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
Bethlehem thy Word is the bread of life I will feed on it live by it so shall I never want when I am at thy finding LXXXVI I Will leave in the midst of thee an afflicted poore people Zeph. 3.1 that shall trust in the name of the Lord. Gods people though they are a poore people yet they are a trusting people And how can they be a poore people that are a trusting people Doth not the Apostle tell us that they are rich in faith And we read of the riches of full assurance 't is only in the worlds eye and in worldly things that they are poore none possesse more then they none can shew a title to more All they injoy is in God and they injoy all things in God When the plunderers have deprived them of all the hand of faith will receive more from God or lay hold on all in God It shall be my glory to be one of Gods poor afflicted people so I may have this grace to be one of his trusting people LXXXVII GReat is the use of faith glorious things are spoken of it It is called a shield and as heretofore many have done valiantly with this shield so also may we now By faith wee may be inabled with Abraham to leave our own countrey with Moses to forsake the pleasures and preferments of this life yea that which in these dayes is endeavoured to be done by strength of hand may be done assuredly by the strength of faith We may hereby subdue kingdomes and not only escape but learne how by faith to handle the sword faith making one of weak become strong and wax valiant in fight All our hope ariseth from and is stirred up by faith In trouble faith stirreth up prayer prayer stirreth up God God stirs up the means Faith will with Jacob make us continue wrastling with God till he blesse us Faith wil draw water from the wells of salvation it will not only support us in trouble but bring us out By faith I will be rich when I am poore strong when I am weak joyfull when I am sorrowfull By it I will conquer even when I am conquered Let the Lord give me this grace of faith and take away all that I have yet by it I shall have as much as I had more then I had all that a God can yeeld is then mine LXXXVIII IT is the nature of faith in its workings to suspend the soule from reflecting on its own weaknesse and other difficulties directing it to look up to the Lord in whom its hope is and from whom its help must come In affliction we should not onely consider how unable we are to beare them but how able God is to help our infirmities Afflictions and troubles are manifold but God is one and the same and a true faith can make use of one God to conquer twenty troubles one promise to support him in many dangers Sense presenteth many enemies but faith seeth more with it then are or can be against it What rule and course the Apostle Heb. 12.13 prescribeth to lay aside any weight of sinne viz. To look up to Jesus the same must we take to be eased of any weight of affliction LXXXIX IT is written The just shall live by faith Now faith lives on the promise and the promise lives and abides because God lives and abides the same for evermore The life of a beleever is not maintained by any mutable perishing thing and therefore it cannot suffer mutation When we have no other feeding then faith can be our bread when wee have no other stay faith can be our staffe and when temporall things are removed from us yet if faith apprehend a promise it hath plenty enough one promise supporteth faith more then many thousands per annum Hee then that hath a large faith hath a large living That onely which causeth discomfort in a Christian walke is the suspension and intermission of faiths actings For if wee would let faith have its perfect work it would support us in all wants Now faith doth its work best alone having a higher principle then the life of sense Faith acteth upon a faithfull promise and an Almighty God Now as faith will not leave God so God will not faile faith The dutie then of beleeving onely is ours the worke of helping is Gods XC THe sight is the quickest of all the senses for it can ken from earth to heaven in a moment and is also the largest for it can behold the whole Hemisphere by one act of viewing Most fitly therefore in the Scriptures doth the Spirit of God set forth the acts of faith by seeing beholding looking Hereby Abraham is said to see afarre off whereas unbeleevers are by S. Peter described to be such as cannot see afarre off O then let us labour for a large faith as we have a large object for wee can never be straltned in our God unlesse we be straitned in our faith If wee had a thousand times more faith we might receive a thousand times more blessings of God When the Prophet came to the widows house as many vessels as shee had were filled with oyle The reason why so many abide under wants is because they cannot see more in God nor receive more from him For to them all communicable good that they see in God belongs unto them XCI IN Christ dwelleth all fulnesse a fulnesse not onely of sufficiency for himselfe but of redundancy for us A fulnesse not of a vessell which will hold no more and of which a little being taken its fulnesse is diminished but a fulnesse of the Ocean which though it be still emptying it self is still full A fulnesse of the Sun which though it diffuseth daily light and heat hath never the lesse Though all the Saints in heaven partake of Christs glory and all the Saints on earth of his grace yet hath he never the lesse glory or grace There is in Christ a fulnesse of power to protect of wisdome to direct of truth to confirme us of love to comfort us of life to quicken us Of all yea and more then all wee can aske or thinke Now of this fulness I may receive grace for grace for if I am a member I must partake of the heads fulnesse If I am a Spouse I must partake of my husbands fulnesse to supply all my wants I will therefore never complaine of emptinesse and wants as long as there is in Christ not onely a fulnesse but a freenesse to communicate For as sure as Christ is mine his fulnesse is mine Iam. 1.5 He gives to all men and yet he gives liberally which no rich man in the world is able to doe because as he gives to others himselfe decreaseth XCII OUr communiion with Christ is that which may comfort us in the disunion of all outward comforts from us for our nearenesse with him assures us of his compassion under them and his helpe to beare them If then I have
