Selected quad for the lemma: earth_n
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A30676
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The husbandmans companion containing one hundred occasional meditations reflections and ejaculations : especially suited to men of that employment : directing them how they may be heavenly-minded while about their ordinary calling / by Edward Bury.
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Bury, Edward, 1616-1700.
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1677
(1677)
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Wing B6207; ESTC R23865
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229,720
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483
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bring forth much fruit Upon a sudden Drought 22. Med. WHen I had digged manured sown and fenced my garden and done what lay in me to do and began from the hopefull springing up of the seed to have comfortable hopes of a plentifull encrease and began to rejoyce in the works of my hands behold an unexpected judgement fell upon it for God withheld the showers of rain and restrain'd the influence of heaven and caused that it should not rain upon the earth and the clouds which were wont to drop fatness and by which God was used to open his treasure and to give a blessing to his people Deut. 28.12 now proved empty clouds promising much but paying nothing hereupon the earth languished and could not nourish what she had brought forth for though she had not a miscarrying womb yet had she dry breasts so that hearbs and flowers yea the grass of the field languished hanged down the head withered and died and their beauty faded away as mans will if he want food as we may see Lam. 4.7 8. Her Nazarites were purer then snow they were whiter then milk they were more ruddy in body then rubies their polishing was of saphire their visage is blacker then a coal they are not known in the street their skin cleaveth to their bones it is withered and is become like a stick c. This providence made me consider how vain and fruitless all our endeavours are either for this life or that to come if God succeed them not with his blessing and that all the men that live upon the face of the earth had they joined with their united counsels with policy and power they could not have removed this judgement had they taken in all the gods of the heathens to assist them Can any of the vanities of the gentiles give rain Jer. 14.22 it is in vain to hope for salvation from the hills or from the mountains in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel When God blows upon our creature-comforts they vanish and prove unsatisfying Haggai 1.9 ye looked for much and lo it came to little and when ye brought it home I did blow upon it c. ye have sown much and bring in little ye eat but ye have not enough ye drink but you are not filled with drink ye cloath you but there is none warm and he that earneth wages putteth it into a bag with holes ver 6. the earth cannot bring forth without the influence of heaven and these cannot be had without a commission from God Jer. 14.22 Can the heavens give showers art not thou he O Lord our God therefore we wait upon thee for thou hast made all these things It is he that cloatheth the heavens with blackness Isay 50.3 Hose 2.21.22 I will hear the heavens and they shall hear the earth and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine and the oyle and they shall hear Jezreel but when God refuseth to hear all others cry in vain they may all say as the King of Israel to the woman that cryed to him 2 Kin. 6.26 if the Lord do not help thee whence shall I help thee out of the barn floors or out of the wine-press yet how doth vain man reckon without his host and promise himself a plentifull encrease and much happiness in the enjoyment of it like the fool in the Gospel Luk. 12.16 c. when the event ofttimes proves otherwise if their designe succeed as sometimes it doth for all things fall alike to all as to the good so to the bad the sun shines upon the just and the unjust they give not the glory to God but sacrifice to their own nets and burn incense to their drags Hab. 1.16 they think their own arm saveth them and their own wisdom and endeavours enricheth them they are like the king of Assyria that said Isai 10.13 by the strength of my hand I have done it and by my wisdome for I am prudent but what had all my labour profited me or what good would theirs have done them if God had not given rain I went yet further in my consideration of the great mercy and benefit of water without which it were impossible that man or beast or fish or foul or hearb or plant or any other creature sensitive or vegetable should live or prosper and wondred at my own and others stupidity that we took so little notice of the mercy and gave God so little thanks for it but this mercy was more prized by the ancient by Israel in the wilderness by Jacob yea by Ahab 1 Kin. 18.5 And Ahab said to Obadiah go into the land unto all fountains of water and unto all brooks peradventure we may finde grass to save the horses and the mules alive and they divided the land between them c. When I had a while considered of these things I raised my Meditation a little higher and considered if rain were so refreshing to the thirsty earth and so necessary for the fruits thereof what was the dew of heaven to the poor soul without it all the Ordinances would prove of little use and all the sowing planting and manuring would signifie little the soul under those enjoyments would be like the heath of the desart that sees not when good comes what cause then have we to depend upon God for the one and for the other oh my soul are thy endeavors crost and thy labour lost learn to depend upon God for the time to come concern not thy self overmuch in the world if it smile upon thee let it not steal away thy affection if it frown on thee trouble not at it for these things are at the dispose of thy father and he mindes thy good use diligence and providence because they are commanded duties but beware of murmuring and repining because they are forbidden sins when thou hast gone as far as thou canst leave the success to God and whatever the issue be acquiesce in his will if thy endeavours be blasted think it was best they should be so because God thought thus if he succeed them bless him if he cross them bless him also The Lord hath given and the Lord hath taken away saith Job blessed be the name of the Lord seek not great things in the world expect no more then God hath promised lest if they fall short of expectation thou be discouraged hast thou neither poverty nor riches but food convenient this was Agars petition hast thou food and rayment the Apostle was therewith content But for the soul thou must not take up with a small portion labour after the highest pitch of godliness and content not thy self with a low frame of spirit be as covetous for grace as others are for gold use the means diligently but trust not to the means though Paul and Apollo's may plant and water it is God gives the encrease he only can speak to the heart and say to thy sins die and to thy soul live oh my
