fatherly affection and so more base and worser than earthly fathers God forbid for even as he is more infinitly perfect than those so for goodnesse and bountifulnesse towards his children hee infinitly surpasseth them Our Saviour tearmes our earthly fathers evill for that sometimes they forsake their children make them mischievous and bring them to destruction but there is not this nor any such vitiosity in God he being goodnesse mercy and love it selfe so that howsoever a woman may forget her sucking infant yet God cannot his children whom he hath graven upon the palmes of his hands The greatnesse of his paternall affection is herein evident that hee so loved the world the world I say which had so many manner of wayes offended him that hee gave his onely begotten sonne Joh. 3.16 He that spared not his owne sonne but delivered him up for us all how shall hee not give us all things Rom. 8.32 Moreover hee is not onely a father of that goodnesse whereby willingly he hath care of thee but his will is conjoyned with power so that hee can provide necessaries for his children Neither may hee bee resembled to those earthly fathers who oftentimes verily are altogether willing to succour the necessity and misery of their children but being destitute of meanes cannot bring their will to effect wherupon oftentimes a most loving father is constrained to behold his child expiring and perishing but cannot help him or being certified of the misery of his child living elsewhere from him cannot succour him or which is more he is oftentimes ignorant of the state of his child he is so farre off from relieving him The case is farre otherwise with our heavenly father for hee is God and therefore most wise who is acquainted with all our necssities takes notice of all our banishments and puts our tears into his bottles your heavenly father knoweth that yee have need of all these things Matth. 6.8 If the devill and world imagine any thing against thee he knows long before their machinations for he penetrateth the deepest thoughts Hee is acquainted with such meanes as tend to thy comfort conservation and deliverance hee overseeth and ordaines things or ever they exist hee can extract good from evill and of darknesse create light he is omnipotent for by the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the hoast of them by the breath of his mouth for he speaks and whatsoever is is done hee commandeth and it stands fast Psal 33.6.9 he preserveth and ordereth all the creatures insomuch that they cannot move without his permission and will The sea earth and all that therein is depend upon his beck he healeth the broken in heart and bindeth up their wounds hee telleth the number of the starres and calleth them all by their names Great is our Lord and of great power his understanding is infinite The Lord lifteth up the meek hee casteth the wicked downe to the ground Sing unto the Lord with thanksgiving sing praise upon the Harpe unto our God who covereth the heavens with clouds who prepareth raine for the earth hee sendeth forth his commandements upon the earth his word runneth very swiftly hee giveth snow like wooll hee scattereth his hoare frost like ashes hee casteth forth his ice like morsels who can stand before his cold hee sendeth forth his word and melteth them he causeth the wind to blow and the waters flow Psal 147.3,4,5,6,7,8,15,16,17,18 Wherefore seeing thou hast such a gracious powerfull father wilt thou doubt he will not bee carefull of thee and will not and cannot further thy imployments In the second place I would have thee consider what great care hee took of thee hitherto how he hath till this present houre governed thee by his providence nourished cherished conserved preserved thee from innumerable evills and rid thee out of a great many dangers and afflictions how often and how many manner of wayes hast thou had experience of his benevolence as we have declared especially in the preceding chapter say then to thy selfe hee that hitherto hath beene carefull of me yea before I came into this world even hee will care for me for the future and as hitherto hee hath not forsaken mee so hereafter hee will not be wanting unto mee I would have thee consider further what manifold benefits hee hath bestowed upon thee even before thy conversion when thou wert under the dominion of sinne a sworne enemy unto God and child of wrath so that thou couldst hope for no other than punishment instead of benefits and curses instead of blessings yet notwithstanding he hath really testified unto thee how gracious his goodnesse is and that hee maketh his sun to rise on the evill and on the good Matth. 