and continually boiling and bubbling up towards him, fpringing up into eternal life. Or you may conceive of it after the fimilitude of a glass, which receives the image of him that looks into it, and reflects the fame image that it receives. For indeed the brightnefs and beauty of holinefs wherewith a godly foul doth shine as a light in the world, is nothing but a reflexion of that light and brightness wherewith the Father of light fhineth into it. And fo the best of men have nothing of their own to glory in; for they behold God, but it is in his own light; they love him with a love which he hath thed abroad in their hearts; they are therefore like him, because he hath ftamped his own image upon them; and fo they muft needs acknowledge concerning all their acts of love and communion, and delight; as David did in another cafe, Of thine own we offer unto thee. This is indeed the true and noble converfe and communion with God, wherein the the life of a godly man is infinitely advanced above the life of other men, and indeed doth nearly refemble the life of angels: their life is defcribed in the holy fcriptures, by feeing God, a beholding him face to face; which we must not underftand of a naked idle fpeculation, but of a real affimulation arifing from the divine impreffions made upon them; a beholding of him fo as to be changed into his image. And fuch is a godly man's life, fpiritual life, his life of converfe with God, confifting in a participation of God, and of his grace, and a holy reciprocation or reflexion of affections to him; which are indeed two diftinct acts, though originally springing from the fame fountain; for

the

the love wherewith the foul loves God, is itself an efflux from him; for by loving us, he inspires a love into us; and by influences from God, we become God-like. But this converse with God is not only by the impreffions of goodness from God, and the reflections of love and delight towards him; but is alfo feen in the various impreffions which God maketh upon the foul, and fuitable to the various occafions of life; fo we converse with God by acts of fear, reverence, joy, confidence, felf-refignation, and the like.

Now, because we are in the body, and fo cannot converfe with God fo purely, spiritually and immediately, as the angels in heaven do, therefore it hath pleafed God to appoint unto man ways and means of converfing with him, wherein he hath promised to communicate himself to the foul, and fo to draw forth reciprocal acts of communion, acts of love, fear, reverence, confidence, refignation, dependence, and delight out of the fame foul towards himself. Now these ways or means may be reduced to three heads: duties, ordinances, and providences; though indeed the two firft might be contracted into one. First, I will speak a word or two of ordinances, such as the word and facraments; for I fhall name no more but these two.. The preaching of the word is a way in which God doth ufually meet the foul, to communicate life, 1 Pet. i. 23., Light Pfal. xix. 8. Warmth, Luke xxiii. 32. Growth, 1 Pet. ii. 2. And the foul doth answer thefe impreffions, as the water face anfwereth face, by the acts of faith, love, joy, meeknefs, and holy refolution. So alfo the adminiftration of the facraments is a way wherein

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God meeteth the foul, and communicateth his love, fweetness, fulness, goodness, ftrength, and vigour to the foul; and it reflects upon him in the acts of holy complacency and delight, chearfulness, thankfulness and dependence.

Secondly, duties, these are alfo ways of converfe with God; such as confeffion, petition, thankf giving, conference, finging, meditation, obfervation. In all which God impreffeth fomething of himself upon the foul, and draws answerable affections of the foul unto himself, as might appear in the particular explication of them; but that would be too much a digreffion. Only I will here note by the way, the mistake of many low fpirited christians, who know no other converfe with God, than the bare performance of these things; this they count the very top ftone of a chriftian's perfections, the very flower of the fpiritual life. But alas, this is a grofs mistake! there is fure fomething more sweet, favoury, fatisfactory in the spiritual life, than the dry duty: there is marrow in the bone, or else a holy foul could not covet it with fo much fervour. Converse with God in duties, is a fpiritual favoury, filling enjoyment, diftinct from the duties themselves: this must needs be, except we will allow to wicked and hypocritical men the fame dainties that the most fanctified fouls do feed upon; and say, that the children's bread is common to the dogs, as well as them. The foul doth not converse with God in duties barely, when it prays, or meditates; for even godly fouls themselves do many times find little converfe with God in these, viz. when he fufpends the influences of his graces, or their hearts are clogged

clogged or cloyed with earthly objects, or otherwife indifpofed and fhut up against him: it is not fpeaking to God that brings the foul really nigh unto him, nor bare thinking of God that advances the foul into the excellent state of feeling converse with him. Even prayer itself may prove many times an empty found, vox & præterea nihil; and meditation, that moft excellent and genuine offspring of the foul, may prove a poor dry and faplefs fpeculation. It is not enough to fet up the fails, but there must also be wind to fill them. But then doth the foul converse with God in duties, when the dark places thereof become filled with his divine light, and the empty places thereof filled with his divine love, and the low and languishing affections thereof are ravished and revived with the powerful infinuations of his almighty grace; when God draws, and the foul runs; he puts in his finger by the hole of the door, and the very bowels of the foul are moved for him, as it is defcribed, Cant. v. 4. Then doth the foul converfe with God in meditation and prayer, when the fpirit of God moves upon the face of the waters, when he kiffes it with the kiffes of his mouth; and the fhaking foul finds itfelf marvellously fettled, the doubting foul eftablifhed, the frozen heart thawed, the benumbed affections warmed, the fcant and contracted capacity of it enlarged and wonderfully widened, and its flow and fluggish motions quickened into a lively and chearful compliance with, and purfuit of the fupreme and felf-fufficient good: when the foul finds its legs to run after that glorious object which is presented to it, lifts up its hands to

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lay hold upon the ftrength, the fulness, the faithfulness, the Chrift of God; and bearing up itself upon the wings of faith and love, flies out to seek its reft and happiness; and no longer envies the birds of the altar, for itself enters into the holy of holies, and through the arms of its mediator, throws itself into the very heart of God. In a word, and that shall be the word of God, then doth a foul converse with God in duties, when with open face beholding the glory of God, it doth not only admire it, but itself is changed into the fame image. from glory to glory, i. e. from grace to grace, 2 Cor. iii. 13.

Thirdly, Providences: thefe are another way wherein the foul converfes with God. Now by providences, we mean in general, the whole work of God in governing the world, and all things therein. And fo indeed a religious enlarged foul, a mind freed from particular pinching cares, low and felfifh ends, converses with God in beholding and obferving God's fettled courfe of governing the world. The whole heavens, earth and fea, and the admirable order kept up in them, do teach the knowledge of God, and draw up the contemplative foul into an obfervation and admiration of him in them; and the pious foul longs to find fome impreffions made upon itfelf by all these, and to be affected with God therein: It is not content with. a bare fpeculation, but its meditation of God in these is sweet to it, as David's were, Pfal. civ. 34. Particularly, God's providence towards mankind, as it doth most lively express his infinite love, juftice and wifdom, fo we ought to converse with him therein, and in all the changes of any