vnlesse they prouide and lay vp for many yeeres A godly respect no doubt is not hereby forbidden as namely to labour to day the better to liue to morrow this yeere to sow and reape to nourish vs the next yeere and so to prouide for future times as we shew not any distrust in God though we haue not to day but only for the day he hath willed vs to aske of him Bread which comprehendeth all necessaries which he hath promised to giue vs euery day By that Petition which hee hath taught vs Giue vs this day our daily bread And though hee giue me not dainties to eate I know that by his blessing the meanest fare shall satisfie my continent appetite and temperate Dyet Daniel and his fellowes were as well filled and fed waxed as fat and faire with Water and Pulse as were any that fed on the full furnished and varietie of the Kings daintie Dishes Therefore it is not the meate that I eate bee it neuer so rare that feedes and preserues my bodie but the meanest and least blessed to my vse by God worketh the same and through faith a better effect The like 〈◊〉 conceiue of Riches and Possessions what could I account mee the better were I owner of a whole Countie were I not still the same and onely one man And had I the fayrest and most spacious House in the World I could be but in one roome at one time were my calling neuer so great What neede I then hazard my soule for this bodies vaine delights and superfluous vanities I doe consider the varietie of the wished contentments that wise Salomon made proofe of in his most absolute experimeÌ„ts wherein I obserue his finall discontents who cried out against all his delights that they were but vanitie yea Vanitie of vanities all vanity Many superfluous things men couet and the couetous are neuer full the eye is neuer satisfied with seeing nor the heart in desiring crying More more their Chests are full their commings in are great and greatest of all is their desire of more and hauing too much they still plead pouertie and so truly I do beleeue many of them may for in their greatest outward abundance their wants are great within If therefore I should striue to get much my desire to get would alwayes be greater then the gaine and of lesse true value then my trauaile that I might spend vpon better things I will therefore content mee with my poore portion and giue GOD the prayse if hee bee pleased by his blessing to increase it by the lawfull execution of that imployment whereunto I am called fearing by experience that if once the desire of riches possesse my heart it will bee hard for mee to bridle it for the obtayning of that I couetously desire would bee but the increase of the desire of hauing and so I should at length want aswell that which I should attaine vnto and not vse as that which I had not A true meane in desiring a lawfull manner of gathering and a right vse of keeping and disposing of riches are as hard to find as a couetuous man to bee a good man for no man that sets his affections on the things of this world can haue true peace with God nor haue a good conscience If I settle the loue of this world in my heart the loue of God cannot dwell there I cannot loue God Mamman and where the creature is entertayned before and preferred vnto the Creator I exclude Christ my Sauior in whom by whom for whom I enioy all good things here should I not then set him before all yea as All in all things in my heart if I haue Christ I haue all things euen in my corporall pouertie and without him I haue nothing in my greatest seeming something I may and I am commanded to vse all lawfull meanes according to my calling to liue competently in the world but that I ought first to seeke the kingdomâ— of heauen the righteousnesse thereof so all things necessary by diuine promise shall be administred vnto 〈◊〉 And I hold things only necessarie sufficient being obtayned But what are the things that in this life may be reputed oâ—ely necessarie Thaâ— which may be truly held sufficiâ—â—â—â— that a man finde himselfe neither to wâ—â—t noâ— to haue more then he hath iust occasion to vse necessarily according to his calling high or low he hath most I thinke that couets least and he hath enough that owes nought that neither needes to flatter nor to borrow Here is the difference betweene humane policie and diuine wisedome and hereupon they are at odâ— Policie prouides and layeâ— vp in banke increasing it more and more vntill too much bee not sufficient grounding the care vpon the prouidence of the Pâ—ssemire and Bee such small creatures who through the instinct of nature are taught to prouide in Summer for the consequent Winter Ioseph prouided in seuen yeeres plentie for seuen yeeres scarcetie this diuine wisedome and nature it selfe teacheth but neither of them especially diuine wisedome to prouide but according to necessitie and whatsoeuer God sends by blessing a mans lawfull labours and honest endeuors is a Christian mans greatest portion Foode and rayment was Iacobs desire and the same request I daily make vnto God namely that he will afford meate drinke and rayment competent for my selfe and family and to free me and euer to keepe me from debt and danger of other men If I can attaine vnto this meane estate I shall hold me happy amoÌ„g men and blessed of GOD and this is the marke vnto which I only ayme all my desires of earthly preferment for that I labour for that I pray and rest in hope which hope I know shall not finally make mee ashamed though for the time a kinde of shamefull imputation seemeth to be laid vpon me for not raysing my meanes to a higher proportion as if Gods purpose and worke were my fault who knoweth what lot in this life is best and fittest for mee and therefore I rest and relye vpon his prouideÌ„ce wherin I stedfastly beleeue hee will neuer failâ— me nor forsake me to the end of my life short and euill MEDIT. XVIII All men in this life haue vse of their owne labours MY time at the first was reputed but a spanne long and now I cannot account it a fingers brâ—adth yet while I haue my being in this life I shall stand in neede of the continuall vse of mine owne labours hauing no other reuenues no not the bredth of a foote wherein I craue Gods diuine aide direction and blessing who hath been mine original Scholemaster in all the good things that euer I haue learned or haue been able to practise for of my selfe I am a foole ignorant not only of diuine but of humane profitable knowledge yea of mine owne worldly profession and finding mine owne insufficiencie
