Dir~Hwns- ro·flir up the Lo)Je of God. "my foul ; my wandering, tired, grieved fold : Love where thy love 01all not be l~n: Love him that "will not reject thee, nor deceive thee; hor requae thee as the world doth wtth IOJunes and abufe : "Defpairnor of enterrainmenr, though the world deny ir thee. The peaceable region is above. In "the world thou mufi have trouble, that in Chrifi thou maifi have peace. Retire to the harbour if "thou wouldfi be free from fiormr. God will receive thee, when the world cloth caft thee off, ifthou "heartily call off the world for him. 0 what a folace is ir to rhe fOul , to be driven clearly "from the world to God, and there to be exercifcd in that facred Love, which will accompany us "to the world of Love.] ~· 25· Dired-..8. La.bmtr for the trucjf and (uUeft crmcep_tionl of ~be Goodm(j and txceUwc~e.r ?f God, which are hH Amzablenrfi; ami abhor aU mifrrprt{entatroni of btm as tmlovcly. That wh1ch IS apprehended as U1llovely cannot be loved: And that which is apprehendtd as eviL is apprehended as unlovely. Therefore it is the grand defign of Satan to hide God1 Goodneji) and mifreprefim him as evil: Not to deny him to be Good in himfelf ( for in that he hath no hope to be bdieved ) ; but to . perfwade men that he is not Good to them, ot to make them forget or overlook._ his goodneJi. Not to . perfwade them that God is Evil in him[elf; but that he is .evil to them) by reHraining them from their d Or:tt?r, 1~ beloved tins, and hating them as finners, and rcfolving to dam~ the~n if_ they go on. irnpenite~tly. ~~~sdri~;~~n: This Which is part of the Goodmjl of God, he maketh them believe IS tvzl, by engagmg them m a Dcumqu:~m way and interdl, which he knoweth_that God is engaged again~) ~nd _cntifing them under the firokes te.ipl_um & of his Jufiice; And he tempteth beltevers themfelves to poor dtmmuCive unwonhy thoughts ·of the :th~ · ~ li hoc Goodnefs and Mercifuln~fs of God, an~ to c~ntinual apprehe.ntions o~ his wrath and terror_s : ~nd ~c;1~jd~~~~: ~ if he can make them believe that God 1S rhcu memy, and thtnk of htm only as a con(ummg fire, de cha·ime how little arc they like to Love him ? If Chriftians knew how much of the Devils malice againfi & f~net:we God and them, dot? exercife ~t felf in thi~, to make. God appear to ~an unlovely, they would more b~:~~:bir~~ ftudioully watch agamfi fuch mtfreprefentatmns, and fly from them Wtth greater hatred. Not that ~a;'nicus we rnufi firfi by the advice of arrogant Reafon and felf-love, as fame do, draw a falfe defcription wus mora:i.. of Goodnefs and Amiablenefs in our minds, and make that the mcafurc of our judgement of God, on::-– his nature, attributes and decrees ; nor take his Goodneji to be only his fieitablemfi to our opi1Zionr, 0 Orator! wiUs and intereji : But we mufi ~ake out .from the word and works of God ~hat true defcri~tion of ~;:l;~~c0;1~-his Goodnefs which he hath gtven of lumfelf, and expunge out of our conceiCs whatfoever IS con- minis, jufliti ..- trary to it. Think of Gods GoOdneJi in proportion wirh his other attributes. [ 0 my foul , how am Dei te- · unequally haft thou thought of God? ''Thou eafily believcfi that his Power is Omnipotence, and d~1:1 tenc.1s , ''that his Knawledge is Omnifcience; but of his Goodmfi how narrow and poor arc thy conceivings? n1hgendo i '' As if it were mrhing to his Power and Knowledge. How oft hal\ thou been amazed in the confide- 0~~c~d~~1~ui~ "ration of his Greatnefi, and how feldom affected wich the apprchenfions of his Goodnefs? Thou li lie, mifcr 1 • "gratifiefi him that would have thee believe and tremble as he doth himfelf, and not him that would cordia Dei "'have thee, Believe and Love. How oft haft thou fuffered the malicious enemy, to accufe God to nonpol.lerefl<:: '' thee, and make thee belie~e that he is a hater of man, an~ hateful eo man, or a hater of thee, that ~~~a.