5.45 How much more carefull will hee be of thee in providing thee all necessaries since thou art received into his grace and made partaker of that honour whereby thou art one of the number of his sonnes and consequently a brother and friend of Jesus Christ and since thou walkest in his feare and indevourest in thine infirmities to be conformable to his will hating thy sins and addicting thy selfe to his service And verily Gods children are continually tried in their adversities strengthning themselves in the hope of future things by such things as are past whereof the kingly Prophet David affords us a notable example to wit in the 27. Psal for considering with himselfe in times past how that God had delivered him from the hands of all his enemies he is confident and fully perswades himselfe that God will continue for the future and always his favour and succour towards him When the wicked even mine enemies and my foes came upon me to eat up my flesh they stumbled and fell Though an hoast of men were laid against me yet I will put my trust in him Psal 27.3 But if thou shouldst indure some unheard-of miseries which experience could not paralell thou shouldst then have some reason of doubting and diffidence in that which concernes thee but since thy owne experience can prove this to be otherwise thou shouldst in no wise doubt of his divine providence for the future and of his fatherly care of thee for the present But what doe I multiplie words touching his providence which is cleerly seene in thy behalfe the great husbandman extendeth his care even to the least creatures to their profit good and conservation and provideth them all necessaries hee giveth fodder unto the cattell and feedeth the young ravens that call upon him Psal 147.9 O Lord thou savest man and beast Psal 36.7 all these wait upon thee that thou mayest give them meat in due season Thou givest it them they gather it and when thou openest thy hand they are filled with good Psal 104.27.28 How much more carefull will hee be of thee Thus the Lord himselfe teacheth us to reason behold the foules of the aire for they sow not neither doe they reap nor gather into barnes yet your heavenly
his promise It robs God of his fatherly care he hath of us infringing that hope which should be reposed in him Hence the Apostle joynes it with diffidence saying That yee sorrow not as others which have no hope 1 Thes 4,13 It makes him ungratefull blotting out his remembrance so many corporal and spirituall blessings whereof hee hath had experience by Gods goodnesse which if hee would thinke upon he would not suffer himselfe to bee carried headlong thereby And because his mind is fixed upon evill his affliction also being either real or imaginary he makes little or no reckoning of Gods benefits but buries them in oblivion not without an execrable brand of ingratitude It makes him not to imploy all the faculties both of his body and soule in Gods service with such a measure of zeale as is meete Serve the Lord saith the Prophet David with gladnesse and come before his presence with a song Psal 100.2 Thou shalt rejoyce in thy feast c. Seven dayes shalt thou keep a solemne feast unto thy Lord thy God and therefore shalt thou surely rejoyce Deut. 16.14,15 This alacrity in serving God cannot even in the least degree be performed by him nay hee is as remisse in all the actions of his life as he is negligent in Gods service And thus thou seest how hainously he offends God In relation to his neighbour hee is suspicious unaffable unmannerly testy contentious whereby hee renders himselfe vitiously deformed hatefull and odious In relation to himselfe it makes him to incurre no lesse reproach and ignominy than filthinesse for generally it argues the weaknesse of his understanding joyned with foolishnesse yea beastlinesse and declares him to be besides himselfe whereby it happens that hee judgeth foolishly of the cause of his sorrow and embraceth falsehood instead of truth Hence the Apostle joynes it with false opinion saying No sorrow for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous Heb. 12.11 where wrong judgement is taxed which accompanieth it particularly it makes him ignorant of his owne condition and to take at least for a time no consideration of himselfe for being call'd hereunto to wit to be a joyfull heire of the Kingdome of Heaven by the right of Adoption coheire with Jesus Christ and Lord of all the Creatures he ought not to make his firme aboad in this world neither to place his happinesse therein but as a sojourner to travell to his heavenly Countrey Wherefore he should alwayes go forward not stand still much lesse retreat backe but despising the world and all the concupiscences thereof couragiously to remove all obstacles hindring him thither and to place his happinesse in God of whose love whosoever is once perswaded doubts not but hee will lead him by his fatherly providence in this desart and pilgrimage Wherefore he should carry with him a high generous and undaunted spirit which is altogether becomming the sonnes of the King of Kings This he should have continually before his eyes and diligently and seriously consider thereupon how wisely then would hee order his life and conversation with what happinesse would hee live in this world But sorrow as a deadly phrensy buries all these things in oblivion so that it makes one forget his originall and estate his owne name nay himselfe It makes him wholy bent upon this world miserably torturing himselfe for the losse which hee either sustaines