*

doubting

mifed it fhall perfevere, and therefore I need not be fo follicitous to preferve it; for as this inference is quite opposite to the nature of true grace and affurance, which never encourage to carelesnefs, but provoke the foul to an induftrious ufe of means to preserve it; fo it is in itself an irrational and fenseless conclufion, which will never follow from any fcripture-promise : for although it is readily granted, that God hath made many comfortable and fweet promises to the grace of his people, yet we must expect to enjoy the benefits and bleffings of all thofe promises, in that way.and order in which God hath promised them; and that is in the careful and diligent ufe of thofe means which he hath prescribed, Ezek. xxxvi. 36, 37. For promifes do not exclude, but imply the ufe of means, Acts xxvii. 31. I know my life is determined to a day, to an hour, and I shall live out every minute God hath appointed; but yet, I am bound to provide food, raiment and phyfic to preserve it. To conclude, let all doubting Christians The refiect seriously upon this truth, and fuck marrow and fatnefs cut of is to ftrengthen foul's reflections. and establish them against all their fears: your life, your fpiritual life hath for many years hanged in fufpence before you; and you have often faid with David, I fhall one day fall by the hand of Saul. Defponding, trembling foul! lift up thine eyes, and look upon the fields; the corn lives ftill, and grows up, though birds have watched to devour it ; fnows have covered it, beasts have cropped it, weeds have almost choaked it, yet it is preferved. And hath not God more care of that precious feed of his own Spirit in thee, than any hufbandman hath of his corn? Hath he not faid, "That having begun the good "work in thee, he will perfect it to the day of Christ ?” Phil. i. 6. Hath he not faid, I give unto them eternal life, and they thall never perish, John x. 28. Haft thou not many times faid, and thought of it, as thou dost now, and yet it lives? O what matter of unspeakable joy and comfort is this to upright fouls! Well then, be not difcouraged, for thou doft not run as one uncertain, nor fight as one that beats the air, + Cor. ix. 26. But the foundation of God ftands fure, having this feal, the Lord knows who are his, 2 Tim. ii. 19. Though thy grace be weak, thy God is ftrong; though the ftream feem fometimes to fail, yet 'tis fed by an ever-flowing fountain.

T

VOL. VI.

The POE M.

IS justly wondered that an ear of corn
Should come at laft in fafety to the barn:
P

It runs through many hazards, threatning harms,
Betwixt the fower's hands, and reaper's arms.
The earth no fooner takes it from the fack,
But you may fee behind the fower's back
A troop of thieves, which would at once deftroy
That feed in which lies hid the feed of joy.
This dangerous period past, it foon doth fall
Into a fecond, no lefs critical.

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 flatt'ring ivy doth the oak.
Are weeds destroy'd, and all that danger past ?
Lo, now another coines, the worst at laft:
For when i' th' ear it blows, begins to kern,.
A mildew fmites it, which you can't difcern,
Nor any way prevent, till all be loft,

The corn deftroy'd, with all your hopes and coft.
Thus faving grace, that precious feed of joy,
Which hell and nature plot how to destroy,
Escapes ten thousand dangers, first and last,
O who can fay, now all the danger's paft?
'Tis like a crazy bark tofs'd in a storm,
Or like a taper which is ftrangely born
Without a lanthorn in a bluft'ring night,
Or like to glimmering fparks, whofe dying light
Is ftill preferv'd: the roaring waves fwell high,
Like moving mountains in the darken'd fky :
On their proud backs, the little bark is even
Mounted unto the battlements of heaven;
From thence difmounted, to the deeps doth flide,
Receiving water upon every fide;

Yet he, whofe voice the proudeft waves obey,
Brings it at last into the quiet key:
The bluftring winds ftrive, with a fatal puff,
To bring the taper to a stinking fnuff :
Their churlish blasts extinguish it, and then
Our gentle breath recovers it again:
The fainting fparks beneath the afhes lie,
Where, choak'd and fmother'd, they begin to die
But thefe collected, we do gently blow,

Till from faint fparks to lively flames they grow.
Even thus is grace preferv'd, thus kept alive;
By conftant wonders, grace doth live and thrive..

