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lo, they that are far from thee shall perish." Thus as Daniel, in his captivity,<br />
daily opened his window towards Jerusalem, though far out of sight, when he<br />
went to God in his devotions; so may the believing soul, in this captivity of<br />
the flesh, look towards "Jerusalem which is above." And as Paul was to the<br />
Colossians, so may the believer be with the glorified spirits, "though absent<br />
in the flesh, yet with them in the spirit, joying and beholding their heavenly<br />
order." And as the lark sweetly sings while she soars on high, but is suddenly<br />
silenced when she falls to the earth; so is the frame of the soul most<br />
delightful and divine while fixed in the views of God by heavenly<br />
contemplation. Alas, we make there too short a stay, fall down again, and lay<br />
by our music!<br />
But "O thou, the merciful Father of spirits, the attraction of love and<br />
ocean of delights, draw up these drossy hearts unto thyself, and keep them<br />
there till they are spiritualized and refined; and second thy servant's weak<br />
endeavors, and persuade those that read these lines, to the practice of this<br />
delightful, heavenly work! O suffer not the soul of thy most unworthy<br />
servant to be a stranger to those joys which he describes to others; but keep<br />
me, while I remain on earth, in daily breathings after thee, and in a believing,<br />
affectionate walking with thee! And when thou comest, let me be found so<br />
doing; not serving my flesh, nor asleep, with my lamp unfurnished; but<br />
waiting and longing for my Lord's return! Let those who shall read these<br />
heavenly directions, not merely read the fruit of my studies, but the breathing<br />
of my active hope and love; that if my heart were open to their view, they<br />
might there read the same most deeply engraven with a beam from the face<br />
of the Son of God; and not find vanity, or lust, or pride within, when the<br />
words of life appear without; that so these lines may not witness against me;<br />
but proceeding from the heart of the writer, may be effectual, through thy<br />
grace, upon the heart of the reader, and so be the savor of life to both!<br />
Amen."<br />
"Glory be to God in the highest; on earth peace, good-will toward men."<br />
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