or feares to be of honours riches pleasures or the like as may be seene in that young man who when he had heard he should sustaine the losse of his riches went away sorrowfull leaving Jesus Mat. 9.22 which discovered him to be desperately enamoured of this world and to seek his abode and solace therein whereas hee should seek for tranquillity in Heaven and felicitie in God It comes to passe that he is pensive upon any occasion disordering afflicting macerating and suffering himselfe to be easily missed out of the way to his heavenly countrey In a word he is like a foolish traveller who being given over to commit innumerable fooleries can never attain to his journeyes end And there is another sort of foolishnesse discernable in him for after he hath once wandred out of the King of heavens high-way hee so misgoverns himselfe as that without any circumspection he takes hold of every thing which even at the first blush offers it selfe to his view He is not contented to bee exercised with more waighty occasions and afflictions but as if his life were not miserable enough of it selfe he fabricates to himselfe daily new miseries so that he will be sorrowfull upon any ridiculous vile and slight matter whereof if hee bee questioned by a certain Jonadab a faithfull friend Thou being the Kings sonne why art thou leane from day to day 2 Sam. 13.4 Certainly he will not be lesse ashamed to confesse the cause of his sorrow than Amon was of the intended detestable incest Hee is vexed at one small word though well spoken yet taken by him in ill part or if one speak amisse hee will interpret it to be worser He will be so farre moved by an oblique aspect by a vaine and counterfeit Messenger by a slight fault of his Maid-servant and man-servant as to forget all the benefits he possesseth in heaven and earth which is a thing unbefitting him who is the sonne of the King of Kings and heire of the Kingdome of heaven Besides sorrow discovers in him another kind of foolishnesse in that hee reduceth thereby the soule in subjection to the body which should governe the body and it onely be ruled by a diviner spirit And wereas hee should rather oftentimes suffer set light by and in some measure concoct it he out of a kind of brutish selfe-love had rather be miserable than happy of a crazed than found mind Moreover it shewes him to be abject and destitute of a generous and heroicall spirit which resides in the hearts of the children of God neither endeavours he with such a courage as is fit to remove the obstacles which in this life hinder him from the attainment of the kingdome of heaven but stoopeth to the difficulties that withstand him he is of a vile abject spirit and as much as in him lyeth renounceth his owne right thereunto Further the deformity thereof shewes it selfe by externall symptomes It makes him to be of a heavy countenance poring upon the earth oftentimes to weep not unlike a silly foole or soft woman otherwhile his speech failes him or his tongue faultereth yea by his silence he speaks his infamy He abandons the societie of men hiding himselfe in corners even as the malefactor to escape the sight of the magistrate It impaires his good name or reputation and especially when the cause inducing him thereunto is unknowne or of no reckoning thereupon he renders himselfe suspicious that hee hath committed or is about to perpetrate some heynous sinne but this suspicion is oftentimes false as may appeare by Ely the Priest who thought Anna
Elkanahs wife being in bitternesse of soule to bee drunke grounding his conjecture upon some signes he had observed in her misperswading himselfe This conjecture notwithstanding is sometimes true whereof Amon is an example who when hee had an intention to commit incest with his sister was vexed insomuch that he fell sick by reason of anguish of heart How Ahab was overwhelmed with sorrow when hee could not enjoy another mans goods Naboths vineyard How heavy was Antiochus the Tyrant when his sacrilegious will could not put into execution the devastation of Jerusalem And was not Herod sorry because of the rash oath hee made to that infamous Herodias which beheaded John Baptist It is a symptome oftentimes of hypocrisie which our Saviour intimates when he saith Be not as the Hypocrites with a sad countenance Mat. 9.16 Further experience teacheth that those that are more naturally prone thereunto are proud and cruell What hath been said doth manifest its deformity and shew that it out-strips in filthinesse and uglinesse even those cruell beasts which superstitions Aegypt did adore and now seeing thou art one of the number of Gods children beware thou givest it an habitation in thy soule the temple of the Holy Ghost but rather let thy mind abound in all godly mirth which is as befitting thy eminent condition as sorrow is unbeseeming He that rejoyceth according to Gods commandment receives adversity at his hands as thankfully as prosperity He patiently submits his neck to the yoake Hee knowes the crosse to be the cognizance of Gods love and a most soveraigne cure for his spirituall disease the end