Pray to him and in the same Breath Asperse him that at once they Fear him and Hate him and that though they go to his Temples to Worship and to offer Sacrifices to him yet this is such a sort of Courtship wherewith Flatterers accost Tyrants they Hate and Curse them in their Hearts the very time they seem to Honour them Plutarch thought all frightful Ideas to be unsuitable to the Nature of a Deity God saith he is the Hope of Vertue not a Formidable Dreadful object Though Artificers are wont to represent him by Images that have a terrible Aspect yet Philosophers will tell you that God's Majesty is attended with Goodness with Benignity with a kind and careful Providence And he was of Pythagoras his Mind how slightly soever some thought of it That wise and Vertuous People are in the best Temper when they approach unto God because their Devotions are mixt with fair Opinions of him and with sincere Affections towards him These you will think were great things for an Heathen to say and so they were But we find by constant Experience that 't is natural for us to Hate those we are Afraid of and Nature will work after the same manner when we have to do with God if we conceive of him under such scaring notions as to believe him to be a Sowre Harsh Angry and Tyrannical Being Such Qualities are very Hateful they create Horror and Aversion but 't is impossible for them to beget any Love and therefore they must be utterly incompatible with the Glories and Excellencies of God whose Mercy is over all his Works and who sheweth his Almighty Power most chiefly by doing works of Pity and Compassion and to entertain such apprehensions of him as are a disparagement to his great Goodness is the ready way to bring us to the condition of those old Pagans who Worship'd Evil Doemons meerly for Fear lest they should Hurt them I deny not but there may be some Kind and Measure of Love in those who look upon God as a stern and rigorous Being if they can but perswade themselves into a Belief that God is so Partial to Their Souls as to make them his particular Favourites by a fixt and unconditional Decree But this degree and sort of Love is meerly a Passion of the Sensitive Soul raised by the power of Fancy because the Belief of this absolute purpose towards Them in particular wanteth the Authority of Divine Revelation Rational Affection or that Love towards God which is necessary to make all our performances a reasonable Service is quite another thing It is a fervour of Heart excited by the rational Faculty the Understanding upon full and clear Conviction of the Mind out of the Word of God which Conviction is wrought by the frequent Account we find in the Holy Scriptures touching the intrinsick Excellence and Goodness of God's Nature and touching his great Love and relative Goodness towards all Mankind This is the proper true Ground of that Divine Love I have spoken of and Ardent and Genuine affection of the Heart which the consideration of God's Universal Goodness is apt to kindle in the Soul of every Man who is not conscious of any willful and gross Wickedness which maketh him afraid of the Justice of God AS far as Nature could help them the wiser and more considerate Heathens attained to the Love of God by those weak discoveries they had of the Divine Goodness There are says Seneca de Ira lib. 2. cap. 27. Some things which cannot Hurt they are so Beneficent and Succouring in their Nature as the immortal Gods which neither will nor can be Mischievous because their Nature is Mild and Gentle He speaks in the Plural Number to gratifie the Humour of those Times but he means that one Supream God whom the more Intelligent Pagans Worshipp'd nay Worshipp'd with Affection as Seneca saith elsewhere de Benef. lib. 4. cap. 19. No Man in his right Senses will be horribly afraid of God because it is madness to Dread that which is Beneficial nor can any Man Love that object which they Fear after that manner Accordingly Maximus Tyrius tells us That the truly Religious Man is the Friend of God or one that loves God and that he is therefore Happy because he is a lover of God Dissert 4. Such considerable Notions those observing Men had of the Goodness of God as naturally produced great Affection to him And if we Christians who have besides the Book of Nature the Divine Writings would but attentively consider by what we read in them what a great lover of Souls that most Perfect Being is and what various Methods he hath used to save all our Souls from Perishing Everlastingly it would be the most Astonishing thing in the World if such considerations did not render him the most indearing Object since the very Publicans loved those who loved them nay since the very Ox knoweth his Owner and the Ass his Master 's Cribb 2dly HAVING thus shewed the proper way of Acquiring the Love of God I proceed now to consider how we are to Express it And that our Practice as to this may be Regular we must note what indeed is clear to all Men from the natural Operations of this Affection that Love