A Chain of Principles, Aphorism 1
APHORISME I. Mans bleſſedneſs conſiſteth not in a confluence of wordly accommodations, which are all vanity of vanities; but in the fruition of God in Chriſt, who onelyonly is the ſtrength of our hearts & our portion for ever.
EXERCITATION 1.Aph 1. Pſal. 144. end opened. Bleſſedneſs what. Solomons ſcope in Eccleſiaſtes. Why he ſtiles himſelf Coheleth. His testimony concerning the creatures. Their threefold tranſcendent vanity. Intellectual accompliſhments brought under the ſame cenſure, by reaſon of the folly, enmity, anxiety and inſufficiency that attend them. An apoſtrophe to the world.
§. 1. THis is a caſe, which hath long ſince been determined by the Prophet David, who in Pſalm the hundred fourty fourth, after he had twice charged thoſe, whom he calls ſtrange children, with a mouth ſpeaking vanity, once in the eighth, and again in the eleventh verſe, goeth on to record (as good Interpreters ancient and modern do conceive) Auguſtin. Genebrard. Ainſworth. Jo. Baptiſt. Folengius in Pſal. 144.the ſubſtance of their vain talk in a way of boaſting about their flouriſhing condition in reference to thriving of children, Our ſons, ſay they, are as plants grown up in their youth (not wiſhing they might, as we reade it, but boaſting they were) our daughters as Exerc. 1.corner-ſtones poliſhed after the ſimilitude of a palace; To plenty of proviſion, Our garners are full affording all manner of ſtore; To increaſe and uſefulneſs of cattel, Our ſheep bring forth thouſands and ten thouſands in our ſtreets, Our oxen are ſtrong to labour; To peace and tranquillity of eſtate, There is no breaking in, nor going out, no complaining in our ſtreets. Hereupon they applaud themſelves, and as placing their happines in ſuch outward accommodations, ſay, as it is in the former part of verſe the fifteenth, Happy is the people that are in ſuch a caſe. Beatum dixerunt populum cui haec ſunt.Which ſenſe is extremely favoured, not onelyonly by the vulgar Latine, inſerting Dixerunt, but alſo by the Septuagint, who render it by foreign, both concur ring to have it read, They pronounced the people bleſſed that were in ſuch a caſe. Then come in the laſt words according to this interpretation, as the Pſalmiſts reſolution in the point, by way of Epanorthoſis, or in expreſs contradiction rather to ſo groſs a miſtake, yea bleſſed are the people which have the Lord for their God.
§. 2. There is one centre in which the deſires of all men meet, however diſtanced in the circumference; One port, for which they are all bound, although imbarked in ſeverall veſſels, and affecting different winds to ſail by. That centre and port is Bleſſedneſs, which may admit of this deſcription. It is the acquieſcence of rational appetites in an object ſo full of reall and durable goodneſs, as to be able fully to ſatisfie all their longings. The queſtion debated in Eccleſiaſtes is, whether any thing under the ſun be ſuch an object. The Preacher reſolves it in the negative, by reaſon of that univerſal vanity, which overſpreads the whole creation. Therefore it is, that the eye Eccles 1. 8.(as he telleth us) is not ſatisfied with ſeeing, nor the ear with hearing, becauſe theſe two ſenſes of diſcipline, when they have given their utmoſt intelligence cannot preſent the ſoul. of man, with any created accommodations perfectly good without defect, and perpetually good without decay. Solomon was one that had both men and money at command, to aſsiſt him in making difficult and coſtly experiments; a wiſe heart able to dive into natures ſecrets; a peaceable reign, in which he met with nothing to take him off from the work, or diſturb him in it; ſtrong inclinations and conſtant endeavours to finde out the utmoſt of what could poſsibly be diſcovered in any creature, yet he it is that concludes, upon triall, not upon hear-ſay, or conjecture, Vanity of vanities, Eccles 1. 1.ſaith Coheleth, vanity of vanities, all is vanity.
§. 3. Coheleth, which is the ſtyle he gives himſelf in that Book, comes from a root, that ſignifies to collect and gather, and, though it be of a feminine termination, is, for want of a common gender in the Hebrew tongue, (as other words of the like form) capable enough of a maſculine conſtruction. To him it may be thought agreeable upon four different notions, each whereof contributeth much validity to what he teſtifies. Firſt as a Preacher, who having gathered ſundry arguments to convince the ſons of men of the inſufficiency of all things below God himſelf to render them happy, in that Diſcourſe ſpeaks as to a Congregation; whereas in the Proverbs he had ſpoken as to one man, frequently uſing this compellation, My ſon. So Hierom, and Cajetan. Secondly as a writer, who had collected into a Synopſis all the opinions of thoſe, who had been taken for wiſe men by their ſeverall followers concerning happineſs, confuting ſuch as vvere erroneous. So Grotius. Thirdly as a Student, who had gathered much wiſdome by obſervation and experience, which he there gives demonſtration of. So Broughton. Laſtly as a Penitent, who having by his groſs idolatry and other ſins fallen from communion vvith the people of God, and being deſirous to have his return ſtand upon record, and to teſtifie his repentance in that book, for the Churches ſatisfaction gathers together many experiments of his own perſonal folly, and makes an humble confeſsion of them: whereupon he was reſtored, and again gathered into the boſome of the Church. So Cartwright and Junius. The witneſs vve ſee is beyond exception.
§. 4. In his Teſtimony, Vanity of vanities, vanity of vanities all is vanity, the Aſſertion is repeated, as in Pharaohs dream, to ſhew its certaintie; and the term of vanity doubled, partly to manifeſt the tranſcendency thereof, as the moſt holy place was ſtyled The Holy of Holies, and the moſt eminent Canticle The Song of Songs: and partly to note the multiplicity, as Scripture calleth that the Heaven of Heavens, which, being higheſt, contains many heavens within its circumference. For there is in the creatures a threefold tranſcendent vanity; as may appear in that they are
Firſt ſo unprofitable, as to be hurtfull withall. Upon this the Preacher ſeems to have had a ſpeciall eye, becauſe after All is vanity, he ſubjoyns immediately What profit hath a man of all his Eccles 1. 3.labour, which he hath taken under the ſun? He hath done nothing but filled his hands as it were with air, who hath been toyling all his days to repleniſh his cheſts with wealth: And what profit Eccles 5. 16.hath he that hath laboured for the wind? Juſt ſo much, and no more, then that Emperour got, who having run Septimius Severus.through various and great employments, made this open acknowledgement, Omnia ſui, ſed nihil proſuit, I have been all things, but it hath advantaged me nothing at all. Neither are they ſimply unprofitable, but this ſore evil did Solomon ſee under the ſun, namely, Riches kept for the owners thereof to Eccles 5. 13.their hurt. They often prove prejudiciall to the outward man, expoſing it to danger. Who ever robbed a poor beggar, or begged a poor fool? more often to the inward: whence that of Agur, Give me not riches, but feed me with Prov. 30. 8, 9.food convenient for me; leſt I be full, and deny thee, and ſay who is the Lord? As if abundance made way for Atheiſme in thoſe that know not how to manage it. Plenty betrays many ſouls to ſlavery. Which made the good Emperour Maximilian ſecond of that name, when a maſs of treaſure was brought in, refuſed to have it hoarded up, profeſsing himſelf A keeper of men, not of Hominum …on opum mihi demandata eſt cuſtodia; quibus ſi ſemel capiar illico è Rege ſervus futurus ſum. Beyerlinck. Apophtheg. Chriſtian. pag. 210.money, and fearing leſt by falling into love therewith he ſhould ceaſe to be a Sovereign Lord, and become a ſervant to the mammon of unrighteouſneſs.
§. 5. Secondly ſo deceitfull as to fruſtrate expectation when mens hopes of advantage by them are at the higheſt. Let him that would rightly conceive of vanity (ſaith a late Caſuiſt) imagine the Idea of a thing made D. Sanderſ. praelect. de Jurament. pag. 40. Jonah 2. 8.up of nothing as the matter, and a lie as the form of it. Scripture ſpeaks of lying vanities, and uſeth the terms deceitfull and vain as equipollent. Favour (ſaith Bathſheba) is deceitfull, and Prov. 31. 30.beauty is vain. The Poet interprets Vanus Virg. Aeneid. 2. carm. 80.by mendax; and in old Latine vanare was the ſame with fallere. The creatures are wont ſhamefully to fruſtrate mens hopes, and ſeldome or never make good to the enjoyer what they promiſed to the expectant. Yea as Jonahs gourd (having done him no ſervice in the night, when he needed it not) withered in the morning, when he hoped for moſt benefit by it againſt the enſuing heat of the day: ſo the bleſsings of this world frequently wither at ſuch times as we looked to finde the moſt freſhneſs in, and refreſhment from them. None but Haman was invited with the King to Queen Eſthers banquet; this filled his bladder with windy hopes, which ended ſoon after in his ruine.
§. 6. Thirdly ſo inconſtant and mutable as to be gone all on the ſudden without giving their owners warning. That is ſaid to be vain which vaniſheth. Man is like to vanity, Pſalm. 144 4.his days are a ſhadow that paſſeth away. Accordingly the two ſons of the firſt man carried in their names a memorandum of what they and their poſterity were to expect. Cain ſignifies poſſeſsion, Abel vanity: All the poſſeſſions of this world are of a vaniſhing nature, and liable to a ſpeedy decay; or rather, they are not Poſſeſsions but Quod mirari… pompa eſt. Oſtenduntur iſtae res, non poſſid…ntur, & dum placent tranſeunt. Senec. epiſt. 110.Pageants, which whileſt they pleaſe us, paſs away from us in a moment. Thoſe we have here are running banquets, delicate, and ſerved in with ſtate, but ſoon over. How many doth ſwift deſtruction ſnatch every day out of the arms of worldly felicity, and ſtab to the heart at one blow! Behold Belteſhazzar in the midſt of his cups and concubines ſtruck into a deadly trembling. Herod, when the people had newly inveſted him with a Godhead preſently, ere it was well on, had it pulled over his ears, and became a prey to worms. The rich man in our Saviours parable invited himſelf to a feaſt of delicacy, and talked of proſperity laid up for many years; but that very night was his ſoul required of him to pay the reckoning.
§. 7. Theſe things duely weighed, I could not but be affected with that gallant ſpeech of a Chriſtian writer, If P. De la ſerv's myrrhour p. 85.the fruition of all the world were to be ſold, it would not be ſo much worth as the labour of ones opening his mouth onelyonly to ſay, I will not buy it: Yet wondered leſs at it, when I remembred how much ſome even heathen Philoſophers have diſdained Major ſum, & ad majora genitus, quàm ut mancipium ſim me…corporis. Senec. epiſt. 65.to think of ſcraping to themſelves an happineſs out of the worlds dunghill, how generouſly they have profeſſed their living above ſuch accommodations as it affords. I am really greater (could Seneca ſay) and born to far greater things then that I ſhould become a ſlave to my outward man. For there are ſome higher acqueſts gloried in by more ſublimed fleſh and bloud, as much more conducing to bleſſedneſs, I mean intellectual accompliſhments of wiſdome and learning. Yet, as when the enquiry was Where ſhall wiſdome be found and where is the place of underſtanding? The Job 28. 13, 14.depth ſaid it is not in me, and the ſea ſaid it is not with me; So if the like queſtion be put concerning Happineſs, worldly wiſdome it ſelf muſt return the like anſwer, and ſay It is not in me, by reaſon of the folly, enmity, anxiety and inſufficiency that attend it, ſo as the Preacher might well determine even of it, This is alſo vanity.Eccles 2. 15.
§. 8. I. Folly. The wiſdome of this world is fooliſhneſs with God. So the Apoſtle, 1 Cor. 3. 19.who ſpeaking elſewhere of thoſe who bore the name of moſt knowing men, ſaith They became vain in their imaginations and their fooliſh heart Rom. 1. 21, 22.was darkned, profeſsing themſelves wiſe, they became-fools. With men indeed a little ſcience may make a great ſhew; but he onelyonly is wiſe in Gods eſteem who is wiſe to ſalvation. Give me a man as full of policy as was Achitophel, of eloquence as Tertullus, of learning as the Athenians were in Pauls time; If with Achitophel he plot againſt the people of God, with Tertullus have the poyſon of aſps under his lips, with thoſe Athenians be wholly given to ſuperſtition; for all his policy, eloquence, and learning, one may be bold to call him fool in Scripture-language. The learned Logician, whom Satan dayly deceiveth by his ſophiſtry, and keeps from offering up to God reaſonable ſervice, is no better then a fool for all his skill: Nor the ſubtle Arithmetician who hath not learned to number his days that he might apply his heart to ſaving wiſdome: Nor the cunning Oratour, who although he be of ſingular abilities in the art of perſwading men, is of Agrippa's temper himſef but almoſt perſwaded to be a Chriſtian.
§. 9. II. Enmity. The wiſdome of the Rom. 8. 7.fleſh is enmity againſt God. He that calleth it ſo, found it to be ſo indeed in his own experience; for Paul was no where more oppoſed then in Greece the eye of Acts 17. v. 16. 18, 32.the world, more derided then at Athens the eye of Greece. Whence it is that S. James, not contenting himſelf with the epithets of earthly and ſenſuall, James 3. 15.brands it alſo with the name of Deviliſh wiſdome. What elſe was Matchievel but the Devils profeſſour in politicks, as Arius, Socinus, and ſuch like maſters of errour have been in Divinity? And of ſuch Deviliſh wiſdome what other iſſue can be expected but that it ſhould leade men to the Devil from whom it came? where Bernard Sinete ſapientes hujus ſeculi alta ſapientes, & terram …nge…ter ſapienter deſcendere in infernum. De vita ſolitar.leaves them ſaying, Suffer the wiſe men of this world to go wiſely down to hell.
§. 10. III. Anxiety. Wiſdome is neither attained with eaſe, as requiring much ſtudy which is a wearineſs to the fleſh; neither doth it, when attained, adminiſter eaſe, but the contrary rather: for when ſtudy hath been midwife to knowledge, knowledge becomes nurſe to grief. Let Solomon ſpeak; I gave my heart to know wiſdome, I perceived Eccles. 1. 17, 18.that this alſo is vexation of ſpirit. For in much wiſdome is much grief, and he that increaſeth knowledge increaſeth ſorrow. Many and dreadfull are the damps that ſeize upon ſuch as dig deep in the mines of learning. Sharp wits like ſharp knives do often cut their owners fingers. The deep reach of a prudent man makes him aggravate ſuch evils as are already come upon him, by conſidering every circumſtance ſo as to accent every ſad conſideration, and anticipate ſuch as are yet to come, by galloping in his thoughts to meet them. Had not Achitophel been ſo wiſe, as to foreſee his inevitable ruine in the remote cauſes of it, when Huſhai's counſel was embraced, he would never have made ſo much haſt, as he did, to hang himſelf.
