Delight in God, is both a privilege and a duty, it is commanded in the Law, and it is promised in the Gospel. God is pleased to give us many things in the world, not only for necessity, but for delight, A heathen looking upon the various provisions which the Great Creator hath made not only for the maintenance of man in his being, but for his comfortable and pleasurable being. Some of which affect the senses, the eye, the ear, the taste &c. others are sweetly contentfull to the understanding, with all the ⟨p. 255⟩faculties of the soul, He (I say) concludes this from it;1 The bountiful Creator hath provided for more then our necessity, or he hath provided more then will barely serve our turn to live upon, we are loved even up to our delights. Now I say, though the Lord hath provided delights for us in the creature, yet it is our duty, our greatest, our highest duty to delight chiefly in the Lord, to delight in him first, and to delight in nothing but in reference unto him; nothing should be pleasing to us, but as there is an impress or stamp of the love of God upon it, or as it tastes of his goodness. And indeed what can delight us long but this thought? that God delighteth in us, or that we are a delight to God; that God is Good, and that God is good to us; having tasted his goodness, we should love and delight in him, above all our delights. The Psalmist (Psal. 137.6.) preferred Jerusalem above his chiefest joy; how much more should we prefer the God of Jerusalem above our chiefest joy. God delighteth in man whom he hath made, and who is his son by Grace, next to Jesus Christ who is his son by nature, and Jesus Christ delighteth in man whom he hath redeemed, and should not man delight in his maker, in his father, in his redeemer? We have a most divine description of the delight which the Father takes in Christ his Son, and which Christ taketh in his redeemed ones, (Pro. 8.30, 31.) Then was I by him as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight (Christ was the delight of his father, and he delighted in his father) rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable parts of his earth, and my delight was with the sons of men. Jesus Christ himself takes up many of his delights with the sons of men, whom he calls the habitable parts of the earth, even those of the sons of men that are a habitation of God through the Spirit.2
Delight in God, is both a priviledge and a duty, it is commanded in the Law, and it is promised in the Gospel. God is pleased to give us many things in the world, not onely for necessity, but for delight, A heathen looking upon the various provisions which the Great Creator hath made not onely for the maintenance of man in his being, but for his comfortable and pleasurable being. Some of which affect the sences, the eye, the eare, the tast &c. others are sweetly contentfull to the understanding, with all the ⟨p. 255⟩faculties of the soule, He (I say) concludes this from it;1 The bountifull Creator hath provided for more then our necessity, or he hath provided more then will barely serve our turne to live upon, we are loved even up to our delights. Now I say, though the Lord hath provided delights for us in the creature, yet it is our duty, our greatest, our highest duty to delight chiefly in the Lord, to delight in him first, and to delight in nothing but in reference unto him; nothing should be pleasing to us, but as there is an impresse or stampe of the love of God upon it, or as it tasts of his goodnesse. And indeed what can delight us long but this thought? that God delighteth in us, or that we are a delight to God; that God is Good, and that God is good to us; having tasted his goodnes, we should love and delight in him, above all our delights. The Psalmist (Psal. 137.6.) preferred Jerusalem above his chiefest joy; how much more should we preferre the God of Jerusalem above our chiefest joy. God delighteth in man whom he hath made, and who is his son by Grace, next to Jesus Christ who is his son by nature, and Jesus Christ delighteth in man whom he hath redeemed, and should not man delight in his maker, in his father, in his redeemer? We have a most divine description of the delight which the Father takes in Christ his Son, and which Christ taketh in his redeemed ones, (Pro. 8.30, 31.) Then was I by him as one brought up with him, and I was daily his delight (Christ was the delight of his father, and he delighted in his father) rejoycing alwayes before him; rejoycing in the habitable parts of his earth, and my delight was with the sons of men. Jesus Christ himselfe takes up many of his delights with the sonnes of men, whom he calls the habitable parts of the earth, even those of the sonnes of men that are a habitation of God through the Spirit.2
- 1Neque enim necessitatibus tantu• nostris provisum est, usque in delicijs am• mur. Sen l. 4. de Benif. c. 5.
- 2Hae sunt piorum delicia & suv•ssimae volupta•es, deo placa• to f•ui, cujus eliam deliciae sunt habitare intereos qui ipsum animo reverentur & colunt.