A supplement to The Morning-exercise at Cripple-Gate, or, Several more cases of conscience practically…

2. Communion with God; Communion consists in communication,^(o) when there is a kind of community of propriety. I might run over the former particulars, and enlarge them, but the subject is not so barren, that I need name one thing twice. Christians I beg of you that you would be careful of receiving, because I can be but brief in delivering a few hints of the communication of divine love between God and us, e. g. ^(p)God communicates the divine Nature to us through his fulfilling exceeding great and precious promises: We make returns as those that are born of God in obeying his commands. Because God loves us, he communicates unto us his communicable properties, of holiness, wisdom, goodness. Seeing we have nothing to return, we prostrate our selves at his feet, ingenuously acknowledge our unholiness, folly, and badness. God and the Soul holds communication in all gracious actions: God communicates strength to the doing of those things which he cannot do^(q), but we must; to repent, believe, obey God; these are our actions through his strength. Again, we exercise our graces upon God for those his actions which we cannot do, but (we may through his covenant engagement, with humble thankfulness say) he must, e. g. for the pardon of sin, speaking peace to the Conscience, giving out of gracious influences, &c. for these we admire God, we praise him, rejoice in him. Once more, in those things wherein we can make no return to God, but may to others for God's sake; our love to God necessitates us to do it, e. g. God pities us, is merciful and kind to us; God is infinitely above all such returns: Ay, but so are not the Members of Christ, who are the best visible Image of God in the world: I'll give them not only my alms, but my very bowels, &c. In short, in this communication, God and the gracious Soul have the same interest, drive on the same design (the advancement of Christ and the Gospel) have the same friends, and the same enemies. They communicate secrets to each other; none but the loving Soul knows the secrets of divine love, and none but God hears all the secrets of the Soul without a reserve. Among the dearest friends in the world, there's some reserve: Some things we'll rather speak to a stranger, than to our dearest bosom-friend; we think them not fit to mention, or we are loath to trouble them; but there's none of this between God and the Soul: