The Bowels of Tender Mercy Sealed in the Everlasting Covenant, Religious treatise · Part 1 · Chapter 4 · Section 8
SECT. XIII.
THere is yet one comfort more from this that God is your God, which is this, If God be your God, then all is yours: As he ſaid Christ… …, & omnia, Chriſt is mine, and all is mine; ſo Deus mens, & omnia … ▪ If If God be ours, all is ours.God be your God, then heaven and earth are yours; whatſoever there is in all the world that may do you good, it ſhall be yours: The Apoſtle expreſſely delivers as much in 1 Cor. …. …1. All things are yours. Ver. 22. Whether Paul or …, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things preſent, or things … come, … yours. He doth not in theſe expreſſions intend that Chriſtians have a civil, and common intereſt in all mens earthly poſſeſſions, but this is it which he intend, viz. That God ordains all things for the good of his people, and makes th…m ſerviceable thereunto. All thoſe choice gifts which he beſtows on Miniſters, … Apoſtles or others they are beſtowed on them for the good of his Church; And all the things of the world, whatſoever good they may afford, they are to let out the ſame for the good and comfort of the people of God; and all the conditions and ſtates of things are for their good, life ſhall do them good, and d…th ſhall be for their good, and all the viciſſitude of things are for their good; the preſent poſtute of things, and the future ſtate of things, (whether of proſperity or adverſity) all occurrences whatſoever are for their good, Rom. 8. …. We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to th… that are called according to his purpoſe: As if you conſider ungodly and wicked men, (who are none of the people of God) there is nothing in all the world that doth them good: The Ordinances of Chriſt (by reaſon of the unbelief of their hearts) do them no good; they are the favour of death unto d…th …nto them, and not the ſavour of life … life; the bleſſings of God do th…m no good, they prove curſes unto them, … table is a ſ…e unto them, and their rich… … thorns … them, and their proſperity is a ruine unto them; the judgments of God do them no good, they learn not righteouſneſſe by them, they harden their hearts under them, and grow more obſtinately wicked; Wherefore ſhould ye be ſmitten any more? ye revolt more and more: So on the contr…ry, all the diſpenſations of God, (either of the world, or in the world) they are for good to the people of God.
Outward mercies are bleſſings to them; they eat and drink, and rejoyce, and praiſe and bleſſe the Lord their God. Outward afflictions are mercies to them, they do them good; It is good for me that I have been afflicted, ſaid David, Pſal. 119. 71. By theſe things men live, ſaith Hezekiah; he chaſtiſeth us for our profit or good, ſaith the Apoſtle, Heb. 12. 10. Wants and enjoyments, honours and diſhonours, ſickneſſe and health, ſmiles and frowns, life and death, all doth them good.
There are four things, which I beſeech you who are the people of God to remember.
1. All the good in the World is in the Fathers hands; it is the Fathers for poſſeſſion, All the good in the world is in the Fathers hands(he is the poſſeſſor of Heaven and Earth; Gen. 14. 22.) and for Dominion, The earth is the Lords, and the fulneſſe thereof, Pſal. 24. 1. Both riches and honour come of thee, and thou reigneſt over all, and in thy hand is power and might, and in thy hand it is to wake great, and to give ſtrength unto all, 1 Chron. 29. 12.
2. When God makes a Covenant with you, he doth alſo take in all the creatures, God makes a Covenant with the creature to be ſerviceable for your good.and layes a bond of ſpecial command upon them to be ſerviceable to your good: he doth not leave them out, but covenants with them to do you good: This is (I confeſſe) a ſtrange expreſſion that God ſhould make a Covenant with other creatures for the good of ſervice unto his own people; and yet this you may expreſly read in Hoſ. 2. 18. In that day will I make a Covenant for them with the beaſts of the field, and with the fowls of heaven, and with the creeping things of the ground; and I will break the bowe, and the ſword, and the battle out of the earth, and will make them to lie down ſafely. ver. 19. And I will betroth thee unto me, for ever. ver. 21. And I will hear, ſaith the Lord, I will hear the heavens, and they ſhall hear the earth. ver. 22. And the earth ſhall hear the corn, and the wine, and the oyle, and they ſhall hear Jezreel.
There are two choice things obſervable in theſe words. 1. One is, that God makes a Covenant with his people to bring them into a near and ſweet relation unto himſelf, this you finde (in verſe 19.) I will betroth thee unto me for ever. 2. A ſecond is, That God makes a Covenant for his people, and that is two-fold.
