Of Eletlion. Cafl a!lyottr Care upon him, tliat is, J'our Cares ofatt fort s, your Burthm,~ fays the Pfalmtfl, PfJt. ) l · n. ( whence the words are taken:) For br that ;, Chap. 1) , the mighty God, ( fays .Peter, verfe6. ) carttbfor you, wrje]. Which~ words are at no hand to be limtted unto otllward A/ftttliomonly but do more fpecially concern our cares and 6urthm~ about Temptations: F~r what doth immediuely follow, namely, Be jo"6er: For your Adverfary the 'Devit w~lks ttp and down, (!!c. It is bu temptations, and the i11[o6riny of. our own hearts, and mordmacy of our own tufts, that afford the foareft burthens, and mort heart-eating cares of any other Sufferings : But our hearts being fup· parted by thefe two flrong Pillars of Confotation, may have full fiedfaflnrfl of Fatth, to whtch h.e exhorts them, verfe 9· . And whilfl thus you view the words in this Coherence, you may behold Sa– tan, and all your Spiritual Adverfaries, as in a Toil, furrounded, and every way encompaffed with a God that careth for ) 'DU in all your Cares, that on the one part he is before Satan; and, A G•d of att Grace, that will prrfetl you on the pther part, behind him. What then fh ould we fe2r? 1 The general Obfervation I fingle out of all, is, That as I'Ott hriVr a God of att Grace that ca~trdyou, andengaged to pre– ferve yott ; (o y ou have, after your Calling, the famr God of.ai/Graa, a migbty God, that careth for you, to perform it, and to make it good. God's ca.re in the Execution is the Point in hand. In profecuting of which, my chief deiign !hall be to draw forth into view the Particulars of God's care herein ; and therein not barely relating to Expe– riences, but as wefind Scriptures withal confirming them, All which Parti– ettlars put together, will arife to as effedual and comfortable a Satisfadion in the Point of tile Perfeverance of the Saints,as any ether way of arguing it that isufed. Firft, Let us confider how the Scriptures reprefent the !lrid:nefs of his ·care over us : As, r, By the l'igila1tcy of his Ey e in all our ways. Our Pettr, out of many places in the Old Teftament, where thatfaying is found, bath inferred it once for all in the.New, in this Epi!He, C~ap. l •ver[e n. Threy" of the L ord art .over the righteotu : It is fpoken in refped of an errtiaent C:tre had to them: For otherwife we find elfewhere, That the eyes ofthe Lord are in every ptrzce, "behotdiltg thu v il andthr good; foProv, 2). l•But yet fo, and in fo fpecial a manner over the Righteous, as if he minded none elfe; I[ai•.66. 2, .All thefe things have my hands made : But to him 'fflitt Ilook, who uof a contrite Spi· rit, He profeffeih ( as it were) toovertook all the other works of his hands; fixing the .Aci"of his Eye on fuch a Man; that is, fo to look on him, M·to look to htm ; and as if he had none elfe to look to in the "::orld. In Jeremiah, Chap. 24. 6, 7, you have it thus, I wilt [et mine eyes upo11 them for good, to take care of them, and bring them back again : to butld them, and to give them im beart to RII0'1!J me, and to return to mr with their w hole heart. Yea, where' as we here in the Text, ver(e 8. are exhorted to w atch, who; poor Creatures, fall alleep often : The very fame is faid of God, always to w atch over m; (So in the fameJ eremiah, Chap.j I. z8. Anditjhatt comrto pafs, that like M I h,1v e watchtd over them, to plttck up, and to break down,and tothrow down, and to de{/ ray, and to afflitl : [o wilt I w atch ovrr.them,to build, mtdtop/ant, faitb the Lord. As a Nur(e.keeper, whofe eye and wakeful attenuon IS upon a Child. There is a whole Pfatmon purpofe made to exprefs this, Pfai.I 2 r. Tbe Lordu thy Keeper, verfe) . that is, the burthen ~fIt. . It JSihree umes repeated, toinfix the fecurity of it on our Souls; ahd Wtth a Btbotd the fecond time to awaken our drowfinefs to the.obferva.tion.of it, Vn:fe l· Re that hep– tth thee wilt 110t flumber, Ver[e 4· Behotd, he that h epeth hrael , fh·'lt tJei– ther _(lumber ttor (lap. Verfe 5 The Lordis thy Kteper. Poor wandnng Soul, thou ha(\ a Keeper takes care of thee, and that Kuper of thme ts the Lord. Dbb Who .
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