lovely and suitable object, and the fweet complacence and delight that thou takeft in it? for love is all for union with the beloved, to approach ftill nearer to it, till we come to center in the fruition of it. It makes us fick of distances, and wearied with interruptions, that keep us off from the fum of our withes. And if thou loveft the Lord thy God, my foul, fuch a ftrong bent and inclination thou wilt have after him; not only to enjoy him perfectly and eternally hereafter, but to have ftill more of him here, and to make as near approaches to him as poffible, in this place of abfence from the Lord. To feek his face, and be renewed after his image, and find his prefence and favour; thefe are the most defirable things now to the foul that is fmitten with the love of God. The very breath of the new creature made alive to God, is, my foul thirfteth for God, for the living God. Nothing is fo defired by me, and give me whatsoever befide, it will never quiet me. For I am capable of enjoying an infinite good, that has in it all manner of good, and beyond which there is no further good. Yea, which will never fail, nor wear off to become a lefs good, but continue evermore the fame perfect good, and still to the full as good as ever it was. O! what but the bleffed God alone is this fupreme and eternal good? all the world of the creatures is a dry and thirsty land, where none of the water of this foul-fatisfaction is. Therefore overlook and pafs by them all; to prefs hard after this God, moft good and bleffed for ever.

And

O my foul, doft thou ftand so inclined and affected towards thy God? all the reason in the world thou haft to do it, both for his loveliness and his loving kindness; that he is incomparably the best of beings in himself, and that he is the greatest and dearest of all friends to myself; fo that there thou canft not be deceived into love by any miftake; but the more

thou

thou dost know, the better ftill thou muft needs like: and fcorn every thing else that would take thee off this Beloved, and fear nothing in the world fo much as to lose him, and look upon the fairest creatures but as falfe wretched idols, that would divorce thee from him. And fuch pantings and breathings after God, though they may carry fome uneafinefs now in them, till thou reach to the compleat fatisfaction of them: yet are they bleffed omens, of thy everlafting reft at laft, in that fweet accomplishment of all thy defires, when thou fhalt be ever with the Lord.

And O! what does the remembrance of any precious hours, that ever thou haft had with God, but inflame thy longings, to be fo happy again? till from the little glimpfes thou reach to the open vifion, and from the love of defire to that of delight. And this delighting in God fprings not only from the fight of what he has and is, to allure us to him; but alfo and chiefly from the fenfe of that particular intereft which we have in him. And then is he to me the moft delightful good, when I can indeed take him for my God. And every thing then is the sweeter to me, the nearer it is related to him: but himself is all sweetness, and his love better than life. And no fuch delightful minutes, as the happy opportunities of meeting and converfing with him, and opening all the foul to him, and receiving the tokens of love and heavenly communications, and all fweet endearments from him. Then fhall I abhor to offend him, and rejoice to please him; and never think any thing too much to do for him. His love will conftrain me ever and anon to be thinking of him, and ftill more and more to fhape and conform myself to him; that so I may be moft pleafing in his fight, and take the highest pleasure in his favour. I fhall look upon him then, as the most inviting and deferving ever to have all my heart;

and

and count it not only the noblest honour, but the fweeteft joy of my life to love him.

O my foul, beat off thy affections from every creature that would intrude, as a rival and competitor, with thy worthiest Lord and dearest Lover; and no longer ftand out from loving him, that has been fo aforehand with thee, in firft loving of thee. For is it not even natural to love my friends and lovers, that have done me good, and are ftill fhewing me kindnefs? O! how dear then fhould the Lord my God be to me, that has bestowed all upon me, and is never weary to do for me? O! that his amiableness, my foul, may be laid open before thee; and that thou mayeft be convinced of the love he has for thee! and affure thyself, that all without him, and all that is short of him, (how fair foever it looks, and what great things foever it promifes) is but emptinefs and nothing: it will abuse and cheat thee, and thou fhalt not find in it any thing to content thee, but what shall give thee more of the bitter, than ever it helped thee to taite of the pleasure. To love God with all thy powers, that is not only thy indifpenfible obligation, but will be thy only fatisfaction, and turn to thy everlasting falvation. O be proud of the mighty privilege; have no patience to want it, dread above all things to go without it, be all on fire to fecure it, and to find thy bleffed fhare in it. That fill thy defire may be to him, who is altogether lovely, and thy delight in him who loves thee, even because he will love thee; and not only has in himself all that ever thou wouldeft have, but a heart full of love to bestow upon thee every thing to fupply thee, to fill thee, yea to transport and most highly please thee, and that not only fome fhort while, but for ever.

THE

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66

I

THE PRAYER.

Acknowledge and bewail the deadness of my heart, and the coldness of my love to thee, my God; that I have no ftronger inclinations " after thee, no warmer affections for thee; that I " am so prone to prefer the prefent evil world be"fore thee; and to be taken with any poor worth"lefs trifles, more than with my fupreme good "everlasting. O Lord, forgive my vile affections, " and mortify my carnal inclinations; and raise up "my grovelling foul, to feek thee, and the things "above. O! thou that art the amiableft in thy"self, and the fulleft of loving kindness to thy "children. Wilt thou, Lord, fo open thy ami"ableness to me, and fo convince me of the love "which thou haft for me; that I may feel my "heart burn within me, and the love of God mightily prevail over all, that would come in competition with my Lord; that I may not "ftick upon any, the faireft, fweeteft, beft, or dear"eft object, that would take me off thy love, or "cool me in it; feeing all is but vanity, and fha"dow, and emptinefs, and nothing compared with "the infinitely good and blessed for ever. Amen.”

t

MEDITATION XVI.

Of communion with God.

My foul, of all the leagues and fellowships in the world, none fo great and sweet, none fo happy and glorious, as the league with heaven, and communion with the bleffed God. To keep the VOL. I.

K

fair

fair correfpondence above, and have a particular friendship with the Most High: our fellowship with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift, and the fellowship of the Holy Ghoft: to be great with God, and dwell in God, and God in us: to be fo near related to him, even as if we were parts of himself to have his eye and his ear, his kind visits, and the ravishing manifestation of himself, the tokens of his love, and the fruition of his gracious prefence: O! how much of heaven is here, let down to earth? and will God indeed have fuch intercourfe with the fons of men, and thus condefcend to them of fo low degree? will he bow the heavens and come down, not only once, to take upon him our flesh, but ftill to be with our fpirits? O! how wonderful is the ftoop in him, to come and be fo nigh to us? and how highly favoured is the people that fhall be admitted to come fo nigh to him? how proud are men of their great relations, and to have intereft and friendship with the men of might, thofe that have all, and bear the main ftroke in the world? how do inferiors fwell, and value themselves, upon fuch honour and favour? and how hardly can they forbear to look with fcorn and difdain upon fuch as attain to none of this correfpondence?

But, O my foul, how poor a matter is this to the divine intercourfe, and intimacy with the God of heaven? doft thou call in queftion the privilege? does thy modefty fhrink back, at the mention of fuch fuperlative pre-eminence, as too great to believe, and too good to expect? well mayeft thou admire it, and stand amazed, that ever it fhould be fo done to poor unworthy creatures, who are fo infinitely beneath the eternal glorious Majefty of the world. Yet is not the honour and bleffing too big for him, who is no lefs good than great to bestow. He has not only made thee capable of it, but made

thee