Or at such a season as this, when we get near to God in prayer, if we think of any of the creatures, it is all in order to the honour of God. If I think of a brother, or father, or child, “O may they all be instruments in thine hand, for thy honour here among men, and for ever among blessed angels!” The soul does not ask for riches and glories on earth for them: but, “May they live in thy sight, O Lord!” If it thinks of the comforts of life, or the blessings of prosperity, “O let holiness to the Lord be written upon them all; for I would not have one of them, but what may subserve thine honour in the world.” If the soul thinks of its pains, and sorrows, and reproaches, it longs for the sanctification of them at present, and the removal of them in due season, that it may serve its God the better. Thus the soul is, as it were, taken out of self, when it gets near to God. “Let me have the conveniences of life, (says the christian,) not so much for my ease, as that I may better advance thine honour.” The soul grows weaned from self at such a time; it breaks out of the narrow circle of self, when it gets nigh to God. If it thinks of the ministry or of ordinances, “Lord, let that ministry be for the advancement of thy name! Lord, let these ordinances be for the increase of thy glory in the world, for the advancement of grace in my heart, and bring me nearer to heaven! If it thinks of the kingdom, or the parliament, powers or princes in this world, it is with this design, that God may be glorified in the courts of princes, and in parliaments, and honoured in armies and nations known and unknown.” Thus the soul always keeps within sight of God: it still keeps all its designs within the circle of God, and aims still at the glories of its Heavenly Father. If it thinks of life or of death, “I would not ask life, says the saint, but to glorify thee; nor death, but to glorify thee better, and to enjoy more of thee.” Thus when the soul is near to God, it is in a divine light that it sees all things, it is still with a design for God; and when it indulges the thoughts toward any creature, it is without turning aside a moment from its God. Thus carnal things are taken into the mind, and spritualized by the presence of God, the infinite Spirit, when the soul approaches so near to his seat.