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ness of Christ to leave any man in that condition: whereas, there is more spoken directly of hell, its torments, and their eternity, by himself, than in all the Scripture besides. These thoughts, in most, proceed from an unwillingness to be troubled in their sins, and are useful to none. It is the height of folly for men to endeavour to hide themselves for a few moments from that which is unavoidably coming upon them to eternity; and the due consideration whereof, is a means for an escape from it. But I speak only of true believers; and the more they are conversant in their thoughts, about the future state of eternal misery, the greater evidence they have of the life and confidence of faith. It is a necessary duty to consider it, as what we were by nature obnoxious to, as being children of wrath;-what we have deserved by our personal sins, as "the wages of sin is death;"-what we are delivered from, through Jesus the deliverer, who saves us from the wrath to come;-what expression it is of the indignation of God against sin, who hath prepared this Tophet of old; that we may be delivered from sin, kept up to an abhorrence of it, walking in humility, self-abasement, and the admiration of divine grace. This, therefore, is required of us, that in our thoughts and meditations, we compare the state of blessedness and eternal glory, as a free and absolute effect of the grace of God in and through Christ Jesus, with that state of eternal misery which we had deserved. And if there be any spark of grace or of holy thankfulness in our hearts, it will be stirred up to its due exercise.

Some, perhaps, will say, that they cannot get their minds fixed on these things; weakness, weariness, darkness, diversions, occasions, do prevalently obstruct their abiding in such thoughts. I shall speak farther to this afterwards; at present, I shall only suggest two things. 1. If you cannot attain it, yet continue to follow after-get your minds in a perpetual endeavour after an abode in spiritual thoughts; let your minds be rising towards them every hour, yea, a hundred times a-day, on all occasions, on a continual sense

of duty, and sigh within yourselves for deliverance, when you find disappointments, or not a continuance in them: it is the sense of that place, Rom. viii. 2327. 2. Take care you go not backwards, and lose what you have wrought. If you neglect these things for a season, you will quickly find yourselves neglected by them. So I observe it every day in the hearing of the word. Whilst persons keep up themselves to a diligent attendance on it, where they find it preached to their edification, they find great delight in it, and will undergo great difficulties for the enjoyment of it. Let them be diverted from it for a season; after a while it grows indifferent to them; any thing will satisfy them that pretends to the same duty.

CHAPTER VIL

Especial objects of spiritual thoughts on the glorious state of heaven, and what belongs thereto. First, of CHRIST himself. Thoughts of heavenly glory, in opposition to thoughts of eternal misery. The use of such thoughts. Advantage in sufferings.

It will be to our advantage, having right stated notions of the glory of the blessed state above, in our minds, to fix on some particulars belonging to it, as the special objects of. our thoughts and meditations. As, I. Think much of him who to us is the life and centre of all the glory of heaven, that is, Christ himself. I shall be very brief in treating of this, because I have designed a peculiar treatise on this subject, of beholding the glory in Christ, both here and to eternity. At present, therefore, a few things only shall be mentioned, because on this occasion they are not to be omitted. The whole of the glory of the state above, is expressed by "being ever with the Lord, where he is, to behold his glory." For in and through him is the beatifical manifestation of God and his glory made for evermore; and through him are all communications

of inward glory to us. The present resplendence of heavenly glory, consists in his mediatorial ministry, as I have at large elsewhere declared; and he will be the means of all glorious communications between God and the church, to eternity. Wherefore, if we are spiritually minded, we should fix our thoughts on Christ above, as the centre of all heavenly glory. To help us herein, we may consider the things that follow.

1. Faith hath continual recourse to him, on account of what he did and suffered for us in this world; for therein pardon of sin, justification, and peace with God depend. This arises, in the first place, from a sense of our wants. But love of him is no less necessary to us, than faith in him. And although we have powerful motives to love, from what he did and was in this world, yet the formal reason of our adherence to him thereby, is what he is in himself, as he is now exalted in heaven. If we rejoice not at the remembrance of his present glory; if the thoughts of it be not frequent with us, and refreshing to us, how dwelleth his love in us?