of his conflict victory the crowne of the lambe and eternall glory He confides in God and resteth upon his promises committing his care unto him to provide all necessaries Hee payes his vowes he offers daily the sacrifice of prosperity and with the calves of his lips his morning and evening oblation he serves God cheerfully and with fervent zeale he is at peace with his neighbour and meekly covers his failings he knowes this world to be a place of pilgrimage heaven to bee his countrey whither hee steeres with cheerfulnesse not suffering himselfe to be misled out of the way thither by any occasion though seeming weighty to flesh and bloud He placeth his happinesse in God he makes a difference betwixt such grievous afflictions as come of their owne accord and those whereinto hee plunges him-himselfe The former as being unavoidable he patiently endures the latter hee warily eschews Hee knows that his soule is not a slave or vassall to his body but Gods servant He resisteth adversitie with an unconquerable courage he is of such an heroicall mind as beseemes him who is the Prince of the creatures his countenance void of hypocrisie and pride speaks the happinesse and majestie appropriated onely to Gods children yea his countenance and all his gestures intimate his mirth and integrity which resteth in his bosome and evidently shew he is in no wise given to this world And howsoever his body being his viler and ignobler part is here upon earth yet his soule being the nobler and diviner hath its conversation in heaven like Jacobs ladder whose lower part was set upon the earth the top reaching to heaven He obeyes the advice of the wise man who saith A cheerfull and good heart will have care of his meat and diet Eccl. 30.27 that is will rid it selfe of impieties and sorrow which as they are exceeding unbecomming so they are as hereafter shall bee declared pernicious and hurtfull Here thou seest a briefe character of such a one as rejoyceth in the Lord judge then whether thou dost not amisse in preferring vice before vertue filthinesse before honesty monstrous deformity before heavenly beauty the representation or Idaea of hell where there is nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth before the resembance of God and heavenly felicity CHAP. II. The second ground or reason is drawne from the pernicious effects thereof HItherto thou hast seen one only table now thou shalt behold another more deformed than the former for the vitiosity of sorrow consisteth not onely in filthinesse and deformity but in a greater measure of evill it being not onely monstrous to be lookt upon but very dangerous and pernicious which is so much the more difficult to bee discerned by how much it shrowds it selfe under hypocriticall love and while it beguiles us under the mask of friendship promising I know not what comfort and profit But if thou wilt prie more narrowly into it thou shalt discover it to be no lesse traiterous unto thee than was Joab unto Amasa who under the vizard of friendship sheathed his sword in his bowels Thou shalt perceive it to be thy malicious enemy and so much the more to bee feared by how much it bee more familiar with thee Thou shalt discover it to be a serpent that thou nourishest in thy bosome and a viper that thou engendrest for thy owne destruction And I beseech thee what profit and comfort canst thou purchase thereby seeing it is but vanity Heare the spirit of God saying What hath a man of all his labours and of the vexation of his heart wherein hee hath laboured under the sunne For all his dayes are sorrowes and his travell griefe yea his heart taketh not rest in the night time This is also vanity Eccles 2.22,23 Heare the wife man also who saith that therein there is no profit Eccl. 30.25 It is conducible then neither to thy soule nor body neither furthereth it thy affaires unlesse thou enjoyest some peculiar privilege not afforded any one living Will it restore unto thee thy countrey which is now in the power of thy enemies will it rid thee of thy miseries will it deliver thee from injuries and molestations will it performe thy businesse will it provide or care for thy family will it pay thy debts will it prosperously discharge thee from thy law sutes will it extoll thee to honours and dignities shalt thou thereby obtain more health more strength more knowledg more esteeme more love No verily for future things are not within thy power and what is past cannot be recalled Go to then thou little miserable caytiffe hide thy selfe in some corner or other labour with might and maine search out all the meanes and occasions to diminish it Weigh a thousand and a thousand times with thy selfe the high stature of Goliah afflict thy selfe as being of a little stature thou wilt never attaine to his In short all worldly sorrow is vaine and unprofitable and would it were onely so thou shalt find it grievous and most pernicious unlesse with speed thou dischargest thy selfe there from Know this it drawes after it a numerous swarme of evils aswell corporall as spirituall as touching temporall evils it makes mans life altogether miserable infinitly increasing the miseries that are the ordinary concomitants thereof whether thou considerest his businesses and counsells the calamities themselves or at last his whole person As
