thou have, O my flesh? A confluence of all the glorious things both in heaven and on earth! Why, godlinef's hath the promise of this life, and of that which is to come. If heaven and the righteousness thereof, be the thing thou doft feek; both heaven and earth, with the excellencies thereof, is that which thou fhalt find. Nothing in this world I want, No treafure here beneath; Thy image to my breast restore, Thou inviteft me to come To prefs unto the feast : And clothe me with thy righteoufnefs Christian's Choice: I AM frail, and the world is fading; but my foul is immortal, and God is eternal. If I pitch upon the creatures, they may take wings like an eagle that flieth towards heaven, or my foul may take its way with the rich fool, and go to hell; but if I chufe God for my portion, then mercy and goodness fhall follow me whilft I live, and glory and eternity fhall crown me when I die. I will therefore now leave that which I fhall foon lofe, that fo I may embrace that which I fhall always enjoy. One there is above all others, Who deferves the name of friend; Which of all our friends, to fave us, Reconcil'd by him to God: This was boundless love indeed, When he liv'd on earth abafed, He rejoices in the fame : Still he calls them brethren, friends, Spiritual Foy and Sorrow. AS there is a fad mirth, fo there is a joyful mourning Look upon the voluptuous man, however laughter may appear in his face, yet fadness ever centres in his heart; his carnal delights are not only vain, but vexing; like mufic, they play him into a melancholy fit: Whilft the banquet lafts, the fenfualift fings; but when the reckoning comes, his fpirit finks, his burning candle presently goes out in a flinking fnuff, his fhining fun inftantly fets in the watery cloud. Solomon gives us the fum of it thus: Even in laughter the heart is forrowful, and the end of that mirth is heavinefs. But now come to the penitential perfon, as his tears are the joy of angels, fo they are the joy of his heart, and the folace of his foul; the falter his tears, the sweeter his comforts; the deeper his fighs, the fuller his joy; the beams of confolation always fhine into this house of mourning, fo that his foul is in travail with a Barnabas, and his labours bring forth the fruits of peace; infomuch that I may truly fay, to mourn for fin, is to weep for joy. Thefe pure and pleasant streams of confolation (which are the worldling's wonders) which flow and run in those chrystal rivers of eternal pleasure, at God's right hand, come from a weeping spring. Why then is the mouth of wickedness opened against the way of holinefs? As if grace was the calvary to intomb joys; and impiety the womb to bring forth felicity; but if experience may be heard, my foul hath felt both, and I find fuck damps of fpirit in the worldly pleasures, and fuch refreshings of foul in the depth of godly forrow, that I fhall efteem one drop of fuch spiritual joy, more than an ocean of their mirth. And let this feeble body fail, My foul fhall quit the mouruful vale I travel my appointed years, And wipe away his fervant's tears, Rivers of life divine, I fee, And trees of Paradife : With that enraptur'd hoft t' appear, Estate of a Man at Death. AS the tree falleth, fo it lieth; and where death strikes down, there God lays out, either for mercy or mifery; fo that I may compare it to the red fea; if I go in an Ifraelite, my landing fhall be in Glory, and my rejoicing in triumph, to fee all my enemies dead upon the fea fhore; but if I go in an Egyptian, if I am on this fide of the cloud, on this fide the covenant, and yet go in hardened among the troops of Pharoah, juftice fhall return in its full strength, and an inundation of judgment fhall overflow my foul forever. Or elfe I may compare it to the fleep of the ten virgins, of whom it is faid, they flumbered and flept, we shall all fall into this fleep. Now if I lie down with the wife, I fhall go in with the bridegroom; but if I fleep with the foolish, without oil in my lamp, without grace in my soul, I have clofed the gates of mercy upon my foul forever. I fee then this life is the time wherein I muft go forth to meet the Lord; this is the hour wherein I must do my work, and the day where |