rest but finding none'. The soul that finds not some solid and self-sufficient good to centre itself upon, is a boisterous and restless thing; and, being without God, it wanders up and down the world, destitute, afflicted, tormented with vehement hunger and thirst after some satisfying good; and, as any one shall bring it tidings, 'Lo here, or, Lo there is good,' it presently goes out towards it, and, with a swift and speedy flight, hastens after it. The sense of an inward indigency doth stimulate and enforce it to seek its contentment without itself, and so it wanders up and down from one creature to another; and thus becomes distracted by a multiplicity of objects. And while it cannot find some one and only object upon which, as being perfectly adequate to its capacities, it may wholly bestow itself; while it is tossed with restless and vehement motions of desire and love, through a world of painted beauties, false, glozing excellencies; courting all, but matching nowhere; violently hurried everywhere, but finding nowhere objectum par amori; while it converseth only with these pinching particularities here below, and is not yet acquainted with the universal goodness; it is certainly far from true rest and satisfaction, from a fixed, composed temper of spirit; but being distracted by multiplicity of objects and ends, there can never be any firm and stable peace or friendship at home, amongst all its powers and faculties; nor can there be a firm amity and friendship abroad betwixt wicked men themselves, as Aristotle concludes in his Ethics, because all vice is so multiform and inconsistent a thing; and so there can be no true concatenation of affections and ends between them. Whereas, in all good men, virtue and goodness is one form and soul to them all, that unites them together; and there is the one, simple, and uniform good, that guides and governs them all. They are not as a ship,

1 Matt. xii. 43.

tossed in the tumultuous ocean of this world, without any compass at all to steer by; but they direct their course by the certain guidance of the one last end, as the true polestar of all their motion. But while the soul lies benighted in a thick ignorance, as it is with wicked men, and beholds not some stable and eternal good towards which it may move; though it may, by the strength of that principle of activeness within itself, spend itself perpetually with swift and giddy motions; yet will it be always contesting with secret disturbances, and cannot act but with many reluctancies, as not finding an object equal to the force and strength of its vast affections to act upon.

By what hath been said, may appear the vast difference between the ways of sin and of holiness. Inward distractions and disturbances, tribulation and anguish upon every soul that doth evil: but to every man that worketh good, glory, honour, and peace',' inward composedness and tranquillity of spirit, pure and divine joys, far excelling all sensual pleasures; in a word, true contentment of spirit, and full satisfaction in God, whom the pious soul loves above all things, and longs still after a nearer enjoyment of Him. I shall conclude this particular with that with which Plotinus concludes his bookThat the life of holy and divine men is βίος ἀνήδονος τῶν τῇδε, φυγὴ μόνου πρὸς μόνον— a life not touched with these vanishing delights of time, but a flight of the soul alone to God?.'

CHAPTER VII.

The fifth property or effect discovering the excellency of religion, viz. That it advanceth the soul to a holy boldness and humble familiarity with God, and to a comfortable confidence concerning the love of God toward it, and its own salvation. Fearfulness, consternation of mind, and frightful passions, are consequent upon sin and guilt. These, together with the most dismal deportments of trembling and amazement, are agreeable to the nature of the devil, who delights to be served in this manner by his worshippers. Love, joy, and hope, are most agreeable to the nature of God, and most pleasing to Him. The right apprehensions of God are such as are apt to beget love to God, delight and confidence in Him. A true Christian is more for a solid and well-grounded peace, than for high raptures and feelings of joy. How a Christian should endeavour after the assurance of his salvation. That he should not importunately expect or desire some extraordinary manifestations of God to him, but rather look after the manifestation of the life of God within him, the foundation or beginning of heaven and salvation in his own soul. That self-resignation, and the subduing of our own wills, are greatly available to obtain assurance. The vanity and absurdity of that opinion, viz. That in a perfect resignation of our wills to God's will, a man should be content with his own damnation, and to be the subject of eternal wrath in hell, if it should 80 please God.