beautifull than the Sunne What is more wonderfull than its motion What more usefull than the light therof yet notwithstanding how few there bee that have the excellency thereof in a deserved esteem considering not the end whereunto it was designed to wit the knowledge and glory of God What is more necessary to nourish and sustaine us than bread yet because God gives it us daily we make not of it such esteem as we ought so there bee many things wee begin then to value when we are deprived thereof and understand wee can in no wise stand in need of them The reason is the same of such benefits as God conferres upon all men whereof if they were destitute would be of all the creatures most miserable but they that enjoy them in the feare of God may thinke themselves happy though particular benefits be wanting as it pleaseth God For I beseech thee how gracious is God herein that hee hath not created thee a serpent toad or the like creature but after his owne image communicating with thee his nature which with the divine and angelicall is solely capable of eternall happinesse Hee composed thee of a soule and body whose conjunction is divine a very excellent miracle yea one of the greatest that thou canst conceive in thy mind Hee hath fashioned thee in thy mothers wombe so as thou mayest say with David I will praise thee O God for I am fearfully and wonderfully made Marvelous are thy workes and that my soule knoweth right well My substance was not hid from thee when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth Thine eyes did see my substance yet being unperfect Psal 139.14,15,16 He hath endued thee with reason and common sense whereby thou may est discerne good from bad and therefore hee ranked thee not in the number of fooles as hee might who are spectacles to all men being comedies to some but tragedies to good and wise men What a pleasant spectacle is it for thee to act thy part upon the brave Theatre of this world wherein thou seest so many Characters of Gods power that may ravish thy mind For if the sight of a peece of work curiously wrought doth so ravish the beholders hast thou not cause I beseech thee to contemplate with more astonishment and delight this wonderfull universe this round ball that azurd heaven bespangled with so many glittering starres What is more wonderfull and pleasant to the sight than the Sunne which is as a bridegroome comming out of his chamber and rejoyceth as a strong man to runne his course His going forth is from the end of the heaven and his circuits unto the ends of it and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof Psal 29 5,6 What a pleasant sight doth the nocturnall inequall motion of the Moone exhibite which by wonderfull mutation is one while seene under this or that forme and sometimes not at all Adde hereunto the spacious firmament under heaven which serves for our respiration or breathing the vast sea and the earth poiz'd with its own weight hanging not without a stupendioâ—s miracle in the midst of the air where no prop supports it but only the powerfull hand of the Almighty and so many sorts of riches within the bowels of the earth and on the flourishing furface thereof so many kinds of living creatures in the aire water and on the earth whereof some are pleasant to the eye some deformed some for pleasure and profit and some for bravery If a tragedy or comedy being but mans invention acted upon the stage doth so ravish the eies and mind of the spectators questionlesse the innumerable spectacles thou seest in this world I meane Gods judgement which one while speaks his goodnesse and patience and otherwhile his wrath should excite thee to praise his goodnesse and divine justice In briefe wheresoever thou wilt cast thine eyes shalt have reason to crie out with the Prophet Lord thou hast made me glad through thy workes and thy thoughts are very deep an unwise man doth not consider this and a foole doth not understand it Psal 92.5,6,7 How bountifull is God herein that hee hath given thee nourishment all thy life long especially in thy mothers womb whereas thou hast not knowledge of the same so for the procurement thereof didst not care And no sooner thou camest into this world but the same nourishment was ready at hand for thee in thy mothers paps which as thou didst ignorantly seek for so didst readily find out Al this is so strange and wonderfull that thou couldst not scarce believe the beginning of thy life to bee such unlesse infants were thy daily teachers so as thou mayest say and not unworthily Lord out of the mouth of Babes and sucklings thou hast ordained strength Psalm 8.2 Moreover the very same God hath preserved thee from that time till this present strengthning thy staffe of life blessing thy portion To which end hee gave thee not onely the herbs of the earth but the beasts of the fields the soules of the ayre and the fishes of the sea