Front matter (continued, part 4)
6. When the seed appears above-ground, it appear fresh and orient, than when it was cast into the earth
THE HEAVEKLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
out food, raiment, sleep, know no lassitude, weariness or pair our bodies, after the resurrection, shall be above these noccssitie:
disteLipers; for wc shall be as the angels of God, Matth. xxi; Yea, cur vile bodies shall be changed, and made hke unto Cli glorious body ; which is the highest pitch and ascent of glory an
nour that an human body is capable of, Phil. iii. 21. Indeed glory of the soul shall be the greatest glory ; that is the orient luablc gem : But God will bestow a distinct glory upon the I and richly enamel the very case in which that precious jewel shi
kept. In that glorious morning of the resurrection, the saints put on their new fresh suits of flesh, richly laid and trimmed glorv. Those bodies, which in the grave were but dust and re ness, when it delivers them back again, shall be shining and e
lent pieces, absolutely and everlastingly freed. (1.) From all na infirmities and distempers : Death is their good physician, whi once freed them of all diseases. It is a great affliction now to i
of the Lord's people, to be clogged with so many bodily intinr which render them very unserviceable to God. The spirit ind icilling, but thejlesh is xccak. A crazy body retorts and shoots its distempers upon the soul, with which it is so closely conjoi But though now the soul (as Theophrastus speaks) pays a dea] for the tabernacle in which it dwells ; yet, when death dissolve: tabernacle, all the diseases and pains, under which it groaned, be buried in the rubbish of its mortality ; and when they come re-united again, God will bestow rich gifts and dcvries, even upc body, in the day of its re-espousals to the soul. (2.) It shall be from all Jeformitics; there are no breaches, flaws, monstrosit gloritied bodies ; but of them it may much rather be said wha once said of Absalom, 2 Sam. xiv. 25. " That from the cro
*' the head to the sole of his foot, there was no blemish in (3.) It shall be freed from all natural necessities, to which it i subjected in this its animal state. How is the soul now disquietc
tortur -d with cares and troubles to provide for a perishing b Many unbelieving and unbecoming fears it is now vexed with : ' shall it eat ? And what shall it drink .? And wherewithal shal
cloth, d ? " But meats for the belly, and the belly for meats ;
" sha]l destroy both it and them," 1 Cor.vi. 13. i.^e. as to theii sent use and office ; for as to its existence, so the belly shall i destroyed. But even as the ma.sts, poop and stern of a ship ab
the harbour after the voyage is ended, so shall these bodily men
as Tertullian excellently illustrates it. (4.) They shall be freed
92 HusBAXDiiY spiuitl'alized; ok,
" gels, and are the children of God, being the children
" rection,"" Luke xx. 35, 36. Mark it (equal to the ang they shall be separate and single spirits, without bodies i are : but equal to them in the way and manner of theii acting.* We shall then live upon God, and act freely, delightfully for God ; for all kind of living upon, and d creatures, seems in that text (by a synecdoche of the pi ordinarily in scripture put for all creature-delights, depen necessities) to be excluded. Nothing but God shall ei fill the soul ; and the body shall be perfectly subdued 1 Jjord, what hast thou prepared for them that love thee
KEFLECTIONS.
The healthful sainfs 1. If I shall repeive my body agj
rejlection. fied and improved in the world to
Lord let me never be unwilling to t now for the interest of thy glory, or my own salvation ! God, it grieves me to think how many precious opportun ing and lionouring thee I have lost, uiider pretence of ( my health !
I have been more solicitous to live long and healthfu live usefully and fruitfully ; and, like enough, my life ha(
serviceable to thee, if it had not been so fondly overval
Foolish soul ! hath God given thee a body for a livini strument ? And art thou afraid to use it ? Wherein is t having a body, if not in spending and wearing it out in t God ? To have an active vigorous body, and not to emj ercise it for God, for fear of endangering its health, i should give thee a handsome and sprightly horse, upon coi shouldst not ride or work him. O ! if some of the saint;
ed the blessings of such an healthy active body as mine,
lent services would they have performed to God in it .''
2. If my body shall as surely ri The skldy sainfs glory, vigour, and excellent endowm
reflection. seed which I sow doth ; why should r
fort me over all the pains, weaknesses, j with which my soul is now clogged ? Thou knowest, mj a grief it hath been to my soul, to be fettered and entang distempers and manifold indispositions of this vile body : I iTip sirrVj pnr-1 c'i\r with linlv Ansnlmp. \vhpn ho snw fh<
*rnE HEAVEXLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
■worm, in the discharge of ray duties, I shall shortly fly, like a » phim in the execution of thy will. Cheer up, droopini^ soul ; time is at hand when thou shalt be made more wiUing than thou
and thy flesh not so weak as now it is.
3. Andisitsoindeetl? Then let the dying saint. The dying sal like Jacob, rouse up himself upon his bed, and reflection. encourage himself against the fears of death by this refreshing consideration. Let him say with holy dying Mui lus, why trerablest thou, O my soul, to go forth of this tabernacl the land of rest .' Hath thy body been such a pleasant habitatio thee, that thou shouldest be so loth to part with it, though but f time, and with assurance of receiving it again with such a glorious provement ? I know, O my soul, that thou hast a natural inclina to this body, resulting from the dear and strict union which God h self hath made betwixt thee and it ; yea, even the holiest of nier sometimes sensibly feel the like in themselves ; but beware thou 1 it not immoderately or inordinately ; it is but a creature, how dear ever it be to thee ; yea, a fading creature, and that which now sta m thy way to the full enjo^-ment of God. But say, my soul, \ are the thoughts of parting with it so burdensome to thee .'* Wh loth to take death by its cold hand ? Is this body thy old and c friend ? True, but yet thou partest not with it upon such sad te as should deserve a tear at jiarting. For mayest thou not say of
departure, as Paul at the departure of Onesimus ? Philem. ver.
*' It therefore departeth for a season, that thou mayest receive it
*' ever." The da v of re-espousals will quickly come; and in mean time, as thy bodv shall not be sensible of the tedious lengti interjxjsing time, so neither shalt thou be solicitous about thine abi friend ; for the fruition of God in thine unbodied state, shall
thee with infinite satisfaction and rest.
Or is it not so much simply for parting with it, as for the man of thy parting, either by the slow and lingering approaches of a tural, or the quick and terrible approaches of a violent death : W trouble not thy ?elf about that ; for if God lead thee through the 1(
dark lane of a tedious sickness, yet at the end of it is thy Fath house. And for a violent death, it is not so material whether fiie
or enemies stand weeping or ti-iumphing over thy dead body. N corpus sennt in Jiervo cum anima sit in ccelo. AVhen thy soul si be in heaven, it will not be sensible how the body is used on eai
4. But oh ! what an uncomfortable parting vrill mine be ! and how much more sad our meetinor The uncro
94 nusBAKDiiy spiritualized ; or,
ciecl for them both ; but I began at the wrong end, and i ed both eternally.
