men in that condition, whereas there is more spoken directly of hell, its torments and their eternity, by himself than in all the Scripture besides. These thoughts, in most, proceed from an unwillingness to be troubled in their sins, and are useful unto none. It is the height

of folly for men to endeavour the hiding of themselves for a few moments from that which is unavoidably coming upon them unto eternity, and the due consideration whereof is a means for an escape from it. But I speak only of true believers; and the more they are conversant in their thoughts about the future state of eternal misery, the greater evidence they have of the life and confidence of faith. It is a necessary duty to consider it, as what we were by nature obnoxious unto, as being "children of wrath;" what we have deserved by our personal sins, as "the wages of sin is death;" what we are delivered from through Jesus the deliverer, who "saves us from the wrath to come;" what expression it is of the indignation of God against sin, who hath "ordained Tophet of old,"-that we may be delivered from sin, kept up to an abhorrency of it, walking in humility, self-abasement, and the admiration of divine grace. This, therefore, is required of us, that in our thoughts and meditations we compare the state of blessedness and eternal glory, as a free and absolute effect of the grace of God in and through Christ Jesus, with that state of eternal misery which we had deserved; and if there be any spark of grace or of holy thankfulness in our hearts, it will be stirred up unto its due exercise.

Some, it may be, will say that they complained before that they cannot get their minds fixed on these things. Weakness, weariness, darkness, diversions, occasions, do prevalently obstruct their abiding in such thoughts. I shall speak farther unto this afterward. At present I shall only suggest two things:-First, If you cannot attain, yet continue to follow after. Get your minds in a perpetual endeavour after an abode in spiritual thoughts. Let your minds be rising towards them every hour, yea, a hundred times a-day, on all occasions, in a continual sense of duty; and sigh within yourselves for deliverance when you find disappointments, or a not-continuance in them. It is the sense of that place, Rom. viii. 23-26. Secondly, Take care you go not backwards and lose what you have wrought. If you neglect these things for a season, you will quickly find yourselves neglected by them. So I observe it every day in the hearing of the word. Whilst persons keep up themselves to a diligent attendance on it, where they find it preached unto their edification, they find great delight in it, and will undergo great difficulties for the enjoyment of it;-let them be diverted from it for a season, after a while it grows indifferent unto them; any thing will satisfy them that pretends unto the same duty.

CHAPTER VII.

Especial objects of spiritual thoughts on the glorious state of heaven, and what belongs thereunto-First, of Christ himself—Thoughts of heavenly glory in opposition unto thoughts of eternal misery-The use of such thoughts-Advantage in sufferings.

It will be unto our advantage, having stated right notions of the glory of the blessed state above in our minds, to fix on some particulars belonging unto it as the especial objects of our thoughts and meditations.

As,

I. Think much of him who unto us is the life and centre of all the glory of heaven; that is, Christ himself. I shall be very brief in treating hereof, because I have designed a peculiar treatise on this subject, of beholding the glory of Christ, both here and unto eternity. At present, therefore, a few things only shall be mentioned, because on this occasion they are not to be omitted. The whole of the glory of the state above is expressed by being "ever with the Lord, where he is, to behold his glory;" for in and through him is the beatifical manifestation of God and his glory made for evermore, and through him are all communications of inward glory unto us. The present resplendency of heavenly glory consists in his mediatory ministry, as I have at large elsewhere declared; and he will be the means of all-glorious communications between God and the church unto eternity. Wherefore, if we are spiritually minded, we should fix our thoughts on Christ above, as the centre of all heavenly glory. To help us herein, we may consider the things that follow:

1. Faith hath continual recourse unto him, on the account of what he did and suffered for us in this world; for thereon pardon of sin, justification, and peace with God, do depend. This ariseth, in the first place, from a sense of our own wants. But love of him is no less necessary unto us than faith in him; and although we have powerful motives unto love from what he did and was in this world, yet the formal reason of our adherence unto him thereby is what he is in himself as he is now exalted in heaven. If we rejoice not at the remembrance of his present glory, if the thoughts of it be not frequent with us and refreshing unto us, how dwelleth his love in us?

2. Our hope is that ere long we shall be ever with him; and if so, it is certainly our wisdom and duty to be here with him as much as we can. It is a vain thing for any to suppose that they place their chiefest happiness in being for ever in the presence of Christ,