5. THE fifth property or effect, whereby true religion discovers its own nobleness and excellency, is this; That it advanceth the soul to a holy boldness and humble familiarity with God, as also a well-grounded hope, and comfortable confidence, concerning the love of God toward it, and its own salvation. The truly religious soul maintains a humble and sweet familiarity with God; and, with great alacrity of spirit, without any consternation and servility of spirit, is enabled to look upon the glory and majesty of the Most High: but sin and wickedness is pregnant with fearfulness and horror. That trembling and consternation of mind which possesses wicked men, is nothing else but the offspring of darkness, an "Eμтovσа begotten in corrupt and irreligious hearts. While men

'walk in darkness,' and 'are of the night,' as the apostle speaks, then only is it that they are vexed with those ugly and ghastly popuóves that terrify and torment them. But when once the day breaks, and true religion opens herself upon the soul, like the eyelids of the morning, then all those shadows and frightful apparitions flee away. As all light, and love, and joy, descend from above, from the Father of Lights; so all darkness, and fearfulness, and despair, are from below: they arise from corrupt and earthly minds, and are like those gross vapours arising from this earthly globe, that, not being able to get up towards heaven, spread themselves about the circumference of that body where they were first begotten, infesting it with darkness, and generating into thunder and lightning, clouds and tempests. But the higher a Christian ascends ék Toû σтnλaiov—above this dark dungeon of the body; the more that religion prevails within him, the more then shall he find himself, as it were, in a clear heaven, in a region that is calm and serene; and the more will those black and dark affections of fear and despair vanish away, and those clear and bright affections of love, and joy, and hope, break forth in their strength and lustre.

The devil, who is the prince of darkness and the great tyrant, delights to be served with ghastly affections, and the most dismal deportments of trembling and astonishment; as having nothing at all of amiableness or excellency in him to commend himself to his worshippers. Slavery and servility (that γλωττόκομον τῆς ψυχῆς, as Longinus truly calls it) is the badge and livery of the devil's religion': hence those Pρikтȧ μvσTÝρia of the

1 Ὥσπερ οὖν (εἴ γε, φησὶ, τοῦτο πιστὸν ἀκούω) τὰ γλωττόκομα, ἐν οἷς οἱ Πυγμαῖοι καλούμενοι τρέφονται, οὐ μόνον κωλύει τῶν ἐγκεκλεισμένων τὰς αὐξήσεις, ἀλλὰ καὶ συναιρεῖ διὰ τὸν περικείμενον τοῖς σώμασι δεσ

μόν· οὕτως ἅπασαν δουλείαν, κἂν ᾖ δικαιοτάτη, ψυχῆς γλωττόκομον καὶ κοινὸν δή τις ἀποφήναιτο δεσμωτήριον.—Dionys. Long. De Sublim. § XLIV. 5.

2 The words for false gods and idols,

FF

heathens, performed with much trembling and horror. But God, who is the supreme goodness, and both essential love and loveliness, takes most pleasure in those sweet and delightful affections of the soul, viz. love, joy, and hope, which are most correspondent to His own nature. The ancient superstition of the heathens was always very nice and curious, in honouring every one of their gods with sacrifices and rites most agreeable to their natures: I am sure there is no incense, no offering which we can present to God, so sweet, so acceptable to Him as our love, and delight, and confidence in Him; and when He comes into the souls of men, He makes these His throne, His place of rest, as finding the greatest agreeableness therein to His own essence. A good man, that finds himself made partaker of the Divine nature, and transformed into the image of God, infinitely takes pleasure in God, as being altogether lovely,' according to that in Canticles, Totus ipse est desideria'; and his 'meditation of God is sweet unto him.' St John, that lay in the bosom of Christ, who came from the bosom of the Father, and perfectly understood His eternal essence, hath given us the fullest description that he could make of Him, when he tells us that 'God is love; and he that dwelleth in God, dwelleth in love3;' and, reposing himself in the bosom of an Almighty goodness, where he finds nothing but love and loveliness, he now displays all the strength and beauty of those his choicest and most precious affections of love, and joy, and confidence: his soul is now at ease, and rests in peace, neither is there anything to make afraid: he is got beyond all those powers of darkness which give such continual alarms in this lower world, and are always troubling the earth: he is got above

6

1

import trouble and אימים and עצבים .16 .Cant. v בְּלוֹ מַחֲמַדִים

terror, and frightful passions in their worshippers.-Original edition.

2 Psal. civ. 34.