f)ireEtions to ftir ttp tbe Lo11e of God. ,, me if 1ufe ir not in the holy Love of my Creator. It is true, I have a Body that ~s made to "eat: and drink,_, and Jleep: But all .this is but to f~:rve my fOul in d~~ Love of _him tflat giveth "me all. Life is not tor mcu, or drmk, ?r play ; but thefe arc for Lt{e , o..nd Ltfc for the higher "Ends of Life. J ~.1 6. [ "z. Look unto thy Redcemer,drowfiefoul! an<l confider f~r what en~ h~ did Redeem thee? ,<was it ro wander a few ytars about the earrh? and to flcep and {port a wh1lc m fle(}r? Or was it " to crucitle thee to the world, and raife thee up to the Love of God? He ca1,11c down to Earth from '' Love it fclf,bcingjitll ofLove, to !hew the Lovelintfi ofGod, and reconcile thee ro him, and take away "the enmit)', and by Love to reach thee the art ofLove ; His Love conilraincd him to offer himfelf " a Sacrifice for fin, to make thee aPrie£\ thy felf to Go~ to Qffcr up the Sacr itice of an enflamed H heart in love and praife; And wilt thou difappoint thy Redeemer, and difappoin't: thy felf ofthe ,, benefits of his Love? The Mcan1 is for the End: Thou maiH as wdl f:l;y, 1 would nor be Re.– ,, deemed, as to fay, I would not Love the Lord. J 145 §· 17 , [" 3. And hethink thy felf, 0 drow!ie foul, for what thou wafi Rege""""d and fanctified "by the Spirit> Was itnot thatthou m1ghtfi KNOw and L 0 V E the Lord? What is the ,, Spirit of Adoption that JS g1v~n to Behevers, but a Spnlt of prcdommant Love to ~od? Gal. 4 . 6. "Thou couldfi: have loved Vamty, and doted on thy flen\ly fnends .and pleafmes, WHhout the Spirit "ofGod; 1t was not for tbefe, but to dcjlroy thefe, and kindle a more noble, heavenly tire in thy "breafi that theSpirit did renew thee. Examine, fearch, and try thy felt, . whether the Spirit hath fan&iti:d thee or not. Knowefi thou not, that if any ma;z have not tbe Spirit nf Chrijf, the fame U none of hii? z Cor. 13· 5· Ram. 8: ~· And if Chrilt and his Sp,irit be in fhee, thy Love is dead to eaithly vanity, and quickned a~? ra~ied to the.mofi: Holy God. Ltve then J.n the Sp1.ra,. tf thou ~ave the Spirit : To n-·alk.. in tbe Sp~rzt, JS to wall{,m L(Jve. H<i~h t?c Rcgeneratmg Sp1nt g1 vcn .thee o1~ purpofe a new principle of Lflvt, and done fo much to excite Jt, and been blowmg at the Coals fo oft and {hall thy carnality or fiugginmeCs yet cxtingui(h it ? As thou wouldfl: nor renounce or con– te~n thy Creation, thy Redemptipn, and Regeneration, contemn not and negleCt not the Love of thy Creator, Redeemer and Regencrater, which is the End ofall. J ~· 1 8. Direct. z, 1binJt of the perft[J (itnefi of God to be the o•ly Obje[i of thy [uperlotive Love; Dire[l. z, 4 nd how cafie anti ne.ccffary it: jhou/d jeem to Uf to do awer~ [o agreEable to rjght Rea[on and mtcorr:upttd NatUre ; and abhorr aU temptation/ 'R'hic~ would ma~e God .(Cem zmfoitable to thee. [" 0 flug- '' giCh, and unnatural foul/ Should not an obJed: fo a~muably tit.' allure thee? Sho~ld not fuch at- " tractive Goodnefs draw thee ? Should not perfect amJablc:nefs wm rhee wholly w If felf? Do but "know thy J<lfand God, and then forbear to love him if thou cani\! Where fi,ould the ftfh live, buc "in the JYatcr? And v.here Chould Bir4s flye, but in the Air l God is thy very Elcnzenl: Thou "dyefi and {inkefi: down to brutijhnefi, if thou f~rfake. ~im or be taken from him. What lhould '"delight theJmcV, but