Fenner - Houston-Packer Collection BX5133.A1 F37 1657

thou prayeft , the leffe affe&ions thouwilt have ; the more thou heareff, and the more thoufpeakeft of Religion or of grace, the more formall thou wilt be , thine affe&ions will be leffe fet hereupon. Omy brethren, this is a curled Grafs and difpofition of foule , to be fpir:tually cloyed in this man- ner ; abound and abound right , elfe it's to fmall purpofe ; if thou a- bound hi good duties , and abound right , this will fet thine affe&ions uponGod. Abound in a thing , andbe the thingnever fo bad , it will foon command chine affections. Let a man be abundant in playing, drinking, or abundant though it be but in the taking of hot waters , I have knowne force their affe&ions were fo to it , that it killed them. Beloved , abound then in goodduties , this will takeoff thine affe&ions fròin the world , and let themon God. This is the feventh means , to let our afe&ion onGod , to be abundant in theduties ofholineffe. The eight is this , Labour to dive down to the bottoms of thine ofeElions ; the g, fweeteft is at bottome as we fay, So the affections that are fweeteft to the Dive down to heart are at bottome. And therefore dive down to the bottome, and get up the borrow of the bottome of thine affe&ions, and fet them upon God; thine affe&ions are thine affel:ons. never fet upon God, till them at thebottome are let upon God. Aman may fet the (hallow ofhis affeilions uponCÇod,when the bottom is fetupon the things ofthe world. There is many a clofe hypocrite , he thinks his affections to the worldare now dead ;bur they are not dead : theFox feems often tobe dead, to feize the more cunningly on hisprey. So the affections will feem to be dead to the world, that fo theymay be the more cunning to feed upon the things of the world; theyTeem to be dead, that is, the(hallowof themkerns to, but the bottome í}i11 is alive to theworld, that is not fet upon God. &lo- ved, a man may fet the (hallow of hisaffections upon a thing,which the bottom ofhis affe&ions does hate. See this in Ammon, his affections were to7hamar, and he loved her. O hewouldTeem to be lick for her. I , the !hallowofhis affe&ions were toher, but anon out comes the bottome : when the bottomof his affections once did comeout, then he did hate her. He hated her work thenhe loved her. 2 Sam, i 3. r 5. dive down then to the bottomeof thine af- fe&ions, and labour withall might toget up the bottome , and fet them up- on God, Here's aman, he bath good afte&ions to repentance and amend- menr,good affe&ionsto begodly and have grace; he reforms much, and he proteges much : you wouldwonder to fee this man a year hence to perfecute the Minifter, and tooppofe Gods people, and make a mock of the power of Religion : but this you may fee, if the bottome ofhis affe&ions benot got up and fct upon God. Get upthebottom,and let thatuponGod,or 'tis nothing. There be three means toget up the bottome of thine affe&ions, and fet themuponGod. Firft, Be humbledafter all thy turning unto God, this will get up thebottome Mea*es toget ofthine affèctions to God. Awickedman before he is turned unto God may up the bottome be humbled;as Ahab washumbled,and7t das was humbled,andPharaoh too, of the affeli_ and many other fanners theyare humbled before ever they have turned from ons* their fns.Whenonce theyhave turned from their profanenefs,andtheir im- Behu ibledaf pieties,then theybegin to think well of themfelves , now they arewell, think ter thy turning they : indeed before they are turned,they may be humbled.. Thus a to trod. drunkard and a whoremonger may be humbled , thus a mocker and a prophane perfon maybe humbled, their cotafciences may pull themby the throat as long as they live in thefe finmes, and then their affections are ftirred exceedingly : they may weep,andugh and groan, and tremble, andbe afhamed of their doings ; they may be humbled thus before they . are turned : but "when theyare onceturned from thefe fins, thenthey begin to be quiet and fecure, and to hope well. Alas, alas the bottome is not tipyet. But if thouwouideft get up the bottom of thinaffc&ions, behumb- G 2 led

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