of it, as hath been said, that is, even in the strictest sense, natural. There is nothing in the whole moral law of God, (in conformity whereunto this image did, ab origine, originally, consist) nothing of what he requires from man, that is at all destructive of his being, prejudicial to his comforts, repugnant to his most innate principles: nothing that clashes with his reason, or is contrary to his interest: or that is not, most directly, conservative of his being and comforts agreeable to his most rational principles, subservient to his best and truest interest. For what doth God the Lord require, but fear and love, service, (Deut. 10. 12. Mic. 6. 8.) and holy walking from an entire and undivided soul? what, but what is good; not only in itself, but for us; and in respect whereof, his law is said to be holy, just and good? Rom. 7. 12. And what he requireth, he impresseth. This law, written in the heart, is this likeness. How grateful then will it be, when after a long extermination and exile, it returns and re-possesses the soul, is recognized by it, becomes to it a new nature, (yea, even a divine) a vital, living law, the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus? Rom. 8. 2. What grievance, or burden, is it to do the dictates of nature? actions that easily and freely flow from their own principles? and when blessedness itself is infolded in those very acts and inclinations? How infinitely satisfying and delightful will it be, when the soul shall find itself connaturalized to every thing in its duty and shall have no other duty incumbent on it than to be happy! when it shall need no arguments, and exhortations to love God; nor need be urged and pressed, as heretofore, to mind him, to fear before him! when love, and reverence, and adoration, and praise; when delight, and joy, shall be all natural acts: can you separate this, in your own thoughts, from the highest satisfaction?

Fourthly. This image will be now perfect: every way, fully perfect. In all its parts; as it is in the first instant of the soul's entrance into the state of regeneration; the womb of grace knows no defective maimed births. And yet here is no little advantage, as to this kind of perfection. For now those lively lineaments of the new creature all appear, which were much obscured before; every line of glory is conspicuous, every character legible, the whole entire frame of this image is, in its exact symmetry and apt proportions, visible at once. And it is an unspeakable addition to the pleasure of so excellent a temper of spirit, that accrues from the discernible entireness of it. Heretofore, some gracious dispensations have been to seek, (through the present prevalence of some corruption or temptation) when there was most need and occasion for their being reduced into act. Hence the reward and pleasure of the act, and improvement of the principle, were lost together. Now, the soul will be equally disposed, to every holy exercise that shall be suitable to its state. Its temper shall be even and symmetral; its

motions uniform, and agreeable: nothing done out of season; nothing seasonable omitted, for want of a present disposition of spirit thereto. There will be not only an habitual, but actual entireness of the frame of holiness in the blessed soul.-Again this image will be perfect in degree; so as to exclude all degrees of its contrary, and to include all degrees of itself. There will now be no longer any colluctation with contrary principles; no law in the members warring against the law of the mind; no lustings of the flesh against the spirit. That war is now ended in a glorious victory, and eternal peace. There will be no remaining blindness of mind, nor error of judgment, nor perverseness of will, nor irregularity or rebellion of affections: no ignorance of God, no aversation from him, or disaffection towards him. This likeness removes all culpable dissimilitude or unlikeness. This communicated glory fills up the whole soul, causes all clouds and darkness to vanish, leaves no place for any thing that is vile or inglorious; it is pure glory, free from mixture of any thing that is alien to it. And it is itself full. The soul is replenished, not with airy, evanid shadows; but with substantial, solid glory, a massive, weighty glory, (2 Cor. 4. 17.) for I know not but subjective glory may be taken in within the significancy of that known scripture, if it be not more principally intended in as much as the text speaks of a glory to be wrought out by afflictions, which are the files and furnaces, as it were, to polish or refine the soul into a glorious frame. It is cumulated glory, glory added to glory. Here it is growing progressive glory, we are changed into the same image from glory to glory. 2 Cor. 3. 18. It shall, now, be stable, consistent glory that carries a self-fulness with it (which some include also in the notion of purity* :) it is full of itself, includes every degree requisite to its own perfection. God hath now put the last hand to this glorious image, added to it its ultimate accomplishments. Now, a conformity to Christ, even in the resurrection from the dead, in his glorious state, is fully attained. That prize of the high calling of God is now won. And the humble sense of not having attained as yet, and of not being already perfect (in which humility, the foundation of the temple of God in a saint is laid, and the building raised) is turned into joyful acclamations, "Grace, grace!" for the laying on of the topstone, the finishing of this glorious work. And when this temple is filled with the glory of the Lord, the soul itself replenished with the divine fulness, will not its joys be full too? For here is no sacrifice to be offered but that of praise, and joy is the proper seasoning for that sacrifice.

