think upon their accompts these are some but not all the drones we have amongst us oh my soul is idleness so detestable a vice take heed of it employ every talent God hath lent thee to thy Masters glory lest thou meet with the doom of the unprofitable servant spend all the time allowed thee in the world either in thy general or particular calling and spend time on nothing thou wilt be unwilling to hear of another day let not Christ when he calls for thee nor the devil when he tempts thee finde thee idle lest thou be not ready to open to the one or resist the other lest Christ reject thee and the devil vanquish thee and death usher thee into outer darkness oh my God I have much work to do and but a little time to do it in and it is work of great concernment and much time already hath been wasted by me Lord incline my heart to diligence and convince me of the necessity of working while it is called to day because the night comes that no man can work Upon the gaudy Wasp 56. Med. OBserving the wasp in her gaudy dress what an enemy she was to the painâ—ul and laborious Bee and was not content her self to be idle but robs also the Bees that do labour and feeds upon that which this painful and industrious creature hath laid up against winter and so oft-times exposes them to want and penury yea to death it self and if the poor bees make resistance kills them and spoils their habitation I observed also that this pernitious insect more hurtful then the drones before-mentioned making no provision for winter before it comes puts her head into a hole and dies the consideration of this occasioned this following Meditation I thought there were many such wasps amongst us that is such as have the nature and disposition of wasps that are hurtful to many helpful to none that live an idle life and live upon others labours and not their own and making no provision for death or eternity are then utterly destitute of what is necessary here with the rich man Luk. 16.19 c. they are cloathed in purple and fine linnen and fare deliciously every day and at last would beg a drop of water to cool their tongues but cannot obtain it but shall have punishment without pitty misery without mercy sorrow without succour crying without compassion mischief without measure torment without end and past imagination Among the rest of these gaudy wasps we may rank many griping Land-lords some Land-lords are of a better complexion but they are too few but too many are guilty of grinding the faces of the poor and the spoil of the poor is in their houses Esay 3.14 15. they make their tenants serve in the very fire and weary themselves for very vanity Hab. 2.13 and are like unto the Egyptian task-masters force the tale of their bricks and not allow them straw they pluck not only the meat from their mouths and the cloaths from their backs but the very flesh from their bones they drink not only their tears but their very sweat and bloud and all too little to satisfy their greedy humours they squeese so many tears from them in their life time that they have none left to shed for them at their death they by racking their rents and their cruel extortion draws many tears from their eyes and sobs from their hearts but God will put those tears into his bottle and those sobs into his book and will vindicate their wrongs how oft may we see greedy Land-lords force their tenants to feed their dogs with what should feed their own children a barbarous custome which will rise up in judgment against them another day They deal with their tenants as they do with their horses when they have tired them or rid them out of breath they call for a fresh one and shew not so much mercy on them as on their dogs whom they cherish if weak or weary but when the poor tenant with all his pains and diligence can no longer satisfy their greedy humours they turn them out of doors seize upon their estates perhaps cast them into prison till they have paid the utmost farthing to the ruinating of their families and exposing them to beggery and all this is to maintain their pride and luxury these men act as if they were the sole proprietors and must never give an accompt to any other Master but let such remember the parable of the man that owed ten thousand talents and would not forgive his brother a hundred pence but cast him into prison Mat. 18.23 he himself was cast in till he had paid the utmost farthing those shall have judgment without mercy that have shewed no mercy Jam. 2.13 those that will not forgive others shall not be forgiven themselves let such remember the rich man Luk. 16.19 who 't is conceived refusing to give a bit of bread to Lazarus was himself denied a drop of water by Abraham But these are not all the gaudy wasps that trouble the laborious bees there are many rich men that undo their poor neighbours with unjust and vexatious Law-suits that oppress them with wrongs injuries and unjust vexations and make bold thus to do because they are too great for them to grapple with these great flies break through the net there being also too many of these wasps in places of Judicatory civil and Ecclesiastical I accuse not all and I think no wise man will justify all many Lawyers to maintain their state and garb knowingly undo their clients some by taking bribes to prevent justice some by unnecessary delays some for favour and friendship they either break the neck of a good cause or suck the clients dry before they tell them their cause is bad Ecclesiastical Courts are not much better some think far worse many officers there do as greedily prey upon the poor as ever a hungry fly did upon a galled horse back and many times make sores where they finde none and the greatest offences are not always punished with the hardest stroaks but preaching and praying is esteemed worse then swearing and cursing and that reformation of sin is not intended though pretended is apparent when poor adulterers are let alone who are not able to pay the fees of the Court when the richer are made offenders for a word Isa 29.21 let not any that are not guilty apply this to themselves but there are also too many in the Ministry that may reade their character Esay 56.10 c. but the time is coming these causes will be called over again and then it will evidently appear who are the troublers of Israel oh my soul is there such oppression such injustice in the world take heed of having a heart or hand in any such matter come not into their secrets and unto their assembly the time is coming that those that have been fed with sin will vomit up what they so greedily swallowed and those
object and other circumstances vary and as the will or capacity of the person requireth and therefore may be better taught by example then rule This minded me of some occasional Meditations that had formerly warmed my heart and not knowing but they might warm others also and might be a means to restore this beneficiall though too much neglected duty and therefore gathering together and reveiwing my scattered papers and making some additions substractions and alterations I reduced them to the method here presented that it is every Christians duty I think none will deny and that it hath been the practice of believers is easy to prove this was Isaac's practice Gen. 24.63 and it was Davids work as the whole book of Psalmes testify see Psal 63.6 and 77.12 and 119.15 and 143.5 and many other places wherein we see he meditated both on Gods word and on his works both by night and by day and makes it the character of a childe of God or a blessed man so to do Psal 1.2 and a mark of one ripe for destruction not to regard the works of the Lord nor the operation of his hands Psal 28.5 What I have here written is chiefly for thy imitation and my desire is that thou maist take out this lesson prove an artist and set up for thy self and follow this gainfull trade that hath formerly brought so much glory to God and so much profit to poor souls The method herein propounded is easy and the duty to an honest heart not hard yet remember it is the practick part that is like to do thee