to take us to be his inheritance and can we think our selves poore that have God to our inheritance 'T was the honour of the tribe of Levi that they had no portion among their brethren but that the Lord was their portion Every beleeving person is of Gods * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 1 Pet. 5.3 Clergie and portion and therefore if God be his God his lot is fallen in a faire ground he hath a goodly heritage O the humilitie of our blessed God that can denominate us to be his inheritance that have nothing in us good but what is from him O the happinesse of that soule that can truly say The Lord is my portion for that thou art Gods doth nothing benefit God but that God is thine is all in all to thee This is the onely abiding this the abounding portion If any one think not this enough Let his portion be in this life Psal 17.14 And then when times of losing come it shall be said of him This is the man that took not God to his portion X. GOD being Lord over all even of the earth and its fulnesse hath an universall soveraigntie over all an independent royaltie in all things so that whatsoever man doth injoy is by his dispensation Now if among men estates are incident to such forfeits as their Land-lords may by Law deprive them and reenter why may not the supreame Lord of heaven and earth deprive us of that which is his when we break our Covenants with him and run into so many forseits and arrearages And if in such a case none dare aske a Prince or Landlord why he doth it so here neither dare any one open his mouth against his Maker seeing he may doe what he please with his own To him that hath that is useth well what he hath shall more be given and from him that hath not i. e. useth not or abuseth what he hath shall it be taken away O Lord what I have is thine by right and dominion thine by my forfeit and self-deprivation mine onely by usurpation at most by dispensation I blesse thy mercy for the forbearance of thy right so long I blesse thy justice for depriving me of that right at last The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away blessed be the name of the Lord. XI GOD as he is the author of all the good wee partake so he hath a hand in all the evill we suffer His holinesse denies him to be a cause of the evill of sinne his justice forceth him to inflict the evill of punishment Is there any evill in the Citie and the Lord hath not done it This Job knew when he saith The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away not onely the Chaldeans and Sabeans though they were the theeves what they did was by Gods permission Who gave Jacob for a spoyle and Israel to the robbers did not the Lord God concurreth in every evill action though not in the evill of the action The substance of it may be of God when the obliquitie is of man God hath an over-ruling hand over all mens wills yet those wills may have contrary motions of their owne Foolish men are they then who being afflicted either look upon the evill and not the cause or if the cause either the wrong or more immediate causes as misfortune malice of man want of discretion I will therefore look not so much on my affliction as on my afflicter and that not subordinate but supreame so shall I finde my suffering to be the more sweet as proceeding from a gracious father whose hand as it casts down will raise up as it woundeth will heale Thus in looking up to him the agent he will look down on me the patient and either remove the evill from me or make mee able to beare it XII GOd as he made man good so hee made every thing good for man Man was made uncapable of corruption and they of alteration If man had not fallen from God his Maker they had not fallen from man their owner Thus by one man sinne death corruption alteration came into the world It is sinne which separateth God from man man from man soule from body man from his goods his goods from himselfe Sinne corrupteth not onely the soule but the body not onely the body but the earth whence he came and the heavens whither he should goe It breedeth a moth in our garments a worme in our provision rust in our silver it exposeth all to the theese It setteth not only God at enmity against man but man with man yea beast with beast yea and makes one man be a beast a Wolfe a Lyon to another So that if wee lose the creature it is because wee have made it lose its primitive nature Now there 's no other way to gain this permanency either to our selves or others but by righteousnesse as this corruptibilitie came by unrighteousnesse But on the earth dwelleth not this righteousnesse nor durablenesse but we look for a new heaven and new earth wherein dwelleth not onely righteousnesse but perpetuitie and never fading happinesse XIII THe Lesson of the creatures corruptibilitie is that which the word of God doth still dictate and which this world