By the Croft ofChrift. Thoughts in duty, and taketh them offfrom the swork inhand and makes you do that whichyou feemnotto be doing : And if you(hake off thefe thoughts, and drive themout of your way , theyare prefentlyagain before you and meet you at the next Turn. But in that meafureas you haveCrucified the world, you are freed from thefe diflurbances. The Apofile Peter defcribeth the.miferable elate of Apofl:ates, z.Pet. 2. 20, to be like a bird or.beaft that had efcaped out of the fnare that he was taken in, and after is taken in the fame again s Having .efcaped the polluti- on of the world, &c.. ,H, itcaxcigi.veEs T?wiiw ,,they are agate. entangled therein : as a beat in a fnare , that cannot efcape or help himfelf ; So Z.Tim.2.4, its faid,noman that warrethentattgu leth himfelf with the affairs of this life : aels seS:Titir vos it,.° ra>,txerue , &c. So that you fee that the world is.a fnare that en- tangleth mensfouls,and holdeth them as in captivity. The table ofthe wicked becometh afnare to them , and fo doallthe bodily mercies which theypoffefs. But the mortified Chrilian may look backonall thefedans gers, and fay Blefed be the.Lord that bathnot given au as aprey to their teeth Onrfool it efcapedas a birdant of thefnare of the fowlers ;. thefnare is broken;and.we,are efcaped ., Pfal. 124 , 6,-7. Oh with what cafeand freedomof Mind mayyouconverfe with God inholy Ordinances, whenyou are once difentangled from this fnare ? Now that which formeráy drew off your hearts, and cloud:your affeffions is Crucified and dead : that enemythat kept your fouls fromGod, and was Hill offingbaits or troubles in your way is dead. As the Apoille faith of fin, Rorn. 6; 7. Re that is dead is freedfront fin; So I mayfayof the world : He that is dead to the world , in that meafure as he is dead to it, is freed from the world. Let us therefore lay afide every weight , andthe fin that clothfo eafilybefit HI; and then we-may ranwith Patience', the race that isfet before ass, Pleb. 12. 1 Thismakes a poor Chrillian fometimes to live in morecontent andcomfort in the depthof adverfity , then he did before in the midl of his profperity : becaufe, though his flefh bath log , his foul hathgain'd e though he want the fiefhly accommodations whichhe had, yet the world :is-now more Dead to him then be- fore ; and fo his mind is freer for God ; and confequently more with him. How bleffed a life is it to converfe with G_od with little 207'
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