The life of faith in three parts, the first is a sermon on Heb.…

Direct. 16. Let Faith make use of every mercy, not only to acknowledge God therein, but to have a pleasant taste and relish of his Love.

Direct. 16. Let Faith make use of every mercy, not only to acknowledge God therein, but to have a pleasant taste and rellish of his Love.

For thus it is that they are all sanctified to Believers, and this is the holy use of mercies: Remember that as in order to Understanding, your eyes and ears are but the passages or inlets to your minds; and if sights and sounds went no further than the senses, you would be no better, if not worse than beasts: So also in order to Affection, the taste and sense of sweetness, or any other pleasure, is to pass by the sense unto the heart; and what should it do there, but affect the heart with the Love and Goodness of the giver. A beast tasteth as much of the sensitive sweetness of his food and ease as you do: ⟨p. 185⟩But it is the Believer who heartily saith, How good is the Author and end of all this mercy? whence is it that this cometh? and whether d•th it tend? I love the Lord because he hath heard the voice of my supplication, Psal. 116.1. O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness, Psal. 145.15, 16. The eyes of all things wait on thee: thou givest them their meat in due season. Thou openest thy hand, and satisfiest the desires of every living thing. He leaveth not himself without witness in that he doth good, and giveth us Rain from Heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness, Acts 14.17. The near conjunction of soul and body, and the near relation of God and his mercies, do tell us plainly, that every pleasure which toucheth the sense, should touch the heart, and reach unto the soul it self; and that as the creature is fitted to the sense, and God is suitable to the soul; so the creature should be but Gods servant to knock and cause us to open the door to himself, and the way of his communication and accession to the heart. Therefore so great a judgement is threatened against the Israelites in their prosperity, if they did not serve God with joyfulness and gladness of heart, for the abundance of all things,