§. 11. Laſtly Inſufficiency to render men either holy or happy. For when the worldly-wiſe have dived into the bottome of Natures ſea, they are able to bring up from thence in ſtead of theſe pearls of price, nothing but hands full of ſhels and gravell. Knowledge indeed and good parts managed by grace are like the rod in Moſes his hand wonder-workers; but turn to ſerpents when they are caſt upon the ground, and employed in promoting earthly deſignes. Learning in religious hearts like that gold in the Iſraelites ear-rings is a moſt pretious ornament: But if men pervert it to baſe wicked ends, or begin to make an idol of it, as they did a golden calf of their ear-rings, it then becomes an abomination. Doubtles theſe later times, wherein ſo many knowing men are of a filthy converſation, and have joyned feet of clay to their heads of gold, would have afforded good ſtore of additional obſervations to him that wrote the famous book concerning the vanity of Sciences, which appeareth Corn. Agrippa.in nothing more then their inability to produce ſutable deportment in ſuch as enjoy them; without which there can be no ſolid foundation laid for true happineſs.
§. 12. Wherefore bething thy ſelf at length, O deluded world, and write over all thy ſchool-doors, Let not the Jerem. 9. 23.wiſe man glory in his wiſdome; Over all thy court-gates, Let not the mighty man glory in his might; Over all thy Exchanges and Banks, Let not the rich man glory in his riches. Write upon thy looking-glaſſes that of Bathſheba, Favour is Prov. 30. 31.deceitfull and beauty is vain; Upon thy Mewes and Artillery-yards that of the Pſalmiſt, God delighteth not in the ſtrength Pſal. 147. 10.of an horſe, he taketh not pleaſure in the legs of a man; Upon thy Taverns, Innes, and Alehouſes, that of Solomon, Wine is a mocker, ſtrong drink is raging, and whoſoever is deceived thereby is not wiſe; Upon Prov. 20. 1.thy Magazines and Wardrobes, that of our Saviour, Lay not up for your ſelves Matth. 6. 19.treaſures on earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, & where theeves break through and ſteal. Write upon thy Countinghouſes that of Habakkuk, Wo to him Habak. 2. 6.that increaſeth that which is not his, how long? and to him that ladeth himſelf with thick clay. Thy Play-houſes that of Paul, Lovers of pleaſure more then lovers 2 Tim. 3 4.of God. Thy banquetting houſes, that of the ſame holy Apoſtle, Meats for the belly and the belly for meats, but God ſhall 1 Cor. 6. 13.deſtroy both them and it; Yea upon all thine Accommodations that of the Preacher, All is vanity and vexation of Eccles. 1. 14.ſpirit.
EXERCITATION 2. A gloſs upon Pſalme 36. 8. God in Chriſt a ſoulſatisfying object. The circular motion of humane ſouls, and their onelyonly rest. A threefold fulneſs of God and Chriſt oppoſite to the threefold vanity of the creatures.
§. 1. VVHat ſhall we then ſay? Are the ſons of men, in whom ſuch ſtrong deſires and longings after bleſſedneſs are implanted left without all poſsible means of attaining that in which rationall appetites may acquieſce? God forbid. They ſhall be abundantly ſatisfied, with the fatneſs Pſal. 36. 7, 8.of thy houſe, and thou ſhalt make them drink of the river of thy pleaſures: ſo David to God concerning ſuch as put their truſt under the ſhadow of his wings. Creature-comforts are but lean bleſſings in compariſon, there is a fatneſs in Gods houſe, ſuch as ſatisfies, and that abundantly. They afford but drops, Chriſt a river of pleaſures. Look as when an Army of men comes to drink at a mighty river, a Jordan, a Thames, Exerc. 2.they all go ſatisfied away, none complaining of want, none envying another, becauſe there was water enough for them all: whereas had they come to a little brook there would not have been found enough to quench the thirſt of every one. So here. The creatures are ſmall brooks that have but a little water in them, yea broken ciſterns that hold Jerem. 2. 13.no water: No wonder if ſouls return empty from them. But Chriſt hath a river for his followers, able to give them all ſatisfaction. We muſt not expect more from a thing then the Creatour hath put into it. He never intended to put the virtue of ſoul-ſatisfying into any mear creature, but hath reſerved to himſelf, Son and Spirit the contenting of ſpirits as a principall part of divine prerogative. To ſuch as expect it elſewhere, that perſon or thing they rely upon may ſay as Jacob did to Rachel, Am I in Gods ſtead?Gen. 30 2.
§. 2. Certain it is that none can make our ſouls happy but God who made them, nor any give ſatisfaction Neque enim facit beatum hominem niſi qui ſent hominem Deus. Aug. epiſt. 52.to them but Chriſt who gave ſatisfaction for them. They were faſhioned at firſt according to the image of God, and nothing ſhort of him who is ſtiled the brightneſs of his Fathers glory, and Heb. 1. 3.the expreſs image of his perſon can repleniſh Ad imaginem Dei facta anima rationalis caeteris omnibus occupari poteſt, repleri non poteſt. Bernard. Serm. de bonis deſerend.them. As when there is a curious impreſsion left upon wax, nothing can adequately fill the dimenſions and lineaments of it but the ſeal that ſtamped it. Other things may cumber the minde, but not content it. As ſoon may a trunck be filled with wiſdome as a ſoul with wealth; and bodily ſubſtances nouriſhed with ſhadows, as rationall ſpirits fed with bodies.
Whatſoever goodneſs creatures have is derivative, whatſoever happineſs they enjoy ſtands in reduction to the Originall of their being. The motion of immortall ſouls is like that of celeſtiall bodies purely circular. They reſt not without returning back to the ſame point from whence they iſſued, which is the boſome of God himſelf. Fiſhes are ſaid to viſit the place of their ſpawning yearly, as finding it moſt commodious for them; and ſick patients are uſually ſent by phyſicians to their native ſoil, for the ſucking in of that air from which their firſt breath was received. Heaven is the place where ſouls were produced; the ſpirit of man was at firſt breathed in by the Father of ſpirits, and cannot acquieſce till he be enjoyed, and heaven in him.
§. 3. Witneſs was born to this truth by the Amen, the faithfull and true witneſs, when ſpeaking of thoſe whom the Father had given him, he uttered that remarkable aſſertion, This John 17. 3.is life eternall that they may know thee, and Jeſus Chriſt whom thou haſt ſent. Alſo when he made his followers that promiſe of reſt, Come unto me all ye that labour, Matth. 11. 28, 29.and are heavy laden, and I will give you reſt. Take my yoke upon you, &c. and ye ſhall finde reſt to your ſouls. God would not reſt from his works of creation till man was framed: Man cannot reſt from his longing deſires of indigence till God be enjoyed. Now ſince the fall God is not to be enjoyed but in and through a Mediatour: Therefore when any man cloſeth with Chriſt, and not till then, he may ſay with the Pſalmiſt, Return unto thy reſt, O my ſoul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. That which the King of Saints teſtified will be moſt readily atteſted by all his loyall ſubjects. Enquire of ſuch as are yet militant upon earth, wherein their happineſs conſiſts, the anſwer will be in their having fellowſhip with 1 John 1. 3.the Father, and with his Son Jeſus Chriſt. Let thoſe who are triumphant be asked what it is that renders their heaven ſo glorious, their glory ſo incomprehenſible, ye ſhall have no other account but this, it is becauſe they have now attained a complete fruition of that alſufficient, alſatisfying, ever-bleſſed and ever-bleſsing object God in Chriſt.
