612 ON EXCITING THE DEVOUT AFFECTIONS. mercy, and be the lively instrument of thy, praise : Give courage and wisdom, that I may know when and how to divert vain dis- course, and may Clare to speak for God. O when shall the time be, that they whichfiar the Lord, shallspeak often one to another: Mal. iii. 16. 'and warm each others hearts with heavenly conver- sation ? When shall the blessed Spirit revisit the forsaken churches, and dwell again in the degenerate families of Christi- ans? While we feel our hearts heavy, and our affections cold and languid in he things of God, we toil and heave in vain with- out this Spirit. We flutter upon the ground, and make attempts to rise heavenward ; but alas, we grovel and groan under our impotence,till the Spirit gives us an eagle's wingto mount us up toward tl:e heavenly world. With all our pious endeavours, let us join our efforts of importunate request for the return of the quickening Spirit, and his vital influences. " O that I might live much in the, faith of unseen things, and set myself continu- ally as on the borders of death. Turn aside the veil, O blessed Jesus, that I may look into the unseen world ! Or give the eyes of my faith vigour enough to pierce through the veil, and see my God and my Saviour. Andmay this blessed sight make a divine impression upon all the powers of my nature, such as may awaken every vigorous and pleasing passion of the heart, such as may engage me to keep my hopes always awake, my evidences for heaven unspotted, and my desires ever breathing toward thy pre- sence,my Saviour, and my God! If my pious passions were in their warmest exercise, I should be ever ready to obey the divine order for my removal hence: I should receive the messenger death with a smile on my countenance, and follow the angel with a chearful step, while be leads me away from a world of sin, sorrow, and darkness, to the regions of life and joy. O happy country, where sorrowand sin have no place, where my spirit in its inmost powers shall feel an eternal spring ! While we dwell in this world, it is all winter with us :. We behold the sun is afar off, and receive but feeble influences. But in the world on high, all thigngs around us are full of life and love : There are no gloomy hours, no chilling blasts, no cold and cloudy seasons. There no damp shall hang upon the wing of my de- vout affections, no watersshall ever quench the fervor of them. There I shall be for ever ascending nearer to God the centre of my soul, and all my motions will be swifter too. Every power within me shall feel stronger influences of his love, when I am got so far within the divine attraction, Then I shall complain no longer of absence and distance, nor feel any more eclipse of the face of my God ; but I . shall be perpetually receiving a full efflux of light and love from the eternal Sun of grace and glory. I shall spend the ages of my endless existence in a rich variety of sublime duties, and sublime delights; such delights and such
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