od:~urJ? or the appetite, but 1ts dellc1ou; fGod ? or the eye, butL!ght,and what it ,, (heweth ; and the m but b.,mony I And what fhould delight the f,uJ but G,d r H thou know tby ,,[elf thou knowefi, that the Nature of thy Mind inclinetl1 to k_nowlcdge; and by the knowledge of (' effelll to rife up to the caufe, and by the knowledge of lower and 1~1fer matters, to aKend to the ,, highefi and greatdl : And If thou Jtnon> God,. thou kn~wefi that he IS the c.ufi of all things, the ,, Maker Preferver and Orderer of all, the Bemg of Bemgs, the mofi Great, and Wife, and Good and ,, Happy\ fo that to know him, is to know aq;. to kn?w. the moll excellc:nt,. independent, glo;ious ,, being ; that will leave no darknefs nor un{aushed dehre m thy foul. And 1S he not then mofi[ui- ,, table to thy mindl If thou know thy felf, then thou knowefi that thy wiY, as free as it is, hath '(a natural nc:cdfary inclination togoodni{I: Thou canfi: not Love evil as evil; nor ~anfi: thou choofe "but Love apprtbended goodne[i, efpecially the chiefcfl good, ( if rightly apprehended): And if chou "Jtnow God, thou knowell !hat he is Infinitely good in.him!elf~ and the Caufe of all the good that is " in the world, and the g1ver of all the good thou hail reCCJved, and the only fit and funable good, '' to fatisfie thy defires for the ttrne to come: A~d yet fhall Jt be fo hard to thee ro Love,. fo al?reeably ''to perfect Nature, fo Perfect, and full, and {uuab/e a good l even goodnefs and Lwe It felt which " hath begun to Love thee ? Is any of the Creatures which thaN Lovefi fo fuicable to thee? Arc they "good, and QIIlyGood, and Pertettly Good? and unchangeably and eternally Good? Are they the " fpring of comfort, and the fausfymg happmefs of thy foul ? Hail thou foulld them fo > Or doil "thou look to hnd them beil at lalt? Foohfh foul ! Cani\ thou love the uneven defective troublefome ,, creature, if ro fome one fmall inferiour u~e it feemcth fuitable to thee ? and cani\ thou not Love: H him that is all that rational Love can polhbly defire to enjoy ? W~at though the crea-ture be near " thee, and God be infinitely a~ov~ th~e? He is neartr.to thee than they : And though in glory he: be u difiant, thou art pafling to h1m tn h1s glory, and w1\t prefently be there. Though the Sun be di~ "ftant from thee, it comrnunicatcth to thee its Light, and Heat, and is morcfuitahle tO thee, than the H Candle that is nearer thee: What though God be mofl: Holy, and thou too earchly and unclean? Is "he not the fitter to purifietheC,andmakc thee Holy? Thou hadrt rather if thou be poor have the ''company and favour of the Rich that can relieve thee, than of beggars that will bur comPlain with ''thee: And if thou be unlearned or ignorant, thou wouldft have the company of the wife and Jearn 4 '' ed t~at can teach thee, and not of thole rhar. arc as ignorant a; thy ~elf. ·\Vho is fo JUit,lb/e to thy '' Dcfiru, as he that hath all.that thou canfi WJ{ely detire? and ts W1lhng and ready to htistie thee to "the full? Who is more iUitable to thy Love, than he that Loveth thee molt, and harh done mofi: fOr " thee, and m,fi do all that ever will be done for thee, and is himfelf moll lovely in his infinite per– " fecttons? 0 poor dtfeafed lapfed foul/ tf fin had not corrupted, and dJflempcred, aild perverted U 2 '' thC~
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