Upon the seeking of loft cattle,
The Heavenly Use of Earthly Things.
To fpiritualize it,and improve it thus ; How sweet would tedious journeys be to us !
But such a task, a graceless heart tires out, More than the tired horse I write about.
CHAP.
III.
Upon the seeking of loftCattle.
Whenseekingyour lost cattle, keep in mind, That thus Christ Jesus seeks yourfouls to find.
WHE
OBSERVATION.
HEN cattle are strayed away from your fields, you use all care and diligence to recover them again ; tracing their footsteps, crying them in the market-towns, fending your servants abroad, and enquiring yourselves of all that you think can give news of the in.
What care and pains menwilltake in such çases, was exemplified in Saul, I Sam. ix. 4, 5. who with his servant, passed through mount Ephraim, toleek the asses that were strayed from his father, and through the land of Shalisha, and through the land of Shalim, and theywerenot there, and through the land of the Benjamites, but found them not.
APPLICATION.
HE care and pains you take to recover your loft cattle, T carries afweet and lively representation of the love of Jesus Christ, in the recovery of loft sinners.
Jesus Christ came on purpose from heaven upon a like errand, to seek and to save that which was loft, Matth. xviii. 11. There are several particulars in which this glorious design of Christ, in seeking and saving loft man, and the care and pains ofhusbandmen in recovering their loft cattle,do meet and touch,though there be as many particulars also in which they differ : all which I Thall open under the following heads.
1. We sometimes find that cattle will break out of those very fields where they have beenbred ; and where they want nothing that isneedful for them.
Just thus loftmandeparted from his God,brake out of that pleasant enclosure where he was abundantly provided for, both as to foul and body ; yet thenhebrake over the hedge of the command, and wentatray,Ecclef. vii. 29. " Lo, this only have I found, that God
" mademan upright, but he fought out to himself many in- "ventions :" He was not content and fatisfiedwith thatblefVOL. VI.
Husbandry Spiritualized; or, sedstateGodhad put him into,but would be trying new con clusions,to the loss and ruin both of himself and his posterity.
2. Strayers are evermore sufferers for it; alltheyget by it, to bepinedandpoinded: Andwhatdidmangetbydeparting from his God,but ruin and misery to foulandbody? Will you have an abbreviate of his sufferings and losses ? The full accountnonecan give you: Why, by straying from his God, he loft the rectitude and holiness of his nature; like a true strayer, he is all dirty andmiry, overspreadand besmearedboth in foul and body with the odious filthiness of fin;he lost the liberty and freedom of his will to good, a precious jewel of inestimable value.
This is a real misery incurred by the fall, though some have fo far lofttheirunderstandings and humility, as not to own it; he hath lost his God, his soul,his happiness, and his very bowels ofcompallion towards himself in this miserable state.
3. When your cattle are strayed,yea,though it be but one of the flock or herd,you leave all the rest, and go after that which is loft : So did Jesus Christ,who, in the forecitedplace,
Matth. xvii. r2. compares himself to such a shepherd; he left heaven itself, and all the blessed angels there, to come into this world to seek loft man. Othe precious esteem, and dear love that Christ had to poor man ! How did his bowels yearn towards us in our low state ! How did he pity us in our misery!
As if he had said, poor creatures, they have lostthemfelves, and are become a prey to the devilinaperishing state; I will seek after them, andsavethem.
The Son of man is come to seek and to save.
4. You are glad when you have found your trayers ; much more is Christ, whenhehath found aloft foul. O it is a great satisfaction to him to seethe fruit ofthetravail of his soul; Ifa. liii. " Yea, there is more joy inheavenoverone finnerthat re- " penteth, than over ninety nine just perfonsthat need no re- " pentance."
What demonstrations of joy and gladness did the father of the prodigal give, when he had found his son that was loft ? Luke xv. 20.
5. When you have brought home your strayers,you some times clog them, to prevent their wandering again, and stop up the gaps with thorns ; and so doth God oftentimes by such fouls as are recovered and brought home to Christ ; he hangs a clogofaffliction to prevent their departure from God again,
2Cor. xii. 7.
But then there are five particulars in which Christ's seeking loft fouls, and your seeking loft cattle differ.
TheHeavenlyUse ofEarthlyThings.
