mounting, and carrying with you all that is in your Way; then you may indeed be lefs careful of your Company; but till then, as you love the Delights of a heavenly Life, be careful herein. What will it advantage thee in a divine Life, to hear how the Market goes, or what the Weather is, or is like to be, or what News is ftirring? This is the Difcourse of earthly Men. What will it conduce to the raising thy Heart God-ward, to hear that this is an able Minifter, or that an eminent Chriftian, or this an excellent Sermon, or that an excellent Book, or to hear fome difficult but unimportant Controversy? Yet this, for the moft Part, is the sweetest Difcourfe thou art like to have from a formal, fpeculative, deadhearted Profeffor. Nay, if thou hadst newly been warming thy Heart in the Contemplation of the bleffed Joys above, would not this Difcourfe benumb thy Affections, and quickly freeze thy Heart again? I appeal to the Judgment of any Man that hath tried it, and maketh Obfervations on the Frame of hist Spirit. Men cannot well talk of one Thing, and mind another, especially Things of fuch different Natures. You, young Men, who are moft liable to this Temptation, think feriously of what I fay; can you have your Hearts in Heaven, among your roar ing Companions in an Alehoufe, or Tavern? Or when you work in your Shops with thofe, whose common Language is Oaths, Filthiness, or foolish Talking, or fefling? Nay, let me tell you, if you chufe fuch Company when you might have better, and find moft Delight in fuch, you are fo far from a heavenly Converfation, that as yet you have no Title to Heaven at all, and in that State fhall never come there. If your Treafure was there, your Heart could not be on Things fo diftant. In a Word, our Company will be Part of our Happiness in Heaven, and M 4: it it is a fingular Part of our Furtherance to it, or Hinderance from it. $5. (4) Avoid frequent Difputes about leffer Truths, and a Religion that lies only in Opinions. They are ufually leaft acquainted with a heavenly Life, who are violent Difputers about the Circumftantials of Religion. He, whofe Religion is all in his Opinions, will be moft frequently and zealously speaking his Opinions; and he, whofe Religion lies in the Knowledge and Love of God and Chrift, will be most delightfully fpeaking of that happy Time when he fhall enjoy them. He is a rare and precious Chriftian, who is fkilful to improve well-known Truths. Therefore let me advife you who afpire after a heavenly Life, not to spend too much of your Thoughts, your Time, your Zeal, or your Speech, upon Difputes that lefs concern your Souls; but when Hypocrites are feeding on Hufks, or Shells, do you feed on the Joys above. I wish you were able to defend every Truth of God, and to this End would read and study; but ftill I would have the chief Truths to be chiefly ftudied, and none to caft out your Thoughts of Eternity. The leaft controverted Points are ufually moft weighty, and of moft neceffary frequent Ufe to our Souls. Therefore ftudy well fuch ScripturePrecepts as these, him that is weak in the Faith receive ye, but not to doubtful Difputations (d). Foolish and unlearned Questions avoid, knowing that they do gender Strifes. And the Servant of the Lord must not Arive (e). Avoid foolish Questions, and Genealogies, and Contentions, and Strivings about the Law; for they are unprofitable and vain (f). If any Man teach otherwife, and confent not to wholesome Words, even the Words of our Lord Jefus Chrift, and to the Doctrine which is according to Godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, (d) Rom. xiv. I. (e) a Tim, ii, 23, 24. (f) Tit. iii. 9. but but doting about Questions and Strifes of IVords, whereof cometh Envy, Strife, Railings, evil Surmifings, perverfe Difputings of Men of corrupt Minds, and deftitute of the Truth, fuppofing that Gain is Godliness; from fuch withdraw thyself (g). §6. (5) Take Heed of a proud and lofty Spirit. There is fuch an Antipathy between this Sin and God, that thou wilt never get thy Heart near him, nor get him near thy Heart, as long as this prevaileth in it. If it caft the Angels out of Heaven, it must needs keep thy Heart from Heaven. If it caft our firft Parents out of Paradife, and separated between the Lord and us, and brought his Curfe on all the Creatures here below; it will certainly keep our Hearts from Paradife, and increase the curfed Separation from our God. Intercourfe with God will keep Men low, and that Lowlinefs will promote their Intercourfe. When a Man is