JlSARE seeds have no great beauty, but, inhum
That which they had is lost, and quite consumed ; They soon corrupt and grow more base, by odds, When dead and bury'd underneath the clods : It falls in baseness, but at length doth rise
In glory which delights beholders' eyes. How great a difference have a few days made, Bet-wdxt it in the bushel and the blade ! This lovely, lively emblem aptly may Type out the glorious resurrection-day ; Wherein the saints that in the dust do lie, Shall rise in glory, vigour, dignity; With singing, in that morning they arise, And dazzle glory, such as mortal eyes
Neer view'd on earth. The sparkling beauties h No more can equalize their splendor there. Than glimmering glow-worms do the fairest star That shines in heaven, or the stones that are In evVy street, may competition hold With glittering diamonds in rings of gold. For unto Christ's most glorious body they
Shall be conformed in glory at that day ; Whose lustre would, should it on mortals fall, Transport a Stephen, and confound a Paul.
'Tis now a coarse and crazy house of clay ; But, oh I how dear do souls for lodgings pay ! Few more than I : For thou, my soul, hast been Within these tents of Kedar cooped in ;
Where, with distempers cloggM, thou mak'st thy And, for deliverance, with tears and groans
Hast often su'd : Cheer up, the time will be When thou from all these troubles shall be free :
No jarring humours, cloudy vapours, rheums, Pains, aches, or whatever else consumes My day in grief; whilst in the Christian race.
Flesh lags behind, and can't keep equal pace
THE HEAVENLY TSE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
CHAP. XII.
Upon the Resemblance of Wheat and Tares.
As ichcat resembled is hy viler tares ;
So vile hypocrisy like grace appears.
Xt is Jerom's observation, that vrheat and tares are so much i in their first springing up, that it is exceedingly difficult to di guish the one from the other : These are his words. Inter triticu
lolium quand'iu herba est, et nondum culmiis venit ad spicam ; g dis smilifudo est; et indiscernendo aut nulla, aut per difficilis
tant'ia. The difference (saith he) between them, is either none ai
or wonderfully difficult to discern, which those words of Christ, ] xiii. 80. plainly confirm. Let them both alone till the harvest ; tl by intimating both the difficulty of distinguishingthe tares and wh as also the unwarrantable rashness of bold and hasty censures of n
sincerity or h)"pocrisy, which is there shadowed by them.
JrXOW difficult soever it be to discern the difference bet^vixt w and tares, yet, doubtless, the eye of sense can much easier di minate them, than the most quick and piercing eve of man can cem the difference betwixt special and common grace ; for all sa graces in tlie saints have their counterfeits in h^-pocrites. There similar xcorks in these, which a spiritual and very judicious eve easily mistake for the saving and genuine effects of the sanctif
Spirit.
Doth the Spirit of Gc«d con\-ince the consciences of his people o evil of sin ? Rom. vii. 9. Hypocrites have their convictions Exod. X. 16. " Then Pliaraoh called for Closes and Aaron in ha
'■ and he said, I have sinned against the Lord your God, and ofn
'• you." Thus was Saul also convicted, 1 Sara. xv. 24. Doth true conviction and compunction work reformation of li the people of God.^ Even hypocrites also have been famous
their reformations. The unclean spii'it often goes out of the foi hypocrite, by an external reformation ; and yet still retains his priety in them, Matth. xii. 43, 44. For that departure is indee
90 HLSBAXDIIY SPIKITUALIZED ; 0R>
" himself believed also. " Luke vlij, 13. " These are
*' for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall aw£ Doth tlie precious eye of faith, discovering the transce lencies that are in Christ, enflame the affections of the b(
v.'ith vehement desires and longings after him ? Strange heart have also been found in hypocrites towards Christ ly things. John vi. 34. " Lord, evermore give us this br XXV. 8. " Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone o what a rapture was Balaam transported, when he said, '
*' the death of the righteous, and my last end be like h: ixiii. 10.
Doth the work of faith, in some believers, bear upon its es the full ripe fruit of a blessed assurance.? Lo ! what s dences and high-built persuasions of an interest in God, times been found even in unsanctified ones "^ John viii
*' whom you say, that he is your God ; and yet ye have *' him." To the same height of confidence arrived thos mentioned in Rom. ii. 19. Yea, so strong may this fah be, that they dare boldly venture to go to the judgment-i and there defend it, Mat. vii. 9.% " Lord, Lord, have ^
*' phesied in thy name i^'"' Doth the Spirit of God fill the heart of the assured b joy unspeakable and full of glory, giving them, through j
libation, or foretaste of heaven itself, in those first fruits near to this comes that which the apostle supposes may be
in apostatesy Heb. vi, 8, 9who arc there said " to taste th^
*' of God, and the powers of the world to come." What if real Christians delight in ordinances, those that are no delight in approaching to God, Ezek. xxxiii. 32. It may say, though the difference be not easily discernible in obedience, yet, when it shall come to suffering, there may discern it ; the false heart will then flinch, and cannot work. And yet even this is no infallible rule neither ; f tie supposes, that the salamander of hypocrisy may live
flames of martyrdom, 1 Cor. xiii. 3. " If I give my body 1
*' and have not charity.'" And it was long since deterni case, Non pccna, sed causa facit mariijrem ; so, that w troversy, the difficulty of distinguishing them is very gi
And this difference will yet be more subtile and undi; I should tell you, that as in so many things the hypocrit the saint ; so there are other thinc-s in which a real Christ
THE HKAVEXLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
then ! how hard is it for the eye of man to discern betwixt chaff i wheat ? How oiany upiight hearts are now censured, whom ( will clear ? How many false hearts are now approved, whom ( will condemn ? Men ordinarily have no clear convictive proofs, only probable symptoms; which, at most, can beget but a conjecti
knowledge of another's state. And they that shall perempto judge either way, may possibly wrong the generation of the uprig
or, on the other side, absolve and justify the wicked. And truly, c sidering what hath been said, it is no great wonder that danger mistakes are so frequently made in this matter. But though i cannot, the Lord both can and will, perfectly discriminate th
" The Lord knoweth who are hls,"^ 2 Tim. ii. 19. He will hav day perfectly to sever the tares from the wheat, to melt oft the van of the most resplendent and refined hypocrite, and to blow off ashes of infirmities, which have covered and obscured the very spi of sincerity in his people : he will make such a division as was nt
yet made in the world, how many divisions soever there have I
in it " And then shall men indeed return, and discern bctw
*' the righteous and the wicked ; betwixt him that serveth G
" and him that serveth him not.'"' Meanwhile, mv soul, thou c; not better employ thyself, whether thou be sound or unsound, t in making those reflections upon thyself.
KEFLECTIOXS.
And is this so ? Then, Lord, pardon the rash-
ness and precipitancy of my censorious spirit; for I The cenmri have often boldy anticipated thy judgment, and assouTs reflectk
sumed thy prerogative, although thou hast said,
" Why dost thou judge thy brother.? And why dost thou sel "nought thy brother.? We' shall all stand before thejudgment- ♦' of Christ. For it is written. As I live (saith the Lord) every Is " shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God. Le *' not therefore judge one another any more,"" Rom. xiv. 10, 11, 13. xVnd again ; " He that judgeth me is the Lord. Let us th " fore judge nothing before the time until the Lord come, who I " will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make m " fest the counsels of the heart ; and then shall every man 1: « praise of God,^ 1 Cor. iv. 4, 5.
