have no acquaintance with them: whereas with the humble he will be familiar; he will dwell, (as in a family) with them. Isa. 57. 15. So the ungodly behold God till he bring them in, and make them nigh; then they are no longer strangers, but of his family and household, now thoroughly acquainted. Several notes there are of a thorough acquaintance which we should endeavor may concur in our acquaintance with God, in that analogy which the case will bear to know his nature; or (as we would speak of a man,) what will please and displease him so as to be able in the whole course of our daily conversation to approve ourselves to him: to have the skill so to manage our conversation, as to continue a correspondence, not interrupted by any our offensive unpleasing demeanors: to walk worthy of God unto all well-pleasing. It concerns us most to study and endeavor this practical knowledge of the nature of God; what trust, and love, and fear, and purity, &c. his faithfulness, and greatness, his goodness, and holiness, &c. do challenge from us: what may in our daily walking be agreeable, what repugnant to the several attributes of his being. To know his secrets; to be as it were of the cabinet-council, (the word used by the Psalmist psal. 25. 14. hath a peculiar significancy to that purpose; to signify, not only counsel, but a council, or the consessus of persons that consult together,) this is his gracions vouchsafement, to humble, reverential souls. The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him; such acquaintance with him is to be sought, to know the (communicable) secrets both of his mind and heart. Of his mind, his truths, gospel-mysteries, that were kept secret from ages and generations. We have the mind of Christ. This is great inwardness, of his heart; his love, his good-will, his kind bosom thoughts towards our souls. To know his methods, and the course of his dispensations towards the world, his church, and especially our own spirits: this is great knowledge of God, to have the skill to trace his footsteps, and observe by comparing times with times, that such a course he more usually holds ; and accordingly, with great probability, collect from what we have seen and observed, what we may expect: what order and succession there is of storms of wrath, to clouds of sin; and again of peaceful, lucid intervals, when such storms have inferred penitential tears: in what exigencies, and distresses, humble mourners may expect God's visits and consolations: to recount in how great extremities former experience hath taught us not to despair; and from such experience still to argue ourselves into fresh reviving hopes, when the state of things (whether public or private, outward or spiritual) seems forlorn. To know the proper seasons of address to him; and how to behave ourselves most acceptably in his presence, in what dispositions and postures of spirit, we are fittest for his converse, so as to be able to come to him in a good hour, in a time when he may be found;

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(Psal. 32. 6.) to know his voice: this discovers acquaintance. The ear trieth words, as the mouth tasteth meats, Job. 12. 11. God's righteous ones, that are filled with the fruits of righteousness, do proportionably abound in knowledge, Phil. 1. 9. and in all sense. aloonshga yeyuμvaoμéva, Heb. 5. 14. They have quick, naked, unvitiated senses, to discern between good and evil; yea, and can have the suffrage of several senses concerning the same objects; they have a kind of taste in their ear. They taste the good word of God, even in his previous workings on them. Heb. 6. 5. Being new-born they are intimated to have tasted in the word how gracious the Lord is. As they grow up thereby, they have still a more judicious sense, and can more certainly distinguish, when God speaks to them, and when a stranger goes about to counterfeit his voice. John 10. They can tell at first hearing, what is grateful and nutritive, what offensive and hurtful to the divine life; what is harmonious and agreeable, what dissonant to the gospel already received, so that an angel from heaven must expect no welcome, if he bring another. To know his inward motions and impulses ; when his hand toucheth our hearts, to be able to say this is the finger of God, there is something divine in this touch. My beloved put in his hand by the hole of the door, and my bowels were moved. Cant. 5. 4. This speaks acquaintance when the soul can say, I know this very touch; the least impression from him, I can distinguish it from thousands of objects that daily beat upon my heart. To understand his looks;* to know the meaning of his aspects, and glances of the various casts, as it were of his eye. Such things intimate friends can, in a sort, talk by, with one another; I will guide thee by mine eye; that implies an intelligent teachable subject. We have now no full-eyed appearances of God; he shews himself, looks in upon us through the lattice, through a veil, or a shadow, or a glass. That measure of acquaintance with him to be able to discern and own him in his appearances, is a great participation of heaven, utter unacquaintance with God is expressed by the denial of these two, ye have neither heard his voice, nor seen his shape, John. 5. 37.

