148 • 1)ireElions io excite t/,e Low of God. "worldlinef;,-;oh.Pt~~ufncfs and fl.elhly lufi. By the threatnings of great calamities and death, he '{ hath frequently awakened thee to cry to Heaven; and by as frequent and wonderful deliverances "he hath anfwcred thy prayers, and encouraged thee Hill to wait upon him: ~e hath given thee tb; ''hearty prayers of many hundreds of his faithful fervants, and Micard them for thee in many adi~ tt ftrefs : He hath llrangcly prcf(rved thee in manifold dangers ; He hith not made thee of the hafefi "of the people, whofe poverty might tempt rhem to di[content; nor fet thee upon the pinl,lacle of ('worldly honour, where giddineiS might have been thy ruine, and where temptations to pride, and "lull, and luxury, and enmity to a holy life, are fo.violent that few efcape them : He harh not fCr " thee out upon a Sea of cares and vexations, worldly bufinelfcs and encumberanccs ; but fed thee "with food convenient for thee, and given thee leifure to walk whh God: He h:uh not chained rhee " to an unpolitablc profeffion, nor ufed thee as tl-tofe that liVe: like their beafis, tocat, and drink c~ and Jleep, and play, or live to live~ But he hath called thee to the nobldl: and fwceteft work:, whe 1 ; <t that hath been thy bufinefs, which others were glad to tafle of as a recreation and rrpaH. He ha.rh <:allowed thee to convcrfc with Books, and wirh the bell and wifdl: men, and to fpend thy dayes io "fucking in delightful knowledge: And this not only for thy plta{urt, but thy ufe; and not only for u thy [elf, but many others ? 0 how many fweet and pr~cious truths, hath he allowed thee to feed on. ((all the day, When others are diverted, and commonly look at them fometimes a far off? .0 how <(many precious hours hath he granted me, in his holy Affemb\ies, and in his honourable and mofi "pJeafant work ? How oft hath his Day, and his holy uncorrupted Ordinances, and the communion " of his Saints, and the mentioning of his Name and Kingdom,and the pleading ofhis caufe with fin...– "ners, and the celebrating of his praife, been my delight. 0 how many hundreds rhat he hath '~ f€nt, have wanted the abundant encouragement which I have had ? When he hath !Cen the di– " fcafe of my d,fpondent mind, he hath not tryed me by denying ine fuccefS, nor fidfc:rc:d me.. with 't Jon,sr, according to my inclirlation to overrun his work ; but hath tictd me on by continued en. t: courag001ents, and firowed all the way with mncies: But his mercies to me in the fouls of others, " have bec:n fo great, that I tlull fecretly acknowlc4ge them, rather than here record them, where 1 <t mufi have refped to tho[e ufual mercies of believi::rs, which Jye in the common road to Heaven. " And how endlcfs would it be to mention all ? All the good that friends and enemies have done me? et All the wife and gracious difpof3.ls of his providence? in every condition , and change of lifC, '~ and change of times, and in every place whercever he brought me: His every dayes renewed mer– '' cits: His fupport under all my languifhings and weaknefs; his plentiful fupplics; his gracious ''helps:, his daily pardons; and the Glorious Hopes of a blclfed Immortality which his Son harh et purchafed, and his·Covenant and Spirit fealed to me? 0 the mercies that are in One Clnifi, one '• Holy Spirit, one Holy Scripture, and in the Bldfcd God himfelf. Thefe I have mentioned, umhank– (( ful heart, to thame thee for thy want of Love to God. And thefe 1 will leave upon record , to. '' be a witnefs for God aga.infi thy ingratitude, and ro confound thee with OJCme, ifd1ou deny thy ''Love to fuch a God. Every one ot all thde mercies, and multitudes more wi/J rj{C up againH '' thee; and Chame thee before God and all the world, as a monflcr of unkindm:fs, if thou Love not " him that bath ufed thee thu s. J · Here alfo confider what God is for your future good, as wc:ll as what he hath been hitherto : How allfufficient, how powerful, merciful and good : But of this more anon. 9· 24• DireCt. 7· Improve tbt va~tity and vexatiolf of tbe Creature, and aU thy dlfappointments, a;~d injuries, andajjlitrio111, to tbe promoting of thy Love to God. And this by a doubk advantage: Firfi, By obferving that there is nothing meet to divert thy Love, or rob God of ir; unlefs thou wilt Love thy trouble and dijtr<jj! Secondly, That thyLove to God is the comfort by which thou .muO be li1p . ported under the injuries and troubles which thou meetefi with in the world; An.d therefore toneg~ Iet1: it, is but to give up thy felf to mifery. ["Is it for nothing, 0 my foul, that God harh turned " loofC the world againft thee ? That Devils rage againfi: thee; and wicked men do reproach and il.mder <'thee, and feck thy ruine; and friends prove infufficient,. and as Qrokcn Reeds? It had been as eaJie " to God,ro have profpcred thee in the world,and fuited all things to thy own dcfires,and have !hawed «thy W•lY with the flowerS of worldly comforts and delights; But he kne\V thy prouenefs to undo " thy felf by carnal loves, and how eaGiy thy heart isenticed from thy God : And therefore he h•th n wifely and mercifu1Iy ordered it, that thy temptations Chall not be toofirong, and no creature 't !hall appear to thee in an over~amiable tempticg drelS. Therefore he hath fittfcred them to become " thy enemies : And wilt thou love an emmy better than thy God ? What ! an tJIVi,1Zf.f and malicio!l.f <~world? A world of caru,and grief, and pains? a weary, rej1tl'ji, empty world? How deep and u piercing are its injuries? How iUperficial and deceitful is its friendlhip ? How fcrious are its for– <' rows l What toyi!h {hews and dreams are its delights? HOw conC\.mt are its cJres and labour·:>? " How feldorne and fhort arc its flattering [miles? Its comforts are difgraced by the certain expedari– u on of fuccecding farrows: Its farrows are heightncd by the expc&ations of more: ln,the mi~fiof " its flatteries, I hear fomething within me, faying, [ 1hou muji' dye : Tbis is but tbe way to rottcmuji "and duft. J I fee aWinding-iliect an(,! a Grave llill before me: I forefec how I mull lye in plins ''and groans, and then become a lothefome corpfe. And is this a world to be more deli&hted in than "God? What have I left me for my fupport and folace, in the rnidll of all this Vanity and Vexation, '' bl~t to look to him that is the All-fulficimt, fxre, ncvtr failing good l I mull lovcbim, or I have ncr " thmg to love, but enmity or deceit. And is this the worfi of Gods defign, in permitting and c:mfing " my pains and difappointmcnts here? Is it but to .drive my fooli01 heart unto himfdf? that I may "have the folid delights and happinefs ofhi• Love? 0 then let his bkffed will be done ! Come home . my
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