same time who it is that framed and contrived this wonderful order, and disposed every part so advantageously, that whatever discord appears between each other, yet all are unanimous in promoting the common design; and conspire to do thee service? How brutish is it to feed upon the benefit, and remain ignorant of thy Benefactor. The gift is evident, and is the Giver a secret? Nay, thy own reason will not allow thee so vain an imagination, as, that these advantages are upon any account thy due, or of thy own procuring, but loudly tells thee thou owest them all to the liberality of another. Now be that who it will, to whose bounty thou art so largely indebted, it is plain he hath given us much; and no less plain, that he, who gave so much, would not have done it, had he not loved much. So the greatness of his affection, and the indispensable obligation to ours in return, are both of them demonstrable from the quality of his gift. Now how extravagantly foolish is it not to desire the true love of one, who hath it in his power to be so excellent a friend! Not to do it of our own accord, and in regard to our interest, though there were no antecedent obligation! But how impious, how perverse, how base, not to love him in return, who hath been so inexpressibly kind to us! If then thou lovest other things besides, do it with such limitations as are proper; maintain thy character, and remember theirs; love them as things below thee; as those that were made to do thee service, as tokens of thy Saviour's love, the gift of a friend, the bounty of a master; but be sure never to forget whose goodness all these blessings are owing to, and therefore be not fond of them, for their own

sake: but for his sake who bestowed them: nor let them divide thy affections with the donor, for to take them into thy heart together with him, is a wrong and great indignity; and therefore they must be loved for him, but he by and for them, and infinitely above them all.

MEDITATION XXXVII.

The Enjoyment of God's Mercies.

TAKE heed, my soul, that thou incur not the reproach of a harlot, by acting like those who have no principle but profit, and value the price of the gift much more than the affection of the giver. Thou canst not be guilty of a more infamous, of a more injurious affront, than to accept and live upon thy Creator's presents, and not to return his love. Consider well the value of what thou hast received; or, if thou art not, as indeed thou art not able, truly to estimate the greatness of his bounty, consider however the advantage of loving him in return. Love him for his own sake; love thyself for his sake; love him that thou mayest enjoy and be happy in him; love thyself that he may love thee. Love him in the good things he hath bestowed upon thee, love him for thy own sake, and thyself for his sake. This is pure and chaste love, debased with no sordid interest, embittered with no torment, but delightful and generous, firm and lasting. Think, and recollect diligently, my soul, the mercies which thou hast received in common with all mankind; the special marks of favour, of which all are not allowed to partake; others, which are peculiar to thyself alone. He hath loved thee in common with all thy fellow-creatures; he hath distinguished thee from many of them by singular blessings; he hath showed the same affection to thee with all good men; he hath preferred thee before all evil men;

and if the being preferred before the evil seem a small thing, reflect farther, how very many good men there are, whose blessings yet are come far short of thine.

First then, my soul, remember that there was a time that thou wert not at all; and, that thou ever didst begin to be, is the free gift of God. Thy very being then is an instance of his bounty. But was it possible, that before thou hadst a being, thou shouldst give any thing to God, which could oblige him to give thee that being, by way of recompense for any former kindness on thy part. No certainly, it is manifest thou didst not, couldst not deserve any thing at his hands, while thou thyself as yet wert not any thing. Had then his liberality stopped there, and given thee being only; yet this single blessing is great enough to challenge thy continual praise and love. But he hath given thee a great deal more than bare existence; by making thee a beautiful and glorious creature. Nor did the munificence of this noble benefactor content itself with an inferior degree of beauty, for he hath wrought thee up to the highest perfection, and formed thee into a resemblance of his own Divine excellences. Thus hath he drawn those hearts to him by a likeness of nature, which he had attracted by the engagements of his love. He gave us being, beauty, and life: that by existence we might excel those things that are not; by our form, those that are rude, unfinished, or deformed; and by our life, those things that are inanimate. How deeply then art thou indebted, O my soul, to him, from whom thou hast received much, when yet thou hadst nothing of thy own, and having nothing of thy own, hast nothing in thy power to make a re

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quital with, but only to love him, who gave thee all thou hast! For in recompense of that which was given thee, out of pure love, thou canst not make any less, thou canst not make any greater return, than that of loving again. And evident it is, that there could not be any other inducement for bestowing all these benefits, but the free love of God alone.

But now I will open another and more amazing scene of kindness, by showing thee, how low this Lord of thine, whose majesty shone so gloriously bright in thy creation, was pleased to condescend in the work of thy new creation. In the former he appeared so high and noble, in the latter so little and so humble, that it is not easy to determine, whether of these two extremes is a more worthy subject of thy wonder and praise. In the former his power was illustrious, who conferred such glorious privileges upon thee; in the latter, his mercy was no less illustrious, who submitted to endure such bitter things for thee: that he might raise thee up from the depth of misery, into which thou hadst sunk thyself, himself vouchsafed to descend into the same pit, where thou layedst groveiling and unable to help thyself: and the misery which thou didst then sustain, he was content in pity to undergo, that a way might be made for justice to be satisfied with the restitution of the happiness thou hadst lost. He came down, he took upon himself, he endured, he vanquished, he restored. He came down from the throne of God to wretched mortals; he took upon himself mortality; he endured affliction, and pain, and ignominy; he vanquished death; he restored mankind. Stand still, my soul, and with holy astonishment gaze on this series of won