Two Principles hath acted this divine Apoftle, the exceeding Love of his Mafter, for he loved much, as he was much beloved; and this carries him on all Occafions to give fo hearty a Teftimony to him, as you fee, Job. xxi. 24. he characterizeth himself, or circumfcribes his own Name thus; This is the Difciple that teftifieth thefe Things, and wrote thefe Things, and we know bis Teftimony is true. Where that divine Love, which is but the Refult and Overflowing of the Love Christ carries to us, fills the Heart: This makes the sweetest Vent, and moft fragrant Opening of the Mouth, whether in Difcourfe, or in Prayer, or Preaching than can be. O how it perfumes all the Commendation of Chrift; Peter, loveft thou me? Feed my Sheep. These have a natural Connexion together, the Love of Chrift in the Heart, and the affectionate hearty férious Declaration of him to others. And then, another Principle hath moved him, the Love of others Salvation. Thefe Things I declare, that ye may bave Fellowship with us; find ing in his own Experience how happy he was, what a Peart he had found, how rate a Jewel, eternal Life, he cannot hide it, but proclaims it. His next With is, now face I am thus bleffed, O'that all the World knew, and would come and share with me; I fee that unexhaufted Fountain of Life, that unemptiable Sea of Goodness, that infinite Fulness of Grace in Jefus Chrift, that I, and you, and alt that will, may come and be fatisfied, and nothing diminished. There is that im menfe Fulness in fpiritual Things, that Superabundance, and infinite Excefs over our Neceffities, that they may be enjoyed by many, by all, without Envy or Dif content, without Prejudice to one anothers Fulnefs, which the Scantnefs and Meannefs of created Things cannot admit. I believe, if Minifters or Chriftians did tafte of this, and had Access into it to fee it, and bless themselves in it; if they might enter into this Treasury, or converfe into this Company, they would henceforth carry themselves as those who pity the World, and compaffionate Mankind. A Man that were acquainted with this that is in Chrift, would not find his Heart eafily ftirred up to Envy, or provocked upon others Profperity or Exal-. tation, but rather he would be conftrained to commiferate all others, that they will not know nor confider wherein their own true Tranquility and abfolute Satiffaction confifts. He that is lifted up to this bleffed Society, to converse with God, were it not for the Compaffion and Mercy he owes to miferable Mankind, he might laugh at the Folies and Vanities of the World, as we do at Children. But as the pinar@gama, the affectionate kind Love our Saviour carried to human Nature, made him often groan and figh for his Adverfaries, and weep over Je rufalem, albeit his own Joy was full, without Ebb: So in fome Measure a Chriftian learns of Chrift to be a Lover and Pitier of Mankind, and then to be moved with Compaffion towards others, when we have fülleft Joy and Satisfaction our felves. O that we might be perfuaded to feek after thefe Things which may be gotten and kept without Clamour and Contention, about which there needs be no Strife nor Envy. O feek that Happinefs in Fellowship with God, which, having attained, you lack nothing but that others may be as happy. Thefe Things I declare, that ye may bave Fellowship with us. Oh! that Minifters of the Gospel might say fo, and might from their own Experience invite Ссс others fuch glorious Inftruments of the Renova- others to partake with them, as Paul Moreover, this may be reprefented to. you, that ye are invited to the very Communion with the Apoftles, the loweft and meanest amongst you hath this high Dignity in your Offer, to be Fellow-citizens with the Saints, with the eminent Pillars of the Church, the Apostles. It might be thought by the most Part of Chriftians, who are more obfcure, ittle known, and almost despised in the World, that they might not have so near Accefs into the Court of this great King: Some would think these who continued with him in his Temptations, who wait ed on his own Perfon, and were made Privilege and Comfort, the Head equally Now, my Beloved, what can be more Would 1 Would you think your felves well, if it were poffible, to be in as near Relation and Communion with Chrift as his Mother and Brethren? Truly, that is not only poffible, but it is holdes out to you, and you are requested to embrace the Of fer, and come and share with them. He that beareth my Words and doth them, the fame is my Mother, and Sifter, and Brother: You shall be as dear to him as his dearest Relations, if you believe in him, and receive his Sayings in your Heart. Do not then entertain jealous and fufpicious Thoughts, because you are not like Apoftles or fuch holy Men as are recorded in Scripture? If you forfake not your own Mercy, you may have Fellow fhip with them in that which they account their chiefeft Happiness. There is no Difference of Quality or Condition, no Distance of other Things, can hinder your Communion with them. There are feveral Sizes and Growths of Chriftians, both in Light and Grace, fome have ex traordinary Raptures and Extafies of Joy and Sweetnefs; others attain not to that, but are rather kept in Attendance and Waiting on God in his Ways; but all of them have one common Salvation; as the highest have fome Fellowship with the loweft in his Infirmities; fo the lowest hath Fellowship with the highest in his Privileges. Such is the infinite Goodness of God, that which is abfolutely necessa ry, and most important either to Soul or Body, is made more univerfal, both in Nature and Grace, as the common Light of the Sun to all, and the Sun of Righteoufnefs too, in an impartial Way, fhining on all them that come to him. Now herein confifts Mans Happiness too, for the Soul being inlarged in its Capacity and Appetite, far beyond all visible Things, it is never fully fatiated, or put to Reft and Quiet, till it be poffeffed with the chiefeft and moft univerfal Good, that is, God; and then all the Motions of Defires ceafe, then the Soul refts from its Labours, then there is a Peace and eternal Reft proclaimed in the DeGres of the Soul, Return unto thy Reft, my Soul, for the Lord bath dealt boun tifully with me, Pfal. cxv. 7. O! what a poor fhort Requiem do