VOL. other? this fpirit, than that shape of a man which I. merely lives? But yet even this more excellent

creature which we have been fuppofing, is fomewhat diminished, and falls beneath a brighter order of beings, by its being proportioned to a human body. And upon this account man is faid to be a little lower then the angels, at least this is one account that may be given of this passage; for it is a diminution of the spirit of a man, that it is proportioned to its habitation, the body. But then confider thofe purely intellectual creatures, of whom we know not how to form a notion which shall be more expreffive than to call them INTELLIGENCES; in as much as they are, as far as we can apprehend them, beings of knowledge and light, and alfo of goodness and love proportioned to that light of theirs; what can match the excellency of fuch creatures as thefe, among the whole fphere of visible beings?

BUT let us further confider how vaftly numerous that order of creatures is, as we may very well fuppofe, and partly collect from intimations of Scripture, where they are faid to be innumerable. The innumerable company of angels, and the Spirits of just men made perfect. How much of glory and excellency muft then be in the invifible world, beyond what we can poffibly conceive of in this lower visible region! If we do but bethink our felves and confider what a mere punctilio, a little point, this earth is in which we dwell, in comparison of that vaft expanfe that doth furround

and

b Heb. x11. 22.

a Pf. vIII. 5

and encompass it about; how unspeakably, how SER M. inconceivably more numerous must we fuppofe VII. the inhabitants to be, that replenish those vast fuperior regions quite out of fight, than those which inhabit and replenish this point of earth? How vaft, I fay, muft we fuppofe the invisible world to be, if we confider the number of its inhabitants who are parts of God's creation, whom we have reason to think do competently replenish all those vafter regions that are, when our eye has gone as far as it can, far more exceeding the reach of our thoughts. What limits can we set to the creation of God in our most enlarged thoughts? Finite we must suppose it to be, but alas, we are never capable of meafuring the bounds! And we have reafon to believe it is every where replenished with fuch glorious invifible creatures as we speak of, in comparison of whom all the inhabitants of the earth, that ever were or fhall be, are but an inconfiderable handful. Are we not then to think that the invifible world is far more excellent than that which is vifible?

BUT then if we afcend to the great. Author of all things, the blessed invifible object that we are concerned to speak about, that vaft profound abyfs of all excellencies, perfection, and glory, how much more, muft we conclude there is of excellency in that fort of being in general which is invisible, than in that which is visible! If we confider him inhabiting his own eternity, if we confider his immenfity who was before all time, whom heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot

contain,

VOL. contain, every where existing, and never not I. exifting; in whom there is an infinite fullness, a rich fountain of being, life, wisdom, power, good

nefs and holiness, and whatsoever we can conceive under the notion of excellency and perfection: to think of fuch a Being that was every where before all time was, and continuing to be the fame when time fhall be no more, where no worlds are, and where never any fhall be, replenishing all the fpace that we can imagine, and that we cannot imagine, all, every where, and eternally full of being, life and glory! what an object have we now to contemplate, and think of in the invifible order of beings! And what? would we con= fine all excellency as well as reality to this little, minute, inconfiderable earth! the things that sense can reach unto! As if our fenfes were to be the measure of all excellency, perfection, and reality, and it was the fame thing for any thing to be nothing, or at least worth nothing, as to be out of our fight.

How unreasonable were fuch an imagination

this! And indeed well might we be afhamed, and count it a reflection upon our profeffion of the Christian name, that we may fo often read Pagans difcourfing in tranfports of the INTELLECTUAL PULCHRITUDE, of the beauty and excellency of mental and invisible things; while our hearts, in the mean time, are taken with nothing but what our eyes can reach to fee, or our fenfes judge of. With what raptures do fome

of

1 Kings v111. 27.

of them fpeak of the first pulchritude, and the SER M. felf-pulchritude, or that which is lovely of it felf. VII. Plato in particular calls him, "The Being that "is with it felf, always agreeing to it felf, al

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ways existing uniformly, never varying from "it felf, and lafting always." Thus he speaks of the firft ORIGINAL BEAUTY, meaning the great object that we now fpeak of, to wit, the INVISIBLE GOD. But what a degeneracy is it to measure the objects of our love by the fight of the eye! whereas there is nothing fair or good, as philofophers fpeak, but what hath its derivation from the firft pulchritude; or as it hath a kind of precarious beauty and comeliness derived to it from him, who is the first and original BEAUTY. If then we feriously bethink. our felves of this, we cannot but acknowledge, that the prime object of our love lies among the invifible things. If we will but ufe our thoughts, we must say thus: this, I fay, must be the conclufion, if we will not profefs brutality, and renounce our humanity; that is, deny that we are human, and reasonable creatures.

BUT because here it may poffibly be faid, "That admitting there be fo great excellency "and glory in the invisible fort of beings, yet "we are to love where we are concerned; we "are to place our love among things with which "we have to do, and upon which we have dependence; but how little can we have to do "with things invifible, and out of our fight?" Therefore I add,

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VOL. I.

I

[3.]

VOL.

I.

[3] We are a great deal more concerned about invisible, than visible things. They are of much more importance to us, as well as of greater excellency confidered in themselves. It will certainly be found one day, that faith, holinefs, humility, mecknefs, mortifiedness to this world, a mastery over infolent and brutish paffions, tranquility, peace, and compofure of fpirit, thofe great ornaments of the hidden man of the heart, are of unspeakably more concernment, than all the things of the vifible world befides. These are of greater importance to our prefent comfort, and to our future and eternal wellbeing, than whatsoever our fenfes can bring to our notice. But the invifible GOD is fo most of all, who is infinitely beyond and above all.

AND what! will any pretend, that they have no concern with GOD, because they cannot fee him? no concern with Him, in whom we live, and move, and have our being, and in whofe hand our breath is, without whom we cannot move a hand, or lift a foot, or think a thought, or live a moment? Have we no concern with him ? none, in this prefent ftate? Or are we the lefs concerned with GoD, because we fee him not? May we not be convinced, if we will allow our felves to think, that it is somewhat invisible, which our life and being depend upon? For we know our felves to be depending beings. We do know and feel, yea our own thoughts and hearts must instruct us in this, that we are not felf-fubfiftent. We have not in our own hands

the