·The Excellency of Heavenly Treaforcs. It is trUe in a regenerate Man there remains mu~h of Corruption, and of the old"setf ·'but yet Grace being the fupream prevailing Principle, it will be that that giv;s the felt to a Man, and that that which before was a Man's fclf, and was Joved, now is become a Traytor, and Rebel, and Enemy to that new fclf that is wrought in a Chriftian by R~generation. . 2. Man's Self being changed, Jm Treafure muft alfo neetjfanly be changed. The new Regenerate Self cannot fubfift and live u_p~n its old Treafitre, all is but _Husks and Swinei meat to the Sot1l, now that It IS begotten anew, and born at God, the focd of God dwelleth in it ; and therefore now it looks after that, that is conformable to its Divine Original and Conftitution. What the Apoftle preneth the Coloffians to, in Col. 3· 1, If ye be Rifen rflith Chrift,feek rhofc things that are abo7Je. Trnly, it is the ncccffary practice of every Heaven-born Soul, whoever is born again, whoever is Ri~cn with Chr!ft, _will !nfallibly feek· the things that ~re ~bove, he will do it : There Js a natural mfhnc:t m the New Creature, that carnes tt out· naturally to Spiritual and Heavenly Obje£ts, As the Infant that is new-born doth by inftina feek after the Breaft, though it never before received Nourifhment that way ; fo the new~born Chriftian, that hath imprinted upon it the Divine" Nature, hath fuch an impulfe and inftinC.t in it, that naturally moves it to Spiritual ObjcEls, as the only fuitable Nourifhment and Good for the Soul. And therefore, to intimate the Tcndernefs of this new Infancy, the Apoftle tells us, As new~bor11 Babe1 defire the fincere milk of the word. The new-born Babe receives Nourilhment no longer from the Navel ; and fo the new-born Chrifrian no IoiJger creeps upon his Beliy, and licks the Duft of the Earth ; but feeds upon and de fires the fin cere Milk of the \.Vorld. That that is born of the fpirit U [pirit, and th<i'refore will long and breathe after that which is fpiritual, bccaufe it is fpiritual, and bears a proportion to its own Being. In 1ohn 6. 63. fays Chrift there, 'The words thttt I /peak they art fpirit and they are life; that is, they arc able to maintain you in life that you may live upon them as fuftenance : Why fo ? Becanfe they are they are Spirit and Life, they are fpiritual Words fuited to a fpiritual Soul, to a Soul that is born again of the Spirit, and therefore fit to nourifh you 1 and fuch as will keep you alive. Look, as the Angels live, fo lives a Chriftan's fpidtual part; it is the fame Good that is common to both, and that which they both defire,- embrace, and twine about. Can yoU bribe an Angel now by all the Profits of the World? Can you effeminate him by all the Pleafures of the World? Can you elevate and puff him up by' all the Honours and Dignities of the World? No, all thefe things are below his -Nature, and he cannot defcend to them, they are not fuitable to him, he lives in his God, and Eternally funs himfelf in the light of the Beams of his Coun[enance. So lives the New Creature alfo: It is fpiritual, and therefore clafps only about fpiritual things: The World bears no more affinity and proportion to the fpiritual part of a Chriftian, than it doth to Angels; but bring God the Father of Spirits, and here both .Angels and it cliug about the Divine Efif:nce, and ncftle themfelves about him for ever, and fill and fatisfic themfelvcs in him: Here is Meat fuitable to their Natures, a fpiritual God for fpiritual things. Indeed, fometimes the carnal part may throw in fo much Earth and Rubbifh, that may for a time bury the New Creature under it; but when it is in its own element, it never ceafeth heaving and working, till it bath got above Earth, and got into the enjoyment of its God again. So then, becaufc the Soul is not felf.fufficienc, becaufc it is an indigent Creature, therefore it muft have the addition of fome other Good to it, to eke out and fupply its DefeCts. And becaufe the indigeut and ncceffitated Soul bath in Regeneration a fupernatural Principle implanted in it, therefore fpiritual and heavenly ObjeCl:s only comply and fu it with it : Thefe therefore are the T!"~afure of the the Soul, and you fee whence it is that the Soul doth account heavenly and fpiritual things to be its Treafure, be· caufc fuited to thcit heavenly and fpiritual Principle that is implanted in the Soul in Converfion. Now thefe things are its Treafure. t. Godkim/elf. So God tells out, and gives himfelf unto Abrttham, Gen. IS· I, I am thy /hicld, and rhey exceeding great reward. So Da7Jid reckons up to you what a large and great Eftatc he h~d in the poffeffion and enjoyment of God, in Pfal. 16. s, 6. The Lord H the Portion of my inheritauce, and of my cup: Thou mainraineft my lot. 2. 'Je[tu Chrift is its Trca[urc ttl{o. Buy of me Gold tried in thefire, thttt thou maift ' h 557
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