Hee provides for thee being oftentimes driven to such extremity as thou hast not food sufficient for a day especially in the time of searsuy and famine even in an unexpected time yea sometimes after a wonderfull manner so that thou hast personall experience that God feedeth the hungry Psal 146.7 Is this a slender benefit that he hath preserved thee from the samine which is the most raging evill and more grievous than any punishment whatsoever And how gracious is God herein that hee doth not onely nourish thee but cloath thee also with rayment whereby thou mayest not onely cover thy nakednesse but protect thy selfe against the injuries of the aire and discommodities molestations paines which the least flie were able to doe thee But if this doth seeme a small benefit behold a poore naked wretch who hath not wherewith to cover his nakednesse and consider the miseries whereunto hee is exposed Consider further what singular care hee took of thee all thy life long for assoone as hee brought thee into this world hee forsook thee not as Architects are wont to doe who assoone as they finish their work have not from that time forward the least care of the same But when thy father and mother forsakes thee the Lord taketh thee up as the Psalmist speaketh by day his cloud protects thee and by night his pillar of fire defendeth thee In all manner of adversities dangers and difficulties he helpeth thee when thou art asleep exposed to thousand dangers which thou canst not even in the least degree withstand thy sences locked up thy body being as it were dead when thou takest thus thy ease and repose hee watcheth over thee and his Angels keep a ward about thee Hee kept thee as the apple of his eye as an Eagle stirreth up her nest fluttereth over her young spreadeth abroad her wings taketh them beareth them
Orthodox Religion rejoyce and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in Heaven Mat. 5.12 but rejoyce inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christs sufferings that when his glory shall be revealed yee may be glad also with exceeding joy if ye be reproached for the name of Christ happy are yee for the spirit of glory and God resteth upon you on their part he is evill spoken of but on your part he is glorified 1 Pet. 4.13,14 shew thy selfe to be a Disciple of the Apostles who being for the confession of Jesus Christ beaten with rods went away rejoycing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name Act. 5.13,14 and by Saint Pauls testimony did glory in tribulations Rom. 5.3 Imitate the Saints among the Hebrewes who did take joyfully the spoiling of their goods knowing in themselves they had in heaven a better and more enduring substance Heb. 10.34 Neither doth it only become thee in afflictions to be joyfull but thankfull unto God who by this means offers thee many good things and acts the part of a Physician or Benefactor Say therefore with Job who had exactly learned this lesson and wherfore he gave God thanks in the midst of his afflictions when thou art deprived of some earthly commodity The Lord gave the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord Job 1.21 To the end thou mayest be joyfull and thankfull unto thy heavenly father consider forthwith those most excellent and unspeakable good things that are in afflictions and thereby redound unto thee view their consummation and glorious end and say to thy selfe O what gracious benefits through afflictions I have obtained which God sends upon mee by means whereof ones outward man perisheth yet the inward is renew'd day by day 2 Cor. 4.16 Say therefore for example God deprives me of my child thereby to make me tread more constantly the path of Gods children hee hath taken away my father or mother that instead of him he may be my father for ever and be more carefull of mee than awoman can be of the fruit of her wombe hee is willing I should have experience of the perfidiousnesse of my friends that I may enjoy his eternall love It is his pleasure I should be deprived of authorities dignities and honors that I may obtaine the honour to Lord it over all the creatures I am driven to poverty that I may possesse that heavenly inheritance I am detained in prison that I may obtaine that freedome that the son of God hath purchased for me I am banished that I come to my heavenly countrey I am deformed and maimed in body that I may grow to a perfect man according to the stature of Christ and that this corruptible body may be cloathed with incorruption I die now to live eternally And what are all the afflictions that thou sufferest or couldst endure if either thou considerest their quality or duration compared with those inestimable good things which they carry with them Consider and meditate diligently thou devout soule upon these things being in affliction which now affects thee with sorrow in so doing thy water shall be turned into nuptiall wine thy sorrow into mirth and joy so thou shalt taste how sweet the Lord is though hee seemes to thee at the first blush or appearance rigid yet thou shalt discerne the rod of our heavenly