Treatif of the feE1ions. holds that it catchall, is by the affeaions. Men are affectedwith theword and fo it comes co.convert men; now beloved , had you ndt need tohave à careof your affeetions,feciugthey are thehandles ofyour hearts? were it not for them, the word could never catch hold on you. There is no hold to bé it had of filch aman, as we fay;that iss that his affeaions are flippery Belo- ved, here you come toGods Houfe, iniferable wretched foules , in your fins, .alas, how is it pofpible that ever.Gods Minifters fhould catch hold ofyour hearts l your affeaions are the main hold that we can catch of you. Ifyour affections be not here , but run after the things of this life , we can have no hold of you , you have nothing that we fhould take hold by. In- deed we may catch hold ofyour underftandtngs that's nothing milefle we take hold of your affections , they arc as flippery Ecics , we can fcarce ever hold them. O could we take holdof them; it were well : they are fair handlesfor us to take hold by. O if we could but truly affect your hearts with the truth , then we might have forrse hope to convert you. As Epiactus(ayes of wrongs and of injuries, andall things in theWorld ; every EpiH. thing bath .No AcLe ís. Every thing hath two handles, Ofayes'he, ifa mats cei ild take holdof every wrongat theright handle, thenhe would bear it patient ly; fo I may fay of your heàrts. Your hearts have two handles: 'I pray God theword may take holdat the right handle of your hearts. The true affe- ctionsof the uearr, if ever the word takehold of them , it bath taken holdof the right handle; Is it not then ajamentable thing that mens affections are mifplaced ? alas theyare the holdof the heart , and the heart can never be .taken, unit* they be let right. Sixthly, it mayappear how infinitely it f}ands you in hand to fet your af- 6: fections aright, becaufe they are the foulerftomack; that which the foul does Afetlions are affect., that tèedsand filleth the foul, as meatdoes the ftomack. Is it not tie- thefoules /to- ceffary tobe carefull whatmeat we do eat ? if weeat trafh it will kill us,4we mach feedupon poyfon, it will poyfonand infect us. Now that is the food of thy ,f, foule, which thy louddoes affect and thine 'affection is thy foules ftomack to hunger after it, thine affections are hek lixñs J rafgsces, layes Afpafius, they L. zlVi^ arc the appetiteof thefoul, Such then as your affections are , fuch is your con: . ad food. Shouldyou fee amanfeed upondirt and uponbricks, and upon carri- on, certainly you would fay,unleffe hebe broken therefrom, it will kill him. No remedybut it will kill him without doubt. And wilt thou feed thyfoule with vanities, andwith trafh , and with poyfon ? Every thing is trafh befsdes Chr;ff, every thing is poyfonbetides Chrift and his graces; if thou feedeft up- any thingbetides Chrift and his fpirit, thoufeedeft upon trafhand uponpoy- fon. Now it thoufa thine affections here below , thou feedefbupon trafh. Thou murthereft thy foul with fuchfood, it's rank poyfon, and yet thou feedeft upon it. Thatwhich thouaffecteft , that's thy foules food. As new born babes defire the fincere milkof the word, thatye maygrow thereby, i Pet.2.2. milk, yeknow, is the babes food : if it have not its food , it cannot poffibly live. But the word is themilkand the food of the foul, and that the Apoftle would have you to let your affectionsupon. Delire it, or affect it, (ayes he : where note your affections are the ftomack ofyour foul. The word is your food. All otherfood isbut trafh, and it feeds you accordingly, O ye poor foules that feed upon poyfon all the day long, that dyer your foules with nothing but trafh , and filth , and froth , how long will ye do thin ? O let your affections on things that areabove, thefe are the wholefome food of your foules, &c. Seventhly,it may appear how infinitely it Randsyou in hand to let your A}fe`fins at. é affectionsaright, because theyare the maine matter of grace. Theyare are the main xn W àgeo?kr, they are the materials ofgrace ; as Ariftotle (ayes ofthe verrues, matter ofgrace. they are nothing but the right ruling of theaff'e&ions, fo may I fay ofgrace Aria. D 3 with
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