true peace with or in the World and happie is hee that hath warres with it and peace with God But here is the miserie of miseries hence is griefe hence often vpbraydings especially domesticke the want of daintie fare gay and fashionable garments and the want of meanes to preferre and aduance Posterities is the Houshold Breake-peace and to auoid this miserie some runne into a mischiefe vsing sinister and vnlawful means to satisfie the World and worldly mindes displeasing God to please vaine fantasies yet for a time it is sweet and pleasant yeelding a kind of content and carnall comfort such as CHRIST fore-told that Worldlings should haue in this life as the Rich man in the Gospell had but GODS owne Children should haue contrarie enentertainmēt in the world they should want weepe and lament as Lazarus did and as their estates of wealth and want pleasure and paine faith and infidelitie doe differ so do their ends for fulnes and want mirth and mourning ioy and sorrow idlenesse and labour stand not together in this life neither yeeld they like comfort or calamitie after death There are but two extremes in riches and pouertie but their degrees are infinite so are there of pleasure and paine after this life The true vse of riches and the patient acceptance of a meane estate are equall and receiue eequall proportion of reward So the abuse of riches and the impatient vndergoing of a poore estate shall be equally punished whether therefore I bee poore or rich I am in neither happie but so farre as I walke in either of them in the feare and loue of God that giues both for the good of the good and to the reproofe of them that abuse either O happie is that heart that harbours the hope of heauenly things it is contentedly satisfied with the smallest portion the world doth yeeld and yet resteth not idle in well-doing but carefully indeuoreth so to liue as willingly not to be chargeabe to any desiring rather to bee able to helpe the needie and to owe nothing but good will to any Naked came I into the World poore and in a meane estate I liue and naked I must goe hence as touching my spirituall part I shall be clothed with the Robe of my Redeemers merits in the Heauens vntill my bodie shall be raysed againe and then reunited vnto my soule and both become one bodie clothed with eternall glorie And therefore Come Lord Iesus come quickly and finish these dayes of sinne that I may partake of thy glorie THE HVSBANDS Christian counsell to his Wife and Children left poore after his death PART 1. Death certaine his comming vncertaine BY the former Discourse ye may perceiue that Death will certainly come vpon mee and you as vpon all men but when where or how no man knowes and that after death all shall come to Iudgement and yeeld account for whatsoeuer they haue done in this life and therefore wee all should prepare vs against the time by continuall watchsulnesse in well-doing You may also conceiue and I know you haue too well experimented my poore estate to bee such as I cannot leaue behinde me such testimonies of my worldly happinesse as many other men doe to them they leaue behinde them that may challenge some remembrance by their worldly substance And therefore in stead of such commemorations I desire before I goe hence and bee no more seene to leaue such token of my loue towards you as I can that you may likewise remember mee in Christian imitation after my death wishing you to take that in good part at my hands that I shall giue you in counsell though words I know make none wealthy In stead therefore of Possessions and Pecuniary Portions I wish you euer to esteeme the fauor loue and prouidence of God your chiefest riches who as he hath been euer mine so will hee bee assuredly yours if in faith yee serue him and seeke him Bee yee therefore patient in that which in this life necessitie inforceth to be vndergone howsoeuer hard and vnsauourie it bee to flesh and bloud and make of that necessitie a vertue which if bee taken with grudging turnes into sinne The time will not bee long which will giue end to the greatest miseries then what difference can there bee obserued betweene them that haue abundance and them that haue least they shall carrie equall portions to their graues only nakednesse which both the rich and poore the glorious and the base brought into the World with them yet their future portions may differ as did the Rich mans and Lazarus Let vs therefore as long as we liue together couple and comfort our hearts together in the Lord whose pleasure it is and that in loue to keepe vs low in this World to the end wee should not be transported from the loue of heauenly to earthly things the best whereof is our bodie which yet is compared to a Flowre that fades and comes to nothing If therefore pouertie and afflictions continually possesse vs and presse vs downe euen vnto our liues ends Let vs rest euer faithfull cleauing constantly vnto God for hee careth for vs so shall wee bee the lesse carefull for worldly things Care not for your liues saith Christ namely what yee shall eate or what yee shall drinke nor for your bodies what yee shall put on for the bodie is more worth then meate and of more value then rayment bee it neuer so precious yet shall it naturally rot as the Garment doth but so much the more precious is the bodie though it perish by how much it shall bee futurely glorified But the bodies of the disobedient and wicked are so much the more base and vile then is a garment by how much it shall not so totally perish as the garment doth but bee reserued and raysed to endlesse torments The fowles of the ayre are brought in by Christ to teach man to cast his care vpon God Who careth for the verie fowles though they sow not nor reape nor carrie into barnes yet they are fedde and nourished by God but they are not idle for as God hath ordained food for them so are they to flye to and fro to seeke it teaching as not to rest careles of lawfull labours though Christ say Care not for to morrow but rather that we should bee so much the more industrious euery where by all meanes at all times in our lawfull callings omitting no opportunitie lawfully to encrease our store Christ likewise by way of comparison brings in the Lillyes of the field setting their glorie to the glorie of our corrupt bodies shewing that although wee labour and toyle and carke and care and busie our bodies and braynes about superfluous and vanishing things wee can neuer bee comparable to the glory of the Lilly other glorious beautifull flowers no not Salomon in his most glorious robes yet as glorious as these
