The divine life in three treatises

Quest. 8. While you seem but to wrangle against the Duty of believers, do you not plead against the comfort and happiness of believers? For surely the employment of the soul on God (and for him) is the health and pleasure of the soul; And to call away the soul from such employment, is to imprison it in the dungeon of this world, and to forbid us to smell to the sweetest flowers, and confine us to a sink or dunghill▪ and to forbid us to taste of the food of Angels, or of men, and to offer us Vinegar and Gall, or turn us over to feed with Swine. He that pleadeth that there is no such thing as real Holiness & Communion with God, doth plead in effect that there is no true felicity or delight for any of the Sons of men: And ⟨p. 212⟩how welcome should ungodly Atheists be unto mankind, that would for ever exclude them all from happiness, and make them believe they are all made to be remedilessly miserable?

Quest. 8. While you seem but to wrangle against the Duty of believers, do you not plead against the comfort and happiness of believers? For surely the employment of the soul on God (and for him) is the health and pleasure of the soul; And to call away the soul from such employment, is to imprison it in the dungeon of this world, and to forbid us to smell to the sweetest flowers, and confine us to a sink or dunghill▪ and to forbid us to tast of the food of Angels, or of men, and to offer us Vineger and Gall, or turn us over to feed with Swine. He that pleadeth that there is no such thing as real Holiness & Communion with God, doth plead in effect that there is no true felicity or delight for any of the Sons of men: And ⟨p. 212⟩how welcome should ungodly Atheists be unto mankind, that would for ever exclude them all from happiuess, and make them believe they are all made to be remedilesly miserable?

And here take notice of the madness of the unthankful world, that hateth and persecuteth the Preachers of the Gospel, that bring them the glad tidings of pardon, and hope, and life eternal, of solid happiness, and durable delight; and yet they are not offended at these Atheists and ungodly Cavillers, that would take them off from all that is truly good and pleasant, and make them believe that nature hath made them capable of no higher things than beasts, and hath enthralled them in remediless infelicity.