most good here maist thou learn to spend thy time and pass away thy solitary hours better then most men do for whether thou be at home or abroad in publick or in private this duty may be in some measure performed yea by every man in every place in every company and in every employment though all places are not alike a gracious heart can steal a thought into heaven and by a Meditation and private ejaculation hold converse wtth God at any time neither slave nor servant though in a Turky-gally can be deprived of this liberty The want of this heavenly art or the not using of it is the cause of the mispence of so much precious time and that there are so many barren empty hearts as we dayly finde for as the Bee gathers honey both from flowers and weeds so doth a diligent man from every thing he sees hears of or observes time is such a precious jewel that it should not be squandred away and I know not well how it may be better improved then by Meditation for this spiritualizeth all we set or hear of it makes a man never idle nor ill employed and drives on a rich trade for the soul and either leads the soul to heaven or brings heaven to it I know meditation may be abused some meditate how they may be rich either by hook or by crook the ambitious man how he may be honourable the voluptuous man how he may enjoy his pleasure but a Christian how he may enjoy his God and secure his soul some study mischief upon their beds some with the spiders gather poyson where the Christian like the bee gathers honey and the very business a Christian is about will furnish him with matter sufficient for his work if the heart be not barren every thing will be fruitful and there is none so dull if not spiritually dead but may gather something from visibles to minde him of invisibles No ship that sails either to the East or West Indies brings home richer lading then meditation doth if rightly steered This is the chewing of the cud that turns all to nourishment the true Philosophers stone that turns all to gold by this means the spirits and quintescence of all earthly things are extracted 't is true of a Christian endowed with his heavenly art what the Poets feign of Midas every thing they touch turns to gold and gold it self into a better substance the hardest flint the barrenest tree the most withering branch or fading leaf will yield good fruit to this artist yea better fruit then the gardens of the Hesperides which are feigned to bear golden apples and every sheep will bear a golden fleece better then ever Jason fetcht from Colchis By meditation a Christian is carried into the third heaven with Paul whether in the body or out of the body be scarcely knows and there is enabled to see things inutterable this makes invisible things visible and gives a man a Pisgah-sight of the heavenly Canaan This heavenly artist can with Daedalus make himself wings to fly aloft and can break prison at his pleasure neither need he fear the melting of the wax This keeps the heart in order and prevents its strayings it keeps vain thoughts from rising or at best from roosting There mans heart is like a mill if it want grist it sets it self on fire and if there be no corn to grinde for God the devil will throw his tares into the hopper The heart it always well or ill-employed and will never be idle holy meditation puts a man out of satans road when otherwise he is in continuall danger of falling into his snares or by being surprized by his wiles when the idle person is commonly snared and taken by this grace is strengthened and corruption weakned our evidences cleared communion with God maintained and acquaintance with our own hearts gained it is the way to store the understanding with knowledge to subject the will to Gods will to warm the â—ffections and to put life and heat into all our duties this discovers to us the sinfulness of sin and vanity of the creatures and the fulness of Christ this reacheth out to us some of Canaans grapes some Pisgah-sights of glory even of those things within the veil and a taste of those pleasures which are at the right hand of God such a taste as this made Moses despise the pleasures of Pharaohs court and Galeacius esteem all the wealth in the world not worth one days communion with God this lets us see there is a worm of vanity bred in our cheifest earthly enjoyments and eats out the very heart of them and if they are abused they will breed and feed the worm that never dies and kindle that fire that never shall go out These and a thousand such lessons meditation will teach us and fastens every lesson upon the heart who then would not follow so gainfal a trade and practice so fruitful a calling Did it enrich the body as it doth the soul we should have many proficients in this School some pretenders there are to this duty but they rather pretend then intend it they throw down the hammer before they have driven the nail to the head and lay down the premises but stay not to raise the conclusion they follow not the work till they come to resolution and practice they are like a man that strikes fire gathers
Gomorrah their grapes are grapes of gall and the clusters are bitter Deut. 32.32 they hatch cockatrice eggs and weave the spiders webs vanity or villany is their trade Heb. 6.7 8. the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh off upon it and bringeth forth hearbs meet for them by whom it is dressed receiveth a blessing from God but that which beareth thorns and briars is rejected and is nigh unto cursing whose end is to be burned The fruitful Christian watered with the word and spirit bringing fortth a harvest of holiness and fruit-trees fit for meat were not to be destroyed Deut. 20.14 but fruitless trees are for the fire Mat. 3 10. But oh how much of this sterile barren ground is amongst us that resist all the offered means of their recovery and rave and rage against both the physitian and the physick and though often watered bring forth nothing but briars and thorns whereupon all the seed and all the rain that falls upon it is lost and when God expects fruit behold wilde fruit and yet this wilde and barren ground if well manured and God breathe upon it may prove good land this consideration made me with the servant in the Gospel cry out Lord spare them one year more that I may dig about them and dung them that it may not be my fault that they perish nor laid to my charge oh my soul art not thou this barren plot where nothing but briars and brambles can thrive or at least wise but little good fruit appear God hath done much for thee hedged thee about by his providence watered thee with the dew of heaven sent many of his servants to manure thee whence then this trash and rubbish whence then these tares and weeds was not good seed sown why hast thou not answered the great Husbandmans expectation what could God have done more for his Vineyard then he hath done for thee well look to it if thou remain fruitless ere long he will pluck up thy hedge pluck down thy wall take away thy fence and leave caring for thee and turn in the wilde boar to devour he will lay down his basket and take up his axe Oh the patience of a patient God! that hath born with thee for many years but will ere long if thou remain fruitless pronounce the sentence cut him down why cumbreth he the ground and if this be the danger of barren souls do what in thee lies to make others fruitfull also hereby saith Christ is my father glorified if ye bring forth much fruit Oh my God! Paul may plant and Apollo may water but thou givest the encrease 1 Cor. 3.6 The harp yeelds no sound till touched by the hand of the Musician and my heart will never be made good till thou strikest the stroak 't is God alone must say to dry bones live man can but speak to the ear but God speaks to the heart Lord speak home to my heart and the work will be done If means and ordinances would have served turn the work ere now would have been effected Lord leave me not to other husbandmen for they cannot make me fruitfull Oh be thou my Gardiner and my soul shall flourish blow upon thy spices and they will