death are equally as vncertayne to man as is the Houre the Day the Weeke the Moneth the Yeere of Christs comming to Iudgement which that he will come is as certaine as death but as touching the time of the cōsummation of al things Christ as hee was man confessed he knew not the time yet was no earthly thing hid from him no not the thoughts of men But that Day is concealed in the generall as the houre of mans death in particular only to make vs and to keepe vs in such a continuall obedience as if death should suddenly steale vpon vs we may be readie to imbrace him in what manner soeuer hee should execute his seuerity vpon vs. Whereby I learne that as I tender mine own safetie So I should prepare me for that and to that which come it sooner or later cannot be auoyded It is then the principall point of diuine Wisdome to learne and to practize to liue well for without a godly life I cannot willingly and comfortably imbrace death which can neuer bee euill if a good life haue gone before As I shall dye so shall I rise If I dye iustified I shall rise to be glorified To liue well as some account it wealthily is not well And to dye rich is not to dye righteous for so should the rich Glutton haue beene carryed into Abrahams bosome with or before poore Lazarus The cōdition of worldlings no doubt is glorious were it good pleasant were it truly profitable It is high in conceit but not as it is taken true happinesse It is no higher then the Eye can see It consisteth but of the Earth and earthly things The Swine thinkes his condition happie yet only noozels in the Earth for Apples and Acornes neuer looking to the Tree from whence they fall So doe Worldlings wallow in all carnall care how to become great and glorious in this life seldome or neuer looking vp with the Eye of Faith to him from whom and from none else commeth the riches that maketh a man blessedly happie Contrarie is the condition of the Childe of God who loues God in feare and feares him in loue accepting euery smal gift as a great measure of his bountie resting content with whatsoeuer God will vouchsafe to bestow on him liuing in the world but dead to the World following with diligence and truth his Vocation be it neuer so base and contemptible receiuing with thankefulnesse to GOD whatsoeuer he enioyeth in this life not setting his affection vpon that which the World loueth but affecteth whatsoeuer hee hath for his sake that giues it hauing the Eye of his sanctified Soule alwayes and in all things in prosperity in aduersity in health in sicknesse in peace and persecution in fulnesse and in want and is alwayes conuersant as it were in Heauen desiring to bee dissolued to bee with Christ. These are the pleasures of that life that precedes a happie death My desire therefore and continuall indeuour shall be to learne and my care to practize the life and conuersation of a liuely Christian in continuall filiall obedience not after the flesh in shew only but after the Spirit in Truth not for the bodie only as doth the beast that perisheth but for the Soule which being safe the bodie cannot finally perish and safe I cannot bee in soule or bodie vnlesse I liue in Christ and Christ in me for I now find that as long as I liued without Christ I did but liue in shew as the Angell of Sardis who had the name to liue but yet was dead so I though I liued and breathed and had a naturall being yet was I dead spiritually without him as the wanton Widdow that was dead while she liued But by the Spirit of Christ I am now againe made aliue desiring to liue in him hee is life in deed to walke in him hee is the true way indeed and to beleeue in him he is truth in deed My former learning to liue was in carnall libertie which I now finde to bee but foolishnesse falshood and deceit I now seeke to learne to liue according vnto Christ though late though it bee the very euening of my day being called vnto and if I doe perseuere in my labour according vnto my dutie I doubt not but to receiue my penny as well as if I had carryed the burden of the whole day of my life for he that calleth me into his Vineyard is truly bountifull and respecteth not the quantitie but the qualitie of my worke not how much I doe but how well and willingly I doe it for he rewards none for merit but in mercie And now finding my selfe to be not only in the way but neere vnto the end of my day I desire so to finish it as I may liue in him vnto the end that is life eternall that as he is eternall I beginning here to liue in him I may liue eternally with him in Heauen after this death And therefore I doe heartily abhorre the life that I haue led with-out him desiring now a right preparation so to lay downe this mortall bodie as it may bee taken vp and raysed by the vertue of Christs Resurrection at the comming of him in the Cloudes and in the meane season I desire so to walke in my spirituall part as in his time also hee may againe receiue it that gaue it for I know that if my earthly house be destroyed I haue a building of God an house not made with hands but eternall in the Heauens And through the mercy of God in Christ I shall then remayne for euer in Abrahams bosome the Paradise of God a new and spirituall Ierusalem I confesse I ground not mine assurance of my future blessednesse vpon any worthinesse or merite of mine owne whose merits I acknowledge Gods mercies Therefore being dissolued I beleeue not that the Prayers of friends or mediation of Saints or Angels or any Missall Sacrifice after my soule hath left my bodie can auayle me any thing But doe contrarily beleeue Post-Prayers to bee meerely fruitlesse if not sinfull the intercessions of Saints or Angels to be needlesse if not fabulous I only relye vpon the Al-sufficient Sacrifice of the bloud of Iesus Christ shed vpon the Crosse for me and his merit and mediation to bee mine onely atonement with God for my sinnes being liuing and through his power my soule to bee transported to glorie my bodie being dead from whence neither sinne nor Satan principalities nor powers shall be able to remoue mee nor to take mee out of my Redeemers hands Glory therefore bee vnto God in Iesus Christ who hath deliuered mee from the power of Satan Death and Hell This mine assurance giueth mee peace in Christ yet doe I withall feele another law within mee stirring mee vp or rather casting mee downe into sundry corrupt motions tending to sinne and did not God assist me with