excites us powerfully to these three Things 1st To observe the Will 2dly To resemble the Temper And 3dly To desire the Fruition of the Object we have an Ardent Affection for FIRST True Love makes us observe ones Pleasure seeing this Affection is made up of Esteem and Honour in the Judgment and of Complacency in the Heart a ready Compliance of the Will must be the next thing because this is only the Paying of that Deference which we Conceive to be Due and an Act of Respect whereby we are willing and delighted to Oblige In all Cases it makes us to be yielding But when it comes to be a Divine Love and hath the Blessed God for its Object it cannot but engage us to Entire and Universal Obedience because the Soul hath God's Soveraign Authority in its Eye besides those Beauties and Excellencies of his Nature which are so Amiable and so Powerful in their Influence God being the sole Governour of the World that hath a right to give Laws to our Souls and a Power to Dispose of them we are indispenfibly Obliged to make his Will when once it is Revealed the Rule and Measure of our Actions And the Necessity of this adds a mighty force to those Inclinations which Love alone createth evermore in the Mind to clasp with his Holy and Righteous Precepts Hence it is that the Scripture interprets Obedience as the only Sign and Argument of a Divine Love I will shew Mercy unto Thousands of them that Love me and keep my Commandments saith God Exod. 20. 6. If ye Love me keep my Commandments saith Christ Job 14. 15. This is the Love of God that we keep his Commandments saith the Divine Apostle 1 Joh. 5. 3.
holiness in the fear of God because such onely are Capable of his Divine and Special Communications such onely are in a fit condition to Receive them such onely are meet to be partakers of the Inheritance of the Saints in Light BUT yet there is a Love which God extendeth unto others also a Love of Benevolence a Sincere True and Unfeigned Affection which he beareth even to the Children of Disobedience although it be not so Extensive and Unmeasurable as that he expresseth to the Children of Light He is good and doth good unto every Man offers happiness unto the very worst of men desires them to accept of his offers intends to make them happy upon their hearty acceptance and doth all things on his part which are necessary and proper for a merciful God a Wise and Holy Lawgiver to do for Reasonable and voluntary Agents so that if they perish after all their destruction is of themselves O that my People had hearkned unto me that Israel had walked in my ways Psal 81. 13. Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die saith the Lord God Ezek. 18. 23. As I live saith the Lord God I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his evil way and live Turn ye turn ye from your evil ways for why will ye die O house of Israel Ezek. 33. 11. He will have all Men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth 1 Tim. 2. 4. He is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance 2 Pet. 3. 9. These few places of Scripture speak so positively and plainly that unless men will have the Front to Question the Veracity of God which is one of his Essential Attributes necessarily and naturally included in the Notion of a Deity they must needs acknowledge that God loveth all mankind and every one though he be the most Irreligious and Profligate amongst them He hath for all a Love of Benevolence whereby he wisheth every ones Good especially his everlasting Happiness I shall hereafter shew you how it cometh to pass that God's wishes have not their due effect at present my business is to explain the Notion of the Divine Philanthropy and to make it evident to such as are Teachable that more or less the God of Mercy and Compassion Loves us all without Partiality or Discrimination Though his Affections are of a Scantier Measure and a Lower Degree to some who harden their own hearts than they are to others whose Perswasions and ways please the Lord yet to all it is a Sincere Affection Love Unfeigned Inexpressible Unconceivable WHEN therefore our Blessed Saviour said God so loved the World that he gave his onely begotten Son his meaning was that though of Adam's Posterity some that held the Truth held it in Unrighteousness others had given themselves up to Lewdness and direct Apostasy and all were so Corrupt before God that Divine Vengeance might justly have passed upon all yet all their Impieties and Provocations notwithstanding God had so great a Love for all that of his meer Grace and Goodness he determined to do whatsoever was Needful for and Becoming him to act that he might Reclaim them and bring them into the ways of Righteousness and Peace and for that end gave his onely begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting Life CHAP. II. The Point to be insisted on viz God's unfeigned Love to all Mankind Proved First from the Command touching the Universal Promulgation of the Gospel AND now the Point which ariseth hence is this That the Son of