Chap. z.Sea. 9· .JLoolung unto 'Jjefu.s. Book IV. friends t!m converfe cogerher, they a tl: mutually for the comfort ooe of another, there is a mucual embracing oml opening of their hearts to one anarh·er at every turn ; fo in ourconverfing• wirhChrifl there is a communion, or amutual ~dmgof the foul upon Chrifl, and of Chrifl upon the foul;. we let omourbearts to Chnfl~_:nd he lets out his heart ro us. efpeCially when we are wtth Chnfi tn !m Ordmances; t• s not enough ro call upon G~d, and to ufe fome broken-hearted expreffions, bur oh, what communion have 1 with Jefru Chriff? 1cannot be fa tufted except 1 tafhandfee how good the Lor~ i;; I cannot be quiet, except I hear{ometh11tg from Heaven thu mormng. Why, thtsts an heavenly converfation.. . . . . . 3. By our converfatton m Heaven, I mean our ltvmg accordmg to the Laws of Hea. ven; in all our ways we muft llill enquire, What mic i; there from Heaven to guide me in the(eways? frteh andfuchathing I have amind to, but will the Law•f Heaven j~tjlifte me in thi•? have 1 any wordfrom lefmChriff to guide me in thi.·? fometimes indeed my /uff, my own ends, and the common courfe of the world WM my mle, bm now I dare not all but according to the Will and Scepter of rejuJ Chriff, no)V I amguided by the Lawsof Heaven. Why, this is an heavenly converfarion. . 4· By our converfation in Heaven, I mean our thoughts, and meditations of Heaven and heavenl y things; When 1awak§ (faithDavid) I am always with thee; the hearts Pfa!. , 39 . 1 s. of believers are frequently upon their heavenly treafures ; as it is ftoried of Q!Jeen Mary, that a little before her death lhe told them, if they ript her open they would find Callis in her heart; fo it may be faid of them whofe converfation is in Heaven, if you rip them up, you 0Jall find Heaven in their hearts; nor a day paffes over their heads without fome converfe with Heaven, without fome thoughts or meditations of Heaven, and heavenly things. 5. By ourconverfation in Heaven, I mean our affeCtions on Heaven, or on Chrift in · Heaven; Set you' njferrion! on things ahov: (i.e. ), fe~ yourddires, loves, hopes, joys, Co~ 3· 2; breathingson heavenly thtngs; our affed10ns are prectous thmg• and are onely to be fer on precious objects; oh what a lhame is it to fet our affection on the things of this life ! have we a Kingdom, a God, a Chrifl, a Crown in Heaven to fer our affedions upon? and O~all we fer them upon drofs, and dung, and fuch bafe things ? are not all our pleafures and vanities bafe in comparifon of Chri!l? 0 be not we fo bafe ro fer our affedions on earthly things, but rather on God and Chri!l; and this is our heavenly converfation. · 6. By our converfatioo in Heaven, I mean our tradings, our negotiati~ns for Hea: ven, even whilefl we are upon Earth: the word in the Original points at this, n{liiv )ll "'"'"htvf'<' C. if!!.'"', 011r !'ading i; in Heaven ; though our bodies be not there, yet our tradings are there ; we carry and behave our felves in this life as free Denizons ofrhe City of Heaven ; our City whereof we are Citizens, and whereunto we have right, is in Heaven above; in this refpect we trade nor for trifles, as other men do, bur we trade for greatthings, for high things, we merchandize for goodly pearls, even for God, and for cbrifl, who fimthat the right hand of God. We fee now what we mean by ourcon– verfarion in Heaven. · z. Why is the converfationof the Saints in Heaven? I. Becaufe they know full well, that the Original of their foul s came from God and Heaven ; the body indeed was of the duft of the ground, bur the foul was the breath of God ; fo it is faid of the firft man, God breathed into hi; noftrils the buath of life, Gen. 2. 7i ana man became a living foul. The foul had a more heavenly and divine Original than any of tloe other creatures that are here in this neather World ; and when ·God works grace in the foul, and fo it begins to know it [elf, and to return to it felf, it then looks on all things here below as vile , and as contemptible things; it then lo?ks upward, and begins to converfe with things futable to its Original. As it is ,wtth a clnld that hath a noble birth; if tranfporred into another Country , and th~re ufed ltke a Oa~·e, there fet to rake channels, or ( as the Prodigal ) to feed fwme; whtle he is there, and knows not his Original, he minds nothing bur to get vrCl:uals, and to do his work that he is fer about ; but if once l1e come to know from whence,he was, rim he. is indeed bor.n heir. ro fuch a Prince, in fuch aCountry; 0 then h:s thoughts, and mmd, and longmgs wtll be altered; 0 thAt I were in my own C•un!'Y ! 0 that I were with my Father in h"U Court! Even fo it is with the fouls of the Ions of men, they >re the birth ( as I may fo fpeak) of the great King ofHea- ~en and Earrb, and though by the fall of man they came to be as Oaves to Satan. Kkk ya
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