Downame - Puritan-02038 v2

46 Reafons mooing vs to contemne worldly profperitie. falnes commeth not to ripens: and thefame happeneth tomens minds,which immoderatefelrcitie beerfleth, fa no they are not on. ly ;Marion: to others, hut all, to themfelues. Vnto this we may adde the wife L -lagers authoricic, as it is flrongly backed with hispowerfuli reafons: Cerement (faith he) pouertynor Prou.3 o.8. richer, hotfeed me with food convenient for me, lell be fill and dense thee,andfay,who is the Lord ? or left 1 be paore andfieale, and tale the name ofmy God in vaine.The meane eflate is ther- fore moll to be defired, Peeing it preferiteth vs from forget- fuines ofCod, irreligion, and prophaneneffe,which accom- panied' profperitie, from the vie of vnlawfull meases to maintaine our (late, and from impatiencie, murmuring and repining againfl God, to which we are tempted in pouertie- and aduerfitie. §.Sel .3. Thirdly,let vs confider that this worldly profperitie is but That p.ofperitie one ofGods ordinarie gifts, which is ofno great excellencie i, but one of and worth, being compared wich his rich iewels,hisipiritu- Gods ordinarie all graces and eternal' ioyes; as it may hereby plainely ap- gif s, which be eare in that he fcattereth them as common and triuiall tri- 40 beffewet, p ontheroicked. fies, among(i his enemies, as well as his friends,and bellow- ed' them as well on thofe,who contemne and rebell again(l him, as vpon chofe that loue and ferue him; yea moll com- monly he giueth to his children theft earthly bleffìngs with a flrait and fparing hand, and afforded' them to (rangers and enemies in great plentie and abundance, both becaufe they are things offmall value, and therefore more fit tobe thewagesofferuants and flaues, then the patrimonie and portion ofchildren : and alfo becaufe through our corrupti- on, they are (as I haue (hewed) baits to catch vs, and foares to entangle vs. And that God thus difpenfeth ofthefe earth- ly things, it may appeare plainly by cuident places ofholy lob x2.6. Scripture: the holy man lob faith, that the tabernacles ofrob- bers do profÿer, and they are in (a fetiewhich provoke God, whom God hathenriched with his hand: and in another place he cloth lob 2.1.7.to16. at large defcribe the great profperitie ofwickedmen,in that they attained to old age, abundance of wealth, and enjoyed peace with immunitiefrom afl3iólions;in that all which they Cooke in hand fucceeded, and all about themprofpered, in that