that preferment that riches that credit are but emptie things they are but small things when he is to go into another world there is nothing left for him he is naked and destitute it is but a Penny and therefore he murmurs and complaines That is He sees now that it was but a poore bargaine that he made But sayth the Lord thou wouldst needs bargaine with me for a Penny and thou hast it So I say to those that are not content with the Lords All-sufficiencie but will haue present wages they will bargaine with the Lord He will giue thee this particular thou shalt haue this but remember this that it is sayd in Math. 6. thou hast thy reward If thou wilt haue prayse of men and wile doe it for that thou shalt haue it but that is all thou shalt haue If a man will haue his portion as that Sonne had of his Father Luk. 15. 12. it may be he will giue thee thy portion The Sonne that stayed at home had no portion given him for sayth his Father I and all that I haue is thine But if a man will haue his portion and will not be content with Gods All-sufficiencie he shall find that it is not best for him My Beloved consider whether it be not better to trust in God alone to rest in him alone Consider that Psal. 146. 3. 4. 5. 6. Trust not in Princes nor in the sonnes of men for their breath is in their nostrils and their thoughts perish but happie is he that trusts in the God of Iacob And he giues two reasons for it For he made heaven and earth and the Sea and secondly He keepes Covenant and mercy for ever There are two reasons in that place why we should trust in God One is though the enterprise be never so great and difficult though the blessing thou wouldst obtaine be never so hard to come by yet consider thou hast to doe with him that made heaven and earth As if he should say Lay those two things together dost thou thinke it an easier thing to make heaven and earth then to bring that thing to passe If he made heaven and earth doest thou not thinke he is able to doe that You will say we doubt not of his abilitie Beloved wee doe Wee shewed this at large before we will adde that to it in in Rom. 4. You know Abrahams faith is everyâ—where commended and what was his faith Surely he trusted in God that he was able to doe it he being assured and not weake in faith but strong He gaue glory to God and beleeved that he that promised was able to doe it Beloved though we thinke it not there is the stop that we make in beleeving the promises that is one reason he made heaven and earth The second is he keepes fidelitie for ever And in another place as it is interpreted he keepes covenant and mercy for ever Marke sayth he let Princes doe their best alas what can they doe they are but weake men their breath is in their nostrils but God made heauen and earth Secondly sayth he their thoughts perish but God keepes coâ—enant and mercy for ever there is no change in him Oh but you will say there may be a change in vs all my doubt is of that of keeping covenant on my part thus men are readie to say My Beloved consider for this I will be very briâ—fe in that thou needest not feare that thy disobedience if thou be once within the Covenant if thou be one whose heart is vpright with him shal 〈◊〉 the Lord to depart from thee he will not be unfaithfull to thee though thou be weake in thy carriage to him for he keepes Covenant for ever That is His Covenant is to keepe thy heart in his feaâ—d that thing we forget if the Lord keepe Covenant with vs he doth not suspend his promise of helpe vpon our obedience and leaue vs 〈◊〉 but he promiseth to giue vs a heart and 〈…〉 he hath promised to circumcise 〈…〉 that we shall not depart from him and therefore in Esay 40. the Lord expresseth it thus You shall know me as Sheepe know their Shepheard and I will make a Covenant with you and thus and thus I will deale with you And how is that Why the Covenant is not thus onely As long as you keepe within bounds and keepe within the Fould as long as you goe along the pathes of righteousnesse and walke in them but this is the Covenant that I will make I will driue you according to that you are able to beare if any be great with young I will driue them softly if they be lame that they are not able to goe sayth he I will take them vp in mine armes and carry them in my bosome If you compare this with Ezech. 34. you shall finde there he puts downe all the slips that we are subiect vnto speaking of the time of the Gospell when Christ should be the Shepheard he shewes the Covenant that he will make with those that are his sayth he if any thing be lost if a Sheepe loose it selfe this is my covenant I will finde it if it be driven away by any violence of temptation I will bring it baeke againe if there be a breach made into their hearts by any occasion through finne and lust I will heale them and binde them vp This the Lord will doe this is the Covenant that he makes Now consider these Reasons I made heaven and earth and I keepe Covenant and mercy for ever But you will say though I must trust in the Lord because he made heaven and earth and because he keepes covenant and mercy for ever yet the Lord doth it by meanes he doth it by friends by some mediate instruments My Beloved here is the great deceit of mankinde that we thinke that the Lord dispenseth his comforts according to those means that we haue A man thinkes if he haue a great estate his comforts shall be more if he haue many friends he thinkes he shall be safer sayth the Lord you know that place Psal. 62. if riches increase set not your hearts vpon them for sayth he they are able to doe little good Power and kindnesse belongs to me But then this obiection comes in the Lord dispenseth comforts by such meanes No sayth the holy Ghost there he rewards not men according to their riches but he rewards every man according to his workes And therefore thinke this with thy selfe thou that hast abundance of outward comforts if the Lord did reward thee according to them thou hadst cause to reioice in them but he will reward thee according to thy workes and therefore trust in him learne to reckon him to be All-sufficient learne to be to him alone But may not a man that trusts not in God but lookes a little too much to the creature prosper A man againe that withdrawes his heart from
