Cap. 53. fight and view they have had of the heighth and depth of the riches of the glory of the grace of God in the face of Jefus Chrift: That fight of Gods grace that is the cause of fecurity in people, is that which is grounded meerly upon a natural light, which hath no efficacy to raise, and enlarge, and to purge the heart: But this true fpiritual fight of Gods grace, it hath a mighty efficacy, and nothing more, to raise, and enlarge, and purge the heart. In 2 Corinth. 3. 18. fays the Apostle, We beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror: What then, are we fecure and prefumptuous upon this? No, we are changed into the fame image from glory to glory. What was that glory that the Apoftle did behold the glory of God in the mirror of the Gospel, the glory of God in the riches of his grace towards the Saints: Now fays he, While we behold, as in a mirror, this glory of God, this is the fruit of it, We are changed from glory to glory. People talk of Gods mercy, but how few ever had a fpiritual fight of Gods mercy they would have Minifters preach much of Gods mercy, but if people had eyes to behold it in the glory of it, how would it change their hearts? wherefore then, I beseech you, labor to have more then a natural fight of Gods mercy and goodness towards mankinde. A man by a low apprehenfion of Gods mercy and goodness may think thus: So long as I ferve God, it fhall be well with me, God will blefs me, and be merciful to me; but that fpiritual and fupernatural fight of the riches of the glory of Gods mercy, is this, for a foul though it fees it felf a base vile wretched worm, a lump of filth,

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and fees it felf standing guilty before the Lord, Cap.53. and God feems to look with an angry face upon it, and confcience within it accuses it, and the threats of the fiery Law come out againft it; yet for a foul to be able to look into the deep bowels of Gods infinite compaffion that are in Christ, and in them to look upon it felf for all this as an heir of glory and eternal life, fo as to have the foul raised, and enlarged, and devoted to the magnifying, praifing and adoring the riches of Gods grace, and to venture all upon this, this is more then a natural fight of Gods grace, and of his mercy towards mankinde.

You will fay, We could admire Gods grace and object. mercy towards mankinde, and praise him, and bless him for it, and our hearts would be enlarged, If we were fure these things did belong to us, and that we had any interest in them; there is enough in them to enlarge and raise our hearts, but this is that which hinders, We do not know that we have an interest therein.

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To that I anfwer, That this very work of God it Anf. felf, that gives this fight of his grace to to raise the heart to close with it, and to make the foul venture all upon it, that does bring the foul to devote it felf to the praife and honor of it; this very work of it felf does intereft your fouls in it, therefore do not fay, If I were interested in thefe things, then I could praife and magnifie God for them: If you can do this, you are interested in them, for this is an immediate work of faith, and it is from a divine principle to be able to do this, and therefore though you know no good at all in

your

Cap.53. your felves before, and you had no arguments to encourage you before, and you had no preparation in your own apprehenfions before, yet if you have but this work of grace, it does intereft your fouls in all that which hath been revealed concerning the recompence of reward of the Saints of God.

object.

Ans.

But may we not presume to think that such great things belong to us?

To that I answer, Where ever prefumption is, it is built upon a natural fight of Gods grace, and that is a poor low flat dead thing, that hath no fnch efficacy to raise the heart to fuch a glorious work as this is, and therefore if the heart be raised to fuch a glorious work as this, by the appprehenfion of the riches of the grace and goodness of God towards mankinde, that is not prefumption: And this is the fixth Ufe.

CHAP.

Cap.54.

CHAP. LIV.

Gods people to be highly honored.

Eventhly, if there be fuch bleffed things referved for the people of God: Hence let us look upon all the fervants of God as honorable in our eyes, and let them be honored in our thoughts, for great are the thoughts of God upon them and towards them, and therefore great and honorable fhould be our thoughts of them, though they be never fo poor and mean in the world. We ufe to look upon great heirs with admiring thoughts, and bleffing of them every time we look upon them. Do you fee one walking in the ways of God? whatfoever he be for his outwards, let your hearts blefs him, and fay, Here is one indeed born to great things, other maner of things then any the world affords. Did we know what were the things that the people of God fhould be poffeffed of within a while, we would fay in our hearts, o blessed that ever they were born, bleffed is the womb that bare them, and bleffed are the paps that gave them fuck: Did we with a fpiritual believing eye behold what things they should have, and faw them as now poffeffed of them, we would fee caufe to fall down and kifs the ground uponwhich they tread: The bleffed Angels look upon thèm as great ones, as the glory of the world, and therefore do joyfully minifter unto them, because they know they are the great heirs of Heaven, for whom fuch great things are prepared: Great things are spoken of thee, O thou City of God, fays the Pfalmift; Great things are spoken of you, Oye Saints

of

7.

Cap.54. of God. If Heaven must be so glorious to entertain the Saints, how glorious are those for whom heaven is prepared? Says Ahasuerus, What shall be done to the man whom the King will honor? Ó what shall be done to those whom an infinite God hath fet his heart upon to raise to honor, and to manifeft to Angels, and to all the world, what his infinite power is able to do in raifing of a creature to glory: In the Saints there is a meeting, as it were of the beams of Gods grace and goodness as in a center, and that must needs be very warm and hot indeed. The beams of the Sun in the circumference fcattered in the ayr, are warm, but in a glass, where they are united together as it were in a center, there they warm after another maner, there they burn; fo all the works of Gods grace abroad in the world, they are as the beams of the Sun in the circumference, that are scattered abroad; but in his people there is the center where they are united together, and there they burn, and are glorious indeed, and therefore high and honorable thoughts you ought to have of the Saints. It is a great argument to fhew Gods greatness, that all the creatures in the world are his, and for him. What an argument then is it to fet forth the greatness of a Christian, that Heaven, and God, and Chrift, and all are his and for him and this hath been fhewn in this glorious recompence of reward: How great and honorable then should they be in our eyes?

8.

Eighthly, if there be fuch a glorious reward, and great things prepared for Gods people, then what love is due to Chrift, and to the Gospel, and to the ways of godliness?