might have this Trial made of them Go fill up if you can that part of Heaven which is yet left imperfect But indeed without any such Suppositions we may see enough in the Heavens to proclaim this unto us Lift up your Eyes on High and Behold who has Created these things None but an Infinitely Glorious God could be the Creator of them Secondly There is a profound Adoration of God wherewith we are to Behold His Works of REDEMPTION and for this likewise we have the Liesure of the Winter When our Lord was undergoing some of His Last Agonies for the Redemption of Lost Man 't is said in Joh. 19.18 They made a Fire of Coals for it was Cold and they warmed themselves Accordingly when we have a cold Winter upon us Let us warm our Souls by thinking on what our Lord Endured in the latter end of the Winter for us When we are in our Warm Houses O Behold that Hot Love of our Lord unto our Souls which tho' He Lay in a Winter night groveling on the cold Ground yet made Him Sweat yea to Sweat Clotters or Globules of Flood more terrible to Behold than those Bloody Sweats which Diodorus Siculus tells us befel the people of the East when their Serpents had bitten them When we are in our Warm Garments O then Behold the Heat of our Lords Love wherein He Hung Naked on the Cross in the Cold Air for Six Hours together of a Winter-Day The Unfathomable Mysteries of Redemption are the Raptures of the Angels all the Year about it is said of those Cherubims conversant about the Mercy-Seat in 1 Pet. 1.12 These Things they Desire to Look into Let us make the same Things our Study especially in that part of the Year the Winter when we have most of Liesure for the Study We find in Eccl. 11.7 Truly the Light is sweet and a pleasant thing it is for the Eyes to behold the Sun Tho in our Winter we have less Light than at other Times yet we may then have more Time to Behold the Sun of Righteousness and how pleasant a Task should we Esteem it Let us now take a Time to Behold the Matchl is Glories of our Lord Redeemer and hear that Call of God Behold the Lamb of God! There is a bright Constellation of Miracles that Unite in our Blessed Mediator and glitter wonderfully Let us now Behold those Miracles of God manifest in the Flesh and of that Child Born to us that Sun given to us who is the Everlasting Father that Man who is the Mighty God and whose Name is therefore Wonderful But now also let us take a Time to Behold the Glorious Methods of our Salvation by this Lord Redeemer Behold the most admirable Contrivance of our Salvation in the New-Covenant It is wonderful that God should so Love the World as to give His only Begotten Son that whosoever Believeth in Him should not perish but have Everlasting Life It is wonderful that the Only Begotten Son of God should ever take on Him the Form of a Servant that we might become the Children of God It is wonderful that He who knew no Sin should be made Sin for us that we might be made the the Righteousness of God in Him The Wayes of the Holy Spirit in Applying the Redemption thus obtained for us are yet further WONDERFUL The MYSTICAL BODY of our Lord Jesus Christ with regard unto the manner and effect of our being brought into an Union with Him we are told It is fearfully and wonderfully made Well we should now Behold these Wonders and continue to do so till we have no more Winter yea till we have no more Spirit Left Thirdly There is an Hearty Admiration of God wherewith we are to behold his works of PROVIDENCE and for this also we have the Liesure of the winter It is noted concerning the Wheels of Providence in Ezek. 10.12 The Wheels were full of Eyes When the winter comes about in the wheel of the year we should have our eyes open and be full of eyes to behold the motion of those wondrous wheels The Government of the World is maintained in the winter as well as all the rest of the year about but we have in the Winter more of Liesure to behold the Spotless and Exact Administration of that Government We behold many storms in the Winter but it is then also a time to behold the Power and Wisdom and Goodness of God in managing all the Storms wherewithal the world is Ruffled and causing them all to be subservient unto his own Designs and Interests It is said in Psal 107.43 Whoso is wise and will observe these things even they shall understand the Loving kindness of the Lord. There are Illustrious Dispensations wherein the Almighty God acts as a Rewarder unto the children of men and we shall be very well Rewarded for all the Confinements of the Winter if we take our Liesure now to acquaint our selves with such Dispensations Our Confinement will become our