What if God will own some of them for his sons, to whom I rel
to give the respect of brethren ? I may pass hasty and headlong ( sures upon others; but where is my commission for so doing ? I v nnf r»nl-i7 «» f>i->iniiiiiroi/-.n Ki,*- -ft* „,«'„KC-,_i: /?__ \. i-
,-c_*
OS HUSBAXBllY SPIRITUALIZED ; OR,
table and hast}' censures. If others knew but what I k self, Avould they not judge as severely of me as I do of
2. Though I may not judge th The presumptuous of another, yet I may, and ought t souVs reflection. state of my own soul ; whicli is, i
more necessary and concerning v, For since every saving grace in a Christian hath its co the hypocrite, lunv needful is it for thee, O mv soul, to n
here, and solennily to pondei* this question. Whether tl "whereon I depend, as my best evidences for the life to c real, or only the common works of the Spint ? Whethe be such as can now endure the test of the word, and abid at the bar of my own conscience ?
Come then, my soul, set the Lord before thee, to whon of all hearts are manifest : and in the awful sense of tha make true answer to these heart-discovering queries : \ thou canst not discern the difference betwixt these things yet thou mayest and oughtest to discern it in thyself: Fo knows the things of a man, save the spirit of man that i
1. Is my obedience uniform ? am I the same man a1 places and companies ? Or, rather, am I not exact and open and public, remiss and careless in private and sec
Sincere souls are uniform souls, Psal. cxix. 6. the hypi closet-man, Matth. vi. 5.
2. Doth that which I call grace in me oppose and mort; it not rather quietly consist with, and protect my lusts s tions ? True grace tolerates no lust. Gal. v. 17. No, not darling corruptions, Psal. xviii. 23.
3. Doth that which I call my grace, humble, empty, an
soul.'* Or rather, doth it not puff it up with self-conceitei saving grace is humbling grace, 1 Cor. xv. 10. " But the *' is lifted up, is not upright," Hab. ii. 4. Lastly, Canst thou, my soul, rejoice and bless God fc imparted to others ? And rejoice if any design for Christ b in the world by other hands ? Or, rather, dost thou not that excel thee, and carest for no work in which thou ai
But stay, my soul, it is enough : If these be the substa CTices betwixt special and common grace, I more than do not endure the day of his coming, Whosejhn is in his ham those spots appear upon me, which are not the spots of hi Woe is me. coor wretch ! the characters of death are uuc
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY THrS'GS.
XN eastern countries, as good authors write. Tares, in their sjirin^ng up. apjjear to sight. Not hke itself, a weed, but real wheat ; Whose shape and form it counterfeits so neat,
That 'twould require a most judicious eye. The one from t otlier to diversify.
'Till both to some maturity be grown. And then the difference is eas'ly known. Even thus hypocrisy, that cursed weed. Springs up so like true grace, that he will need More than a common insight in this case, That saith, this is not, that is real grace.
Ne'er did the cunning actor, tho" a slave Array 'd in princely robes, himself behave So hke a king, as this doth act the part Of saving grace, by its deep hellish art. Do gracious souls melt, mourn, and weep for sin .'*
The like in hypocrites observed hath been. Have they their comforiSj joys, and raptures sweet ?
"With them in comforts hypocrites do meet. In all religious duties they can go As far as saints, in some things farther too ; They speak like angels, and youll think within. The very spirit of Christ and grace hath been. They come so near, that some, hke Isaac, take Jacob for Esau, tliis for that mistake : And boldly call (their eyes, with his, being dim) True grace, hypocrisy ; and duty, sin : Yea, many also, Jacob-hke, embrace Leah for Rachel, common gifts for grace : And in their bosom hug it, 'till the hght Discover their mistake, and clear their sight ; And tlien, like him, confounded they will cry,
Alas ! "tis Leali, curs'd hypocrisy ! Guide me, my God, that I may not, instead Of saving grace, nurse up this cursed weed. O let my heart, at last, by thee be found Sincere, and all thy worlungs on it sound i
, ** '>«."S--~-^ ■
100 HUSBANDRY SPIRITUALISED ; OR, CHAP. XIII.
Upon the Dangers incident to corn from Seed-time t
Fowls, weeds, and blasting's do your corn am Even so corruptions would your grace destro^
A HERE are, amongst many others, three critical ani periods between the seed-time and harvest. The first, IS newly committed to the earth, all that lies uncoverec
picked up by the birds ; and much ot" that whicli is bu1 vered, is plucked up, as soon as it begins to sprout, by roo devouring fowls, Matth. xiii. 4. But if it escape the gets root in the earth, yet then it is hazarded by no> which purloin and suck away its nourishment, whilst the tender blade. If by the care of the vigilant 1 it be freed from choaking weeds ; yet, lastly, as great
any of the former still attends it ; for oftentimes, whils ing in the ear, blastings and mildews smite it in the st£ ©if the juice and sap that should ascend to nourish the shrivels and dries up the grain whilst it is yet immatura
it becomes like those ears of corn in Pharaoh's vision, thin and blasted with the eastwind ; or like the ears ist speaks of upon the house top, wherewith the reapc
his arms.
