Baxter - Houston-Packer Collection BT770 .B39 1670

266 The Life of Faith. they will not cure your difcafes, nor cafe your pains :. And therefore you do not fruit to riches, either to keep you from fcknefs, or from dying, or horn Hell:, But yet you, think that riches may help you to live inpleafure, and in reputation with the world, and in plenty of all things, and tohave yourwill, as long as health and life will lati; and thisyou take to be the chided happinefs which a man can make Cure of : And for this youtruft them. The fool in Luke ay. r 9. whoPaid, Soul, take thy eafe, eat, drink, and be merry, thou haft enough laid upfor many years., did not truli his riches to make him immor- tal, nor to fame his foul:_ But he :ruffed in them, as a provifon which might fu. ice for many years, that hemight eat, drink, and be merry, and take bis eafe; and this he loved better, and Preferred before any plcafures or. happinefs which he hoped for in another world. And thus it is that all worldly hypo- crites, do fruit in riches :. Yea the pooreff do truft in their httle poor provifrons in this world, as fceming to them fetter, and therefore better than any which they canexpeet hereafter. This is the way of truffisrg in uncertain riches, (viz. to be their hoteft happinefs) intiead of tru(fing in the livingGad, a Tim, 6.17. &4. 10. Ffsl.49.6. &.52.7. But yet becaufe the hypocrite knoweth, that he cannot live here alwaics, but mull die, and his riches muff be parted with at lati,. and hearcth ofa life of glory afterwards, he would fain have his part in that too, when he cankeep theworld no longer : And fo he takcth both together for his part and hope, viz,. as much bodily happinefs as he can get in this. world, and Heaven at left, when he mutt die : not knowing that God will be all our portion and felicity, or none ; and that the worldmutt be valued andufcdbut for his fake, and in fubordination tohim and a better world, 5. Yet Come hypocrites teem to go further (though they 'do riot) for they willfeem, even to tbemfelves, to refrgngoods, and. life, and all things abjolutely to the will ofGod. But the rcafon is, becaufe they arc fecretly perfwaded in their hearts, that their reftgnation (hail no whit deprive them of them ; and. thatGod will never the more take it from them ; but that they may polRfs as much prefent corporal felicity, in a life of Religion, as ifthey livedin the dangerous cafe of the ungodly : or

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