should I fulfill the desires and vaine delights of my corrupt heart Why should I sweeten and perfume my out-part to make it odoriferous to others mine inward part resting yet odious to God This superfluous care of my bodies vanities would not only make mee the more sweet and pleasing but farre the more hatefull to God and godly men therefore shall my desire and practice bee by the grace of God during the short remaining part of this my miserable life to couer my nakednesse with apparell meerely needfull and seeke to maintaine it with food such as it shall please my God to blesse vnto mee and through the same grace my hearts delight shall bee in the continuall true seruice of my heauenly Father hauing euer an eye vnto and desiring that time when and that place wherein I shall need neither rayment nor food and where I shall be onely delighted with the glorie wherewith I shall bee filled after this bodies death which although it perish for a time my soule resteth euer immortall God being the God not onely of mine immortall soule but of my mortall bodie also And I beleeue that hee will not lose one haire of mine head nor the smallest dust that shall come of my putrified carcasse nor one bone of my rotten and consumed bodie and that hee will rayse my mortall part in all fulnesse of all the parts and make them all ioynt-partakers of eternall glorie in Heauen in the Day of Christs second appearing in what manner soeuer it bee dissolued burnt in the fire drowned in the Sea deuoured by wilde Beasts or by any other meane whatsoeuer I heare naturall reason say It is an easie matter to beleeue that I shall dye experience makes it so common But to beleeue that this my bodie when it shall bee rotten and consumed to dust eaten with fishes deuoured and digested by wilde beasts or burnt to ashes or bee vtterly otherwise consumed that it shall rise againe to glorie is not so easily apprehended no experience teaching it but the resurrection of Christ which I haue not seene I disclaime in this point all naturall reason and doe faithfully beleeue that as my Redeemer Iesus Christ dyed and rose againe So after my death I shall by the vertue of his Resurrection rise againe to eternal life Iob prophesied of the Resurrection of humane dead bodies and affirmeth that hee knew that his Redeemer liued and that though after his death the wormes should deuoure his flesh yet in the same flesh he should see God looke vpon him and behold him and that with his owne namely with the eyes that then hee had And the Prophet Esay affirmeth that the dead bodies in the graue shall rise againe some to glorie some to torment The dead men saith hee shall liue euen with their bodies shall they rise Christ saith maruell not at this The houre shall come when all that are in the Graues shall heare his voyce and shall come forth they that haue done good vnto the Resurrection of life but they that haue done euill vnto the Resurrection of condemnation Christ also affirmeth that it is his Fathers will that sent him that hee shall lose nothing of that he hath giuen him but that hee shall raise it vp at the last Day They that sleepe in the dust shall awake Infinite are the proofes of the Resurrection of humane bodies in the Scriptures both of the iust and of the vniust of the godly and the wicked but to two contrarie final effects The godly shall rise to euerlasting life euer to remayne with the Lord the vngodly shall rise to euerlasting punishment to bee tormented for euer with the Deuill and his Angels in continuall horrour weeping and gnashing of teeth Here is matter of Meditation hence ariseth hope and horrour comfort and calamitie There are but two ends of the Resurrection life and death and both perpetuall And these succeed the death of the bodie Shuld I then be so iniurious vnto my silly soule that dwelleth in my mortall bodie as to forget that it shall come into iudgement in a time comming and at hand and that this bodie this fleshly and corrupted part shall againe bee raised to glorie or shame to partake of eyther with the soule were it not as if I should say in my heart there were no God no Heauen to glorifie or Hell to torment perswading my selfe that either after death there remaineth neither euill nor good but that I should goe into vtter obliuion to an eternall sleepe neuer to returne into any second existence or that GOD were a God onely of the immortall soule and not of the mortall bodie or a God of Mercie and not of Iustice Should I thus foolishly for lesse then a messe of Pottage sell my Birth-right in Heauen for a graine of temporarie vanitie sell a Crowne of perpetuall glorie Farre bee it from me for a Kingdome I know is prepared for me and a Kingdome I seeke waiting for it vntill it fall vnto mee as mine Inheritance through Christ who hath purchased the same by his bloud In the meane time I must taste and vndergoe many troubles afflictions pouertie want enemies and the scorne of the World Doth GOD suffer his owne Children to be afflicted in this life how can hee then bee said a louing Father vnto them Doth not that worthy Prophet King Dauid affirme that they that loue his Law shall haue great prosperitie and no hurt befall them How then comes the cōtrary to passe The Answere The Spirit of God that spake thus by the mouth and pen of Dauid lyeth not for the afflictions that I feele and the crosses that I haue proceede from the loue of God and hinder not but rather doe much further my spirituall prosperitie For whom the Lord loueth hee chasteneth and scourgeth euery sonne that he receiueth If therefore I patiently endure chastening God offereth himselfe vnto mee as to a sonne If I were without correction whereof all Gods Children are partakers I were a bastard and no sonne Blessed is the man saith Iob whom God correcteth therefore will not I refuse the chastening of the Almightie let him therefore deale with mee according to his owne will in giuing me what he will health or sicknesse wealth or want prosperitie or aduersitie for I know that all things worke together for the best to them that loue God he may make a wound but he will bind it vp againe he may smite but his hands make whole againe hee giueth alwaies the issue with the temptation GOD forbid therefore that I should entertaine the least thought in my heart that whatsoeuer crosse or affliction befals me were in GODS indignatiō but onely in loue I doe acknowledge that sinne is the cause of all the crosses calamities afflictions miseries that I endure if God should deale with me answerable to what I haue done I could not beare his
