened to see our sinfulness and emptiness, we will make out to God, and make out to his mercy in Christ above all things. Indeed, the first love is the love of dependence, before we come to a love of friendship and complacency with God; a love to go out to him, and to depend upon him for mercy and grace and all. A love that riseth from the sense of our misery, and goes to him for supply.

There is a sweet concurrence of misery and mercy; of emptiness and fulness; of beggary and riches.

Now when we see our own misery, and beggary, and sinfulness; and then a fulness in God to supply; of riches to enrich us every way; then this breeds a love. This is the way to all other loves that follow. And where this is not premised, and goes before, a man will never delight in God. In Luke 7:47 that good woman she loved much. Why? Much was forgiven her; many sins were forgiven her.

So when the soul shall see what need it hath of forgiving mercy, of pardoning mercy, and how many great debts God hath forgiven us in Christ, there will be a great deal of love, because there is a great deal forgiven. And we must begin indeed with seeing the infinite mercy of God before any other attribute of God, and then we shall love him after. This is the first thing. There is no soul that ever loves God so, as the poor soul that hath been abased with the sense of sin and its emptiness, that it is empty of all goodness; and then sees a supply in the mercy of God in Christ. Those souls love God above all.

Another way to love God is to consider of his wonderful goodness, to meditate and think of it. He is good and doth good. It is a communicative goodness. Let us think of his goodness, and the streaming of it out to the creature. The whole earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. What are all the creatures but God's goodness?

We can see nothing but the goodness of God. What is all the creatures but Deus explicatus, God unfolded to our senses? He offers himself to our bodies and souls; all is God's goodness.

And then see this goodness fitted to us. It is a fit goodness that comes from God. He is good and doth good, and so fitly he proportions his goodness. For he hath fitted every part of us, soul and body, with goodness; all the senses with goodness. What do we see but goodness in colours? What do we hear but his good, in those delights that come that way? We taste and feel his goodness. Against the cold we have clothing; in hunger we have food; in all necessities, in all exigencies, we have fit considerations of God for all necessities whatsoever outward.

But then for our souls, what food hath he for that? The death of Christ, his own Son, to feed our souls. The soul is a spiritual substance; and he thought nothing good enough to feed it but his own Son. We feed on God's love in giving Christ to death; and on Christ's love in giving himself to death.

The soul being continually troubled with the guilt of some sin or other, it feeds on this; it is nourished with Christ every day more and more, especially at the sacrament. Thus we see how God hath fitted his goodness to us. And then in particular dangers how he fits us with several deliverances; so seasonably as we may see God's love in it.

Then as God's goodness is great and fit, so it is near us. It is not a goodness afar off, but God follows us with his goodness in whatsoever condition we be. He applies himself to us, and he hath taken upon him near relations, that he might be near us in goodness.

He is a father, and everywhere to maintain us. He is a husband, and everywhere to help. He is a friend, and everywhere to comfort and

counsel. So his love it is a near love. Therefore he hath taken upon him the nearest relations, that we may never want God and the testimonies of his love.

And then again this goodness of God, which is the object of love, it is a free goodness, merely from himself; and an overflowing goodness, and an everlasting goodness. It is never drawn dry; he loves us unto life everlasting. He loves us in this world, and follows us with signs of his love in all the parts of us, in body and soul, till he hath brought body and soul to heaven to enjoy himself for ever there. These and such like considerations may serve to stir us up to love God, and direct us how to love God.

Benefits will work upon a beast; as it is Isaiah 1:2, 'Hear, O heavens; and hearken, O earth: the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but my people have forgotten me.'

Proud men become baser, and more brute than the very brutes; benefits will move the very brute creatures. So, I say, these favours to us in particular should move us, except we will be more brute than the brutes themselves.

Especially to move us all, consider some particularities of favours to us more than to others, for specialties do much increase love and respect.

Consider how God hath followed thee with goodness outwardly, when others have been neglected. Thou hast a place in the world, and riches, and friends, when many other excellent persons want all these. There are some common favours to all Christians; as the favour we have in Christ, forgiveness of sins, sanctification, and such other favours. But there be some specialties of divine providence, whereby it appears that God's providence hath watched over us in

some particulars more than others; those be special engagements.

And is there any of us that cannot say that God hath dealt specially, in giving them some mercy more than to others? I add this therefore to the rest.

Again, to help us to stir up this grace of love, consider those examples of loving of those that have then lived in former times.

Take David, and Paul, and other holy men. David wonders at his own love: 'Lord, how do I love thy law!' Ps. 119:97. And have we not more cause comparing the grounds of our affection, when we have more than they in those times? What! did he wonder at his love of God's law, when the canon was so short? They had only Moses, and some few books, and we have the canon enlarged; we have both the Old and New Testament, shall not we say much more, How do I love thy law, thy gospel, and divine truths! This should shame us, when they in dark times so loved the truth of God, and we see all clear and open, and yet are cold.

