482 A SOUL, PREPARED TOR HEAVEN [DISC. VIII. thee, and joy in the Lord, for thy salvation and thy fe- licity shall be completed." Remark III. " How vain, and idle, and unreasonable, are all the hope of sinners, that they shall ever arrive at .heaven without any preparation for it here ?" . There is nothing divine and holy begun in them in this world, and yet they hope to be made happy in the world that is to come ; there is nothing of true grace wrought in their hearts here, and yet they vainly expect to be made per- fect in pleasure and glory hereafter. " Think with thyself, O carnal creature, that heaven will be a burden to thee; the powers, the, appetites, and passions of thy sinful nature, will not suffer thee to re- lish the joys of the heavenly state. Dost thou imagine that a worm or serpent of the earth, or a swine which is ever tumbling in the mire, can be entertained with the golden ornaments and splendors of a palace ? Or will the stupid ass be delighted with the harmony of ,a harp, or viol ? Nomore can a soul of a carnal and sensual taste, . and which is ever seekingand groveling after earthlygra- tifications, be pleased or gratified with the refined enjoy- ments of the heavenlyworld. Thou must have a new nature, new appetites and affections, ere thou canst partake of divine joys; or relish them if thou wert placed in the midst of them. Holy adoration of. God, and humble converse with him in worship, converse with the saints about divine things, perfect purity and devo- . tion, with the meditation of the excellencies of Christ, and the sight of him in his ordinances, have never yet been the object of thy delight orjoy: nay, they have ra- ther been thy aversion ; and shouldst thou have the gates of heaven open before thee, and see what business the holy souls there are employed in, thou wouldst find no desire to such sort of satisfactions; the place and the company would be thy burden, if thou couldst be let at once into the midst of them. " Think again, Osinful wretch, thy carnality of soul, thy supreme loveof sensual and brutal joys, the secret malice, or envy, the pride and impiety of thy heart, have prepared thee for another sort of 'company; thou art fitted for hell by the very temper of thy spirit, for such are the inhabitants of that miserable world, and in thy pre- sentstate there can be no admission for.thee.into. heaven,
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