SPIRITUAL PEACE ANn - COMFORT.' 463 while theyolook upon the sad lives of the professors of holiness ; as it will more deter a sick man from meddling with a physician, to see all he bath had in hand to lie languishing in continual pains to their death, than all his words and promises will,encourage them. O, what blessed lives might God's people live, if they un- derstood the love of God in the mystery of man's redemption, and did addict themselves to the consideration and improvement of it, and did believingly eye the promised glory, and hereupon did make it the business of their' lives to delight their souls in him that bath loved them ! And what a wonderful success might we ex- pect to our preaching, if the holy delights and cheerful obedience of the saints did preach as clearly to the eyes of the world as we preach loudly to their ears. But flesh will be flesh yet awhile! And unbelief will be unbe- lief! We are all to blame!- The Lord forgive our overlooking his loving-kindness ; and our dishonoring the glorious gospel df his Son and our seconding Satan, in his contradicting of that design which bath contrived God's glory in so sweet a way.. And now, Christian reader, let me entreat thee!in the name and fear of God, hereafter better to understand and practice thy duty. Thy heart is better a thousand times in godly sorrow than in car- nal mirth, and by such sorrow it is often made better; Eccles. vii. 2 -4. But never take it to be right till it be delighting itself in God. When you kneel down' in prayer, labor so to conceive of God, and bespeak him that he may be your delight; so do in hearing and reading; so do in all your meditations of God ;' so du in your feastingon the flesh and blood of Christ at his supper. Es- pecially improve the happyopportunity of the Lord's day, wherein you may wholly devote yourselves to this work. And. I advise ministers and all Christ's redeemed ones, that they spend more of those days in praise'and thanksgiving, especially in commemoration of the whole work of redemption,.(and not of Christ's resurrection alone,) or else they will not answer the institution of the Lord; and that they keep it as the most solemn day of thanksgiving, and be briefer on that day in their confessions and lamentations, and larger at other times! O that the congregations of Christ through the world were so well informed and animated that the main business of their solemn assemblies on that day might be to sound forth the high praises of their Redeemer; and to begin here the praises of God and the Lamb, which they must perfect in heaven forever ! How sweet a foretaste of heaven would be then in these solemnities ! And truly, let me tell you, my brethren of the ministry, you should, by private teaching and week -day sermons, so further the knowl- edge of your people, that you might not need to spend so much of the Lord's day in sermons as the most godly use to do; but
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