Susurrium cum Deo soliloqvies, or, Holy self-conferences of the devout soul upon sundry choice occasions with humble addresses to the throne of grace : together with The souls farwell to earth and approaches to heaven / by Jos. Hall.

SECT. II.

IT will not be long, O my soul, ere thou shalt absolutely leave the world in the place of thine habi∣tation, being carried up by the blessed Angels to thy thy rest and glory; but in

the meane time, thou must resolve to leave it in thy thoughts, and affections: thou maist have power o∣ver these even before the hour of thy separation; and these rightly disposed have power to exempt thee be∣fore-hand from the inte∣rests of this inferiour World, and to advance thine approaches to that World of the blessed. Whiles thou art confined to this Clay, there is natu∣rally a luggage of Carna∣lity that hangs heavy up∣on thee, and swayes thee downe to the earth, not suffering thee to mount upward to that blisse whereto thou aspirest; this must bee shaken off, if thou wouldst attaine to

any capacity of happiness; Even in this sense, Flesh and Bloud cannot inherit the Kingdome of God: It behoves thee to be, so far as this composition wil admit, spirituallized, ere thou canst hope to attaine to any degree of blessed∣nesse.

Thy conjunction with the body doth necessarily clog thee with an irratio∣nall part, which will una∣voidably force upon thee some operations of its owne; and thy senses will be interposing themselves in all thy intellectuall im∣ployments, profering thee the service of their gui∣dance in all thy procee∣dings: but if thou lov'st eternity of blessednesse,

shake them off as impor∣tunate sutors; gather up thy selfe into thine owne regenerated powers, and doe thy worke without, and above them. It is e∣nough that thou hast at first taken some hint from them of what concernes thee; as for the rest, cast them off as unnecessary, and impertinent; the prosecution whereof is too high, and too internall for them to intermeddle with: thou hast now di∣vine and heavenly things in chase, whereof there cannot be the least sent in any of these earthly facul∣ties. Devest thy selfe there∣fore (what thou possibly maiest) of all materiali∣ty both of objects, and

apprehensions; and let thy pure, renewed, and illuminated intellect work only upon matter spiritu∣all, and celestiall; And a∣bove all, propose unto thy selfe, and dwell upon that purest, perfectest, simplest, blessedest Object, the glo∣rious and incomprehensi∣ble Deity: there thou shalt finde more than enough to take up thy thoughts to all eternity. Be thou, O my soule, ever swallowed up in the consideration of that infinite self-being Essence, whom all created spirits are not capable suf∣ficiently to admire: Be∣hold and never cease won∣dering at the Majesty of his Glory. Thy bodily eies dazle at the sight of

the Sunne, but if there were as many Sunnes as there are stars in the Fir∣mament of Heaven, their united splendour were but darkenesse to their All-glorious Creator: Thou canst not yet hope to see him as he is: but loe thou beholdest where he dwels in light inaccessible; the sight of whose very out∣ward verge is enough to put thee into a perpetuall extasie. It is not for thee as yet to strive to enter with∣in the vaile; Thine eies may not be free where the Angels hide their fa∣ces; What thou wantst in sight, O my soule, supply in wonder. Never any mortall man, O God, durst sue to see thy face, save

that one intire servant of thine, whose face thy Conference had made shining and radiant; but even he (though inured to thy presence) was not ca∣pable to behold such glo∣ry, and live: Far be it from me, O Lord, to presume so high; Onely let me see thee as thou hast bidden me; and but so, as not to behold thee (after thy gracious revelation) were my sinne: Let mee see, even in this distance, some glimmering of thy divine Power, Wisdom, Justice, Mercy, Truth, Providence, and let me bless and adore thee in what I see.