Liberty There are the Dispensations of the Most High towards His People His Protecting them His Directing them His increasing them When the Church of God was Represented unto Moses as a Burning Bush it is said He drew near to Behold the Sight And when we are by our Fire-side in the Winter we may have Liberty to behold that Burning Bush There are also the Dispensations of the Most High towards His Enemies His Confounding of then â—is Destroying of them The Winter was hardly out when Israel Beheld the Great Work which the Lord â—â—d upon the Egyptians And we may then also behold how terribly Egyptians are punished by the Hand of God When our Lord had been Talking with His Disciples about those performances of Providence wherein the Scriptures had Received their Accomplishment they could say in Luk. 24.32 Did not our Hearts then Burn within us Why when we are e'en ready to â—â—â—â—ze with the Vapours of the Winter the Disciâ—lâ—â— of our Lord should then be Talking together about His Doing in the World The News of Great Occurrents are then to be Enquired after not as by Aâ—henians having only an Itâ—h of Nowlty to prompt those Enquiries but as by Disciples inquisitive after the Fulfilments of the Scriptures and after the Illustrations of the Divine Attributes in those Fulfilments Thus are we to Talk till our Hearts Burn within us And hence also Church-History is a very suitable Study for the Winter Martyâ—ologies and the Lives of Eminent Persons and the Stories of Eminent Reformations Difficulties and Deliverances attending the Church of God are now very fitly Studied Finally As it was said in Job 37.14 Stand still and Consider the wondrous works of God When the Winter comes we can't Go out as at other times Well since we must Sit still now let us more than ever Consider the Wondrous Works of God III. In the very CONSTITUTION OF THE WINTER it self There are very sensible Works of God and our God requires
I why should not I endeavour that the Exercises of Devotion might so do both in my-self and others who â—eliâ—e to be As Green Olive-Trees in the House of our God The VVinter has been sometimes called Hâ—ews â—ners the â—â—uggish Winter but I would contribute what I can that it may be Iâ—eâ—â—s Sancra â—lâ—â— Pious Winter the Holy Winter the 〈◊〉 Winter a Winter devoted unto the Works of the God of Heaven To Sâ—â—â—p all Winter more befits a Bear than a Man and much more than a Saint It is very certain That there is more Time contained in a Natural Day of the Winter than there is in a Natural Day or the Summer for the Sun in its Animal Motion from the West unto the East thro' the Zodiac passes equal Arches in unequal Times the Winter Hall Year of the Suns passing from â—â—bâ—a to Aries is but an Hundred and Seventy a Fight Days whereas the Summer Half Year of his passing from Aries to â—â—bra is no less than an Hundred and Eighty Seven Days the Sun is Nine Days more in passing through the Semi-Eclipâ—ick of the Summer than he is thro' that of the Winter and accordingly an Hour upon the Sun Dâ—â— when the Sun is inclining to the VVinter-Tropick is longer than an Hour upon the Dial when he is advancing near the Summer Tropick Hereupon I could not but make that Reflection If there be more tho' it scarce be sensibly more Time in a Day now than at other Times in the Year why should I do less work for God for Christ for His People now than as other Times and as an effect of that Reflection Behold Reader some of my WINTER-MEDITATIONS 'T is as I remember Polydore Virgil who relates that when Mathildis was during the Depth of Winter straitly Besieged in Oxford She arrayed her self and her followers all in white the colour of the Snow upon the Ground and by the Advantage of that Colour escaped thro' the Besiegers unto a place of Safety That which I desire is a free passage for the Truths and the VVays and the VVorks of God into the minds of my Neighbours and I have therefore taken the Advantage of putting a VVinter Complexion upon them I have Clothed them in the Colours of the VVinter And in this ESSAY I have after a sort Moralized the Fable of Antiphanes That there is in a certain Scythian Region such a Frost that the VVords uttered in the VVinter there Congele so as to be not heard until the Summer following shall dissolve them for 't was at Boston-Lecture in the Month of December last that the Heads of these VVinter-Meditations were first Preached and it is now in the Month of November following that they are Printed on the same Designs of Religion that gave them their Original When the Excellent Bartholinus published his Book De Usu Nivis it was accompany'd with an