God's coming into the World was a strong Argument and an evident Expression of God's sincere and boundless Affection to all Mankind FOR the clearing of this important Article there are Two things for me to insist upon First The Amplitude of that Commission which was given the Apostles and their Successors for the Promulgation of the Gospel to all the World Secondly The Extensive Merit of our Holy Redeemer's Death 1. FIRST The Amplitude of that Commission which was given the Apostles and their Successors for the Promulgation of the Gospel The Directions given them when the Lord was ready to depart from them according to St. Matthew's Account runs thus Go ye and Teach all Nations Baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have Commanded you And loe I am with you always even unto the end of the World Math. 28. 19 20. Though by all Nations here may be meant Primarily all the Tribes of Israel and Christ's Purpose might be that the Apostles should begin their Preaching at Jerusalem and thence Proceed to the Jews that were dispersed among the Heathen yet no Nation under Heaven was to be Excluded but from Age to Age and from one Nation to another the Tidings of Peace were to be carried over all the Earth until the Consummation of all things Therefore not the Apostles onely but also their Successors for ever were intended in this Commission because the Lord's Spiritual Presence and Assistance was to be not for the Apostles time only but Perpetual to the very End of the World Which shews the Universality of the Divine Grace and that the Gospel was to be Preached every where before the close of all things that at the Day of final Account God may Judge the whole World by Jesus Christ in Righteousness according as they have obey'd or disobey'd the Gospel sent unto them Hence the Account St. Mark gives is this Go ye into all the World and Preach the Gospel to every Creature Mark 16. 15. to shew that God's intention was that no People no not in the Heathen part of the World should be passed by But that Repentance and Remission of Sins should be Preached in Christ's Name among all Nations begining at Jerusalem as St. Luke hath it Luk. 24. 47. Accordingly the Apostles went forth and Preached every where saith St. Mark meaning to all People and Nations within their reach because they were to be Witnesses unto Christ both in Jerusalem and in all Judaea and in all Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the Earth saith St. Luke Act. 1. 8. And because God Commanded all Men every where to Repent saith St. Paul Act. 17. 30. And were it needful for me to Collect Observations to this purpose out of the Ancient Writers of the Christian Church I could shew you particularly when the Apostles parted Solemnly from one another to Execute their Redeemer's Commission how they took their particular Provinces and went every one into the Country that was assign'd him and how those Apostolical Persons who were engaged in the same weighty Employment some in the Apostles Days and many after all Travell'd into distant places and Territories that the sound of the Gospel might go forth into all Lands and
to be thrown to the Lyons as he was on his tedious Journey to Rome where he was to Suffer he sent before-hand to the Christians there an Epistle wherein he most Importunately and Passionately desired them not to use any means in the World to prevent his Martyrdom but rather assist the earnest Desires he had to Die for the Lord Jesus He Prayed heartily that it might be his Lot to be torn in pieces by the Wild Beasts which were provided for him and that he might find them Fierce and Ravenous He profess'd that rather than fail he would Court nay Constrain them to Devour him He express'd his Wishes that he might endure any Torments the Flames the Cross the united Force of Savage Creatures Manglings Dilacerations the dispersing of his Bones the chopping of all his Limbs into pieces the Consumption of his whole Body nay all the pains the Devil could bring upon him so that he might but enjoy Jesus Christ He declared that all the Kingdoms of this World would do him no good without Martyrdom and that he had much rather Die for Christ and to be with Christ than be Monarch of the whole Earth and the true cause of this his Flaming Zeal was the great Sense he had of Christ's wonderful Affection in Dying for the World which Commanded from him the return of these Passionate Affections to God and his Redeemer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 said he my Love was Crucified I have briefly observed these things to shew that Love is a most powerful Affection when it is Sincere Hearty and Earnest Of all the Affections of the Soul it is that which will not be concealed or lie idle There is a vehemence in the Nature of it which will break forth and discover the Delights and Desires that are within And therefore to Fit and Temper our Minds duly for those Performances which God looketh for as a Genuine return on our part for his abundant Love to us all and as necessary means in order to the Final and Everlasting Fruition of himself we must raise our Affections to this hihg and noble Pitch to Love the Lord our God With all our Heart and with all our Soul and with all our Mind Mat. 22. 