O what fuel is here to set our desires on flame? come soul, and bend thy desires towards Christ, as the Sun-flower towards the Sun, the Iron to the Lodestone, and the Lodestone to the Pole-star; yea, the nearer thou drawest towards Christ, the more and more do thou desire after Christ; true desires never determine or expire:1 He that thirsts let him thirst more (saith Bernard) and he that desires let him desire, yet more abundantly. Is there not cause? O what excellencies hast thou found in Christ? Poor soul, thou hast undone thy self by sin, there's but a step betwixt thee and damnation; but to save thy soul, Christ comes leaping on the Mountains, and skipping on the Hills; he enters into a covenant with God; he is the covenant, the Messenger of the covenant, the Witness of the covenant, the Surety of the covenant, the Mediator of the covenant, the Testator of the covenant, the great business, the all in all in a covenant of grace; If David could say,2 My soul breaks for the longings that it hath to thy judgements at all times, how mayst thou say, My soul breaks for the longings that it hath to thy mercies, and my Jesus at all times? Oh I gasp for grace, as the thirsty land for drops of rain; I thirst, I faint, I languish, I long for an hearty draught of the Fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Oh that I could see Jesus flying through the midst of heaven, with the Covenant in his hand! Oh I long for that Angel of the Covenant; I long to see such another vision as John did, when he said, And I saw another Angel fly in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to Preach unto them that dwell upon the Earth. What? Is that Covenant in the hand of Christ? ⟨p. 100⟩and is my name written in that roll? Say Lord; Is my name written on the Heart of Christ? Oh! if I had the glory and possession of all the world, if I had ten thousand worlds, and ten thousand lives, I would lay them all down, to have this poor trembling soul of mine assured of this: Oh my thirst is insatiable, my bowels are hot within me, my desire after Jesus in reference to the Covenant is greedy as the grave, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
O what fewel is here to set our desires on flame? come soul, and bend thy desires towards Christ, as the Sun-flower towards the Sun, the Iron to the Loadstone, and the Loadstone to the Pole-star; yea, the nearer thou drawest towards Christ, the more and more do thou desire after Christ; true desires never determine or expire:1 He that thirsts let him thirst more (saith Bernard) and he that desires let him desire, yet more abundantly. Is there not cause? O what excellencies hast thou found in Christ? Poor soul, thou hast undone thy self by sin, there's but a step betwixt thee and damnation; but to save thy soul, Christ comes leaping on the Mountains, and skipping on the Hills; he enters into a covenant with God; he is the covenant, the Messenger of the covenant, the Witness of the covenant, the Surety of the covenant, the Mediator of the covenant, the Testator of the covenant, the great business, the all in all in a covenant of grace; If David could say,2 My soul breaks for the longings that it hath to thy judgements at all times, how mayst thou say, My soul breaks for the longings that it hath to thy mercies, and my Jesus at all times? Oh I gaspe for grace, as the thirsty land for drops of rain; I thirst, I faint, I languish, I long for an hearty draught of the Fountain opened to the house of David, and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Oh that I could see Jesus flying through the midst of heaven, with the Covenant in his hand! Oh I long for that Angel of the Covenant; I long to see such another vision as John did, when he said, And I saw another Angel flie in the midst of Heaven, having the everlasting Gospel to Preach unto them that dwell upon the Earth. What? Is that Covenant in the hand of Christ? ⟨p. 100⟩and is my name written in that roll? Say Lord; Is my name written on the Heart of Christ? Oh! if I had the glory and possession of all the world, if I had ten thousand worlds, and ten thousand lives, I would lay them all down, to have this poor trembling soul of mine assured of this: Oh my thirst is insatiable, my bowels are hot within me, my desire after Jesus in reference to the Covenant is greedy as the grave, the coals thereof are coals of fire, which hath a most vehement flame.
- 1Bern. delect. evang. serm.
- 2Psal. 119.20.
