Caryl - Houston-Packer Collection BS1415 .C37 v7

2 58 Chap..:2.`.4 - ertior r'c Boo f J O B. vet f. z6,; ilrengthning oy ; fuch isthe joyof the Lord, as Nehemiah told that people (Neh. 8. to.) The jy of the Lord, i<t the flrengtb of the foule, tke f rengtb ofthe inwardman, it, make: us mighty, it make: us giants to run our race, the race ofholit.effe. Thegiant re- júycech to run his rice, b rauCehe is {bong, and knowes he can doe ir.i he joy of the Lord is our ffrength,and is both a.n evidence that weare firong, and a rneänes to make us fo. Worldly, de- lights are weake, andthey weaken us, Delight in the Lord is fLL,org, and it ffrrengthens. Thirdly, It is a laflingdelight ; not like the crackling of thorns Coder a pot, (towhich Solaro,,n elegantly compares the laughter, of the Pole, Eccl 7. 6.) that make a noife, anda blaze for a while, but are preíently exti a. Now Solomon: Poole may beeither., fiat, the prophane man in.the world, or, fecondly, the hypocrite in the Church All the Noyes ofthis payre of fools, the prophane worldling, and the forrnall hypocrite are Toone in and:foon our, like crackling thornes. Bu.z joy ordelight,in the Almighty is a laving delight, it is not for á fir, or a pang,but for a continuance, ea it continueth in the midit ofall worldly forrows, for it over-, comes a°:'d conquers thetta. There is a laughter in which ( faith Solomon, Pro. 14, 13 ) t! e heart is forrowfull, and t' ere is a for-. row in wh ch the heart laughs ; GIs forrowfull, yet altvayes reiny-, cing. faith the Apoffle (a Cor.6.io.) Spiritual] joy,or joy in the Lord is not extinguifhed, though furr,ounde4 with worldly for- ro,wes Ivl..fly waters cannot f xench this vehementflame,thinflame: ofGod (as Solcm a ,peaks of love, Cont. 8.) neither cas the floods alr©une it, Fourthly, Delight in the Allmighty is a holy.dcjighr,a delight which makes us more holy; the delights of the world are impure, and they defile us, we feldome take in worldly plea fures, but they leave forne.fpot &taint upon our fpirits or converfations; but the delights we, have in the Lordare cal pure, yea purifying delights, theymake,the foul more cleare, more holy, more heavenly, they Make us like unto the Almighty,inwhom our delight is.Fór look what the ob;eft is in which we delight, fuch is the fpirir of him that takes that delight; now the Lord in,whom this delight is,be- ing altogether holy, they-.that take delightin him, muff needs be .made or kept holy by it. As;delightin worldly things makes the heart worldly,bale and dreggilb,fo this refines &purifies it.T he more

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=