The blessedness of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /The blessednesse of the righteous discoursed from Psal. 17, 15 /

But this internal discovery is made by the mediation, and interveniencie of the external: Therefore having that before our eyes we are to apply our minds to the study, and ⟨p. 244⟩consideration of it; and in that way, to expect the free illumination of the holy Spirit. In the mean time we must charge our ignorance, and the darkness of our cloudy thoughts, touching these things, upon our carelessness, that we do not attend, or our incredulity, that we will not believe what God hath revealed concerning them: 'tis therefore a dutiful attention, and reverential Faith that must settle and fix the notion of this blessedness. If we will not regard, nor give credit to what God hath discovered concerning it, we may sit still in a torpid, disconsolate darkness, which we our selves are the authors of, or (which is no less pernicious) compass our selves with sparks beaten out of our own Forge; walk in the light of our own fire, cheat our souls with the fond dream of an imagined Heaven, no where to be found, till we at length lye down in sorrow. How perverse are the imaginations of men in this (as in reference to the way, so) in respect of the end also: For, as they take upon them to fancy another way to happiness quite besides, and against the plain word of God; so do they imagine to themselves another kind of happiness; such as shall gratify only the sensual desires; a Mahometan (indeed a Fools) Paradise; or, at best, 'tis but a negative Heaven; they many times entertain in their thoughts (of which their sense too is the only measure) a state wherein nothing shall offend, or incommodate the flesh; in which they shall not hunger, or […], or feel want; and when they have ⟨p. 245⟩thus stated the matter in their own thoughts; we cannot beat them out of it, but that they desire to go to heaven (viz. the heaven of their own making) when did they conceive it truly, and fully, they would find their hearts to abhor from it, even as hell it self.

But this internal discovery is made by the mediation, and interveniencie of the external: Therefore having that before our eyes we are to apply our minds to the study, and ⟨p. 244⟩consideration of it; and in that way, to expect the free illumination of the holy Spirit. In the mean time we must charge our ignorance, and the darkness of our cloudy thoughts, touching these things, upon our carelesness, that we do not attend, or our incredulity, that we will not believe what God hath revealed concerning them: 'tis therefore a dutiful attention, and reverential Faith that must settle and fix the notion of this blessedness. If we will not regard, nor give credit to what God hath discovered concerning it, we may sit still in a torpid, disconsolate darkness, which we our selves are the authors of, or (which is no less pernicious) compass our selves with sparks beaten out of our own Forge; walk in the light of our own fire, cheat our souls with the fond dream of an imagined Heaven, no where to be found, till we at length lye down in sorrow. How perverse are the imaginations of men in this (as in reference to the way, so) in respect of the end also: For, as they take upon them to fancy another way to happness quite besides, and against the plain word of God; so do they imagine to themselves another kind of happiness; such as shall gratfie onely the sensual desires; a Mahometn (indeed a Fools) Paradise; or, at best, 'tis but a negative Heaven; they many times enertain in their thoughts (of which their sense too is the onely measure) a state wherein nothing shall offend, or incommodate the flesh; in which they shall not hunger, or , or feel want; and when they have