Finally, which brings us home to the text, to keep our eye intentively fixed on him, not to understand his looks only as before, but to return our own. Intimate acquaintance (when such friends meet) is much expressed, and improved by the eye, by a reciprocation of glances, or (which speaks more inwardness) more fixed views; when their eyes do even feed and feast upon each other. Thus we should endeavour to be as in a continual

So we apprehend God proportionably more clearly as the idea we have of a person is more distinct that we have of him by the sight of his picture or face through a glass, beyond that which we have by hearing a reported description of him, though by himself unseen. This is acquaintance with God.

interview with God. How frequent mention have we of the fixed posture of his eye towards saints. To this man will I look ; I have found out, as though he had said, that which shall be ever the delight of mine eye. Do not divert me, towards him I will look. What he speaks of the material temple is ultimately to be referred to that which is typified; his church, his saints, united with his Christ, Mine eyes and my heart shall be there perpetually; and elsewhere, He withdraweth not his eyes from the righteous; he cannot (admirable grace) allow himself to look off, to turn aside his eye: and he seems impatient of the aversion of theirs, Let me see thy countenance (saith he) for it is comely.*

Is it not much more reasonable, it should be thus with us towards Him? that we should be more delighted to behold real comeliness than He with what is so, only by his gracious vouchsafement and estimation? How careful should we be, that our eye may at every turn meet his; that he never looks towards us, and find it in the ends of the earth, carelessly wandering from Him? How well doth it become us, to set the Lord always before us to have our eye towards the Lord? Psal. 16. 8.-25. 15. This you see is the initial, leading thing in this blessedness of heaven. So it must have also a prime ingrediency into our heaven on earth. It is a part of celestial blessedness; but it is not peculiar to it. The present blessedness the righteous enjoy here is a participation of heaven. It hath something in it of every thing that is ingredient into that perfect blessedness. Our present knowledge of God is often expressed by vision, or sight, as we have had occasion to observe in many passages of Scripture. He hath given us such a visive power, and made it connatural to that heavenly creature, begotten of Him, in all the true subjects of his blessedness. We know that we are of God, and presently it follows, He hath given us an understanding to know Him that is true. 1 John. 5. 15. 20. This new man is not born blind. The blessed God himself is become liable to the view of his regenerate, intellectual eye, clarified, and filled with vigor and spirit from Himself. He therefore that hath made, that hath new-formed his eye, shall not he be seen by it? shall not we turn it upon Him? Why do not we more frequently bless our eye with that sight? This object (though of so high excellency and glory) will not hurt, but perfect and strengthen it. They are refreshing, vital beams that issue from it. Sure we have no excuse that we eye God so little, that is, that we mind Him no more. Why have we so few thoughts of Him in a day? What, to let so much time pass, and not spare Him a look, a thought? Do we intend to employ ourselves an eternity in the visions of God, and is our present aversion from Him, and

*1 King 9. 3. Job. 36. 7. Psal. 33. 18. & 34. 15. Cant. 2. 14.

intention upon vanity, our best preparation thereto? This loudly calls for redress. Shall God be waiting all the day, as on purpose to catch our eye, to intercept a look, and we studiously decline Him, and still look another way, as of choice? and what is it but choice? Can we pretend a necessity to forget Him all the day? How cheap is the expense of a look? How little would it cost us? And yet how much of duty might it express? how much of comfort and joy might it bring into us?