§. 4. Nor can it eaſily be denied by ſuch as conſider that in this object there is found a threefold fulneſs, oppoſite to the threefold vanity in the creatures, which I diſcourſed of before. Firſt a fulneſs of utility oppoſite to their unprofitableneſs. Infinite goodneſs extends it ſelf to all caſes and exigents without being limited to particulars, as created bonity is. Hence in the Scripture God and Christ are compared to things moſt extenſive in their uſe, and of moſt univerſall concernment. Philoſophers look at the Sun as an univerſal cauſe: Chriſt is called the Sun of Malac. 4. 2.righteouſneſs by the Prophet; and The Pſal. 84. 11.Lord God, ſaith the Pſalmiſt, is a Sun and ſhield. In a Tree the root beareth the branches, and the branches fruit. Chriſt is both root and branch. A root in Iſaiah, In that day ſhall there be a root of Jeſſe, which ſhall ſtand for an enſign of Iſa. 11. 10.the people; to it ſhall the Gentiles ſeek, and his reſt ſhall be glorious. A branch in Zechariah, Behold I will bring forth my ſervant the Branch. In a building the Zech. 3. 8.foundation and corner-ſtone are moſt conſiderable in point of uſe. Chriſt is both. Thus ſaith the Lord God, behold I Iſa. 28. 16.lay in Sion for a foundation a ſtone, a tried ſtone, a pretious corner-ſtone, a ſure foundation. In military affairs what more uſefull for offence then the ſword, for defence then the ſhield? The Lord is both. Happy art thou O Iſrael who is like Deut. 33. 29.unto thee O people? ſaved by the Lord the ſhield of thy help, and who is the ſword of thine excellency. In civill commerce money is of moſt generall uſe for the acquiring of what men need, of which Solomon therefore ſaith It anſwereth all Eccles. 10. 19. Quicquid nummis praſentibus opta, & veniet; clauſum poſsidet arca Jovem. Petron. Arbit.things (whence it is that worldlings look at a full cheſt as having a kinde of Deity in it, able to grant them whatſoever their hearts deſire) of God in Chriſt it is moſt true. He onelyonly can anſwer all the deſires, all the neceſsities of his people; and is accordingly ſaid to be their ſilver and gold as Junius renders the place in Job. To him a ſoul may not onelyonly ſay as Thomas did, My Job. 22. 25. Erit Omnipotens lectiſsimum aurum tuum, & argentum, viré…que tibi.Lord and my God, but as another, Deus meus & omnia, My God and my all.
§. 5. Secondly a fulneſs of truth and faithfulneſs oppoſite to their deceit. The creatures do not, cannot perform whatſoever they promiſe, but are like deceitfull brooks, fruſtrating the thirſty travellers expectation. We reade of Semiramis that ſhe cauſed this Motto to be engraven upon her tomb, If any King ſtand in need of money, let him break open this monument. Darius, having peruſed the inſcription, ranſacks the ſepulchre, finds nothing within, but another writing to this effect, Hadſt thou not been unſatiably covetous, thou wouldeſt never have invaded a monument of the dead. Such are all the things of this world. They delude us with many a promiſing Motto, as if they would give us hearts eaſe; but when we come to look within, inſtead of contentment, afford us nothing but conviction of our folly in expecting ſatisfaction from them. With God it is otherwiſe. He is faithfull that promiſed, ſaith the Apoſtle; Heb. 10. 23.And again, Faithfull is he that 1 Theſſ. 5. 24.calleth you, who alſo will do it. I am the way, ſaith Chriſt of himſelf, the truth John 14. 6.and the life. In him beleevers finde not leſs, but more then ever they looked for; and when they come to enjoy him completely are enforced to cry out, as the Queen of Sheba did, The half was 1 Kings 10. 7.not told me.
§. 6. Thirdly a fulneſs of unchangeableneſs oppoſite to their inconſtancy. This God challengeth to himſelf, I am Malac. 3. 6.the Lord, I change not; And Jeſus Chriſt is ſaid to be the ſame yeſterday, and to day, Heb. 13. 8.and for ever. Another Apoſtle, ſpeaking of the father of lights, from whom deſcends James 1. 17.every good and perfect gift, (therein alluding, as Heinſius conceives, to the Heinſius in locum.High Preiſt his Urim and Thummim, that is lights and perfections; to Urim in theſe words father of lights, to Thummim in theſe Perfect gift) tells us that with him is no variableneſs neither Exerc. 3.ſhadow of turning. The metaphor is foreign. Pareus in loc.thought by ſome to be borrowed from the art of painting, wherein pictures are firſt rudely ſhadowed; then drawn to the life. In the creatures we finde a full draught and lively pourtraiture of mutability; but not ſo much as the rudiments of a draught, as the leaſt line or ſhadow of it in God and Chriſt.
EXERCITATION 3. Two concluſions from Pſalm 73. 25, 26. The Pſalmiſts caſe ſtated. The frequent complication of corporal and ſpiritual troubles. How God ſtrengtheneth his peoples hearts against their bodily diſtempers; how under diſcouragements of ſpirit. The ſecret ſupports of ſaving grace. What kinde of portion God is to the Saints. A congratulation of their happineſs herein.
§. 1. FRom that patheticall paſſage in one of the Pſalms, Whom have Pſalm. 73. 25, 26.I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I deſire beſides thee. My fleſh and my heart faileth; but God is the ſtrength of my heart, and my portion for ever. theſe two concluſions may be raiſed.
1. There is no perſon or thing in heaven or earth ſhort of God in Chriſt to be looked upon and deſired as our utmoſt good.
2. The fruition of God in Chriſt is able to make and to continue a man happy even in the midſt of utmoſt extremity.
The former I have treated of in the foregoing exercitations, intending to handle the latter in this. That I account an utmoſt extremity as to kinde, (though as to degrees it may be either more intenſe or more remiſs) when there is a complication of ſufferings both in body and minde at once. Such was the Pſalmiſts caſe here. It is not fleſh alone, or heart alone, but my fleſh and my heart, in conjunction, both failed him at one and the ſame time. Such is the ſympathy of ſoul and body, that when it fares ill with one, the other commonly is diſturbed. If the ſoul be in an agony, the body languiſheth. Satans buffeting Paul with blaſphemous thoughts, as ſome conceive, proved a thorn to his fleſh. On the other 2 Cor. 12. 5. foreign.ſide, if the outward man be tormented, the inward is wont to be diſmaied, even to failing of heart. The Stoicks indeed, thoſe magnificent boaſters, talk of an Apathie, and Plutarch tells us that Ageſilaus, when he lay ſick of the gout, and Carneades, who came to viſit him, obſerving what pains he conflicted with, was about to leave him as one not in caſe to be ſpoken to, bad him ſtay, and pointing at once to his own feet and to his heart ſaid, Nothing Mane Carneades, Nihil enim illine huc pervenit.comes from thence hither; as if his minde were no whit diſquieted for all the ſufferings of his fleſh. But far better men then any of them have born witneſs to the contrary. Our fleſh had no 2 Cor. 7. 5.reſt, but we were troubled on every ſide; without were fightings, within were fears. So Paul. David in one of his Pſalms thus, O Lord heal me, for my bones are Pſal. 6. 2, 3.vexed; my ſoul alſo is ſore vexed. In another thus, There is no ſoundneſs in my Pſal. 38. 7, 8.fleſh; I am feeble and ſore broken, I have roared by reaſon of the diſquietneſs of my heart.