X RUE grace, from the infancy to the perfection thei with far greater dangers, amongst which it answerably
three dangerous periods which marvellously hazard it : a much greater wonder that it ever arrives at its jus For, (1.) No sooner hath the great Husbandman disser holy seeds in theregenerate heart, butmultitudes of impet
tions immediately assault, and v.'ould certainly devour tl fowls of the air, did not the same arm that sowed them also
It fares with grace, as with Christ its Author, whom I to destroy, in his very infancy. The new creature is scan seat, before it must fight to defend itself This conflict set forth in that famous text, Gal. v. 17. "The flesh lustel *' Soirit. and the Soirit acrainst the flesh ; and these are
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY tHIXGS. 1
desiring the mutual ruin and destruction of each other ; for e^ when they are not acting, yet then they are lusting; there is an ( posite disposition against each other : which opposition is both Q.J mal and an effective opposition. There are two contrary forais ; t men in every saint. Col. iii. 9, 10. From hence an effective cp|x
sition must needs follow ; for as things are in thennatures and pi ciples, so they are in their operations and effects; workings alw;
follow beings"; fire and water are of contrary qualities, and wl thev meet, they effectually oppose each other. Sin and grace are opposite, that iVsin should cease to oppose grace, it would cease to sin ; and if grace should cease to oppose sin, it would cease to be grs And this doth much more endanger the work of grace than any oil enemy it halh ; because it works against it more inxcardly, constam and advantageously, than any thing else can do. (1 .) More inward for it hath its being and working in the same soul where grace dwel yea, in the self-same faculties; so that it not only sets one facu against another, but the same f acultv against itself; the understand against the understanding, and the will against the will ; so that cannot do the good, nor yet the evil that ye would ; not the gc that ye would, because when the spirit moveth to good, and be upon the heart by Divine pulsations, exciting it to duty, the fl(
crosses and opposes it there ; and if it cannot totally hinder the p formance of a duty, yet it lames the soul upon the working-hai whereby the performance is not so spiritual, free and composed, it desires ; nor yet the evil that vou would commit, if grace were i there ; because when luFt stirs, in its first motions, grace puts a i in its way. " How can I do this great wickedness, and sin agai
" God .'■" Gen. xxxix. 9. And if it cannot (which for the most p it doth) hinder the acting of sin, vet it so engages the will against that it is not committed with complacencv and full consent, Re
vii. 15. " What I do, I allow not.'" (2.) It opposes itmore c stantly, it is hke a continual dropping ; a man can no more fly fr this enemy, than from himself There is a lime when the devil lea tempting, Mat. iv. 11. but no time when coiTuption ceases from wo ing. And, lastly, It opposes grace more advantageously than a other enemy can do, for it is not only alwavs in the same soul w it, but it is there naturally ; it hath the advantage of the soil ^h suits with it. And yet, oh the wonder of free grace 1 it is not sw
lowed up in victory,' but it escapes this hazard. But (i2.) It soon meets with another, though it escapes this, e\ by temptations, which strike desperatelv at the verv life of it ; tViai^.^ i;i-« ♦!,„ 1- „•.!- : i_ I ' • 1 '_. _l _i
\1JI
102 HUSBANDllY SPIRITUALISED ; OK,
greatly endanger It, when it is even ready for the harves fell out with David, whose last ways were not like his fii by this these holy fruits were not utterly destroyed, beca seed of God, and so is immortal, 1 John v. 4, S. And the promises of perseverance and victory made to it, cai trated; amongst which these are excellent, Isa. liv. 10. 40. 1 Cor. i. 8. Psal i. 3. cxxv. 1. John iv. 15. So 1 matter of unspeakable comfort ; though the flesh say, E I will fail thee ; though the world say, Ego decipiam, I thee ; though the devil say, Ego eripiam^ I will snatch yet as long as Christ saith, I will never leave thee, nor f thy graces are secure in the midst of all these enemies.
REFLECTIONS.
1. This soul of mine was once plowed
The apostate's viction, and sown (as I thought) with reflection. God. In those days many purposes an<
lutions began to chink and bud forth, blessed harvest : but oh ! (with what consternation and h I speak it) the cares and pleasures of this life, the lusts lions of my base heart springing up, have quite destroy e( ed it ; by which it appears it was not the seed of God, as gined it to be ; and now my expected harvest shall be ar dayof grief and desperate sorrow, Isa. xvii. 11. I had con
they are gone ; troubles for sin, conscience of duties, bu ed, and my soul is now as a barren field, which God h
Woe is me ! I have revolted from God, and now t
word, Jer. xvii, 5, 6. is evidently fulfilled upon me ; "
" the heath in the desart, that seeth not when good (
" soul inhabits the parched places of the wilderness.' my formal and heartless duties were but as so many s( the field, which could not defend these shght workings devoured by the infernal fowls. Had these principles I of God, no doubt they would have continued and o world, 1 John ii. 19. Wretched soul ! thy case is sa( better with the uncultivated wilderness, than with sucli ing soul, unless the great Husbandman plow thee uj
time, and sow thy heart with better seed.
2. And are the corruptions of my h( The careless soiiTs what fowls, weeds, and mildews are rejlection. O what need have I then to watch m
keep it with all diligence ; for in tin
THE HEAVEIs'L\ USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
carelessness, but pi'oToke the soul to an industrious use of mean preserve it ; so it is in itself an irrational and senseless conclusi which will never follow from any scripture-promise ; for althoug is readily granted, that God hath made many comfortable and sv promises to the grace of his people, yet we must expect to enjoy benefits and blessings of all those promises, in that way and orde which Gotl hath promised them ; and that is in the careful and ( gent use of those means which he hath prescribed, Ezek. xxxvi. 37. For promises do not exclude, but imply the use of means, A xxvii. 31. I know my life is determined to a day, to an hour, ar shall live out every minute God hath appointed ; but yet, I bound to provide food, raiment, and physic to preserve it.
To conclude, let all doubting Christians reflect ^, , , seriously upon this truth, and suck marrow and ^ r^ f fatness out of it to strengthen and establish them ^ against all their fears : your life, your spiritual life hath for m years hung in supense before you ; and you have often said with vid, I shall one day fall by the hand of Saul. Desponding, tr bling soul ! lift up thine eyes, and look upon the fields ; the c lives still, and grows up, though birds have watched to devour snows have covered it, beasts have cropped it, weeds have aln choaked it, yet it is preserved. And hath not God more can that precious seed of his o%vn Spirit in thee, than any husbandi
hath of his corn ? Hath he not said, *' That having begun the g " work in thee, he will perfect it to the day of Christ ?" Phil, i Hath he not said, I give imto them eternal life, and they shall nt perish, John x. 28. Hast thou not many times said, and though it, as thou dost now, and yet it lives ? O what matter of unspt able joy and comfort is this to upright souls ! Well then, be discouraged, for thou dost not run as one uncertain, nor fight as that beats the air, 1 Cor. ix. 26. But the foundation of God sta sure, having this seal, the Lord knows who are his, 2 Tim. ii. Though thy grace be weak, thy God is strong : though the str< seem sometimes to fail, yet it is fed by an ever-flowing fountain
-■- IS justly wondered that an ear of com Should come at last in safety to the barn :
It runs through many hazards, threat'ning harms. Betwixt the sowers hands and reaper's arms.
104 HUSBANDTIY SPIRITUALIZED ; OS,
It shooteth forth the tender blade, and then The noxious weeds endanger it again. These clasp about it till they kindly choak The corn, as flattering ivy doth the oak.
Are weeds destroyed and all that danger past ? Lo, now another comes, the worst at last :
For when i' th' ear it blows, begins to kern, A mildew smites it, which you can't discern, Nor any way prevent till all be lost,
The corn destroy'd with all your hopes and cost. Thus saving grace, that precious seed of joy. Which hell and nature plot how to destroy, Escapes ten thousand dangers, first and last,
O who can say, now all the danger's past.'' 'Tis like a crazy bark tossYl in a storm, Or like a taper which is strangely born Without a lanthorn in a blustVing night, Or like to glimmering sparks, whose dying light
Is still preserved : the roaring waves swell high, Like moving mountains in the darkened sky : On their proud backs the little bark is even Mounted unto the battlements of heaven ;
Fi'om thence dismounted, to the deeps doth slide Receiving water upon every side ; Yet he whose voice the proudest waves obey, Brings it at last unto the quiet quay ;
The blust'ring winds strive with a fatal puff. To bring the taper to a stinking snuff: Their churlish blasts extinguish it, and then Our gentle breath recovers it again : The fainting sparks beneath the ashes lie.
Where, choak'd and smother'd, they begin to die : But these collected, we do gently blow,
'Till from faint sparks to lively flames they grow.
Ev'n thus is grace preserved, thus kept alive ; By constant wonders grace doth live and thrive.
CHAP. XIV.