1. Yourcattlesometimes find the wayhomethemselves, and return toyouoftheir own accord ; but loft man never did, nor can do so; he was his own destroyer, but can never be his own saviour ; it was possible for him not to have lost his God, but having once lofthim, can never find him again of himself.
Alas ! his heart is bent to backsliding, he hath no will to return.
Hear how Christ complains, Johnv. 40. "Ye will not come " unto me."
Man's recovery begins in God, not in himself.
2. Your servants can find, and bring back your loft cattle as well as you ; but so cannot Christ's servants : Miniftersmay discover, but cannot recover them; they daily see,but cannot save them; lament them they can,but help themtheycannot ; intreat andbegthem to return they can, and do,but prevail with them they cannot.
Melancthon thought, when he began to preach, to persuade all ; but old Adam was too hard for youngMelancthon.
3. You seek all the cattle that are strayed from you, especially the best; but Jesus Christonty seeks poor loft man.
There were other creatures, and such as by nature were more excellent, that loft their God and themselves ; I mean, the apostateangels; but he came not to seek them: herein his singular love to man appears.
4. When you have recovered and brought home your lost cattle, youmaylose them the second time, and never recover them again ; but so cannot Christ.
Man once recovered is for ever secured by him. "All that thou hast given me, I have
" kept, and no tone of them is lost,but the son ofperdition ;" and he was never savingly found, John xvii. 12.
5. Though you prize your cattle, yet you will not venture your life for the recovery of them; rather let them go, than regainthemwith such an hazard; but Jesus Christ not only ventured, but actually laid down his life to recover, and save loft man : he redeemed them at the price of his own blood ; he is that good shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep. O the surpassing love of Christ to lost souls !
REFLECTION S.
1. Lord, I am a loft creature! an undone foul! andhereinlies my misery,that I have Areflectionfora not only loft my'God, but have no heart to return to him : nay, I fly from Christ, who loftfoul. is come on purpose from heaven to seek and to save me : his messengers are abroad, seeking for such as I am, but I avoid them, or at least refuse to obey their call andperfuafions to reAaz
Husbandry Spiritualized; or, turn. Ah,what amiferable state am I in ! Every step I go is a step towards hell; my foul,with the prodigal,is ready to perish inastrangecountry: but I have no mind, with him, to return home.
Wretched foul ! what will the end of this be ? If God have lost thee, the devil hath found thee; he takes up all strayers from God: yea, death and hell will shortly find thee, if Christ do not ; andthenthyrecovery,O my soul! will be impoflible!Why fit I hereperishinganddying ? Iamnotyet as irrecoverably loft as the damned are. Oletmedelayno longer, left I be loft for ever !
2. Omy foul ! for ever bless and admire the love of Jesus Christ, who came from heaven to seek and save such a loft foul as I was.
Lord, how marvellous! how matchless is thy love! I was lost, and am found : I am found, and did not seek; nay, I am found by him from whom I fled. Thy love, O my Saviour ! was a preventing love, a wonderful love; thou lovedst me much
A reflection for one that was lost, but is found. more than I loved myself; I was cruel to my own soul, but thou wast kind; thou foughtest for me, a loft sinner, and not for loftangels ; thy hand of grace caught hold of me, and hath let go thousands, and ten thousands, as good as myself by nature: like another David, thou didst rescue my poor loft foul outofthemouth of the destroyer ; yea, more than so,thou didst lose thine own life to find mine: And now, dear Jesus, since I am thus marvelloufly recovered, shall I ever straggle again from thee ? O let it foreverbeawarning to me, how
I turn aside into by-paths off in anymore.
The POEM.
And you tofeekthem through the country ride Enquiring for them all along the way, Tracking their foot-steps where the, turn'd aside ;
One servant this way sent, another that, Searching the fields and country round about ;
This meditationnowfalls in fopat, As if God sent ittoenquireyouout :
My beasts are loft, and fo amI by fin ; Mywretchedfoulfrom God thus wandring went ;
As I seek them, fo was I fought by him, Who from the Father's bosom forth was sent.
Purfu'dby sermons, follow'd close by grace, And strong convictions, Christ hath fought for me;
The Heavenly Use of Earthly Things.
Yea, though I shunhim, still he gives me chase, As ifrefolv'd I should not damned be.