§. 2. But as when Peter walking upon the waves, and perceiving how boiſterous the winds were, began to ſink, Jeſus immediately ſtretched forth his hand and caught him: So when the Pſalmiſts fleſh and heart failed, God even then was the ſtrength of his heart; according to the Original The rock of it. Rocks are not more fortifying to Cities and Caſtles built upon them, then God is to his peoples hearts. A ſincere beleevers ſoul is therefore aſſimilated by our Saviour to an Houſe Matth. 7. 25.founded upon a rock; which was every way aſſaulted, in the roof by rain deſcending upon that, in the foundation by flouds waſhing upon it, in the walls by winds bluſtering againſt them; and yet ſtood becauſe it was ſtrong, was ſtrong becauſe founded on a rock. Such a rock is our God, and that even in ſuch a caſe as hath been deſcribed.
§. 3. Hezechiah whom God had Iſa. 38. 1.choſen to life, was ſick unto death. Lazarus whom Jeſus loved, ſickned John 11. 3.and died. Timothy had his often infirmities. 1 Tim. 5. 23.The Pſalmiſts fleſh failed him, or, to ſpeak in Pauls phraſe, his outward man periſhed; yet God meanwhile 2 Cor. 4. 16.was the rock and ſtrength of his ſick ſervants heart. Firſt by preſerving therein an expectation of ſuch fruit as ſaints uſe to reap from ſuch tryals. Fruit which relates partly to ſin and partly to grace. To ſin by way of cure. Diſeaſes when ſanctified drain the inward as well as the outward man, and help to ſpend out the bad humours of both. Sickneſs (ſaith Iſidore) woundeth the fleſh, but healeth Adverſa corporis remedia ſunt animae. Aegritudo carnem vulnerat, mertun curat. Iſidor. l b 3. de Summ. bono.the minde; is the bodies malady, but the ſouls medicine. For inſtance, weakneſs kills the itch of worldlineſs. Let pleaſure open all her ſhops, and preſent a ſick man with her choiceſt rarities: Let Mammon bring forth all his bags and gingle them in his ears; produce all his Crowns, Sceptres, Mitres, and lay them at his feet, how ready will he be to cry out, Away with them. Behold I am at the point to die (as Eſau once reaſoned) and what Gen. 25. 32.can theſe vanities profit me? The like may be ſaid of ſelf-confidence and pride which are alſo frequently antidoted by diſeaſes. A ſpeciall end (as Elihu tells Job) which God aims at in his chaſtening with pain is to hide Job 33 17.pride from man, that is, to remove it, as what we hide is removed out of ſight. A Chriſtian Emperour, one of the Ferdinands, Ab. Scultetus Idea Concion. in Iſaiae cap. 9. pag. 1. 7 In agone Invistiſſimi titulum agnoſ…e…e no…bat, &c.when his Chaplain Matthias Cittardus came to viſit him as he lay upon his death-bed, and according to the mode of the Court ſtyled him moſt Invincible Emperour, finding himſelf overcome with ſickneſs, would not admit of that compellation, but charged him not to uſe it more: whereupon the Chaplain made his next addreſs on this wiſe, Go to dear brother Ferdinand, endure hardſhip as a good ſouldier of Jeſus Chriſt.
§. 4. Next to Grace, in point of growth. The riſe of grace is ſometimes occaſioned by a ſore diſeaſe. Beza tells Morbus iſle verae ſanitatis principium, &c. Epiſt. praefix. Confeſſioni.us of himſelf, that God was pleaſed to lay the foundation of his ſpiritual health in a violent ſickneſs which befell him at Paris. The growth of grace is always promoted when God makes uſe of this means. It is not more uſual with children to ſhoot up in length, then with Chriſtians to wax taller in grace in or after a ſickneſs. See it exemplified in the famous Proteſtant Divines: Olevian ſaid upon his deathbed, In this diſeaſe I have learned to know Mel. Adam. in vitis Germ. Theol. p 601.aright what ſin, and what the majeſty of God is. Rollock upon his, I am not aſhamed Idem in vitis Exterorum. pag. 189.to profeſs that I never reached to ſo high a pitch in the knowledge of God, as I have attained in this ſickneſs. Rivet upon his, Danberi Orat. funeb. in exceſſum Andreae Riveti pag. 90.In the ſpace of ten days ſince I kept my bed, I have learned more, and made greater progreſs in Divinity, then in the whole courſe of my life before.
§. 5. Secondly by infuſing and exciting a principle of Chriſtian patience, which is therefore able to ſupport and ſtrengthen the heart when Philoſophical Stoical patience cannot do it; becauſe it ſelf is ſtrengthened from ſuch divine Topicks, as Philoſophy knows but little, if any thing, of. I ſhall inſtance in two, The pains of hell deſerved by us, and the pains of Chriſt endured for us. Well may the conſideration of Hell-torments due to us all, as being by nature children of wrath, conduce to the working of patience in us under theſe petty ſufferings in compariſon. For what are theſe rods to thoſe ſcorpions? A feaver to thoſe everlaſting burnings? The ſtone or gout to that fire and brimſtone? A ſick-bed to Hell, where the fit never goeth off, the fire never goeth out, the worm Mark 9. 44.never dyeth? So alſo when upon our beds of ſickneſs we think of that garden wherein Chriſt lay proſtrate upon the ground, in our fits of his Agony, in our ſweats of his water and bloud; the conſideration of his torments, and of our intereſt in them, may well mitigate the ſenſe of our preſent ſufferings, if not wholly ſwallow them up, as Aarons rod devoured thoſe of the magicians. Art thou afflicted with ſore pain in this or that part? He had hardly any member free. Are thy ſpirits feeble and faint? His very ſoul was exceedingly Matth. 26. 38.ſorrowfull even unto death. Doſt thou cry My God, my God, why haſt thou afflicted me? Jeſus cryed with a loud voice, My God, my God, why haſt thou Matth. 27. 46.forſaken me?