Likewise it is good in this case to converse with those that are affectionate. As face answereth face, so spirit answers spirit; as 'iron sharpeneth iron,' so one sharpens another, Prov. 27:17. Conversation with cold ones will make one cold: 'For the abundance of iniquity, the love of many shall wax cold,' Mat. 24:12. Conversing with sinful, cold people casts a damp upon us. But let us labour, if we will be wise for our souls, when we find any coldness of affection, to converse with those that have sweet and heavenly affections. It will marvellously work upon our hearts.

I might say much this way to stir us up, and direct us how to love God.

But indeed nothing will so much enable us to love God as a new nature. Nature will love without provocation. The fire will burn,

because it is fire; and the water will moisten, because it is water; and a holy man will love holy things, because he is holy; a spiritual soul will love spiritual things, because he is spiritual. Therefore, besides all, add this, that our natures be changed more and more, that they be sanctified and circumcised as God hath promised: 'I will circumcise your hearts, that ye may love me,' Deut. 30:6. There must be a circumcised heart to love God. We must be sanctified to love

God; for if nature be not renewed, there cannot be this new commandment of love. Why is love called a new commandment, and an old commandment?

It is called old for the letter, because it was a command in Moses' time: 'Thou shalt love the Lord with all thy soul,' Deut. 6:5. But now it is a new commandment, because there is abundance of spirit given by Christ; and the Spirit sanctifies us and writes this affection in our hearts. It was written in stone before, but now is written in our hearts by the Spirit. And now there are new incentives and motives to love, since Christ came and gave himself for us, new encouragements and provocations to love. Therefore it is a new commandment, from new grounds and motions, that are more a great deal than before Christ. But there must be a new heart to obey this new command of love. The old heart will never love.

Therefore we must, with all the means that may be used, beg the Spirit of sanctification especially, beg the discovery of God's love to us, for our love is but a reflection of God's love. We cannot love God except he love us first. Now, our love being a reflection of God's love, we must desire that he would give us his Spirit to reveal his love; that the Spirit being a witness of God's love to us, may thereupon be a Spirit of love and sanctification in us.

And let us labour to grow more in the assurance of God's love, and all the evidences of it. Let us dwell long in the meditation of these things. The dwelling in the meditation of God's love, it will make us to love him again. As many beams in a burning-glass meeting together they cause a fire, many thoughts of the many fruits of God's love in this world, and what he intends us in the world to come, our hearts dwelling on them, these beams will kindle a holy fire in our hearts.

Many are troubled with cold affections, and wish, Oh that they could love! They forget the way how to love. They will not meditate; and if they do meditate, they think to work love out of their own hearts.

They may as well work fire out of a flint, and water out of a stone.

Our hearts are a barren wilderness. Therefore let us beg the Spirit that God would alter our hearts, with meditation and all other helps; that God would sanctify us, and discover his love to us, and that he would give us his Spirit (for he doth the one where he doth the other). When God doth so, then we shall be enabled to love him. We must not think to bring love to God, but we must fetch love from God. We must light our candle at his fire. Think of his love to us, and beg the Spirit of love from him; love is a fruit of the Spirit. That is the course we ought to take, for God will teach our hearts to love.

Now, to stir us up the more, to add some motives and encouragements to labour more to get this affection. Let us consider seriously that without this love of God we are dead; and whatsoever comes from us it is still-born, it is dead. Without love we are nothing; without love all that comes from us is nothing; without love 'I am as a tinkling cymbal,' saith Paul, 1 Cor. 13:1. For a man to be nothing in religion, and all that comes from him to be dead and still-born, to be abortive actions, who would be in such a case? Therefore let us labour, before we do anything that is good, to have our hearts

kindled with the love of God, and then we shall be somebody, and that that we do will be acceptable; for love sweetens all performances. It is not the action, but the love in the action; as from God it is not the dead favour that comes from him that comforts the soul of a Christian, so much as the love and sweetness of God in the favour. That is better than the thing itself. When we have favour from God in outward favours, consider the sweetness: 'Taste and see how gracious the Lord is,' Ps. 34:8. The taste of the love and favour of God in the blessing is better than the thing itself, for it is but a dead thing. And so from us back again to God. What are the things we perform to him? They are dead. But when they are sweetened with the affection of love, done to him as a father in Christ, he tastes our performances as sweet. Love makes all we do to have a relish, and all that he doth to us. Therefore we should labour for this sweet affection.

And withal consider, that we may be called to do many things in this world. Surely there are none of us but we have many holy actions to perform. We have many things to suffer and endure in the world, many temptations to resist. What shall or will carry us through all?