punishments But in stead of ouer-pressing mee with troubles hee mitigatâ—s euen the small corrections that hee sendeth nay rather which I draw as it were vpon my selfe And among other dangers I find pouerty and want not the easiest to bee borne neither can my debts bee long borne withall for I see a necessitie inforceth that which my will is readie but I am vnable to performe And therefore no small portion of affliction oppresseth mee for as I acknowledge my selfe worthily inferior to other men in Vertues so in greatnesse for as by birth I had no pricefull patrimonie so hath not the World affoorded mee a gaiâ—full facultie yet labour I though I lacke What shal I say or thinke Is God only gracious vnto the worldly-glorious and hath he not regard to such as are of a meane estate in this life Doth the Holy Ghost visit the soules of the wealthy with comfort in their carnall fulnesse and delights and leaueth hee the poore forlorne and comfortlesse here Nothing lesse but as Christ had meat to eat that his Disciple knew not of so the poorest of Gods Children haue their inward and spirituall consolation such as worldly and carnall men know not of But what is this to the satisfaction of the World can my inward and spirituall wealth pay worldly debts It may bee a good meanes thereof for God hath promised vnto the faithfull that hee will bee their helping Father what they want he will in his 〈◊〉 supply though hee delay the performance of his promise the more to occasion mee to pray yet iâ— his promise yea Amen as truly to bee performed as if it were already done But saith the fleshly minde it is long looked for And it is but foolish idlenesse of a curious braine that seekes not timely meanes by right or wrong to releeue his wants nay that indeuours not his owne aduancement in this life as doe such as are carefull to prouide for themselues and their posterities Thus the worldly man speaketh to his own heart not vocally but by his present greedinesse of thiâ— lifes fulnesse Soule take thine ease thou hast enough to whom againe the poorest true and faithfull child of God may answere that in his meanest estate hee resteth as well content and hath through the blessing of God a sweeter and more refreshfull Dinner and Supper with a morsell of Bread or a dish of Roots and Herbes in his poore base and beggerly Cottage yea in a Prison or Dungeon then hath the couetous Glutton faring deliciously euery day It may be said vnto me Why doe I then complaine I answere Not for that I am not rich in Reuenewes in Gold Siluer Iewels Sheepe and Oxen Men-seruants and Maydeseruants nor for that I equallize not others in worldly glorie but for that necessitie a great and powerfull Commander hath me vnder her foot keeping mee low that I cannot rise nor attaine vnto meanes by mine honest endeuours to to pay what I owe only my heart earnestly desireth to owe nothing to any man but loue But this dischargeth mee not of the burden of my Creditours clamours and of the conceiued shame that my penurie procures mee What then what remaineth that I should doe Surely I will waite on God who neuer leaueth those that are his without helpe in their greatest need I will indeuour to satisfie all men their due and my desire shall be in all good conscience to discharge mine vttermost dutie and then I doubt not but God in his Christ will excuse all my enforced defects and although man will not God will accept the will for the deed MEDIT. XII Gods Prouidence sufficient for the faithfull man I Haue learn'd that man liueth not by bread only but by the Word of God which contayneth such and so many sweet promises of Gods presence with mee and of his Prouidence ouer mee as I laying them vp in my heart by Faith am fed with that blessed sacietie of spirituall and inward comforts which maketh the new man to grow daily in all fulnesse of heauenly contentment drowning and swallowing vp all superfluous cares of this life wherein I am indeed seene to liue and yet I speake as I desire I wish to haue my conuersation totally in Heauen As I haue a corporall being so I conuerse in the Earth and earthly things but I haue also a spirituall and so I haue my conuersation spirituall namely in Heauen from whence I receiued my spirituall life And where after this life I know I shall liue euer The true Child of God liues here but in shew of his bodily presence his inward part which is his regenerate minde is alwaies coÌ„uersant in heauen which is his home but the carnal and vnregenerate man hath both his visible and inuisible parts set especially on worldly things conuersant with the vanities of this world in spirituall darknesse Heauen I confesse in respect of the locall situation thereof is farre aboue the apprehension of my naturall eyes yet by the grace of God I apprehend such spirituall comforts from heauen as I beleeue they are euen here the very true earnest of that ioy which I shall hereafter receiue at full and though this earnest bee not the quantitie yet it is of the qualitie of the heauenly ioy there laid vp for mee after this life when and where all corporall miseries shall haue an end and I shall become a free-man of that heauenly Citie where I shal want nothing that is good nor bee oppressed with any thing that is euill But who can bee perswaded of this my happie estate to come considering my hard estate here I cannot in my bodie which is corrupt and sinfull shew anie visible token of the assurance of glory to come as it were from heauen as sanctified Steuen did whose face did shine before his Persecutors as the face of an Angell Such a confirmation of inward comfort in mine afflictions by celestiall visible tokens now needes not for that I striue not to seeme a Saint or to bee so reputed in or of the world though I doubt not but I am so wherein the more sincere I seeme to shew my selfe so much the more procure I the contempt of the world The Kings daughter is all glorious within so the children of God howsoeuer base and abiect they may seeme to the world they are beautifull within They may be outwardly as was poore Lazarus beggerly and full of corporall diseases as was holy Iob in his miseries and were not the doctrine of the bodies resurrectioÌ„ true that I beleeued it could I with patience vndergoe the harsh entertaynment that the world imposes vpon me as crosses miseries emulations enuie pouertie labour with contempt and al sorts of discontents domesticke and forraigne within without in body and minde In all which the assurance of my bodies resurrection to glorie which none but mine owne heart feeleth is the