Upon the Patience of the Husbandman for th(
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
plows, plows in hope, 1 Cor. vi. 19. And they are not so irrati to think they shall presently be partakers of their hope ; nor so ; ish to anticipate the harvest, by cutting down their corn before fully ripened : but are content to plow, sow, and weed it ; and v it is fully ripe, then they go forth into their fields, and reap it d with joy.
/AN a little corn cause men to digest so many difficult labc and make them wait with invincible patience till the reaping come ? Much more should the expectation of eternal glory ; and fortify mv spirit against all intercurrent hardships and diffi ties. It least of all becomes a Christian to be of an hasty and ir
tent spirit. " Light is sovm for the righteous, and joy for the " right in heart," Psal. xcii. 11. " Behold the husbandman waitt &c. Jam. V. 7. " Be patient, therefore, my brethren, for the col
*' of the Lord draws near."" There are three great argumeni persuade Christians to a long-suffering and patient frame under ferings. (1.) The example of Christ, Isa. hii. 7. To think quietly he suffered all injuries and difficulties with invincible patie ii> sufficient to shame the best of Christians, who are of such short rits. I have read of one Elezarius, a nobleman, that when his wondered at his exceeding great patience in bearing injuries, he answered her : You know sometimes my heart is ready to rise ■ indignation against such as wrong me ; but I presently begin to tl of the wrongs that Christ suffered; and say thus to myself; though thy servant should pluck thy beard, and smite thee on face, this were nothing to what the Lord suffered : he suffered r and greater things ; and assure yourself, wife, I never leave off th ing on the injuries done to my Saviour, till such time as my mini still and quiet. To this purpose it was well noted by Bernard, sp<
ing of Christ's humiliation, Was Christ the Lord of glory thus h bled and emptied of his fulness of glory ? And shall such a worm
swell ? (2.) The desert of sin. Lam. 'iii. 39. " Why doth the \h '• man complain.''" It was a good saying of the blessed Greenh: when sin lies heavy, aflSiction lies light. * And it is a famous instj which Dr. Taylor gives us of the duke of Conde. I have read (s he) when the duke of Conde had voluntarily entered into the inc modites of a religious poverty and retirement, he was one day s] and pitied by a lord of Italy, who, out of tenderness wished hir be more careful and nutritive of his person. The good duke ansi ed. Sir. be not troubled, and think not that I am ill nrnvlded of <
106 HUgBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED ; Oil,
myself, and the consideration of what I deserve for my i eternal torments ; and when with this knowledge I arriv( ings, how unprovided soever I find it, methinks it is eve
J deserve. (8.) And as the sense of sin, which merits 1 present difficulties, so (to come home to the present si the expectations and hopes of a blessed harvest and rewai This made Abraham willing to M'ander up and down mai stranger in the world ; for he looked for a city that hath whose builder and maker is God. The hopes of such a couragement enough to work hard, and wait long : Yet tians are so impatient of ii, that they would fain be reapii time : but as God hath, by an unalterable law of natu both the seasons of seed-time and harvest (which are th< the appointed weeks of the harvest) Jer. v. 24. and tin hasiened ; but when we have done all that we can on oi
wait till God send the former and the httter rain, and giv
ral cause its effect ; so is it in reference to our spiritual
are appointed to sweat in the use of all God's appoin when we have done all, musi patiently wait till the divii accomplished, and the time of the promise be fully com
♦' time we shall reap, if we faint not." To which patien and quiet Vr'aiting for the glory to come, these following c are of excellent use.
1. As the husbandman knows when the seed-time is not be long to the harvest ; and the longer he waits, tli
it is : so the Christian knows, '* It is but yet a little a that shall come will come, and will not tarry," Heb. y. " that now his salvation is nearer than when he first bel
xiii. 11. AVhat a small point of time is our waiting-tii with eternity ? Yet a few days more, and then comes pected and welcome harvest.
2. The husbandman can find other work to do bef<
ing time come ; he need not stand idle, though he can And cannot a Christian find any work to do for God t: heaven .'* O there is much work to do, and such work ii to this season ! You may now reprove sin, exhort to d the distressed ; this is good work, and this is your only
work ; the whole of eternity'will be taken up in other e *' I think it meet (saith Peter) as long as I am in this t " stir up your minds, l.nowing shortly that I must put (
" nacle," 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. q. d. I know I have but a
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EAnTlILY THIXCS.
vou here for their sakes, up and be doing : if you had done all vere to do for yourselves and them, he would have you to heaven mctliately ; you should not wait a moment longer for your glor
3. Husbandmen know, though they cannot yet gather in precious fruits of the earth, yet all this while they are ripening preparing for the harvest ! they would not house it green, or tal
before its time. And is not this also my preparation-time for glc As God preoared heaven for his people by an eternal decree ; 3
XXV. 34. by an act of creation, Heb. xi. 10. by the death of Ch; which made a purchase of it, Heb. x. 19, 20. and by his ascen; ijito it, John xiv. 2, 3. So the reason why we are kept here, h order to our fitting for it. Heaven is ready, but we are not f ready ; the barn is fit to receive the corn, but the corn is not fit t(
gathered into it. " But for this self-same thing God is now worl-
^' us," 2 Cor. v. 5. he is every day at work by ordinances, and providences, to perfect his work in us ; and as soon as that is fin
ed, we shall hear a voice like that. Rev. xi. 12. '• Come up hit *' and immediately we shall be in the spirit C for how ardently ever we long for that desirable day, Christ longs for it more t
we can do.
4. The husbaudmanis glad of the first-fruits, that encourages 1 though the greatest part be yet out : and have not you received first fruits of that glory ? Have you not earnests, pledges, and i
fruits of it ? 'Tis your own fault, if every day you feed not u such blessed comforts of the Spirit, Rom. viii. 23. Rom. v. 2. 1
viii. 9. O how might the interposing time, even all the days of ) patience here be sweetened with such prelibations of the glor come !
5. Husbandmen know it is best to reap when it is fit to reap ; handful fully ripe is worth many sheaves of green com. And know, heaven will be sweetest to you when you are fittest for the child would pluck the apple whilst it is green, but he might
ther it easier, and taste it sweeer, by tarrying longer for it. would fain be glorified per mitum. When we have got a tast heaven, we are all in haste to be gone. Then, O that I had w as a dove ! I would fly away and be at re*t. Then we cry to <
for ourselves, as Moses for his sister Miriam, " Heal her [no-n ** God, I beseech thee T Numb. xii. 13. Glorify me now, O L I pray thee ! But, surely, as God hath contrived thy glory in best of ways ; so he hath appointed for thee the fittest of seas( and whenever thou art gathered into glory, thou shalt come t
108 HUSEAXDIIY Sl'IHITUALIZED ; OR,
*' tlie hart panteth for the water brooks, so panteth my *' O God ! O when shall I come and appear before C sire to be dissolved and to be with Christ ! When sh
most lovely face? When shall I hear his soul-transp
Some need patience to die : I need it as much to live. ' 0 God, by faith, have made this world a burden, this den, and this soul to cry, like thirsty David, " O thj *' give me of the waters of Bethlehem to drink !" 1 man longs for his harvest, because it is the reward of al labour. But what is his harvest to mine ? What is a
the enjoyment of God ? What is the joy of harvest 1 heaven ? What are the shoutings of men in the fields mations of glorified spirits in the kingdom of God ? ! gone forth, bearing more precious seed than they ; wh turn rejoicing, bringing my sheaves with me ? Their h when they receive their corn ; mine comes when I leav desired ! 0 day of gladness of my heart ! How long,
long I Here I wait as the poor man at Bethesda's pool, ] my turn will come, but every one steps into heaven bej Lord, I am content to wait till my time is fully come : content to stay for my glorification till I have finishet jny geneyation ; and when I have done the will of C receive the promise. If thou have any work on earth 1 1 am content to abide : behold, the husbandman waitetl I ; for thou art a God of judgment ; and blessed are ; wait for thee.
