tures breath; without this Air, the whole Creation would die; 'tis this that keeps Men, and Beafts, and all Plants, and Herbs, alive; See how all Creatures, when ready to be fmother'd, upon letting in of Air, do all revive and live again; and is not the holy Spirit of God, O my Soul, the very fame to thee that the Air is to all Creatures? Without the Spirit of God to enlighten, to move, and to direct thee, thou haft the name that thou liveft, but thou art dead; it's the Spirit must give thee life, it's he that must warm thee into a practical love of God; it's he that muft live in thee, that thou may'ft not fulfil the defires of the Flesh; it's he must teach thee how to pray; it's he muft help thy infirmities, and bear witnefs with thy Spirit, that thou art a Child of God: Beg this rich Gift at the hands of God, and thou shalt have it; feek it, and thou fhalt find it; knock at Heaven Gate for it, and God will open, and grant thee thy heart's defire,

Behold, O my Soul, how vain and foolish thofe Men are, that will not believe the Being of Angels, or of Spirits, because they never faw any; Can they fee the Air? And why do not they queftion, whether there be fuch a thing as Air or no. This Air fupports all Creatures, fo doth thy God much more. He fends the springs into the Valleys which run among the Hills: They give drink to every Beaft of the Field, the wild Affes quench their thirft. He watereth the Hills from his Chambers, the Earth is fatisfied with the Fruits of his Works. He caufes the Grafs to grow for the Cattel, and Herbs for the Service of Men, Pfal. 104, 10, 11, 13, 14.

When

When this Air yields to all grofs Bodies, and lets them pafs without oppofition, how doth it read to thee Lectures of Patience and Humility? In that Flexibility, thou mayeft see the finfulness of thy inexorable temper, the odiousness of thy revengeful defires, and reviling again when thou art reviled, and giving the Offender as good as he brings; the Air reproves thee, when thou art deaf to all intreaties to be reconciled to him that hath injured thee, when thou wilt not yield to the humble fupplication of diftreffed Creatures, and when thou oppofeft thy own humour to all the rational perfwafions of wiser Men than thy felf.

Look upon the Fire, O my Soul, and behold how differently it acts upon Bodies it meets withal, how it confumes the Hay and Stubble, and cleanses and purifies Gold and Silver: Doft thou not fee here, as in a Glafs, how thy God destroys the workers of iniquity; and advances, 1 and increases, and purifies the defires and affections of a devout and religious Soul! Thou feeft how hard and black Iron is, when it is not near the Fire, and how bright and tractable it becomes in the Fire, and is not this the true Picture of a Sinner? While he is a stranger to the Law of God, he hardens his Heart as Flint and Adamant, no threatnings pierce him, no promises prevail with him, no Judgments fright him, no Providences move him, no Mercies melt him, he defies the whole Armour of God, and fighteth against him; his fins ftand ftiff, his lufts remain unfhaken; he feeds upon God's Bleffings as Swine do upon Z 2 Acorns,

without minding the Hand that throws them down; He hears Sermons, but they awake him not; He is intreated, but flights the Invitation; He is reproved, but laughs at the reprehenfion; but when that holy Fire, the Love of God, enters into his Heart, how flexible, how tractable, doth he grow? How doth the Love of God constrain him to avoid fin, and to bid defiance to all the works of darkness? He that before scorned to hear the glad tidings of the Gospel, how doth he now fubmit to Chrift's eafie Yoke? He that before thought fuch a duty unfit and improper for a Perfon of his quality, how chearfully doth he now bow and yield to it? He that before had a thousand excufes, why he could not do what Chrift enjoyns him, how doth he now lay all thofe idle Apologies by? He that before was churlish, becomes now affable and courteous: He that before was apt to be very angry at the leaft affront, now bears it more quietly; He that before put off the Eternal God with the meanest of his endeavours, now is willing to give him the fat and ftrength of his affections: He that before could hear Ministers call to him, and call again without effect, now cries out, Sirs, what must I do to be faved? He that before could not be perfwaded to walk in the ftraight way, now runs in the way of God's Commandments. Bleffed Fire, which, like the hallowed flames of Heaven, confumes not, but illuminates; never fuffers the Heart to be hardened, but purifies it; doth not straighten the Soul, but elevates it; doth not clog, but refine it; doth not con

found,

found, but fublime it; destroys the dross, but preferves the Gold; and burns away all unclean and inordinate paffions, and all immoderate cares of this World, but raises the Soul above the World, and engages it to fly above those things, which ferve only to fill Mens hearts with anguish and vexation.

Lay afide this object for a little while, O my Soul, and look upon that Earth thou walkest on; this is the Place, our Bodies must neceffarily reft in. But when thou feeft the centre of all heavy Bodies, forget not to think who it is, that is thy proper Centre and Resting-place; That's a groaning, bleeding, dying Saviour. Think, O my Soul, on the Senfual and Luxurious Men of this World, what pains they take to find out reft for their Souls; like Spiders, they run from one Herb to another, and yet cannot purge their Poison, i. e. their difcontent, away; they give themselves to Wine, lay hold on Folly, make them great Works, build them Houfes, plant them Vineyards, make them Gardens and Orchards, and plant Trees in them of all kind of Fruits; get them Servants and Maidens, procure ample poffeffions of great and fmall Cattle; gather Silver and Gold, get them Men-fingers and Women-fingers, and all the delights of the Sons of Men; and whatsoever their Eyes defire, they keep it not from them, Ecclef. 2. 3, 4, &c. But when, with the Sybarites, they have rolled on Beds of Violets, and toffed their fancies from one pleasure to another, and come to ftand on the brink of another World, they find to their forrow, when

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'tis

'tis too late, that here is not their reft, and that their Souls can reft no where but where infinite fatisfaction is to be had, even in God, bleffed for evermore. God is thy Reft indeed, O my Soul; and when thou canst hide thy self in the wounds of thy great Redeemer, then, then thou art safe, and the Gates of Hell are not able to prevail against it.

Canft thou fee how plentifully the Earth provides for Mankind, and forget what provifion God makes for thee that thou may't not mifs of the Crown of Righteousness hereafter? And when thou feeft how all things the Earth produces, praise their Creator in their way, and Thew forth his Glory; canft thou be filent, or forbear to be perpetually extolling the goodness of that God, who hath given thee a Tongue on purpose to speak those Praises, whereof other Creatures make but a dumb fhew? Thou feest how this Earth produces Gold and Silver; and how beautiful the Carpets are, on which it invites her Inhabitants to walk: And if this Earth be fo glorious, what will Heaven be? If the Houfe which God vouchfafed to his Enemies be fo fplendid, what will his own Palace be, where none but himself and his fervants shall dwell for ever? If the outward Court be fo Magnificent, what must the Presence-Chamber of the King of Kings be? If Gold and Silver by their glittering dazle the Eyes of Spectators here, what will the beatifical Prefence of Almighty God do, which is beyond all the fhine and luftre that Gold and precious Stones afford?

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