Epigram something to this purpose Libros Authoris quieunque recenset et Amos Amos quot poterit tot Numerare Libros 'T is possible that now I am Composing my Book about The Use of the Winter I may find my self obliged to confess unto the World as a Great Fault what was indeed counted None at all in that Incomparable Person I do confess That I have written too many Books for one of my small Attainments and I would say to my Reader whom I now suppose by the Fire â—â—de If this or any Book of mine hinder men from acquainting themselves with the Bible that Book of God I wish as Luther in that case did about his own Books That they were all thrown into the Fire But I hope it will be otherwise whereto I would also add That all that Weariness of the Flesh as well as the various and humbling Temptation otherwise which I have undergone in the Study of Writing many Books has been abundantly Recompenced by the comfort of thinâ—ing That the Free Grace of my Good God will Accept of my poor Thoughts to be Serviceable unto the Interâ—â—ts of His Kingdom in the World And now I am Appendicing unto all the rest one Book upon the Winter I will not say as my newly mentioned Bartholinus did in the Preface of his Ego quidem ex hoc Niveo Labore preter Atram Invidiam nihil Expecto Or That I expect nothing but only to be Frost-bitten with Envy for what I do 'T is true There is a Froward Generation in every place whose Calumnies must Persecute all that Serve the Publick and I have had the Experience of both my Fathers as well as my own to convince me that this place has of those Frowards in it If this People could have had Greater which I know not yet all mankind will shortly know that it was impossible for any People to have Truer Juster and more Indefatigable Servants than some with whom I have the Honour to be well acquainted have been to This but the monstrous Depreciations that have attended Them have Taught Me That I also must Bene Agere et Male Audire Thâ—â—râ—â—â— if I will Do VVell and it will indeed be a life found that unto all Activity in well 〈…〉 persons for the Publick Wâ—â—l the Sport of 〈◊〉 itself is not a greater Freezer than 〈…〉 Usages Nevertheless I am so 〈◊〉 as to think That this is the Spirit 〈…〉 of at least That there are multitudes among us â—â—so when any Serviâ—e is done for them do â—â—aâ—tlly give Thanks to God for it and who â—iâ—â—â—â— Resent the Zeal with which they may see Almighty God inspiring of any to be labouring for their Good For the sake of such none of our Thoughts none of our Cares none of our weaâ—y Suâ—â—â—ies the too much and it is unto such That These of Mine are now humbly offered Winter-Meditations It is Written in JOB XXXVII VI VII He saith to the Snow be thou upon the Earth likewise in the Small Rain to the great Rain of His Strength He Seareth up the Hand of every Man that all Men may know his Work THat most Laborious and most Imitable Minister of the Gospel the Apostle Paul after he had been Travelling on the Designs of the Gospel all the Summer long had some affairs of the Gospel to manage in the Winter too Speaking about a City of Thrace he said in Tit. 3.12 I have determined there to winter and accordingly in the Acts of the Apostles we find this â—amous Doctor of the Gentiles once abode three months in Greece after he had given much Exhortation to the People as he went along It seems the Service of the Lord Jesus Christ and of His Gospel was not in the Three Months of the Winter to be laid aside As for Us we are now getting into our Winter-Quarters and we ought not only to continue our Cares about Religion Salvation and all the Works of the Gospel all the VVinter long but there are some singular Lessons of the Gospel to be in these Winter Months inculcated and entertained
Winter is to be Sweeled away I am sure The Abominable Works of Sin are none of those works which we are to mind when God shuts up our Hands No we should keep our own Hands for ever shut up from such works as those Indeed we spend the Nights of our Winter as a Tale that is told but we should not spend them in such Idle Things as the Telling of Tales nor should we give cause for a poor Tale to be told about our way of spending them Tho' our Winter-Days have not so much Light as Darkness in them yet we should all the Winter long behave our selves as the Children of Light and have no Fellowship with the Unfruitful Works of Darkness 'T is the Advice of the Apostle in Rom. 13.12 13 14. The Night is far spent the Day is at Hand Let us walk Honestly as in the Day not in Dancing and Drunkenness not in Chambering and Wantonness not in Strife and Envying But put you