PART III, of gracious Afe1ions. 211 Such is the Nature of Grace, and of true fpiritual Light, that they naturally difpofe the Saints in the prefent State, to look upon their Grace and Goodnefs little, and their Deformity great. And they that have the moft Grace and fpiritual Light, of any in this 'World, have melt of this Difpofition. As will appear moft clear and evident to any one that foberly and thoroughly weighs the Nature andReafon of Things, and confiders the Things following. That Grace and Holinefs is worthy to be called little, that is, little in Comparifon of what it ought to be. And fo it feems to one that is truly gracious : For fuch an one has his Eye upon the Rule of his Duty; aConformityto that is what he aims at ; it is what hisSoul ftrug- files and reaches after ; and it is by that that he eflimates and judges of what he does, and what he has. To a gracious Soul, and efpe- 'ciaily to one eminently gracious, that Holinefs appears little, which is little of what it fhould be ; little of what he fees infinite Reafon for, and Obligation to. If his Holinefs appears to him to be at a vaft Diftance from this, it naturally appears defpicable in his Eyes, and not worthy to be mentioned as any Beauty or Amiablenefs in him. For the like Reafon as a hungry Man naturally accounts that which is fet before him, but a little Food, a fmall Matter, not worth mentioning, that is nothing in Comparifon of his Appetite. Or as the Child of a great Prince, that is jealous for the Honour of his Fa- ther, and beholds the Refpea which Men Phew him, naturally looks on that Honour and RefpeE very little, and not worthy to be re- garded, which is nothing inComparifon of that, which the Dignity of his Father requires. But that is the Nature of true Grace and fpiritual Light, that it opens to a Perfon's View the infinite Reafon there is that he fhould be holy in a high Degree. And the more Grace he has, the more this is open'd to View, the greater Senfe he has of the infinite Ex- cellency and Glory of the divine Being, and of the infinite Dignity of the Perfori of Chrift, and the boundlefs Length and Breadth, and Depth and Height, of the Love of Chrift to Sinners. And as Grace encreafes, the Field opens more and more to a diftant View, 'till the Soul is fwallowed up with the Vaftnefs of the Object, and the Perfori is aftonifhed to think how much it becomes him to love this God, and this glorious Redeemer, that has fo loved Man, and how little he does love. And fo the more he apprehends, the more the Smallnefs of his Grace and Love appears ftrange and wonderful : And therefore is more ready to think that others are beyond him. For wondring at the Littlenefs of his own Grace, he can fcarcely believe that fo ftrange a Thing happens to other Saints : 'Tis amazing to him, that one that is really a Child of God, and that has actually received the faving Benefits of that unfpeakable Love of Chrift, fhould love no more : And he is apt to look upon it as a Thing peculiar to himfelf, a ftrange P 2 and
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