well as in eating and drinking. I will determine nothing concerning the firft motions of the appetite, whereby it follicits the will to fulfil it; only this, that if it follicit to any thing fimply and morally evil, it is finful in that first act; and that at all times it ought carefully to be watched, left it feduce to intemperance in things lawful. But concerning the gratifying of the appetite, seeing there must be in us a fenfitive appetite, whilft we, are in this animal state, it is to be endeavoured as far as may be, that we gratify the appetite, not as it is a fenfitive appetite, but under this notion, as the thing that it defires, makes for our real good, and tends to the enjoyment of the fupreme good to eat and drink, not because we are hungry or thirsty, because the appetite defires it; but with reference to the main end, with refpect to the higheft good, that the body may be enabled, ftrengthened, and quickned to wait upon the foul chearfully in the actions of a holy life. But this man, in his animal state cannot perfectly attain to, which fhews that the appetite doth keep us at a diftance from God.

3. The Fancy; this alfo keeps a man at a diftance from God, and hinders us in the knowledge and fervice of God, and interrupts the foul's communion with God. This is a bufy and petulant faculty, or inward fenfe, and the foul doth readily fenfate the paffions of it, fo that it doth frequently hinder its mental operations, and becomes a great fnare. A working fancy (how much foever it is magnified by the wifdom of this world) is a mighty Inare to the foul, except it work in a fellowship with right reafon, and a

fanctified

.

fanctified heart: I am perfuaded there is no greater burden in the world to a ferious foul; efpecially in hot and dry conftitutions, where it is commonly moft pregnant, and moft impatient of difcipline. And, I confefs, I have often wondered at the foul's readiness to be fo fpeedily affected with the phantasms and imaginations of it, and fondness to hug them fo dearly. This indeed, if it be fo far refined, as to present fober and folid imaginations to the mind, and to act in fubfervience to fanctified reason, is an excellent handmaid to the foul in many of her functions: but otherwise is a fnare; as we have partly obferved already, and may observe more, if we ftudy the fecrets of our own fouls, and the mighty myfteries that are within us. And this doth not only ordinarily disturb, distract and hinder in ordinary duties, but even when the foul is at the highest pitch of communion and contemplation, it aflays to pull it down to attend to its vain phantafms; and indeed gives it many a grievous fall. I doubt not to affirm, that this is the moft pernicious enemy of the three that I named to the foul's happiness, as might appear in many respects; I will only name one: it hath an advantage against us, which neither of the other two hath: it infefts us, and annoys us fleeping as well as waking. In fleep, the fenfes are locked up, and the appetite is, for the most part, filent from its begging; but then the fancy is as bufy and tumultuous as ever, forming and gathering imaginations, and those are commonly wild and fenfelefs, if not worse. The mind, in way of kindness and benevolence to the body, fufpends its own actings, whilst the

body takes its reft in the night, and then the rude fancy takes its opportunity to wander at liberty, as being without its keeper, and acts to the dif turbance of the body; but that is not the worst, for it becomes fo tumultuous and impetuous fometimes, as that it awakens the mind to attend upon its imaginations; and this the foul doth condefcend to in an inordinate manner, and sets the stamp of finfulness upon them, to its own wounding. And now that I am speaking of fleep as a Mantiffa to this difcourfe, I cannot but obferve how this very thing alfo keeps us at a distance from God, in this animal ftate. How is our communion with God interrupted by this? For herein we ceafe, not only from the actions of an animal life, but commonly from the actions of a spiritual What a great breach, what a fad intercifion is there made in our converse with God by this means! fuch a poor happiness it is, that we have in this world, that it is cut off, and seems as it were, not to be one fourth part of our time: for indeed a happiness that is not felt, deserves not the name of happinefs. Some learned and active men have been ashamed that they have flept away fo much of their time, which was all too little for their studies and exploits. Ah! poor Chriftian! that, as it were, fleeps away fo much of his God; being as much eftranged from him in the night, as though he had never converfed with him in the day; and in the morning, when he awakes, cannot always find himself with him neither which is enough to make a poor faint wifh, either that he might have no need of fleep, or that, with the

life too.

amorous

amorous fpoufe, Cant. v. 2. Though he fleep, his heart might wake perpetually.

We have seen in what fenfe this mortal body keeps believers abfent from the Lord, and in what refpects it keeps them at a distance from God, even in this life, from the knowledge of God, the fervice of God, and communion with him. Here then, by way of application,

I. We may fee that it was for good reason that the bleffed apostle was confident and willing to depart; nay, he groans within himself, defiring that mortality might be fwallowed up of life, as he fpeaks, verfe 4. I told you before, that these words did contain the reafon or ground thereof; and by this time I hope you fee that the reason is good, and the ground is fufficient. What will the men of this world fay? Will you perfuade us out of our life? Should any thing in the world make a man weary of his life? Præftat miferum effe quàm non effe. The apoftle was fure befides himself, or he would never have fallen out with his own life; or else he was in a paffion, and knew not what he faid; or elfe his life was bitter to him, by reason of the poor, afflicted, perfecuted condition that he lived in, and fo was become defperate, and cared not what became of him. No, none of thefe; the apoftle was in his right wits, and in a fober mind too. It was not a paffion, or a fit of melancholy, but his judgment and choice, upon good deliberation; and therefore you find him in the fame mind elfewhere, Phil. i. 23. I defire to depart, and to be with Chrift, which is far better. Befides, he gives a reafon for what he defires : now we know that paffion is unruly and unrea

I 2

fonable.

fonable. Neither was the apostle besides himself; for he gives a good, folid, and wife reafon--Whilft we are at home in the body, &c. He will part with his life rather than not be perfectly happy For, whereas, worldlings put fuch a high price upon life, and think that nothing fhould perfuade men out of their lives; it is true indeed, if we speak properly, life is the perfection of the creature; the happiness of every thing is its life; A living dog is better than a dead lion, Ecclef. ix. 4. But I may fay to thefe, even as our Saviour faid to that woman, in John iv. 18. concerning her hufband, the life that we live here is not our life. The union of the fenfitive foul with the body is indeed truly and properly the life of a beaft, and its greatest happiness, for it is capable of no higher perfection; but the union of the rational foul with God is the nobleft perfection of man, and his higheft life: fo that the life of a believing foul is not destroyed at death, but perfected. Neither was the apoftle weary of his life, becaufe of the adverfities of it. The apoftle was of a braver spirit fure than any Stoic; he durft live, though he rather defired to die. All the conflicts he endured with the world never wrung fuch a figh from him, as the conflict he had with his own corruptions did, Rom. vii. 24. O wretched man, &c. All the perfecutions in the world never made him groan fo much as the burden of his flesh doth here, and his great distance from the Lord. A godly foul can converse with perfecuting men, and a tempting devil can handle briars and thorns, can grapple with any kind of oppreffions and adverfities in the flesh without defpondency, fo long as it finds itself in the bofom

of