place, that the choice and
marrow of your joy, love and delight, shall be bestowed on him. Now, this
bond and tie of a professed relation to that glorious husband, is foully
broken by the most part, by espousing their affections to this base world.
Your hearts are carried off him unto strangers, that is, present perishing
things whereas the intendment of the gospel is, to present you to Christ
as pure virgins, 2 Cor. xi. 2. Truly your hearts are gone a whoring after
other things, the love of the world hath withdrawn you, or kept you in
chains, these present things are as snares, nets, and bands, as an
harlot's hands and heart, Eccl. vii. 26. They are powerful enchantments
over you, which bewitch you to a base love, from an honourable and
glorious love. O that you would consider it, my beloved, what opposition
here is betwixt the love of the world and the love of the Father, betwixt
amity to that which hath nothing in it, but some present bait to your
deceitful lusts, and amity to God, your only lawful Husband! Affection is
a transforming and conforming thing, _Si terram amas terra es_,(187) the
love of God will purify thy heart, and lift it up to more similitude to
him whom thou lovest, but the love of the world assimilates it unto the
world, makes it such a base and ignoble piece, as the earth is. Do you
think marriage affection can be parted? "My well beloved is mine,"
therefore the church is the turtle, the dove to Christ, of wonderful
chastity, it never joins but to one, and after the death of its marrow, it
sighs and mourns ever after, and sits solitarily. You must retire, my
beloved, and disengage from the love of other things, or you cannot love
Christ, and if you love not Christ, you cannot have peace with the Father,
and if you have not that peace, you cannot have life. This is the chain of
life, the first link begins at the divorcement of all former loves and
beloved idols once the soul must be loosed in desire and delight, and that
link must be fastened upon the most lovely and desirable object Christ,
the Desire of the nations, and this draws along another link of peace and
life with it. Do not mistake it, religion would not hinder or prejudice
your lawful business in this world. O, it were the most compendious way to
advance it with more ease to your souls! But certainly it will teach you
to exchange the love of these things for a better and more heart
contenting love.

Then amity to ourselves is enmity t