he beams of the sun, as the
poets fancied the vestal-fire. The Spirit within the soul is a fire to
consume his corruption, to burn up his dross and vanity. Christ comes in
like a refiner, with the fire of the Spirit, and purges away earthly
lusts, and makes the love of the heart pure and clean, to burn upward
toward heaven. This Spirit makes a Christian soul move willingly toward
God, in the ways that seemed most unpleasant; it is an active principle
within him that cannot rest till it rests in its place of eternal rest and
delight in God. And then the Spirit reforms this house, by casting out all
these wild beasts that lodged in it, the savage and unruly affections,
that domineered in man, this strong man entering in, casts them out. There
is much rubbish in old waste palaces, Neh. iv. 2. O how much pains it is
to cleanse them! Our house is like the house of those nobles, Jer. v. 27:
"Full of deceit, as a cage is full of birds," and our hearts full of
wickedness and vanity, Jer. iv. 14. Certainly it will be much labour to
get your unclean spirits cast out, that is the grosser and more palpable
lusts that reign in you, but when these are gone forth, yet there is much
wickedness and uncleanness in the heart, of a more subtle nature, and by
long indwelling, almost incorporated and mingled with the soul, and this
will not be gotten out with gentle sweeping, as was done, Luke xi. 25.
That takes away only the uppermost filth that lies loosest, but this must
be gotten out by much washing and cleansing, therefore the Spirit enters
by blood and water. There are idols in the heart, to which the soul is
much engaged; it unites and closes with them (Ezek. xxxvi.) and these must
be cleansed and washed out. There is much deceit in the heart, and this
lies closest to it and is engrossed into it, and indeed this will take the
help of fire to separate it, for that is of the most active nature to
separate things of a diverse nature, the Spirit must by these take out
your dross. And all this the Spirit will not do alone, but honours you
with the fellowship of this work, and therefore you must lay your account
that the operation and reformation of this house for so glorious a guest,
will be laborious in the mean time. But O how infinitely is that
compensated! One hour's fellowship with him alone, when all strangers are
cast out, will compensate all, will make all to be forgotten, the pain of
mortification will be swallowed up in the pleasure