send forth a sweet savour Vpon the Propensity of the Earth to bring forth weeds 5. Med. VVHen I observed the natural propensity of the Earth to bring forth briars and thorns and weeds and thistles and such unprofitable trash and rubbish and that it brought forth fed and fostered those of its own accord without labour or pains or any help of man nay man without much labour and toil cannot destroy or keep them under but choice flowers profitable herbs wheat and rye and other usefull grain springs not up at so easie a rate there must be pains taken digging plowing harrowing setting sowing weeding fencing watering and a great deal more or no good crop can be expected This Observation made me think that this was the fruits of the curse laid upon the Earth for mans sake Gen. 3.17 Cursed be the ground for thy sake In sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee c. In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread c. me thoughts the earth in this respect did much resemble a stepmother to the best seeds and choisest fruits but an own Mother to weeds and rubbish this she brings forth and brings up as her own the other she disowns but as she is hired or forc't and if she be not carefully watcht will either starve or choak them and she will suffer her own brats to eat the meat that should nourish them and suck her breasts till they are dry and they shall flourish while the other pine This raised up my Meditations a little higher and I thought the earth in this respect much resembled the world who will willingly nourish no children but her own and plays the stepmothers part with Gods children when the wicked which are her own brats are hug'd in her bosome if their father look not to them they are thrown to the walls if any be wronged it shall be them and if any want be they shall suffer the world loves her own Joh. 15 19. however dogs worry one another yet all agree against the trembling hare Herod and Pilate are made friends when Christ is to suffer and all wicked men are enemies to the power of godliness This propensity also of the earth to bring forth weeds and to starve the choisest plants made me think it resembled also the heart of man by nature which is a fruitful field for briars and brambles and the weeds of sin which grow there without planting but 't is barren of any thing that is good 't is hard to get a good motion a good inclination a good resolution to prosper in that soil but the heart naturally produceth evil thoughts wicked words and bad actions which are the usuall product it bringeth forth The hearb of grace must be planted by the finger of God and watered with the dew of heaven or it will not prosper most of the good seed sown there by the Preachers of the Word is lost and comes to nothing for either it falls among stones or thorns or by the high-way-side and so is choak't or starved or stole away and devoured except the heart be well manured and the nature of the soil changed except it be well fenc't and guarded yea watch't and observed nothing that is good will grow there 'T is not in vain that God bids us break up the fallow ground of our hearts and sow not among thorns Ier. 4.3 Hos 10.12 and God is fain to plow deep furrows by affliction before he can reach the roots of the weeds Oh my soul art not thou this earth that lyes under the curse where nothing but trash and rubbish thrives and prospers how comes it otherwise to passe that thou art
soon offended and Christ may take heaven to himself for them if this be his rate of it some seed was sown among thorns and these sprung up and choaked it the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choak it few rich men can handle these thorns and not prick their fingers most overload themselves with earth and so lose heaven they set their hearts with Saul upon the asses when a kingdome is before them these like dissembling hosts welcome us into Innes and at last cut our throats and there is but a little good ground and that also brought forth variously some an hundred some sixty and some thirty-fold every man cannot excell we should strive after the highest pitch of godliness and content our selves with a low frame of spirit but not dispair though we fall short of it God accounts it good ground that brings forth any good fruit to maturity This consideration made me reflect upon my own condition and call my self to an account what sort of ground my heart was since so much seed hath been sown and so little fruit appears Oh my soul how comes it thus to pass that thou art barren and unfruitfull how comes it to pass the seed is lost after so much labour pains and care so much manuring and cultivating what could God have done more for thee by the way of means then he hath done why then bringest thou forth wilde grapes art not thou the high-way-ground and hath not the devil hardned thy heart that it is become sermon-proof and Ordinance-proof and doth he not pick up the seed which lies lose upon it and is not covered by meditation art not thou a forgetful hearer and how can that fructifie that is thus stole away or was it not sown among stones no wonder then if fruit appear not where a root cannot be had trust not to all stirring of the affections Herod heard John Baptist gladly and reformed many things but if the stone of the heart be not removed and a heart of flâ—sh given thee how can corn be expected upon a rock that was never softned mortified or made fruitfull or was it not sown among thorns didst thou not suffer the thoughts the cares the fears of the world or the love desire of or delight in riches to choak it when the heart brings forth such fruits the word cannot prosper when the vessel is full of water it can receive no other liquor O my soul if this be thy case beware of it and prepare thy heart to receive the seed and harrow it in by Meditation what good will meat do if not eaten and digested or what good can physick do if not taken or a plaister if not applied or the word if not set home to the conscience and reduced into practice empty thy heart of all distrustfull cares and fears break up the fallow ground of thy heart and sow not among thorns Oh my God! if thou be not the husbandman there will be no good crop If thou direct not the plow there will be no good furrow If thou bless not the seed and the labour all is in vain Paul may plant and Apollo water but God gives the encrease If God set not a hand to the work old Adam will be too hard for young Melancthon and the devils tares will thrive better then the good seed Man can but speak to the ear God can speak to the heart no plaister can heal if God be not the Surgeon no food can nourish if God be not the nurse Lord reach my heart cure my wounds remove nay distempers empty my soul of froth and vanity that the water of life may be received Say to my ears Ephphatha be opened and they will hear and to my heart be soft and it will be done Say to these dry bones live take my stony heart into thy furnace or what good will it do to preach to a stone all the water that falls upon it will be spilt and all the means of grace lost Lord speak the word and it will be done command my heart and it will obey Upon refreshing rain after a dry season 9. Med. WHen I saw after a dry season wherein the fruits of the earth languished for want of moisture that when a refreshing shower of rain came how they flourished grew and encreased and how fresh and fragrant these were which a little before hang'd the head and droop't I plainly then saw that all the pains and all the cost and all the care which men were at even about these earthly enjoyments signifies nothing if God deny his blessing if the influences of heaven were but restrained what would all our care and labour signify we may rise early lie down late and eat the bread of carefulness and all to little purpose but how few look up to the true cause of plenty or want The most are like to hogs under the tree that eat the crabs or acorns when they fall but regard not whence they come and murmure if they have them not I considered the earth wanted the influences of