DISCOURSE II. 3S5 but now they behold him, the dear Redeemer that gave his life for them, they rejoice with joymuch more unspeakableandfull of superior glory. Thus have I shewn wherein thisperfection Of spirits in hea- ven consists, It is a high and glorious degree of all those excel- lenciesand privileges they were blessed with on earth, without any mixture ofthe contrary evil. It is aperfection of knowledge, holiness and joy. And eanst thou hear of all this glory, O my soul, and medi- tate of all this joy, and yet cleave to earth and the dust still. ? Hast thou not often mourned overthy ignorance, and felt a sensi- ble pain in the narrowness, the darkness, and the confusion of thy ideas, after the utmost stretch and labour ofthought ? How little dost thou know of the essence of God, even thy God, and how little of the twounited natures of Jesus thy beloved Saviour ? How small and scanty is thy knowledge of thyself, and of all thy fellow-spirits, while thoit art imprisoned in a cottage of clay ? And art thouwilling to abide in this dark prison still, with all thy follies and mistakes about thee ? Does notthe land of lightabove invite thy longing and awaken thy desires ; those bright regions where knowledge is made perfect, and where thy God and thy Redeemer areseen without a veil. And isnot the perfect holiness Of heaven another allurement to thee, Omy soul ? Dost thou trot stretch thy wings for flight at the very mention of a world without temptation and without sin ? How often hast thou groaned here under the burden of thy guilt, and the body of death ? How hard hast thou wrestled with thy inbred iniqui- ties ? An hourly war, and a long toilsome conflict ! How hast thoumourned in secret, and complained to thy God of theserest- less inward enemies of thy peace ? And art thou so backward still to enter into those peaceful regions where these enemies can never come, and where battle and war are known'no more; but perfect and everlasting holinessadorns the inhabitants, andcrowns of victoryand triumph. O the shattered and inperfect devotion of the best saints on earth ! O the feeble fluttering efforts of praise ! What poor hallelujahs we send up to heaven on notes of discord, and as it were, on broken strings? Art thou not willing, O my soul, to honour thy God and thy Saviour with sweeter harmony ? And yet what a reluctance dost thou shew to enter into that world of joy and praise, becausethe dark shadow of death hangs over the passage ? Come, awake, arise, shake offthy fears ; and let the sense and noticeofwhat the spirits of the just above enjoy, raise thy courage, and excite thee tomeet the first summons with sacred delight and rapture. But I fear I have dwelt too Tongupon three last parti- culars, because-they arematters of moreobvious notice, and more VOL. it. B tt
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