on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not Provision for the Flesh Even thus when the Nights come to be Longer than the Days we should still do nothing but what the Day-light of the Gospel Jusâ—ines 't is not the Fire of Lust or of Wrath wherewith we are then to keep our selves in an Heat whatever Winter Garments we get we must not forget to Put on the Lord Jesus Christ that is to have such a Conversation as that every one who sees us may therein behold an Imitation of the Lord Jesus Christ whatever Winter-Provisions we Lay in there must be no Provisions for the Flesh or Gratifications of our sinful Appetires among them all Briefly what is Honestly Gâ—ia'd in the Summer must be but Soberly Spent in the Winter There was one Winter Month in the Year which was call'd Mensis Genialis or the Frâ—liâ—ksome and Voluptuous Month among the Ancient Pagans it was the Month of DECEMBER wherein the Heathen had their Saturnalian Jolli iâ—s Then 't was that they sent their Presents one unto another which our Primitive Authors call by the Name of Saturnalâ—ia and by the Name of Saturnalium Sportulae but they also had monstrous Revels among them whereto Horace refers when he says Age Libertate Decembri None shall take Offence at me for my giving of my own Judgment upon this matte but I hope I may without offence Report the Sentiments of the Great Hospinian who says He did believe that they who observed the feast of our Lords Nativity in the latter end of December did it not as thinking that our I o d was Loâ—n in that Month but because the Saturnalia were then kept in Rome and they were willing to have those Pagan Hâ—lidaves Metamorphosed into Christian And I â—ope 't will be no offence for me to â—eâ—â—â—e the Expressions of Tertullian who iâ— his Book against Idolatry thus Expresseth himself Shall we Christians who have nothing to do with the Festivals of the Jews which were once of Divine hâ—â—â—itâ—tion Embrace the Saturnalla and the Januaria of the Heathen How are we shamed by the Gentiles who are more true to their Religion than we are to ours None of them will observe the Lords Day Lest they should be Christians and shall nâ—â— we then by observing their Festivalls fear lest we be made Ethnicks Nor will I enter into any dispute Whether the Birth of Our Lord were in December tho' they that are versed in Antiquity do understand how divided the Ancients were about it and how late yea how many Hundreds of Years it was e're the December Festival could obtain and how much more probability there is that it rather â—ell ouâ— about the time of the Feast of Tabernacles about the conclusion of September or the beginning of October But I will venture to say thus much That it is well if the World be mended since the famous and pious Bishop made his Complaint That men dishonour the Lord Jesus Christ more in the Twelve Days of CHRISTMAS than in an the Twelve Months of the Year beside And I will venture to say this more That when the Corinthians pray'd the Apostle to answer that Question Whether they might so be with as to do like the Pagans in those Idolatrous Festivities He plainly told them No! Deterring of them with the Example of Israel in the Wilderness who would keep a Feast in Honour of the true God but yet follow'd the Egyptians who in Commemoration of Joseph saving them from Death by Expounding a Dream of Kâ—ne had a sort of On-Worship among them It is said The People sat down to Eat and Drink and Rose up to play and all the World has heard what the Reckoning was But if the mispence of the Winter in Excesseâ— of Eating and of Drinking do deserve a Caution why should not the Mispence of the Winter in GAMING do so too Especially the Games of pure Lâ—t whereof thus much at least may be mentained That it is best for an Christians to abstain from them Altho' moderate Recreations in the Winter are more than a little Healthful and Useful yet there are some Recreations too much used in the Winter which in Truth are never convenient such are the Games of CARDS DICE and those which have nothing but CHANCE to manage them A Lot is a solemn Appeal unto the God of Heaven and hence to play with it seems to break the Thiâ—d Commandment in the Laws of our God Lâ—â—â—ry Lots are by Great and Grave Divines Esteemed Unlawful on the same Score that as our worthy Morton in his Rebuke to the Gaming Humour well Expresses it It would be an Abomination unto any Christian to see a Pulpit a Communion-Table a Font Exposed on a Stage or the Gestures of Worship â—iped by Players In every Lâ—t an Affair is wholly committed unto a Superiour Cause than either Nature or Art Skill and this