heaven and the heavens wanted a commission from God and till that was sealed the creatures could not be supplied it was in vain to quarrel the one or the other nay man had no cause to quarrel at any but himself where the obstacle lay for had not he sin'd the creatures had not suffered This made me a little consider the course of nature and how one creature depends upon another and every one seems to be made for another rather then for it self The Sun the Moon and Stars those glorious lamps and beauty-spots of heaven in their uncessant and unerring courses powr out their heat and light and influence upon the earth and by this means the creatures are generated and the earth refresh't without which influence it would be but a barren dry and unprofitable heap and all things therein would languish and die The earth not ingrateful for received favours conceiveth and produceth corn and grass herbs and flowers plants and trees and other vegetables both for the use of man and beast whereby the vegetable and sensitive creatures are maintained beasts of the field fouls of the air fish of the Sea and all creeping things are fed and cherished these again offer themselves for food or service to man their little Lord and he alone is made capable of communion with his creator and especially fitted for his service When I had seriously considered this subordination among the creatures and that every one seemed to minde anothers good rather then his own this led me up to a first cause to enquire who directed them to an end they knew not and led them by a rule they understood not and when I considered that all those famous works were made and thus subordinated each to other and thus directed for the sake of man this made me break out with the Psalmist upon the like occasion Lord what is man that thou art mindefull
didst remain stone still how is the case at present with thee what is thy present condition hath God melted thee in his furnace hath he changed thy nature hath he fashioned thee anew and moulded thee into a better shape and given thee a better form hath he taken away the heart of stone and given thee a heart of flesh hath he fitted thee for his own work and hewn and squared thee for his own building to be united to Jesus Christ the chief corner-stone if so bless God for it for it was his own work thou wast not able to fit thy self nor all the Ministers in England to help thee had not God put his hand to the work but if thou retain still thy old inflexible nature as hard and senseless as ever if thou be unpollished rough and craggy notwithstanding all the pains God hath bestowed upon thee after so much melting and so much hewing well maist thou fear thou wilt be cast out amongst the rubbish as unfit for Gods use and reserved for the fire of hell which will neither refine thee nor yet consume thee Oh my God great pains and cost thou hast been at with me but I have not answered thy pains nor quit thy cost I remain still rough and hard notwithstanding all the blows of thy workmen but Lord if thou wouldst blow the fire I should melt if thou wouldst lay thy hand upon the workmans axe I should be squared and sitted for the work Lord rather lay great blows upon me then suffer me to be unpolisht or cast out into the rubbish take away the heart of stone give me a heart of flesh that I may melt at thy mercies and tremble at thy judgements Upon worms in the garden 15. Med. WHen I was digging in the garden I observed many worms and other insects which divine providence had there disposed to be fed and cherished but by what I know not here it is like they had their birth and first being here they led their lives and here for ought I know they will finish their course and take their ends I considered that the same providence that had appointed out my place and station where I should be born where I should leade my life and where I should end my dayes had appointed the like for them and when I had spent some time in this Consideration what a poor miserable piece man is by what names or titles soever dignified or distinguished that is so near a kin to these despicable creatures these silly helpless worms they have the same father and the same mother and were made of the same matter by the hand of the same workman and were made of dust and unto dust they must return we may say to corruption thou art my father and to the worm thou art my mother and my sister Job 17.14 Holy David a great man both for worth and dignity beloved of God and King of Israel yet remembers his original and this made him humble he cryes out Psal 22.6 I am a worm and no man what then are we poor shrubs that we should have high thoughts of our selves or entertain a proud conceit of our own worth we may finde in Scripture man is frequently call'd a worm from the similitude that is between us and them being poor helpless shiftless creatures Job 25.56 Behold even to the moon and it shineth not and the stars are not pure in his sight how much less man that is a worm and the son of man which is a worm Esay 41.14 fear not thou worm Jacob and ye men of Israel I will help thee c. And truly as to the body there is not much difference but in the shape they were made of the same matter digged out of the same hole of the pit were clay in the hand of the same potter and ere long shall be reduced to their first original and had God pleased the man might have been the worm and the worm the man yea the most of men have the very nature and disposition of worms they moil and toyl and dig and root in the earth and bury themselves in it their affections grovell upon the ground and aim at no higher an end nor carry on no higher a designe then Scraping muck together and minde no other happiness but how to make provision for back and belly fitly therefore do they bear the name of muckworms and ere long they shall lodge together in the dust where man shall be made a feast for worms Job 24.19.20 as drought and heat consume the snow-waters so doth the grave those which have sinned the womb shall forget him the worm shall feed sweetly on him he shall be no more remembred Esay 51.8 the moth shall eat them like a garment c. this is the portion of poor man from which grace it self cannot exempt him Holy Job was not free Job 19.25.26 for I know that my redeemer liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth and though after my skin worms destroy this body yet in my flesh shall I see God c. Oh that this were well minded by our dainty dames that now plaister and paint and spot their faces to take their prey and spend their time in wanton dalliance and put far from them the evil day Oh that they would consider it is not long before they shall dance after deaths pipe down to the chambers of darkness where they must make their bed in the dust and the worms shall make their nests between their breasts and eat out these wanton windows of love and messengers of lust Oh what an humbling consideration might this be if well thought on to those that now scarce think the ground good enough to tread upon and must not have the winde to blow upon them or the sun to see them and go in an antick dress and study how to pamper worms meat and go like petty angels little thinking they are so near akin to poor despicable worms Oh my soul wast thou as clay in the hand of the potter and made of the same mold with this poor worm bless God that hath made the difference it was in his power to have made thee the worm and this worm the man then hadst thou lain liable to be dasht by every foot but God hath made thee a rational creature capable of Communion with himself and enjoyment of him for ever let the thoughts also of thy original dust thou art and unto dust thou shalt return keep thee humble have still in thy minde the worm thy mother and sister it is a sin and shame for an angell to be proud much more for a dustheap and one of these days thou must make thy bed in the dust and this earthly tabernacle will be dissolved provide therefore a new habitation a house not made with hands but eternal in the heavens Thou hast a better part indewed with more noble faculties then these poor creatures have which if not
