Dirdl. 3• Direll·4· L :DireUions to excite tl1e Lo'l!e of God. {,c thee, thou would!l have thought God as fuitable to thy Love, as meat to thy hunger, and drink "to thy thirfl, and rell to thy wearinefs, and as the earth and water, the Air and Sun are to the in. et habitants of the world 1 0 whither art thou fallen? and how far, how long, haft thou wandered "from thy God, that thou now dra~efl: back from him as a !hanger to thee, and lookefi away from "him as an un{uitable gnod? §. 19. DireCt. 3· lmagim nnt God tfl bt far a'tt'ay from thee, but think,. of him ar alwayu marthee lind .viJ/1 thre, in ,.IJofe pre[ent Love and Goodncji thou tkft fubfifl. Nearnlfs of Objects do<h excite the faculdt.:s : we hear no found, nor frnell no odour, nor ralle nofweetnefS, nor fee no coloUrs, that are too diftam from u5 : And the mind being limi~ed in its activity, negleCtt:th or reacherh· not things too dillant, and requireth fome Nearnejj of its obJd}, as well as the fin[<. Efpecially ro- the exci· tat ion of affellioiiJand bod,ily action. A dijfttnt danger fiirreth not up fuCh fC:ars, JlOr a difiant mi. fcry fi.1ch grief, ner a difiant benetit fuch pleafure, as that which is at hand. Death doth more 'deeply affect u~, when it fetmeth very near, than when we think we have yet many years to live. So carnal minds are fo drowned in fleth and captivated to fenfe, that they take little notice of Wha.r they fee not, and therefore think of God-as abfent, becaufe they fee him not : !hey think of him as con– tined to Heaven, as we think of a friend that )sin the Eaft Indies, or at the Antipodes, who is if not out of mind as wdl as our of fight, yei too dillant for us delightfully to converfe with. [Re– u n'letriber'Cllwayes, 0 m'y foul, that none is (o ne'ar thee as thy God. A Stncca could fay~ of good' '' men, that God i1 with m, and in m: Nature taught Heathens, that in himwt live, and move, and have <' IJttr hei1rg: Thy frientfm~y be abfcnt, but God is ueverabfcnt from thee. He is!!itb thee, when as n to mtll thou art alone. The Sun is fufficient to illuminate but one part of the earth at: once; and '< therefore tntlflleave the refi in d'arkuefs : But God is widl thee night and day, and there is no night "to the foul fof<r as i< enjoyerh him. Thy life, thy health, thy Love and]oy, is notne>rertothec u thah t~y God : He is now before thee, about thee, within thee, moving thee ro good, rcfira1ning "the~ from evil, marking and accepting all that is well, difliking and oppofing all that is ilL Thi "light of the Sun doth not more certainly fill <he room, and compaf~ thee about, than God dorh " with his goodnefs. He is as much at leifure to obferve thee, to conv'erfe with rhee, to hear and " help thee, as if thou wett his only creature ~ As the Sun can as wen illuminate every Bird a·nd Fly, H as if it 01ined unto no. other creature. Open the eye of Faith and Rcafon, and behold thy God. H Do not forget him, or unbelievingly deny him, and thep fay, he is not here: Do nor·fay, Chat'rhc u Sun doth not Chine, becaufe thou winkeft. Odonot quench thy Love to God, by feigning him to <t be Out of reach, and taken up with other convcrfe! Turn not to inferiour delights, br thinking " that he hath turned thee olf to thd(: : And love him not as an abfent friend : But as the friend " that is alwayes in thy fight, in thy bofomc, and in thy heart; the fewel that is neateft to the flames "of love. J · 9· 20. Direct. 4· AU other Grace~ mrif! do their p.rt in •JliJiing Love, and aY be exercijiJ ;, fubjir1Jience to it, axd with an intention ( dirclily ot remotely ) to proh1ou it. Fear and warcJ1fulnefs mull keep away the fin that would extinguiih it, and prefer"ve you from rhar Guilr which would frighten away the foul from God ; Repentance and mortification mull ktep away diverting and deceivi·ng ob– jects,which would (leal away our Love from God : Faitl1 mufi fhew us God as prde~t, in all his bldfed attributes and pcrfetfions : Hope mull' depend on hrm for nearer accefs·and the prom1fed felicity. Pru– dence mull: choofethc fittefifeafon, and means and helps from our fpecial <~pproaches to him; and teach us how to avoid impediments : And obedience mull keep us in a tit capacity for communion with him. The mind that is turned Joofe to wander after vanity the refi of the day·, is unrit in an hour of prayer or meditati?n to be taken up with the Love ofGod. It muit be the work of the day, and of our lives, to walk m a fitnefs for it, though we are not alwaycs in the immediate li'vdy rx– trcife of ir. To fin wilfully one hour, and be taken up with the love of God the next, is as u 0 .. likely, as one hour to abufe our Parents, and provoke thtm to correct us, and the next to find the pleafurc of their love; or one hour to fall and break ones bones, and the next to run and work as pleafanrly as we did before. 9· 2 1. And we mufi fee that aU otberGracu be exercifcd in a jufi: {ubferviency to Love; and none of them del{enerate into noxious extrcams, to the hinderance of tbi4 which is their proper end. When you fet your [elves toRepent and Mourn for fin, it mufi be from Love, and for Love : That by ingenuous lamentation of the injuries you h~ve done to a graciolls God, you n1ay be cleanfed from the filth tjlat dorh difpleafc him, and being reconciled to him in Chrill, may be fit to return to rhe exercifes and delights ofLove. When you ~fear God, 1et it be with a F'ilial fear, that comes from Love, and is but a prefetvative or refiorative for Love. Avoid that flaviOt tear as a fin, which tendeth to hatred, and would make you fly away from God. Love cafic.:th out this tormenting fear, and frcerh the foul from the Spirit of bondage. The Devil tempteth melancholy perfons to live before God, as one that is fiill among Bears or Lyons that are ready to devour him: For he know– cth how much fuch a fear is an enemy to Love. Satan would never promote fuch fears, if they were of God, and tended to our good. You never found him promoting your Loye or Delight in God ! But he careth not how much he plungerh you into diflraCling ttrrors : If lte can, he will frighten you out of your Love, and out of your comforts, and out of your wits. A dull and ~ug· gith finner he wiiJ keep from fear, !ell it thould awaken him from his Iin : Bur a poor rnclancholl}', penitent foul he would keep under perpetual terrors; It is fo eafie to fuch ro fc:ar, Ih.at they may know it is a finful inordinate fear : For gracious works are not fo eafie. And refifi: alfo all humili~ atio'n and grief, that doth not ( immediately or remotely ) tend to help your Love. A Religion t~at tenderh'
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