man be never so potent yet sayth he consider his brâ—ath is in his nostrils and he shall be made as the grasse that is in truth he is of no power But the reason now why men doe feare why men are discouraged in such cases you shall finde in the verse following who art thou sayth he that doest this and forgettest the Lord thy maker who made heaven and earth who stretcheth forth the heavens and laid the foundations of the earth You never finde a man that feares a great man a potent man but the true ground of it is because he forgets the Lord his maker if he did remember the mightie God he that stretcheth forth the heavens and that layes the foundations of the earth Man would appeare a mortall man You may take it for a certaine generall rule a mans heart is never possessed with feare vpon such an occasion but when he forgets God the great God he would never else feare a great man On the other side he would never be confident in such occasions but when he remembers not the Lord. Therefore learne we neither to feare them when they are against vs or to trust them when they are for vs. We vsually pittie the case of Marchants for say we their goods hangs on ropes they depend vpon vncertaine windes but certainely he that trusts in man is in a worse condition for he rests vpon the affections of a man that are more vncertaine then the winde What so brittle and so vnconstant We see that for the most part they are carried to doe vs good or evill with by-respects with something touching themselues they are turned to and fro as the Weather-cocks and Mils are that when the winde ceaseth and when the waters fayle stand still they are driven to doe for vs so long as such respects leade them no longer And therefore to trust in men it is not the safest it is not the wisest way See this in some few examples David how inconstant did he finde the people and apt to rebell against him and so Moses yea David himselfe though he was a holy men yet how inconstant was he inconstant to Mephibosheth one that was innocent one that had never done him any wrong one that had never given him occasion How inconstant was he to Ioab when he had prevailed in that battaile against Absolom How quickly was he out of grace and place when he had saved Davids life and recovered the Kingdome and Amaziah that was but a reconciled enemy put into his roome These and many such like examples you shall find Abner how inconstant was he to Ishbosheth even for a word spoken against him and a word that he gaue him occasion enough to speake a word that he neede not haue beene so much offended at he fals off from him for it and this it is to trust in man I say either in a mans owne wisedome or strength or in any other mans This place shewes what a great follie it is The battaile is not to the strong That is let a man be never so well compassed about with strength and wisedome of men let him put himselfe and his friends into the number yet he is not safe but let him trust in God and he is safe in midst of dangers Sampson and Ishbosheth when they were in the midst of their friends when they were asleepe they were circumvented David on the other side when he was asleepe in the midst of his enemies when there was an hoast pitched against him yet sayth he I laid me downe and slept Why because the Lord sustained me So that both for our safetie when we are in danger and likewise to haue our workes wrought for vs to trust in God and not to trust either in our owne wisedome or in the wisedome or strength of man that we shall finde constantly to be the best way When David abstained from going vp to battaile against Naball when he tooke the counsell of his wife and when he abstained from putting violent hands vpon Saul you see how God wrought it for him he gaue him Nabals wife he gaue him Saules wiues and his houses and his Kingdome into his hands this he got by trusting him But when men will make their owne wayes when they will goe about enterprises with their owne wisedome In his owne wisedome and strength shall no man be strong God hath said it and he will make it good vpon all occasions The conclusion therefore is if the battaile be not to the strong nor the race to the swift c. If men of the greatest abilitie are often disappointed of their hopes and ends then we should not make flesh our Arme but trust in God both for safetie in danger and to bring our enterpises to passe And so much for this point Wee now proceede Neither doth man know his time This is added partly as a second vanitie which Salomon saw vnder the Sunne and partly as a reason of the former For sayth he though men be strong and wise yet there is a certaine season to doe things in that they may mistake which causeth them to fayle for man knowes not his time and from hence he drawes this Consequence because men know not their times therefore they are snared