But how doth my slothful soul sink down into the fle:
itself in the love of this animal life ?
The lingering hug and wrap up itself in the gar sours re/lection. mortality, not desiring to be remo
the more perfect and blessed statt bandman is indeed content to stay till the appointed v harvest; but would he be content to wait always? 0 heart ! is this life of hope as contentful to thee as the 1
•will be ? W^hy dost thou not groan within thyself, that tl might be swallowed up of life ? Doth not the scriptures saints by their earnest looking for the mercy of our Christ unto eternal life ? Jude 21. " By their hasten " coming of the day of God," 2 Pet. iii. 12. What is that my heart hangs back ? Doth guilt lie upon my conj have I gotten into a pleasant condition in the world, ^
f HE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
iN O prudent husbandman expects
The fruit of what he sows,
'Till every cause have its effects. And then he reaps and mows : He works in hope the year throughout,
And counts no labour lost. If, when the season comes about.
His harvest quits his cost His rare example justly may
Rebuke and put to shame My soul ; which sows its seed and ease
And looks to reap the same. Is cursed nature now become
So kind a soil to grace, That to perfection it should come
Within so short a space ? Grace springs not up with seed and ease.
Like mushrooms in a night ; But rather by degrees increase.
As doth the morning light. Is com so dear to husbandmen ?
Much more is heav'n to me ; Why should not I have patience then
To wait as well as he ?
To promises, appointed years.
By God's decrees, are set ; These once expired, beyond its fears My soul shall quickly get. How small a part of hasty time,
Which quickly will expire, Doth me within this world confine,
And then comes my desire.
Come, Lord, how long my soul hath gasp'd ! Faith my affections warms;
O when shall my poor soul be clasp'd
In its Redeemer's arms ! The time seems long, yet here I'll lie,
'Till thou, my God, do call: It is enough, eternity
110 HUSBAXDUY SPIRTTUALTZED ; OE,
CHAP. XV.
Upon the Harvest^Season.
Carn^ fully ripe, is reap'dy and gathered In So must yourselves, when ripe in gracCy or
VT HEN the fields are white to harvest, then husba through them, rub the ears ; and finding the grain fu they presently prepare their scythes and sickles; se jharvest-men, who quickly reap and mow them down ; ar follow the binders, who tie it up ; from the field where carried to the barn, where it is threshed out ; the good j cd into an heap, the chafF separated and burnt, or throw n hill. HoAv bare and naked do ihe fields look after ha
before were pleasant to behold ? When the harvest-mc the field, it is (to allude to that, Joel ii. 3.) before th garden of Eden, and behind them a desolate wilderr
some places, it is usual to set fire to the dry stubble w is housed ; which rages furiously, and covers it all wit
ArPLICATION.
J. HE application of this, I find made to my han( himself, in Mat. xiii. 38, 39. " The field is the worl
*' seed are the children of the kingdom ; the tares are " of the wicked one ; the enemy that sowed them is tl *' harvest is the end of the world ; the reapers are the The field is the world ; there both the godly and and grow together, until they be both ripe ; and the both be reaped down by death : death is the sickle ths both. I will open this allegory in the following partic
1. In a catching harvest, when the husbandman sec begin to gather and grow black, he hurries in his corn sible haste, and houses it day and night.
So doth God, the great Husbandman ; he hurries tl their graves when judgments are coming upon the world
*' The righteous perish, and no man layeth it to heai " ciful men are taken away, none considering that tht *' taken awav from the evil to come." Methuselah <
THE HEAVENIY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS.
ment of many wise and tender hearts in England ? I find some them thus ranked in a funeral elegy :
The learned Twisse went first, (it was his right) Then holy Palmer, Burroughs, Love, Gouge, White, Hill, Whitaker, grave Gataker and Strong, Perne, Marshal, Robinson, all gone along.
I have not nam"d them half; their only strife Hath been (of late) who should first part with life.
These few who yet survive, sick of this age. Long to have done their parts, and leave the stage. The Lord sees it better for them to be under-ground, than ab( ground ; and therefore, by a merciful providence, sets them oui
harm's way-
2. Neither the com nor tares can possibly resist the sharp and 1; sickle, when it is applied to them by the reapers hand ; neil can thegodlv or ungodly resist the stroke of death when God infi
it ; Eccl. viii. 8. " No man can keep alive his own soul in the
*' of death ; and there is no discharge in that war." The frail b of man is as unable to withstand that stroke, as the weak reed; feeble stalks of the corn are to resist the keen scythe and sli
sickle.
3. The reapers receive the wheat which tliey cut down into tl arms and bosom. Hence that expression by way of imprecation u
the wicked, Psal. cxxix. 6, 7- " Let them be as the grass upon " house top, which withers before it grows up ; wherewith the mo " filleth not his hand, nor he that bindeth sheaves, his bosc Such withered grass are the wicked, who are never taken into
reaper's bosom ; but as soon as saints are cut down by death, t fall into the hands and bosoms of tlie angels of God, who bear then their arms and bosoms to God their father, Luke xvi, 22. For Ic
as these blessed spirits did exceedingly rejoice at their convers Luke XV. 10. and thought it no dishonour to minister to them, wl they stood in the field, Heb. i. l-t. So when they are cut dowr death, they will rejoice to be their convov to heaven.
4. When the com and weeds are reapetl and mowed down, t shall never grow any more in that field ; neither shall we ever ret to live an animal hfe any more after death, Job vii. 9, 10. " As
" cloud is consumed, and vanisheth away ; so he that goeth dow: " the grave, shall come up no more ; he shall return no more *' his house, neither shall his place know him anv more." Lastly, (to come home to the particular subject of this chap
?^A!<IT»!s5«.-«:
llf<i KCSBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED ; OR,
'place) but yet, in one sense, it is an universal truth, t * filled ; for whensoever they die, they die in a gooi ' though they die in the spring and flower of their yoi * in a good old age ; i. e. they are ripe for death whene * Whenever a godly man dies, it is harvest-time with * in a natural capacity he be cut down Avhile he is gree * ped in the bud or blossom ; yet in his spiritual capac * dies before he be ripe. God ripens him speedilyj, wh( * to take him out of the world speedily ; he can let ou * rays and beams of his Spirit upon him, as shall soon i
' seeds of grace into a preparedness for glory.'
