yeares after this promise was made there were but seventy soules that came out of Abrahams loynes namely when Iacob went down into Egypt which if we compute the time wee shall find to bee just two hundred and fifteene yeares for Abraham was seventy and five yeares old when the promise was made hee was an hundred yeares old when Isaac was borne Isaac was forty yeares old before he married and hee continued twenty yeares without a child and Iacob was one hundred and thirty yeares old when he went into Egypt so that the time fals to bee just two hundred and fifteene yeares which was just halfe the time from the promise till the people of Israels comming out of Egypt which S. Paul saith Gal. 3. 17. was foure hundred and thirty years Now observe that whereas God halfe this time did but little for Abraham in the fulfilling of this his promise yet because Abraham followed him fully ventured himselfe wholly upon the faithfulnesse of the Lord see how fully God came in with his mercy at the last for in the second two hundred and fifteen yeares hee so encreased his seed that from seventy soules they were growne up to bee sixe hundred thousand and three thousand and five hundred and fifty Num. 1. 45 46. and these onely from twenty yeares old and upward such men as were able to goe to warre there was thus many of these besides all children and women which it is like were far the greater number yea and the Tribe of Levy was not numbered amongst this number there were two and twenty thousand and upwards of them besides Thus you see how fully God comes in at the last in his mercy and making good his word of promise to such who follow him fully Be you as full as you can in following the Lord the Lord will bee as full towards you in doing good unto you Gods mercy shall be every as full as your obedience can bee 2 Sam. 22. 26. with the upright thou wilt shew thy selfe uprigh The words are in the Originall With the strong and perfect thou wilt shew thy selfe strong and perfect God will goe on strongly to his perfection of mercy towards them who doe goe on strongly in their perfection of obedience towards him Psal 11. 7. The Lord loveth righteousnesse and his countenance doth behold the upright The words translated word for word are thus The Lord loveth righteousnesses and his faces shall behold the upright Righteousnesses that is when all the duties of righteousnesse are together And his faces shall behold that is all the severall kindes and manners of the blessed comfortable manifestations of his love the upright shall have The great difficulties thou meetest with in Gods wayes if thou beest not discouraged but goest thorow them they shall turne to thy greatest comforts As Caleb who was not discouraged by the Anakims those great Gyants and the strong places they lived in which so much discouraged the rest Therefore Hebron the place of the Gyants was given unto him for a possession Iosuah 14. 12 13 14 and 15 verses God certainly will remember the kindnesse of those who are willing to follow him through the wildernesse of difficulties and discouragements Ierem. 2. 2. You who doe thus shall die without staine without any blur which few doe your memories shall be sweet and blessed when you are dead and gone You shall have an entrance ministred unto you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdome of our Lord and Saviour Iesus Christ 2 Pet. 1. 11. This is promised not onely to those that are godly but abound in it as verse 8. They shall be as a ship comming gloriously into the Haven with full saile Thus S. Paul 2 Tim. 4. 7 8. with much confidence and full assurance concludes That seeing hee had fought the good fight and finished his course and kept the faith henceforth there was laid up for him a crowne of righteousnesse which the righteous Iudge should give him at that day hee challengeth it upon the righteousnesse of God When the soules of these who have followed God fully are to enter into heaven the everlasting doores shall stand wide open for them as when great men come to a house the great gates are set open for their entrance and in Heaven oh how full a reward shall there be there for them as 2 Ep. Ioh. 8. vers There is fulnesse of joy at Gods right hand Psalme 16. ult So full as shall bee more than can enter into them they must enter into it because it cannot enter into them there they shall not taste of joy and happinesse but shall bee filled up with them This Christ encouraged his Disciples withall Luke 22. 28 29. Yee are they which have continued with mee in my temptations and I appoint unto you a Kingdome as my Father hath appointed unto mee With this S. Paul encouraged himselfe in all his afflictions hee met withall while hee was following the Lord 2 Cor. 4. ver 17. For our light affliction which is but for a moment worketh for us a farre more exceeding eternall waight of glory First it is glory and this word alone implies that there is exceeding much in it but further it is a waight of glory yea an eternall waight of glory and more than that an exceeding eternall waight of glory as if yet it were not exprest fully enough hee addes further a farte more exceeding eternall waight of glory and what expression can bee fuller than this This was that likewise that incouraged Moses in his full following the Lord forsaking the pleasures the riches the treasures of Egypt that hee migh follow the Lord fully For hee had saith the Text a respect unto the recompence of reward Hebrewes 11. 