sense of future good or euill auoid it left death steale vpon you and finde you so doing depend on Gods prouision blessing of your owne lawfull and laudable industries He is your heauenly Father and knoweth whereof ye haue neede seeke him hee will be found he will supply all your occasions if yee bee faithfull though yee were neuer so poore DAVID depending on God found by experiēce that the righteous were neuer left destitute nor their faithfull children to begge Cast then your care vpon God for hee careth for you And let not the care of the things of this life preuent your carefull preparation to a better life which you cannot attayne vnto but by death and therefore indeuour so to liue as God may bee glorified in your death not giuing your members as weapons of vnrighteousnesse vnto sinne here but giue your selues vnto God as they that are aliue from the dead and giue your members as weapons of righteousnesse vnto GOD. Striue against your owne corruption and let not sinne raigne in your mortall bodies that yee should obey it in the lusts thereof for When lust hath conceiued it bringeth forth sinne and sin when it is finished bringeth forth death not the death of the body only which is but a dissolution of the soule from it for a season but the death both of soule and body which is eternall Walke therefore in the Spirit saith Saint Paul and yee shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh Ye haue the light walke not in darknes for he that walketh in darknesse walkes hee knowes not whither while yee haue the light therefore walke in it So walke as your hearts may mooue from euill to good from sinne to sanctitie cease to do euil learne to doe good and practise it Learne of Dauid to run the way of the Lords Cōmandements Walke not in the counsell of the wicked stand not in the way of sinners nor sit in the seate of the scornefull but delight your selues in the Law of the Lord and thereupon meditate day and night so shall yee bee blessed in life and death Yet thinke not to bee free from troubles enemies and crosses how sincerely soeuer yee liue nay the more carefull yee shall be to lead a holy and a godly life so much the more will Satan seeke to peruert you bee not dismaid cease not to walke honestly as in the open light that men may see your good works and glorifie your Father which is in heauen PART II. Gods prouidence towards his IF pouertie want oppresse you Let your Petitions bee vnto God who as he giueth seede vnto the Sower so shall he administer vnto you meat drinke and all things necessarie Remember the rich mercies of God which he hath euer shewed to his faithfull distressed children He sent his Prophet Abacuck to Daniel when hee was not only a prisoner and out of the reach of all his friends to releeue him but had for his companions the fearfull deuouring Lyons whose mouthes that most mightie God who will bee yours closed vp they could not hurt his seruant God might haue sustayned him with-out foode as he did Moses and Eliah but to shewe his secret mercies by visible meanes Remember also the miserable estate of that poore distressed woman Hagar ' who was so farre from any hope of worldly helpe in the barren wildernesse hauing a most heauie heart for her poore infant that with the mother was like to perish for want of a cup of cold water despairing as it were in her selfe laid away the childe from her forsooke it as loth to see the sorrowfull spectacle of its death and looked vp vnto GOD that saw her whose mercy and compassion was such towards her as hee opened a Well of water opened her eyes to see it whereby shee refreshed her selfe and relieued her child shewing thereby how carefull the Lord is of the distressed estates euen of such as are out of the couenant of grace how much more of such as take hold of him by faith in Christ namely of them that truly feare him faithfully beleeue in him and vnfainedly serue him When Samson had wearied himselfe combating with the Philistims became so weake and faint as hee was readie to perish for want of water to refresh him did not the same God yea our God the God of the faithfull giue him drinke out of the drie iaw-bone of an Asse Could he bring water sufficient to quench his great thirst out of so small and so drie a vessell yes for as long as hee desired to drinke so long it yeelded water like as did the oyle which by the power of the same God Eliah infused into the emptie vessels of the widdow of Sarepthah it ranne so long as shee had vessells to contayne it When Christ turned water into wine it ceased not till all the vessells were filled vp to the brim So doth the same God euen to this day deale with his children whom he neuer ceaseth to fill and feede as long as they haue faith to receiue his blessings and necessitie to haue them Hee fed foure thousand with seuen loaues and a few fishes and fiue thousand with fiue loaues and two fishes besides women and children hee could with the same meanes haue fed a more infinite number his power is so absolute what hee will hee works and what hee commands is done The hard Rocke must yeeld Riuers of water shewing that he can mollifie the heart of the most cruell Tyrant and in stead of afflicting to comfort his children The deuouring Rauen when God will vse him contrary to his nature shall carry foode to his distressed Eliah so doth hee at this day doubtlesse worke the hearts of most obdurate men to doe good as it were contrary to their condition to them that feare him and faithfully call vpon him in their distresses The examples of Gods presence with his loue vnto his and his power and prouidence ouer his faithfull children are in the Scriptures numberlesse The like are of his iudgements towards the wicked not only particular enemies of his as was Pharaoh Nebuchadnezzar Scnacherib Herod and others but against whole Kingdomes Cities Multitudes the Kingdomes of Israel and Iudah where are they Is not the Scepter departed from them for the wickednesse of the people that dwelt in them Sodom Gomorrah Zeboim Admah and Zegor where are they Came not fire brimstone from heauen vpon them How did the same God cōfound Ierusalem the slaughter-house as it were not only of his Prophets but of his owne innocent Sonne and doe wee not see daily GODS iust iudgements vpon diuers Countries People by fire inundations of water by pestilence warres and famine And is not the sudden hand of God vpon such as at this day blaspheme his Name Needes there examples of such as haue beene striken some