1 See Meditations on the Glory of Christ, vol. i.-ED.

2 See the author's treatise on the Person of Christ, vol. i. p. 252.-ED.

who care not at all to be with him here as they may. And the only way of our being present with him here is, by faith and love acting themselves in spiritual thoughts and affections. And it is an absurd thing for men to esteem themselves Christians who scarce think of Christ all the day long; yet some, as one complained of old, scarce ever think or speak of him but when they swear by his name. I have read of them who have lived and died in continual contemplation on him, so far as the imperfection of our present state will admit; I have known them, I do know them, who call themselves unto a reproof if at any time he hath been many minutes out of their thoughts; and it is strange that it should be otherwise with them who love him in sincerity. Yet I wish I did not know more who give evidences that it is a rare thing for them to be exercised in serious thoughts and meditations about him; yea, there are some who are not averse upon occasions to speak of God, of mercy, of pardon, of his power and goodness, who, if you mention Christ unto them, with any thing of faith, love, trust in him, they seem unto them as a strange thing. Few there are who are sensible of any religion beyond what is natural. The things of the wisdom and power of God in Christ are foolishness unto them. Take some directions for the discharge of this duty:-In your thoughts of Christ, be very careful that they are conceived and directed according to the rule of the word, lest you deceive your own souls, and give up the conduct of your affections unto vain imaginations. Spiritual notions befalling carnal minds did once, by the means of superstition, ruin the power of religion. A conviction men had that they must think much of Jesus Christ, and that this would make them conformable unto him; but having no real evangelical faith, nor the wisdom of faith to exercise it in their thoughts and affections in a due manner, nor understanding what it was to be truly like unto him, they gave up themselves unto many foolish inventions and imaginations, by which they thought to express their love and conformity unto him. They would have images of him, which they would embrace, adore, and bedew with their tears. They would have crucifixes, as they called them, which they would carry about them, and wear next unto their hearts, as if they resolved to lodge Christ always in their bosoms. They would go in pilgrimage to the place where he died and rose again, through a thousand dangers, and purchase a feigned chip of a tree whereon he suffered, at the price of all they had in the world. They would endeavour, by long thoughtfulness, fastings, and watchings, to cast their souls into raptures and ecstasies, wherein they fancied themselves in his presence. They came at last to make themselves like him, in getting impressions of wounds on their sides, their hands, and feet. Unto all these things, and sundry others of

a like nature and tendency, did superstition abuse and corrupt the minds of men, from a pretence of a principle of truth; for there is no more certain gospel truth than this, that believers ought continually to contemplate on Christ by the actings of faith in their thoughts and affections, and that thereby they are changed and transformed into his image, 2 Cor. iii. 18. And we are not to forego our duty because other men have been mistaken in theirs, nor part with practical, fundamental principles of religion because they have been abused by superstition. But we may see herein how dangerous it is to depart in any thing from the conduct of Scripture light and rule, when for want thereof the best and most noble endeavours of the minds of men, even to love Christ and to be like unto him, do issue in provocations of the highest nature.

Pray, therefore, that you may be kept unto the truth in all things, by a diligent attendance unto the only rule thereof and conscientious subjection of soul unto the authority of God in it; for we ought not to suffer our affections to be entangled with the paint or artificial beauty of any way or means of giving our love unto Christ which are not warranted by the word of truth. Yet I must say that I had rather be among them who, in the actings of their love and affection unto Christ, do fall into some irregularities and excesses in the manner of expressing it (provided their worship of him be neither superstitious nor idolatrous), than among those who, professing themselves to be Christians, do almost disavow their having any thoughts of or affection unto the person of Christ. But there is no need that we should foolishly run into either of these extremes. God hath in the Scripture sufficiently provided against them both. He hath both showed us the necessity of our diligent acting of faith and love on the person of Christ, and hath limited out the way and means whereby we may so do; and let our designs be what they will, where in any thing we depart from his prescriptions, we are not under the conduct of his Spirit, and so are sure to lose all that we do.

Wherefore, two things are required that we may thus think of Christ and meditate on him according to the mind and will of God: —(1.) That the means of bringing him to mind be what God hath promised and appointed. (2.) That the continued proposal of him as the object of our thoughts and meditations be of the same kind. For both these ends the superstitious minds of men invented the ways of images and crucifixes, with their appurtenances, before mentioned; and this rendered all their devotion an abomination. That which tends unto these ends among believers is the promise of the Spirit and the institutions of the word. Would you, then, think of Christ as you ought, take these two directions:-(1.) Pray that the Holy Spirit may abide with you continually, to mind you of him;

which he will do in all in whom he doth abide, for it belongs unto his office. (2.) For more fixed thoughts and meditations, take some express place of Scripture wherein he is set forth and proposed, either in his person, office, or grace, unto you, Gal. iii. 1.

3. This duty lies at the foundation of all that blessed communion and intercourse that is between Jesus Christ and the souls of believers. This, I confess, is despised by some, and the very notion of it esteemed ridiculous; but they do therein no less than renounce Christianity, and turn the Lord Christ into an idol, that neither knoweth, seeth, nor heareth. But I speak unto them who are not utter strangers unto the life of faith, who know not what religion is unless they have real spiritual intercourse and communion with the Lord Christ thereby. Consider this, therefore, as it is in particular exemplified in the book of Canticles. There is not one instance of it to be found which doth not suppose a continued thoughtfulness of him. And in answer unto them, as they are actings of faith and love, wherein he is delighted, doth he by his Spirit insinuate into our minds and hearts a gracious sense of his own love, kindness, and relation unto us. The great variety wherein these things are mutually carried on between him and the church, the singular endearments which ensue thereon, and blessed estate in rest and complacency, do make up the substance of that holy discourse. No thoughts of Christ, then, proceeding from faith, accompanied with love and delight, shall be lost. They that sow this seed shall return with their sheaves; Christ will meet them with gracious intimations of his acceptance of them and delight in them, and return a sense of his own love unto them. He never will be, he never was, behind with any poor soul in returns of love. Those gracious and blessed promises which he hath made of "coming unto them" that believe in him, of "making his abode with them," and of "supping with them,"-all expressions of a gracious presence and intimate communion,-do all depend on this duty. Wherefore, we may consider three things concerning these thoughts of Christ:-(1.) That they are exceeding acceptable unto him, as the best pledges of our cordial affection: Cant. ii. 14, "O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely." When a soul through manifold discouragements and despondencies withdraws, and as it were hides itself from him, he calleth to see a poor, weeping, blubbered face, and to hear a broken voice, that scarce goes beyond sighs and groans. (2.) These thoughts are the only means whereby we comply with the gracious invitations of his love mentioned before. we hear his knocking, know his voice, and open the hearts to give him entrance, that he may abide and sup with us.

By them do door of our