How great is our offence and loss, that we live not in such more constant views of God? Herein we sin and suffer both at once, things both very unsuitable to heaven. Mindfulness of God is the living spring of all holy and pleasant affections and deportments towards Him; sets all the wheels a going; makes the soul as the chariots of Aminadab. These wheels have their eyes also, are guided by a mind, by an intellectual principle. Knowing, intelligent beings (as we also are by participation and according to our measure) so act mutually towards one another. We cannot move towards God but with an open eye, seeing Him and our way towards Him. If we close our eyes we stand still, or blindly run another course, we know not whither. All sin is darkness, whether it be neglect of good, or doing of evil: its way is a way of darkness; as a course of holy motion is walking in the light. Our shutting our eyes towards God creates that darkness; surrounds us with a darkness comprehensive of all sin. Now is every thing of enjoined duty waived, and any evil done, that sinful nature prompts us to. Well might it be said, He that sinneth hath not seen God. 1 John. 3. 6. When we have made ouselves this darkness, we fall of course under Satan's empire, and are presently within his dominions. He is the prince of darkness, and can rule us now at his will. Perishing lost souls are such as in whom the God of this world hath blinded their minds. To open their eyes, and turn them from darkness to light, is, to turn them also from the power of Satan unto God. What a hell of wickedness are we brought into, in the twinkling of an eye? We are without God in the world, as if a man wink, though at noon-day, he hath as it were put out the sun, it is with him as if there were no such thing. When we have banished God out of our sight and forgotten Him, it is with us as if there were no God. If such a state grow habitual to us, (as we know every sinful aversion of our eye from God tends thereto,) what wickedness is there that will not lurk in this darkness? How often in Scripture is forgetting God used as a character, yea, as a paraphrase, a full, though summary, expression of sin in general? as if the wickedness, the malignity, the very hell itself of sin, were wholly included (and not connoted only) here. Now consider this (after so dreadful an enumeration, so black a catalogue) all that forget God. Psal. 50. And (as deep calleth to deep, one hell to another,) The wicked shall

be turned into hell, and all the people that forget God. Psal. 9. That heap, that mass of wickedness, of pride, of persecution, cursing, blasphemy, deceit, and mischief, all meet in one that hath not God in all his thoughts.

But who is so hardy to look the holy God in the face, and sin against Him? What an astonishment is it, when He watches over present sin, or brings forth former sins out of secret darkness and sets them in the light of his countenance? Who that understands any thing of the nature and majesty of God, dare call Him for a witness of his sinning? The worst of men would find themselves under some restraint, could they but obtain of themselves, to sit down sometimes and solemnly think of God. Much more would it prove an advantage to (them whom . I most intend) such as sin within the nearer call and reach of mercy that sin not to the utmost latitude: even such as lead the strictest lives, and are seldomer found to transgress; are not their sins wont to begin with forgetting God? Did they eye God more, would they not sin less frequently, and with greater regret? You his saints, that have made a covenant with him by sacrifice, that profess the greatest love and devotedness to him and seem willing yourselves to become sacrifices, and lay down your lives for his sake; What, is it a harder thing to give Him a look, a thought? or is it not too common a thing, without necessity (and then not without injury) to withhold these from Him? Let us bethink ourselves, are not the principal distempers of our spirits, and disorders yet observable in our lives to be referred hither? As to enjoined services; what, should we venture on omissions, if we had God in our eye? or serve him with so declining, backward hearts? Should we dare to let pass a day, in the even whereof we might write down, nothing done for God this day? or should we serve Him as a hard master, with sluggish, despondent spirits? The apostle forbids servants to serve with eye-service, as men-pleasers; meaning they should eye men less and God more. Sure, as to Him, our service is not enough eye-service. We probably eye men more than we should; but we do not eye Him enough. Hence such hanging of hands, such feebleness of knees, such laziness and indifferency, so little of an active zeal and laborious diligence, so little fervency of spirit in serving the Lord. Hence also such an aversion to hazardous services, such fear of attempting any thing (though never so apparent important duty) that may prove costly, or hath danger in it. We look not to him that is invisible. And as to forbidden things; should we be so proud, so passionate, so earthly, so sensual, if we had God more in view? should we so much seek ourselves, and indulge our own wills and humors, drive a design with such solicitude and intention of mind for our private interests? should we walk at such a latitude, and more consult our own inclination than our rule, allow ourselves in so much vanity of conversation, did we mind God as we