Christian Geography and Arithmetic, Part 2
I come now to the ſecond Obſervation, which is this.
Doct. 2. That every Day has its proper evil and peculiar Trouble attending it, and enough of it. I need not ſtand much upon the Proof of it, every ones experience bids me ſave my ſelf this Labour, our daily complaints diſcover our daily troubles! where is the Perſon that ever could ſay, this Day have I lived, and met with no Croſs, no Trial, no Diſappointment, no Grief, no Perplexity, every thing, every circumſtance has been to my Hearts deſire, I could not have wiſhed it otherwiſe; but however take a taſte of Scripture-Judgment in this matter: Old Jacob that tells you his years were few, tells you with the ſame Breath,Gen. 47.9. that they were Evil too; Job that ſaies that Man that is Born of a Woman is of few Daies, does at the ſame time ſay that they are full of Trouble; Job 14.1.and indeed ſeeing they are ſo full of Trouble its well for us they are ſo few; and David that ſpeaks of the ſhortneſs of our Dayes, added this, yet is their Strength Labour and Sorrow; Pſa. 90.10.the beſt of them have Trouble enough in them. I ſhall endeavour further to make it appear and evident to you in four Inſtances.
1. Daily Temptations cauſe daily Troubles; how canſt thou expect to be quiet one moment, that hath ſuch an active and diligent Enemy, who goes about night and day ſeeking whom he may devour? he ſleeps not in the night time, much leſs on the day time; he is upon thee continually either as a Tempter, or a Troubler: what a quiet World ſhould we have if it were not for the Devil and his Inſtruments! what brave living will there be when they ſhall be chained up. There is no place but the Devil is there; he is conſtantly at Meetings, and is one of the firſt there, who-ever come late, he is there betimes; how ſhould this ſhame you for your late coming? what comes he for, but to diſturb and diſtract: with vain; unruly, worldly, wandring thoughts? if thou go into thy cloſet, thou canſt not ſhut him out thence for he is there before thee, and aſſoon as ever thou haſt ſhut thy Door, down he ſits with thee, and preſents thee ſometimes with one ſort of thoughts, ſometimes with another ſort; ſometimes he bids make haſte, get thee down, get thy Chapters read, and thy Prayers ſaid, ſuch a buſineſs ſtayed for thee, ſuch an one is to be ſpoken with, and you muſt not fail, your Family wants you, a Cuſtomer waits, &c. be but ſhout now, you may be longer another time: God is a God of mercy, if thou be indiſpoſed now, God is a God of pity, he will paſs it by, he knows the fleſh is weak, &c. Sometimes again with other thoughts, if he ſees thee ſit down to conſider in good earneſt about thy Soul; why, Soul, what doſt thou mean to make thy; life ſo uncomfortable? Godlineſs is a chearful thing, thou comes into thy Cloſet, and thou thinks many a ſad thought, and weeps a great many tears, and puts up ſo many Petitions, and ſpends ſo much time, and thou art never the better; this is but to turn as a Door upon the Hinges, this life is not to be led, this is not to be endured, here comes no fruit at all; it might even be as well not to make ſo much ado, and make Religion a burden, you may do your duty to God, and pleaſe him as much with a great deal leſs trouble to your ſelf; how comfortably does many a good Chriſtian live that do not ſpend ſo much time alone, nor ſo many ſorrowful thoughts, and yet are careful not to neglect their Duty; put away theſe troubled thoughts, and try how it will be &c. This is Satan's Language, and by the way let me obſerve four Deceits, Fallacies and lies in theſe few Words he has ſpoken. Firſt, It is a moſt falſe inſinuation as if too much time and care could be ſpent in good ſervice. Secondly, The good Chriſtian he means, is the careleſs formal Profeſſor, that is much a ſtranger to the Power of Godlineſs. Thirdly, Here is a means to make thy thoughts more ſad and perplexed than they ſhould be, that ſo he may provoke thee to throw all away, all ſeriouſneſs, all Godly Sorrow, as a Temptation. Fourthly, He would put this quite out of thy Mind, that the Soul that diligently waits at the foot of Chriſt Weeping and Mourning, though for a while Sorrow may rather ſeem to increaſe than abate, yet ſhall certainly at laſt meet with full aſſurance, with abundance of comfort, peace and ſatisfaction; they that ſow in Tears ſhall reap in Joy. But yet a little further, Satan is in the ſhop, in the Ware houſe, counting houſe; medling with buying and ſelling, egging on to lying Equivocation, bad Wares, falſe Weights, Overreaching, Defrauding, and preſently after to anger and diſcontent with Servants; and it may be at laſt to murmuring, this Trade will not do, we cannot make both ends meet, ſo many bad Debts, ſo much Damaged Goods, ſuch bad Markets; but if he be on the encreaſing and thriving Hand, then he Tempts to a ſelf-pleaſing proud humour, Eſa. 57.10Thou haſt found the Life of thine Hand, therefore thou waſt not grieved: and now thoughts come crouding in how to keep up and enlarge Trade; Satan ſits down with thee at thy Table, and there he is Tempting to forgetfulneſs of God, drawing fear off, keeping down thankful Spirit, prompting to ſenſuality and gratifying appetite, &c. He lies down with thee, and is impatient whilſt thou art bidding God good night, and has other Work for thee, other Meditations than thoſe of the Name and Word of God; and aſſoon as ever thou awakes in the Morning; he is with thee to diſtract thee and trouble thee: ſay now whether Satan alone be not enough to fill every day with trouble. Secondly, No condition free from temptations, the rich and the Poor, the high and the low; Satan is in Kings Courts, and Beggars Cottages; he is with the ſick Man, and the Healthful, the Freeman and the Impriſoned, the Honoured and the Reproached; no place free, no Condition free.