commendable for there is labour in forbidden vanities and paine in whatsoeuer pleasure But labour allowed of God and good men is that which is seasoned with the feare of God for it neuer goeth without the blessing of GOD which it euer finds by the successe If therefore such an industrious man seeme poore by reason of his basenesse yet is he rich hauing the blessing of God and hee that is blessed of GOD here doth euen here beginne his euerlasting happinesse If hee bee idle here or giuen to carnall vanities bee hee neuer so worldly glorious he euen here begins his perpetuall miserie and wretchednesse Labour of it selfe maketh not rich but the blessing of God vpon our labours Blessed are they that feare the Lord and walke in his wayes If therefore yee feare the Lord and therein labour Yee shall eat the labours of your owne hands and well and happie shall yee bee Except the Lord build the house they labour in vaine that build it It is in vaine for you to rise early and to lye downe late and to eat the bread of carefulnesse It is God by his blessing that prospereth your labours making them sweet vnto you and profitable Haue also respect vnto your seruants that labour vnder you that they bee such as neere as you can as feare God for God often-times blesseth the Master for his seruants sake as Laban confessed that God had blessed him for Iacobs sake in all his substance The little that hee had before Iacobs comming was wonderfully increased So was Potiphars House blessed for Iosephs sake If then the wicked bee blessed for godly seruants sake how much more when godly Masters haue religious seruants fearing God And as there is a blessing promised to the godly so a curse denounced against the wicked in their labours They shall carrie out much Seede into the Fields and shall bring in but little They shall plant Uineyards and not drinke the Wine Nothing shall truely prosper with them what paine soeuer they take Feare yee God therefore bee doing good and yee shall bee fed assuredly Yee shall bee like Trees planted by the Riuers of waters that shall bring forth fruit in due season whose leafe also shall not wither and whatsoeuer yee doe it shall prosper The wicked are not so but are as the chaffe which the winde driueth away and scattereth The poore shall not alwayeâ— be forgotten the Lord will bee a refuge vnto you a refuge euen in your greatest dangers for he heareth the desires of the poore and prepareth their hearts O the wonderfull deepnesse of Gods Mercies who because we of our selues are ignorant of good things and dull to all goodnesse our hearts being prophane by nature hee euen hee himselfe hath promised to prepare euen these dull and wicked hearts and to make them fit for his owne seruice not that hee hath neede of any good that our best workes can doe him but for our comfort hee doth it lest that through our owne infirmities we should faint vnder the hand of his most louing corrections and therfore mooued euen of his free Mercies and tender compassion towards the distressed he hath promised and will assuredly performe it that for the oppression of the needie and for the sighes of the poore he will arise and set at libertie whom the wicked hath snared O set the Lord therefore alwayes before you hee is at your right hand therefore shall ye not fall PART VII Pouertie hinders not neither doth riches further true happinesse I Would haue you thinke that happinesse consisteth not in riches nor that pouertie hinders it for riches come and goe and therefore is a man no longer held happy then hee hath riches and consequently reputed happie according to the proportion of his riches But it is not so with godly pouerty or pouertie in the godly which although it be in the extremest degree it is but pouertie when hee wants all necessaries whatsoeuer as meate drinke clothing lodging friends and all helpe yet God careth euen for these poorest fearing him calling vpon him Pouertie nor riches are of themselues good or ill neither make they a man happy or vnhappy but he is happy who trusteth in the Lord and whose hope the Lord is And blessed are they that keâ—pe his Testimonies and seeke him with their whole heart This is true happinesse and none besides Let pouertie or riches fall to a man that knowes not how to vse either hee will bee the worse for either but let either befall a good man and hee will be no worse for neither But coÌ„monly where men are honored for their wealth poore men are despised for their pouertie without respect of vice or vertue so that not the persons but the portions of either are honored or despised If the richest waxe poore contempt increaseth as his greatnesse diminisheth if the poore growe rich his honour growes as doth his welth Is not this respect of persons is there not great partialitie in reuerencing the glorious though vicious and disgracing the poore be he neuer so vertuous God indgeth according to euery mans worke not according to his worth God is indifferently rich in loue to all aswell to the rich as to the poore being Lord ouer all but a father to them onely that loue him in Christ whom he will neuer faile nor forsake vnto the end Let not then pouertie moue you to distrust the Lord though the world despise you and say of you as they did of Dauid yea of my selfe also that there was no helpe for him in God a grieuous temptation I acknowledge but not to the faithfull that hath learned to bee patient to depend on God who is neuer neerer then when carnall men thinke hee hath forsaken his children be not deceiued nor dismayd at their reproches for the poore shall not bee alwaies forgotten neither shall the hope of the afflicted perish for euer Though worldlings make a mocke at the counsell of the poore because their trust is in God Remember they are the men of the world who haue their portion in this life whose bellies God filleth with his hid treasure their children haue enough and leaue the rest of their substance vnto their childrens children But behold yee the face of the LORD in righteousnesse liue godly and yee shall be timely satisfied with euery thing necessary he will send downe from heauen and take you and bring you out of all your troubles God chooseth to himselfe the man that is godly and when he calleth vpon him he will heare him He blesseth the righteous and with fauour compasseth him about on euery side as with a shield therfore feare not your pouertie nor bee afraid of man that may despise you and reproch you for your afflictions sake Remember the afflictions of Dauid and the reproches that Shemei cast vpon him rayling on
