CHAPTER I: Upon the Industry of the Husbandman
graffing, and pruning of trees; and not a few from the ordering of cattle. So that to what business soever you turn your hands, in any part of your calling, still God meets you with one heavenly instruction or other. But alas! How few are able to improve their civil employments to such excellent ends! these things are but briefly hinted in the scriptures, and those hints scattered up and down, that they know not where to find them; and if they could, yet would it be difficult so to methodize them, as it is necessary they should be, in order to their due improvement by meditation.
And therefore I judged it necessary to collect and prepare them for your use; and in this manner to present them to you as you find them in the following chapters. Read, consider, and apply; and the Lord make you good husbandmen for your own souls.
THE FIRST PART OF
HUSBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED
CHAPTER I:
Upon the Industry of the Husbandman In the laborious Husbandman you see, What all true Christians are, or ought to be.
OBSERVATION
THE employment of the husbandman is by all acknowledged to be very laborious; there is a multiplicity of business incumbent on him.
The end of one work is but the beginning of another, every season of the year brings its proper work with it: sometimes you find him in fields, dressing, plowing, sowing, harrowing, weeding, or reaping; and sometimes in his barn, threshing or winnowing; sometimes in his orchard, planting, grafting, or pruning his trees; and sometimes among his cattle; so that he hath no time to be idle. As he hath a multiplicity of business, so every part of it is full of toil and spending labour: he eats not the bread of idleness, but earns it before he eats it; and, as it were, dips it in his own sweat, whereby it becomes the sweeter to him. Though sin brought in the husbandman's sweat, Gen.
3:19. yet now not to sweat would increase his sin, Ezek. 16:49.
APPLICATION
Behold here the life of a serious Christian, shadowed forth to the life.
As the life of a husbandman, so the life of a Christian is no idle nor easy life. They that take up religion for ostentation, and not for an occupation, and those that place the business of it in notions and idle speculations, in forms, gestures, and external observances, may think and call it so: but such as devote themselves unto it, and make religion their business, will find it no easy work to exercise themselves to godliness. Many there are that affect the reputation and sweet of it who cannot endure the labour and sweat of it. If men might be indulged to divide their heart betwxit God and the world, or to cull out the cheap and easy duties of it, and neglect the more difficult and costly ones, it were an easy thing to be a Christian: but surely to have a respect to all God's commandments, to live the life, as well as speak the language of a Christian; to be holy in all manner
of conversation, is not so easy. This will be evident, by comparing the life of a Christian with the life of a husbandman, in these five particulars; wherein it will appear, that the work of a Christian is by much the harder work of the two.
1. The husbandman hath much to do, many things to look after; but the Christian more: if we respect the extensiveness of his work, he hath a large field indeed to labour in, Psal. 119:96. "Thy commandment is exceeding broad," of a vast extent and latitude, comprizing not only a multitude of external acts and duties, and guiding the offices of the outward man about them, but also taking in every thought and motion of the inner man within its compass.
You find in the word, a world of work cut out for Christians; there is hearing-work, praying-work, reading, meditating, and selfexamining-work; it puts him also upon a constant watch over all the corruptions of his heart. Oh, what a world of work hath a Christian about him? For of them he may say, as the historian doth of Hannibal, they are never quiet, whether conquering or conquered.
How many weak, languishing graces hath he to recover, improve, and strengthen? There is a weak faith, a languishing love, dull and faint desires, to be quickened and invigorated. And when all this is done, what a multitude of work do his several relations exact from him? He hath a world of business incumbent on him, as a parent, child, husband, wife, master, servant, or friend, yea, not only to friends, but enemies. And, besides all this, how many difficult things are there to be borne and suffered for Christ? And yet God will not allow his people to neglect any one of them: neither can he be a Christian that hath not respect to every command, and is not holy in all manner of conversation, Psal. 119:6. 2 Pet. 3:11. every one of these duties, like the several spokes in a wheel, come to bear, in the whole
round of a Christian's conversation: so that he hath more work upon his hands than the husbandman.
2. The husbandman's work is confessed to be spending work, but not like the Christian's. What Augustus said of the young Roman, is verified in the true Christian, Quicquid vult, valde vult. Whatsoever he doth in religion, he doth to purpose. Under the law, God rejected the snail and the ass, Lev. 11:30. Exod. 13:13. And under the gospel, he allows no sluggish lazy professor, 1 Tim. 5:11, 13. Sleepy duties are utterly unsuitable to the living God; he will have the very spirits distilled and offered up to him in every duty, John 4:24. he bestows upon his people the very substance and kernel of mercies, and will not accept from them the shells and shadows of duties; not the skin, but the inwards, and the fat that covereth the inwards, were required under the law, Exod. 29:30. And every sacrifice under the gospel, must be sacrificium medullatum, a sacrifice full of marrow; observe the manner in which their work is to be performed.
Rom. 12:11. In serving God, fervent in spirit, or hissing hot.
2 Pet. 1:10. In securing salvation, diligent; or doing it thoroughly and enough.
1 Tim. 4:7. In godliness, exercising or stripping themselves; as for a race.
Luke 13:24. In the pursuit of happiness, striving even to an agony.
Acts 26:7. In prayer, serving God instantly; or in a stretched out manner; yea, pouring out their hearts before him, Psal. 62:8. as if the body were left like a dead corpse upon the knees, whilst the spirit is departed from it, and ascended to God. This is the manner of his
work: judge then how much harder this work is, than to spend the sweet of the brow in manual labour.
