182 IMPORTANCE OF A HEAVENLY [Chap. II. thou not perceive that the heart of God is set upon thee, and that he is still minding thee with tender love, even when thou forgettest both thyself and him ? Is he not fol- lowing thee with daily mercies, moving upon thy soul, pro- viding for thy body, preserving both ? Doth he not bear thee continually in the arms of love, and promise that " all shall work together for thy good," and suit all his dealings to thy greatest advantage, and " give bis angels charge over thee ?" And canst thou be taken up with the joys below, and forget thy Lord, who forgets not thee ? Un- kind ingratitude ! When he speaks of his own kindness for us, hear what he says : "Zion said, TheLord hath for- saken me, and myLordhath forgotten me. Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compas- sion on the son of her womb? Yea, she may forget, yet will I. not forget thee. Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands ; thywalls are continually before me." But when he speaks of our regards to him, the case is otherwise. " Can a maid forget her ornaments, or a bride her attire ? Yet mypeople have forgotten me,days without number." As if he should say, " You will not rise one morning, but you will remember to cover your nakedness, nor forget your vanity of dress; and are these of more worth than your God ? of more importance than your eter- nal life ? And yet you can forget these, day after day." Give not God cause thus to expostulate with us. Rather let our souls get up to God, and visit him every morning, and our hearts be towards him every moment. 11. Our interest in heaven, and our relation to it, should continually keep our hearts upon it. There our Father keeps his court. We call him " Our Father, who art in heaven." Unworthy children! that can be so taken up in their play, as to be mindless of such a Father. There also is Christ, our head, our husband, our life ; and shall we not look towards him, and send to him as oft as we can, till we come to see him face to face? Since " the heavens must receive him until the times of the restitu- tion of all things," let them also receive our hearts with him. There also is "New Jerusalem, which is the mo- ther of us all." And there are multitudes of our elder brethren. There are our friends and old acquaintance, whose society in the flesh we so much delighted in, and
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=