fections are of two sorts, concupiscible and irascible: by one we follow what is good, and by the other we do shun what is evil; the Lord hath placed several affections in the soul; but all are the servants and ministers of love. I love a thing, and therefore if it be absent I desire it, if it be present I rejoice and delight in it. If any thing do oppose the thing that I love, then I am angry with it, or do hate the same. So that love is the great wheel, and as that moves, all love, some in a way of embracing, some in a way of refusing. And so you now see what these affections are which we are to set upon things above; they are these motions of the soul whereby a man is sensibly carried out unto good or evil, so as to embrace or refuse the same.

But how and in what respect are we to "set our affections on things above, and not on things here below?" What, may we not at all affect the things of this life?

Yes, ye may desire the things of this life, and desire is an affection; and ye may grieve at the loss of them, and grief is an affection. But,

Though in a good sense ye may affect them, yet ye may not affect them for themselves; in deference to Christ, in subordination to God, ye may affect them: but for themselves ye may not affect them: for where do you find in all the Scripture that you are commanded to love the world, and the things of the world. "Husbands love your wives, wives your husbands, parents love your children, and children your parents." One man may, and must love another. But where are you commanded to love yourself? Implicitly, indeed

this is commanded, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." But where have ye an express commandment for to love yourself, or where do ye find in all the word that you are advised to love your money, your gold, silver, house, or land, and estate? Nowhere; surely therefore you may not affect these things for themselves.*

Though ye may affect the things that are here below; yet in comparison with spiritual and heavenly things, your affections to these things is to be as no affection, but a tanquam only; as the enjoyments of this world is but a tanquam unto heavenly enjoyments, and outward afflictions is but a tan

* Non dixit nolite habere sed nolite diligere.-Augustin.

quam to afflictions of the soul. So the affection that is laid out upon these things, in comparison is to be but a tanquam. "Let him that rejoiceth, be as though he rejoiced not, and him that grieveth, as though he grieved not," saith the apostle; you may afford these outward things some relics of your love, and so much only as better things leave, for what is too cool for God, is hot enough for them. Toleramus potius præsentia, quam diligamus, says Austin. "My son (saith God), give me thine heart." "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy soul, with all thy heart, with all thy might, and with all thy strength." Surely, therefore, our affection to these outward things is in comparison to be as no affection. But our affections are to be set and placed on things that are above, not on things that are below, but on things above.

But why are we thus to set and place our affections on things that are above?

There are many great and important reasons, all which are as so many proofs of the doctrine.

you will not be That woman is

If you do not set your affections on Christ, and the things of Christ, you are no fit match for him; found marriageable unto the Lord Christ. not fit to be married to a man, whose affections are not drawn out and knit to him: and if your affections be not drawn out to Christ, and the things of Christ, you are no fit match for Christ. Now we must all be espoused to Christ, and married to him; as the church, so every believer is the true spouse of Christ; but the spouse of Christ ye cannot be, unless your affections be drawn out to him.

As you cannot be married to Christ unless your affections be set on him and the things above, so you will never own him unless your affections be set on him. It is the duty of all the saints to own Christ, his ways, his truths, his ordinances: "He that is ashamed of me before men, him will I be ashamed of before my Father which is in heaven," saith Christ. Now look what that is which a man doth much affect, that he will own and not be ashamed of; but if a man doth not affect a thing, he will not own it, but will be ashamed of it; but we must own Christ here, or he will not own us hereafter. Surely, therefore, it is very fit and necessary that our affections be set on Christ and the things above.

If your affections be not set upon things above, they will never be drawn off from things here beneath; it is the gracious affection that doth mortify carnal affection. Sin is ever truly mortified by the contrary good: the joy of the world, by the joy of heaven; worldly grief, by spiritual grief: the snow is not melted but by the warm beams of the sun, and the more your hearts are warmed and drawn out with love to Christ, the more your love and affections to the world will be mortified. Now is it not necessary that our affections should be drawn off from things here below? Surely, therefore, it is fit and necessary for us to set and place our affections Christ and the things above.

upon

If your affections be not set upon things above, spiritual and heavenly things, you will never press much after the knowledge and obtainment of them. Ye see how it is with a child, if he have no affections to his book, he will never make a scholar; and so if you have no affections to the things of Christ, you will never make a scholar in the school of Christ. Great is the power of affections. As it is said of conscience, Magna est vis conscientiæ in utramque partem; Great is the force of conscience either way, for truth or error; so I may say of affections, Magna est vis affectionum in utramque partem; Great is the force of affections either way, to put us on to evil or good. Look what a man hath an affection to, that he presseth after. Now is it not our duty to press after the knowledge of Christ. Surely, therefore, it is very fit and requisite that we should place our affections on things above.

