Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT770 .B39 1670

The Life of Faith. 605 enjoye rs ! And then foretaffe will do more than forefrgbe ` alone, and will make me love the day of thy appearing,, and ' long to fee thy glorious Love !' But alas, this feeble fleeping Love, doth threaten, if not the thrulling of me out of doors (for none but friends and `hearty Lovers dwell with thee) at leali, that I (hall be let behind tbe door, and be one of the loweffin thy Kingdom, as ` I was in thy Love. For if I have the leaf} degree of Love, ' I mull needs have the leaft degree of Glory, Peeing that blef -. 'fednefs is Love it felf : And ifI have the leaf} in thie life, how can I hope to have proportionably with others,. the ' molt in that ? Iknow that it is better to be a door- keeper in 'thy houle, than to reign in the Palaces ofearthly fordid and ` polluting pleafures : And that the !can in thy Kingdom, is greater than Emperours in the Kingdoms of darknefs. But how can I have faith indeed, and not delire intuition? orgrace, and not delire glory ? Or who can love thee truly, ` and yet be contented to love thee but a little ?. Or who ° ever tatted trulyof thy Love,that defirednot hef:slnejs ofit? ' Iffincerity contitt in the defire of Perfeltion ; and &mutual ' Love be heaven it fell, I am not fincere then, if I defile ' not the bigbeft place in Heaven, which isfuited to the mea ' Cure of my natural capacity, and with the freedom andwif- ' dom of thy bounteous WV. Did I grudge at my natural ca- ' pacity,_ andmy rank amongmy fellow-creatures, and afpired after the Divine Prerogatives, or a Grearnefs without Good- ' nefs, or any prohibited"(cation or degree, I might thenex- ' pee the reward of Pride, and to fall intoSatans condem- nation for falling into his (in. But when waft thou ever ' offended at the ambition of loving thee with the we pert fi ' Love ? Thou forbiddeti our carnal Pride, as our Pelf- abating 'folly: Not thinking preferments, Lord(hips and domina- tion to be things too high for us, but too low : Thou allow- t eta and commando} the poorcil Lazarue to feck and hope ' for things ten thoufand times more high ; in-comparifon with ' which thefe pleatures arc pain, thcfe Lordfhips arc Idles; ' this wealth is dung ; thefe Courts are dens of uncicaenefs, wild and ravenous beans ; and all this earthly pomp is 6 $g ß 3 ' fhamc..

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