doth more for thee. He loves thee better than any of thefe can do. Thou rejoiceft in a curious Landskip, in the delicate fituation of a House, in a lovely Arbour, in a sweet and gentle River, bur haft not thou greater reafon to rejoice in him, who hath made all these? When thou delighteft in God, thou art at reft, and thy Reft declares thy Happiness. How canft thou hope thy Religious exercises will be accepted in Heaven, while thou knoweft not what this holy delight doth mean? The Heathens guefs'd at the acceptance of their Sacrifices, by the cheerful burning of the Fire upon the Altar; The greater thy delight is in God,the ftronger Argument thou haft, that thy Devotion meets with applause and approbation in Heaven. Variety is ftrangely delightful to thee here on Earth, and Why then hath God fo little of thy delight? Tho' God be but One, yet in that One God are fo many pleafant Objects, that wert thou to live here a thoufand years, in this One God thou might'ft every day meet with fresh objects of delight; with this God thou art to be ravifhed to all Eternity, and then fure there is variety enough in him to revive and recreate thee for a few years in this prefent World. Survey all his bleffed Attributes, his Holiness, his Omniprefence,his Omniscience, his Immutability, his Immenfity, his Wisdom and Eternity; Survey his Goodnefs to Mankind, his Perfection, his All-fufficiency, his willingness to advance Man to the enjoyment of that Glory, which the bleffed Angels do poffefs; Survey his Revelations, his Manifeftations of himself, to this dark ignorant World; his Statutes and Y 2 Judg ; Judgments, and Laws, and the Reasonableness and Equity of them all; furvey his various Difpenfations under the Old and New Testaments, his Methods of converting Men, and the various degrees whereby he hath proceeded in the Reformation of the wretched Progeny of Adam furvey his wonderful love in Christ Jesus, and his pity and compaffion to Rebels, to Traitors, to his greatest Enemies; furvey the benefits and advantages, which arife from Chrift's Paffion, Refurrection, Afcenfion, Interceflion; furvey his Promifes, and Threatnings, his Mercy to the Penitent, his Juftice to the unbelieving Sinner; furvey his Mercies, both publick and private, both Spiritual and Temporal, and his various Favours to all Mankind, to thy fellow Christians, to thy Relations, and thy felf; furvey the Privileges he allows to thofe that fear him, Privileges which are the torments of Devils, to see what Men may come to, and themfelves must remain for ever deprived of; furvey the Prerogatives of thefe Men, how he gives them leave to call upon him, answers them when they call, permits them to call themselves his Children, his Darlings, his Favourites, his Jewels, his Friends, and the Apple of his Eye; furvey the Glory which God receives from all his Creatures, in that all confpire to fulfil his Will; furvey the Joy, the Glory, the Happinefs, the Triumphs, the Songs, the Hallelujah's, which he has defigned for his Servants, whereof they have a taste here, and which e'er long they fhall enter upon, to their eternal Content and Satisfaction. O my Soul,, Who can exprefs all all the pleasing Objects, which are in this Glorious God thou dost adore. Vaft Ocean of Delight! How can my Soul be weary of delighting in thee? where every object is of a multiplying nature, and the farther I go, the more charms I meet withal; every Beam, every Ray, that darts from thy Throne, every work of thy Power (and Oh how infinite is the number of them!) adminifters delight. And fure he deserves to be ftarved, that may come to those Waters of Life, and is invited to participate of this Milk and Honey, and to delight his Soul in Fatnefs, and prefers the stolen Waters of Sin, before thefe living Waters, which, like those in the Efculapian Well, are not capable of Putrefaction. Look, O my Soul, look with pity on the poor distracted World, that delights in things hellish and finful,worldly, mean, and trivial. Who would envy the fottish pleasures of Strato, Anthony,Tiberius, Caligula, Commodus, Cotis, Demetrius? pleasures fitter for Bulls, and Bears, and Goats, than for Men of Reason? they dream they eat and drink, and are at a great Feast, but in the Morning when they wake, they find themselves empty. A rational complacency in God,is Bread incorruptible,this is the Meat thou must live upon for ever; thou delightest in a curious Picture, why not in him that's altogether lovely? Thou delighteft in a delicate Shape, Why not in him that's fairer than the Children of Men? Thou delighteft in a pleasant Garden, in well-ordered Walks, in flowry Meadows; Why not in him, whofe gracious Prefence can make a Dungeon a Y 3 Para Paradife? Hoise up thy Sails, O my Soul, let thy defire crave all that's rich, good and magnificent; Why, in God thou haft it all, in a most eminent manner; while others delight in their plenty, thou can't delight in him, who is plenteous in Mercy unto all them that call upon him; while others delight in knowledge, thou canft delight in him, in whom are all the treafures of Wisdom; while others delight in the protection of their Friends, thou canft delight in him, who is a prefent help in the time of trouble; while others delight in a stately Seat, thou canft delight in the fecret place, and in the shadow of the Almighty. O my God, thou fatisfieft the Hungry Soul, and filleft the thirsty Soul with Goodness. The Soul cannot cráve beyond what thou canft give, nor ask more than thou art able to afford; the defires of the Soul are not fo infinite, but thy Store and Plenty is unspeakably more infinite than our defires. They that cannot delight in thee, have strange brutish Souls! They fee not how thou goeft, how thou, my God, goest in the Sanctuary; they never felt thy holy Influences; they know not what Peace thou fpeakeft unto thy People; they are not fenfible how thou doft encourage those that ferve thee; they are not fenfible how great the Rewards are, thou hast laid up for Men that forget what is behind them, and feek first thy Kingdom, and its righteoufnefs. O Goodness immenfe, and infinite! If every single Good is pleasant and delightful, how delightful muft thou be, who art that wide and ample Sea, into which all these Rivers, and Emana tions of Goodnefs run! If created Life be pleafant, how pleasant must thou be, which giveft that Life! If created Wisdom be amiable, how amiable must thou be, from whom that Wisdom flows! O my God, I fee, how all the pleasant things of the World perish, but thou art the fame, and thy Years do not fail, and thou endureft from one generation to another; here therefore I'll fix my Delight; on this Rock I'll build my Joy; while others delight in numbring their Bags, I'll delight in numbring the loving kindneffes of my God; while others delight in their Preferment, I'll delight in being adopted into the glorious Liberty of God's Children; while others delight in the greatness of their Relations, I'll delight in having the Saviour of the World for my elder Brother; while others delight in their Farms and Oxen, I'll delight in my Title to the Tree of Life; while others delight in Kingdoms and Principalities, I'll delight in him who hath made me a King and Prieft unto God, and to his Father; I will delight my felf in the Lord, and he shall give the defires of my heart, Pfal. 37. 4. Did the Man who is almoft perfuaded into Charity, but feriously confider, what a ftrefs the Gospel lays upon this pious Liberality; how Chrift in the last day is refolved to infist more upon this Duty, than upon any other; how he is but a Steward of those Bleffings he enjoys; and how God gave him that Estate he hath with this very intent, that he should be beneficial to thofe, whom Providence hath made objects of his Bounty; how great an Impediment Y 4 A |