in an evill time because they know not the good time when good actions should be done therefore evill times come vpon them suddenly that is they take them vnawares and this he illustrates by two Similitudes They come vpon them sayth he as an evill net comes vpon fishes and as the snare vpon the fowles So that in these three propositions you shall haue the full meaning of these words and these therefore wee will handle distinctly First that there is a time allotted for every purpose and to every businesse Secondly that it is very hard to finde out that time And thirdly because men cannot finde this time but mistake it therefore evill times come vpon them suddenly that is crosses afflictions and destruction comes vpon them suddenly even as the snrre vpon the fowle and as a â—et vpon the fishes And that this is the meaning of this place and that these three points are included in it you may see best by comparing it with another of the like sence Eccles. 8. 4. 5. 6. 7. Where the word of the King is there is power and who shall say to him what doest thou That is it is a dangerous thing to admonish Princes who shall say to a Prince what doest thou sayth the Wiseman There is a time wherein we may admonish Princes safely although they be exceeding powerfull although they haue it in their owne power to take away the spirit c. as he sayth afterwards yet there is a time But how shall a man know that time Saith he he that keepes the Commandement shall know no evill thing and the heart of the wise shall know the time and the Iudgement That is he shall know when
provide for him he set the creature a-worke to doe that to feede him in an extraordinary way when the ordinary fayled When Paul was shut vp in Prison yet the Lord filled him with joy and comfort you know Sylâ—s and he their feete were fast in the Stoâ—kes yet they sang with joy of heart there was such a flush of joy their hearts were so filled with it that they could not containe If a man be brought to povertie it cannot be beyond that of Iobs was it not enough for Iob to haue God for his portion did he not soone turne it did he not soone take away that and turne the River another way as it were and fill him with abundance Oh but you will say if I were a spirit and consisted onely of an immateriall soule no more I should be content it may be to haue the Lord for my portion but besides that I haue a body I haue a temporall life and therefore I need temporall comforts and therefore though I would haue the Lord I would haue these things added for how should I be without them To this I answer First that though thou be deprived of all these temporall blessings and comforts yet thou shalt finde them all in the Lord I say though â—hey were all lost and all scattered though thou wert stript of them all yet thou shalt finde them all in the Lord if thou haue him alone You will say how can that be This you must know that all that God hath wrought in the creature all the excellencie all the beautie and delight and comfort he hath put into the creature into meate drinke musicke flowers yea into all creatures of all sorts who is the cause of all this Is not the Lord the cause It is certaine then that whatsoever is in the effect is in the cause and in the cause in a more excellent manner There are some causes that produce but their like as when fire begets fire or when a man begets a man here there is an equalitie betweene the cause and the effect but there are other causes that are vnlike their effects as the Sunne produceth many effects that haue a dissimilitude to it it hardens and softens and heates and dryes and all these are in the Sunne but they are in a more excellent manner then you shall see them in the effect that is but a poore similitude to expresse that I would but yet it is the best we haue Looke now vpon whatsoever thou hast found in the creature whatsoever beautie thou hast â—eene whatsoever delight thou hast taâ—ted of whatsoever excellencie thou hast discovered and be perswaded of this that all this is in the Lord in a more excellent manner than it is in the creature Well you will say I grant this but what followes on that what is this to my comfort Beloved It is this to thy comfort If thou loose all make vse of that in Mark 10. If thou loose father and mother or brethren or sisters or lands and houses and all that you haue you shall finde all these in him for if all these comforts be in him if thou hast him alone thou shalt finde all these comforts communicated to thee That is Thou shalt finde the comfort of them in a greater measure in a more excellent manner than thou shouldst in the things themselues why else should he say You shall haue an hundreth fold with persecution And marke the instance for you shall finde the promise repeated againe and he names them every one I say to you there is no man that forsakes father or mother wife and children brother or sister or lands and houses for my sake and the Gospells but he shall receiue an hundreth fold in this world and in the world to come eternall life That is you shall finde comfort in God alone if thou be shut vp alone and yet conversest with God and hast communion with him and seest no creature in the world besides him thou shalt haue abundance of sweete comfort take all those varieties of comforts that these giue as lands giue one kinde of comfort and Parents another and wiues another thou shalt finde all these varieties of comforts in him he will fill thy soule with all these for they are in him alone Marke that reason that the Lord vsed to Moses