The Husbandmans Companion, Meditation 89
Ʋpon promiſing trees after blaſted.
89. Med.
IN an early ſpring when there was great likelihood of much fruit, when the trees were richly beautifyed with plenty of buds and bloſſoms, and there was great expectation of a plentifull year of fruit, behold in a moment all our hopes were daſht, and the trees were ſuddenly blaſted with lightning, or an evil winde, and ſo thoſe that even now were in the heigth of their pride and glory, were now made barren, and the very leaves as well as the bloſſomes were ſcorched, and by this means our hopes were ſuddenly daſht, and the trees rendred unfruitful; This ſudden yet divine providence ſhews to us the power of God in diſpoſing theſe outward enjoyments, for as he doth for his peoples ſin and abuſe of his mercies, threaten, to take away his corn in the time thereof, and his wine in the ſeaſon thereof, and recover his wooll and his flax, which he had given her to cover her nakedneſs, Hoſe. 2.9. ſo hath he power to take away other fruits of the field, and to fuſtrate the hopes of the husbandman, for the power to give and to take away he hath reſerved in his own hands, Job. 1.19. This providence how dark ſoever it ſeemed, yeelded me ſome light, and taught me this profitable leſſon, not to put overmuch confidence in any earthly enjoyment, how promiſing ſoever, nor to call any thing my own before I have it in my poſſeſſion, nor depend upon it too much then, for there is an uncertainty, and a vanity writ upon all theſe outward things, they are like unto Jonah's gourd that grew up in a night, and periſht in a night, and have a worm bred in them, that many times eats out their very hearts; when God blows upon any earthly enjoyment, it oft vaniſheth away, and comes to nothing; Hag. 1.6. ye have ſown much and bring in little, ye eat but ye have not enough, ye drink but ye are not filled with drink, ye cloath you but you are not warm, and he that earneth wages puts it into a bag with holes, &c. ye looked for much, and lo it came to little, and when ye brought it home I did blow upon it, &c. and when he blows upon any earthly enjoyment, it withers and comes to nothing; oh how much would it conduce to our happineſs to ſet a light eſteem upon thoſe ſo tranſitory, ſo fading enjoyments, and to reſign up our wills to Gods will in all things, then ſhould we never be fruſtrated in our expectations, or diſappointed in our hopes, and what is beſt for us would ſurely come to paſs, but when we expect great matters and they fall ſhort of our expectation, then we are apt to be caſt down, and our hearts deſpond; but if we expect little, we ſhall not be much troubled if it prove but little; wilt thou ſet thy heart (ſaith Solomon) upon that which is not, riches take themſelves wings and fly away, Pro. 23.5. they will never pay us for our pains, or countervail our coſt; the faſhion of this world paſſeth away, and the glory thereof; riches were never true to thoſe that truſted in them, earthly enjoyments ofttimes prove as tranſitory, as a haſty headlong torrent, they paſs away as ſwift as a ſhip, a bird, an arrow, a poſt that paſſeth by, a weavers ſhuttle, of if you can name any thing ſwifter in pace, or quicker in motions; The ſame day for ought we know found Job the richeſt man in all the Eaſt, and left him poor, even to a proverb, as poor as Job, Pſal. 37.35. I have ſeen the wicked in great power, ſpreading himſelf like a green bay-tree, yet he paſt away, and lo he was not; I ſought him, but I could not finde him: our age doth afford a thouſand examples of this nature, thouſands in Ireland, many in England, have been rich ore night, and ſtript of all ere morning; yea, in Ireland it is imagined two hundred thouſand ſuddenly loſt their lives, with their eſtates, and were cruelly butchered by the bloud-thirſty Papiſts: how oft may we ſee in our times, great families rooted out, God blows upon them, blaſts them, and they wither, and their great eſtates dwindle into nothing, and that by an inſenſible hand of God, when no man can give an account or reaſon of it; many promiſing young men that were like to thrive and grow rich in the world, God hath blown upon them, and they have come to nothing: Many that have had promiſing parts, great naturals gifts, and endowments, and God had lent them many talents, but they not improving them, God hath called for them up, and given them to thoſe that better deſerved them, and they have met with a ſenſible decay, though it ſtole inſenſibly upon them, that they may ſay, as Zedechiah to Micaiah, which way went the ſpirit of God from me to go to thee? it is no hard thing to obſerve a wane and decay of Gods gifts in thoſe that uſe them not, their abilities fail amain when once they begin to fail, till at laſt God lays them aſide as broken veſſels, and cauſeth them to be forgotten as dead men out of minde, Pſal. 31.21. and as uſeleſs, lazy, unprofitable, and unſaithful ſervants, they ſhall be caſt into outer darkneſs: as they buried their talents, ſo their ſouls ſeem buried in their bodies for a while, till both be buried in hell for ever; Many in our times alſo that have had ſeeming grace, and like the glow-worm made a great ſhew in a dark night, yet have had their light extinguiſhed, and they have proved but like rotten ſhining wood; many that have had lamps in their hands, have had them blown out for lack of oyl; Many have ſeemed like corn freſh, and flouriſhing, but proved like that on the ſtony ground, or on the houſe-top, never came to maturity; when the winde turns they ſoon kick up their profeſſion, and ſteal away from their colours; or when the ſun of perſecution is up, wither: oh my ſoul, promiſe not thy ſelf great things in the world, neither content thy ſelf with ſmall things for eternity; be as ſerious for grace, as others are for gold, and make as ſure for heaven, as others do for the world; if thou wilt plant, let it be in a better ſoil, then maiſt thou expect a better encreaſe, neither winde, nor ſun, froſt, nor ſnow, thunder nor lightning, can blaſt or nip thoſe flowers of paradice; Lord, take off my affection from the world, and ſet them upon Chriſt, then ſhall I never be diſappointed of my hopes.