If your affections be not thus set, you will never be zealous for God, for what is zeal but angered love; it is, saith one, divinæ charitatis fervor; the heat of divine love. Surely it is the top and extremity of affection. Now is it not our duty to be zealous for Christ? "The zeal of thine house (saith he) hath eaten me up ;" and shall the zeal of our own houses eat us up? Zeal is commanded in opposition to lukewarmness: "Be zealous, therefore, and repent," saith Christ to lukewarm Laodicea: but zealous we cannot be for God and the things of God, unless our affections be set on things that are above.

If our affections be not thus set on things above, you will never do any great thing for God. We read of David that he gave three hundred and forty seven millions, three hundred

and eighty two thousand, five hundred pounds, in silver and gold of his own charges, to the building of God's house; for so the learned do compute the matter; a mighty, great and a vast sum. But if you look into 1 Chron. xxix., ye shall see how this came to pass that he gave such a gift: it is said, verse 3, "I have set mine affections to the house of God; and because I have set mine affections to the house of God, I have of mine own proper goods given," &c. And what is the reason that men give and do no more now for God, but because their affections are not set on the things of God: but if God have done great things for us, and Christ have suffered great things for us, shall not we do some great things for him; this ye cannot do unless your affections be thus sct. Surely, therefore, it is our duty to set our affections on things that are above.

If your affections be not thus set, you can never please God in any thing that you do for God;* for as he requireth truth in the inward parts, so he requireth that we should serve him with fervency of spirit: "Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord," Rom. xii. 11; as if no service could be acceptable without the fervency of affection. "Cursed is every one that hath in his flock a male (saith Malachi) and offereth a female to God. Go and offer it to thy prince," saith God. Do you think that I will accept your female affections? no, saith the Lord, if you would have acceptance with me, I must have the best and the masculine affections from you. Surely, therefore, it is very fit and necessary that our affections be set and placed on things that are above.

If your affections be not set on things that are above, how shall your heart be knit, engaged and united unto God, in opposition to all apostacy. If you look into Scripture you shall find there are three degrees of apostacy: first, the judgment watches; secondly, the affections cool; thirdly, the conversation grows worse: accordingly men are said to apostatize. Sometimes they are said to "depart from the faith," 1 Tim. iv. 1: there is the warping of the judgment. Sometimes they are said to lose their first love, Matt.xxiv. "Iniquity shall abound, and the love of many shall grow cold:" there is the cooling of their affections. Sometimes they are said to * Affectum non vocem audit Deus.-Augustin.

Affectibus appropinquamus Deum.-Tostat. in Matt. tom iv. fol. 97.

make shipwreck of a good conscience," to forsake the assemblies of the saints:" there is the declining in the conversation. But now if a man's affections be right set, they will keep both the judgment and the conversation. Ye see that if a thing be entangled, it is more hard to loosen it than otherwise; now what is it that doth entangle the soul and heart of man, but his affections?"No man (saith the apostle) that goeth to war entangleth himself," that is, by purchase or marriage. So that it is affection that entangles, and the more we are affected with any thing, the more we are entangled with it; and the more our hearts are entangled with any thing, the harder it is to part and to be loosened from it. Would you not, therefore, part or be loosened from Christ and the things of Christ? then surely you must set your affections on him and on things above. Thus upon all these considerations and reasons, ye see it is the duty of all the saints to set their affections on things that are above.

Now if it be our duty to set our affections on things above and not on things here below, then what an evil thing is it to set our affections on things below and not on things above. Shall the apostle, in the name of the Lord, command us to set our affections on things above and not on things below, and shall we set our affections on things below and not on things above? What is this but to walk contrary unto God? And hath not he said, that if we walk contrary to him, that he will walk contrary to us. Oh, what an evil thing is it, then, to set our affections on things below and not on things above.

But we do set our affections on things that are above, for we do truly affect the best things, and therefore we do set our affections on things above.

That is well; but are you sure that you do so?

It is a hard and difficult thing thus to set our affections on things above, for he that doth truly set his affections on things above, hath his sympathy and antipathy changed; look what that is which before he had an antipathy against, that he now hath a sympathy with; and that which he had a sympathy with, that he now hath an antipathy against. Now is it not a hard thing to change our antipathies into sympathies, and our sympathies into antipathies? Suppose a man hath an antipathy unto some meats, as cheese, or the like, is it not a