Ans. When the soul is thus exercised, then it will be fit to ' [/lorify God.'' When it is in this frame, it will think itself too good for any base service of sin. Eagles will not catch at flies. When the soul is lift up to con- sider God's love and mercy in Christ, will it be catching at every base thing in this world ? No. It will not. The soul never sins, but when it loseth this frame, to have a judgment suitable to things. When our judgment and afiections are lost of the best things, then comes in a judg- ment and affection to other things as better. So losing that frame the soul should be in, we fall to the creature, to commit spiritual fornication with that.
Let us labour to keep our souls in this temper, begin every day with this meditation, to think what we were, what we are now in" Christ, what we shall be, and by what glorious means all this was wrought, that so the soul may be warmed with the love of God in Christ. This frame of spirit will not suffer the soul to sin, to stoop to base sinful lusts.
(2.) Now, to help this, in the next place, heri of God the ' Spirit of revela- tion ' to discover to tis these things in their own 2)>'02^er light, ' for they are spiritually discerned.' Now the Spii'it knows the breast of God, what the love of God is to every one in particular, and he knows our hearts too. Therefore the apostle desires of God 'the Spirit of wisdom and revelation,' Eph. i. 17, to discover these things to us, not only that they are truths, but that they are truths to us. For unless we know these things belong to us in particular, we cannot glorify God as we should. They are in themselves glorious things : to hear of God's mercy in Christ; of God becoming man; to hear of kingdoms and crowns. Oh, but when there is a spirit of appro- ' priation to make these our own, that God in Christ loves us — ' who loved me, and gave himself for me,' Gal. ii. 20 — then the soul cannot but break forth with the angels here, ' Glory to God on high.' Therefore be^ the Spurit to reveal to us our part and portion, that, he would shew his face to us, that he is to us a Father in Christ. Surely in hearing, meditation, and prayer, &c., we shall find a secret whispering and report from heaven, that God is our Saviour, and that our sins are forgiven, especially when we stand in most need of this comfort. Let us therefore beg of God to take away the veils of ignorance and unbelief, and openly to reveal his fatherly bowels and tender mercy to us in Christ ; to discover to us in particular more and more our interest in the same by his Spirit, that only knows the secret of our hearts, and being above our hearts can settle our doubts. ^ Only the Spirit can do it. For as God only works salvation, so the Spirit only can seal to our souls our salvation. This is one excellent way to help us to glorify God.
And add this as motive, as a plea, not to move God so much as to
386 angels' acclamations.
move and to satisfy our hearts, and to strengthen our faith, that it is the end of our lives and the jiilch of our desires to ' ijlorify God.' Therefore we desii'e God to reveal himself so far to us, to be our Father in Christ, that we may glorify him. Surely it is a forcible plea. God will do that that is suitable to his end. * He hath made all things for his own glory,' Prov. xvi. 4. Especially the work of redemption in Christ is for the glory of his rich mercy; and we desire the sense of his mercy and love for this end, that we may be fitter to glorify God. It is a prcvaiUng argument, fetched from God's own end.
(3.) And let us labour daily more and more to see the vanity of all thitn/s in the n-orld. Put the case we have honours and large possessions in the world, that we wanted nothing ; if this were severed from God's love in Christ for life everlasting, what comfort could we have in this, especially at the hour of death? Let us see, therefore, the vanity and emptiness of all things else out of Christ, and the good we have by Christ, what all will be ere long. The daily thoughts of that will be a good means ; for we must empty ourselves of that we are, that we may be filled with that we are not ; and we must daily consider the emptiness of the creature where- with we labour to support ourselves. For when men have no goodness in themselves, they will have an excellency in the creature. Therefore, when we see ourselves out of Christ, to be nothing but fuel for God's vengeance, and see that the creature can afl'ord us nothing but vexation, these thoughts that these things are so, and out of experience, will make us draw near to God upon all occasions. It will make us glorify him and abase ourselves. What made Job abase himself and glorify God '? When he drew near to God, and God drew near to him. ' I abhor myself,' Job xlii. 6 ; and so we see in Abraham, Gen. xviii. 27. Let us draw near to God upon all occasions, in the word and prayer, and in the sacraments, and this will make us see our own nothingness and God's greatness ; for that is the way to honour him, to see his greatness, and a nothingness in the creature ; that all things in him are so excellent, and out of him nothing, and worse than nothing.