them above themselves. Certainly God would not fail us in our Duties, if we did not fail ourselves. Remember, therefore, always to pray for your Minifter, that God would put fome divine Meffage into his Mouth, which may leave a heavenly Relish on your Spirit.

$ 16. (6) Improve every Object, and every Event, to mind thy Soul of its approaching Reft. As all Providences and Creatures are Means to our Rest, so they point us to that, as their End. God's sweetest Dealings with us at the prefent, would not be half fo fweet as they are, if they did not intimate fome further Sweetness. Thou takeft but the bare Earneft, and overlookeft the main Sum, when thou receiveft thy Mercies, and forgetteft thy Crown. O that Christians were skilful in this Art! You can open your Bibles; learn to open the Volumes of Creatures and Providences, to read there also of God and Glory. Thus we might have a fuller Tafte of Chrift and Heaven in every common Meal, than moft Men have in a Sacrament. If thou profper in the World, let it make thee more fenfible of thy perpetual Profperity. If thou art weary with Labour, let it make the Thoughts of thy eternal Reft more sweet. If Things go crofs, let thy Defires be more earnest to have Sorrows and Sufferings for ever cease. Is thy Body refreshed with Food, or Sleep? remember the unconceivable Refreshment with Chrift. Doft thou hear any good News? remember what glad Tidings it will be to hear the Trump of God, and the applauding Sentence of Chrift. Art thou delighted with the Society of the Saints? remember what the perfect Society in Heaven will be. Is God communicating Himself to thy Spirit? remember the Time of thy higheft Advancement, when both thy Communion and Joy fhall be full. Doft thou hear the raging

Noife

Noife of the Wicked, and the Confufions of the World? think of the bleffed Harmony in Heaven. Doft thou hear the Tempeft of War? remember the Day, when thou shalt be in perfect Peace, under the Wings of the Prince of Peace for ever Thus

every Condition, and Creature, affords us Advantages for a heavenly Life, if we had but Hearts to improve them.

§17. (7) Be much in the angelical Work of Praife. The more heavenly the Employment, the more will it make the Spirit heavenly. Praifing God is the Work of Angels and Saints in Heaven, and will be our own everlafting Work; and if we were more in it now, we should be liker to what we fhall be then. As Defire, Faith, and Hope, are of fhorter Continuance than Love and Joy; fo alfo Preaching, Prayer, and Sacraments, and all Means for expreffing and confirming our Faith and Hope, fhall ceafe, when our triumphant Expreffions of Love and Joy fhall abide for ever. The livelieft Emblem of Heaven that I know upon Earth, is, when the People of God, in the deep Senfe of his Excellency and Bounty, from Hearts abounding with Love and Joy, join together both in Heart and Voice, in the chearful and melodious finging of his Praifes. Thefe Delights, like the Teftimony of the Spirit, witness themfelves to be of God, and bring the Evidence of their heavenly Parentage along with them.

§ 18. LITTLE do we know how we wrong ourfelves, by fhutting out of our Prayers the Praises of God, or allowing them fo narrow a Room as we ufually do, while we are copious enough in our Confeffions and Petitions. Reader, I intreat thee, rcmember this; let Praifes have a larger Room in thy Duties; keep Matter ready at Hand to feed thy Praife, as well as Matter for Confeffion and Petition.

To

To this End, ftudy the Excellencies and Goodness of the Lord, as frequently as thy own Wants and Unworthiness; the Mercies thou haft received, and thofe which are promifed, as often as the Sins thou haft committed. Praife is comely for the Upright. Whofo offereth Praife, glorifieth God. Praife ye the Lord, for the Lord is good; fing Praifes unto his Name, for it is pleafant (c). Let us offer the Sacrifice of Praife to God continually, that is, the Fruit of our Lips, giving Thanks to his Name (d). Had not David a moft heavenly Spirit, who was fo much in this heavenly Work? Doth it not fometimes raife our Hearts, when we only read the Song of Mofes, and the Pfalms of David? How much more would it raise and refresh us, to be fkilful and frequent in the Work ourselves? O the Madness of Youth, that lay out their Vigour of Body and Mind upon vain Delights and fleshly Lufts, which is fo fit for the nobleft Work of Man! And Othe finful Folly of many of the Saints, who drench their Spirits in continual Sadnefs, and wafte their Days in Complaints and Groans, and fo make themfelves, both in Bady and Mind, unfit for this sweet and heavenly Work! Inftead of joining with the People of God in his Praises, they are queftioning their Worthiness, and ftudying their Miferies; and fo rob God of his Glory, and themfelves of their Confola

But the greatest Destroyer of our Comfort in this Duty, is our taking up with the Tune and Melody, and fuffering the Heart to be idle, which ought to perform the principal Part of the Work, and use the Melody to revive and exhilarate itself.