cast into the oven Mat. 6.30 what sweetness then is in the creator that breathed this sweetness into them is not he much more sweet and delightfull and why dost thou not place thy affections upon him that is altogether lovely Cant. 5.16 wholly desirable Moses thought him so when he preferred the reproach of Christ the heaviest piece of his cross better then all the treasures in Egypt all the excellencies here below are but the shadow and he is the substance they are but a drop to this ocean a ray to this sun and a spark to this fire Why wilt thou go to the puddle that maist go to the fountain-head and take up with a handfull of muck that maist have a handfull of angels taste and see how sweet God is he is sweetness it self thou that so admirest these vanishing flowers whose beauty suddenly is changed for deformity why wilt thou not be enamoured upon perfect beauty the sun the moon and stars are darksome spots in comparison of the beauty that is in him he is white and ruddy the chief of ten thousands his head is as the most fine gold c. Cant. 5.10.11 red and white shews a perfect symmetry a sound and sure complexion and constitution thou speakest of pleasures but at his right hand are pleasures for evermore all earthly enjoyments yield little content small pleasure and delight there is a pound of sorrow for an ounce of pleasure and those also are but bitter sweet pleasures but with him are satisfying pleasures unmixed delights yea the image of God in the hearts of his people is a thousand times a more perfect beauty then the world affords and the graces of the spirit in the garden of their souls as they shew a more perfect beauty so they yield a more fragrant savour and sweeter smell then all the flowers in the world can do to a spiritual sence here is an orchard of Pomegranats and all pleasant fruit camphire and spicknard spicknard and saffron Calamus and cynamon and all trees of frankincense myrrhe and aloes and all chief spices Cant. 4.14 15. see how precious God accounts the graces of his people which here are likened to these precious things here mentioned they smell sweet in the nostrills of God and man yea the word of God and his Ordinances these were sweeter to David then honey and the honey-comb better then thousands of gold and silver Psal 19.10 and to Job better then his appointed food and are none of these taking with thee is there more true worth in a handfull of flowers that will not please thee from morning till night then in those never-ending never-fading pleasures here presented to thee heaven and earth may stand amazed at thy folly oh my soul wallow not in the mire delight not thy self with the swine in swill when thou maist have better and more dainty food feed not upon husks when thou maist have bread enough in thy fathers house grasp not after the shadow when thou maist have the substance or with the dog in the fable lose not the substance to catch at the shadow despise peebles that thou maist have pearls lay not out money for that which is not bread nor thy labour for that which profiteth not when wine and milk are offered without money and without price Esay 55.12 fill not thy vessel with water that it can hold no wine these outward things may be of use to us but must not be abused by us though they cannot make us happy yet they can point us out where happiness may be had and happy is that soul that can with the bee gather honey from hearbs and flowers there is not the most contemptible creature that breathes nor the most despicable vegetable that lives nor the poorest thing that exists nay nothing in rerum natura but hath a finger to point us to God a fly or flea or leaf of a tree or grass-pile or if any thing be more contemptible will tell us whence they had their being and any or all of these may teach us some lessons for our instruction yea the devil which is the grand enemy to mankinde yet by this heavenly alchymy of divine Meditation may be made nourishment to the soul as of the vipers flesh may be made a soveraign antidote against the vipers sting yea it is possible to extract heaven out of hell and God out of the creature and surely that must needs be a fat soul that feeds in so many fat pastures oh my God keep my affections from closing with these earthly enjoyments and teach me the heavenly art of improving them and drawing out the spirits of them And as commonly they are snares and nets and hurtful to the soul Lord assist me that they may prove beneficiall to it let mine affections close with thee and then I need not fear falling into these snares Upon hearbs withering in a dry season 26. Med. WHen I beheld the hearbs and flowers yea the grass of the field also in a dry season how they fainted and flag'd and hang'd the head for lack of moisture the earth being not able to give them a supply without further assistance It brought to my minde how necessary a blessing from heaven was to our enjoyments upon earth and how vain these things would prove if God did but blow upon them and how foolish those men were that depended upon their own industry and promised themselves great matters like the fool in the Gospel Luk. 12.16 when they often finde such reckoning is without their host he we finde in the midst of his jolity like a Jay was pruning himself in the boughs and came tumbling down with the arrow in his side his glass was run as one saith when he thought it was but new turned he was shot with the boult when he gazed on the bow this was he that trusted in his riches and was not rich to God he had indeed abundance but it signified little to him but many men promise themselves plenty and never come to enjoy it how necessary is our dependance upon God for our dayly bread the greatest of us have no assurance of it neither is any exempted from seeking it daily at the hands of God I saw then that that promise was not in vain which God had made Hose 2.21 22. I will hear the heavens and the heavens shall hear the earth and the earth shall hear the corn and the wine and the oyl and they shall hear Jezreel for though the people should cry to the corn and to the wine for relief and the corn and wine should cry to the earth for nourishment and the earth should cry to the heavens for showers and the heavens should cry to God for a commission if God should deny that petition all the prayers of the other would signify nothing the creatures have no more then what God puts into them If God give not rain the creatures must languish and the earth fail the earth must