1. For their ſecurity, to ſecure them againſt all danger and evil: and this you finde (in verſe 18.) I will make a Covenant for them with the beaſts of the field; &c. No creature ſhall do them hurt, neither the beaſts of the field, nor fowles of the aire, nor the creeping things of the earth, nor no wicked enemies who bend the bow, and draw the ſword, and prepare to the bottle; As when a Covenant is between Nation and Nation, all the people are thereby bound up from all acts of hoſtility and miſchief; ſo the Lord by making a Covenant with the beaſts and fowls, &c. he doth therein binde them up from being prejudicial to his people.
A ſecond is for their proſperity: and this you may finde (in verſe 21. 22.) I will hear the heavent, and the heavens ſhall hear the earth, and the earth ſhall hear the …rn, and the wine and the oyle, and they ſhall hear Jezreel. As if all the creatures (when we are in covenant with God) were ſo many ſupplicants and Petitioners unto God, entreating of him that they might be uſed for a bleſſing unto us. The heavens do (as it were) beg of God that they may ſend down ſeaſonable ſhowers, and ſeaſonable influences; and the earth doth (as it were) beg of God, that it may be made fruitful by thoſe influences of heaven, &c. And God doth promiſe to hear every one of them for Jezreel.
3. All the creatures are in the hand of the Father; and as all creatures are All creatures are in a ſubordination to the will of your God.brought into the bond of the Covenant for you, ſo all the creatures of the world are in a ſubordination, and a neceſſary ſubmiſſion unto the will and pleaſure of your God. If he ſaith to any of them Go, it goeth, or to any of them Come, and it cometh; your God hath an over-ruling Providence over them: all their power, and operations, and motions are at the ſole will and command of him; they act as God will have them act, and when God will have them act, and for them for whom God will have them to act; and ſhall not all this be for you for your good who are the people of his Covenant, and the children of his love?
If all this cannot ſatisfie you, then know, that as God hath the command of all As God hath the command of all good in the creature, ſo he hath engaged to ſettle it upon you.creature good and comforts, ſo he hath engaged himſelf unto you to ſettle that kind of good upon you. Though the earth, and the things of the earth, be not your only portion, and be not your beſt portion, yet it is a part of your portion, Pſal. 37. 22. Such as be bleſſed of him ſhall inherit the earth, verſe 29. The righteous ſhall inherit the land: He will not ſuffer the righteous to want: he watches over you to do you good.
I do not know any one outward bleſſing, but God hath promiſed it to his people; length of dayes, and riches, and honour and peace, Prov. 3. 16, 17. Food, and raiment, and liberty, and ſafety, and friends, and children, the former, and the latter raine, &c. Joſephs bleſſing from Jacob is their portion, Gen. 49. 25. The God of thy Father ſhall help thee, and the Almighty ſhall bleſſe thee with the bleſſings of heaven above, bleſſings of the deep that lieth under, with bleſſings of the breaſt, and of the womb. 1 Tim 4. 8. Godlineſſe is profitable unto all things, having the promiſe of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.
And for Heaven it ſelf, it is the Kingdom prepared for you, and an inheritance reſerved for you.
I will ſay no more to you who are the people of God concerning your intereſts in For your intereſt in earthly bleſſings, You have the ſureſt enjoyment of them. You ſhall have the comfortableſt enjoyment of them.theſe earthly things, but this;
1. You ſhall have the ſureſt enjoyment of them: Bread ſhall be given unto you, and your waters ſhall be ſure, Iſa. 33. 16. The Lord will never leave you nor forſake you, Heb. 13. 5.
2. You ſhall have the comfortableſt enjoyment of them. The bleſſing of the Lord it maketh rich, and he addeth no ſorrow with it, Prov. 10. 22. He maketh me to lie down in green paſtures. He leadeth me beſides the still waters, Pſal. 23. 2. A little that the righteous hath, is better than the riches of many wicked, Pſal. 37 16.
Your outward mercies are all of them ſweet drops diſtilled out of the love, and out of the Covenant of your God; And are enjoyed together with the apprehenſion of God reconciled to you in Chriſt, and with peace in conſcience, and joy in the holy Ghoſt.
3. You have the eaſieſt enjoyment of them. They come in at a more eaſie rate: the You have the eaſieſt enjoyment of them.enjoyments of wicked men do coſt them dear; many times they coſt them their ſouls, and at all times they coſt them painful drudgings and vexing cares: but the people of God enjoy upon praying termes, and believing termes, and ſafe termes.
4. You have the longeſt enjoyment of them: Surely goodneſſe and mercy ſhall follow You have the longeſt enjoyment of them.me all the dayes of my life, Pſal. 23. 6. Hearken unto me O houſe of Jacob, &c. which are born by me from the belly, which are carried from the wombe: and even to your old age I am he, and even to hoary hairs I will carry you, Iſa. 46. 3. 4.