2. Daily wants cauſe daily Griefs, to want is an Evil, a Miſery, now the Body and Mind are alwaies wanting ſomething: conſider the reſtleſneſs of the Body in a kind of tedious weariſomneſs ſtealing upon us in the very Reflections, the interchangeable Reflections of the Body, we muſt Sleep a while till we be Weary of that, and then we muſt Wake another while till we come to the former again; we muſt Eat a while till we be weary of that, and Faſt another while till we come to the former again; we we muſt ſtand &c. Whatſoever we turn to for our Eaſe, there again we find our wearying; theſe Bodies of ours are like wayward crying Children, that are no ſooner quieted with one thing but preſently complaining again; ſo I muſt walk, I muſt ſit, I muſt cool, I muſt warm my ſelf again; like the Nurſes toil, dreſs and undreſs, how long the very ſame things? Again, conſider the trouble of Laborious toiling and moiling in ſeveral Callings and Vocations to get a little ſupply for the wants of the Body: ſince the time it was ſaid, in the ſweat of thy Brows thou ſhal Eat thy Bread, the World is become a great Correction of Work-houſe, a General Bridewel to task us all to our Labours; the very Bread we put into our Mouths, the very Cloaths we put upon our Backs, the very Houſes we put our Heads into, what are they but evident Arguments of Mans great labour and pains? As for the Houſe, conſider what a deal of labour muſt needs come between the Timber ſtanding uncut in the Mountains, and the Stones unhewn in the Quarry, and the making of them now in the form of a fit Houſe to dwell in; as for thy Cloaths thou putteſt on, conſider but all the labour that comes between the Sheeps wearing them on their Backs, and thy wearing them on thine; As for the Bread alſo which thou putteſt into thy Mouth, conſider (beſides the Plowing up the Ground) the great labour that comes between the Seed-Mans hand caſting it into the Ground, and thy Hand putting it into thy Mouth; conſider well but theſe, and then thou wilt acknowledge many great labours every Day. I might add likewiſe the great Trouble that comes in regard of Sores, and Sickneſſes and Infirmities; they know well what this trouble means, that tell the Clock whilſt others ſleep, that have weariſome Dayes and Nights appointed for them, that are ſeldom free from Pains and Weakneſs and griefs as much as they can well bear. Conſider alſo the manifold troubles of the Mind by reaſon of diſappointments and diſcontents from Friends, from Enemies, from Children, from Servants &c. will you now ſay that our daily wants and troubles that flow from thence are not ſufficient to fill every Day with as much Affliction as ever it can hold?
3. Daily fears bring daily perplexities; have you a Day without its fears, fears about the ſtate of your Souls, whether your Faith be right, your Repentance unfeigned, your Duties accepted, your Works wrought in God? whether you have ſavingly cloſed with Jeſus Chriſt upon Goſpel-terms? whether you have brought all to him, and take all from him? whether you are truly Married to him, and can groundedly ſay, my Beloved is mine, and I am his; I hare every falſe way, I have reſpect to all God's Commandments, ſo far as I am acquainted with his will? Again, fears about holding out, my Corruptions are ſtrong, my temptations are preſſing, I ſhal one Day fall by the Hands of my ſtrong Luſts and unruly Affections; if Perſecution ſhould come I ſhould do as Peter did, I ſhould want Courage, I ſhould diſhonour God, I know not how to ſuffer Impriſonment or be a Martyr for the Goſpel and Waies of Chriſt: Again Fears of Death, which keep ſome in Bondage all their dayes, every day they do upriſe; what ſhall I do when I come to Dye? I cannot think of it but with amazement, I cannot look that King of Terrours in the Face, I neither know how to part with my Comforts, nor yet how to endure the Pains and Pangs of Death, and leaſt of all to meet with God, who I have caufe to Fear is not at peace with me; and then what will become of me to fall into the Hands of a Living God who is a Conſuming Fire? Again, fear of outward Want; how the World will hold out? how I ſhall maintain my Family and bring up my Children; ſuch Fears as theſe are daily companions to ſome: though by the way let them conſider that fear Want, that they want nothing ſo much as Faith; a little more Truſting God, and a little leſs ſinful; foreſight and needleſs care would do very well: Now tell me whether all theſe Fears and a great many ſuch like, be not enough to ſpoil the comfort of our Day.
4. Daily defects and diſappointments procure daily Miſery and Vexation. The ſhortneſs that is in every Creature-comfort, and which the Soul cannot but be every day ſenſible of, muſt needs cauſe Trouble; I thought to have had ſuch an eaſy ſeat, and the ſtool breaks under me, I promiſed my ſelf ſo much comfort in this Child, How are my hopes, and expectation fruſtrated! I reckon'd that this deſign would have proſpered and have done my Work, and I ſee it has failed me; I ſee theſe Worldly enjoyments are but dreamiſh things, they are but ſhadows, they can feed the hunger of the Soul, but they cannot feed the hungry Soul; I have been Labouring for the Wind, I never plcaſed my ſelf in any thing, but to be ſure I met with a Croſs in it: theſe outward enjoyments promiſe more than they can perform; I never leaned upon them, but they deceived me, I never truſted them but they failed me, Riches, and Friends, and Relalations make themſelves Wings and they flee away; I was at the merry meeting but ſome things were wanting, and ſome paſſages did not pleaſe me: and thus you have the proof of the Doctrine, I now come to give you the Grounds and Reaſons of the point,foreign how it comes to paſs (as you have already heard how it does appear:) that every day ſhould be ſo full of Trouble, What is the matter? why will God have it ſo?