37. Our Saviour there calls it the first and great Commandment not only because it is of prime Obligation but moreover because it is the main Genuine spring whence all Acts of Obedience to God do naturally flow INDEED Solomon tells us That the Fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom Prov. 9. 10. And doubtless the consideration of God's Power and Justice is a very necessary thing to keep People in Awe nay the only thing that is a Check upon those who would not stick to commit Iniquity with greediness and run out into all manner of Excesses were it not for fear of God's Judgments in this World and of Hell Torments in the next But though this be a good restraint and highly needful in its kind yet it is far from being so excellent a preservative of Virtue and Religion as the Love of God is For this Fear is in some Men the Effect of an Absurd Slavish Disposition Proceeding purely from Self-Love and from a Natural Principle of Self-Preservation which makes them forbear those Sins for their own sakes only which otherwise they would readily Commit were there no Danger And as for those positive Acts of Obedience to the Divine Commands which they perform they proceed too from the same servise Principle so that it is at best a Forc'd and Unwilling Obedience extorted meerly to Pacifie a terrible God that is Arm'd with Power to Revenge the Contempt of of his most Sacred Authority And tho' there is and ought to be in the very Best and most Holy People a Fear of God or a Dread of his Displeasure and of Eternal Punishment A Fear that is well pleasing unto God and very useful to themselves yet in those Pious Hearts it is attended and mixed with a very Ardent Love and so it is an Ingenuous Fear a Filial Reverence like that Awful Regard which Dutiful and Affectionate Children have for their dear Parents at the same time they are afraid of their Displeasure and Obey but Obey with Chearfulness and Delight It is Love that most generous Affection of the Soul it is that which makes Fear such a good and kindly Principle of Action and the warmer our Love is the more Extensive Hearty and Acceptable will our Obedience be Therefore that we may Answer the Love of God to us by a chearful performance of those things which of his great Mercy and Goodness he hath proposed to our Practice that thereby he may fit us for true Happiness in Heaven To Answer I say this his unspeakable Love to us all we should use all possible endeavours to Enflame our Souls with such a Love towards him again as wrought so vigorously in the Saints of Old who counted not their very Lives dear to them So that they might finish their Course with Joy as St. Paul said of himself Act. 20. 24. In the closing of this whole Subject which began with the Contemplation of God's Love and is now to end with the Consideration of ours It will be requisite for me to shew these two things First How we may acquire Secondly How we are to Express that Divine Affection which I now speak of 2dly First then The way to Acquire this Love is to represent God to our Minds as the best of all Beings and that in a two fold Respect 1. As the most Desirable Delightful and Amiable good in his Nature and 2. As a Being that is most Communicative of Goodness and Happiness to us 1st First We should represent God to our Minds as the most Amiable Good in his Nature Some Perfections are very indearing and Attractive of our Affections tho' we be supposed to be never the better for them As that Perfection of Body which consisteth in External Beauty and Loveliness inviteth the Spectators Affection though the Person so Accomplish'd is and is ever like to be an utter Stranger to him The Beauties of the Mind are much more Attractive of a Rational Affection Wisdom Truth Sincerity Faithfulness Gentleness Meekness Patience Righteousness Mercy a Condescending Temper and whatever comes under the notion of true Goodness these are Amiable Vertues and Dispositions which we cannot but Love one another for though they are in us but in a scanty Measure and are mixed too with many Infirmities Such as they be they are Derived also We are beholding for them to that Supream and first Cause who is the Fountain of all Excellencies and therefore they must needs be most Amiable in God because in Him they are Absolute and Infinite nor can we conceive any Perfections Intellectual or Moral in the most Excellent Creatures no not in the Blessed Angels themselves but what are transcendently Glorious in the Father of Spirits whose Excellencies admit of no boundaries or Abatement