$19. (8) Ever keep thy Soul peffeffed with believing Thoughts of the infinite Love of God. Love is the Attractive of Love. Few fo vile, but will love those that love them. No Doubt it is the Death of our

heavenly

(c) Pf. xxxiii, 1. 1. 23. CXXXV. 3. (d) Heb. xiii. 15.

the Wickedithatha

heavenly Life, to have hard Thoughts of God, to conceive of Him as one that would rather damn, than fave us. This is to put the bleffed God into the Similitude of Satan. When our Ignorance and Unbelief have drawn the most deformed Picture of God in our Imaginations, then we complain, that we can. not love Him, nor delight in Him. This is the Cafe of many thousand Chriftians. Alas, that we fhould thus blafpheme God, and blaft our own Joys! Scripture affures us, that God is Love (e); that Fury is not in Him(f); that He hath no Pleasure in the Death of that the Wicked turn from bis Way and live (g). Much more hath He teftified his Love to his Chofen, and his full Refolution effectually to fave them. O that we could always think of God, as we do of a Friend; as of one that unfeignedly loves us, even more than we do ourselves; whofe very Heart is fet upon us to do us Good, and hath therefore provided for us an everlafting Dwelling with Himself; it would not then be fo hard to have our Hearts ever with Him! Where we love most heartily, we fhall think moft sweetly, and moft freely." I fear moft Chriftians think higher of the Love of a hearty Friend, than of the Love of God; and what Wonder then if they love their Friends better than God, and truft them more confidently than God, and had rather live with them than with God?

$20. (9) Carefully obferve and cherish the Motions of the Spirit of God. If ever thy Soul get above this Earth, and get acquainted with this heavenly Life, the Spirit of God must be to thee, as the Chariot to Elijah; yea, the very living Principle by which thou muft move and afcend. O then, grieve not thy Guide, quench not thy Life, knock not off thy Chariot-Wheels! You little think how much the Life N

(e) John iv, 16.

(f) Ifai. xxvii. 4. (g) Ezok, xxxiii. II.

of

of all your Graces, and the Happiness of your Souls, depend upon your ready and cordial Obedience to the Spirit. When the Spirit urges thee to fecret Prayer; or forbids thee thy known Tranfgreffions; or points out to thee the Way in which thou shouldft go; and thou wilt not regard, no Wonder if Heaven and thy Soul be ftrange. If thou wilt not follow the Spirit, while it would draw thee to Chrift and thy Duty; how fhould it lead thee to Heaven, and bring thy Heart into the Prefence of God? What fupernatural Help, what bold Accefs, fhall the Soul find in its Approaches to the Almighty, that conftantly obeys the Spirit? And how backward, how dull, how afhamed, will he be in thefe Addreffes, who hath often broke away from the Spirit that would have guided him? Chriftian Reader, doft thou not feel fometimes a strong Impreffion to retire from the World, and draw near to God? Do not difobey, but take the Offer, and hoift up thy Sails while this bleffed Gale may be had. The more of this Spirit we refift, the deeper will it wound; and the more we obey, the fpeedier will be our Pace.

21. (10) I advise thee, as a farther Help to this heavenly Life, not to neglect the due Care of thy bodily Health. Thy Body is an ufeful Servant, if thou give it its Due, and no more than its Due; but it is a moft devouring Tyrant, if thou fuffer it to have what it unreasonably defires; and it is as a blunted Knife, if thou unjuftiy deny it what is neceflary to its Support. When we confider, how frequently Men offend on both Extremes, and how few ufe their Bodies aright, we cannot wonder if they be much hindered in their Converse with Heaven. Molt Men are Slaves to their Appetite, and can fearce deny any Thing to the Flefh, and are therefore willingly carried by it to their Sports, or Profits, or vain Com

panions,