seed fructify or one corn grow if God succeed not their endeavour oh the madness stupidity and egregious folly of Athiests that deny a diety and yet cannot make a fly or flea or the leaf of a tree without pre-existent matter nor put life into it when it is made nor know how it is done but many of them their lives are so debaucht that to still and quiet their inraged conscience they would fain race out and obliterate this principle imprinted in the soul by God himself viz. that there is a God but that there is no God they rather wish then believe but to return it is God that doth this work Mark 4.26 The Kingdom of heaven is as if a man should cast seed into the ground and should sleep and rise night and day and the seed should spring up and grow up he knows not how for the earth bringeth forth fruit of her self first the blade then the ear afterwards the full corn in the ear c. when we have done our duties we must rely upon God for the success and depend upon Gods providence if we cannot do it leave it to him that can let us do our part of the work and leave his part to him to do we cannot do his and he will not do ours it is our part to plow and sow and manure and till the ground out of which we were taken Gen. 2.15 but it is God that causeth it to fructifie and encrease he giveth us rain from heaven and fruitfull seasons filling our hearts with food and gladness Acts. 14.17 Diligence is our duty as the blessing upon it is his gift God placed no man upon the earth as he did Leviathan in the sea only to play therein but we are to work either with hand or head the thing that is good and in the sweat of our brow or brain we should eat our bread but when we have done all we must look higher for a blessing Deut. 28.12 the Lord shall open to thee his good treasure the heaven to give the rain unto the land in his season and to bless all the work of thy hand The stars are Gods store-houses which he opens for our profit and causeth them to pour out their influences upon the earth and thereby he scatters his riches to the world If we will cark and care about the event of things when we have done our endeavour no wonder if we faint under the burden if we take his part of the work upon us also no wonder if we truckle under it Now if his blessing be so necessary in temporals it is much more necessary in spirituals for none can make the soul fruitful but God do we not oft see the seed sown by the same hand and that it is watered by the same word yet it thrives in one field and not in another in one heart and not another why God causeth it to rain upon one field and not another and the field it raineth not on withered Amos. 4.7 those that live under the same Ministry sit in the same seat and have the same husbandry one remains barren the other fruitfull what is the cause but the north-wind and the south-wind the pleasant gales of the spirit blow upon one garden and not upon the other Cant. 4.16 when Christ was the preacher that which workt upon Peter workt not upon Judas not being made effectuall by God The springing of the seed also put me in minde of the resurrection the Apostle we finde illustrateth that point by this similitude 1 Cor. 15.35 36 37. but some will say how are the dead raised up and with what body do they come thou fool that which thou sowest is not quickned except it die and that which thou sowest thou sowest not that body that shall be but bare grain it may chance of wheat or of some other grain but God hath given it a body as it hath pleased him to every seed his own body the rotting of the body is but as the rotting of the seed in the ground that it may spring forth again with more vigour if God can say to this dead seed as sometime to the dry bones live why can he not say so to our dead bodies Is any thing too hard for the Almighty he that made them at the first of nothing can we imagine he cannot gather again together our scattered ashes and make it again into a body shall we think that to be impossible to God that seems hard to us if he say it shall be done shall we conclude it cannot be done Oh my soul use diligence both in thy general and particular calling but when thou hast done thy endeavour leave the success to God and not carkingly care nor doubtingly trouble thy self about the event and disquiet not thy self at what thou canst not help take not hâ—s work in hand lest thou canst not finish it leave not thy work undone for he will not do it diligence is thy duty yet promise not success to thy endeavours but depend upon him for a blessing if he give it bless him for it and let it more engage thy heart in his service if he deny it murmure not but wisely search out what was the cause some sin or other is pointed at in the suffering if thou finde it out remove the Achan and bless God for the providence it is better have a reformed heart then a full barn and as for spiritualls use diligence in the duties required but rest not in the work done if a blessing succeed let the Lord have his homage paid if that thou stand at a stay it is a signe some obstruction is between the head and heart that hinders the work rest not till it be removed if thou meet God in his ordinance bless his name for it if he absent himself let no duty please thee rest not till thou hast recovered sight of him as for the resurrection call not that to question which is so clearly held forth in his word heaven and earth shall pass but his word shall not pass till it be fulfilled what is too hard for an omnipotent arm he that made all things of nothing and he that every year raiseth a crop from dead seed why should we think it impossible for him to gather together our ashes however scattered and raise again our dead bodies to life it is thy great concern to live holily that thou mayst die happily and live with God eternally Oh my God enable me to commit all my concerns for soul and for body to thee and let me not murmure under any dark dispensation of providence however thou deal with me in reference to the body or these worldly enjoyments yet deal well with me in reference to my soul and in reference to eternity let the seed of grace grow and flourish let the weeds of sin be rooted out and let my soul like the good ground bring forth an hundred fold then shall I glorify thee when I
saw whereever life is in the root it will shew forth it self in the branches oh my soul thou hast had a long and sharp winter what effect hath in wrought in thee thou hast lain in the furnace of affliction is thy dross consumed or is it not I have been under pining sickness brought to the gates of death yet hath God said to me live I have been threatned with pinching wants yet more frightned then hurt and when stript of all God let me see that he could make provision and was able to provide and furnish a table in the wilderness the barrel of meal wasted not and the cruse of oyl did not fail God blessed a little and it sufficeth when I was driven from friends and relations he raised me up friends more true then many of my relations and in due time he said to me as sometime to Jacob Gen. â—2 9 return into thy own countrey and to thy kindred and I will deal well with thee sometimes I have been under a cloud and then again the cloud hath been scattered and the sun hath broke out again many have been the dispensations of providences I have been under oh my soul how dost thou answer Gods expectations in these providences affliction springs not out of the dust neither doth trouble rise out of the ground is there evil in the City and the Lord hath not done it whoever is the instrument God hath a hand in the work whoever be the rod it is he that layes it on it hath a voice and we should hear it he hath an end and that is thy reformation dost thou answer his end if the rod be removed before the childe be reformed either he intends to get a bigger rod or leaves thee off as incorrigible which is the sorest judgement The winter now is past and the singing of birds is come the earth and all things therein look lovely