Therefore to kindle and maintain in our Hearts a Rational Holy and Divine Love we should represent God to our Minds under such charming Ideas as become a Being so admirably Perfect in himself so Transcendently and Gloriously Excellent We should Conceive of him as a Being that knoweth how to order all things for the best and with a strict regard to the good of his whole Creation and of every part of it that is but capable of participating of his Goodness As a Being that taketh a Particular care of Mankind and more especially of those Men who Study to live in conformity to his Laws as a Being that is always steddy and constant to his Promises nor is capable of Lying a thing so Repugnant to his most Blessed Nature that none but the Devil can be the Father of it As a Being that is Righteous in all his ways that loveth Righteousness and hateth Iniquity that giveth Laws which are Just and Good that rewardeth every one according to his Works and punisheth none but according to Equity and Eternal Reason We should Conceive of him as a Being that is ready to take Compassion upon all that need it and are capable of his Mercies that is unwilling to have any of us Lost that is slow to Anger that is patient towards all that is Merciful Gracious Long-suffering abundant in Goodness and Truth keeping Mercy for Thousands forgiving Iniquity Transgression and Sin In short we should Conceive of God as a blessed Being that loveth and careth for our poor Souls Infinitely more than we our selves do Under these lovely Ideas God representeth himself in the Holy Scriptures and to behold him under such ravishing Conceptions is an effectual way of raising in us a Rational affection to him because one great Branch of Love consisteth in Esteem in that Honour and Admiration which springs from the Excellencies we Discern or believe to be in the Object of our Affections 2. ANOTHER Branch of it is the placing of our Hearts upon the Object we highly Admire the desiring and Seeking after it and delighting in it as the precious and dear thing wherein we conceive our Happiness to be Lodged And to raise our Affections to this noble pitch we should represent God to our Minds also as a Being that is actually Communicative of Goodness and Happiness to us Love naturally commandeth Love again 'T is an Affection of the Soul that cannot resist any thing which is like it self but presently closeth with the object that by suitable expressions of Kindness invites and meets it Here then we should consider how that most perfect and excellent Being hath been before hand with us what good he hath done us and doth do for us daily The Life we now live and are so very tender of was given us at the first by that Father of Spirits and is every Moment supported by his sole Providence which Feeds and Cloaths us and hath Preserved us all along from innumerable Dangers from many which Time may have worn out of our Memories and from more which we have not minded or were so hidden that we could not discover them Those Blessings which lie in common to Mankind every one hath had his share of And were particular Persons so advertent as to observe God's particular Providence to them there is not one in the World but would find himself obliged to make God particular returns of Thankfulness and Affection God is so Good to the meanest and most Ungrateful People that if every one would but keep by him two private Registers one of God's Mercies and another of his own Actions the very sense of God's Goodness to every Man I mean as to the things of this Life could not but warm all our Hearts towards him especially if we did open both Registers and then fairly compare what we have had with what we have deserv'd BUT above all we should consider what God hath done for our Immortal Souls by his wise and gracious ordering all things that relate to a Life Eternal That State being Everlastingly Unchangeable when once Men enter into it whether it be a State of Blessedness or Torments God of his Infinite Goodness and most tender Compassion was pleased to make such ample Provision for the well-fare of us all that one might think it hardly possible for People of Probity and Thoughtfulness to miss of a Blessed Eternity He sent the Son of his Love to transact the weighty business of a Mediator that God and Men might be no longer at a distance The Lord Jesus did innumerable Miracles to prove and confirm his Divine Authority He declared unto the World the whole Counsel of God that nothing of Light might be wanting He deliver'd us such Precepts as are suitable to our own Reason and such as are Easie and Delightful to those who will but Accustom themselves to the observation of them He hath encouraged us with such Promises as are enough to Animate us in the greatest Difficulties and to carry us undauntedly through all He submitted to a most Painful and Reproachful Death that he might offer up a full perfect and sufficent Oblation Sacrifice and Satisfaction for the sins of the whole World and that in Vertue of his Death he might for ever make Intercession for us He gave his Holy Spirit to inspire his Apostles and to assist us all by such kindly Operations as are suitable to Creatures endued with Rational faculties to Illuminate our Understandings to