§. 6. Yea but how manifeſt ſoever it be that when the fleſh faileth the heart may be ſtrengthened, how the heart it ſelf ſhould fail and yet be ſtrengthened is not ſo evident. I am therefore to make it appear in the next place; that theſe two clauſes, My heart faileth, and God is the ſtrength of my heart, may both be verified at once without a paradox in different reſpects. By reaſon of remainders of unbelief in the moſt regenerate on this ſide heaven, when Satans temptations ſhall ſtrike in with their corruptions, holy men may be induced in a fit of dejection becauſe the Lord hath caſt them down, to conceive and ſay he hath caſt them off. David once ſaid, I had fainted, unleſs I had beleeved to Pſal. 27. 13.ſee the goodneſs of the Lord in the land of the living. Such fainting flows from not beleeving; ſuch unbelief is much fomented by not conſidering that (as no outward bleſsing is good enough to be a ſigne of eternal Election, ſeeing God often filleth their bellies with hid treaſure, who treaſure up to themſelves wrath againſt the day of wrath, ſo) no temporall affliction is bad enough to be an evidence of Reprobation; ſeeing the deareſt ſon of Gods love was a man of ſorrows, and acquainted Iſa. 53. 3.with grief. Yet may the ſame heart at the ſame time be ſtrengthened from another cauſe, namely God, who eaſily can, and uſually doth ſupply ſuch effectual grace as is able to keep the head above water, when the reſt of the body is under it, able to preſerve the Spouſe in a poſture of leaning upon her Cant. 8. 5.beloved in a wilderneſs; to make one with Abraham beleeve in hope againſt Rom. 4. 18. Job 13. 15.hope, and ſay with Job, Though he kill me, yet will I truſt in him. Faith can ſupport when Nature ſhrinks; call God father when he frowns; and make ſome diſcovery of a ſun through the darkeſt cloud. When it ſees no light it may feel ſome influence, when it cannot cloſe with a promiſe, it may lay hold upon an attribute, and be ready to make this profeſsion, Though both my fleſh and my heart fail, yet divine compaſsions fail not. Though I can hardly diſcern at preſent either ſun, or moon or ſtars, yet will I caſt anchor in the dark, and ride it out till the day break. Time was when Jonah ſaid, I am caſt out of thy ſight, but Jonah 2. 4, 7.added with the ſame breath, yet will I look again toward thy holy temple; and preſently after, when my ſoul fainted within me, I remembred the Lord, &c.
§. 7. The connexion of theſe words in the pſalm My heart faileth, but God is Quaecunque me anguſtiae corporis aut animae urunt, Tu meo anims es robur, dum te aeternam mihi haereditatem fore ſpero. Simmius in Pſal. 73.the ſtrength of my heart, and my portion for ever, may ſeem to imply ſome ſuch thing; to wit that in times of languiſhment, God affords a ſtrengthening ſupport in ſecret by encouraging a beleever to wait upon himſelf as his portion for ever, notwithſtanding all his ſufferings for the preſent. There can be no better, or more ſovereign cordiall then this, if we conſider the ſutableneſs, and ſufficiency of God to this purpoſe. In the choice of a portion as of a wife, fitneſs is chiefly to be regarded; ſhe is a wife indeed, who is a meet help, that a portion indeed, which is ſutable to the ſoul of man. God onelyonly is ſo. For the ſoul is a ſpirituall and immortall ſubſtance, therefore to her worldly accommodations are unſutable, becauſe they are, moſt of them corporeall, All of them temporall. But God who is a Spirit, and who onelyonly John 4. 24.hath immortality, fits her exactly in both reſpects. The uncreated Spirit becomes a portion for ever to this his everlaſting 1 Tim. 6. 16.creature. As for ſufficiency, the ſouls appetite is too vaſt for any creatures to fill up the meaſure of its capacity: but when ſhe hath once pitched upon God ſelf-ſufficient in his being, all-ſufficient in his communications, ſhe then hath enough, and is ready to profeſs with David, The Lord is the portion of Pſal. 16. 56.mine inheritance and of my cup: the lines are fallen unto me in pleaſant places, yea I have a goodly heritage. Indeed what can one wiſh in an heritage that is not to be found in God? Would we have large poſſeſsions? He is immenſity. A ſure eſtate? He is immutability. A long term of continuance? He is Eternity it ſelf. I ſhall therefore ſhut up this with a ſerious congratulation to the Saints, and an high applauſe of their bleſſedneſs. Happy, thrice happy you, dearly beloved in the Lord, Quid poteſt co eſſe ſelicius cujus efficitur ſuus conditor cenſus; & haered…tas ejus dignatur eſſe ipſa Divinita…? Proſper de vit. contemplat. lib. 2. cap. 16.becauſe when thoſe men of the world which have their portion in this life, as David ſpeaks, part with theirs (as they muſt all do at death, if not before) you are led to a fuller fruition of your portion. Theirs at the beſt is but ſome good bleſsing of God, that will in time be taken from them; yours is the good God himſelf, bleſſed and bleſsing you for ever. He is ſo at preſent, and he will be ſo to all eternity; A portion of which you can never be plundered. Impoveriſhed you may be, but not undone; diſcouraged, but not disinherited. Your fleſh perhaps, yea and your hearts too may fail, but God will be the ſtrength of your hearts, and your portion for ever. I ſhall add no more, but onelyonly reminde you of what is written in the hundred fourty and ſixth Pſalm, Happy is he that Pſal. 146. 5.hath the God of Jacob for his help, whoſe hope is in the Lord his God.
EXERCITATION 4.Exerc. 4. The firſt Inference grounded upon Iſaiah 55. 1, 2. by way of invitation, backed with three encouragements to accept it, viz. The fulneſs of that ſoul-ſatisfaction which God giveth, the univerſality of its tender, and the freeneſs of its communication. The ſecond by way of expoſtulation, and that both with worldlings and ſaints. A concluſion by way of ſoliloquy.
§. 1. IN the ſynagogues of old upon the eighth day of the Feaſt of Tabernacles, called by the Jews Hoſanna Rabbah the great Hoſanna, and by the Evangeliſt, The laſt day, the great day of Joſ. 7. 37. vid. Ludov. de Dieu in loc.the feaſt, four portions of Scripture were wont to be read. viz. The cloſe of the fifth book of Moſes, called Deuteronomy, the laſt words of the Prophet Malachy, the beginning of Joſhua, and that paſſage concerning Solomons riſing up from his knees after his prayer, and bleſsing the people with a loud voice in the eighth chapter of the firſt book of Kings. Then did Jeſus, who was the end of the Law and the Prophets, the true Joſhua and Solomon ſtand up ſaying, If any man thirst, let him John 7. 38.come unto me and drink. He that beleeveth on me, as the ſcripture hath ſaid, out of his belly ſhall flow rivers of living water. But why did he then ſpeak of waters? Tremellius giveth this account of that out Annot. in loc.of the Talmud. The Jews, ſaith he, upon that day uſed with much ſolemnity and joy to fetch water from the river Siloah to the Temple, where being delivered to the Prieſts, it was by them poured upon the altar, the people in the mean time ſinging out of Iſaiah, With joy ſhall ye draw water out of the wells Iſa. 12 3.of ſalvation. Our Saviour therefore to take them off from this needleſs, if not ſuperſtitious practiſe, telleth them of other and better waters, which they were to have of him, according to what he had elſewhere ſaid by the miniſtery of the ſame Prophet in theſe moſt emphatical words, Ho every one Iſa. 55. 1, 2.that thirſteth come ye to the waters; and he that hath no money, Come ye, buy and eat; yea Come; buy wine and milk without money and without price. Wherefore do ye ſpend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which ſatisfieth not? Words that, beſides an intimation of the forementioned truths concerning the creatures inability, and the ſufficiency of God in Chriſt to ſatisfie ſouls, clearly hold forth a double improvement thereof, one by way of invitation, the other by way of expostulation.
