BAXTER'S DYING, THOUGHTS. 167 desire to dwell.in heaven? Light and light, fire and fire, are not more inclined to 'union than love and love ; gracious love and glo- rious love. Would divine, original, universal love communicate and pour out itself more plentifully upon my heart, how easy would it be to leave this flesh and world, and to hear the sentence of my departure to my God ! Death and the grave would be but a tri- umph for victorious love. It would be easier to die in peaceand joy, than to rest at night, or to come home from my travel to my beloved friends, or to go, when I am hungry, to a feast. A little love hath made me- study willingly, and preach willingly, and write willingly, yea, and suffer somewhat willingly ; and would not more make me go more willingly to God'?. Shall the imagination of house, gardens, walks, libraries, prospects, meadows, orchards, hills, and rivers, allure the desires of deceived minds? And shall not the thoughts of the heavenly mansions, society, and delights, much more allure and draw up my desires ? The reading of a known fiction of a Civitas Solis, an Utopia, an Atalantij, &c., bath pleased many; but if .I did be]ievinglyhear ofsuch e country in the world, where men did never die, nor were sick, or weak, or sad; where the prince was perfectly just and pious, wise and peaceable, devoted to God and the public good; and the teachers were all wise, judicious men, of universal certain knowledge, per- fectly acquainted with the matter and method of natural and theo- logical truths, and all their duty, and all of one mind, and of one heart, and tongue and practice, loving each other, and the people as themselves, and leading the flocks heavenward, through all temptations, with triumphant hopes and joy ; where all the people perfectly obeyed God, their commanders, and their teachers, and lived in perfect love, unity, and peace, and were daily employed in the joyful praises of God, and hopes of glory, and in doing all possible good to one another, contending with none through igno- rance, uncharitableness, or pride, nor ever reproaching, injuring, or hurting one another, &c. I say, if I knew orheard ofsuch a coun- try, should I not love it before I ever see it, and earnestly desire to be there ? Nay, do I over-leve this distracted world, where tyran- ny sheddeth streams Of blood, and layeth desolate cities and coun- tries, and exposeth the miserable inhabitants to lamentable dis- tress and famine ; where the same tyranny sets up the wicked, re- proacheth and oppresseth the just and innocent, keepeth out the gospel, and keepeth up idolatry, infidelity, and wicittedness, in the far greatest part of all the earth; where Satan chooseth pastors too often for the churches of Christ, even such as by ignorance, pride, sensuality, worldliness, and malignity, become thorns and thistles, yea, devouring wolves, to those whom they should feed and com- fort ; where no two persons are in all things of a mind ; where evil
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