ASSISTED BY SENSIBLE OBJECTS. 275 Suppose thyself his fellow traveller into the celestial. kingdom ; and that thou hadst seen all the saints in their white robes, with palms in their hands; and that thou hadst heard these songs of Moses, and of the Lamb.: If thou hadst really seen and heard these things, in what a rapture wouldst thou have been ! And the more seri- ously thou puttest this supposition to thyself; the more will thy meditation elevate thy heart. Do net, like the papists, draw them in pictures.; but get the Liveliest: picture of them in thy mind thou possiblyeanst, by contemplating the scripture account of them, till thou . canst say, " Methinks I see a glimpse of glory !. Me- thinks 1 hear the shouts of joy and praise, and even standby Abraham and David, Peterand Paul, and other triumphant souls! Methinks I even see the Son of God appearing in the clouds, and the world standing at his bar to receive their doom; and hear him say, "Come, ye blessed of my Father; and see them go rejoicing into the joy of their Lord ! My very dreams of these things have sometimes greatly affected me ; and should not these just suppositions much more affect me ; What if I had seen, with Paul, those unutterable things ? Or, with Stephen, had seen heaven opened, and Christ sit- ting at the right hand of God.? Surely that one sight was worth his storm of stones. ghat if I had seen as Micaiah did, the Lard sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and .on his left ? Such things did.these men of God ,see ; and I shall shortly see far more than ever they saw till they were loosed from the flesh, as 1 must be." Thus you see how it excites our affections in this heavenly work, if we make strong and familiar suppositions from our bo- dily senses, concerning the state of blessedness, as the Spirit hath, in condescending .:language, .expressed it. § 4. (2) The other way in which our senses ma.y pro- mote this heavenly work, is, by comparing the object of sense with the object of faith. As for instance, You may strongly argue with your hearts, from the corrupt delights of sensual men, to the joys above. Think with yoursélves, " Is it such a delio ht to a sin- ner to do wickedly ? And will it not be delightful in
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