calling upon us thereby to rest from the world unto him (and God knows, a Christian soul finds no rest any where but in him) and to walk with him in holy meditation, ⟨image 6⟩as he is pleased to walk in the midst of us, as athe Holy One of Israel: so to draw us away from worldly cares and pleasures, to the entertaining of heavenly and holy cares, to enrich our selves with the knowledge of God, and to recreate our souls in the Lord, as he solaceth himself in us, according to that, He took his solace in the compass 2of the earth, and his delight was in the children of men. On the Lords day it is, that in special sort we Christians take hold of that holy Communion, which God in great mercy in his Son Jesus Christ vouchsafeth unto us with himself, speaking unto us as from heaven in his holy Word, and giving us liberty to speak unto him. The Lord pitcheth his Tabernacle amongst us here on earth, and we are as it were taken up into the mount of God, there to be transfigured before him. When the Lord appeared unto Jacob in a vision by night, when he fled from his brother Esau, and he saw a ladder erected between heaven and earth, and the Lord on the top of it, the Angels ascending and descending by it; when he awoke, How dreadful (saith he) is this place; 3The Lord was here, and I was not a ware; surely it is no other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven. And are not our Temples the houses of God? are they not the very gates of heaven? In our solemn assemblies is not a ladder erected between earth and heaven? is not the Lord on the top of it, and are not we humbled at his feet to hear his Word? The gracious instructions which we 4receive from him, are they not as so many Angels descending unto us; the gracious motions that arise in our hearts, upon meditation of his Word, of thanksgiving to him, of rejoicing in him yea, of sorrowing for our sins, are they not as so many Angels ascending to him? Our tears have a double motion, one natural, downwards, another spiritual, upwards, for the Lord puts them into his bottles: the hairs of our head are numbered, how much more the sighs of our ⟨image 7⟩heart, and groans of our spirit? And have we not great cause to inure our selves betimes thus to sabbatize with God, as he sabbatizeth with us? that we may be the fitter to keep our eternal Sabbath with him:
calling upon us thereby to rest from the world unto him (and God knowes, a Christian soule finds no rest any where but in him) and to walke with him in holy meditation, ⟨image 6⟩as he is pleased to walk in the midst of us, as athe Holy One of Israel: so to draw us away from worldly cares and pleasures, to the entertaining of heavenly and holy cares, to enrich our selves with the knowledge of God, and to recreate our soules in the Lord, as hee solaceth himselfe in us, according to that, Hee tooke his solace in the compasse 2of the earth, and his delight was in the children of men. On the Lords day it is, that in speciall sort we Christians take hold of that holy Cōmunion, which God in great mercy in his Son Jesus Christ vouchsafeth unto us with himselfe, speaking unto us as from heaven in his holy Word, and giving us liberty to speak unto him. The Lord pitcheth his Tabernacle amongst us here on earth, and we are as it were taken up into the mount of God, there to be transfigured before him. When the Lord appeared unto Jacob in a vision by night, when he fled from his brother Esau, and he saw a ladder erected between heaven and earth, and the Lord on the top of it, the Angels ascending and descending by it; when he awoke, How dreadfull (saith he) is this place; 3The Lord was here, and I was not a ware; surely it is no other than the house of God, and the gate of heaven. And are not our Temples the houses of God? are they not the very gates of heaven? In our solemne assemblies is not aladder erected betweene earth and heaven? is not the Lord on the top of it, and are not we humbled at his feet to heare his Word? The gracious instructions which we 4receive from him, are they not as so many Angels descending unto us; the gracious motions that arise in our hearts, upon meditation of his Word, of thankesgiving to him, of rejoycing in him yea, of sorrowing for our sins, are they not as so many Angels ascending to him? Our teares have a double motion, one naturall, downwards, another spiritual, upwards, for the Lord puts them into his bottels: the hairs of our head are numbred, how much more the sighes of our ⟨image 7⟩heart, and groanes of our spirit? And have we not great cause to inure our selves betimes thus to sabbatize with God, as he sabbatizeth with us? that we may be the fitter to keepe our eternall Sabbath with him:
- aHos. 11. 9.
- 2Prov. 8. 31.
- 3Gen. 28. 16, 17.
- 4Deut. 33. 3.