when he complained of his tongue that he was not able to speake Send sayth he by whom thou shouldest send sayth the Lord who made the tongue who made the dumbe and the deafe and the hearing and the seeing Is it not I the Lord As if he should say Moses sure I am the maker of all these though I haue not the things in me the Lord hath no tongue he hath no eye yet sayth he thou shalt finde them all in me That is His comfort is this I will be with thee when Moses might haue made this obiection Though thou be with me yet I shall want a tongue to speake what will that helpe Sayth he I who made that I haue a power in me and if I be with thee it shall be sufficient I will finde out a way for thee that shall be as good as if thou hadst the most eloquent tongue in the world The same may I say of all other comforts in the world who made them who made those fathers and mothers who made those brothers and sisters that thou art deprived of in exile or vpon any such occasion in povertie and disgrace Is it not he that made them What if the Lord will be with thee What if he will goe with thee into banishment or into prison as he did with Ioseph What if he will be with thee in disgrace What if he will be with thee in povertie Is there not enough in him who is full of all comfort He can fill thee with all varietie by that immediate communicating of himselfe Beloved what doe you thinke heaven is When you are in heaven doe you thinke your estate shall be worse You see what varieties of comforts we now haue here When we come to heaveÌ„ shall we haue lesse varieties No we shall haue more how shall we haue it for we shall haue none but God alone we shall haue fellowship onely with him If there were not that varietie in him that is in the creature certainely we should be loosers the soule should not be filled nor satisfied And therefore sayth the Text There shall neede no Sunne nor Moone all the creatures that now giue vs comfort shall be taken away why for the Lord shall be Sun and Moone he shall be every thing he shall be all in all things That is Thou shalt finde them all collected in him and doe you thinke that the Lord shall be thus in heaven and will he not be so to his servants vpon earth It is certaine wheresoever he pleaseth to communicate himselfe to any man to reveale himselfe and to take any man into
turne I haue given him nothing he is vncapable of my gift and therefore I looke for no recompence as by merit from him Againe If God be All-sufficient let vs be exhorted to make a Covenant with him for as I told you before these words doe but containe the Covenant betweene God and vs. Now this is the Covenant that God will make with you if you will enter into Covenant with him that he will be All-sufficient to you Now that which is expressed here generally I finde in other places divided into these three particulars where in the All-sufficiencie of God consists as if they were the three parts of this Covenant First He is All-sufficient to justifie and to forgiue vs our sinnes Secondly He is All-sufficient to sanctifie vs and to heale our infirmities Thirdly He is All-sufficient to provide vs whatsoever we neede so that no good thing shall be wanting to vs. These are the three parts of the Covenant which we finde set downe in divers places in Ier. 31. 34. Heb. 8. 9. 10. 16. But most clearely are they set downe in Ezek. 36. Sayth the Lord there I will powre cleane water vpon you you shall be cleane yea from all your filthines and from all your Idols will I clense you There is one part of the Covenant that he will clense vs from all our sinnes That is From the guilt and the punishment of them Secondly A new heart will I giue you also a new spirit will I put into you and I will take away your stonie hearts out of your bodies and I will giue you a heart of flesh There is the second part of the Covenant consisting of Sanctification The third is You shall dwell in the Land that I gaue to your Fathers and I will call for Corne and I will increase it and I will lay no more famine vpon you and I will multiply the fruit of the tree and the increase of the field that you beare no more the reproach of famine among the Heathen Here are the particulars set downe some are named for the rest I will call for Corne and Wine That is For whatsoever you want That is the third part of the Covenant These are the three parts of the Covenant which I shall spend this time in opening and shewing you that God is sufficient in all and to answer those objections that mens hearts haue against his All-sufficiencie for the heart is readie to object against these three to haue sinnes forgiven to be sanctified and to haue abundance of all good things belonging to this present life in all these he is All-sufficient to fulfill all the desires of mens hearts Now to begin with the first First I say He is All-sufficient to take away all our sinnes My Beloved it may be when you heare this poynt you will say it is an easie thing to beleeue it there is no difficultie in this the Lord is All-sufficient to forgiue sinnes Surely whatsoever we say or pretend wee finde in experience it is exceeding hard Who is able so fully to beleeue the forgiuenes of his sinnes as he ought Who is able to doe it when he is put to it At the day of death at the time of extremitie at that time when the conscience stirres vp all his strength and opposeth it selfe against him when all his sinnes are presented vnto him in their colours who is able then to beleeue it therefore we had neede to finde out the All-sufficiencie of God in this for the greatnesse and exceeding largenesse of his power is shewed in it in nothing more then in forgiving of sinnes Hosea 11. 