is a Thing to be done rather Prayerfully than Sportfully even the Rudest Gentiles have counted a Lot A Sacred Thing The Papists themselves will not allow of these Games in Ecclesiastical Persons and the Fathers Reproved them with a vehement Zeal in all manner of persons When the Roman Empire became Christian severe Edicts were made against these James and what Christians are we then that practise them Our Protestant Reformers have branded these Games with an Infamous Character yea â—usty the Orator himselt could produce it as a Reproach unto some Ill men that they were given to these Games For which cause He that will follow VVhatsoever Things are of Good Report will not meddle with such Infamous Things as these In every Indenture for an Apprentice these words are usual At Cards Dice or any other Unlawful and Prohibited Games he shall not Play And shall we that are by Covenant the bound Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ offer to Play at Games that have been so Stigmatized This however you may be sure of There is a Truth in that Observation That all the money got by these
unto Cursing Hos 10.12 Lord It is Time for me to seek thee that thou wouldest Rain down Righteousness upon me Isa 44.3 Lord pour Floods of Celestial Water upon my Thirsty Soul pour and shower thy Spirit upon me Ezek. 22.24 Lord Let not our Land be a Land not Rained upon in the Day of Indignation Job 5.9 10 Lord Thou dost Marvellous Things without Number when thou givest Rain upon the Earth Isa 4.6 Lord give me in thy self a Place of Refuge and of Covert from Storm and from Rain Psal 84.6 7 Lord Tho' the Rain fill the Pools yet let me chearfully go thro' Wet and Dry to wait upon thee in the Assemblies of thy Zion Gen 7.2 Lord Rescue me and the World from the Sins that once provoked thee to make it Rain upon the Earth Forty Days and Forty Nights till a Desolating Flood came upon the World Ezr 10.9 Lord Let a great Rain cause me to Tremble at thy greater Judgments Prov 27.15 Lord Send not upon me an Affliction which may be as a continual Dropping in a very Rainy Day Prov 16.15 Lord Let thy Favour in the Favour of my Rulers be to me As a Cloud of the Latter Rain Hos 6.3 Lord Came unto me in a way of mercy As the Rain as the latter and the former Rain upon the Earth Jer. 5.24 Finally Let me now fear the Lord my God that giveth Rain Thus for the Rain But when the SNOW which is Frothed Rain lies about us our Wishes may be thus Formed Isa 55.10.11 Lord As the Snow comes down from Heaven returns not thither but waters the Earth makes it bring forth bud So let thy Word accomplish my being made fruitful before thee Prov. 25.13 Lord As the Cold of Snow or drink Snow-Cold in the time of Harvest is very acceptable so let my Fidelity render Me to all that are concerned in me Job 19.30 Lord help me to Consider that tho' I should wash my self with Snow-Water make my hands never so clean yet much Filthiness would cleave unto me whereby I deserve to be Abhorred Lam. 4.7 Lord let a Work of real Sanctification upon me render me like the Nazarites purer than Snow Numbers 12.10 Lord make me penitently sensible of the Leprosy upon my soul which is a Distemper worse than that Bodily one wherein persons have become Leprous White as the Snow Isa 1.18 Psal 51.7 Lord let my sins that have been like Scarlet become White like Snow by thy Free and Full pardon of them all O wash me in thy Blood of Sprinkling and I shall be whiter than Snow Dan. 7.9 Rev. 1.14 Lord prepare me for and hasten on the World the coming of that Ancient of Days whose Garments are white as the snow and whose Hairs are white as Wool as white as Snow Prov. 26.1 Lord let me not be like one of those Foâ—ls for whom Honour would be unseemly like the Snow in Summer Psal 147.16 18. Lord when thou hast given Snow like Wool thou sendest out thy word and meltest it and wilt not thou melt this heart of mine by thy word into the Resolutions of Repentance Jer 18.14 15 Will a man leave the Snow of Lebanon which comes from the Rock of the Fielâ—â— Would a Thirsty Traveller finding such a Supply of pure water slight it Neither let me Forget thee O my God This for the Snow But when the HAIL which is Frozen Rain Visits us it may Awaken these Wishes in us Hag. 2.17 Lord It was thy Complaint I Smote you with Hail yet ye turned not unto me Let not my Obstinacy in Sin give cause for that Complaint Rev. 16.21 Lord Hasten upon the Antichristian Babylon that Great Hail out of Heaven whereof every â—tone shall be about the weight of a Talent Isa 28.2 Lord Let not thy people be Invaded by any Enemy which as a Tempest of Hail and a Destroying Storm shall