Jonathan who wrought so great salvation in Israel to bee dipped at the end therof in an hony combe which will enlighten our eyes refresh our hearts teach our hands to warre and make us more than Conquerours so that thou shalt find that Saint Paul said not without cause Rejoyce evermore 1 Thess 5.16 forasmuch as not only the time of prosperity but of adversity yieldeth matter of rejoycing CHAP. VII The seventh and last ground or reason is drawne from the condition of the faithfull man in this world which consisteth herein that hee is a traveller journeying into his countrey IT is manifest by the third reason above-mentioned that even as sinne expelled thee out of Paradise and banished thee from heaven thy countrey and first place of abode so thou art solely by Gods grace called back from banishment and invited to returne to thy Countrey Hence it followeth that during this life thou art in a continuall pilgrimage whose limit or end is heaven and eternall happinesse This world then is not thy dwelling place and countrey but a place of pilgrimage and banishment so that thou mayest say with David I am a stranger with thee and a sojourner as all my fathers were Psal 39.12 And againe I am a stranger in the earth Psal 119.19 why art thou then so sorely troubled and of a dejected mind whensoever thou art smitten with adversity it grieves thee that all things fall not out according to thy mind but art thou ignorant thou art a travelling so that it cannot be that all things should happen as thy heart could wish for either thou must endure the discommodities of the way or not enter into it and consequently never come to thy countrey One of these conditions thou must chuse there is not a third I say againe thou must endure them or obstain wholly from travelling If thou beest a traveller as verily thou art be of a couragious spirit in afflictions for that which thou now endurest shall not be perpetuall nor shall last longer than thy journey What traveller is there which will not endure the discommodities of his way and asswage them with these or the like meditations that upon the accomplishment of his journey they shall cease and hee be freed of them as soone as hee comes home Consider further that howsoever thy journey be grievous it is but short If the dayes of thy pilgrimage will be as many as the dayes of Iacob's the Patriarch to wit a 130 years yet neverthelesse thou mayest say with him The dayes of the years of my pilgrimage are few and evill and have not attained unto the dayes of the yeares of the life of my fathers in the dayes of their pilgrimage Gen. 47.9 And when thou hast finished thy course which will shortly come to passe all afflictions and the matter of all sorrow shall cease thou hunger no more neither shall the Sun light on thee nor any heat for the Lambe which is in the midst of the Throne shall feed thee and shall lead thee unto living founâ—aines of waters and God shall wipe away all teares from thine eyes Rom. 7.16,17 Since thou â—rt a traveller in this world and â—hat thy countrey is not here beâ—ow there is no place therefore in â—his world whence if thou beest â—riven thou mayest say thou art in â—anishment Neither doe thy riâ—hes by the same reason consist in â—ome earthly glebe in houses fields â—r some other possession how small or ample soever it be yea if a Kingdome or Kingdomes happen unto thee Neither doth thy honour likewise consist in the dignities and preferments of this world
nor in that smoak wherewith empty brains doe so much feed themselves Nor doe thy delights consist in the brutish pleasures of the flesh nor is thy life inclosed within that space thou livest in this world for as heaven is thy countrey so are thy riches of the Kingdome of heaven the inheritance of the Saints prepared for thee Thy honour and dignity consisteth herein that thou art the child of God and hast soveraignty over all the creatures Thy delights and pleasures are 〈◊〉 God thy joy is in his presence where is fulnesse of joy and at his right hand there is pleasure for ever more Psal 16.12 Thy life is that of eternity into which upon the accomplishment of thy pilgrimage thou entrest so that when thou art dead thou beginnest really to live For the honours goods and commodities of this world what are they but accidents which befall thee in thy pilgrimage no otherwise than adversities but with this difference that whereas those mostly bring the traveller from the right way into by-wayes these above all imagination cause the children of God with more alacrity to accomplish their journey It followeth likewise that thy miseries consist not in the want or losse of the goods of this world then indeed thou shouldest bee miserable if thou shouldest not attaine to thy countrey nor obtaine that happinesse whereunto thou bendest thy course Seeing thy life and countrey is in heaven and art most assured of the goods honours and delights of the same thou canst in no wise think thy selfe to bee unhappy if thou hast righteous judgement Let not the losse or want of that that is not thine afflict thee and turn not the interest into