2. Our hope is, that ere long we shall be ever with him. And if so, it is certainly our wisdom and duty, to be here with him as much as we can. It is a vain thing for any to suppose, that they place their chief happiness in being for ever in the presence of Christ, who care not at all to be with him here, as they may. And the only way of our being present with him here, is by faith and love, acting themselves in spiritual thoughts and affections. And it is an absurd thing for men to esteem themselves Christians, who scarce think of Christ all the day long. Yet some, as one complained of old, scarce ever think or speak of him, but when they swear by his name. I have read of those who have lived and died in continual contemplation on him, so far as the imperfection of our present state will admit. I have known them, I do know them, who call themselves to a reproof, if at any time he hath been many minutes out of their thoughts. And it is strange, that it should be otherwise with

them who love him in sincerity; yet I wish I did not know more, who give evidence that it is a rare thing for them to be exercised in serious thoughts and meditations about him. Yea, there are some who are not averse upon occasions to speak of God, of mercy, of pardon, of his power and goodness; who, if you mention Christ to them, with any thing of faith, love, trust in him, they seem to them as a strange thing. Few there are, who are sensible of any religion beyond what is natural. The things of the wisdom and power of God in Christ, are foolishness to them. Take some directions for the discharge of this duty. 1. In our thoughts of Christ, be very careful that they are conceived and directed according to the rule of the word, lest you deceive your own souls, and give up the con. duct of your affections to vain imaginations. Spiritual notions befalling carnal minds, did once, by the means of superstition, ruin the power of religion. A convic

tion men had, that they must think much of Jesus Christ, and that this would make them conformable to him; but having no real evangelical faith, nor the wisdom of faith, to exercise it in their thoughts and affections in a due manner, nor understanding what it was to be truly like to him, they gave up themselves to many foolish inventions and imaginations, by which they thought to express their love and conformity to him. They would have images of him, which they would embrace, adore, and bedew with their tears. They would have crucifixes, as they called them, which they would carry about them, and wear next their hearts, as if they resolved to lodge Christ always in their bosoms. They would go on pilgrimage to the place where he died and rose again, through a thousand dangers, and purchase a feigned chip of a tree whereon he suffered, at the price of all they had in the world. They would endeavour, by long thoughtfulness, fastings, and watchings, to cast their souls into raptures and ecstacies, wherein they fancied themselves in his presence. They came at last to make themselves like him, in getting impressions of wounds on their sides, their hands and feet. To all these things,

and many others of a like nature and tendency, did superstition abuse and corrupt the minds of men, from a pretence of a principle of truth. For there is no more certain gospel truth than this: that believers ought continually to contemplate Christ, by the actings of faith in their thoughts and affections; and that thereby they are changed and transformed into his image. And we are not to forego our duty, because other men have been mistaken in theirs; nor part with practical fundamental principles of religion, because they have been abused by superstition. But we may herein see how dangerous it is, to depart in any thing from the conduct of Scripture light and rule, when for want thereof, the best and most noble endeavours of the minds of men, even to love Christ, and to be like unto him, do issue in provocations of the highest nature.

Pray, therefore, that you may be kept to the truth in all things, by a diligent attendance to the only rule thereof, and conscientious subjection of soul to the authority of God in it. For we ought not to suffer our affections to be entangled with the paint or artificial beauty of any way or means of giving our love to Christ, which are not warranted by the word of truth. Yet I must say, that I had rather be among those who, in the actings of their love and affections to Christ, do fall into some irregularities and excesses in the manner of expressing it, (provided their worship of him be neither superstitious nor idolatrous,) than among those who, professing themselves to be Christians, do almost disavow their having any thoughts of, or affection to the person of Christ. But there is no need that we should foolishly run into either of these extremes. God hath in the Scriptures sufficiently provided against them both. He hath both showed us the necessity of our diligent acting of faith and love on the person of Christ, and hath limited out the way and means whereby we may so do. And let our designs be what they will, where in any thing we depart from his prescriptions, we are not under the conduct of his Spirit, and so are sure to lose all that we do.

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