and each vegetable where life is discovers it and is it only winter with thee and doth no fruit appear God justly may say to thee as of the fruitless fig-tree never fruit grow more on thee for ever if all his labour be lost and all his expectations frustrated and all his plowing sowing and manuring vain he will say of thee as sometimes of his vineyard what could I have done more for him then I have done wherefore then when I expected fruit doth he bring forth wilde grapes canst imagine God will always bear with a barren fruitless tree in his orchard or an unprofitable unfaithfull servant in his house or a hard and stony heart that neither summers sun nor winters frost can work upon neither judgements nor mercies mollify many a year he hath been seeking fruit and findeth none and yet hath been prevailed with to try thee one year more but his patience will not long bear with thee if reformation prevent not the sentence will ere long be past cut him down why cumbers he the ground many a time the sun hath shone with a favourable aspect upon thee and many a time the dew of heaven hath been showred down many a faithfull skilfull husbandman hath been sent to dress thee and manure thee and must Christ when he seeks fruit still meet with disapointments art thou so hard and rocky that no furnace will melt thee nor hammer break thee or bring the into form meet for his building then must thou be thrown out amongst the rubbish Oh my God this is my condition by nature but thou canst change my nature thou hast a furnace will melt me and bring me into any form thou hast a hammer can break me and fit me for thy work thou canst soften me and make me pliable thou canst take away the stony heart and give me a heart of flesh Lord is it not thy promise make it good to me blow upon my soul and the graces of thy spirit will bud and break forth speak the word and my soul shall live Lord teach me thy self and leave me not to the teaching of man there is no other can reach the heart they speak only to the ear Upon a withering knot of herbs 30. Med. WHen I beheld a knot of herbs mixt with flowers in the garden in a decaying withering condition some part dead others languishing and but a few alive and flourishing I left off weeding dressing cutting and manuring them as those that never were likely to answer my pains or recompence my labour but considering there were some living which were likely to be choaked with weeds if let alone and disregarded I transplanted them into better soil leaving the dead ones to themselves for the fire or any other use I mattered them not I considered then how gastly and unseemly the place was when the living herbs were removed what a confused heap and worthless piece it was of no profit pleasure or benefit the thoughts of this strait brought to my minde that as I had dealt with these withering herbs and flowers so God oftentimes doth by a withering Church some of them he takes into his bosome others he transplants and findes them a better place and then roots up the rest or reserves them for the fire or some other judgement perhaps lets them alone a while to bear a place and perhaps the name of flowers till at last they are rotten-ripe and fit for nothing but burning Thus he preserved Noah for another plot which he was about to make when he destroyed the old world which before was his garden when the plants were most dead He removed Lot into another soil when he rooted up his garden in Sodom he would not fence a place for so few living herbs but laid it waste and burnt it up he transplanted Abraham from the place of his nativity and found room by his providence for Isaac and Jacob whose posterity he transplanted into Egypt where for a long time they did thrive and prosper till in the end overrun with weeds briars and thorns he transplanted Israel into Canaan and cast the Egyptians those dead and worthless plants those weeds and thorns into the Red-sea and since that time hath laid waste many a garden which formerly did flourish when they withered and decayed witness the seven famous Churches of Asia mentioned Rev. 2. and 3. chapters and suffereth briars and thorns to overrun the places I considered that when God removes his own plants either into his bosome or elsewhere it is time for the other to look about them Esay 57.1 the righteous perisheth and no man layeth it to heart and mercifull men are taken away none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evill to come When Gods jewels are removed his care of that place is over when his flowers are gone he will pluck up his hedge and throw down his wall and let it be eaten up and troden down he will lay it waste it shall not be pruned nor digged and there shall come up briars and thorns and he will command
or Parliaments in armies or Garisons in men or money in food or physick in friends or relations or in any other earthly enjoyment we shall finde disappointments for these are not God but webs of our own weaving nets of our own making which may help to sink us but never to save us yet many men as God complains Esay 59.5 6. they hatch cockatrice eggs and weave spiders webs but their web shall not become a garment neither shall they cover themselves with their work it is too thin to shelter them from a shower of divine justice and too short to cover their nakedness Psal 33.16 17. there is no king delivered by the multitude of an host a mighty man is not delivered by much strength a horse is a vain thing for safety neither shall he deliver any by his great strength what then is the result of all but this Jer. 3.23 truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills and from the multitude of mountains truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel Psal 121.2 my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth and as for temporals so for spirituals he that trusts for salvation from any thing but God will ere long finde his mistake and yet how many build their hopes upon a sandy foundation and trust to a broken staff some to Church-priviledges because they are baptized and go to Church they think they must needs go to heaven and that God wrongs them if he do not save them they are like the Jews that though they did steal murther and commit adultery and swear falsly and burn incense to Baal and served other Gods yet they cryed out the temple of the Lord the temple of the Lord Jer. 7.4 6 7. when they forgot the Lord of the temple and disobeyed him yet they thought themselves secure but what was Simon Magus the better for his baptismal water when he was still in the gall of bitterness and bonds of iniquity Is the making of the covenant worth any thing if it be not kept it doth but encrease the guilt and add to their damnation some trust for salvation to a good nature a good disposition a good meaning meer civility common honesty and think it is sufficient I am neither whore nor thief saith one and what then must thou needs be saved do all go to heaven that avoid these sins this is good news for many heathens others trust to humane learning external gifts and parts but the greatest enemies that ever Christ had in the world were men of great learning and profound natural parts the Philosophers of old Scribes and Pharisees yea the Jesuits at this day others trust to a bare profession of religion with the foolish virgins but all this is but to a spiders web oh my soul rest not upon these rotten props or deceitful webs for temporal safety or eternal salvation for they will deceive thee they are not the Lord Jehovah who is thy only refuge lay thy foundation upon that rock that is higher then thee so neither winde nor weather storms nor tempests can molest thee all other foundations are sandy and will down they are Egiptian reeds and will break in thy hand if thou lean upon them trust Gods power and providence and his other attributes for thy temporal preservation and roul thy self upon the merits and righteousness of Christ for thy eternal welfare then wilt thou be happy here and hereafter oh my God pardon my sin and folly in expecting salvation from the