doth daily demonstrate Wee have the volume of holy Writ and the large volume of the creatures to teach us this The Word says All is vanitie The world sheweth wherein this vanitie lyes Wee see men daily taken from their goods and their goods from them Wee see corruptions and alteration of things and yet wee dreame of such an unalterable condition in all things which may reach to eternitie Imaginary continuance of things is in our heads when reall changes are before our eyes Every creature groanes out this and yet wee heare not its voyce Wee build Castles in the ayre and upon the sandy foundation of our owne speculations promise to our selves an estate above the reach of enemies whereas the next storme that riseth doth not onely discover the weaknesse but overthrow the foundation of this imaginary fabrique The foole in the Gospel well so called hugg'd himselfe with this conceit that he had enough laid up for many dayes and therefore bid his soule take its repose whereas the next night his soule was taken from him Had his soule not been taken his goods might God though he had not destroyed his corn in the field yet he could have sent devourers into his barns yea if he had still brought his corne into his mouth he could have sent leanenesse into his soule Teach me O Lord to know not onely my selfe but all flesh to bee as grasse and all things to be vanity so shall I use the world as if Iused it not so shall I enjoy my goods and not bee enjoyed by them Thus the longer I possesse my riches the more I shall know them and the lesse shall be not onely my affection to them but my affiance in them XIV WEre Riches ever tokens of Gods love
there 's a viall reserved for him in the hands of God which he must drinke to the bottome O Lord I know that to flesh and blood this cup is bitter even as the waters of Marah cast in the sweet wood of thy grace or else let this cup passe from me XXXIV LIght is sown for the righteous Psal 97.11 and joy for the upright in heart saies David Now that which is sown doth not presently appeare but may lie covered with clods and a long time is required before harvest come in the mean-while the husband-man waiteth patiently O then though I see no light yet I may expect it for t is not cast away but sown and being sown is not buried but covered there 's hope it will sprout again What then though I have sown in tears I shall reap in joy and though I have gone out weeping I shall bring my sheaves with me though all I have be sown nay cast on the waters yet shall it return after many dayes I will be content with all sorts of weather so my harvest be seasonable and fruitfull let my heavinesse be all the night yet joy shall come in the morning and this I need not doubt of for though it be midnight now shall I therefore conclude the Sun will never rise or that it is not neerer its rising XXXV WHerefore doth a living man complain Lam. 3.39 40. a man for the punishment of his sin In which words the Spirit of God coucheth a three-fold argument against murmuring under our sufferings First we are men creatures and what impudence is it for such to complain against their Creator who may place us in what condition he pleases Secondly we are sinners so that what wee suffer is our demerit and wages and what madnesse is it to accuse the just Judge of Heaven and Earth with injustice Thirdly we are living men and therefore God hath punished us lesse then other sinners as wee are on this side the grave and hell and what unthankfulnesse is it to repine against that hand that hath punished us in mercy These reasons well applyed may stop the mouth of any murmurer for as thou art a man God hath power over thee as a Potter over his vessel to make thee for honour or dishonour As thou art a sinner t is Gods mercy thou art not consumed for sin being finished bringeth forth death As thou art yet alive so praise the Lord and murmure not against him who might as justly have turned thee into hell as he hath turned thee out of thy house and might have deprived thee of thy life as hee hath of thy livelihood XXXVI VVHy art thou cast downe O my soule and why art thou disquieted within mee Still trust in God Here David reproves and directs himselfe The spirit of a man is a tender part and yet a strong part As there is nothing more sensible and apt to be cast down so nothing is more strong being upheld by divine power For the spirit of a man will sustaine its infirmities but a wounded spirit who can beare Extremities and pressures may for a while deject disquiet it but falth will raise it up and quiet it So much unbeliefe as is in it so much weakness and so much faith as is in it so much boldnesse Why are yee fearfull Oyee of little faith says our Saviour there wee see the excesse of feare arose from the defect of faith So farre as my heart is evill it is unbelieving and as farre as 