perswade our Wills to purifie our Affections to strengthen our Hopes and to Comfort and Cherish us in our Trials He wooeth us daily by his Ambassadors who beseech us in Christ's stead that we would be reconciled unto God He hath instituted Ordinances to Seal the Mercies of God to every particular Soul which will use those Ordinances in a due manner In short he hath afforded us all the means which Reasonable and Immortal Souls stand in need of and all this for no other end but to make us Eternally Happy happy in the fruition of Himself who is so infinitely Happy in his own Perfections and Condition that he needeth not the Service or Attendance of Men or of Angels These things therefore could not flow from any other Principle but a Principle of Goodness And this is the true genuine Reason of Love whereas those frightful Ideas under which some have misrepresented the most Blessed God serve to cast a Damp on Men's Spirits and to Alienate their Minds and Affections from that Divine and most Amiable Being Plutarch in his Book of Superstition describes those People as God's Enemies and their own too who think hardly of God and believe him to be Fierce False Mutable Revengeful Cruel Angry upon every light occasion Austere Rigorous and Hurtful He tells us there that of all Men such are in the very worst condition that they are Afraid of him even when they have Recourse to him that they Reproach at the same time and Flatter him that they
THIS then is the first way of Expressing our Affections towards God in return of his great Love and Goodness to us and to all Mankind by Doing all things he requires of us with a ready and chearful Mind It is not a starch'd Gesture nor a Formal carriage nor an External Profession nor a waterish Look nor a furious Zeal for dry Opinions it is not these or any of these things that is the Sign of that Divine Love which is the Noble Principle of Religion For these outward shews may be consistent with the Hatred of God and Man and then they are only so many Glosses of Hypocrites void of that Rational and Generous Affection which God's Love calls for 'T is the entire subjection of the Heart Operating and Exerting all its Vigour by Religious Sober Honest and Charitable Actions 'T is the subduing our unreasonable Passions the denying all Ungodliness and Worldly Lusts the cleansing of our selves from all filthiness of Flesh and Spirit the squaring of our Lives according to the Laws of God To this Pliant and Obediential frame of Soul that is the true Testimony and Fruit of that Love which God looks for and which is in the Sight of God of so great a Price We must call upon him daily with Faithful and Enflamed Spirits we must apply our Hearts to the Study and Practice of Religion we must do Justly Love Mercy and walk humbly with our God we must be sincere and without any Guile and deal truly with all Men as in the presence of God we must Love one another and Forgive one another For he that loveth not his Brother whom he hath seen how can he love God whom he hath not seen 1 Joh. 4. 20. In short to express our Love of God after a right manner we must obey him in all things and that with enlarged Hearts with Filial Reverence with Ingenuous Dutifulness with a ready Will and with such Alacrity Chearfulness and Pleasure of Mind as becometh those for whom God hath been pleased to do so many Miracles of Mercy SECONDLY Another proper Act of Love is to Study Imitation This proceeds from a Twofold Cause partly from the great Value we have of and the great Complacency we take in the Object of our Affections which being so Amiable in our Eye doth naturally Excite us to transform our selves into a Similitude of it And partly it proceeds from an innate Desire we all have of being Beloved again which being impracticable without an Harmony of Mind and Temper between both Parties it is necessary for the one that Love may be Reciprocal to suit himself to the disposition of the other especially if that other be a Superior in Dignity Excellence and Perfection Considering therefore that God is infinitely the most Excellent the most Excellent and Perfect of all Beings the Love which springs from a Sense of his Perfections and reacheth after a Plenary Communication of them must needs Stimulate ones Soul to put on a Disposition as far as 't is possible agreeable to the Mind and Spirit of God THEREFORE that we may Rightly and Eminently express our Love to God we must by all means endeavour to resemble him I mean in all those things that are Imitable by us We must be sincere in Heart as that most Blessed Being is According to the capacities and Powers of our Nature we must be Holy and Separate from all Moral Impurities as God is we must be Patient Long-suffering and slow to Anger as He is we must be Treatable and Reconcilable notwithstanding all Affronts and Injuries as he is we must be strict Observers of the Eternal Rules of Righteousness and Justice as He is we must be Steaddy and True to all our Promises as the Faithful God is we must be