p6 Book IV. rLoolttng unto 'jefu.s'. Chap. 5· Sett. 7 • ------------------------~--~----------- 0 mr foul, how art thou out of frame~ in creature-communion I ufually feel~rm, and v1gorous•. acbve, andvery firong; but now thy heart ., enditing of a goad m,ttter, thou art fpeakJng of tbt thmgswhrch thouh4f made concerning the King, thy words do a! moll: freeze bet.ween thy !J~s; ~ow cht!l and cold an thou in thy converfes with Jefus <:hnft _? 9h th•s puts me m m1~d of my deferts : furely had Chri£1:'s love been but hke _this fame and feeble lpve of mme, I had been a damned wretch without all hope : 0 Chrtft, 1 I am. an.amed that I love thee fo little; I perceive thy loves are great by all thofe ai~hngsm thy !Jfe; come blow upon my Garden, perfwade me by thy Spirit that I may l•ve thee much; many fins 11re forgiven me, 0 r!Jat I may love thet much! S g C T. VIL Of Joying in [e{llf in that re[pcCf. 7·LEt _us j•Y in JefUJ, asc.arrying .on the_g~ea_t work.of our falvarion for us, during . h1s L1fe. But what IS .there mChnfi sltfe, or 1n all the palfages of his Life to fbr up Joy? I anfwer, all h1shfe, and all.the paffages o~ his life, if rightly applied, are excellent matter for the fttmng up of tlus Affecbon : mdeed the main of the work is in the application of Chrifl s life; if ever we rejoyce fpiritually in Chrifl, we mull: ~ring together the objeC!: and the ~acuity ; and this union of the object and the faculty, IS ufually wrought by contemplauon, or by confidence, or by fruition ; I lhall but a while infift on thefe, that we may come up at laft to rejoyce in Chrilt, yea, if it were poilible to rejoyce, and again rejoyce. · 1. Let UHontemplateon this life of Chrill, let us think of it in our minds; there is a kind of delight in knowing fome things fpecu!atively, which we would abhor to know experimentally; and therefore the Devil's firft temptation was drawn from the know– kdge of evil, as wdl as good; be knew that the mind of man would receive content in rhe underfianding of that , which in its own nature had no perfeC!:ion at all ; now if there be a delight in the contemplation of evil, how much more in the contemplati– on of that which is good? And is not the life of Chrift, the Graces, the Virtues, the holy Actions , the dear AffeC!:ions of Jefus Chrift to us-ward, good, and very good? Come then, flir up our memories, let us be fetled men; let us fpend our fre– quent thoughts upon this blelfed ObjeC!:; the reafon we mifs of our joyes, is, becaufe we are fo little in contemplations of our :)hrifl. It is faid that he pities w in our for– rows, but he delights itll«, whenwe delight in him. Certainly he would have usto de– light in him, and to that purpofe he way-layes ourthoughts, that whcrcfoever we look, we lhallfrill think on him; 0 my foul, call: thine eyes which way thou wilt, and thou lhalt hardly look on any thing, but Chrift J efus harh taken the name of that very thing upon himfelf. What, is it day? and doll: thou behold the Sun? He is called the S1<11 of Mal. 4 ; 2 , righteoH(rrefs: Or is it night? and doll: thou, behold the Stars? He is called a Star: Nu01.>4.17,19 There Jhall come a Star out of (acob--out of Jacob Jha/1 he come that [hall have domi– nion. Or, is it Morning? and doft thou behold the morning-fiar? He is tailed the bright Rev- u. 16. morning-fiar. Or, is it Noon? and doll: thou behold clear light all the world over in thy Hemifphere? He is called the Light, and that Light, and that L•ght that t.ghtneth every John ,, 7 ,8,9. man thatcometh into the world. Or, to come a little nearer; if thoulookeft on the earth, and takeft a view of the Creatures about thee, feeft thou the filly lheep? He is called a !fa, 53- 1· fheep ; M a jheepbefore her Jhearer i; d~emb , fo he openeth not hi' mouth : or feeft thou a_ John r. , 9 • Lamb bleating after the harmlefs l!teep ? He 1s called a Lamb; Behol~ the Lamb of God which taketh away the fins of the world: Seeeft thou a Shepherd warchmg over h1s /lock, by day or nighr ? He iscalled a Shepherd : I am !he good Shepherd, and k!r~w my jheep, John 1o.t4. and am IQ!own of mine : Or feefi thou a Foumam, Rtvers, waters? He IS called a Fountain : In thdt day there jhall he a Foumain·opened to th<,Hou(e of Dav•d, and to tht Z.ch. I J· r. inhabitants of !crufalem, for fin tmd for nndeannefs: Or feeft thou a Tree good for food, oqileafant to the eye? He is called the Tree of Life: and, M the Apple.tree among ~!~.;-;:~:; 8• the Treesof.the Wood, foi< my Belovcdamongth~Sons. Seeft thou a Rofe, a L1lly, any fair Flower ma Garden? He IS Called a Rofe, aL1lly: I am the Rofe of Sharon,and the Lllly Cant. '·'· of theValleys: or to come a little nearer yet; art art thou within doors? I ar~ the d..r, by J ohn 10 , 9 _ me if anr man enter in he jiMll be frwed,and Jha/1 ~o in and o/11 ,andJl~all ji11d pdjhtre. Art thou " adornwg
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