9. See there how the Lord expresseth it Sayth he I will not execute the fiercenes of my wrath I will not returne to destroy Ephraim for I am God and not man Marke my Beloved when we haue committed sinne against God we commonly thinke thus with our selues if my sinnes were but as other mens if my sinnes wanted these and these circumstances I would beleeue the forgiuenesse of them but something or other a man hath still to object Now sayth the Lord it is very true If I were as man is it could not be but I should execute the fiercenesse of my wrath vpon Ephraim who hath provoked me so exceedingly for Ephraim was a part of Israell and is put for all Israell and the Prophet wrote this in the time of Ieroboam the sonne of Ioash when Israell abounded in sinnes and in Idolatry but sayth the Lord though their sinnes be exceeding great yet I am able to forgiue them for I am God and not man As if he should say Looke vpon weake man and compare God and man together and see how farre God exceeds man see how much he is stronger then man being infinite and almightie so sayth he his mercy exceeds the mercy of man As if he should say If I were not God it were impossible I should forgiue the sinnes of Ephraim which they haue multiplied against me from time to time So likewise in Esay 55. 7. the Lord cals them in there and vseth this as an argument for sayth he I will forgiue and multiplie my pardons so the word signifieth in the originall when a man makes this objection But it is more then any man can beleeue that my sinnes that I haue thus and thus repeated that the Lord can so easily put them away and multiply his pardons as I haue multiplied my sinnes Sayth he my thoughts are not aâ— your thoughts my wayes are not as your wayes but as high as the heaven is aboue the earth so are my thoughts aboue your thoughts and my wayes aboue your wayes That is As a man lookes to heaven and considers the great distance betweene the earth and it so farre sayth he doe my thoughts exceede your thoughts That is When you thinke with your selues I cannot forgiue because you measure me and draw a scantling of me by your selues when you haue gone to the vtmost of your thoughts my thoughts exceede yours as much as heaven exceeds the earth And therefore sayth he my wayes are not as your wayes That is When you would not forgiue yet I am able to forgiue in so great a disproportion We doe with this as we doe with all the Attributes of God we are able to thinke him powerfull as a man but to thinke him powerfull as God there we come short We are able to thinke him mercifull as a man but to thinke him mercifull as God there our thoughts are at an end we can thinke and see no reason why he should pardon vs. Now sayth the Lord my thoughts goe beyond your thoughts as much as the distance is betweene heaven earth If you say to me who doubts of this that the Lord is able to forgiue My Beloved if we did not doubt of it what is the reason when great sinnes are committed that you fall to questioning of Gods mercy when you can more
vexation the same death as dyes the one so dyes the other That is for the outward appearance of their condition there is no difference Againe there is a forgetfulnesse of both both are swept away both passe and are blowne over and they are even alike the wiseman as well as the foole But sayth he there is this difference Wisedome is the best of all vaine things vnder the Sunne The second thing that he hath found is that to enioy them to take the comfort the profit the benefit and refreshment that may be had from all the blessings of God that he hath given vnder the Sunne it is a better way and there is lesse vanitie in it then to heape vp still and not to enioy it This I found sayth he that this is the best way for a man to take the present benefit this is the wisest way so that this be remembred that you enioy them with weaned affections that you doe not so enioy them as to commit Idolatry with them for if you doe so indeed then there is a vanitie in them for then the Lord lookes vpon you with a jealous eye as that he will destroy both the things and the man as a jealous man will destroy the adulterer and adulteresse There is a vanitie in them then but to enioy them with weaned affections this sayth he I found to be the wisest thing vnder the Sun rather then to heape vp and increase possessions and not to enioy them This is that which Salomon sayth If a man say now But I finde contentment and satisfaction though Salomon found none I finde I haue a sweetnes in enioying pleasure and mirth and a high estate Why consider if thou doe I will say but this to thee it is an argument that thou committest Idolatry with them and therefore God hath made thee like to the very things themselues You shall finde the Psalmist speaking of Idols say They haue eyes and see not they haue hands and handle not and he addes this they that trust in them are like to them That is This is the curse of God vpon those that worship Idols the Lord giues them vp to as much stupiditie as is in the Idols that they haue eyes and see not that they haue eares and heare not So I say when a man will so enioy these things that he can finde contentment in them that he can terminate his comfort in them let him know this that is an argument that he is made like to them that the curse of God is come vpon him or else it may be because thou hast not summed vp thy accounts thou hast not looked backe vpon them as Salomon did thou hast not yet runne through the course of them if thou hast full experience of them and the end of them as he had thou wouldst finde them vanitie and vexation of spirit So much for the first the emptines and vanitie of the Creature I say this if God be All-sufficient it should lead vs vnto a further knowledge of the Creature and so likewise it should leade vs to a further knowledge of Almightie God That is To see a contrary fulnesse in him I must runne briefly through this Labour to see him in his greatnesse labour to see him in all his Attributes to see him in his vnchangeablenes to see him in his eternitie in his power in his providence You shall see in Psal. 102. 