Merciful and Benign Compassionate and Tender-hearted Bountiful and Impartial Kind and Good to all Men even to our Enemies as that Gracious and Beneficent Being is who maketh his Sun to shine upon the Good and upon the Evil too and sendeth his Rain upon the Just and upon the Unjust also Those Ill-natured People who are Uncharitable Rigid Fierce Implacable Austere Cruel Revengeful and Outragious should look upon God's Glories the Perfections and Beauties of his Nature and should employ their time upon this great Study how to be like God according to those charming Ideas under which He is represented unto us in the Holy Scriptures Thou thoughtest Wickedly that I am even such a one as thy self saith God but I will reprove thee and set before thee the things that thou hast done Psal 50. 21. God will not be served with our Vices nor must we be such Fools as to think we love him by entitling him to the Filth and Refuse of our Corrupt Nature Goodness is so bright a Beam of the Divine Glory and so easie to be seen in every part of the Creation that Men cannot but discover it by the Eye of Common Natural Reason The old Pagans Admired it and believed God to be the Best Being and therefore Ador'd him Prayed to him in all their Straits and Necessities and Celebrated his Praises as well as Nature could teach them For which Universal Custom amongst all Mankind there could not have been any sufficient Reason had they not Universally Believed not only the Existence of a Deity but moreover that the Divine Being is a God of Power and a God of great Clemency Benignity and Goodness This was the true Ground of their Religious Offices and of that Love which Nature wrought in their Hearts towards him And whatever any of us Christians may talk of our Loving God all is but Froth and Vanity Senseless and Ridiculous Profession unless we resemble him in Goodness Be ye Merciful even as your Father is Merciful as our Blessed Saviour said Luk. 6. 36. THIRDLY And Lastly to express our Love towards God we must earnestly desire the Fruition of him This every one seeth to be another natural Act of this Affection and the most Vehement Effort of it to be United to its Object and to have it in actual Possession and the Reason is because Happiness is Apprehended to consist in such Enjoyment Now God being the true Felicity of the Soul the only proper Object which the Faculties of the Soul can be Employed upon with satisfaction and which can fully Answer all our Desires it is impossible to Conceive how we can truly Love him especially under the notion of our Happiness without Ardent and Impatient Longings after the Fruition of him THIS being so clear the next thing we are to Note is that there is a Present and a Future Fruition of God The Present Fruition in respect of Degree is very Imperfect because we are yet in an Imperfect State but in respect of Quality and Kind is the same with that which is yet to come For it consisteth in Contemplating God according to our Capacities in Admiring the Perfections of his infinite Majesty in setting our Hearts on
him as our Supream Good in feeding our Desires with the Ravishing Ideas of him in Delighting and being highly pleased with the Sense of him and in such other Beatifical Acts which are answerable to Rational Appetites Every Divine Lover hath something of all this in this Present Imperfect State 't is the Fruition which now Crowneth our Affections that Spiritual Fellowship of Communion with God which we enjoy in this Life To Express therefore our Love to him in this respect we should have him always in our Minds be full of worthy Conceptions of him and make the thoughts of his Glorious Essence and Attributes to dwell in our Hearts daily We should Exalt him in our Minds above all things and make our Souls sensible that we have none in Heaven but Him none upon Earth to be desired in Comparison of Him We should take Pleasure in Divine Contemplations and endeavour constantly to Satiate our Souls more and more with Delights of that Nature We should every day possess our Hearts with such Affecting Meditations as These O God! How Excellent is thy Name How Radiant is thy Glory How Adorable are thy Perfections How Wonderful are thy Works How Beautiful are all thy Ways How Righteous are thy Actions How Equal are thy Commands How Precious and Sweet are thy Promises How Infinite is thy Goodness How Astonishing are thy Mercies How Charming is thy Love How Helpfull and Saving is thy Power How Tender is thy Pity How Blessed and Praise-worthy and Desirable art Thou O Thou great Lover of Souls and Redeemer of the World To kindle in us such a Divine Flame and to raise our Desires still touching the Fruition of God we should Form our Hearts into a Devout Temper give our Selves to Prayer and to the Love of it daily Insensate and Careless People know not the Comforts the Pleasures the Divine Enjoyments which Transport the Minds of those who Pray to God with Stay'd Fervent and Affectionate Hearts Certainly what Happiness there is here below Men of