When angels loft themselves,it was not fo ; Goddidnot seek or once for them enquire; Butfaid, Let these apoftate creaturesgo, I'll plaguethemfor it with eternal fire.
Lord! what am I, that thou shouldst set thine eyes, And stillfeek after such a wretch as I ?
Whosematchless mercy, and rich grace despise, As if, infpight thereof,resolved to die.
Why shouldIthun thee ? Blessed Saviour,why Should I avoid thee thus ? Thou dost not chafe
My foul to flay it ; O that ever I Should flyaSaviour that'sfo fullofgrace!
Long hast thou sought me, Lord,I now return, Oletthybowels ofcompassionfound; For my departure I sincerely mourn, And let thisdaythy wandring theepbe found.
CHAP.
IV.
Upon the Feedingoffat Cattle.
Fat beaftsyoukill,theleanyou use tofave :
God's difpenfationsfomefuch meaning have.
OBSERVATIΟΝ.
Tis is a good observation of a Father, and well applied ; Vituli triturantes quotidie ligantur, vituli mactandi quotidie in pafcuis libererelinquuntur : Oxen for use are daily yoked and kept short, whilst those that are designed for the shambles, are let loose in green pastures to feed at pleasure.
Store beasts fare hard,and are kept lean and low; feeding beasts are excused from the yoke, whilst others are laboured and wrought hard everyday; the one hath more than he can eat, theotherwould
I eat more if he had it.
APPLICATION.
HUS deals the Lord oft-times with his own elect, whom he designs for glory ; and with the wicked,who are pre paring for the day of wrath: thus are they filled with earthly prosperity, and creature-enjoyments, like rusty and wanton beaststurnedout at liberty in a fat pasture, whilst poor saints are kept hard and short; Amos iv. 1. "Hear this word, ye
" kine of Bash an, that are in the mountains of Samaria, which * oppress the poor, crush the needy."
These metaphorical
Husbandry Spiritualized, or, kine are the prosperous oppressors of the world, full fed, and wanton wicked men. It is true, heaven hath not all the poor, norhellall the rich ; but it is a verycommondispensation of providence, to bestow most of the things of this world upon them that have no portion in heaven ; and to keep them short on earth, for whomthatkingdom is provided.
Let me draw forth the similitude in a few particulars.
1. The beasts of slaughter have the fattest pastures ; so have the ungodly in the world; " Their eyes stand out with fat- " ness: they have more than heart could wish," Psal.
Ixxiii. 7. Their hearts are as fat as grease, Psal. cxix. 70.
These be they that fleet off the cream of earthly enjoyments, " whose bellies are filled withhiddentreasures," Psal. xvii. 1-4
" The earth is given intothehand of the wicked," Job ix. 24.
Owhat full estates ! what an affluence of earthly delights hath God cast in upon some wicked men ! There is much wantonness, but no want in their dwellings: some that know notwhichwaytoturnthemselves in hell,once knew not where to bestow their goods on earth.
2. Feeding beasts growwantonin their full pastures; there youshallfee them tumble and frisk, and kick up their heels.
The fame effect hath the prosperity of the wicked ; it makes them wanton ; their life is but a diversion fromonepleasure to another, Job xxi. 11, 12, 13. " They send forth their little
" ones like a flock, and their children dance : theytakethetim- " brel and harp, and rejoice at the found of the organ: they
" spend their days in wealth, and inamomentgo down to the " grave." The same chacter doth the prophet Amosgive of them, Amos vi. 4, 5, 6. " They stretch themselves upon " beds of ivory, drink wine in bowls," &c. and no sorrow goes to their hearts.
These are they that live in pleasures upon earth, as a fish in the water, Jam. v. 5.
3. These fat pastures do but the sooner hasten the death of these cattle: the sooner they are fatted, the sooner they are laughtered ; and the prosperity of the wicked serves to the fame end: the prosperity of fools fhalldestroythem; i. e. it shall be the means and instrument of heating and heightening their
Justs, and thereby fitting them for destruction; their prosperity is food and fewel to theircorruptions.
Many wicked men had not been so soon ripe for hell,had they not grown in the funThineof prosperity.
