persons. The locomotive faculty is in the head; thou who art our Head art risen, we who are thy members must and shall follow. Say, then, O my dying body, say boldly unto death, "Rejoice not over me, O mine enemy, for though I fall, yet I shall rise again," Micah vii. 8. Yea, Lord, the virtue of thy first-fruits diffused itself, not to our rising only, but to a blessed immortality of these bodies of ours. For, as thou didst rise immortal and glorious, so shall we by and with thee, "who shalt change these vile bodies, and make them like to thy glorious body," Phil. iii. 21. The same power that could shake off death, can put on glory and majesty. Lay thee down, therefore, O my body, quietly and cheerfully, and look to rise in another hue. Thou art "sown in corruption," thou shalt be "raised in incorruption;" thou art "sown in dishonour," thou shalt be "raised in glory;" thou art sown in weakness," but shalt be "raised in power," 1 Cor. xv. 42, 43.

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XXXVI.

In this life, in this death of the body, O Lord, I see there are no degrees, though differences of time. The man that died yesterday is as truly dead, as Abel, the first man that died in the world; and Methuselah, that lived nine hundred sixty-nine years, did not more truly live, than the child that did but salute and leave the world. But in the life to come, and the second death, there are degrees; degrees of blessedness to the glorified, degrees of torments to the damned, the least whereof is unspeakable, inconceivable. O thou that art the Lord of life and death, keep my soul from those steps that go down to the chambers of death, and once set it (for higher I dare

not sue to go) but over the threshold of glory and blessedness!

any

XXXVII.

O Lord my God, I am as very a pilgrim as ever walked upon thy earth; why should I look to be in better condition than my neighbours, than my forefathers? Even the best of them, that were most fixed upon their inheritance, were no other than strangers at home. It was not in the power of the world to naturalize them, much less to make them enrol themselves free citizens here below. They knew their country, which they sought, was above, Heb. xi. 13-15; so infinitely rich and pleasant, that these earthly regions, which they must pass through, are, in comparison, worthy of nothing but contempt.

My condition is no other than theirs. I wander here in a strange country, what wonder is it if I meet with foreigners' fare-hard usage and neglect? Why do I intermeddle with the affairs of a nation that is not mine? Why do I clog myself in my way with the base and heavy lumber of the world? Why are not my affections homeward? Why do I not long to see and enjoy my Father's house? O my God, thou who hast put me into the state of a pilgrim, give me a pilgrim's heart, set me off from this wretched world wherein I am, let me hate to think of dwelling here; let it be my only care how to pass through this miserable wilderness to the promised land of a blessed eternity.

XXXVIII.

One talent at the least, O Lord, hast thou put into my hand, and that sum is great to him that is not worth a drachm; but, alas, what have I done

with it? I confess I have not hid it in a napkin, but have been laying it out to some poor advantage; yet surely the gain is so unanswerable, that I am afraid of an audit, Luke xix. 16-19. I see none of the approved servants in the gospel brought in an increase of less value than the receipt; I fear I shall come short of the sum. O thou, who justly holdest thyself wronged with the style of "an austere master," vouchsafe to accept of my so mean improvement; and thou who valuedst the poor widow's mite above the rich gifts cast into thy treasury, be pleased to allow of those few pounds that my weak endeavours could raise from thy stock, and mercifully reward thy servant, not according to his success, but according to his true intentions of glorifying thee.

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XXXIX.

What a word is this which I hear from thee, O Saviour; Behold, I stand at the door and knock!" Thou who art the Lord of life, God blessed for ever, to stand and knock at the door of a sinful heart! Oh what a praise is this of thy mercy and long-suffering! What a shame to our dull neglect and graceless ingratitude! For a David to say, "I waited patiently upon the Lord; truly my soul waited upon God," Psa. xl. 1; lxii. 1; it is but meet and comely, for it is no other than the duty of the greatest monarchs on earth, yea, of the highest angels in heaven, to attend their Maker: but for thee, the great God of heaven, to wait at the door of us sinful dust and ashes, what a condescension is this, what a longanimity! It were our happiness, O Lord, if upon our greatest suit and importunity we might have * Long-continued forbearance.

the favour to entertain thee into our hearts; but that thou shouldst importune us to admit thee, and shouldst wait at the posts of our doors, till thine "head be filled with dew, and thy locks with the drops of the night," Cant. v. 2, it is such a mercy, as there is not room enough in our souls to wonder at. In the mean time, what shall I say to our wretched unthankfulness and impious negligence? Thou hast graciously invited us to thee, and hast said, " Knock, and it shall be opened;" and yet thou continuest knocking at our doors, and we open not; willingly delaying to let in our happiness. We know how easy it were for thee to break open the brasen doors of our breasts, and to come in; but the kingdom of heaven suffers not violence from thee, though it should suffer it from us. Thou wilt do all thy works in a sweet and gracious way; as one who will not force, but win love. Lord, I cannot open, unless thou that knockest for entrance wilt be pleased to enable me with strength to turn the key, and to unbolt this unwieldy bar of my soul. O do thou make way for thyself by the strong motions of thy blessed Spirit, into the inmost rooms of my heart; and do thou powerfully incline me to mine own happiness; else, thou shalt be ever excluded, and I shall be ever miserable.

XL.

In what pangs couldst thou be, O Asaph, that so woeful a word should fall from thee, "Hath God forgotten to be gracious?" Psa. lxxvii. 9. Surely the temptation went so high, that the next step had been blasphemy. Had not that good God, whom thy bold weakness questions for forgetfulness, in great mercy remembered thee,

and brought thee speedily to remember thyself and him; that which thou confessest to have been infirmity, had proved a sinful despair. I dare say for thee, that word washed thy cheeks with many a tear, and was worthy of more; for, O God, what can be so dear to thee as the glory of thy mercy ! There is none of thy blessed attributes which thou desirest to set forth so much unto the sons of men, and so much abhorrest to be disparaged by our detraction, as thy mercy. Thou canst, O Lord, forget thy displeasure against thy people; thou canst forget our iniquities, and cast our sins out of thy remembrance, Micah vii. 18, 19; but thou canst no more forget to be gracious, than thou canst cease to be thyself. O my God, I sin against thy justice hourly, and thy mercy interposes for my remission; but, O keep me from sinning against thy mercy! What plea can I hope for, when I have made my Advocate mine enemy?

XLI.

How happy, O Lord, is the man that hath thee for his God! He can want nothing that is good, he can be hurt by nothing that is evil. His sins are pardoned, his good endeavours are accepted, his crosses are sanctified, his prayers are heard; all that he hath are blessings, all that he suffers are advantages. His life is holy, his death comfortable, his estate after death glorious. Oh that I could feel thee to be my God, that I could enjoy a heavenly communion with thee! In vain should earth or hell labour to make me other than blessed.

XLII.

How just a motion is this of thine, O thou sweet singer of Israel, "O love the Lord, all ye his