A heavenly conference between Christ and Mary after His resurrection. Wherein the intimate familiarity,…

Now, if God be a God to any, he is not only to give being to us, in a certain rank of Creatures, as we are advanced above other Creatures, as to have a being, or a life of growing, ⟨p. 159⟩or a life of sense, or to advance us to a life of Creatures endowed with reason, whereby we are common in that fashion with Angels, and understand God himself. Alas, this were a poor privilege, if it went no farther, then to set us in that rank of Creatures, though a great favour. But considering us in a lapsed estate, it is a poor favour to leave us here. And therefore God is said to be our God now in a state of grace, when he advanceth us to an higher being and life, then all this, to a life of grace here, and of ¹glory hereafter. When out of his sovereignty and power, he reduceth all to help forward his main end, the salvation of his in peculiar. So God is a God in peculiar of some that he taketh out of base mankind. There is a world taken out of the world, as Augustine useth to speak. And thus he is a God not to bestow a life of grace, and supernatural being here, but a glorious condition hereafter in Heaven; and to make all things serviceable to that, that we may say, all is ours, because we are Christs, and ²Christ is Gods. So that whatsoever ⟨p. 160⟩befalleth a Christian, is serviceable, and conducible to the main and last end. And that is for God to be God indeed, to make us his in Christ Jesus, to give us a new Creation, and a new State, better then at first.

Now, if God be a God to any, he is not only to give being to us, in a certain rank of Creatures, as we are advanced above other Creatures, as to have a being, or a life of growing, ⟨p. 159⟩or a life of sense, or to advance us to a life of Creatures indowed with reason, whereby we are common in that fashion with Angels, and understand God himself. Alas, this were a poor priviledge, if it went no farther, then to set us in that rank of Creatures, though a great favour. But considering us in a lapsed estate, it is a poor favour to leave us here. And therefore God is said to be our God now in a state of grace, when he advanceth us to an higher being and life, then all this, to a life of grace here, and of