21. what vse the Psalmist there makes of the Attributes of God I said O my God take me not away in the midst of my dayes thy yeares indure from generation to generation thou hast before times laid the foundations of the earth and the heavens are the worke of thy hands they shall perish but thou shalt indure even they all shall waxe olde as a Garment The meaning is this when a man hath proceeded to this that he sees the vanitie of the Creatures he lookes vpon them all as that they will all weare and waxe old as a Garment A garment that is new at the first with long wearing you know will be spent and will breake into holes and at length be fit for nothing but to be cast away So sayth he shall the whole body of the Creatures be Now when we consider this that it is a mans owne case and every Creatures let a man helpe himselfe with this that God is eternall and remaines for ever and therefore if a man can get to be ingraffed into him to dwell with him that will helpe him out of that weakenesse and mutabilitie and changeablenesse that is in the Creature and therefore in Psal. 90. sayth he Lord thou art our habitation from generation to generation As if he should say When a man dwels with God he is a safe house a Castle that when generations come and goe times over our heads there is a change of all things yet he is a Rocke he is a Castle he is a Habitation there is no change in him So that when you finde these defects in the Creature goe home to him and labour to see his immutabilitie and eternitie And so likewise when thou seest thy inabilitie to doe any thing when thou seest that weakenesse in the Creature that it is not able to bring any enterprise to passe then looke vpon his providence and his almightie power in that he doth all things that belong to him he guides them My Beloved the serious setting of our selues to consider the providence of God and his almightie power will discover to vs his All-sufficiencie more then any thing besides In briefe consider this to perswade you a little of the necessitie of it that you may be fully convinced of it that every particular and every common thing must needs be guided by him and directed by him I would aske but this question First are not all made by him you will grant that that every Creature even the smallest are from him there is no entitie but from him Certainely then there is an end of it for he made nothing but for some end and if there be an end of it he must guide it and leade it to the end otherwise he should leaue the building imperfect otherwise he should but begin a worke and leaue it in the middle otherwise the Creature should be lost and perish and that through a default of his But there cannot be said to be any default any want of goodnesse in him in the great builder of things and therefore it must needs be â—hat he guides every Creature vnder the Sunne even the smallest of the Creatures he guides and directs them to their ends Providence is nothing else but to guide governe direct every Creature to their severall ends and businesses to which he hath appointed them Besides how is it that you see things sitted one to another as they are Is it not the providence of God When vousee the wheeles of a Watch fitted one to another when
Deut. 32. 35. where speaking of the enemies of the Church sayth he his foote shall slide in due time that is the expression there that is perhaps you may complaine and thinke it too long but it is not too long If it were any sooner it would be too soone in due time sayth the Lord it shall be in due time his foote shall slide Yet a little while and he that shall come will come and will not tarrie it is but a little a little time indeede You know that is too long that tarries beyond the appointed time beyond that measure that should be set to it when the Lord doth it in due time it is not too long He that shall come that is he that shall surely come will come and will not tarrie that is he will not tarrie a jot beyond the due time and season that season that is fittest for the Church and for the enemies of the Church And as I say for the enemies of the Church so I may likewise say for the righteous man The latter end of the righteous shall be peace he may haue trouble for a time but his end shall be peace Be not therefore discouraged howsoever God may deale with thee by the way yet you know what end he made with Iob That expression you haue in Iam. 5. 