hills and from the mountains in trusting to this and that arm of flesh for temporal salvation and leaning upon this and that spiders web for eternal salvation Lord assist me for the time to come to commit both soul and body to thy self who only canst provide for me Upon the painful and laborious Bee 51. Med. WHen I observed the busy and labourious bee how painful and diligent she was in her employment and how industriously she busied her self and how laboriously she toiled and moiled from morning to night in gathering both honey and wax which when she had gotten she was as industrious in the disposal of it I observed how curious how carefull how exquisite she was in furnishing her little cell with the provision she had got by her hard labour in building her combs placing her honey disposing her young ones and feeding them and was so exact in all her labours that the art or wit of man cannot reach her nor erect so exact a fabrick out of such materials so uniform that nothing redundant nothing deficient doth appear and in all her little boxes so exact a symetry doth appear as is admirable to behold and beyond my skill to declare she is so painful and diligent that from morning till night whensoever seasonable weather doth permit she is never idle but either within door or without is busily employed yea the very first day she is placed in her new habitation she rids and cleanseth it decks and adorns it and makes it fit to begin her work and from that day they all join heart and hand as we say in the work and jointly and severally all study and endeavour the common good some order and government also there seems to be among those poor insects not only in their labour where no one is to live idlely but also in resisting the common enemy as we may see how unanimously they set against the idle wasp and at the time of the year against the sluggish drone I observed also in swarming times how unanimously they agreed and followed their leaders where they fled they followed and where they knit or lodged there they aboad also and that no quarrelling nor jarring arise among them yea when one was wronged the other sought revenge I observed also in their work how they gathered honey both from flowers and weeds and as I thought made little difference but extracted the quintescence of them for their own use and that without any wrong to the owner or dammage so far as I could perceive to the hearb or flower these and some such like considerations and observations made me to think it did much resemble a well ordered common-wealth or a well-regulated City Corporation or Community of persons or a family wherein all the members study the common good rather then their own private interest and lay out themselves one for the good of another and be all touched with the sence of others infirmitys and when one suffers all suffer but alass where are such a people to be found that bear such a spirit for the publike good for all seek their own Phil. 2.21 yea Christians themselves that are united each to other in a stricter band then any other community whatsoever are much wanting here and might learn hence a lesson of brotherly love and unity they should be like affectioned one to another and mourn with those that mourn and rejoyce with those that rejoyce Rom. 12.15 they
so careless for the body as they are for the soul the most of us sleep in harvest and are like to beg in winter slug away the day and make no provision for night when they cannot work and lose the opportunity God affords them and have a price put into their hands but have no heart to get wisdome they provide not against the winter night of death nor the days of darkness which will be many Eccl. 11.8 for as sure as the night follows the day so sure a change will come a storm will rise and such a storm as will never be blown away to wicked worldlings There is too many professors go on in heavens way as the proverb hath it on a snails gallop we can scarce see them move and many like the crab-fish rather go backward then forward they are like those silly women mentioned 2 Tim. 3.7 ever learning and never come to the knowledge of the truth many have served an apprentiship in Christianity some two some three and some more and never yet understood the mystery of their profession nay not the grounds and fundamentals of Religion those that have been listed souldiers twenty or thirty years have not yet learned to handle their arms nor known the use of their weapons those that have been as long schollers in Christs school yet have not learned the first lesson of self denyal they have the same corruption unmortifyed the same grace weak or wanting the same doubts unresolved and the same fears upon their spirits as they had long since many years are past away and their work stands at a stay no more fitter for death no more assurance of heaven no more communion with God no more knowledge of the state of their own souls and all this notwithstanding the means they have had the Ministry they have enjoyed and the seasons of grace they have lived in Now is not he a monster in nature that is as big at two years old as at twenty and is it not a dullard indeed that goes to school twenty years and cannot take out one lesson Ancient professors should grow with the oak more firmly rooted and with the apple more ripe and mellow these trees of righteousness should bring forth fruit even to old age and add every year to their experience indeed there are some that grow in opinions and think this is growing in grace and in few years run the whole circle of errors and at last end where they began at profaness if not at athiesm they grow most in the head like children that have the rickets when the rest of the body pines these errors the brats of their own brain are like suckers in a tree they draw all the sap that should feed the other branches to themselves and run up into aspiring branches fruitless yea hurtfull the strength and vigor of the soul the life and heat of their zeal is spent upon these to maintain them when the power of godliness languisheth but true grace grows uniformly like a healthy body though every member grows not to the same bigness yet every member grows in proportion to the rest and so the body is compleated but alass where is this growth of grace discerned the most professors are in a languishing condition their pulse beats weakly and their natural heat abates and they are inclining to a consumption or a lethargy oh my soul is not this thy condition that is here described art not thou fitly resembled to this sluggish creature how long hast thou been in Christs school and never the better how many apprentiships hast thou served and yet art a very dullard and little more grace appears then did many years ago well double thy diligence amend thy pace set about thy work to purpose lest God turn thee out of his vineyard for a loiterer and give thee thy portion with the unfaithfull with the unprofitable servant Mat. 25.26 had idleness been a calling doubtless thou hadst been a good husband yet at last up and be doing thou canst not serve a better Master expect better work or wages O my God what shall I say to thee or how shall I answer thee mine iniquity hath found me out and my sin shews it self it is I that resemble this snail and have sluggishly served thee all my days Lord rouse me up out of my security that I may make more haste lest I fall short of my journeys end Upon a snail carrying her house along with her 72. Med. WHen I observed a snail carrying her house upon her back and in so doing carryed all she had with her in her removes it brought to my minde how the Israelites in the wilderness when ever they journeyed they removed their tents and carryed them with them and when ever they rested there they picht them and carryed all their substance for forty years space along with them and this might well put them in minde that they were strangers and pilgrims and there rest was not here I have read of heathen Stilpo when the enemy had seazed upon all he had burnt the town he lived in and took his wife and