upon the Epifllt of JA-M B s. VB RS.8. before.. So when ChriO: would refemble our apoftace nature, he doth it byaProdigals going intoa{11r Co~tntr)', Lu~1 5. I 4· And the Apofile givct.h the reafon, how we came to lofe thefellowfbrp, as well as thefaveur ofGod, when he-thus defcribeth the natural .efiate of the Gentiles, Alienated from the life ofGod, Ephef.4.18. We are !lrangers' to Godslife, aAd therefore no wonder ifwe have ,Jofi his company. Trees do not converfe with beafts, nor belfljfs with men, becau(e they do not live the life of each other: Senfo muft fit the trees t.o converfe with be~fts, and rea(on the bea(is to converfe withmetJ; andgrace mufr fit men to converfe with qod: ' There is a difiance you lee. Now men alienate themfelves more and more, partly by their .4ffeelion.r, and partlyby their praEli{es. By their ajfeelio11s; they care not for God, dd1re not hts company: {ob 21. 1~. Depart fromm, for We dejire not th Cc knowledg pf thy Wap. Faln man _ is grown obftinate, little worfe then the De-vil: The Devils faid, Dep~trtfromm ,art thou. come to torment m before our time? Mat.8. Gods pref~nce is their tor!Tlent: Men care not to hold communion with him,becaufe ofan hatred to his ways; :they wiili the acnihilation and deftruction of his Being.. ·ris aplea– Ling thought to carnal fpirits, to fuppofe that if there were no God, they might let loQfe the reins to vile affetlions. So alfo by their pr11Cli{es: YAll fins diyide between G9d and the Soul; J[ai.59·2· y Pmata elon– Tour iniquities havej/p~rated betweenyouand God. Sin makethga~tt nsr vo!un· us lhy of his prefence ; guilt cannot endurea thought of the Judg ; ta:c n~~~ :o,o. and it maketh God offended with us : How can an holy N A titre delight in an impure creature ? And as fin in the general doth th11s, fo there are fome fpecial fins that feparare between God and the Soul: As Pride, Pfal. I 38. 6. The proud he k,poweth ~f~tr "ff: God fiandeth at adifiance, and will have no communion with a proud fpirit. So creature-confidence, andfelf-fatufaelion, that keepeth us off from God; we fiand at a difiance, as ifwe had enough of oar own: Jer.17.). Cu~fed ~the man that maketh fiefo hu arm, departingjrom the iiving.God. The nearefl union is wrought by , faith, that maketh the Soul fiay in him ; and the greateft feparation when wego to other Confidences, for then there is a plain lt:aving of.God. Well then, con[lder your condition by niuure,aliensfrom God• .That you may refent it the more, confider the Caufe and the. &Jfeels of ir. I. TheCau(e; the heart is fet upon fin,and therefore ellrangedfromGod: Cqf,I.n. Alienated, and eNemies In your Ppp minds
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