cast them down to the Earth Ezek. 13 13. Isa 28.17 Psal 18.12 Lord Let not my Refuges be such as there shall be an Overflowing Shower in thine Anger and Great Hail-stones in thy Fury to consume them Let them not be Refuges of Lies which the Hail shall sweep away Fit me for the Day when I shall see the Descending Jesus Alarum the World with Brightness Hailstones and Coals of Fire Isa 30.30 Lord Let me Tremble at thy Threatnings as they did in the Day when thou didst cause thy Glorious Voice to be heard and Show the Lighting down of thy Arm with Scattering and Tempest and Hailstones Josh 10.11 Blessed be God That He does not cast down such great Stones from Heaven upon us as to make us Dy with the Hailstones Exod. 9.20 The Epyptians being warned of a great Hail such as Feared the Word of the Lord fled into Houses for their Safety Lord Let me so Fear the Hailstorm of thy Judgments as to seek for Safety in the Lord Jesus Christ But it were Endless to Enumerate the Ejaculations of a Devout Mind on these Occasions Thus When 't is FAIR Clear Bright WEATHER how Agreeable were it for us to wish Lord may the Light of thy Countenance be Uplifted on my Soul and May I walk in that Light all the Day Long So when 't is Cloudy Weather how Agreeable to wish Lord When shall the Son of Man come in the Clouds of Heaven and O let it not be with my Soul a Day of Clouds and of thick Darkness The shooting of such Arrows up to Heaven is an Incomparable Exercise for a Soul that Looks to Eternal Invisibles to Invisible Eternals on a Winter-Day and of the man that on a Winter Day so Employs himself I say Blessed is the man that has a Quiver full of such Arrows IV. The Merciful Words of God which provides for our NECESSITIES IN THE WINTER are very manifold and it becomes us to take a most Thankful Notice of those many Mercies When our God Seals up our â—imâ—â— in the Winter He Opens His own Hand in our Literal Supplies for the Winter and we should so Know those Works of God as to be Thankfully Affected with them The Winter it self That is not without much of Mercy in it It is our Winter particularly which for divers Months in the Year 〈◊〉 a better Defence unto us against Forreign Invasions than all the Sconces and Castles wherewith we could be Fortify'd Doubtless the Polanders thought their Cold was a kindness unto them when in an Army of seventy Thousand Turks Invading them Forty Thousand suddenly perished by the Severity of the Cold tho' it were but the Month of November with them Truly in the Month of November the Cold begins none of the least preservatives also for us New-Enâ—â—anders And who can say How many Epidemical Diseases have by our Winter been Extinguished Our Cold precipitates the Vapours which would else Thicken and Poison our Air and by Freezing the Surface of the Earth iâ— keeps in many malignant Steams that otherwise would thence
Agurs Wish has been granted us even Food convenient for us Yea how many of us may say That we never did properly Want one good Meal ever since we drew our first Breath Speaking of our God we may say with our Father Jacob He is the God that has fed me all my Life Long unto this Day And what has been our Meat our Drink our Lodging Have we not had for Delight and Splendor as well as for Necessity It may be some of us once had but very little in the World nevertheless as Jacob said Once I had no more than my Staff in my Hands and now I am become two â—andâ— thus when we began the World we were hardly worth so much as the Heads of the Canes which we now carry in our Hands whereas we are now Risen to how much of Grandeur Thus have we been Supported And How Assiduoâ—sly We may say The Lords Mercies are New every Morning How Seasonally We have seen When being Poor and Needy we have sought Water the Lord has given it Indeed our God has from Day to Day carried us along as He did His Israel in the Wilderness We could scarce foresee sometimes one Day aforehand how we should be Relieved for the Next but our Heavenly Father has as well Answered as Understood our Exigencies To Go on The FIFTH Article in our Commemoration may be The Benefits of God relating to the FRIENDS by the Bestowal whereof God Almighty has befriended us VVhen men have been annoy'd by Adversaries it has been said God Raised them up those Adversaries And shall not we that have such Friends as we have Acknowledge that they are of Gods Raising for us But there are especially our Friends of two Ranks wherein we have been marvellously favoured by the God whoâ—â—ts the Seâ—tary in Families First Our Consorts Have we not had such WIVES as may be truly called Good things whoâ—ein we have