the principall the way into thy journeyes end thy Inne into thy home and countrey Rest not upon that good which is not thine own place not thy happinesse therein neglecting the true felicity It is a fools trick to weep at the losse of his cap and to laugh when hee sees his owne house set on fire Moreover forasmuch as thou art a traveller sojourning towards heaven bee of a couragious spirit in all thy afflictions when they would discourage and possesse thee with sorrow opposing unto them the scope of thy journey and high calling Rejoyce in a most assured hope of obtaining thy heavenly countrey the kingdome of glory life without end goods honour and unspeakable pleasures Know this there is nothing worthy thy person but heaven and that all the happinesse of this world is unworthy thy thoughts and desires the earth too base and all things therein too vile and abject to be given thee for thou art Gods child and in a way to possesse a Kingdome Away then with every abject thought which affecteth the vulgar contemptible sort away with all heavinesse and sorrow let thy face import and thy eyes and outward gestures testifie that thou bearest in thy bosome such a high generous spirit as beseems the majesty of him who after a short time ended is to exercise dominion over all the creatures Furthermore since thou art a traveller as often as sorrow shall strive to invade thee say within thy selfe shall I vexe and macerate my selfe as if I had no other businesse God forbid God forbid I am a traveller and I have other businesses than stand stil in the way play the idle-bee and indulge my selfe to weep and torment my selfe for I have a long way to go with Eliah yea longer than I am able of my selfe to performe I must seriously consider of this way how I may make a prosperous end of it and overcome the discommodities obvious therein To this end all necessary means art to be used faith hope patience constancy prayers and all good workes which God before ordained that we should walk in them Ephes 2.10 Moreover very many deadly dangers offer themselves to my view and most potent enemies to wit the world and that horrible mighty infernall Goliah and my own flesh especially which is my most dangerous enemy These enemies lie in wait for mee continually assaulting mee one while on the right hand otherwhile on the left while they set upon mee and make at mee shall I be so unhappy and foolish as to suffer them to assault mee uncontrolled shall I hide my hands in my bosome shall I busie my selfe in things of no moment or worth No at no hand I may not prove a dastard but most valiantly withstand them I am undone else and must perish upon the way and my carkasse shall be throwne into the infernall valley wherein are more grievous discommodities in respect whereof all evils which are commonly so called dangers and molestations are but trifles and toyes so here thou shouldest have cause to be sorrowful to grieve and macerate thy selfe six thy mind upon this instead of grieving so much for these worldly things Think saith a certain father upon the misery of thy pilgrimage call to mind thy yeares past in the bitternesse of thy soule think upon the dangers of humane life and thy owne frailty and if thou perseverest in the consideration hereof I tell thee thou wilt scarce be sensible of outward molestations even whilst thy heart is possessed of inward sorrow Think diligently upon all these things thou faithfull soule so thou shalt easily discharge thy selfe of all manner of sorrow and shalt be a wise happy traveller Hee that otherwise doth performe what the children of this world are wont to doe whereof each is like a foolish traveller who being in exile and permitted by his Princes grace to come home sets forth being desirous to come to his countrey but he is entangled in difficulties and thousand fopperies for as he applies himselfe to his journey hee makes a grievous complaint that he hath not provision enough being not contented to have so much as will suffice him during his journey but what will last a long time after though hee hath all manner of dainties in his owne countrey hee is angry he is not cloathed with a winter suit though hee travelleth in the summer time and it grieves him that he hath not more toyes than hee is able to carry about him When he is satisfied herein and so driven to his journey then perhaps if one of his fellow exiles takes not his leave of him in courteous and very gracious words he takes time to expostulate with him neither will he go forward till the Judge put a period to this brangle which being done hee again applies himself to his journey but behold a Hare crossing his way being thereupon frighted as by an ill augury he returnes to the place of his banishment where being taught by a certain friend of his that the Hares crossing his way was but a casuall thing portending no evill And so againe hee addresseth himselfe to his journey wherein hee spends his time and labour marvellously in vaine and disquiets himselfe with many businesses for as hee passeth through the wood hee numbers the trees very carefully