Christ with mee there can be no estate cumbersome to mee If I am weake in body Christ my head was wounded if dejected in minde Christ my head was heavy unto death if I suffer in my estate Christ my head was poore even as poore as a servant even as any servant of his Christs head hath sanctified any thornes his back any furrowes his hands any nayles his side any speare his heart any sorrowes that can come to mine Thus though I beare the yoake yet being it is Christs yoake I have Christs fellowship under it I have his Spirit to helpe beare it and Christs strength to draw it I have his graces to be glorified by it his compassion to moderate it his victories to overcome it his crowne to reward it XCIII THe blessed Apostle Paul reckoned all things losse for Christ not as if he did actually part with all things though if occasion had bin offer'd he might but as they were of no more esteeme with him nor did take more comfort from them then he could from that which was lost and taken from him Most heavenly Spirit would to God we were all like thee in this thou hadst many prerogatives in thy birth many priviledges in thy education many common gifts much outward righteousnesse and yet was all this but losse for Christ Surely in this many of us are but almost Christians when we preferre a trifle before Christ and reckon that lost which is taken from us for Christ or given to his members Lord if I have any thing worth losing let me gaine Christ and if I lose it not in possession I will in affection esteeme it as losse yea as dung for Christ XCIV VVEE know that all things worke together for good to them that love God Rom. 8. If all things then afflictions and losses Now we see that afflictions and worldly losses worke worldly sorrow and worldly sorrow worketh death how then doe they worke together for good The Apostle doth not say all things of themselves worke for good to such but worke together i. e. together with the sanctifying grace of God whereby that which is evill is turned into our good Of poysonous destructive Drugges the Apothecary can compose healthsome cordialls Those things which are in themselves evill God can so alter and qualifie by the ingredients of his grace that they shall be good for his As in prosperitie God mingleth some evill to humbleus so in adversitie he infuseth some good to comfort us So then though our losses doe in themselves worke much present sorrow and misery yet being thus sanctified they shall worke together for good even the good of grace here and that of glory hereafter I will not therefore looke so much to the present misery as to the promised issue How bitter soever the pill be for a time yet health will be sweet at last Crosses being thus mastered by grace prove serviceable to us XCV THough the fig-tree shall not blossome Habak 3.17 neither shall fruit be in the vine the labour of the olive shall faile the field shall yeeld no meate the flocke shall be out off from the folds and there shall be no herd in the stalls yet will I rejoyce in the Lord I will joy in the God of my salvation It is a good thing to put cases of presupposed dangers and wants to our soules Such cases may not onely be praemonitions of them but praemunitions against them we may come thereby not onely to attaine a knowledge of our present weaknesse but obtaine what strength was wanting Expected evills loose their venome and strength and when they doe come the patient may say in Agags words that surely the bitternesse of them is past Now in expectation of evills we must not only praeconceive what may come but what possibly can come See it in these gradations of the Prophets faith Who could not want figges one yeare if the vine prospered if there were wine enough to cheare the heart but though the vine were blasted yet the olive might helpe for a time but if these liquors failed yet if the fields give their returne of corne water with it might preserve life but if there were a dearth of corne yet if the pastures abounded with flockes meate without bread might serve a while and if the flockes were baned abroad yet the stalls at home might preserve the life of the owners Thus frarre the life of sense might goe but when all these faile and there 's no outward comfort to be seene yet then to rejoyce in the LORD there 's none but he that lives by faith can doe What was the Prophets resolution I will endeavour to make mine As long as God gives me the creature I will use it but not live onely by it I will live by all so as to trust in none I will take some comfort in what I have but no true joy but in my God and what I shall have from him I will behold things before me but so as to looke on things above me If all faile me my God is all in all He that lives by faith when things appeare shall not perish when those things appeare not XCVI I Seldome reade in the sacred Volume of any of Gods people suffering want though among strangers and enemies but have found favour in their sight and received kindnesse from them The Aegyptians were over and above courteous to the Israelites in that they would lend them their Jewells This also the kindnesse of Bozz to Ruth of Nebuzaradan to Jeremiah of Josephs Keeper to him of the chiefe Captaine to Paul yea of the Barbarians to Paul and his company doe plainly testifie This doth not arise so much out of any love which the one beareth to the other as from the over-ruling hand of God which can turne mens hearts to whatsoever object or act he pleaseth The Lord can make them instruments in such workes to which their natures are averse How great soever my wants are then and how few my friends yet as long as a stranger to mee is left I hope not to be denied courtesies perhaps more then ordinary When my friends and acquaintance to whom I am known cast me off they to whom I am not known shall receive me He that is in favour with God cannot but find favour with men happie is he whose God is the Lord. For the Lord will doe him good either by himself or by such instruments as are most unlikely XCVII IF Beleevers in former times did suffer the spoyling of their goods with joy why should not wee also in the same manner We have the same God the same promises the same hope faith and therefore why should not we expresse the same joy in such cases of suffering as they did Afflictions though they seeme grievous to the carnall part yet they are tolerable to that which is spirituall and as they afflict the one with sorow so they affect the other with joy and that at the