Heaven upon earth, or, The best friend in the worst of times. Delivered in…

3. Fasting, especially private Fasting, is another duty, wherein God meets the Soul, and the Soul visits God. This is as it were execution day, the day when the Soul brings out all the Enemies of God to be crucified; this is the day wherein the Idols are searched for, brought out, and buried, or ground to powder, and these are things which God will come to see with much delight. By this the Soul is as it were adorned, her deformities done away, and she is trimmed up to meet her Beloved. When a Saint fasts from sin, and abstains from sensual pleasures, then it is many times feasted by God, and refreshed with Spiritual enjoyments.

3. Fasting, especially private Fasting, is another duty, wherein God meets the Soul, and the Soul visits God. This is as it were execution day, the day when the Soul brings out all the Enemies of God to be crucified; this is the day wherein the Idols are searched for, brought out, and buryed, or ground to powder, and these are things which God will come to see with much delight. By this the Soul is as it were adorned, her deformities done away, and she is trimmed up to meet her Beloved. When a Saint fasts from sin, and abstains from sensual pleasures, then it is many times feasted by God, and refreshed with Spiritual enjoyments.

4. Another season wherein God meets the soul, and the Soul is visited by God, is, when Christians are met together to communicate experiences, or to discourse together about the great things of God. What though most of the world are ashamed to own Religion when it is out of fashion? ⟨p. 312⟩What though but sew dare meet together to speak of Gods goodness, and to praise him, and call upon his Name? Why, Christ says, Though there be but two or three of them, he will make the number one the more, he will be in the midst of them: And though they dare but whisper, it may be, and their meetings to serve God, and do good to one another, may be prohibited by the public Magistrate; and consequently what they do in this kind, must be done in a great deal of hazard, yet the people of God stand not long disputing, they know what to do in this case; yet they would be wise in it too; Not to dare the Magistrate, and to do what they do to confront Authority, but in the uprightness of their souls, they desire to meet together to worship God according to his own will. Yet for all this, though they manage their business with never so much secrecy, God will take notice of them, he hearkens and hears, and a Book of remembrance is written for them that call oft upon his Name, and God will make them up among his Jewels. But I shall have occasion to speak of something to this purpose afterwards, and therefore I pass it over the more briefly.