711-' 238 DItìECTIONS HOW TO LEAD A David ? How much more would it raise and refresh 'us, to be skilful and frequent in the work ourselves! O the madness of youth, that lay out their vigour of body and mind upon vain delights and fleshly lusts, which is so unfit for the noblest work of man ! And, O the sinful folly of many of the saints, who drench their spirits in continual sadness,' and waste their days, in complaints and groans, and so make themselves both in body and mind unfit for this sweet and heavenly work ! Instead of joining with the people of God in his praises, they are questioning their worthiness, and studying their miseries, and so rob God of his glory, and themselves of their consolation. But the greatest destroyer of our comfort in this duty, is our taking up with the tune and melody, and suffering the heart to be idle, which ought to perform the principal part of the work, and use the melody to revive and exhilarate itself. 19. (8) Ever keep thy soul possessed with be- lieving thoughts of the infinite love of God. Love is the attractive of love. Few so vile, but will love those that love them. No doubt it is the death of our heavenly life, to have hard thoughts of God, to conceive of him as one that would rather damn than save us. This is to put the blessed God into the simi- litude of Satan. When our ignorance and unbelief have drawn the most deformed picture of God in our imaginations, then we complain that we cannot love him nor delight in him. This is the case of many thousand Christians. Alas, that we should thus blas- pheme God, and blast our own joys ! Scripture assures us that God is loved r)thaf fitryis not in him ;(s)" that he hath no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live: "(t) Much more bath he testified his love to his chosen, and his full resolu- tion to save them. O that we could always think of God, as we do of a friend ! as of one that unfeignedly loves us, even more than we do ourselves ; whose very heart is set upon us to do us good, and bath therefore provided for us an everlasting dwelling with (r) 1 John iv. 16. (s) Isa: xxvii. 4. (t) Ezek. xxxiii. 11.
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