26. And you whose hearts and wayes are fully after the Lord have the more cause to rejoyce in this your blessednesse because it it is the blessednesse but of a few Iniquity shall abound saith Christ and the love of many shall waxe cold but hee that endures to the end shall bee saved It is but a hee in the singular number that endures to the end Let these encouragements then fill your hearts with joy and your spirits with renewed resolutions and vigour to fill up your course let them fill your sailes that you may goe on with strength and prosper and be for ever blessed in your way I conclude this Vse with that of the Apostle 2 Cor. 7. 1. Seeing we have these promises these incouragements let us labour to perfect our holinesse in the feare of God And thus I passe to the last Vse which is of Exhortation CAP. V. An Exhortation to follow the Lord fully NOw the Lord carry our hearts fully after himselfe As the two blinde men Matth. 20. vers last as soone as their eyes were opened they followed Christ so were our eyes opened wee would certainly follow after the Lord were they fully opened our hearts would follow fully Many of you have some convictions
some inclinations stirrings of affections good resolutions you begin to have good thoughts of Gods wayes you are almost perswaded Oh that the work were throughly done it is pity but that these beginnings should be improved When Christ saw the good inclinations of the young man when he came unto him the Text saith He looked upon him and loved him those beginnings are lovely but how lovely then would the full worke be if these beginnings were brought to perfection In this Vse we shall shew first the Motives which may draw our hearts to the following of the Lord fully 2 What it is that hinders the soule in this worke that it may bee prevented 3 What it is that would bring off the heart fully indeed For the first there is infinite reason that our hearts should bee fully after the Lord for 1 There is a fulnesse of all good in God hee is worthy Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory honour and power Revel 4. 11. Thou art worthy to receive the highest honour that any of thy creatures can by any meanes give unto thee The Heathen gods were honoured as those who were onely Authors of some particular good things and therefore there were such a multiplicity of them one was honoured as the Author of one good thing and another as the author of another and therefore particular honour was sufficient for them There was no reason that that any of them should have the whole soule working in the fulnesse of the operations of it after them but our God is not so he is an universall good in whom there is all good and from whom all good flowes and by whom all good is preserved in the being it hath and therfore it is a most absolute universall honor and service that is due to him if wee had thousands of soules and if they were all of ten thousand times larger extent than they are yet infinite reason there would bee that they should all in the full latitude extent strength of them work after this our God to honour and magnifie and worship this God for ever As that blessed Martyr once said What have I but one life to lay downe for Christ If I had as many lives as there are haires upon my head they should all goe for Jesus Christ He saw Christ worthy of all hee had yea of more than he had This was Gods own Argument to Abraham Walk before me and be upright bee perfect for I am God al-sufficient I have all perfection in me and therefore be thou perfect before me Secondly consider God might have had full glory in your destruction let him not bee a loser in his shewing mercy to you How much better is it for you that hee should have the fulnesse of his glory in his mercy to you than the fulnesse of it in his judgements upon you This he might have had long agoe yea and the fulnesse of his glory hee will have if you give it not to him hee will force it from you Thirdly Christ hath fully gone thorow the great work of Redemption he would never leave it till he had fully accomplished all and said It is finished This was a mighty work for the accomplishment whereof he passed thorow more difficulties than ever thou art like to do in the fullest measure of following the Lord that possibly can be Fourthly yea Gods mercies for the present are very full towards you his pardoning mercies and his supplying mercies with all things needfull when hee receives thee to mercy he fully pardons all thy sins hee leaves nothing upon the score he remits all thy punishments This was Davids Argument Psal 103. 1 2 3 Blesse the Lord O my soule and all that is within mee blesse his Holy Name and blesse the Lord O my soule again as if he should say O let God be fully blessed by me why what was that that raised and inlarged Davids heart It followes Who forgiveth all thine iniquities and heales all thy diseases and vers 4. He crownes thee with loving kindnesses and vers 5. He satisfies thy mouth with good things God gives his servants a fulnesse in all they doe enjoy his grace exceedingly abounds towards them in every thing That place in 2 Corinth 9. 