Holy Humble and Devout Spirits have it And that our Fruitions thereby may be the greater and the more desirable we should evermore be mindful of Publick and Solemn Devotion Chiefly when Two or Three are gathered together in Christ's Name then is he in the midst of us and then is God with us then we Enjoy him in a more especial manner and measure in the Congregation in the Assembly of the Saints in his House of Prayer There he scatters his Blessings there he gives us participations of himself there he refresheth us with a portion of those Pleasures which are at his Right Hand And this was the Reason of those Raptures Wishes Groans and Longings of the Holy Psalmist which upon the like occasions we should be full of too My Heart is fixed O God my Heart is fixed I will Sing and give Praise Awake up my Glory I will go into this Sanctuary and fall low on my Knees at thy Footstool Like as the Heart desireth the Water-brooks so longeth my Soul after Thee O God My Soul is a Thirst for God yea even for the Living God When shall I come to appear before the Presence of God! O How Amiable are thy Dwellings O Lord of Hosts My Soul hath a Desire and longing to enter into the Courts of the Lord for one Day in thy Courts is better than a Thousand I had rather be a Door-keeper in the House of my God than to dwell in the Tents of Wickedness Now see how passionate that good Man's Love to God was though for the present Fruition of him And if the Gleanings of the Grapes be so desirable what is the whole Vintage I mean that abundant and Eternal Enjoyment which is Reserved for us till that Day when we shall have duly transacted all our Services here and shall pass from these Houses of Prayer into that Building of God not made with Hands the Everlasting Habitation of his Glory This Future Everlasting Fruition of God ought to be the chief Object of our Desires because it is our highest good and because it is the Ultimate end of the Divine Oeconomy and of all our Labours of Love in this World It is impossible for us truly and earnestly to Love God and not to groan within our Selves whilest we wait for this last Adoption the Redemption of our Bodies that we may be Cloathed upon all over with Immortality and have these our vile Bodies changed and fashioned like unto Christ's own Glorious Body that we may be in every Respect fit to be with that great Lover of our Souls and when we see him may rejoyce with him and with a joy like unto his when after all the Ignominy and Torments of the Cross he had this most Comfortable Reflection It is Finished PRAYERS OLord who never failest to help and govern them whom thou dost bring up in thy Stedfast Fear and Love Keep us we Beseech Thee under the Protection of thy good Providence and make us to have a perpetual Fear and Love of thy Holy Name through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen OGod who hast prepared for them that Love Thee such good things as pass Man's Understanding Pour into our Hearts such Love towards Thee that we loving Thee above all things may obtain thy Promises which exceed all that we can desire through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen ALmighty and Everlasting God who hatest nothing that Thou hast made and dost forgive the Sins of all them that are Penitent Create and make in us New and Contrite Hearts that we Worthily lamenting our Sins and acknowledging our Wretchedness may Obtain of Thee the God of all Mercy perfect Remission and Forgiveness through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen OAlmighty God who alone canst Order the Unruly Wills and Affections of Sinful Men grant unto thy People that they may Love the thing which thou Commandest and desire that which thou dost Promise that so among the sundry and manifold Changes of the World our Hearts may surely There be fixed where true joys are to be found through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen GRant We beseech Thee Almighty God That like as We do Believe thy only Begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ to have Ascended into the Heavens So We may also in Heart and Mind thither Ascend and with Him continually dwell who liveth and raigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost one God World without End Amen FINIS Books lately Printed for W. Crook 1. A Practical Discourse upon the Blessed Sacrament shewing the Duties of the Communicant before at and after the Eucharist Octavo Price 3s 6d 2. A Practical Discourse upon Prayer in Octavo Price Is. 3. A Practical Discourse upon Charity in its several Branches and of the Reasonableness and Useful Nature of this great Christian Vertue Octavo Price 3s These three are also bound together having the Title of Dr. Pelling's Three Practical Discourses Vol. 1. Price 6s together 4. A Practical Discourse upon Humility wherein is shewn the Nature Reasonableness and Usefulness thereof together with the ways of Expressing and Increasing of it Price 2s 6d All Written by the Reverend Dr. Pelling Author of this Book