§. 2. The Invitation is ſet on with vehemence and importunity, Ho come, but as not content with that, he doubleth it, yea Come ye, and tripleth it, yea Come. Not Come and look on, or Come and cheapen, but Come and buy, buy and eat. They may be rationally ſaid to Come who frequent the Ordinances, wherein Chriſt is uſually to be found; They to buy, who part with ſomewhat, are at ſome coſt and pains in purſuit of him; They to eat, who feed on him by a lively faith. Careleſs wretches will not ſo much as vouchſafe to Come, by reaſon of their oxen, or farms, or ſome other impediment, the Lord muſt have them excuſed. Formal profeſſours Come indeed, but refuſe to Buy, will lay out no ſerious endeavours in ſearching the Scriptures and their own deceitfull hearts, but are merely ſuperficial in ſuch undertakings. Temporary beleevers (whoſe hearts are really, though not ſavingly wrought upon) ſeem to have bought, yet do not eat, for want of that ſpirit of faith, which ingrafts men into Chriſt, and makes them as truly one with him as the body is with the meat it feeds upon. Want we encouragements to accept of this invitation? The place it ſelf preſents us with three.
§. 3. One from the fulneſs of that ſatisfaction which is here tendered under the metaphors of water, wine, milk, and bread: the laſt whereof is implied partly in thoſe terms of oppoſition, For that which is not bread, as if he had ſaid, ye might have had that of me which is bread indeed, partly in the verb Eat, which cannot ſo properly be applied to any commodity here mentioned, water, wine, and milk being liquids, as to bread. Now there is ſomewhat in Chriſt to anſwer each of theſe. His fleſh is bread, his bloud is wine, his John 6. 51. Matth. 26. 28, 29. John 7. 38, 39. 1 Pet. 2. 2.Spirit is waters, his doctrine is milk. But becauſe I conceive the Holy Ghoſt in this place doth not ſo much intend a parallel of theſe, as a declaration of that ſufficiency which is to be found in Chriſt and his benefits for ſaving to the utmoſt of all thoſe that ſhall come unto God by him; I ſhall onelyonly pitch upon that conſideration, and by adding unto this a like place in the Revelation, briefly demonſtrate from them both how all-ſufficient a Saviour he is. This in Iſaiah holds forth ſomewhat proper to every ſort of true beleevers. Milk for babes, water for ſuch Vinum Lac ſenum.as are young and hot, wine for the aged, bread for all. The other is that of Chriſt to the Angel of the Church of Laodicea, I counſel thee to buy of me gold Rev. 3. 18.tried in the fire that thou maiſt be rich, and white raiment that thou maiſt be clothed and that the ſhame of thy nakedneſs do not appear, and anoint thine eyes with eye-ſalve that thou maiſt ſee, where he commends his gold for ſuch as is tried in the fire, his raiment for ſuch as will take away ſhame, and his eye-ſalve for a ſpecial vertue to make the blinde ſee. Take them together, and there is in them enough to ſupply our principal defects, viz. unbelief in the heart for which there is here gold tried in the fire, whereby we may probably underſtand the grace of faith, concerning which we read in Peter, That the tryal of your faith, 1 Pet. 1. 7.being much more pretious then of gold that periſheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praiſe. And unholineſs in the life, for which there is the white raiment, if by it we underſtand inherent righteouſneſs, according to that in the Apocalypſe, To her was granted that ſhe Rev. 19. 8.ſhould be arraied in fine linen, clean and white, for the fine linen is the righteouſneſs of the ſaints. Laſtly Ignorance in the minde, for which there is his Eye-ſalve to remove it, according to the Apoſtles prayer for his Epheſians, that God would give them the ſpirit of wiſdome Epheſ. 1. 17, 18.and revelation, the eyes of their understanding being enlightned &c.
§. 4. A ſecond encouragement is from the univerſality of this offer. Ho every one that thirſteth come; ſo he do but thirſt he ſhall be welcome, how unworthy ſoever he may be in other reſpects. Dabit deſideranti gratiam, qui dat gratiam deſiderii.He will give grace to the thirſty, who enables them to thirſt after grace. Chriſt is far from turning ſuch perſons away; yea but for ſuch he would have no cuſtomers in the world; his commodities muſt lie by him dead for want of vent; ſeeing others will not take them off, but leave them ſtill upon his hand, as things in which they ſee no need, have no eſteem of. This let all men know for certain, that ſuch as thirſt ſo as to come, come ſo as to buy, buy ſo as to eat, will never have cauſe to repent of their bargain. I have ſomewhere read of a great Commander, who being extremely tormented with thirſt, ſold himſelf and his Army into enemies hands for a draught of cold water; which when he had drunk he repented and ſaid. Oh quantum ob quantillum! How very little is that for which I have parted with ſo very much! Beleevers may take up the like words, but in a far different ſenſe: O how much grace, how much happineſs have I got for a little thirſting, a little truſting in Jeſus Chriſt!
§. 5. A third from the freeneſs of communication, amply declared in this clauſe, Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. In the place hitherto inſiſted upon, the word money occurs thrice, twice in the firſt verſe and once in the ſecond, but not in the ſame ſignification. In the firſt it is clearly interpreted by price and ſignifies merit; They are ſaid to have no money, who being conſcious to themſelves of their having nothing of their own to anſwer divine juſtice with, to fetch them in pardon, peace and righteouſneſs, wholly diſclaim all ſelf-ſufficiency, and come unto Chriſt as to one that expects not to receive but to be received; looks for little or nothing from us but that we be nothing in our ſelves, deſirous to have all from him, and to partake of his fulneſs grace for grace. In the ſecond it is expounded by labour, and denotes induſtry. Men are ſaid to ſpend money for that, which they lay out their pains about. Money anſwers all, ſaith the Preacher: The Heathens have a proverb Eccles 10. 19. D…i laboribus om…ia vendunt.which aſcribes as much to labour. We ſay not with them, that God ſells his benefits to us for our pains; but this we acknowledge, he giveth them ſo as to require our induſtry about them. Yet is not this any prejudice to the freeneſs of his grace, or any contradiction to that clauſe Buy without money and without price, becauſe our labour can no way merit his bleſſings. As when a Schoolmaſter teacheth a boy gratis, the youth cannot poſſibly attain to learning unleſs he be induſtrious, and take pains at his book; but it doth not therefore ceaſe to be free on the teachers part, becauſe the learners pains are required. So it is here.
Yet ſome in all ages have been ſo vain as to dream of bringing their money with them whenever they come; I mean that, which if not in it ſelf, yet in their opinion ſeems to deſerve what they come for. So the Phariſees of old, and the Papiſts of late. Inſomuch as Cornelius à lapide in his comment Emptio eſt diſpoſitio liberi arbitrii.upon this very place, which maketh altogether for the contrary doctrine, countenanceth the popiſh tenents of free-will and merit of congruity. Emitur pretio non condigno, ſed congruo.So Elephants, they ſay, are wont before they drink to bemud the water, which, if it were ſuffered to remain clear, would diſcover their deformity to them.
