HEAVENLY LIFE UPON EARTH. 213 we who call ourselves his children feed on earth, and the garb of our souls is like that of the naked world, and our hearts familiarly converse with, and cleave to the dust, . rather than stand cóntinually in our Father's presence ? Surely we live below the children of the king, not according to the height of our hopes, nor the provision of our Father's house, and the great pre- parations made for his saints. It is well we have á, Father of tender bowels, who will own his children in rags. If he did not first challenge his interest in us, neither ourselves nor others could know us to be his people. But when a Christian can live above, and re- joice his soul with the things that are unseen, how is God, honoured by such a one ! The Lord will testify for him, " This man believes me, and takes me at my word ; he rejoiceth in my promise, before he bath possession ; he can be thankful for what his bodily eyes never saw ; his rejoicing is not in the flesh, his heart is with me; he loves my presence, and he shall surely enjoy it in my kingdom for ever. ßlessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. Them that honour me I will honour." How did God esteem him.- self honoured by Caleb and Joshua, when they went into the promised land, and brought back to their brethren a taste of the fruits, and slake well of the good land, and encouraged the people ! What a pro - mise and recompense did they receive ! 14. (9) A soul that doth not set its affections on things above, disobeys the commands, and loses the most gracious and delightfìil discoveries, of the word of God. The same God, that bath commanded thee to believe, and to be a Christian, bath commanded thee to seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the i ighthandof God, and to set your affections on things above, not on things on the eartfi.(J) The same God that hath forbidden thee to murder, steal, or commit adul- tery, hath forbidden thee the neglect of this great duty, and darest thou wilfully disobey him ? Why not make conscience of one, as well as the other? He hath made it thy duty, as well as the means of (f) Col. iii. I, Q.
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=