obtained Favour from the Lord 'T is possible we did in the Solemnest manner like Isaac Asâ— them of God before we had them and now tho' t'other Day they were meer strangers unto us we do as we have cause value them above all the Relations that we have in the would besides and we do every Day that we live in the world give our particular thanks to Heaven for our being so happily Accommodated We have Consorts whose Good nature whose Discretion Doubles all our joys and Halves all our Sorrows Consorts who Live with us as the Heirs of Life and give us a fit help in our pursuing of that Inheritance Consorts who are not a continual Dropping to us as Jobs was to him or as Abigails was to her We had been the Undonnest of men if we had been so mated as we have seen some who have been thus undone and could not undo what had in this thing been once done And then Our Children It is said Lo Children are an Heritage of the Lord. And how Rich have some of us been in our Heritage Children we have had that have been comely that have been witty that have been Well Disposed We have had Children and God has not fulfilled His threatning upon us Tho' they bring up Children yet will I bereave them Ibzan the Judge of Israel had thirty Sons and thirty Daughters and the Jews have a Tradition that he Buried them all before he Died himself We have not been 〈◊〉 Bereaved We have had Children and they have not been like Esau's A Grief of Mind unto us but our Support and our Glory We may produce them as the Roman Lady did Hers for the most valuable of all our Jewels To add The SIXTH Article in our Commemoration may be The Benefits of God relating to the Earthly VOCATIONS and EMPLOYMENTS which Heaven has cast upon us 'T is a Blessing to have a Calling Tho' our Sweat be mentioned in our Curse yet our Curse would be far greater than it is if it were not for our Sweat 'T is many wayes Advantageous both for our inward and our outward Man that we should with Quietness work Eat our own Bread Let it be enquired of us as it was of the Sons of Jacob Of what Occupation are you We have an Occupation and Blessed be God it is not only a Lawful but a Gainful Occupation It was the Benediction upon the Tribe of Judah Let his Hands be sufficient for him Since we are of this Tribe let us indeed be found in the Tribe of Judah or of Praising ones But more than this we have an Agreeable Occupation 'T is no little kindness of our God unto us when we come to love to like to choose our daily Business when our Business is made our pleasure and we do not come to it as the Bear unto the stake The Lord said Behold I have created the Smith who blows the Coals in the Fire and bringeth forth an Instrument for his Work Thus 't is God that Spirits one man for this Work and another man for that work and when a mans Lot falls to him in that Work whereto he has been particularly Spirited this is the kind work of God And that which Augments this kindness of God is that we can so follow the work of our calling as to mentain ourselves and yet we have Time to mind the affairs of our Souls too we can without pinching allow one whole Day in a week for soul-work and be at Lectures Meetings every week for more of that work every Day in our Houses and Closets do something further at that work and so Work out our own salvation Yea some of us have an Honourable Vocation also We have either in the Government or in the Ministry such a station that many thousands may fare the better for us These are thing that call for the most grateful Resentments of our Souls But then The SEVENTH Article in our Commemoration may be The Benefits of God relating to the Marvellous PRESERVATIONS which have been afforded us by the Glorious Preserver of men Have not our Lives been fill'd with Preservations by Him that is The Keeper of Israel Yea We have been preserved from Sin What if we had been Left unto our selves We should soon have been so many Devils Incarnate When the Holy Bradford heard of any Wickedness committed in the Neighbourhood he would say Alas In this Heart of mine there is that which would cause me to commit the Like Wickedness if God should give me up to my own Heart Thus we may see prodigies of Wickedness in the world but we must ascribe it unto the pure Grace of our God that we also are not such Ruined and Rueful Creatures Especially considering what Furious Assaults of Temptation have been made upon us For it is indeed probable that most of us have at some times undergone more violent Assaults of Temptation whereof we may say My Feet were almost gone my steps had well nigh slipt Had not the Good God strangely and strongly kept us back