Let us shame ourselves therefore : Lord, do I profess I see things above nature ? that I see Christ in heaven and see myself there ? and do I pro- fess that I am persuaded that the word of God is true, and am I no more affected ? Where is my love ? Where is my joy ? Where is my comfort ? Doth my heart run after other things, that profess myself to be persuaded of better things ? Let us never rest, but be angry and wroth with our hearts and affections, for they are made for these promises. Our precious faith is made to embrace precious promises, and to carry the whole soul to them.
And let us help this with complaining of ourselves and with prayer. Lord, thou hast discovered excellent things in thy word, and hast persuaded me. Lord, open my heart ; the heart is thy throne ; the heart, and will, and affections thou dealest with especially. Lord, incline my heart, enlarge my heart. The Lord hath promised in the new covenant to teach our bowels to love ; Lord, teach my heart to love thee. Thou hast opened my understanding to conceive holy things, or else I had never been able to understand thee and thy truth. Teach my bowels also to love ; teach them to cleave to the things ; take off" my love, my joy, and delight from earthly things, and plant them where they should be ; enlarge them the right way ; fill my heart with thyself, as thou hast made it for thyself. This should be our desire.
Quest. What be the affections whereby the soul embraceth these good things it is persuaded of?
Ans. The soul embraceth these things in the affections of faith and hope in the first place ; for faith is an empty grace in itself ; it is carried to somewhat out of itself that it embraceth and layeth hold on ; and hope is with faith alway. Together with the work of faith and hope there is a ' sanctified affection of the embracing soul ; there is a love of the things promised, which is embracing, and a love of the means, and likewise joy and delight in them expressed by thankfulness. As you see the patriarchs in the story of Genesis, when God discovered holy things to them afresh, that he would give them the land of Canaan and the Messiah to come, and all that happiness, there was thankfulness, presently they built altars to God; and which alway accompanies thankfulness, humility. As Abraham, Gen. xvii. 3, down he falls when God made him such a large promise ; he falls down on his face, as if he were unworthy of such a thing. So this dispo- sition alway accompanies a soul that embraceth. Together with faith and hope, that leads the affections after them, there is love, expressed in a con- stant obedience and care of duty to God many ways, as it is an affection that will not be concealed. And joy and delight, with thankfulness and
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humility, considering the excellency of the things and our unworthiness ; that we cannot but have this disposition alway, thankfulness and humility. And likewise contentment to end our days, a disposition that follows embracing in faith ; for, where embracing of faith and love is in an imperfect estate, there will be joy when that comes that makes way to full embracing; that is, in heaven itself, as Simeon rejoiced when he embraced Christ in his arms. What did the old man, think we, when he came to heaven, when Christ and he met there ? And Abraham rejoiced to see Christ's day with the eye of faith ; and hkewise embraced it with faith, and that wrought joy. AVhat did Abraham then when he came to heaven, when he saw all ended there ? I say, death, that makes way to full enjoining* and embracing, in this very respect it is not only patiently entertained of God's children, but comfortably, as letting them in to the good things that they esteem above all the world besides ; to the possession of Christ ; to heaven and happi- ness. Let us consider of these things.
To come to direct us a little about this embracing in faith, and hope, and love, and joy, and the whole soul, when the soul as it were goes out to the things we are persuaded of.
Quest. How shall this be wrought upon the soul ?
Ans. This embracing we see it follows upon persuasion, and persuasion follows seeing : * They saw them far off, and were persuaded of them, and thereupon they embraced them.'
1. Therefore let us labour for a clear understanding of divine things. That which the eye sees, the heart grieves for in ill, and that that the eye sees the heart embraceth in good. And in what measure our eyesight of heavenly things is clearer, and our persuasion stronger, in that measure our embracing is lovely and full of joy and delight. Therefore let us labour to grow in knowledge, in supernatural spiritual knowledge, and that our persuasion maj' be stronger every day more and more ; for answerable to that our afiectious will grow, and will be carried to the things discovered.