6 I 4 Treatife of the Area ions, thine affeetions to Chrifi. Chrift does as a great Prince, that minding to marry a wife out of a far Countrey, fends over his paranymphs to wooe for.him, to get her affecti- ons, if it bé poflible. So beloved, we thát are Gods Mini -- fiers, we are Chrifts paranymphs, we preach to wooe your affections to Chrift And therefore never mitre the preach- ing of the Word, it's the wooing- of your affelions to Chrift; they fay, women loveto be-much wooed. Love then the .preaching, of the Word, that wooes thee and wooes thee- again and again. O -what infinite need -haft thou of coming continually to the Word; thine affections are infinitely coy ; this they muff have, and that theymull have. Like a vainDamofel, the Tuft have her geegaws, and her fathions, the muftbave her pleafure and her will, and her eafe, and thus itmuft be, añdfoít (hall be, if the marry him, the will not have the man elfe, He hath fuch adoe to get her affeftions, either he is too homely, or too bale, or too ftrift, or too ill-favoured, or too poor, or forne- what. Now may be he hath her, and then her thoughts change, then again the is inclined, and then her affections are off. My brethren, fo it is with our fouls; our affefti. 'oils are to this and that and,I know not what. If Chrift will not let them hive their pleafures, and their eafe, and their profits,and their vanities,Chriftis not for them. They muff have the credit in the world, they'l not be mockt at for puritans and for hypocrites, they'l not deny father nor mother, nor felf, nor any of thefe things, they are loth to be held info fiddly, as Chrift doth indent. But Chrift will not marry us, unleffe our affections be wholly upon him. Bleffed is he that is not offended in me. Many are offended at the precifeneffe of his word, many at the bit - terneffe of the Croffe, many at the fhame of the world, they are offended in Chrift their affections are quite a- gainitthefe things. They are unwilling to be alwaies a talk- ing of Sermons and of Heaven, to be alwaies a wracking their thoughts about their fins, and about repentance and faith,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=