Eccici. 3· 1. J Pet. 1. 1:.. A<l•3·S· jl,.,ookmg unto jlefug. here? I believe it would be able!Ted means, of living in comfort, and fpiri;ual confo;mC ty to the Commands of God, yea of acting Chrift'sJife (as it were) to the life. 5. Let .us look fixedly on Jefus Ch.nft, l~t us.keep our fpiritual eyes flill on the pat– tern, unull we feel our felves conformmg to tt: 1t IS a true faymg, that ObjeEls and mo– ving reaftms k!pt "'"'"upon the mind by feriom thoughts, tlrethegreat engine, both ~ppointed by natr.re and gr.<ce, to tl<rn about the foul of man. If I may dehver lt mfewer terms Objeils confdered rrmch, or frequently, do turn the fo~tl into their own nature. Such a~ the things are we moft think of, and confider of, fuch will be onr fdves. or if we be-not fo, it is n?t through any im~e~fection in the ?bject ( efpecially in f~ch an objet'!: as J efus C~n.ft IS) but becaufe lt IS. not well apphed, and by confideration held upon the heart, ul11t may work there ; mdeed the manner of this working may be fecret, and infenfible, yet if we follow on, we lhall feel it in the ilfue. the beholdina of Chrifl: is a powerful beholding ; there i~ a chan~ing, transforming Jenue goes out ~f Chrifl:, by lookmg on Chntl; can w~ thmk of h1s humtluy, and not be bumble? can we think of his meeknefs and gent!ends of Spirit, and yet we continue in our fiercenefs, roughnefs, frowardnefs of fpirit? can a proud fierce heart apprehend a meek, and fweec, and lowly J efus? no, no ; the heart muft be fuitable to the thing appreheflded, it is impof– fible otherwife; certainly if rhe look.. be right, there mufl be a fuitablenefs betwixt the heart and Chri!l:. Sight works upon the imagination in brute creamres; as L aban'$ Sheep, when they faw the pany.coloured Rods, they had Lambs fuitable; now will fight work upon imagination, and imagination work a real change in namre? and is nor ~he eye of the mind ( efpecially the eye of faith) more ftrong and powerful? if I but write after a copy, I !hall in awhile learn to write like it, if I ferioQI!y meditate on any excellent fubject, it will leave a prim behind it on my fpirit; if I read but the life and death of fome eminently gracious and holy man, it molds, and fafhions, and tranfc forms, and conforms my mind to his fimilitude ; even fo , and much more is it in this cafe; fince the eye of faith works in the matter, which in itfelfis operativeandeffe– Cl:ual, and therefore it cannot bur work more, than where is only fimple imitation, or naked meditation ; 0 then let us fer the copy of Chrift's life (as before defcribed) in <lurview, and let us look upon it with both eyes, with the eye of rcafon, and with the eye of faith. But bow lhould we keep the eye of our faith on this blelfed objed, umill we feel this conformity in us? I ~nfwer,--- I. Let us fer apart fome times on purpofe to ad our faith in this refped: ; There is 11 time for all thingumder the Sun, faith Solomon. It may be fometimes we are in our civil . employmems, but then is not the time; yet when they are done, and the day begins to dofe, if together with our clofet prayer we would fall on this duty of looking unto Jefm by lively faith, how bleiTed a feafon might this be? I know not but that Come Chrill:i– ans may do it occafionally, but for any that fets fol'tle time apart for it every day, and rhat in confcience, as we do for prayer, where is he to be found? z. Let us remove hinderances; Sathan laborus to hinder the foul from beholding Chri1l with the dull of the world , The gcd of this world blinds the eyes •f men; 0 take heed of fixing our eyes on this worlds vanity I our own corruptions are alfo great hin– derances to this view of Chrift; away, away with all carnal paffions, ~afe humours; finful defires • unlefs the foul be fpiritual, it can never behold fptrttual tlungs. 3. Let.us fix our eyes only on this blelfed Object; amoving, ro~lin~ eye fees nothing clearly; When tht Angelsare [aid to look_ into thefe thi~gs, the word hgmfi_es that t?ey look into them narrowly, as they who bowing or fioopmg down. do look mtoathmg ;, fo lhould we look narrowly into the life of Cbrift; our eye o~ faub ll10uld be fer upon If\. a fl:eady manner, as if all the wor~d cquld not move ~s, as 1f we forgot all the tnrogs be– lJind and bad no other bu!inefs m the world but tillS. 4.' Let us look wifhingly and cravingly; there is affed:ion, as well as vifion in the eye; as the lame man that lay in Solomon's porch lookrd will1ly on Pet~r and:j.hn~ ex– peEling to receive fomething of them, [o let us look on Ch~1ft With acravmg eye, With an humble expectation ro receive a fupply of grace from Cbrt!l:, Why Lord thou art not •nly anointedwirhthe oyl of gladnefs above thy fellows, bm for thy fellows; 1 am earthly mmded but thou art heavenly; I am ftsll of lujis, but the Image of God i& perfeEI: in thee; thou art the fOJmtain of all grace, an headof infotence, M well a.: of emmence; thM art not ono/ above me, bm thonh~tft all grace for me, and.therefore 0 gwe me fo.,e port:on of thy meek..– vrf's, /oJVlincfs, hMvenly-mindedncfs, and of all othtr the graces of thy Spmt. S~<relythou 1 ~ · ~trt
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