The Soul's Conflict with Itself

We should make our fancy serviceable to us in spiritual things, and take advantage by any pleasure, or profit, or honour which it presents our thoughts withal, to think thus with our selves, ⟨p. 199⟩What is this to the true honour, and to those enduring pleasures, &c. And seeing God hath condescended to represent heavenly things to us under earthly terms, we should follow Gods dealing herein: God represents heaven to us, under the term of a banquet, and ¹of a kingdom, &c. our union with Christ under the term of a marriage, yea Christ himself, under the name of whatsoever is lovely or comfortable in heaven or earth. So the Lord sets out Hell to us by whatsoever is terrible or tormenting. Here is a large field for our imagination to walk in, not only without hurt, but with a great deal of spiritual gain; If the wrath of a King be as the roaring of a Lion, what is the wrath of the King of Kings? If fire be so terrible, what is hell fire? If a dark dungeon be so loathsome, what is that eternal dungeon of darkness? If a feast be so pleasing, what is the continual feast of a good conscience? If the meeting of friends be so comfortable, ²what will our meeting together in heaven be? The Scripture by such like ⟨p. 200⟩terms would help our faith and fancy both at once; a sanctified fancy will make every creature a ladder to heaven. And because childhood and youth are ages of fancy, therefore it is a good way to instill into the hearts of children betimes, the loving of good, and the sh• ning of evil, by such like representations as agree with their fancies, as to ha•e hell under the representation of fire and darkness, &c. Whilst the soul is joined with the body, it hath not only a necessary but a holy use of imagination, and of sensible things whereupon our imagination worketh; what is the •e of the Sacraments, but to help our s•les by our senses, and our faith by imagination; as the soul receives much •rt from imagination, so it may have much good thereby.