waits for all, and will not let the soul sit down contented till all the dishes be on the board, till the whole harvest that stands on the field of the promise be reaped; yea, the more the Christian liath received in partial payments, the deeper groans hope makes the soul fetch for what is behind ; and that, First, Because these foretastes acquaint the Christian more with the nature of those joys which are in heaven, and so enlarge his understanding to have more raised conceptions of the felicity which those enjoy that are amved there; and the increasing of his knowledge must needs enlarge his desires, and those desires break out into sad groans to think what sweet wine is drank in full bowls by glorified saints, and he living where only a sip is allowed that doth not satisfy, but kindle his thirst. It is harder now for him to live on this side heaven than before he knew so much. He is like one that stands at the door where company sit at a rich feast ; he hears how merry they are ; ' through the key-hole he sees what variety they have ; and, by a little which he tastes from the trenchers brought out, he learns how delicious their fare is. O how such an one's teeth would water after their cheer, which another misseth not who hears not of it, or only hears, but tastes not of their dainties ! The nearer the soul stands to heaven, and the more he knows of their joys, the more he blesses them and pities himself. None long for heaven more than those who enjoy most of heaven : all delays now are exceedingly tedious. Their continual moan is, ' Why is his chariot so long in coming ! why tany the wheels of his chariot ?' The last year is tliought longer by the apprentice than all his time before, because now it is nearer out ; and if delays be so tedious, what then are desertions to such a soul who hatli had his hopes of salvation raised high by the sweet illapses of the Spirit and foretastes of glory ! No doubt Moses's death so nigh Canaan, after he had tasted of the fruit of the land at the hand of the spies, was exceedingly grievous. To lose a child grown up, when we seem ready to reap our hopes conceived of him, is more than to part with two in the cradle, that have not yet drawn out our ex- pectations. The Christian, indeed, cannot quite lose his hopes, yet he may have them nipped, as a forward spring by after-claps of winter weather pinches so much the more, because the warm beams of the sun had made the herbs come forth and disclose themselves. And so desertions from God make the saddest impressions upon those, above all others, whose expectation had advanced far, and, by the present sense of Divine goodness, been unfolded into a kind of rejoicing thi'ough hope of gloiy ; now to meet witli a damp from the frowns of the Almighty, and to be benighted by the withdrawing of that light which so ravished it, how dreadful must this sudden change be! Secondly, These present attainments of grace or comfort embolden the soul to expect yet more, and so provoke the Christian to press on for the full payment of all. See both these in David, Psa. Ixiii. 7, ' Because thou hast been my lielp, therefore in the shadow of thy wings will I rejoice.' The present boon which he hath got, makes him rejoice in hope of what is yet to come, and by this scent he is carried out with full cry to pursue the chase for more, as appears in the next words, ver. 1, ' My soul followeth hard after thee.' And no wonder, if we consider that God gives his people their experiences with this very notion stamped on them, that is, to raise their expectations for farther mercies at his hand : Hosea ii. 15, 'I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope.' God is there speaking to a soul converted and newly taken into covenant, what blessings he will bestow on it as the happy effects of its reconciliation to God and marriage with Christ; and he alludes to liis dealing with Israel, who came out of a desolate wilderness into a pleasant, fruitful country, in the very entrance whereof this Achor lay, which wlien God gave them, he would not have them look on it as in itself it was, a little spot of ground, and not so much worth, but as the opening of a door through wliich he woidd undertake to let them into the possession of the whole land in process of time ; which circumstance, believed by them, made Joshua advance his banners with so much courage against the proudest of his enemies, well knowing man could not shut that door upon them which God had opened. Thus every particular assistance (Jod gives the Chris- tian against any corniption, is intended by God to be an Achor, a door of hope, from which he may expect the total overthrow of that cursed seed in liis bosom. When he adds the least degree of strength to his grace or comfort, he gives us a door of hope that he will consiunmate both in glory. O ! what courage must
^22 ^'^^ TAKE THE HELMET OF SALVATION.