~~~j~iu~o <' he might make thee hate h1m? How oft hall thou fi1ffcred hnn, to draw in thy thoughts afalfc re- eliet ; & tuus " prefentation of thy dearefi Lord, and fhew him to thee as in that unlovely !hape ? How oft have habiru~ efltt "'thy conceptions difhonoured and blafpheamed his Love and Goodnefs, while thou hall feemed to ~rude!Js & ~ '' magnifie his Knowledge and his Power? Think of him now as Love ~t[tlf: as fuller of Goodnefs, than t~e &~han;a" rhe fea ofwater, or the fun of Light. Love freely and boldly, without the flops of fufpicions and & f~~~"f~;~: "fears , where thou art fure thou canfi never love enough; and if all the love of men and Angels re!n odire "were united in one flame, they could never love too much, or come near the proportion of the Glo- fifiet pener– " rioJU Gf/odnefi which they love. Cafi thy felf boldly into this Ocean: of deli~hts: Though thenar. oJTr~~~~c~~ '' rownefs of thy own capacity confine thee, yet as then: are no bounds m the obJect ofthy love, Iet not ~rcrnum h:r.– " falfe unbelieving thoughts confine thee: 0 tha5 I wer~ all ~.Ye to fee the Glorious Amiablcnefs of my bit~atus .. " God ' 0 that I were all Love that I mtght be hlled with hJS Goodndl >0 that all the Paffions of R'"'· "u"" "my foul were turned into this holy Paffion ! 0 that all my fears, and cares, and farrows were ~r~~·Mag114 d~ "'turned into Love? And that all the thoughts that confufedly crowd in upon me and mol~tl me, J,..';: ~a::,. " were turned into.this one unceffant thought, o~ the infinite Goodnefs of my God ! 0 that all my H8. ' "tears, and groanmgs, yea and all my other muth and pleafures, were turned into the melodious ''fangs of Love! And rhat the pulfe, and voice, and operations of Love-, were all the motion· of my "foul ! Surely in Heaven it wiU be fa, though it is not to be expected here. J 9· 26. Direct. 9· The great Means of promoting Love to God, i; duly to beiJo/d him in hi1 appecr.mr.rs to man, in th• waiet of N A 1v RE' GRAcE and GL 0 R r: Firjl therefore learn to Ultder/i.md and imptQ'IJe hir apptar.Jnca in N A TV RE, and t9 foe tht Creator i~tall bif work.f, andby the Know– ledge and Love of them to be raifed to the Knowledge and Love of bim: Though fin hath fa di[abled us to the due improvement of thefe Appearances of God in nature, that Grace mufi reHore us, before we can do it etfeClually and acceptably ; yet Objellivdy Nature is flill the fame in fubftance, ·and atfordcth us much help to the K.owledge and Love of Gad. He knoweth nothing of the world aright, that knoweth not God in it, and by it. Some note that the gteatdl fmdents in Natttt"e arc not ufually the bdl proficients in grace; and that Philofophers and Phyficions ate feldom great admirers of piety ; But this is to judge of the wife by the foolifh, and to impute the ignorance lnd impiety of fame, to others that abhor it. Doubtlcfs he is no Philofopher but afool, that fceth 110t and admireth not the Creator in his works. Indeed ifa man do wholy give himfelf to know the fhapc and form ofLetters, and to write them curioufly, or cut them in braO or fione, or to print them, and not ro underll:and their fignifications or ufe, no wonder if he be ignorant of the arts and feiences, .which thofe Letters weU
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