8. is very remarkable for the setting out of the abounding of Gods grace towards his people And God is able saith the Text to make all grace abound towards you that ye alwayes having all sufficiency in all things may abound to every good work What ever God is able to doe for us by faith wee make it as if it were done And this power of God is set forth to the Corinthians as a Motive to perswade them to full obedience that they might abound to every good work which if they did they should have this power of God active fully working for them according to these large expressions wee have of it in this Scripture And observe the severall expressions 1 It is grace 2 Then all grace 3 Then all grace abounding 4 A sufficiency 5 An all-sufficiency 6 An all-sufficiency in all things And 7. alwayes an all-sufficiency in all things And is not here an Argument full enough to cause them and us and all Gods people for ever to abound in every good worke How often doth God fill our cup with mercy and make it even runne over as Psal 23. 5 If there shall be an All-sufficiency in all things then there will be an all-sufficiency in our greatest straits in our greatest afflictions in our greatest seares As it is said of the wicked Iob 20. 22. in the fulnesse of his sufficiency hee shall bee in straits the contrary is true concerning Gods people in the fulnesse of their straits they shall be in all-sufficiency God causeth all his Attributes and all the wayes of his Providence and all his creatures to work for the good of his people All that is in God all that God doth and all that belongs to God is for them therefore infinite reason there is that all they are that all they doe that all they have should worke for his honour First all there is in God 1 is for them Ierem. 32 41. I will rejoyce over them to doe them good and I will plant them in this land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soule God cals for no more from thee than he is willing to give unto thee hee would have thy whole heart thy whole soule for his honour and hee promiseth to give thee his whole heart and his whole soule for thy good Againe all that God doth is for thee Psal 25. 10. All the pathes of the Lord are mercy and truth unto such as keepe his Covenant and his testimonies The pathes of the Lord are the wayes of God in the passages of his Providence not onely some particular acts but the track of God in his wayes his pathes Now all these pathes of God that is
if David should have said I am resolved to walke before thee in a perfect way and yet I have not thy gracious presence with mee oh when wilt thou come unto mee but still whatsoever becomes of mee I am determined to continue walking within my house with a perfect heart The like place we have Psal 119. 8. I will keepe thy statutes oh forsake me not utterly As if he should have said O Lord thou hast in some degree forsaken mee thou seemest as if thou wouldest forsake mee yet Lord I am determined that I will keep thy Statutes Thus the upright heart resolves Though I should perish everlastingly yet I will perish following the Lord and if I cannot follow him I will cry after him and if I cannot cry after him I will look towards him yea though he appears to bee angry yet will I follow him as â—ob Though hee kils me yet will I trust in him Though there be much guiltinesse upon the spirit so that the devill and an unbeleeving sullen heart would much discourage from following after the Lord yet still it will not leave off but it labours to encourage it selfe as Samuel did the people 1 Sam. 12. 20 21. Samuel said unto the people Feare not ye have done all this wickednesse yet turne not aside from following the Lord but serve the Lord with all your heart and turne you not aside for then should you goe after vaine things which cannot prosit nor deliver for they are vain Thus the soule that followes the Lord reasons with it selfe Though it is true I have sinned mine iniquities are great God may justly be provoked and for ever reject me yet I will not turne aside from following him I know there is no good to be got els-where though I be unworthy of mercy yet God is worthy of honour and therefore what ever I can doe I will that God may have honour though I perish yea this soule though it receives many a repulse yet still it will follow As the woman of Canaan though Christ called her Dogge yet she leaves not off she acknowledgeth her selfe to be a Dog yet still she seekes Yea though God seems to go crosse wayes quite contrary to that the soule expected yet still this soul will follow him even in those wayes As when the Lord called Abraham to follow him into a Land that should flow with milke and honey Gen. 12. 1. Abraham was content to leave his owne countrey his fathers house his kindred and all his friends and notwithstanding as soone as he came into that Land he found there was a famine in the land Verse 10. so that he was forced to get into Egypt and that with the perill of his life or else he must have starved Flesh and blood would have murmured much at this and have said What is this that Land that God said hee would shew me is this that fruitfull Land for which I must leave my Country and all my friends and now as soone as I come into it I am ready to starve in it and yet Abraham followed God still in all the wayes he was pleased to lead him in Againe when God promised to multiply his Seed as the Starres of heaven yet for twenty yeares after this Sarah was barren God seemed to neglect his promise and after when he had a childe in whom all the Nations of the earth were to be blessed yet this Child Abraham must kill And here God seemes to goe crosse