The book of nature translated and epitomiz'd. By George Sikes.

Sect. I.

The different fruits of the two chief loves, the love of God, and self.

THat which is finally expected and desired by man, from other creatur's, is fruit. Every kind of fruit has its proper seed; and every seed brings forth its peculiar fruit, distinct from others. The will of man is a kind of spiritual field, where∣in two chief loves, as two very different seeds, are sown; self love, and the love of God. Let us now enquire after the final fruit producible from these two seeds or roots, which being contrary to each other, the fruits must needs be so too.

Endless joy and endless sorrow wilbe the two final fruits, springing up in the field of man's will, from the love of God, or self. Man seek's for joy in all he does; hates and flee's sorrow. True joy springs up only from the love of God; true sorrow, from self-love.

God only is that infinite, invariable, al-suffi∣cient good, which when man firmly loves and en∣joys, he hath joy enough; and that such, as none

can ever deprive him of. Tis a fixed, solid, inva∣riable joy. Such as the thing chiefly loved is, such is the love, and such the joy arising therefrom. The nature, conditions, and properties of such joy as arises from the love of God, are the same with those of the love of God, above demonstra∣ted. The fruit is of the same nature with the root. If the love of god be a just, holy, true, orderly, pure, clean, excellent love, suitable to the nature of man and of God; the joy arising therefrom, is also a just, holy, true, orderly, pure, righteous, excel∣lent joy. Such joy will endure as long as the love it spring's from; and such love will endure as long as the thing beloved, God. The heart then that's fix'd on God, will have everlasting gladnes, eternal pleasure, delight, complacency, rest, peace, satisfaction, jubilations. Joy dilat's, for∣tifies, comfort's, delight's the heart of man. Sad∣nes contract's, weaken's, discourages, and de∣stroy's it. He that has perpetual joy, has perpetual life; he that has perpetual sorrow, has perpetual death.

God is an alsufficient, inexhaustible fountain of life and joy eternal, to innumerable creatur's, without any diminution to himself. Nor will the joy which any man will have eternally in God, be any way's diminished, but increased by the like joy in other men. If the holy angels rejoyce afresh at the conversion of a sinfull man unto God, as re∣ceiving an addition thereby to their former joy,

how can it be but that all elect men and angels should eternally and mutually rejoyce in the joy which all of them will have in the lord?

By how much the more cleerly any man sees and know's the lord, so much the more will he love him, and rejoyce in him. Perfection of joy in God, arises from the perfection of love to him; and the perfection of such love arises from the perfect knowledg of him. Nothing can destroy such love, such joy, that cannot destroy God him∣self, with whom man is inseperably united by such love.