4. Fatted beasts do not in the least understand the intent and meaning of the husbandman, in allowing them such large and fat pastures, which he denies to his other cattle; and as little
The Heavenly Use of Earthly Things.
sbeafts,dowickedmen understand the scopeandendofGod's providences, in casting profperityandwealthuponthem ; little do they think their tables are a snare, a gin,and at rap for their souls; they only, like beasts, mind what is before them, but donotatallunderstand the tendency and end of these their sensual delights.
5. Though the husbandman keeps his store-cattle in short commons,yet he intends to preserve them : these shall remain with him, when the others are driven to the slaughter.
Such a design of preservation is carried on in all those out ward straits, wants, and hardships which the Lord exposes his people to. I confess, such dispensations, for the present, are very stumbling andpuzzlingthings, even to gracious and wife persons. To fee wicked men,not only exempted from their troubles, but even oppressed with prosperity : to see a godly man in wants and straits, and a wicked man have more than his heart can wish, is a case that poses thewisestChristian,till he confiders the designs and issues of both those providences, and then he acquiefces in the wisdom of God so ordering it,
Psal. lxxiii. 5, 14, 18,23-
REFLECTIONS .
1. Doth my prosperity fat me up for hell, and prepare me for the day off laughter ? Little cause have I then to glory in it, and lift up my heart upon these things. Indeed,God worldling. hath given(I cannot say blessed me with)afulness ofcreatureenjoyments ; upon these my carnal heart feizeth greedily and A reflection for a voluptuous securely, not at all suspecting a snare lying inthesethings for the ruin of my foul. What are all these charming pleasures, butsomanyrattles to quietmyfoul,whilst its damnation steals insensiblyupon it ? What are all my businesses and imployments in the world, but somanydiversions from the business of life ? There are but two differences betwixt me, and the poorest slave the devil hath on earth; such are whipped on to hell by outward miseries, and I am coachedtohell ina little more pomp and honour; these will have a less,and I a greater account inthedayofreckoning. OthatIhadneverknown prosperity! I am now tumbling in agreenpasture, and shortly shall be hanging up in the shambles in hell: if this be the best fruitofmyprofperity, ifI were taken captive by cruel canibals, and fed with the richest fare, but withal understood, that the designofitweretofatmeup like a beast for them to feed upon,how little stomach should I have to their dainties ? Omy foul! itweremuch better for thee to have a sanctified poverty,
Husbandry Spiritualized; or, which is the portion of many faints,thananenfuaringprofpe. rity, set as a trap to ruin thee for ever.
2. The wisdom of my God hath allotted A reflection for me but short commons here ; his providence apoorChristian. feeds me butfromhandtomouth,but I am, and well may be, contented with my present state ; that which fweetens it is, that I am one of the Lord's preserved. How much better is a morsel of bread, and a draught of water here with an expectency of glory hereafter, than a fat pasture given in, andafittingfor the wrath to come ? Well since the case stands thus, blessed be God for my present lot ! Though I have but a little in hand, I have much in hope; my present troubles will serve to sweetenmyfuture joys ; and the sorrows of this life will give a lustre to the glory of the next: that which is now hard to suffer, will then be sweet to remember; my songs willthenbelouder thanmygroans now are.
T The POEM.
HOSE beasts which for the shambles are design'd, In fragrant flow'ry meadows you shall find,
Where they abound with rich and plenteous fare, Whilst others graze in commons thin and bare :
Those live a short and pleasant life, but these Protract their lives in dry and shorter leas.
Thus lives the wicked ; thus they do abound With earthly glory, and with honour crown'd.
Their loftyheads unto the stars aspire, And radiantbeams their shining brows attire.
The fattest portion'sferv'dup in their dish ; Yea,theyhavemorethan theirownhearts can wish.
Diffolv'd in pleasures, crown'd with buds of May ; They, for a time,in these fatpasturesplay, Frisk, dance and leap, like full-fedbeafts ; and even
Turnuptheirwantonheels against the heaven ;
Not understanding that this pleasant life, Serves but to fit them for the butcher's knife.
In fragrant meads they tumbling are to-day, To-morrow to the slaughter led away.
Their pleasure's gone, and vanish like a bubble, Whichmakestheirfuture tormentsonthemdouble.
Meanwhile God's little flock is poor and lean, Because the Lord did ne'er intend or mean
This for their portion; and besides doth know Theirfouls prove best,where shortestgrassdothgrow,