yet remaynes in our corrupt hearts that we being thus washed in the Lauer of perfect regeneration the precious bloud of that slayne Lamb by faith we may not feare the assaults of Satan nor any malicious instrument of his this night but may be safely kept and preserued by thy prouidence and receiue such rest and sléep as may onely refresh vs let thy Angels guard vs and our soules and bodies and all that we haue that we it may bee kept and preserued safe vntill the morning and for euer Amen O Lord increase our faith A Confession of sinne a Prayer for pardon and for a godly and sanctified life O God and Father of all Goodnesse and Fountaine of Mercie the Guide of the Righteous the Giuer of all perfect gifts and the Sanctifier of the heartes of all that shall be saued shew thy selfe vnto me who am a defiled and deformed wretch whom originall corruption and actuall sinnes haue so polluted as I am not worthy to stand in thy sight or that thou shouldest dwell in mée by thy holy Spirit And therefore I cannot without feare and astonishment without trembling and shame approch into thy presence séeing mine owne filthinesse and considering thy great Maiestie Integritie and Puritie yet am I embeldened to come vnto thée coÌ„passed with many infirmities especially with 〈◊〉 and corruption which if I would endeuour to conceale I cannot they are so open and manifest to thine All-séeing eye that the more I labour to hide them so much the more they breake forth and shew themselues vnto thée O looke not vpon them as a Judge to condemne me for them but as a louing and mercifull Father and Phisician to cure mée of them so shall I not onely willingly discouer vnto thée all the sores and pollutions of my corrupt heart and pro phane life which by search I shall bée able to finde in my selfe but intreate thée also with the Lancet of thy Loue to cut searifie rip vp and find out all the hidden filthinesse that lurketh in my soule in my minde in my will and in mine affections and apply the Playster of the sauing Bloud of Jesus Christ to heale mee throughout that there remaine no more grosse corruption in mée and learne mée so to search and know the wickednesse of my heart that I may not spare my dearest and most familiar sinne but may â—ast it out as the chiefest worker of my miserie Lord let it become bitter lothsome and méerely hatefull vnto my soule as a most deadly infection howsoeuer it hath béene heretofore séeming swéet pleasing and delightfull vnto my carnall part Let mée abhorre all iniquitie and truely abstaine from all occasions to sinne againe Giue mée strength O Lord to ouercome my sinfull lusts and what wanteth in my power supply by thy grace that I may at least still striue against euery sin through the power of thy Spirit that I may bée approoued a member of thy Militant Church here where yet I am a stranger and where I continually féele the wearisome warfare betwéene the flesh and the Spirit wherein I haue neuer the victorie but by thine only power but the fâ—yle euer by mine owne weaknesse O subdue my flesh and fleshly minde to thine obedience that I neuer make ship wracke of a good conscience by yéelding vnto the motions of my corrupt heart which I daily féele in my selfe to rebell against thy reueiled will and make mée lightly to estéeme of the vaine and deceiuing things of this World that I may truly shew my selfe to take no thought for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof but by a constant deniall of mine owne will approoue my selfe to liue by Faith after thy will And giue mée grace that in nothing I may offend thy Maiesty and let mée neuer giue way to mine owne corrupt will and affections to commit the least sinne whereby I may quench that sparke of that Spirit and Grace thou hast begun in mée Enlighten my heart that I may know thy will aright and rightly behaue my selfe according vnto the same not for a day and then fall to the workes of mine owne peruerse will againe but that my Righteousnesse may shine more and more through a constant perseuerance vntill it come to that perfection as may truly testifie vnto my conscience that I am the same that I desire to séeme to be not according to the opinion that others haue of mee but according to that measure oâ— holinesse thou requirest to be in me let my outward integritie bee in all holy simplicitie and godly purenesse among men as in thy sight And the more that Satan by his meanes and ministers endeuoureth to withdraw mine obedience from thée so much the more let mée striue to maintaine that dutie and obedience which I owe vnto thée And let thy loue towardes mée draw mée to loue thée aswell when thou touchest mée with aduersttie as when thou giuest me prosperitie and fayle mée not in my greatest néed Teach mée O Father to séeke and obtaine all things at thy hands by the meanes and merits of Jesus Christ in whose name I humbly offer vnto thée this my weake and imperfect Sacrifice Accept it yet in him he is thine only Sonne in whom thou art euer well pleased hée is my Redéemer and hath paid the ransome for me which for my sinnes was laid vpon me and hee sitteth now a Mediator at thy right hand euen for me Scatter therefore O Lord my sinnes as a mist and mine iniquities as a Cloud and let my Righteousnesse appeare as the Sunne and mine Integritie before men as the noone day that my heart may alwayes behold thée And let thy face of fauour and loue spread its beams so ouer mee that I being inlightened by thée may walke as in the cléere Light of sauing Truth and be euer led by the hand of thy Grace that neither sinne Satan the World nor mine owne corruptions cause me to stumble and fall Giue me good Father the Spirit of perfect Prayer And although through the coldnesse of my Zeale and weaknesse of Faith I cannot cry vocally vnto thée alwayes alike yet accept the will and the sighes and grones of my heart which cannot bee expressed yet knowne to thée Thou knowest the meaning of the heart and hee that inwardly mourneth for his sinnes though hee outwardly cry not for Mercie thou hearest him it is thy Grace that worketh sighes in the sorrowfull heart and which inkindleth the fire of Zeale whereby the tongue is mooued from the beléeuing heart euen in often inforced silence to pierce at length euen the Heauens with the loudnesse of its cry And thou againe graciously grantest the faithfull hearts desire by outward reliefe or inward comfort so that nothing wanteth to him that séeketh thée but hee is filled with all ioy and spirituall consolation In this ioy let all worldly ioyes bee swallowed vp in mee and let mee preferre the peace of a good conscience before all carnall peace and