An exposition with practical observations continued upon the thirty-fifth, thirty-sixth, and thirty-seventh chapters of…

Secondly, We may distinguish of pleasures thus; they are either, first, Corporal pleasures, pleasures of the body, of which we read (Job 21.25.) One dyeth in his full strength, and another dyeth in the bitterness of his Soul, and never eateth in pleasure; that is, he hath had no contentment in the body, or no bodily contentment, but was always sickly, crazy, pining, languishing, and ill at ease, his life was tedious, even a burden to him, for he could never eat in pleasure, scarce last what he did eat. Secondly, There are Spiritual pleasures (Psal. 36.8.) They shall drink of the Rivers of thy pleasures. David speaks there of Saints, what enjoyments ⟨p. 244⟩and Joys they have in the Church or House of God, attending upon him in holy Ordinances. Thirdly, There are eternal pleasures (Psal. 16.11.) In thy presence is fullness of j•y, and at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore. Such are all the joys of Heaven, or of a glorified state. Now when Elihu saith, they shall spend their years in pleasures, we are not to take it merely for honest corporal pleasures, for such a life, at best, is but the life of a Beast; but we are to take these corporal pleasures, either as heightened by better, that is, as spiritualized by the sense of the love of God, and mixed with spiritual pleasures; or, for those purely spiritual pleasures which the soul finds in communion with God alone (having nothing to do, or no intercourse with creatures) drinking at the River of his pleasures in Prayer, in Hearing, in Meditation, in breaking Bread, in Singing. Now to spend our days, either in these purely spiritual pleasures, taking in also those corporal pleasures so qualified as before, and duly circumstantiated, is a high, a very high blessing and mercy indeed. So then, here is nothing to feed the fancy of Epicures, here is no promise of sensual, though of sensitive pleasures, these only are pleasures sit for the Servants of God, these pleasures only become Saints; as for those other pleasures, Christ saith of them in the Parable of the Sower (Luke 8.14.) They choke the Word of God; and God will not feed his people with such pleasures, as a reward of serving him, as shall choke the Word, and unfit them for his service. No, we are to watch against, and deny our selves such pleasures, as our Lord Jesus cautioned his Disciples (