to his Promise yet Abraham followes God still One who followes God fully indeed lookes up to the goodnesse of God in himselfe and in his Promise not to it as it appeares to sense hee sees more good in the Promise then in all the things in the world though hee sees nothing though hee seeles nothing in himselfe nor in any creature for the present and what worke hee followes the Lord in hee will not leave imperfect he will not give over till hee sees something come of it if he followes God for a broken heart he will pray and meditate and pray and meditate again and again if it were a thousand times and a thousand times over again till the worke comes to some effect And so for power over a corruption and strength in any grace where there is truth of grace there will bee working like fire that never leaves working till it breakes forth and gets the victory Hence that place of our Saviour Matth. 12. 20. where hee sayes hee will not quench the smoaking flaxe nor breake the bruised Reed till hee send forth Judgement into victory If wee observe the place of the Prophet from whence this is taken which is Esay 42. 3 the words are He shall bring forth judgement unto truth noting that wheresoever there is truth there will bee victory Christ will nourish the smoaking flaxe that is the least worke of grace till Judgement that is this worke of sanctification bee brought into victory and overcome what opposeth it If hee brings any beginnings of grace to truth the victory is already gotten It is reported of Master Bradford that he would never leave off when hee was in holy duties till hee found something comming in as in confession of sinne till hee found his heart melt and breake for sinne in seeking pardon till hee found some quieting of his spirit in some intimation from God of his love and so for grace till hee found his heart warmed and quickned It is an excellent thing indeed to resolve to follow the Lord in duty howsoever though nothing should come in by it to our selves but yet the heart that is right will never be satisfied in the performance of a duty till it finde some manifestation of Gods presence in it some worke of God put forth upon it by it it will not rest in duty performed it is not satisfied in good inclinations in good desires it hath nor in gifts it receives nor in comforts it findes in the creature nor in enlargements and more inward joyes but it must have grace and God it must have some impression of God upon it to carry with it as a Seale of that presence of God it did enjoy in the dutie it so strives with the Lord as it resolves not to let him goe till it hath got a blessing It is a very full expression that S. Bernard hath to this purpose in two or three words Oh what a mercy were it continually to enjoy that which he saith Oh Lord saith he I never goe away from thee without thee he meanes he never leaves off duty till hee gets the presence of God and so carries the Lord along with him Oh how often doe we goe from God without God! we thinke it enough that we have beene before him in holy duties though indeed we still abide strangers to him he to us How often doth God send us empty away from his presence which we should account a sore and grievous affliction But
God to receive the sentence of their eternall doome when they are to enter upon eternity how many then blesse God that ever he put it into their hearts to go another way not according to the common course of the world Though humour and conceitednesse may please and give content for a while yet it can never bring such peace and joy in sicknesse and death and when the soule sees it hath to deale with such an infinite holy God such a dreadfull Majesty none apprehend the glory and Majesty of God so as the godly doe none understand what eternity means so as they doe the sight of these things would shake men out of an humour it is not humour that can stand before God and the eternall misery or happinesse of the creature rightly apprehended it is time now to lay aside humours and conceits and yet then when these things are most clearely most powerfully apprehended by Gods servants even then they are most for the wayes of God in which they differed from the world than ever they were before it is now their greatest griefe that they have no more differed from them than they have and if they were to begin againe they would differ farre more than ever they did Sixtly Surely it is not humourous conceited singularity because most men who have enlightned consciences when they are most serious in their best moods are of this mind If you will needs go by multitudes we dare venture upon this yea we dare challenge upon this argument onely with these two Cautions 1 That the men you bring in be men of inlightned consciences for what have we to doe with others who are blind and ignorant though there were never so many thousands of them they can adde nothing at all to the cause 2 Let the judgements of men be taken when they are most serious when they are best able to judge doe not take them when they are in passion when their lusts are up but when their spirits are calmed and in the best temper when conscience hath the most liberty to speake indeed what it thinkes and of such men in such times we shall have the most on our side and therefore surely it is not a humour of singularity that acts the in the way of godlinesse Seventhly It is not singularity for we have the Prophets Apostles Martyrs Saints of God before us cloudes of witnesses thousand thousands of them and every one of them worth ten thousands of others as S. Chrysostome hath an expression in one of his Sermons to the people of Antioch It is better to have one pretious stone than to have many halfpenies so one godly man is better than multitudes of others And S. Cyprian hath the like expression in one of his Epistles Doe not attend to the number of them sayes he for one that feares God is better than a thousand wicked It is safe to follow the way of good men according to that in the Proverbs 2. 