xoo Seile. Affliaions bring us to God. OutwardPoverty helpes inward. all others: nowwhen the fuell is taken away, the fire goes out; when the fodder and noarifhl,ent is taken away, thofe wanton heeds (yoaknow) that grew fierce with pampering , they grow more trad lble: fo it is with thenature of man, take a- way that that makes him fierce, and then when his fierce and high conceits ate taken away, hee will bee tame: take away that that feedes his carnali difpofition,and he growes tradable and gentle. Thus then atlliCtion and povertyout- ward in our condition,it helpes to inward poverty of fpirit and difpoficion:. for it takes away that which inflames the fancy of a carnal'. man. A,car- nail man thinks himfelfe as great, and as good as he bath pof efirons of the things .ofthis life : and the divell enlargeth his conceit more upon the imagination, to thinke thefe things to be a great deale greater then they are : we come afterward by experience to fee them nothing but vanity: but this is in manwithout grace, we are prone (as I Paid) to furfeir of them, they are too firong for us to digeft andovercome, and therefore God takes themaway that he may helpe the inwarddifpofi- t ionof our foules. Afl1idions and poverty fandified they have a power to bring us to God, and co keepe us in, and o recover us when we are fallen. They bring us in, as we fee in Manaffes, and in the prodigal: fon, afflidion and poverty they brought him to know himfelfe; they brought him home, he was not himfelfebefore ; they brought him to inward po- verty: when he could not befatiffied fo much as with
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