The true Christians love of the unseen Christ, or, A discourse chiefly tending to…

O the eager desire which you have after the world, and ⟨p. 199⟩the things in the world, and these accompanied with eager prosecution of the world, now the world hath your thoughts in contrivements about it, and the world hath your tongues in your most frequent discourse of it, now the world hath your hand and your time, but that which is worst of all, the world hath your heart too, the world hath jostled Christ off of his Throne and for the present doth usurp his seat. And is it then a wonder if your beloved be offended that you should thus decline in your love, that your hearts should go a whoring from him unto the Creature, in your giving those affections unto any thing in the world which are his due? Hence it is that Christ hath shut up his countenance from you, or if he looks, it is with frowns upon you; you have lost your first love, and you have lost your first sights, and your first tastes of the Love of Christ; now your spiritual joys and comforts are fled out of sight, they are lost and gone, and the bare remembrance of them only doth remain, and whatever delights you have they are only such as come in at the door of sense, you have none at all that come in at the door of faith, and your sensual delights have expelled and banished your spiritual; ⟨p. 200⟩now the rich Gospel-privileges have not that savour and sweet relish with you as heretofore; your minding and savouring so much the Earth and Earthly things, hath disrelished your spiritual appetite. O the mischief which indulged sin hath done unto you! O the unfelt wounds, but so much the more deep and dangerous, which sin hath given you! O the defilements of sin in your Consciences, and the stains & blots which sin hath cast upon your profession! O the havoc which sin hath made amongst your graces, and amongst your comforts! Leaves you have still of an outward profession, but where is your fruit to be found? If you have some fruit, is it not withered fruit, •our and ill-relished, not such ripe and mellow and sweet fruit as heretofore in your flourishing estate? Surely the Lord is at a […] distance from such of you, and are there not too many such amongst you?

O the eager desire which you have after the world, and ⟨p. 199⟩