3. The husbandman finds his work as he left it, he can begin one day where he left the other; but it is not so with the Christian; a bad heart and a busy devil, disorder and spoil his work every day. The Christian finds not his heart in the morning, as he left it at night; and even when he is about his work, how many set-backs doth he meet with? Satan stands at his right hand (the working hand) to resist him, Zech. 3:1. when he would do good, evil (the evil of his own heart and nature) is present with him.
4. The husbandman hath some resting-days, when he throws aside all his work, and takes his recreation; but the Christian hath no resting-day, till his dying-day; and then he shall rest from his labours. Religion allows no idle day, "but requires him to be always abounding in the work of the Lord," 1 Cor. 15:18. When one duty is done, another calls for him; the Lord's day is a day of rest to the husbandman, but no day in the week so laborious to the Christian. O it is a spending day to him. When he hath gathered in the crop of one duty, he is not to sit down satisfied therewith, or say as that rich worldling did, Luke 12:19. "Soul, take thine ease, thou hast goods laid up for many years;" but must to plow again, and count it well if the vintage reach to the seed-time, Lev. 26:5. I mean, if the strength, influence, and comfort of one duty, hold out to another duty; and that it may be so, and there be no room left for idleness, God hath appointed ejaculatory prayer, to fill up the intervals, betwixt stated and more solemn duties. These are to keep in the fire, which kindled the morning sacrifice, to kindle the evening sacrifice: When can the Christian sit down and say, Now all my work is ended, I have nothing to do without doors, or within?
Lastly, There is a time when the labour of the husbandman is ended; old age and weakness takes them off from all employment; they can look only upon their labourers, but cannot do a stroke of work themselves; they can tell you what they did in their younger years, but now (say they) we must leave it to younger people: we cannot be young always; but the Christian is never superannuated as to the work of religion; yea, the longer he lives, the more his Master expects from him. When he is full of days, God expects he should be full of fruits, Psal. 92:14. "They shall bring forth fruit in old age, they shall be fat and flourishing."
REFLECTIONS
1. How hard have I laboured for the meat that perisheth? Prevented the dawning of the day, and laboured as in the very fire, and yet is the Christian's work harder than mine? Surely, then, I never yet understood the work of Christianity. Alas, my sleepy prayers, and formal duties, even all that ever I performed in my life, never cost me that pains, that one hour at plow hath done. I have either wholly neglected, or at best, so lazily performed religious duties, that I may truly say, I offer to God what cost me nothing. Wo is me, poor
Wretch! How is the judgment of Korah spiritually executed upon me? The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up his body; but it hath opened its mouth and swallowed up my heart, my time, and all my affections. How far am I from the kingdom of God!
2. And how little better is my case, who have indeed professed religion, but never made it my business? Will an empty (though splendid) profession save me? How many brave ships have perished in the storms, notwithstanding their fine names, the Prosperous, the Success, the Happy Return? A fine name could not protect them from the rocks, nor will it save me from hell. I have done by religion,
as I should have done by the world; prayed, as if I prayed not; and heard, as if I heard not. I have given to God but the shadow of duty, and can never expect from him a real reward.
3. How unlike a Christian dost thou also, O my soul, go about thy work; though upright in the main; yet how little zeal and activity dost thou express in thy duties! Awake love and zeal, seest thou not the toil and pains men take for the world? How do they prevent the dawning of the day; and labour as in the very fire till night; and all this for a trifle! Should not every drop of sweat which I see trickle from their brows fetch, as it were, a drop of blood from my heart, who am thus convinced and reproved of shameful laziness, by their indefatigable diligence? Do they pant after the dust of the earth?
Amos 2:7. And shall not I pant after God? Psal. 42:1. Ah, my soul, it was not wont to be so with thee in the days of my first profession.
Should I have had no more communion with God in duties then, it would have broken my heart: I should have been weary of my life. Is this a time for one to stand idle, who stands at the door of eternity?
What, now slack-handed, when so near to my everlasting rest, Rom.
13:11. or hast thou found the work of God so unpleasant to thee?
Prov. 3:17. or the trade of godliness so unprofitable? Psal. 19:12. Or knowest thou not, that millions, now in hell, perished for want of serious diligence in religion, Luke 13:34. nor doth my diligence for God, answer to that which Christ hath done and suffered, to purchase my happiness: or to the preparations he hath made in heaven for me? Or dost thou forget that thy Master's eye is always upon thee, whilst thou art lazying and loitering? Or would the damned live at this rate as I do, if their day of grace might be recalled? For shame, my soul, for shame! rouse up thyself, and fall to thy work, with a diligence answerable to the weight thereof; for it is no vain work concerning thee, it is thy life.
THE POEM Religion When advanc'd in pow'r, Will make you Husband every hour.
'Twill make Men strive with all their might, And therein Find a sweet delight.
If there were Nought besides that pay Christ gives To cheer us in our way; Should we not Do the best we can?
For there's No such reward from man.
Shall others Work, and not regard Their strength To get a small reward?
Whilst we Turn slugs, and loiter thus?
O that Their zeal might quicken us!
Why are our Hands, and feet so slow, When we Unto our business go?
How can we Then Christ's pay expect, And yet the Christian's work reject, If this, then Also that embrace