DISCOURSE X. 225 Spirit, revealing the things of Christ to their souls, that many of the.. confessors and martyrs in the primitive ages and in later ,times, have not only joyfully parted with all their possessions and their comforts in this life, but have followed the call of God .through prisons and deaths of a most dreadful kind, through racks and fires and many torments, for the sake of the love of Jesus ; and perhaps there may be some in our day who have had so lively and strong a sensation of the love of Christ let in upon their souls, that they could not only be content to be absent from all their carnal delights for ever, but even from their intellectual and more spiritual entertainments, if they might be for ever placed in such a situation to Jesus Christ, as to feel the everlast- ing beams of his love let out upon them, and to rejoice in him with perpetual delight. As lie is the nearest image of God the Father, they can love nothing beneath God equal to their love of him, nor delight in any thing beneath God equal to their delight in Jesus Christ : Indeed their love and their joy are so wrapped up in the great and blessed God as he appears in Christ Jesus, that they do not usually divide their affections in this matter, but love God supremely for ever, as revealing himself in his most perfect love in Christ Jesus unto their souls. How near this may approach to the glorified love of the saints in heaven, or what difference there is between the holy ones above and the saints below in this respect, may he hard to say. SECT. VIII, " Foretastes of heaven in the transcendent love of the saints to each other." I might here ask some ad- vanced saints, " Have you never seen or heard of a fellow- chris- tian growing into such a near resemblance to the blessed Jesus, in all the virtues and graces of the Spirit, that you would willing- ly part cvitit all the attainments and honours that you have already arrived at, which make you never so eminent in the world or in the church, as to be made so near a conformist to the image of tite blessed Jesus as this fellow - christian has seemed to be ? " Have you never seen or read of the glories and graces of the Son of God exemplified in some of the saints in so high a degree, and at the same time been so divested of self, and so mortified to a narrow self love, as to be satisfied with the lowest and the meanest supports of life, and the meanest station in the church of Christ here on earth, if you might but be favoured to partake of that transcendent likeness to the holy Jesus, as you would fain imitate and possess ? " Have you never liad a view of all the virtues and graces of the saints, derived from one eternal fountain the blessed God, and flowing through the mediation of Jesus his Son in so glori- ous a manner, that you have longed for the day when you shall be amongst them, and receive your share of this blessedness ? Have you never found yourself so united to them in one heart VOL. Ví1. P
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