11. You know the case of Iob and you know what end the Lord made with him So I may say of every righteous man You know Iacob had many troubles troubles when he was with Laban troubles with the Shechemites troubles with his owne sonnes yet his latter end was peace David had many troubles when he was yong when he was vnder Sauls government he was hunted as a flea or Partridge after he came to the kingdome himselfe you know he was a man troubled a great while there was Civill Warres after them he was troubled with his children after that with the rebellions of his people and yet saith the Text he died full of riches full of honour and full of dayes The Lord made a good end with him The latter end of the righteous is peace that is a man that trusteth in the God of peace he shall be sure to haue peace in the end a man that is a subject to the Kingdome of peace that is subject to the government of Christ the Prince of peace it must needs be that he must haue peace in the end for the Kingdome of God is in righteâ—usnesse and peace and the government of Christ is the government of peace and therefore it shall be peace in the end to him whatsoever is in the way Therefore let no man be discouraged but let this comfort him On the other side another man may haue peace by the way he may haue prosperitie for a time he may flourish like a greene Bay tree but his latter end shall be miserable As it is Psal. 37. 37. Marke the end of the righteous man it shall be peace but the transgrâ—ssors shall be destroyed together the end of the wicked shall be cut off And therefore you see what he sayes of them in the verse before I sought him sayes he and he was not to be found vers 36. As if he should say I sought him on earth and there he was not I sought him in heaven and there he was not to be found but in hell he was there he was to be found otherwise there is no remembrance of them So I say evill men though they haue peace for a time though they haue prosperitie for a time though they spread themselues as a greene bay tree yet their latter end shall not be peace but miserie Therefore let vs not be discouraged Nor on the other side let not evill men be secure let not them be incouraged to evill doing for though the Lord spare them for a time yet certainely they shall be punished As Luk. 13. 4. it is an excellent place for that purpose our Saviour saith there Thinke not that those eighteene vpon whom the Tower of Siloam fell were greater sinners then others that it did not fall vpon but except you repent you shall all likewise perish The meaning of it is this when you see strange judgements come vpoÌ„ the workers of iniquitie though you that are standers by haue had peace and prosperitie all your time and haue never beene acquainted with any of these strange judgements of God haue never tasted of them say not that your condition is better then theirs for sayth our Saviour you are no lesse sinners then they perhaps you are greater though the Tower fell on them and not on you therefore sayth he you shall perish But because it is not presently done therefore sayth the Wise-man The hearts of men are set in them to doe evill that is because there is not present execution therefore either man thinke there is no God or else they doe thinke God is like themselues I held my peace and thou thoughtest I was ike thy selfe Psal. 50. 21. Either they thinke that there is no God or else that he is not so just a God as we declare him to be So either they thinke sinnes not to be sinnes or else they thinke them not so hainous that they doe not draw so fearefull judgements after them Thus men because the same Events are to all alike haue therefore their â—earts set in them to doe evill Now for Answer to that sayth the Wise-man though execution be deferred the sentence is not deferred The sentence is past against an evill worke though it be not speedily executed As if hee should say it is little comfort for thee when thou hast provoked God to anger that thou art not presently punished for the sentence is gone out against thee thou art an accursed man thâ—u art condemned and shut vp in Prison it is onely the execution that is deferred and therefore is it that he sayth because the sentence against evill doers is not speedily executed therefore thinke with thy selfe whosoever thou art that emboldenest thy selfe in thy present safetie it is but a deferring of the execution thou art not in a better condition then others onely the judgement is executed on the one sooner on the other later See it in the sinne of Ioab you know he committed the sinne of murther when he killed Abâ—er it lay a-sleepe you know many yeares The sentence went out from Gods Law God and his owne Conscience was against him but yet it was not executed till he was full of gray haires his gray haires went downe to the graue not in peace but in bloud So likewise in the sinne of Saul when he brake the oath with the Gibeonites the sinne continued fortie yeares vnpunished the Lord suffered it the sentence went out against him as soone as it was committed but yet it lay a-sleepe The Lord did not execute the sentence till fortie yeares after as we see by computation for it was all