*Purum est quod est plenum sui, et quod minimum habet alieni: that is pure which possesses a self-fulness, and which has the least of what is foreign to itself.

Now, the new creature hath arrived to the measure of the stature of a perfect man in Christ Jesus. The first formation of this spiritual, as well as of the natural man, was hidden and secret; it was curiously wrought, and in a way no more liable to observation, than that of framing the child in the womb; as that is as hidden as the concoction of minerals, or precious stones, in the lower parts of the earth. No secrets of nature can outvie the mysteries of godliness. Its growth is also by very insensible degrees, as it is with the products of nature; but its arrival to perfection is infinitely more strange, than any thing in nature ever was. How sudden and wonderful is the change; when, in the twinkling of an eye, the blessed soul instantly awakes out of drowsy languishings, and miserable weakness, into perfect strength and vigor! As a man is, so is his strength; and as his strength is, so is his joy and pleasure. The sun is said to go forth as a strong man, rejoicing to run his race. Psal. 19. 5. When a man goes, in the fullness of his strength, upon any enterprize; how do his blood and spirits triumph beforehand! no motion of hand, or foot, is without a sensible delight. The strength of a man's spirit is, unspeakably, more than that of the outward man; its faculties and powers more refined and raised : and hence are rational or intellectual exercises and operations, much more delightful than corporal ones can be. But (still, as the man is, so is his strength) it is an incomparably greater strength that attends the heaven-born man. This man born of God, begotten of God, after his own likeness; this hero this Son of God, was born to conflicts, to victories to triumphs. While he is yet but in his growing age, he overcomes the world (as Hercules the serpents in his cradle ;) overcomes the wicked one, and is at last more than conqueror. A mighty power attends godliness; "a spirit of power, and of a sound mind;" but how much this divine creature grows, so much the more like God: and, being perfect, conflicts cease; he had overcome and won the crown before. And now all his strength runs out into acts of pleasure. Now when he shall go forth in his might to love God, (as we are required to love him now with all our might) and every act of praise shall be an act of power, done with a fulness of strength (as it is said their praises, at the bringing home of the ark, were with all their might) O! what will the pleasure be that shall accompany this state of perfection! Perfect power, and perfect pleasure are here met, and shall for ever dwell together, and be always commensurate to one another. They are so, here, in their imperfect state: our feeble, spiritless duties, weak, dead prayers: they have no more sweetness than strength, no more pleasure than power in them. Therefore we are listless, and have no mind to duties, as we find we are more frequently destitute of a spiritual liveliness and vigor therein. When a spirit of might and power goes on with us in the wont

ed course of our converses with God, we then forecast opportunities, and gladly welcome the season, when it extraordinarily occurs, of drawing nigh to him. It cannot be thought, that the connexion and proportion between these should fail in glory; or that, when every thing else is perfect, the blessed soul itself made perfect, even as God himself is perfect, in this bearing his likeness, should be unlike him in bliss; or its satisfaction be imperfect.

CHAPTER VIII.

