Heaven Upon Earth, Sermon
HEAVEN UPON EARTH.
Job 22.21.
Acquaint now thy ſelf with him, and be at Peace, thereby good ſhall come unto thee.
THey who have improved their experience of things by Wiſdom, and gathered up the value of mans life, by comparing his deſire with his Enjoyments, his Troubles and Sorrows with his Content and Joy, have concluded the worth of the life of man to be below nothing; they have drawn a black line upon the whole, and ſhut up all in darkneſs. Thus Jacob of old in the account which he gives of his life to Pharaoh, Gen. 47.9. & Job 5.7. And alſo Solomon, who had an extraordinary meaſure of wiſdom by Divine diſpenſation, who had a large ſpirit like the Sand of the Sea-ſhore, he gave himſelf great liberty in trying what that good under the Sun for the ſons of men was, Eccleſ. 2.1. When he had taken a taſte of all the worlds Contents. yet he finds a bitterneſs mixed in all delights, which abideth no longer then the pleaſure verſ. 11, & 17. And whoſoever ſhall enter into himſelf, and feel the workings of his own mind, ſhall be able to read over the Tranſcript of the ſame in his own Conſcience. Who is he among the ſons of men, that in his Natural life hath attained to a ſtate where in he was able to ſay, Here I will ſtay, it is now well with me, I deſire no addition to my preſent condition? If there be any ſuch, I dare undertake to prove him unacquainted with himſelf. Where now ſhall I faſten the blame of this univerſal evil? Shall we fall out with our life, as a thing not worth the having? Shall we ſhrink unto our former nothing, and caſt up our being and life into the hands of God, as that out of which we gathered nothing but bitterneſs and diſquiet? Far be this from us, this were to juſtifie that evil and wicked ſervant, who ſaid of God, That he knew he was a hard Maſter, reaping where he had not ſown, and gathering where he had not ſtrawed. This would be to accuſe God of having made us to an unavoidable neceſſity of miſery. How then comes it to paſs, that we are all held faſt in this common calamity? It is from thy ſelf, O man, it is from thy ſelf; this evil is becauſe of our falling from God. It is a Righteous thing with God, that when man departed from him, he ſhould reap the Fruit of his own doings; and indeed it is impoſſible for a creature of our compoſure and conſtitution, but to feel it ſelf diſſatisfied with all worldly material employments, and to find trouble and diſquiet in it ſelf, while it is deprived of its true good. If we would have a true account of our diſquiet and diſſatisfaction, this it is. God made man of all the works of his hands, to be the neareſt to himſelf, and hath fitted his principles for a higher life, then that which hath the things of this world for its object; but man hath made himſelf like the Beaſts that periſh. We have given our ſouls into captivity to our bodies, or rather, we are fallen from our Union with God, and are gathered up into our ſelves, and become deprived of a ſufficiency in ſeparation from God; then it muſt needs be, that we being gone down into a lower ſtate than that which we were made to, ſhould find nothing but diſſatisfaction and emptineſs; here we are by nature, and hitherto we have brought our ſelves by forſaking God.
Now the great inquiry will be, what Remedy there is for this our woful condition; is there any way whereby we may be delivered from this miſery? if there be, what way is it? Theſe words which I have choſen to ſpeak to, do contain the Anſwer to this Inquiry.
Acquaint now thy ſelf with him, and be at peace, thereby good ſhall come unto thee. This is the counſel of one of Job's three friends to him in the time of his great affliction. You have heard of the affliction of Job, and how his three friends came to relieve him with their Counſel; but the Devil who had a Commiſſion from God to try his utmoſt with Job, yet ſparing his life, made uſe of his friends, who are to be a comfort in the hour of adverſity, to be a great means of his diſquiet, ſo that he cries out of them, Aliſerable comforters are ye all, Chap 16.2. And the great way of their troubling him was, by miſ-applying, by making falſe application of true principles. In their Diſcourſes there are many excellent Truths; yet by their hard conſtruing, & ungrounded condemning of him, they by God are reproved, as not having ſpoken the thing that was right, Chap. 41.7. yet in many things their counſel was ſuitable, and ſeaſonable, of which ſort, the words in the Text may be accounted. In this Chapter Eliphaz had been inquiring into the cauſe of Job's great affliction, and holding this for an undeniable Principle, that the righteous God, being the great diſpoſer of affliction, did bring this evil upon him becauſe of his ſin; he meaſured the greatneſs of his ſins, by the greatneſs of his afflictions; he made account, becauſe Gods hand was gone forth in an extraordinary manner againſt Job, therefore there was ſome extraordinary guilt upon him, verſ. 5. & 13. And thou ſayeſt, How doth God judge through the dark clouds? Thus we have his apprehenſion of Job, as one under great affliction, becauſe of his great ſins; and the Text is Eliphaz his counſel to Job, under this character; and ſo is ſuitable advice to thoſe that are under ſickneſs, or great afflictions, and that are under the guilt of great ſin.
Acquaint thy ſelf with him, and be at peace, thereby good ſhall come unto thee. The words are a Doctrine for the ſoul under a ſenſe of its loſt condition, with a Promiſe very comfortable upon the embracing thereof.
The Doctrine is, Acquaint thy ſelf with him, and be at peace.
The Promiſe: Thereby good ſhall come unto sher.
Theſe words, Be at peace, may be referred either to the former, as an addition to the Doctrine, Be at peace; that is, keep your ſelves in a quiet ſubmiſſion to the hand of God; or to the latter, and ſo be at peace, is as much as, peace ſhall be to thee.
In the Doctrine we are to conſider the Act, and Object.
The Act, Aquaint.
The Object is God.