Looking unto Jesus a view of the everlasting gospel, or, the souls eying of…

2. Though you feel not these things for the present, yet in time you may do; yea certainly if you belong to God, in time you will do; O but when? you will say, when? I answer, the first taste of this sweetness is usually at the first taking of Christs yoke upon us; as Merchants desire us to sell their waters, are content in the first place to let you see, and handle, and taste, thereby to induce you to buy: so Jesus Christ willing (as it were) to part with Heaven, he is content in the first place to impart a certain taste before hand, and to sweeten the ways of godliness unto us; Behold, ¹I will allure her (saith God) and bring her into the Wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. What is it that God means by alluring of his people? I answer, it contains these things. As,—

2. Though you feel not these things for the present, yet in time you may do; yea certainly if you belong to God, in time you will do; O but when? you will say, when? I answer, the first tast of this sweetness is usually at the first taking of Christs yoak upon us; as Merchants desire us to sell their waters, are content in the first place to let you see, and handle, and tast, thereby to induce you to buy: so Jesus Christ willing (as it were) to part with Heaven, he is content in the first place to impart a certain tast before hand, and to sweeten the wayes of goliness unto us; B•hold, ¹I will allure her (saith God) and bring her into the Wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. What is it that God means by alluring of his people? I answer, it contains these things. As,—

1. 1Hos. 2.14.

1. A discovery of the beauty of holiness; when God first effectually calls the soul home to himself, he sets open the beauty of his service; naturally the heart is possessed with much prejudice against the ways of Religion, Oh what a strict rule is this to carnal men, to pull out their right eyes, to cut off their right hands, to hate Father, and Mother, and Wife, and Lands, and Life for the Name of Christ, to cross their own desires, to deny their own selves, to mortify their earthly members, to follow the Lamb through evil report and good report, through afflictions, and persecutions, and manifold temptations whithersoever he goeth, to war with principalities, and powers, and spiritual wickednesses in high places? and hence it is that the Lord is forced to set forth the ways of Christ as beautiful, even under crosses and afflictions; thus when the watchman smote the Church, and wounded her, and took away her veil, yet she still acknowledged Christ (for whose sake she suffered) to be white and ruddy,