The wicked also have their ripening-time for hell anc God doth with much long-sufFerincr endure the vesse prepared for destruction. Of their ripeness for judgme
lure often speaks. Gen. xv. 16. " The sin of the Ann " yet full." And of Babylon it is said, Jer. li. 13. «( " dwellest upon many waters ! thine end is come, and
*' of thy covetousness." It is worth remarking, that the measure of the sin,
of the sinner, come together. So Joel iii. 13. " Put ye
'*' for the harvest of the earth is ripe ; for the press is 1
*' overflow : for their wickedness is great." Where, r are not cut down till they be ripe and ready. Indeed, th ripe for death, nor ready for the grave ; that is, fit to di
are always ripe for wrath, and ready for hell before they as husbandmen judge of the ripeness of their harvest, I and hardness of the grain ; so may we judge of the ripe saints and sinners, for heaven or hell, by these followin
Three s\gns of the maturity of grace.
1. y ▼ HEN the corn is near ripe, it bows the head, lower than when it was green. When the people of C ripe for heaven, they grow more humble and self-deny the days of their first profession. The longer a saint j world, the better he is still acquainted with his own he; obligations to God ; both which are very humbling th had one foot in heaven, wiien he called himself the chiefe and least of saints, 1 Tim. i. 15. Eph. iii. 8. A Chri progress of his knowledge and grace, is like a vessel cast the more it fills, the deeper it sinks. Those that went Athens (saith Plutarch) at first coming seemed to then
^^H THE HEAVEXLY USE OF EARTHLY T1IIXG5. 11
^■Substantial and weighty : So it is with Christians ; the affections of ^K'oung Christian, perhaps are more feverous and sprightly ; but tho ^Bof a grown Christian are more judicious and sohd; their love ^^Christ abounds more and more in all judgments, Phil. i. 9. T
limbs of a child are more active and pliable : but as he grows up t(
perfect state, the parts are more consolidated and firmly knit T fingers of an old musician are not so nimble ; but he hath a mc judicious ear in music than in his youth.
3. When corn is dead ripe, it is apt to fall of its own accord tot ground, and there shed ; whereby it doth, as it were, anticipate t harvest-man, and calls upon him to put in the sickle. Not unlike which are the lookings and longings, the groanings and hastenings ready Christians to their expected glory ; they hasten to the coming
the Lord, or, as Montanus more fitly renders it, they hasten t coming of the Lord ; (i. e.) they are urgent and instant in their c sires and cries to hasten his coming; their desires s;\lly forth to mi
the Lord ; they willingly take death by the hand ; as the com ber to the earth, so doth these souls to heaven : This shows their harv to be near.
Six slffns qfiJie maturity of sin.
▼ ▼ HEN sinners are even dead-ripe for hell, the signs app upon them ; or by these, at least, you may conclude those souls j to be far from wrath, upon whom they appear.
1. When conscience is wasted, and grown past feeling, having remorse for sin ; when it ceases to check, reprove, and smite, for any more, the day of that sinner is at hand, his harvest is even coi
The greatest violation of conscience is the greatest of sins ; this ^ the case of the forlorn Gentiles, among whom Satan had such a pi tiful harvest ; the patience of God suffered them to grow till tl consciences were grown seared, and past feelings, Eph. iv. 19. Wl a member is so mortified, that if you lance and cut it never somu
no fresh blood, or quick flesh appears, nor doth the man feel ; pain in all this, then it is time to cut it off.
2. When men give themselves over to the satisfaction of tl lusts, to commit sin with greediness, then are thev grown to a i
turity of sin ; when men have slipped the reins of conscience, i
rush headlong into all impiety, then the last sands of God's patie are running down. Thus Sodom and Gomorrali, and the ci about them, in like manner gave themselves over to wickedness i strange sins ; and then iustice quicklv save them up for an exam
ILI^
114 HUSEAXDllY SPIIIITUALIZED ; OE,
'•' pare deceit," Job xv. 35. " who travail ia pain to this deformed birth, ver. 20. " who wink with their i plodding wickedness, as men used to do when they arc upon the study of any knotty problem, Prov. vi. 13. so much of hell already in ttiem, that they are more 1 hell already.
4. He that of a forward professor is turned a bitter j also within a few rounds of the top of the ladder; the their light the Lord hath already punished upon th( obduracy and madness against the light. Reader, if t thus far, thou art almost gone beyond all hope of recovei other sinners God usually exercises more patience, but makes short work. When Judas turns traitor to his
quickly sent to his own place. Such as are again in overcome of those lusts they once seemed to have clc these bring upon themselves swift damnation, and th< lingers not, 2 Pet. ii. 3, 20.
5. He that can endure no reproof or controul in the \a but derides all counsel, and like a strong current, n sweeps away all obstacles in his way, v.ill quickly fall i
lake, Prov. xxix. 1. " He that being often reproved, h
*' neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that witho This is a death-spot, a hell-spot, wherever it appears, very symptom the prophet plainly predicted the apprc of Amaziah, 2 Chron. xxv. 16. " I know that God ha
" ed to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, a " hearkened to my voice." He that will not be timel} shall be quickly destroyed.
Lastly, When a man comes to glory in his sin, and wickedness, then it is time to cut him down, " whos
" struction, whose glory is in their shame;" Phil. iii. 1 braving, a daring of God to his face ; and with whi bears long, to be sure these are none of them.
You see now what are the signs of a full ripe sinner ; comes to this, either with a nation, or with a single ] ruin is near, Joel iii. 13. Gen. xv. 16. It is in the filli; measure of sin, as in the filling up of a vessel cast into t rolls from side to side, taking in the water by little anc
be full, and then down it sinks to the bottom. Mean -v able is Divine patience, which bears with these vesse] whilst fitting for destruction !
THE HEAVEKLY USE OP EARTHLY THINGS. 1
upon my soul ; and though my heart hath been an unkindly so which hath kept it back, and much hindered its growth, yet, bless< be the Lord, it still grows on, though by slow degrees ; and fro the springing of the seed, and shooting forth of those gracious habil I may conclude an approaching harvest : Now is my salvation near
than'when I believed ; every day I come nearer to my salvatio Rom. xiii. 11. O that every day I were more active for the God my salvation ! Grow on, my soul, and add to thy faith virtue, tliy virtue knowledge, &c. Grow on from faith to faith ; ke thvself under tlie ripening influences of heavenly ordinances : T faster thou growest in grace, the sooner thou shalt be reaped doT
in mercy, and bound up in the bundle of life, 1 Sam. xv. 29. I ha not yet attained the measure and proportion of grace assigned to n:
neither am I already perfect, but am reaching forth to the thin before me, and pressing towards the mark for the prize of my he venly calling, Phil. iii. 12, 13. O mercy to be admired ! that who lately had one foot in hell, stand now with one foot in heavei
2. But the case is far different with me; T'h iJ f fi
•whilst others are ripeninff apace for heaven, , ' r>i • i1 am withermg : many a soul plowed up by «>' & conviction, and sown by sanctification long after me, hath quite ovt
topped and outgrown me ; my sweet and early blossoms are nipp and blown off, my bright morning overcast and clouded : had I ke on, according to the rate of my first growth, I had either now be in heaven, or at least in the suburbs of it on earth ; but my grac wither and languish, my heart contracts and cools to heavenly thing the sun and rain of ordinances and providences improve not d graces : how sad therefore is the state of my soul !