children prisoners being asked by Demetrius what he had lost replyed nothing omnia mea mecum porto I carry all-along with me esteeming his vertues his only riches which none could take from him but all loseable riches he valued not This made me further consider if any heathen could say thus how much more a Christian that hath all his vertues adopted graces and hath an interest in Christ and a title to glory for this is a Christians all and he can properly lay claim to no more for as he hath all from God so he hath all in God and having God he hath all and a rich portion it is beyond all the gold in the Indies and all the wealth in the world it is a more soul-satisfying portion then the world can afford and such a portion that is durable for the devil and all his instruments cannot deprive them of it and this they may take along with them to a prison to a gibbet yea to the utmost parts of the earth if they are banished thither The men of the world would have their portion in the world and heaven like paper and packthred into the bargain but it will not be they would carry the world upon their backs to heaven but it is too great a burthen to carry up the hill and too big to enter with at the strait gate The only way to make the best advantage of the world is to take Christs counsel Luk. 16.9 make your selves friends of the unrighteouss mammon that when they fail they may receive you into everlasting habitations this is the way to send the world before us to heaven or to improve it to the best advantage testify your faith saith the Apostle by your works improve these talents well and God will reward you for it riches are not properly ours but Gods but if we make sure
the Jewel we shall have the box if we buy the wine we shall have the cask and if we seek first the kingdom of heaven and the righteousness thereof all other things shall be added Mat. 6.33 most men begin at the wrong end they make sure the world and think then all is safe and heaven sure but would they make heaven sure riches should not be wanting but most men think that scraping and keeping together is the way to be rich but the holy Ghost teacheth us that it is giving and laying out is the way Solomon tells us he that gives to the poor lends to the Lord and he will repay him Pro. 19.17 and he that gives to the poor shall not lack Pro. 28.27 so that not getting but giving is the way to wealth but he shall have judgement without mercy that will shew no mercy Jam. 2.13 rich men are Gods stewards he trusts them with his store-house to give their fellow-servants their meat in due season and blessed is that servant whom his Lord when he comes shall finde so doing Mat. 24.46 but if insteed of feeding them they feed themselves and eat and drink with the drunken and beat their fellow-servants their Lord shall come when they are not aware and shall give them their portion with hypocrites there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth but all places are too full of such evil servants and so is hell too such dust-heaps are found in every corner but those unmercifull men shall have their portion with the devil and the damned Mat. 25.34 when the charitable Christian shall have a portion in glory we are all Gods servants and have some talents or other to improve in his service to his glory which if we do we shall not be without our reward there is none saith God shuts the door of my house for nought or kindles a fire upon my altar for nought Mal. 1.10 he hath lent us our riches and yet if we improve them and employ them as we ought they will become our own and we shall send them to heaven before us where they will be made up into a crown for us this is the only good they can do the soul but whatsoever is not thus improved is lost yea worse then lost for it will be put upon our account and required of us when we give an account of our stewardship It is a great mistake and so it will be found when men think they have an absolute propriety in what they enjoy and may dispose of it at their pleasure Christ bids the young man sell all that he had and give to the poor and he should have treasure in heaven Mat. 19.21 and rich men are charged to be rich in good works ready to distribute willing to give that they may lay up for themselves a good foundation against the evil day 1 Tim. 6.16 c. had rich men but Moses eye to see the wealth of heaven and the worth of it it were not hard for them to make such a choise as he did worldlings if they could have heaven without labour or cost they would accept of it if not they will not buy it at so dear a rate but Christians say as Mephibosheth let Zibah take all so I may enjoy the king oh my soul here is riches worth labouring for thou canst not buy this gold at too dear a rate the world thou maist and many do with the loss of the soul here thou canst not be disappointed whatever rate thou setst upon this treasure it is ten thousand times better lay hold upon this make heaven sure to thy self improve the world to a spiritual advantage then will thy riches encrease as the oyl in the cruse or like the bread in Christs hands or the water in a spring thy good works will follow thee to heaven when the world will leave her dearest minions oh my God let it be so say amen to my prayer let me have thee and I have all things necessary Upon mens misery labour and pains 73. Med. WHen I considered that man that was the chief of Gods workmanship and next to the angels the most glorious creature of the whole creation yea in his creation was made little lower then the angels and cloathed with honour and dignity Psal 8.5 and was made Lord over the works of Gods hands Gen. 1.26 yea God created him in his own image all these inferiour creatures were made for his sake and for his use and service he was their little Lord yea the angels themselves are ministring spirits sent out for the good of those that love God Heb. 1.14 the saints are the Church the spouse the bride the members of Christ and so seem to be in nearer union to him then the angels themselves some think the devils envied this and so fell from their own station thus you see how man in the creation was exalted to honour but on the other side I considered how man above all the rest of the creatures was more subjected to misery labour and slavery yea vexation of spirit then any other and many of them even worn out with carking cares and fretting fears with moiling toyling spending labour which tires their bodies breaks their sleep in the night when other creatures which were made for their use and are their servants rest secure and free from daily cares and nightly troubles many kindes of them are preserved without their pain all without their care or fore-cast the masters care for some and maintain them and God maintains the rest but it is not so with man he must eat his bread in the sweat of his brows how true is that of Joh chap. 5.7 man is born to labour as the sparks fly upwards all things are full of labour saith Solomon Eccl. 1.8 molestation and misery meet us at every turn the world saith one is a sea of glass for it is vanity mingled with fire for it is vexation Rev. 4.6 man is in a restless condition tossed to and fro like a football and here he hath no resting place when I sought out the cause of this why this noble creature should be thus subjected to trouble and sorrow more then any others I quickly found out it was Gods will and mans desert for had man continued in his primitive purity he had never had an aking head or aking heart or loss or cross or any thing to molest him but when he had sin'd God pronounced this sentence upon him in the sweat of thy brows thou shalt eat thy bread which law never yet was reversed The beasts of the field never transgrest their makers law as man hath done and therefore never had such punishment threatned as man had though it is conceived they are sufferers for mans sin Rom. 8.20 had not sin gone before trouble and misery had never followed the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life and as sin brought death so also sorrow into the world