§. 6. I proceed to the Expoſtulation contained in the next words, Wherefore do ye ſpend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which ſatisfieth not? Words applicable both to worldlings, and to ſuch beleevers as have not yet got clear of the world. Firſt to worldlings, who manifeſtly ſpend not their money onelyonly, but their ſouls for that which is not bread. In the Lords prayer Bread is put for all neceſſaries, and uſed in the Lords ſupper to ſignifie the abſolute neceſsity of receiving Chriſt, by whom ſpiritual life is ſupported, as the natural life is by bread. Now the accommodations doted upon by men of the world, and often purchaſed with the loſs of ſalvation are juſtly ſaid not to be bread, becauſe they are neither abſolutely neceſſary to be had, nor able to ſupport ſuch as enjoy them. A mans life, ſaith our Saviour, conſiſteth not in the abundance of the things which he poſſeſſeth. Luke 12. 15.Wealth indeed is an acceſſory good, but no neceſſary bleſsing. None are made really happy by it (though Latiniſts uſe the ſame word Beatus to ſignifie both rich and bleſſed) A Chriſtian may be happy without it; really happy, yea and really wealthy too, for he is abundantly rich that poſſeſſeth Aſſatim dives eſt qui cum Chriſto pauper.Chriſt in the midſt of poverty; and doth not make treaſure his God, as the ſervants of Mammon do, but God his treaſure.
§. 7. Furthermore, as the expreſsion there is, They spend their labour for that which ſatisfieth not. A late Jeſuite Cornel. à lapide Comment. in Iſa. 55. 2.tells us a ſtory of a feaſt made in Germany by a certain Magician for Noble men, who whileſt they ſate at table with him received good content, and fared to their thinking very deliciouſly, but when they departed found themſelves hungry, as if they had eaten nothing at all: which indeed was their caſe; if the Jeſuites relation of the magicians art and fact may be credited. Such entertainment doth this preſent world afford its principal gueſts. They are not fed with ſatisfying ſubſtances, but with deluding ſhadows rather. Surely every man walketh in Pſal. 39. 6.a vain ſhew, ſurely they are diſquieted in vain. David ſpeaks it of ſuch as heap up riches: of whom alſo Solomon ſaith, The rich mans wealth is his ſtrong city, and Prov. 18. 11.as an high wall in his own conceit. A ſtrong city in his conceit, but indeed a caſtle in the air. One that applies the ſcaling ladders of Scripture and reaſon to ſuch walls, may eaſily climb ſo high as to reach and pull down thoſe enſignes of vanity, which makes ſuch a flouriſh on the battlements thereof. Sooner ſhall men gather grapes of thorns and figs of thiſtles, then finde that a fountain of all good to any ſoul, the love whereof Paul hath branded for the root of all 1 Tim. 6. 9. 10.evil. It drowns in perdition; how can it then crown with happineſs? Oh that ever ſo rich an heir, as the ſoul of man, ſhould run away with ſo ſervile a thing as money is, or give the leaſt conſent to a match ſo far below her birth and breeding!
§. 8. Let authority be added to wealth, and great honours to great revenues, yet will the product of both ſums be not ſoul-ſatisfaction and bleſſedneſs, but vanity and vexation of ſpirit. How often is the ſword put into mad mens hands, the bramble advanced to rule over better trees, and walls of mud ſhined upon while marble pillars ſtand in ſhade? How often do goats clamber up the mountains of preferments whileſt the poor ſheep Ambitio te ad dignitatem niſi per indigna non ducit. Senec. Natural. quaeſt. in Praefat. lib. 1. Ambitio charitatis ſimia. Charitas patiens eſt pro aeternis, ambitio pro terrenis. Didac. Stella de Contemptu mundi part. 1. pag. 88.of Chriſt feed below? yea how often is greatneſs acquired by baſe, and confounded by weak means? Flattery held Abſolons ſtirrup. He that is every ones maſter now, was a while ſince at every ones ſervice. Well might Stella call Ambition, Charities ape; for it alſo beleeveth all things, hopeth all things, yea and beareth all things too till what it hoped for be attained, then grows intolerable it ſelf. It may further be obſerved that God uſually taketh a courſe to break the ſtaff of ſuch pride by confounding the power of worldly Potentates, not with Lions and Tigres, but as Pharaohs of old, by frogs and lice. The Apoſtle I remember ſaith An Idol is nothing, and yet the ſilverſmiths cried out, Great is Diana of the Epheſians. Diana then was a great nothing. Such are thoſe men of place idolized by common people, when the Lord begins to blow upon them in his wrath, like thoſe nobles of Idumea concerning whom Iſaiah ſaid, All her Princes ſhall Iſa. 34. 12.be nothing.
§. 9. Secondly, as for thoſe ſaints whoſe wings are ſtill ſomewhat clogged with the birdlime of this world, I humbly deſire them to conſider, how ill it becomes the offspring of heaven to go licking up the duſt of this earth, the womans ſeed to content it ſelf with the ſerpents food; Any one of the poſterity of Japhet, after he hath been perſwaded into the tents of Sem, to bring on himſelf Canaans curſe, A ſervant of ſervants ſhalt thou be, by ſubjecting his ſoul to that, which God made to ſerve its ſervant the body. Verily if this preſent world, or any thing in it be over precious in thy ſight, O Chriſtian, thou Cujus anima in oculis ejus eſt pretioſa, in ejus oculis mundus eſt parvus. Dictum Hebraeorum apud Buxtorf. in florileg. p. 225. Pecuniam habes? vel teipſum, vel pecuniam vilem habeas neceſſe eſt. Senec.art become vile in the eyes of God, yea in thine own: for none can ſet an high price upon things without him till he have firſt undervalued his ſoul. Time was when Satan ſhewed our Saviour all the kingdomes of this world, and the glory of them. If ever the world appear unto thee temptingly glorious, ſuſpect it for one of Satans diſcoveries. Sure I am the Scripture uſeth diminiſhing terms when it ſpeaks of creature-comforts; as in ſtyling the pomp of Agrippa and Act. 25. 23. 1 Joann 1. 17.Bernice much phanſie, no reality; in calling mens temporal eſtates this worlds Matth. 13. 22goods, not theirs but the worlds, deceitfull 1 Tim. 6. 17. Habak. 2. 6. Amos 2. 7.and uncertain riches, thick clay, and duſt of the earth, winde, graſs and the flower of graſs, the leaſt things, hardly things. Solomon Eccles 5. 16. James 1. 11. Luke 16. 10. 15.brings them down to the loweſt degree of entity, yea to nullity, ſaying, Labour not to be rich, wilt thou ſet Prov. 23. 4, 5.thine eyes upon that which is not?
§. 10. Let Diotrephes then ſay, It is good for me to have the preeminence, Judas, It is good for me to bear the bag; Demas, It is good for me to embrace this preſent world. But do thou, O my ſoul, conclude with David, It is Pſal. 73. 28.good for me to draw near to God. Thou art now as a bird in the ſhell, a ſhell of fleſh, which will ſhortly break, and let out the bird: This crazy bark of my body ere long will be certainly ſplit upon the fatal rock of death; then muſt thou its preſent pilot forſake it, and ſwim to the ſhore of eternitie. Therefore, O everlaſting creature, ſee and be ſure thou content not thy ſelf with a tranſitory portion. I do not Lord, thou knoweſt I do not. Of a ſmall handfull of outward things I am ready to ſay, It is enough: but that which I long ſo paſsionately for is a large heart full of God in Chriſt. Thou art my ſun, the beſt of creatures are but ſtars, deriving the luſtre they have from thee: Did not thy light make day in my heart, I ſhould languiſh for all them in a perpetuall night of diſſatisfaction. There are within me two great gulfs, a minde deſirous of more truth, and a will capable of more good then finite beings can afford; Thou onelyonly canſt fill them, who art the firſt truth, and the chief good. In thee alone ſhall my ſoul be ſatisfied as with marrow Pſal. 63. 5.and fatneſs, and my mouth ſhall praiſe thee with joyfull lips.