3. Thy case, O declining saint, is sad, but tj -a ^u' not like mine : thine is but a temporary remission -, i ■ - ^
ot the acts oi grace, which is recoverable ; but ° I am judicially hardening, and " treasuring up to myself wra " against the day of wrath," Rom. ii. 5. Tune was when I h; some tender sense of sin, when I could mourn and grieve for it ; n(
I have none at all : my heart is grown stupid and sottish. Time w when I had some conscientious care of duty, when my heart wou smite me for the neglect of it ; but now none at all. Wretch soul ! what wilt thou do ? Thou art gone far indeed, a few ste further will put thee beyond hope : hitherto I stand in the fieL
the long-suffering God doth yet spare me ; yea, spare me while hath cut down many of my companions in sin round about n Wli-it rl/-w«-Vi *\^\r, «^l.v,;..-,l,l„ *: ^i." 1 xr_ • J ,
116 HUSBAXDRY SPIRITUALIZED ; OR-
at last the end of a long-suffering God, lest he proporti of his wrath, according to the length of his patience !
▼ f HEN fields are white, to harvest forth you With scythes and sickles to reap down and mow. Down go the laden ears flat to the ground, Which those that follow having stitch'd and boui 'Tis carried home unto the barn, and so The fields are red where lately corn did grow.
This world's the field, and they that dwell therei The corn and tares, Avhich long have ripen'd beei Angels the reapers, and the judgment-day The time of harvest, when, like corn and hay,
The fading flow'rs of earthly glory must Be mowed down, and levefd with the dust ;
The barns are heav'n and hell, the time draws ni When through the darkened clouds and troubl'd The Lord shall break ; a dreadful trumpet shall
Sound to the dead ; the stars from heaven fall ; The rolling spheres with horrid flames shall bum
And then the tribes on earth shall wail and moui
The judgment set, before Christ's awful throne All flesh shall be conven'd, and ev'ry one Receive his doom ; which done, the just shall be Bound in life's bundle, even as you see The full ripe ears of wheat bound up and borne
In sheaves with joy into the owner's barn. This done, the angels next in bundles bind
The tares together ; as they had combin'd In acting sin, so now their lot must be To burn together in one misery. Drunkards with drunkards pinion'd, shall be seni To hell together in one regiment. Adulterers and swearers there shall lie In flames among their old society. O dreadful bowlings ! O the hideous moans
Of fetter'd sinners ! O the tears ! the groans ! The doleful lamentations as tliey go
Chain'd fast together to their place of woe ! The world thus clear'd, as fields when harvest's ]
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY THIKGS.
CHAP. XVII.
Upou the Care of Husbandmen to provide for Wintei
Your 'ccinter store in .mmvicr you provide : To Christian prudence this must he applied.
OBSEHVATION.
VirOOD husbands are careful in summer to provide for wir Then thev o-ather in their winter store ; food and fuel for themsel
and fodder for their cattle. " He that gathers in summer, is a '
" son : but he that sleeps in harvest is a son that causeth shame,"' P X. 5. A well chosen season is the greatest advantage to any acti which, as it is seldom found iu haste, so it is often lost by delay,
is a good proverb which the frugal Dutch have among them : — Be
sei-vatitisjhciet honum honifacium : — A good saver will make a g benefactor. And it is a good proverb of our own. He that neglects occasion, the occasion will neglect him. Husbandmen know that s mer will not hold all the year ; neither will they trust to the hop< a mild and favourable winter, but in season provide for the wc
ArPLiCATIOX.
T T HAT excellent Christians should we be, were we but as ]
vident and thoughtful for our souls .'' It is doubtless a singular p of Christian wisdom to foresee a day of spiritual straits and nec< ties ; and, during the day of grace, to make provision for it. ^ great gospel-truth is excellently shadowed forth in this natural servation, which I Shall branch out into these seven ]wrticu]ars.
1. Husbandmen know there is a change and vicissitude of seas and weather ; though it be pleasant summer weather now, vet ^ ter will tread upon the heel of summer : frosts, snows, and great i of rain must be expected. This alternate course of seasons, in nati is settled by a firm law of the God of nature to the end of the wo Gen. viii. 22. " AVhilst the earth remaineth, seed-time and harv
" cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night, shall *' cease." And Christians know, that there are changes in the right-ham the Most High, in reference to their spiritual seasons. If there 1 spring-time of the gospel, there will be also an autumn ; if a da prosperity, it will set in a night of adversiti) : " for God hath
118 IIUSBAXBrtY spiuituaiizhd ; OR,
2, Common prudence and experience enable the hu the midst of summer, to foresee a winter, and provide he feel it ; yea, natural instinct teaches this to the ver air, and beasts of the field.
And spiritual wisdom should teach Christians to foreseeing faculties, and not suffer them to feel evil be it. But, oh ! the stupifying nature of sin ! Though tl heavens knows her appointed time, and the turtle, crane the time of their coming, yet man, whom God hath ms the fowls of the air, in this acts quite below them, Jei
3. The end of God's ordaining a summer season, and and pleasant weather is to ripen the fruits of the earth, husbandman fit opportunity to gather them in.
And God's design of giving men a day of grace, is to ■with an opportunity for the everlasting happiness and sal souls; Rev. ii. 21. " I gave her space to repent." It reprival of the soul, or only a delay of the execution i wrath, though there be much mercy in that ; but the pi this patience and bounty of God is to open for them a
the wrath to come, by leading them to repentance," B 4. The husbandman doth not find all harvest-seasons
able : sometimes they have much fair weather, and mee drance in their business; other times it is a catching now and then a fair day, and then they must be nira
lost.
There is also a great difference in soul-seasons ; son long and fair season of grace ; a hundred and twenty 3 wait upon the old world, in the ministry of Noah. I
wait on the gainsaying Israelites, Isa. xlii. 14. "I ha\
'' held my peace ; I have been still, and refrained mys have a short and catching season, all lies upon a day, u time, Acts xvii. 30.
5. A proper season neglected and lost is irrecover things in husbandry, must be done in their season, or ci at all for that year : if he plow not, and sow not in the j he loses the harvest of that year.
It is even so as to spiritual seasons : Chnst neglectc despised, in the season when God offers them, are irrec Prov. i. 28. " Then (that is when the season is over^
" call upon me, but I will not hear." Oh ! there is a time, in a short opportunity ; that may be done, or pre
THE IIEAVEKLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS. ]
Whence it became a proverb in Greece, To-morrow is a new d Our glass runs in heaven, and we cannot see how much or httle
the sand of God's patience is yet to run down ; but this is certa when that glass is run, there is nothing to be done for our soi Luke xix. 42. " O that thou hadst known, at least, in this thy d, " the things that belong to thy peace ; but now they are hid fr