ufed to be much with. God, and taken up in the Study of his glorious Attributes, he abhors himself in Duft and Afbes; and that Self-Abhorrence is his best Preparative to obtain Admittance to God again. Therefore after a Soulhumbling Day, or in Times of Trouble, when the Soul is loweft, it ufeth to have freeft Accefs to God, and favour most of the Life above. The Delight of God is in him that is poor, and of a contrite Spirit, and trembleth at his Word(h); and the Delight of fuch a Soul is in God; and where there is mutual Delight,, there will be freeft Admittance, heartieft Welcome, and moft frequent Converfe. But God is fo far from dwelling in the Soul that is proud, that He will not admit it to any near Accefs; the Proud He knoweth afar off (i); God refifleth the Proud, and giveth Grace to the Humble (k). A. proud. Mind is high in ConM 5 ceit,. (g) 1 Tim. vi. 3--5. (h) Ifai. Ixvi. 2. ceit, Self-Efteem, and carnal Afpiring; a humble Mind is high indeed in God's Efteem, and in holy Afpiring. Thefe two Sorts of High-mindednefs are moft of all oppofite to each other, as we fee moft Wars are between Princes and Princes, and not between a Prince and a Plowman. Well then, art thou a Man of Worth in thy own Eyes? Art thou delighted when thou heareft of thy Efteem with Men, and much dejected when thou hearest that they flight thee? Doft thou love those best that honour thee, and think meanly of them that do not, though they be otherwife Men of Godlinefs and Honefty? Muft thou have thy Humours fulfilled, and thy Judgment be a Rule, and thy Word a Law to all about thee? Are thy Paffions kindled, if thy Word or Will be croffed? Art thou ready to judge Humility to be fordid Bafenefs, and knoweft not how to fubmit to humble Confeffion, when thou haft finned against God, or injured thy Brother? Art thou one that lookeft ftrange at the godly Poor, and art almost afhamed to be their Companion? Canft thou not ferve God in a low Place, as well as a high? Are thy Boaftings reftrained more by Prudence or Artifice than Humility? Doft thou defire to have all Men's Eyes upon thee, and to hear them fay, This is he? Art thou unacquainted with the Deceitfulness and Wickedness of thy Heart? Art thou more ready to defend thy Innocence, than accufe thyfelf, or confefs. thy Fault? Canft thou hardly bear a clofe Reproof, or digeft plain Dealing? If thefe Symptoms be unde ably in thy Heart, thou art a proud Perfon. There is too much of Hell abiding in thee, to have any Ac quaintance with Heaven; thy Soul is too like the Devil, to have any Familiarity with God. A proud Man makes himself his God, and fets up himself as his Idol; how then can his Affections be fet on God? How How can he poffibly have his Heart in Heaven? Invention and Memory may poffibly furnish his Tongue with humble and heavenly Expreffions, but in his Spirit there is no more Heaven than there is Humility. I speak the more of it, because it is the most common and dangerous Sin in Morality, and moft promotes the great Sin of Infidelity. O Chriftian! if thou wouldft live continually in the Prefence of thy Lord, lie in the Duft, and He will thence take thee up. Learn of Him to be meek and lowly, and thou shalt find Reft unto thy Soul (1). Otherwife thy Soul will be like the troubled Sea, when it cannot reft, whofe Waters caft up Mire and Dirt (m); and instead of these sweet Delights in God, thy Pride will fill thee with perpetual Difquiet. As he that humbleth himself as a little Child, thall hereafter be greateft in the Kingdom of Heaver (n); fo fhall he now be greateft in the Foretaftes of that Kingdom. God dwells with a contrite and humble Spirit, to revive the Spirit of the humble, and to revive the Heart of the contrite ones (o). Therefore humble yourselves in the Sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up (p). And when others are caft down, then thou shalt jay, there is lifting up, and He fhall fave the humble Perfon (q). § 7. (6) A slothful Spirit is another Impediment to this heavenly Life. And I verily think, there is nothing hinders it more than this in Men of a good Understanding. If it were only the Exercife of the Body, the moving of the Lips, the bending of the Knce; Men would as commonly ftep to Heaven, as they go to vifit a Friend. But to feparate our Thoughts and Affections from the World, to draw forth all our Graces, and increafe each in its proper Object, and hold them to it till the Work profpers in our Hands; M 6 this, (1) Matt. xi. 29. (0) If, lvii, 45. (m) If. lvii. 20. (n) Matt. xviii. 4. |