't is unbelieving it departs from God and as farre as it departs from God it departs from true peace and comfort To prevent this Davids own counsell must be mine Still trust in God Distrust in God is the cause of all disquietnesse in our selves XXXVII IN the world yee shall have tribulation Ioh. 16.33 but be of good comfort I have overcome the world saith Christ The world as it is a Christians prison and tormentor so it is also his captive Yet notwithstanding the world be overcome it opposeth though it be crucified it strugleth The world is the way and therefore may be foule as well as faire We are strangers here and therefore are spectacles to the men of this world the objects not onely of their admiration but indignation That dogge which fawnes on the inmate may not only bark at but bite a stranger Our happinesse is that as we suffer here we conquer here yea we conquer whiles we suffer and doe overcome whiles we are overcome Yea wee are more then conquerers through him that loved us and this is our victory that overcometh the world even our faith XXXVIII VVHen beleevers are pensive and sad by reason of outward crosses they must examine and try the object of their faith and the grounds of their beleeving For usually sorrow is there excessive where faith is little and too much sorrow for outward crosses doth commonly argue too much confidence in outward goods Above all persons a true beleever may alwayes rejoyce and then most when it goes worst with him For his God is the God of consolation the fruit of Gods Spirit is joy unspeakable and glorious it is one of Christs offices to comfort his people The Ordinances yeeld strong consolation by the communion of Saints their joy is made more full and the fulnesse of joy they are assured of hereafter T is Satan therefore onely that makes these consolations of the Almighty seeme light for the Devill in the overthrowing the outward estate aymes chiefly to impaire the inward In the spoyling of Jobs goods it was his endeavour to rob him of his comfort and make him curse God XXXIX IT is observable that Paul though he had as much as any to glory of yet he gloried in nothing so much 2 Cor. 12.5 as in his infirmities reproaches necessities distresses for Christs sake in his bonds and chaines for Jesus Surely there was something in those bonds that made them so precious it was the name of Jesus which like a precious Jewel fixed in these bonds that did so endeare them to him Yet wee see what was Pauls glory is others shame when some glory in their wealth others in their power others in their wisedome none glory in the Lord such glory in their shame But how much glory then have the persecutors conferred on Gods people Surely did they know that to be honour which they confer on them as shame they would dispose of it elswhere Why art thou then ashamed O my soule of that which others did glory Know that to these bonds is a crowne annexed and if with the Apostle thou art layd in them there is laid up a crown of righteousness which the righteous Judge hath not onely given Paul but will give to thee and to every one that loves his appearing 2 Tim. 4.8 XL. A Sin poverty 't is hard to keep under our nature and bridle our mouths from expressions of discontent and murmuring so it is
rather be the objects of our pity then of our envie It is the greatest signe of Gods anger not to seem angry and the greatest punishment to goe unpunished In affliction this is all the fruit to take away the drosse and where there is nothing but drosse who will be at the charge of refining Hee then that in publick sufferings undergoes nothing here is likely to suffer most hereafter being reserved to that great day Unhappy children though connived at for a while are paid for all at last It shall bee my happinesse to suffer affliction with them here with whom I shall reigne for ever hereafter Better it is to bee a child under wrath then a chhild of wrath LV. THe Lord doth commonly punish sinne in its owne kind so that in the judgment wee may read the fault Thus Adonizedechs cruelty was rewarded with the like cruelty The old Law was an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth and there was a thumb for a thoumb a toe for a toe Thus Pharaohs bloody intent turned the rivers into blood Davids adultery in his neighbours bed kindled the same fire in his own Dives his luxury brought on him penury Sometimes also abuse of good things is punished with the want of them abuse of liealth with sicknesse of peace with warre of riches with poverty Thou O Lord art just in depriving me of my goods surely I did affect them too much or not use them well or trust in them too much Deserved disappointment is usually the fruit of presumptuous confidence It is Gods will and our wisdome to learn to spell our sinnes out of his judgements LVI IT is usuall with men to complain of