Men fing to their own Hearts from other Enjoyments? Oftentimes Mens Hearts, whe ther dreaming or waking, fpeak in this Manner, Soul take tby Reft; but how ill grounded is that Peace, and how falfe a Reft, daily Experience in part witnesseth, and the laft Day will fully declare? But, it, and you cannot but conceive that this is both the Honour and Happiness of Man. It is Honour and Dignity, I fay, because the Nature of that confifts in the Applaufe and Efti mation of thofe that are worthy, teftified one Way or another, and the highest Degrees of it rife according to the Degree or Dignity of the Perfons that e fteem us, or give us their Fellowship and Favour. Now truly, according to this Rule the Honour is incomparable, and the Credit rifeth infinitely above all the airy and fancied Dignities of Men; for the Footftool to be elevated up to the Throne, for, the poor contemptible Creature to be lifted up to the Society and Friendship of the moft high and glorious God, the only Fountain of all the Hierarchies of Heaven, or Degrees upon Earth: So much as the Distance is between God and us, fo much proportionally muft the Dignity rife, to be advanced out of this low Eftate to Fel-O! how much better and wifer were it lowship with God. The Distance between Creatures is not obfervable in regard of this, and yet poor Worms fwell, if either they be lifted up a little above others, or advanced to Familiarity with thefe that are above them. But what is it to pride our felves in thefe Things? When we are altogether, higher and lower, at one View, as Grasshoppers in his Sight; therefore Man being in Honour, and understanding not wherein his true Honour and Dignity confifts, he affociates himself to Beats; only the Soul, that is afpiring to this Communion with God, is extracted out of the Dregs of beaftly Mankind, and is elevated above Man kind, and affociated to bleffed Apoftles, and holy Angels, and Spirits made perfect: And that were but little, though it be a Honour above Regal or Imperial Dignities; but it is infinitely heightned by this, that their Affociation is with God, the effed and boly Trinity. for you to feek the Favour and Light of his Countenance upon you, and to be united to him who is the Fountain of Life, fo ye might truly, without Hazard of of fuch a fad Reprehenfion as that Fool got, or grievous Difappointment, say, Soul take thy Reft in God. Man was advanced to this Dignity and Happinefs, but he kept not his Station, for that great Dragon falling down from that Pinacle of Honour he had in Heaven, drew down with him the third Part of the Stars of Heaven, and caft them to the Earth: And thus, Man who was in Honour, is now affociated with, and made like to Beafts or Devils; he is a Stranger to God from the Womb, all the Imaginations of his Heart tend to Dif tance from God, he is exiled and banithed from God's Prefence, the Type where whereof was his being driven out of the Garden; and yet he is not long out, nor far away, when the infinite Love of God, moves a Embaffage to fend after him and to recall him; many Meffengers are fent before-hand to prepare the Way, and to difpofe Mens Hearts to Peace; many Prophesies were, and Fore-intimations of that great Embaffage of Love, which at length appeared; for God fent bis Son, bis own Son, to take away the Difference, and make up the Distance. And this is the Thing that is declared unto us by thefe Eye and Ear-witneffes, to this End that we may know how to return to that blessed Society which we had forfaken, to our own eternal Prejudice. Is Man banished out of the Paradife of God into the accurfed Earth? Then the Son is fent out from his own Palace and the Paradife above, to come into this World, and to fave the World. Is there fuch a Gulf between us and Heaven? Chrift hath put his own Body between, to fill it up. Do the Cherubims watch with flaming Fire to keep us from Life? Then the Son hath shed his own Blood in Abun dance, to quench that Fire, and fo to pacify and compofe all in Heaven and Earth. Is there such Odds and Enmity between the Families of Heaven and Earth? He sent his Son the chief Heir, and married him with our Nature, and in that eternal Marriage of our Nature with him, he hath buried in everlafting Oblivion all the Difference, and opened a Way for a nearer and dearer Friendship with God than was before. And whence was it, I pray you, that God dwelt among Men? frt in a Tabernacle, then in a fixed Temple, even among the rebellious Sons of Men; and that fo many were admitted and advanced again to Communion with God, Abrabam had the Honour to be the Friend of God, (O incomparable Title comprehending more than King or Emperor) Was it not all from this, the anticipating Vertue of that uniting and peace-making Sacrifice? It was for his Sake who was to come, and in his Flesh to lay a fure Foundation for eternal Peace and Friendship between God and Man. Now you see the Ground of our Reftitution to that primitive Fellowship with God, my earnest Defire, is that ye would lay Hold on this Opportunity. Is fuch an high Thing in your Offer? Yea, are you earneftly invited to it by the Father and the Son? Then fure it might at the first hearing beget fome inward Defire, and kindle up fome holy Ambition after fuch a Hap pinefs. Before we know further what is in it, (for the very first Sound of it im-ports fome special and incomparable Privilege) might not our Hearts be inflamed, and ought we not to enquire at our own Hearts, and speak thus unto them, Have: I lived fo long a Stranger to God the Fountain of my Life? Am I so far be witched with the deceitful Vanities of the World, as not to think it incomparably better, to rise up above all created Things, to communicate with the Father and the Son? And fhall I go hence without God! and without Chrift, when Fellowship with them is daily, freely, and plentifully holden forth? I beseech you confider where it must begin, and what must be laid down for the Foundationof this Com.. munion, even your Union with Jefus Chrift the Mediator between God and Man; and you cannot be one with him,, but by forfaking your felves, and believing in him; and thence flows that con ftant Abode and Dwelling in him, which is the mutual Intertainment of Chrift and! a Soul, after their Meeting together. Can |