20. Walke thou in the wayes of good men and keep the wayes of the righteous Now then let neither the wayes of godlinesse or godly men ever be blamed for their singularity other spirits must needs lead into other wayes It was laid to Luthers charge that he was an Apostate he confesses himselfe to be one but a blessed and a holy Apostate one that had fallen off from the devill So wee confesse this is singularitie but a blessed and a holy singularity which differences Gods servants from this vile wicked world in which they live whereby they live as men of another world as indeed they are CAP. VIII Blesse God for making this difference betweene your spirit and the vile spirits of the men of the world SEeing this other spirit is so excellent and blessed then doe you to whom God hath given other spirits learne to blesse GOD for them the mercies of GOD to mens spirits are the greatest mercies though your conditions be meaner than others in other respects yet if your spirits be raised to an higher excellency than others you have infinite cause to blesse the Lord as S. Paul Ephes 1. 3. Blessed be the Lord which hath blessed us with all spirituall blessings in heavenly things in Christ What though God hath not abounded to you in outward honours estates delights yet if he hath abounded to you in wisdome holinesse faith humility c. you have no cause to complaine Where God gives his Spirit in the gifts and graces of it there hee gives all good things hence whereas S. Matthew sayes Chap. 7. 11. How much more shall your Father in heaven give good things to them that aske him S. Luke 11. 13. bringing in Christ speaking upon the same occasion sayes How much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Ghost to them that aske him as if all one to give his Spirit and to give all good things Spirituall blessings make all outward crosses light and easie as Prov. 18. 14. The spirit of a man will sustaine his infirmities Spirituall blessings have this excellency in them they cause a man to feele no need of many outward things which others know not how to want and it is as good to bee in such an estate to have no need of a thing as to enjoy it when we want it And further it is the excellency of spirituall blessings to keep downe the body and to carry the spirit above the body It was the excellencie and glory of the Martyrs that their spirits were so satisfied with mercies they had that they so little regarded their bodies when they suffered grievous torments as if they had not been their own Thus Zozomen reports of them Spirituall blessings are such as inable men to improve all other blessings they enjoy without these the greatest of other blessings would prove to bee the greatest curses to us and yet further These blessings upon our spirits cost God infinitely more than other blessings doe Other blessings God can give at a lower rate but these cost the dearest heart blood of his owne Sonne and therefore above all let God have the praise of these Outward bodily mercies we are unworthy of but when we consider of these let us say as David Psal 66. 14. Come and hearken all ye that feare God I will tell you what he hath done to my soule There God hath magnified his mercies toward me indeed You may remember how base your spirits once were how blinde foolish drossie sensuall and it may bee malicious This S. Paul cals to minde to stirre up himselfe and others to praise God for that blessed change he had wrought in his and in their spirits Tit. 3. 3. For we our selves also were in times past saith hee unwise disobedient deceived serving divers lusts living in maliciousnesse and envie hatefull and hating one another but when the bountifulnesse and love of God our Saviour appeared c. But if your spirits have not beene so vile as
shall follow them with anguish and horrour and fill up their spirits with them It may be once they had some flashy comforts in the performance of some duties but they shall be all taken from them and dismall horror and hideous amazement of spirit shall possesse them Pro. 14. 