Nothing but love. If we have loving and gracious hearts, this affection will carry us through all good actions, through all oppositions and temptations; for 'love is strong as death,' Cant. 8:6. Consider therefore that there are so many things that will require this affection, this blessed wing and wind of the soul, to carry us along, in spite of all that is contrary, through all opposition; let us labour for love, and that affection will carry us through all. Indeed, if we have that it is no matter what a man suffers. A man can never be miserable that hath this affection of love. If this heavenly fire be kindled in him he cannot be miserable; take him in what condition you will, take him upon the rack. St Paul in the dungeon sang at midnight in the dungeon, in the stocks, at an uncomfortable time

and place. When he had been misused, his heart was enlarged to sing to God out of love, Acts 16:25. Nay, everything increaseth it. The things we suffer increaseth this flame. Let a man love God, whatsoever he suffers in a good cause it increaseth his love, he shall find his love increased with it. The more he loves the more he can suffer; and the more he suffers the more he loves God, and the more he increaseth in a joyful expectation of the times to come. And love is alway with joy, and hope, and other sweet affections. It draws joy with it always, and hope of better things; and as joy increaseth and hope increaseth, so a man's happiness increaseth in this world.

Therefore it is no matter what a man suffers that hath a gracious and loving heart, enlarged by the Spirit of God. Let him never think of what he suffereth of pain, of losses and crosses, if God discover his fatherly breast, and shine on him in Christ; and he look on God reconciled, and taste of the joys of heaven beforehand. If you tell him of sufferings, you tell him of that that encourageth him. It is an argument I might be long in, and to great purpose; for if we get this holy fire kindled once, we shall need little exhortation to other duties. It would set us on work to all. And like the fire of the sanctuary that never went out, so it is such an affection, that if it be once kindled in the heart it will never out. It is a kind of miracle in ill when we love other things besides God, baser than ourselves; it is as much as if a river should turn backward. For man that is an excellent creature, to be carried with the stream of his affection to things worse than himself, it is a kind of monster for a man to abuse his understanding so. What a base thing is it for a man to suffer such a sweet stream as love, a holy current, to run into a sink? Who would turn a sweet stream into a sink, and not rather into a garden? into a sweet place to refresh that? Our love is the best thing in the world, and who deserves it better than God and Christ? We can never return anything, but this affection of love we may again. And can we place it better than upon divine things, whereby we are made better

ourselves? Doth God require our affections for himself? No. It is to make us happy. It advanceth our affection to love him; it is the turning of it into the right stream. It is the making of us happy that God requires it. For consider all things that may deserve this affection. It will keep us from all sin. What is any sin but the abuse of love? For the crookedness of this affection turns us to present things, that is the cause of all sin. For what is all sin, but pleasure and honours and profits, the three idols of the world? All sin is about them. And what are all good actions but love well placed? The well ordering of this affection is the well ordering of our lives; and the misplacing of this affection is the cause of all sin.

And to make us the more careful this way, consider that when we place our affections upon anything else, consider the vanity of it. We lose our love and the thing and ourselves. For whatsoever else we love, if we love not God in it, and love it for God, it will perish and come to nothing ere long. The affection perisheth with the thing. We lose our affections and the thing; and lose ourselves too, misplacing of it. These are forcible considerations with understanding persons.

And if we would use our understanding and consideration and meditation, and our souls, as we should, to consider of the grounds and encouragements we have to love God, and the best things whereby we may be dignified above ourselves, it would not be as it is; we should not be so devoid of grace and comfort. It was a miracle that the three young men should be in the midst of the furnace, and be there as if they were in another place, no hotter, Dan. 3:12, 13, seq. And it is a miracle that men should be in the midst of all encouragements that we have to love God (as there is not the like reasons for anything in the world to keep our souls in a perpetual heat of affection to love God—no motives, or arguments, or incentives; all are nothing to the multitude of arguments we have to inflame our affections), and yet to be cold in the midst of the fire. It

is a kind of miracle to have dark understandings and dead affections; that notwithstanding all the heavenly means we have to keep a perpetual flame of love to God, yet to be cold and dark in our souls; let us bewail it and be ashamed of it.

What do we profess ourselves? Christians, heirs of heaven; so beloved of God as that he gave his own Son to deliver us, being rebels and enemies, in so cursed a state as we are all in by nature. Poor creature! inferior to the angels that fell, that he should love man, sinful dust and ashes, so much as to give his own Son to free us from so great misery, and to advance us to so great happiness, to set us in 'heavenly places with Christ,' Eph. 1:3, and to have perpetual communion with him in heaven; to have such encouragements, and to be cold and dead-hearted; nay, wilfully opposite in our affections, to be enemies to the goodness of God and grace, having such arguments to love God. And yet how many spirits edged by the devil oppose all that is good, and will not give way to God's Spirit? God would have them temples, they will be sties. God would marry them; nay, they will be harlots. God would have them happy here, and hereafter. No; they will not; they will have their own lusts and affections.

Let us be afraid of these things, as we love our own souls and ourselves; and consider what encouragements we have to love God for which such great things are reserved as 'neither eye hath seen, nor ear heard, nor hath entered into the heart of man to conceive.'

Imprimatur; Tho. Wykes. Aug. 1638.

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