The souls exaltation A treatiseThe soules exaltation A treatise

therefore saith the Prophet David, I will lift up mine eyes to those mountains of mercy, those everlasting mercies; I will look up to God in his Ordinances, from whence cometh all my help; as who ⟨p. 106⟩should say grace comes not from a mans parts, grace comes not from a mans abilities, but look up to God from whence it comes, look to those mountains of mercy that will succour you, look up to a Lord Jesus that will supply all your wants, that will furnish you with all grace, look only to him for all, for he only is the Author and giver of all; look as I have observed it, there is a foolish conceit that hath been bred by some curious nice brains, that they have persuaded themselves they can make the Philosophers stone, the nature of which is to turn all metal into gold, which is utterly impossible; for the Mines of gold are in the earth, and God continueth them by an ordinary course of his providence; but all the men upon earth can never make gold by any Art or means in the world. To turn the nature of one metal into the nature of another, it is a kind of creation, therefore beyond the reach of any man to do it; they may try and try, and spend their heart blood and all, but it is all but lost labour: So it is with our foolish blind deluded hearts, and distracted spirits; we think to make gold, and to coin grace out of our own powers, and parts, and abilities, I tell you, you can never do it while the world stands; no, no, you do but lose your labour: go to the Mine of gold, the Mine of grace, go to the God of all mercy, away to the Lord Jesus Christ, I say, he is made unto us wisdom, and he will inform us; he is made unto us righteousness, and he will acquit us; ⟨p. 107⟩he is made unto us grace: go to him therefore, and he will communicate all grace unto our souls. Look as Jacob said to his sons, when the famine was sore in the Land of Canaan, he sent his sons into Egypt to buy corn, that they and their little ones might not famish; and mark how he calls upon them, Why stand you here gazing one upon another? I doubt not but then they were laying their heads together, and plotting and conferring, saying, the famine is great, and the times dangerous, and we are miserable now; but oh, what will become of us afterwards, if these times last?

therefore saith the Prophet David, I will lift up mine eyes to those mountains of mercie, those everlasting mercies; I will looke up to God in his Ordinances, from whence commeth all my help; as who