14. The backslider in heart shall bee filled with his owne wayes Much more than the backslider in heart and life too hee shall bee filled he shall have enough of them Conscience one day will upbraid fly in the face and teare the heart Oh wretched creature what hast thou done whom hast thou forsaken is it not the God of life and peace and comfort and all good that thou hast forsaken are they not the blessed wayes of holinesse the wayes of eternall rest and peace that thou hast left God hath likewise forsaken thee and all good and comfort begins to withdraw it selfe from thee thou art like to bee left in horrid dismall darknesse Just it is that thou shouldst be left as a forsaken forlorne miserable wretch who hast thus wretchedly and vilely forsaken God and his truth for the enjoyment of such poore base things as thy heart is turned aside unto How wilt thou be able to looke upon the faces of those with whom thou hast formerly joyned in holy duties and hast had communion with But how canst thou looke upon the face of the blessed God when hee shall appeare in his glory unto thee What anguish will it bee to thee when thou shalt see others who have continued in their way following the Lord to be for ever blessed in that God whom their soules have followed and cleaved constantly unto but thy selfe because thy base unbeleeving heart dared not venture all upon him now thou art cast out for ever as an eternall curse Oh what rack of conscience will it bee when thou shalt see in what a faire way once thou wert but for want of comming off fully and constantly in such and such particulars thou art now for ever lost Lastly these men are hatefull both to God and Men they are hatefull to Men because they goe so farre and to God because they goe no further as Hebr. 10. 38. If any man draw back my soule shall have no pleasure in him Oh what a happy thing were it if God would trouble the wayes of these poore creatures if hee would make them bitter and grievous to them if hee would magnifie his mercy and his power in turning their hearts againe towards him if hee would deale with them as hee did with his people Hosea 2. 6. 7. Hedge up their wayes with thornes make a wall that they should not find their paths that so they might at length come to that blessed resolution wee find there I will goe and returne to my Husband for then it was better with me than now So I will goe and returne to my former wayes and follow after the Lord againe from whom I have wretchedly departed for then it was better with me then it is now then I had more comfort more peace more safety more blessing than I have now And let such know that though it were just with God for ever to reject them who have forsaken him just to say that vanity should bee their portion who have turned after lying vanities and many of the Ancients have made the case of such exceeding doubtfull especially if after conviction they have forsaken God againe and againe as Clemens Alexandrinus thought that God might give such the first and second repentance but if they fell oftner there was no renewing them by repentance And Origen seemed likewise to bee of the same minde in his 5. Homily upon Leviticus Chap. 25. So Tertullian in his Book of repentance God grants saith hee a second repentance but no further Thus we see the strictnesse of these Ancient times But though these leave these men exceeding comfortlesse yet let them know that the Lord cals them to returne again unto himselfe For though it be saith the Lord that if a wife have played the harlot and shee be put away and become another mans her husband will not receive her again yet saith the Lord Ier. 3. 1. Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers but yet returne to mee and verse 22. Returne yee back-sliding children and I will heale your back-slidings Oh that your hearts would answer as theirs there did Oh that this gracious offer of the Lord might have the same effect upon your hearts as it had upon theirs Behold say they wee come unto thee for thou art the Lord our God truely in vaine is salvation hoped for from the hils c. Wee see wee see wee have beene utterly deceived the wayes that wee have chosen have not beene good shame hath devoured our labour wee have bestowed our labour in shamefull things we lie downe in our shame and our confusion covereth us for wee have sinned against the Lord our God As when a man goeth from the Sunne yet the Sunne-beames follow him shine on him warme him so though thou hast departed from the Lord yet the beames of Gods mercy this day follow thee they shine on thee Oh that they might so warme thy heart as to cause thee to returne CAP. IV. Comfort and encouragement to those who follow the Lord fully IF this following of the Lord fully be the honour of the Saints before the Lord then here is comfort and encouragement to those whose conscience doth witnesse that their hearts and wayes are fully after the Lord. What ever others do yet there are a generation of men in the world who doe fully follow the Lord Blessed are you of the Lord you are honourable in the eyes of God and man you make up in part that hurt that is done to Religion by others you bind up the wounds of Jesus Christ and do in part heale his scarres If you bee content to give up all to God to betrust God with all know that there are many blessed promises full of mercy and encouragement for you that God will make good to the full unto you yea they shall come to you fuller of goodnesse and blessing than you can imagine Caleb challenged this promise of God to him made in this place upon this ground Ioshuah 14. 8. five and forty yeares after it was made for hee was but forty yeares old when hee went to spie out the Land and when hee challenged this promise in this place bee saith verse 10. I am this day fourescore and five yeares old Though God may seeme to deferre a while the fulfilling of his promise yet bee encouraged to follow him still for the eye of God is upon you to make good his word unto you and the longer it stayes the more full with good and blessing it will come God seemed to deferre a long time that promise he made to Abraham That hee would make his seed as the starres of heaven for two hundred and fifteene