lUit to come to an use of direction. How may we so carry ourselves, as we may have a spring of blessed desires, a spring of holy desires, that may comfort us, that we may have our inteiest and portion in the state of God's people?
That we may have these desires, let us desire of God the spirit of revela- tion. Desires follow discovery, for desires arc the vent of the soul upon the discovery of some excellency it believes. Therefore let us beg of God the spirit of revelation, to discover the excellent estate of God's people. And because this is given in the use of means, let us present ourselves with all diligence under such means, as where we may have somewhat of the kingdom of God, that the riches of Christ being unfolded, our desires may be carried to such things ; for there is never any discovery of holy and good and gracious things to a Christian soul, but there are new desires stirred up. Our souls are like a mill that grinds what is put into it ; so the soul it works upon the things that are put into it. If it have good desires and good thoughts put into it, by good means used, and by prayer, it feeds upon them. Let us alway, therefore, be under some good means, that good thoughts may be ministered iinto us, that may stir up gracious desires for the soul to work upon. Let us be in good company. 1 Sam. X. 12, ' Saul among the prophets,' we see he prophesied ; and the heart is kindled and enflamed when we are among those that are better than our- selves, especially if their hearts be enlarged to speak of good things. But to come nearer.
2. That we may have holy and gracious and constant desires, let tis take notice and make trial contimtaUy of the state and frame of our soub, vhich jvat/ for the present thei/ are carried, in ivhat current our desires run. If they run the right way, to heavenly things, it is well ; if not, take notice what draws and diverts and turns the streams of our desires the false way. Let us think what the things be, and the condition of those things that draws our desires down, and make us earthly and worldly, whether the pleasures or profits or honours of this life. The way to have better desires is to wean ourselves from these things, by a constant holy meditation of the vanity of these things that the soul is carried after. Solomon, to wean his heart from these desires, from placing too much happiness in these things, he sets them before him and saith, ' they were vanity and vexation of spirit,' Eccles. i. 14. Let us set them before us as nothing, as they
Balaam's wish. 13
will be ere long. ' Heaven and earth will pass away,' Mat. xxiv. 35 ; the world will pass away, and the concupiscence and lust of it. Let us con- sider the baseness, fickleness, and uncertainty of things that our souls are carried after, and this will be a means to wean them from them. And the soul being weaned from earthly things, it will run amain another way. Let us study, therefore, to mortify our base affections, and study it to pur- pose, to cat off the right hand and to pull out the right eye ; spare nothing, that God may spare all. That God may have mercy upon us and spare us, let us spare nothing. These ' lusts they fight against our souls,' 1 Peter ii. 11.
And, as I said before, feed our souls ; minister unto them better thoughts continually. Those that are governors of those that are young, season them while they be young with good things ; for while the soul is not filled with the world, and while covetousness and ill lusts have not wrought themselves into the soul, good things and good desires are easily rooted and planted, and grow up in the soul. As letters graven in the body of a tree, they grow up with the tree, and the fruit of the tree grows up with the tree, and therefore the twigs break not with the greatness of the weight of it, because they grow up together. So plant good things in those that are young, inure them to know good things, to hate ill ways, plant in them blessed desires, and inure them to holy exercises and good duties, that good exercises may grow up with them, as the fruit with the tree. We see what a hard matter it is to convert an old man, to draw the desires of a carnal worldly man to heaven. When we speak of good things to him, his soul is full of the world. What is in his brain ? The world. What is in his heart ? The world. So he is dry, and exhausted of all good things, and that that is in him is eaten up with the world. It is a great impro- vidence in those that govern youth, that they labour not that their desires may be strong to the best things.
And let us all, both young and old, labour for heavenly wisdom, that when good things are ministered to us from without, or good motions stirred up by the Spirit of God, to close with them, and not to quench those motions and resist the Spirit, but to embrace those motions, and cherish them, till they come to resolutions, and purposes, and actions. If we have a motion stirring us up to repentance, let us ripen it till it come to perfect repentance, till we repent indeed, and have turned from all our evil ways, and turn to God with full purpose of heart, that it may be a motion to purpose. If it be a motion to faith, let us never leave cherish- ing of it by the promise till our hearts be ' rooted in faith.' If it be a motion to any other good thing, let us cherish and follow them to purpose, and embrace every motion, as an angel sent from heaven from God to a good end, to put us in mind, to invite us to good, and to drive us from ill.