The satisfaction carried in the glory of God impressed, having been considered in the preceding chapters generally, it is now [2] shown by instances; certain particulars of this impression instanced in a dependent frame of spirit, subjection or self-devoting; love, purity, liberty, tranquillity.

But besides the general consideration of this likeness, we shall instance,

[2.] In some of the particular excellencies comprehended in it, wherein the blessed shall imitate and resemble God; whence we may further estimate the pleasure and satisfaction, that being like God will afford. Only here let it be remembered, that as we all along in this discourse, speak of likeness to God in respect of moral excellencies; so by likeness to him, in respect of these, we understand, not only a participation of those which are communicable; but a correspondent impress also, as to those that are incommunicable; as hath been more distinctly opened in the propositions concerning this likeness. Which being premised, I shall give instances of both kinds, to discover somewhat of the inexpressible pleasure of being thus conformed to God. And here, pretermitting the impress of knowledge of which we have spoken under the former head of vision; we shall instance,

First. In a dependent frame of spirit: which is the proper impress of the divine all-sufficiency, and self-fulness, duly apprehended by the blessed soul. It is not easy to conceive a higher pleasure, than this, compatible to a creature,-the pleasure of dependence; yea, this is a higher than we can conceive. Dependence (which speaks the creature's xers or habitude to its principle, as the subserviency which imports its habitude to its end) is twofold:-Natural: which is common and essential to all creatures; even when no such thing is thought on, or considered by them. The creatures live, move, and have their beings in God, whether they think of it or no.-Voluntary, or rational: which is

de facto, peculiar; and de jure, common, to reasonable creatures as such. A dependence that is, ex gougedéws, elective; and, with a foregoing reason, (which I understand by elective, not a liberty of doing, or not doing it) and concomitant consideration of what we do, and animadversion of our own act: when knowingly and willingly, understanding ourselves in what we do, we go out of ourselves, and live in God. This is the dependance of which I speak. And it cannot but be attended with transcendent pleasure in that other state, when that knowledge and animadversion shall be clear and perfect: both, as this dependance imports,-A nullifying of self: and magnifying (I may call it omnifying) of God, a making him all in all. As it imports (which it doth most evidently) a self-annihilation, a pure nullifying of self, it is a continual recognition of my own nothingness, a momently, iterated confession, that my whole being is nothing, but a mere puff of precarious breath, a bubble raised from nothing by the arbitrary fiat of the great Creator; reducible, had he so pleased, any moment, to nothing again. These are true and just acknowledgments, and to a well tempered soul infinitely pleasant, when the state of the case is thoroughly understood (as now it is) and it hath the apprehension clear; how the creation is sustained, how, and upon what terms its own being, life and blessedness are continued to it; that it is, every moment, determinable upon the constancy of the Creator's will, that it is not simply nothing. It is not possible, that any thing should hinder this consideration from being eternally delightful; but diabolical uncreaturely pride, that is long since banished heaven, and that banished its very subjects thence also. Nothing can suit that temper, but to be a God; to be wholly independent; to be its own sufficiency. The thoughts of living at the will and pleasure of another, are grating; but they are only grating to a proud heart, which, here, hath no place. A soul naturalized to humiliations, accumstomed to postrations, and selfabasements, trained up in acts of mortification, and that was brought to glory, through a continued course and series of selfdenial; that ever since it first came to know itself, was wont to depend for every moment's breath, for every glimpse of light, for every fresh influence (I live, yet not I-Gal. 2. 20.) with what pleasure doth it, now, as it were vanish before the Lord! what delight doth it take to diminish itself, and as it were disappear; to contract and shrivel up itself, to shrink even into a point, into a nothing, in the presence of the divine glory; that it may be all in all! Things are now pleasant (to the soul, in its right mind) as they are suitable; as they carry a comeliness and congruity in them and nothing, now appears more becoming, than such a self-annihilation. The distances of Creator and creature, of infinite and finite, of a necessary and arbitrary being, of self-originated and a derived being, of what was from ever

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