A Treatif of the Affections. 8; thinking of the world, his merhory abounds with;remem- bring the things of the world, his tongue abounds in talk- ing of filch matters, his labours and his cares abound in this kinde, and therefore his affections are abundantly let upon thefe things. There is nothing makes the affeaions fo excefiîve as abundance,' Abound then in the exercifes of Gods worfhip, if thou wouldeft have thine affections to be abundant that way. Never think thou canft pray enough, hear enough, eak,holily enough, examine thy foul enough, nor fanctifte the Sabbath enough, never think thou canft reform enough, or do any duty enough. Men ferve God as little as they dare, they pray and hold out in their pray- ers as little as they dare, they Phew themfeives for God as little as they dare, thefe mens affections can never be upon God, becaufe they love not to be abundant in good du- ties : thy heart is a great deep, Pja 64.6. It is not a little winding, or a little turningwill fetch up a Bucket out of a deep Well. So the heart I fay is a great deep, a little pray- ing, and a little hearing, and a little amending will not fetch up the affections from this great deep unto God, no, Thou muff be abundant in goodueffe and in the duties of ï goodneffe, if thou wouldff have thine affections fet upon'. God ; provided alwaies that thy heart be renewed and quickned, otherwife abundance will cloy thee. The more I thou prayeft, the lefl'e affections thou wilt have : the more thou heareft, and the more thou fpeakeft of Religion or of grace, the more formal! thou wilt be, time affections will be lefï'e fet hereupon. O my brethren, this is a ct rfed crafts and difpofition of foul, to be fpiritually cloyed in this manner; abound and abound right, elfe its to fmall pur- pole ; "ifthou abound in good duties, and abound right, this will fet their affections upon God. Abound in a thing, and be the thing never fo bad; it will foon command time affeetions. Let a man be abundant in playing, drinking, or abundant though it be but in the taking of hot waters, I have known Come their affections were fo to it, that it kil- M2 led
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=