aching of his finger. The ordinances are a gospel market, and those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, will not for every slight occasion stay away. "I was glad when they said, come let us go up to the house of the Lord," Psal. cxxii. 1. Thou who art glad when the devil helps thee with an excuse to absent thyself from the house of the Lord, art far from this holy delight.

3. Those who delight in religion are often speaking of it; "Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another," Mal. iii. 16. Where there is grace infused, it will be diffused. "The words of

a wise man's mouth are gracious," Eccl. xii. 11. David, delighting in God's testimonies, "would speak of them before kings," Psal. cxix. 46. The spouse delighting in her beloved, could not conceal her love, but breaks forth into most pathetical, and no less elegant expressions: "My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand, his head is as the most fine gold," &c. The disciples whose hearts were upon Christ, made him the whole subject of their discourse as they were going to Emmaus, Luke xxiv. 19. The primitive christians, who were fired with love to God, did speak so much of heaven, and the kingdom prepared, that the emperor suspected they meant to take his kingdom from him. Words are the looking-glass of the mind, they show what is in the heart. Where there is spiritual delight, like new wine, it will have vent; grace is poured into thy lips, Psal. xlv. 2. a man that is of the earth speaketh of the earth, John iii. 31. He can hardly speak three words, but two of them are about earth. His mouth, like the fish in the gospel, is full of gold, Matt. xvii. 27. So where there is a delight in God, 66 our tongues will be as the pen of a ready

writer," Psal. xlv. 1. This is a scripture touch-stone to try men's hearts by. Alas, it shows how little they delight in God, because they are possessed with a dumb devil; they speak not the language of Canaan.

4. He that delights in God, will give him the best in every service. Him whom we love best, shail have of the best. The spouse delighting in Christ, will give him of her pleasant fruits, Cant. vii. 13. and if she hath a cup of spiced wine, and full of the juice of the pomegranate, he must drink of it, Cant. viii. 2. He that delights in God gives him the strength of his affections, the cream of his duties, Matt. xxii. 37. if he hath any thing better than other, God shall have it. Hypocrites care not what they put God off with; they offer that to the Lord which costs them nothing, 2 Sam. xxiv. 24. a prayer that costs them no wrestling, no pouring out of the soul, 1 Sam. i. 15. they put no cost in their services. Cain brought of the fruit of the ground, Gen. iv. 3. It is observable, the Holy Ghost doth not mention any thing that might commend, or set off Cain's sacrifice. When he comes to speak of Abel's, he sets an emphasis upon it, "Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof," ver. 4. but when he speaks of Cain, he only saith, "he brought of the fruit of the ground." Some sorry thing, perhaps, pulled out of a ditch. God who is best, will be served with the best. Domitian would not have his statue carved in wood or iron but in gold God will have the best of our best things, golden services. He who delights in God, gives him the fat of the offering, Lev. iii. 3. the purest of his love, the hottest of his zeal; and when he hath done all, he grieves he can do no more, he

blushes to see such an infinite disproportion between Deity and duty.

5. He that delights in God, doth not much delight in any thing else. The world appears in an eclipse. Paul delighted in the law of God, in the inner man, and how was he crucified to the world! Gal. vi. 14. It is not absolutely unlawful to delight in the things of the world, "Thou shalt rejoice in every good thing which the Lord thy God hath given thee," Deut. xxvi. 11. None may better take the comfort of these things than believers, for they have the best right to them, they hold all in capite ;* and they have the dew of a blessing distilled. "Take two talents, said Naaman to Gehazi," 2 Kings v. 23. so saith God to a believer, take two talents, take thy outward comforts, and take my love with them; but the children of God, though they are thankful for outward mercies, which is the yearly rent they sit at, yet they are not much taken with these things; they use them only as a conveniency for their passage; they know they need them as a staff to walk with, but when they shall sit down in the kingdom of heaven, and rest themselves, they shall have no use of this Jacob's staff. Believers do not much pass for these things which are still passing, 1 John ii. 17. Their delight is chiefly in God and his law; and is it thus? have we this low opinion of all undermoon comforts? is the price fallen? The astronomer saith, if it were possible for a man to be lifted up as high as the moon, the earth would seem to him but as a little point. If we could be lifted to heaven in our affections, all earthly delights would seem as nothing. When the woman of Samaria

By an authority which cannot be questioned.-A tenure held immediately from the king.

had met with Christ, down goes the pitcher, John iv. 28. she leaves that behind. He who delights in God, as having tasted the sweetness in him, doth not much mind the pitcher, he leaves the world behind.

6. True delight is constant. Hypocrites have their pangs of desire, and flashes of joy, which are soon over. The Jews rejoiced in John's light for a season, John v. 35. Unsound hearts may delight in the law of the Lord for a season; but they will quickly change their note, "What a weariness is it to serve the Lord!" True delight, like the fire of the altar, never goes out; affliction cannot extirpate it. "Trouble and anguish have taken hold on me, yet thy commandments are my delights." Psal, cxix. 143.

CH. VII.-A Persuasive to this holy Delight in Religion.

LET me persuade christians to labour for this holy delight. Think upon the text, "Let your delight be in the law of the Lord:" and that I may the better enforce the exhortation, I shall lay before you several weighty considerations,

I. There is that in the law of God which may cause delight; as will appear in two things. There is in it, 1. Truth. 2. Goodness. 1. Truth; the law of God is a series of truth, "Thy word is true from the beginning," Psal. cxix. 160. The two testaments are the two lips by which the God of truth hath spoken to us. Here is a firm basis for faith. 2. Goodness; "Thou gavest them true laws, good statutes," Neh. ix. 13. Here is truth and goodness, the one adequate to the understanding, the other to the will. Now this goodness and excellency of the law of God shines forth in nine particulars.

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1. This blessea law of God is a letter sent to us from heaven, indited by the Holy Ghost, and sealed with the blood of Christ. See some passages in the letter; "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee," Isa. lxii. 5, and "I will betroth thee unto me for ever in righteousness and in loving-kindness, and in mercies," Hosea ii. 19. Is it not delightful reading over this letter?

2. The law of God is a light "that shines in a dark place," 2 Pet. i. 19. It is our pole-star to guide us to heaven; it was David's candle and lantern to walk with, Ps. cxix. 105. Now light is sweet, Eccl. xi. 7. it is sad to want this light; those heathens who have not the knowledge of God's law, must needs stumble to hell in the dark. Jerome brings in Tully with his oratory, and Aristotle with his syllogisms, crying out in hell: they that leave the light of the word, following the light within them, as some speak, prefer the shining of the glowworm before the sun.

3. The law of God is a spiritual glass to dress our souls by. David often looked at himself in this glass, and got much wisdom; "Through thy precepts I get understanding," Psal. cxix. 104. This glass both shows us our spots, and takes them away; it may be compared to the laver which was made of the women's looking-glasses, Exod. xxxviii. 8. it was both a glass and a laver; a glass to look in, and a laver to wash in; so the law of God is a glass to show us our faces, and a laver to wash away our spots.

4. This law of God contains in it our evidences for heaven. Would we know whether we are heirs of the promise, whether our names are written in heaven, we must find it in this law book; hath chosen us to salvation through sanctification,"

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