108 Book Ill. Urotung unto jjcfu.s. <;::bap.•• Sect.?-:' himfdf. 0 my Soul, woulde£1: thou notthi~-;-;~·;;~-~~-if G-;;-i-lho;;Jdfay to thee, Come foul, Jwillgivethee all the world for thy portion; or that J ''"':Y give thee 4 tejf.mony that I lovethee, I 1V1!1 maf<! another world for thy (tk!, and I will ma1<5 theeEm– perour of that world alfo. Surely thou would!l fay, God loves me dearly. ay but in that God bath given thee his Son, and given thee himfdf; this is a greater 'deoree of Love Chriflians! fland amazed; Oh what love is this to the children of men t Oh that w~ lhould live to have our ears filled with this found from heaven I I will be aGod to rhee find tothy Seedafterthee, I am the LordthyGod; IwillbetheirGod,andtheyfhallbemypco– ple. 0 my f"ul, where hall thou been? rouze up, and recollect, and fet before thee all thefe palfages ofGods love in Chri£1:; are not thefe llrong attra<'lives to gain thy loves? what wtlt thou do? canfl tl10u chufeto love the Lord thy God? /hall not all this love of 1 <!or. 5, 14• God in Chrifl to thee contlrain thy love? it is the expreffion of the Apollle, The love of God conftrains '" : God i-n Chri£1: is the very Element of Love, and whitl:er f1 10 uld 1 J 0 !m. 4 • 16. Love go but to the Element ( 1'-ir go~s to Air, and Earth to Earth, and all the Rivers to the Sea: every Element wtll to tts proper place: Now Godi; Love, and whither llwuld thy Love b_ecarried, but to this Ocean, or Sea of Love? Comemy Beloved (flid ·cant, :. 1 2 • the Spoufe to Chnll) let usget up Mrly to thevineynrds, let"' fu if the_Vmes (lourijh,rrhe– ther the tender Grapes afpear ; therewdllgwethee my Loves: The ftounflung of the Vine, and the appeanng of the tender Grapes, are the fruits of the Graces of God in the Alfemblies of his Saints; nowwherefoeverthingsappear, whether in Affembles, or in fm·et Ordinances, then and there (faith the Bridt) wi/J I give 1hee my Loves; when tl!ou come!l to the Word, Prayer, Meditation, be fure of this, to give Chri!tthy Love : What? doth Chrill manife£1: his prefence there I is there any abounding of his Graces there? 0 let thy Love abound e by bow much more thou feelell Gods Love towards thee, byfo much more do thou love thy God again: many fins being forgiven, how flwuld!l thou but love much ? SECT. VII. Of joying iH refw in that refpeff 0 7·vvE mull joy inJefHSas carrying on the great work of our Salvation in a way of Covenant. I know ourjoy here is but in part; fuch is the excellency of fpiritual ioy, that it is referved for heaven; God will not permit it to be pure and per– fect here below: and yet fuch as it is (thoughmingled with cares and pains) it is able{. fed duty; it isthelightofourfouls: and were it quire taken away, our Jives would be nothing but horrour and confufion: 0 my foul, if thou didfl not hope to encoun– ter joy in all thy Acts, thou would£1: remain languillting and immoveable, thou would£1: be without action and vigour, thou wouldll fpeak no more of [efos, or of a Covenant of Grace, or of God, or Chrill, or Life, or Glory.-Well then_ go on D my foul, and joy in [efus; if thou love!t him, what llwuld hinder thy rejoycmg in him? it is a maxime, that as Love proceeds, fo if there be nothing which retains the .Appetite, it alwayes goe~ from love tu joy. One motion of the Appetite towards good is to be united to it, and rh~ next Appetite towards good is to enjoy it: now love confiils in union, and joy in fruition · for what is fruition; but a ioy that we find in the polfeffion of that thing we Jdve? Much ado there is among£1: Philofophers concerning the differences of Loveand7oy. Somegiveitthus; as is the motion of fluid Bodies which run towards their cenrer, and think to find their refl there; but bemg there, they fiop not, and therefore they return, and fcatter themfelves on themfelves, tltey fwell and overflow: So in the paffion of Love, the appetite runs to the beloved Object, and unites it felf to it, and yet its motion ends not there ; for by this paffion of joy, it re– turn• the fame way; again it ~carters it felf on it felf, and~verftows thofe powers which are nearelt to it ; by this effulw~ the foul ~ou_bles ?O th7 tmage of the good lt lmh re– ceive.d, and fo it thinks to poffefs Jt more ; lt dt[hlls nfelltnto that [acuity,Willchlirfr ac– quainted it with the knowledge of the Objec't, and by that means lt makes all the parts of the Sou-l concur tothepolfeffion of tt. Hence they fay, that 7oy " .aneff;tjion •[the .Appetite, whereby_the S 011 t Jpreads it [elf on what u good, tor•J!efs it the. more perfeil!y. But nQt to flay 111 the enqmry of tts Nature, 0 my Sou , be thou m tlae exemfe of this 1'!Y; Js there not caufe? come fee, and own thy blelfednefs; take notice of the grear things the Lord bath doge for thee. As,-- r, He bath made a Covenant With . - •· thee
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