234 TO THE POOR IN SPIRIT. to this sweet employment, that in secret and in public it might he thebusiness of ourlives ? And yet shall it be so overlooked or ques- tioned, as ifyou lived without love and mercy in theworld ? Prov- idence doth its part, by heaping up mountains of daily mercies ; and these it sets before,your eyes. The gospel bath eminently done its part by clearly describing them, and fully assuring them, and this is proclaimed frequently in your ears. And yet is there so little in your hearts and mouths? Do you see, and hear, and feel and taste mercy and love? Do you live wholly on it? And yet do you still doubt of it ?- and think someanly of it ? and sohard- ly acknowledge it? God takes not this well; but yet he consider- eth your frailty, and takes you not at the worst. He knows that flesh will play its part, and the remnants of corruption will not be idle. And the serpent will be suggesting false thoughts of God, will be still striving most to obscure that part of his glory which is dearestto him, and especiallywhichis most conjoined with the happi- ness of man. He knows, also, that sin will breed 'sorrows and fears ; and that man's understanding is shallow, and all his con- ceivings of God are exceeding low ; and that we are so far from God as creatures, and so much further as sinners, and especially as consciousof the abuse of his grace, that there must needs followsuch a strangeness as will damp and dull our apprehensions of his love ; and such an abatement of our confidence, as will make us draw back, and look at God afar off. Seeing therefore that, at this dis- tance, no full apprehensions of love can be expected, it is the pleasure of our Redeemer shortly to return with ten thousand of his saints, with the noble army of hismartyrs and the attendance of his angels, and to give you such a convincing demonstration of his love, as shall leave no room for one more doubt. Your comforts are now but a taste ; they shall be then a feast. They arenow but intermittent; they shall be then continual. How soon now do your conqueredfears return ; and what an inconstancy and unevenness is there in our peace ! But then our peace must 'needs be perfect and permanent, whenwe shall please God, and enjoy him in per- fection to perpetuity. Certainly, Christians, your comforts should be now more abundant, but that they are not ripe. It is that, and not this, that is your harvest. I have told you, in another book, the mistake and danger ofexpecting too much here, and the neces- sity of looking and longing for that rest, if we will have peace in- deed. But, alas, howhard is this lesson learned ! Unbelievers would have happiness, but how fain would they have it in the creature rather than in God ! Believers would rather have their happiness in God than in the creature, but how fain would they have it without dying ! And no wonder, for when sin brought in death, even grace itself cannot love it, though it may submit to it.
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