fellowship with himselfe if he please to come to the soule of a man to dwell with him to suppe with him as he hath promised so to doe doth then when all other comforts fayle at that time God delighteth to come then thou shalt finde varietie of comfort enough And therefore why shouldst thou not be contented to haue God alone for thy portion Thou shalt finde enough in him as in an adaequate obiect This is the first thing I haue to shew you that in your very communion with him you shall finde enough when the Lord hath done it when thou art filled with the joy of the holy Ghost what will all be to thee what doe you thinke all the world was to them if it should haue beene presented to the Apostles if one should haue presented them with a Kingdome with all that ever the sonnes of men could devise Doe you thinke they would haue regarded them much Surely they would not as they did noâ— regard the contrary Imprisonment was nothing death was nothing to them you see with what facilitie they passed through them By the Rule of Contraries outward happinesse had beene nothing for he that grieues much for any outward losse he would much reioyce in the contrary conâ—â—â—â—ments when the Apostles were thus filled with the joy of the holy Ghost in regard of the one certainely they would not haue regarded the other if it had beene represented vnto them what was now the joy in the holy Ghost it was but the Lord communicating himselfe they had but the Lord alone they were but led into a neerer fellowship with him there was but a little crâ—vis opened as it were to see that excellency and fulnesse and that All-sufficiencie in God and it filled them so that they cared for nothing besides But this I say we would worke our hearts to if we did looke vpon God as an adaequate obiect But you will say though this be something to haue my soule filled with comfort thus yet there are many necessities many vses that I haue of other things Therefore I will goe yet further Doe thou consider the Lord what he is goe through all his attributes consider his almightie power consider his great wisedome his counsell and his vnderstanding consider his great goodnesse and his truth and kindnesse consider his patience and his long suffering c. all these are thine My Beloved God is not knowne in the world we consider not aright what he sayth when he sayth I will be thy portion I will be thy God for so he sayth I my selfe am my beloveds and my welbeloved is mine Now to haue the Lord himselfe is more than if he should giue thee all the Kingdomes of the earth consider this the power of God is thine to worke all thy workes for thee to make passage for thee when thou art in a straite to bring thy enterprises to passe to deliver thee out when thou art in any affliction out of which the creature is not able to deliver thee Thinke what it is to haue an interest in Gods almightie power and thinke this is one part of thy portion the Lord himselfe is thine and all his power is thine Consider likewise his wisedome if thou neede counsell in any difficult case if thou wouldst be instructed in things that be obscure if thou wouldst be led into the mysteries that are revealed in the word to see the wonderful things contained in the Law the wisedome of God is thine thou hast interest in it it is thy portion thou shalt haue the vse of it as farre as he sees it meete for thee And so the Iustice of God is thine to deliver thee when thou art oppressed to defend thee in thine innocency and to vindicate thee from the iniuries of men And so we may goe through the rest Now consider what a portion it is to haue the Lord alone if thou hadst nothing but him thou hadst enough When a woman marries with a Tradsman or with an Artist that is excellent but in some one Art or with one that is excellent in learning and knowledge shee is content it may be and thinkes it to be a great portion as good as if shee had many thousands with him for sayth shee this is as good it will bring it in Thinke then if thou hast the Lord alone for thy portion if thou hast nothing else thou hast sufficient Thinke of all these attributes say within thine owne heart all these are mine And therefore why should I not be content to haue him alone But yet this is not enough I will goe yet further with thee if thy heart be not satisfied with this yet consider all things in the world are thine for whatsoever is the Lords is thine When a virgin marries with a man that is rich shee lookes vpon all his possessions and sees so many thousand sheepe so many fayre houses and so much land he hath so much gold and silver and she sayth thus with herselfe now he is my husband all this is mine I shall haue my interest in them I shall haue that that is fit for me So looke now vpon the Lord consider when thou hast chosen him to be thy portion though thou shouldst be content to haue him alone yet all this comes together with him it cannot be separated from him so that even then when thou art deprived of all yet all is thine he hath it readie for thee to bestow on thee as there is occasion You will say these are notions these are hard things to beleeue to see these really is another thing My Beloved will you beleeue your senses I finde that the Scriptures take away arguments from those things that are exposed to the view of men looke on nature and see what the Lord doth there doe but compare a house-keeper on earth with the Lord and see what the difference is betweene them Consider how many there are in this house of the Lord of which he is Maister how many there are at vprising and down-lying from day to day Consider how he provides for them all in Psal. 104. and in Iob. 38. you see the holy Ghost reasoning with the sonnes of men even after this manner Why sayth he doe you doubt him why are you not content to consecrate your selues to him to be to him alone Doe but see how he deales with all creatures in the morning they know not what to doe but they looke vp vnto him he instanceth in the Ravens and other creatures he openeth his hand and giveth them foode he shuts his hand and they perish That is He feeds them all Consider the Treasures in Iob 38. Doest thou sayth the Lord know the treasures of snow and hayle that I haue hid When there is a snow all the Land over thinke what a great treasure the Lord hath from whence it comes in the mightie hayles that be sayth he to Iob