Featly et. Al. - BV4275 T47 1672

TheDefireofthe ì Faithfatl. t$ 5 breathingsotdefires toward God their hearts Ihould work, and beat towardhint continually. But then in the third place, there is another thing expreffed In the words of the cyópd wish Text, and that is, there defires are notonly (accordingto our Pi:overb,ofwühers 1.C1en `OUS, nd woulders) ineffc&cal defires ; defires that are meet gaping, to fee if the thing,' Will drupinto our mouthesor no,-withoát any beflirringof nur felves i but here is I joyned with them (ifweperufe the words of the Tcxt,we (hall find it) endeavour,, have defsred thee in the night ; and I will feek thee early ; the fonl'of a Cbrifiia': defires God in the evening, and his fpirit will Peek him early in the Mori ing, (for thole particularsof the time, I shall touch by and by, but now I only takenotice of that third dif}in&t a& herementioned,which is,) our defires mutt be joyned with inquiries, with endeavoùrs, to fearch,after God, to fee if we may gropeby any tans to find him our, to learn to know what is the way of his good will and pleafure, how we may lead a life that May be acceptable to him, and how we may come to the poffeffion, and affurance of his favour, and be accepted in his fight. Except there beendeavours, it is a shrewd fidpition, that the defires are ineffe&tül Dcfireo ;bin. defires, andunformed defires ; and riot thole that argue ahy iife, and truth ofgrace. our endeia- 13 uwhen our defires are joyned with there bcftitrings of the foul, o Peck after Go-d, vwits, faltt. to fearch him (MC in his Word, in his Ordinances, to find his (reps , and to find his goings, and lo to maintain a fwcet and holy co,-; with him ; that is a fwcet a& of Grace , and a certain ratification , and leal of the truth of itc (But then, let me add the third thing. In what height areall there aérions to be The manner boyled up ? or in what manner mutt we tender theft fervices to God iii this kind? ofcxus find How mutt our underftandings lay hold upon God , and treafnre him up in our tne(e tail memories ? How muff our affcetions and defires work toward him ? how rnuft our endeavours he carried toward God ? The manner of all there will make this compleat, and fo make up the full and compleat Chartdieròfa Chriflissn, in this ge- neralduty. , Firlt, the foul muff be carried intimately, andmolt inwardly ; the inward reo- r. T1aej muft tions and workings of the foul and fpirit Mull be toward God. And there- .c9rnefronain- fore the Prophet here expreffeth diefe alts, as thealts ofthe very foul andfpirit,of a ward. prises - man. plea. All outward aelions of feeking toward God, and making our approaches and addeefes toward him, they are all Inch as maybe counterfeited, a hypocrite may aEt them. -1here is nothing in the world, no lhape ofany external thing in the World, but a Painter with his profil can drays, the ptft'ure of it, give a refemblante of the thing ; and there is no outvvard adrion in the vvorld, that belongeth to God, or torhriftianity, but it is peiflible for a Painter, for a b,afc hypocrite to rcpi efent them vvith-an artifitial penfd. Bathe invvarda&s offife, that no Paintercad imi- tate ; a Painter cannot make a piEture to have heart, and entrails, and lungs, to have life and.motion, and fpirits, and blond ftirrhig in the veins ; allchofe things a Painter cannot imitate : he can make shapes, but hecannot put the life into them ; he can make outvvard forms , but he cannot put the invvarda fo them. Nove then this is thatintended here t all thole outvvard adtious muff be, animated aEtipns ; not dead a&tions, actions that ha$e no further bottom than the teeth outwards, that grow upon the houle top; a word growing upon the tip of th'e tongue, that hath no root in the heart, and fo for the reffa But they muff have the root in the heart and foul of a man'; that muff inwardly be carriedtowards God. Arid when the heart and foul, and fpirit of a man (all which words ire here ufed ) by a fupernatural grace that is implanted in them , when (I fay) they, are thus carried toward God, it is aà argument offpirittial life ; that' there is tome life. Secoñdly, they mull be carried fiücerely,' not for any by ; orbale refpeL3s. Whena man makes toward anyperfori or thing, and profeffes love to it; and Both it not for the' thing it felf, but for fome by end ; he doth not love that pèrfon he :makes to,' but he loveth that thing for whom he makes to that perfon. As for ex- B"b a'mples z: They mub beüucete.

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