ao8 OfSpiritual)poverty. condition, and with the fight toworkea fenfe, and from a fight, and fcnfè, and thorow conviaion, , comes a wondrous abatement , and a delire tobe otherwifethenwe are. There is fornehope in fpi- rituall poverty in Gods children before their con verflon, which {sirs themup to look upon Chrifi, and ro the mercyof God in Chriff : and thisftirs themup to begge, and to ufe all meanes, and at length God is gracious, and anfvrers all the delires of their foules. This is before theywere in grace: for before a Chrif}ian is a found Chrifaian, bee muft be drivenout ofhirrtfelfe. Naturallyweare prone to cleave to fomething , eitherout ofour felves , or inour (elves ; and we mull be firedout by a fight and fenfeof the mifery we are in Wee fee God bath taken this courfe alway in Scripture. Thiscourfehe tookewithesdam, hee cites him, arraignes him, condemnes him ; he lets him fee what a miferable creature he was : as no manonearth was ever fomiferable, tillhe felt the fweetneffe ofthe promifedfeed, He that hadbeen in fogreat happinelîe as he was, tohave his con- fcience fogalled as his was afterward;to feele fuch mifery for theprefentas hedid : he muff needs be very rniferable, as indeed he was themoll mifera- hle man that ever was fncehis time. It is thegrea- refl unhappineffe for a man tohave beene happie; for hs former happineffe , makes his prefent un , happintffemore fenfible. When God had prepa- red h'm thorowly, then he railed him up with the pi o nifed feed. God dealesas hedealt withEirah; fill, hee catis him downe with earthquakesand fiormcs Inft nces of this poverty. v-idsm.
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