the suffering when they doe not of the sinne For when Nature openeth the mouth for the former Satan stoppes it for the latter Now as quicknesse of the flesh is the cause of the one so deadnesse of spirit is the cause of the other For when the eye is opened to see sinne the spirit prssed with the weight of it the mouth will open to complaine against it See it in a clock which if it have its just weight sets every wheele in its motion and makes it sound so let sinne have its just weight and pressure on the soule and it will set every faculty of the soule and part of the body on work and will make the tongue cry aloud against it though formerly silent 'T is true that extremity of pain makes wicked men cry out against sinne I and my people have done wickedly sayes Pharaoh The rack will open any mans mouth but in the godly this confession is not extorted but free I have sinned saith David done this wickednesse in thy sight I will therefore not so much exclaim against my suffering as against my sinne so when I have condemned my self for the fault I shall through mercie be acquitted from the punishment LVII VVHen we see men fare deliciously every day there 's no reason why we should repine at their fading happinesse having their portion onely in this life and being fatted against the day of slaughter Greene hearbs with contentment saith the wisest is better then a stalled oxe with debate Content is that which sweetneth and sawceth the plainest fare When I look upon my own deservings what sinne hath deprived me of and also looke to what I have through grace in the promise I need not murmure The place where I am is a strange countrey and strangers cannot chuse their diet As long as I am from my fathers house I may be glad with huskes but when I come unto him the fatted Calfe shall be provided for me there shall I be satisfied as with marrow and fatnesse LVIII THe tune of the world is What newes What newes whereas if we call to mind the dayes of old wee shall finde nothing new What befalls the Church now in generall or any one in particular the primitive times and our predecessors have partaken of As bad warres and rumors of warres as great spoyling as many losses and crosses as ever be now Thus no temptation befalls us but what is common to the Saints But as man expects newes so God also looks for newes even for new men and new minds hee would have old things past and all things become new And indeed wee are not fit for good newes till we our selves are made good new Old bottles are not fit for new wine Renue O Lord the spirit of my mind so shall I heare of joy and gladnesse and what I heare shall not only be new but good I will therefore be as inquisitive what is new within me as what is new without me LIX TO you it is given in the behalfe of Christ Phil. 1.29 not onely to beleeve on him but also to suffer for his sake saith the Apostle of his Philippians implying that beleeving in Christ and suffering for Christ are two different gifts of God yet such gifts they are as one doth in some measure accompany the other A weak faith may suffer something in losse of goods or good name for Christ though he cannot resist to blood and losse of life for when faith is weak feare is strong and doubts are many So farre as we incline to nature we decline from and avoid sufferings As our faith is in Christ so is our love to him either in the sparkle or in the flame such as many waters cannot quench There is such a faith as may make us not only active but passive for Christ It shall bee my desire and prayer not onely for the gift of beleeving but with it the gift of suffering How can I have a true faith in Christ and no power from Christ to suffer any thing for him who suffered all for me nay who suffers all in mee LX. VVEE see in these dayes what shifts the men of the world make to save themselves One to his Tower and Castle some put their trust in horses others in riches one hides another flyes As the man is carnall his confidence is carnall his weapons and helps of deliverance carnall From this carnall wisdome a spirituall man may learn spirituall wisdome viz. when he seeth the evill to hide himselfe and where can he with safetie hide himselfe but in the Lord who is the Rock Castle Tower and hiding place of his people For what safetie helpe succour confidence is in or can be expected from any of these earthly helps the same in a more abundant manner is in the Lord. The Name of the Lord is a strong Tower the righteous flie unto it and are safe Such a Tower he is if any comparison can illustrate it as the Tower of David which was for an Armory wherein there hung a thousand Bucklers all Shields of mightie men To this Tower I will resort from this Tower I will fetch Ammunition so shall I be safe from the enemy and strong against him Let some put their trust in Chariots others in horses I