Hopkins - HP BR75 .H65 1710

550 The Excellency of Heavenly Trcafurcs. laid up by you as your Soul's Treafure. But Hc.:nrenly Treafure is fuitJblc Trca· fure, fuitable to your Souls, and that in a Twofold refpea. I. HcavcniJ Treafures they are fuitablc to the Nature of your Souls. And Il. They arc fu itable to the Neceffities of your Souls. ' 1. Hca'IJcnly Treafurcs they are fuitable to the Nature of your Souls. Aod t hat in thefc two refpe(t:s. · ( J. ) They are Spiritual Treafitr-es for 1111 immaterial Soul. And, ( 2.) They are durable Treafures for ar1 immortal Soul; and therefore they are fu!tablc Trcafures. · · 1. Hea'IJtnly Treafures thty are Spirirual, and therefore Juited to a Soul that is of a fpiritual and immaterialfubftance. Hence the Apo.frle,. Epl1c[ 1. 31 Blcjfrth God, 1vho bath blef{ed m with a fJ fpiritual Bieffings in heavenly thmgs m Chrift ']rfus. Truly heavenly thi ngs are thefe fpiritual Bleffings, refined from all du ll and earthly Mixtures. God himfclf, that is the total fnm of all the Treafurcs of all the Saints on Earth he is a Spirit himfelf, his Love and Favour, lntereft in him, Communion and Fcllowfuip with him, they arc all fpir itual and clarified, -and chryJlal things, t hat a carnal Eye cannot fee, neither can a carnal Judgment value; the moft fuirablc are they therefore to a Soul that is a Spir it. Of all things belonging to a Man, the Breath of a Man is the moft {ubril, invifible, and fpiritual ; but now the Soul, that is called the Breath of God metaphorically, Gen. 2. 7· and therefore of a verY high degn:e of fpiritualnefs. Now bring fpiritual things to fpiri tual, debafe not thy fpiritual and high· born Soul, by. match ing it to the low and inferiour things of the· World; let not thy pure and fpiri[ual Soul be unequally yoked with the dregs and drofs of any worldly Enjoyment: G 0 D and C HR I S T, and the things of Eternity, they are fuitable to th~ Soul, they are fpiritual, like thy fpiritual and better part; and.tho' to a carnal Heart thcfe fcem but empty and notional things, yet a Child of a God taftcs more Sweetnefs and Comfort in thcJe th ings , than in what· ever the World can prefent unto it. The Love of God , the Confolations of his Spirit, ACl:ings of Grace, Hopes of Glory, the invifiblc things, thcfc arc the true Riches. And then, Rc4.venlJ. 2. Hea'Vtniy Treafurc ir the ouly durabLe Treafurc~ and therefore fuired to an immort 11l rrca{urc 1!1 Soul. The things of this World will not go one ftep with you beyond this prefent ura le. Life; and what a fad parti ng hour will tha[ be to the Soul, to go into another World, and to leave all its Trtafurc behind in this .World? How will it j)rotrafr and linger, and how loth will it be to enter upon fo great a Journey, withonta Trealure to defray the Charges of it? How gha!lly will the Sou l look back upon thofe things that it made its Treafure? What will it fay? Muft not I carry this Eftate and that Treafurc out of the World with me? M nit we thus part for ever? Yes, Oh Soul, for ever; for none of [hefe things canft thou carry with thee. And, Oh what a fad thing will it be for the poor Soul to be fet afuore upon the vaft Ocean of Eternity, and to have nothing at all to relieve and fupport it, all its Treafure being in another World! Well, but now Heavenly Treafure is durable Treafure; it is current not only in t his, but in t he other World which is to come; in Prov. 8. 18. fays Wifdom there, Riches and Honour llre rPith me; yea, durable Riches and Righteoufnefs. Indeed Righteoufnefs is this durable Riches. When all things in the World ftare on thee, and thou on them, and fo take leave of one another eternally, yet then the Love of God, Intereft in Jefus Chrift, his Divine and Heavenly Graces, thefe will then ftand by thee, and keep thee company, yea, and" enter into Heaven, and there abide with thee to all ~tcrnity. It is true, thy Faith, that is now a bufie and aCtive Grace, that like M ojes cloth here get up to Mount Pi{gah, and there takes a view of the Land of Canaan; muft it fclf die before it comes there : Yet this is no leffcning of the Treafure, though thoa. dolt lofe [hy Faith; for indeed it is not fo much the lofs of [hy Fa ith, as the [wallowing of it up, a changing of it into Sight and Vifion: Faith and Fruition they are inconfiftent one with another; but now all th y other Graces, Love, Joy, and Delight, which are now often cclipfed and faint, and languifu in their Atl:ings, yet thc_n they Jhall keep an eurnat Jubilee. Never fear the failing of thy Happinefs: lt JS &rue, here the Waters do only bubble, and they may and often do fail, but there thou Jhalt bathe thy felf in an infinite Ocean of Delight; there thou fhalt lye at the Breaft of an ever-bubbling Founta in of Sweetnefs; God fhaH be eternally there, and thou lhalt be e'ernally there; he will be eternally glancing and finiling on thee, and

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