Moses his choice with his eye fixed upon Heaven, discovering the happy condition of…

A wicked man that takes delight in the creature, he travels and walks up and down, and sees other creatures; but it is as if a man were walking in the Orchard and Garden of his deadly enemy: Suppose a man have a deadly enemy, and he hath a pleasant garden, that hath many fair walks and trees in his garden, and he walks in it as others do; ⟨p. 181⟩But where am I now? I am walking here, and compassed in the garden that is mine enemies, and what if he meet me here? it may cost me my life: And so it is with all carnal men in the world; but the people of God enjoy the outward delights of the world, and see the sweet walks, and delightful pleasures that are here, and it is their Fathers garden, the garden of him that is their God, that they have an interest in, so that they have more delight in the creatures then any else.

Yea not only so, godliness does not only enable to draw more delight from the creatures then others, but raises all natural pleasures on high, and makes them spiritual, it puts a spiritual excellency upon that which is natural, it does not rest in having content to the eye, or ear, or taste in any natural delight, but spiritualizeth all; there is that virtue in godliness to spiritualize all natural things, to raise the excellency of them.

Yea not onely so, godliness does not only enable to draw more delight from the creatures then others, but raises all natural pleasures on high, and makes them spiritual, it puts a spiritual excellency upon that which is natural, it does not rest in having content to the eye, or ear, or taste in any natural delight, but spiritualizeth all; there is that vertue in godliness to spiritualize all natural things, to raise the excellency of them.

Yea not only so, but in the last place there is that virtue in godliness, to turn all evil into good, if it meet with any thing that hath bitterness; godliness is like that wood, that made the bitter waters sweet, it hath that excellency to turn evil, and make it not only profitable, but delightful. So that all these being put together concerning the commendation of the ways of wisdom, we must either put out our eyes, or acknowledge we do not know what the ways of wisdom mean, if we do not subscribe to this truth, that her ways are ways of pleasantness: Ways of pleasantness they are, and this pleasantness that is in her ways hath abundance of excellencies in it. Very many I thought to have spoken of, and enlarged, take