CHAP. XIV.

Upon the Patience of the Hufbandman for the Harvest.

Our husbandmen for harvest wait and stay s

O let not any faint do less than they!

TH

OBSERVATION.

HE expectation of a good harveft at laft, makes the husbandman, with untired patience, to digest all his labours. He that plows, plows in hope, 1 Cor. vi. 19. And they are not fo irrational, to think they fhall presently be partakers of their hope; nor, fo foolish to anticipate the har weft, by cutting down their corn before it be fully ripened: but are content to plow, fow and weed it; and when it is fully ripe, then they go forth into their fields, and reap it down with joy.

CA

APPLICATION.

IAN a little corn caufe men to digeft fo many difficult labours, and make them wait with invincible patience till the reaping time come? Much more fhould the expectation of eternal glory steel and fortify my spirit against all intercurrent hardships and difficulties. It leaft of all becomes a Chriftian to be of an hasty and impatient fpirit. "Light is fown for "the righteous, and joy for the upright in heart," Pfal. xcii.

II.

Το

"Behold the husbandman waiteth," &c. Jam. v. 7. "Be patient therefore, my brethren, for the coming of the "Lord draws near." There are three great arguments to perfuade Chriftians to a long-fuffering and patient frame under fufferings. (1.) The example of Chrift, Ifa. liii. 7. To think how quietly he fuffered all injuries and difficulties with invincible patience, is fufficient to fhame the best of Chriftians, who are of fuch fhort fpirits. I have read of one Elezari. us, a nobleman, that when his wife wondered at his exceeding great patience in bearing injuries, he thus anfwered her: You know fometimes my heart is ready to rife with indignation against such as wrong me; but I prefently begin to think of the wrongs that Chrift fuffered; and fay thus to myfelf; Although thy fervant should pluck thy beard, and fmite thee on thy face, this were nothing to what the Lord fuffered: he suffered more and greater things; and affure yourself, wife, I never leave off thinking on the injuries done to my Saviour, till such time as

my mind be still and quiet. To this purpose it was well noted by Bernard, fpeaking of Chrift's humiliation, Was Chrift the Lord of glory thus humbled and emptied of his fulness of glory? And thall fuch a worm as I fwell? (2.) The defert of fin, Lam. iii. 39. "Why doth the living man complain ?” It was a good faying of the bleffed Greenham; when fin lies heavy, affliction lies light. * And it is a famous inftance which Dr. Taylor gives us of the duke of Conde. I have read, (faith he) when the duke of Conde had voluntarily entered into the incommodities of a religious poverty and retirement; he was one day fpied and pitied by a lord of Italy, who, out of tendernefs wifhed him to be more careful and nutritive of his perfon. The good duke answered, Sir, be not troubled, and think not that I am ill provided of conveniencies; for I fend an harbinger before me, that makes ready my lodgings, and takes care that I be royally entertained. The lord afked him who was his harbinger? He answered, the knowledge of my felf, and the confideration of what I deserve for my fins, which is eternal torments; and when with this knowledge I arrive at my lodgings, how unprovided foever I find it, methinks it is ever better than I deferve. (3.) And as the fenfe of fin, which merits hell, sweetens prefent difficulties, fo (to come home to the present fimilitude) do the expectations and hopes of a bleffed harvest and reward in heaven. This made Abraham willing to wander up and down many years as a stranger in the world; for he looked for a city that hath foundations, whofe builder and maker is 'God. The hopes of fuch a harveft is encouragement enough to work hard, and wait long: Yet fome Chriftians are so impatient of it, that they would fain be reaping before the time': but as God hath, by an unalterable law of nature appointed both the seasons of feed-time and harveft (which are therefore called the appointed weeks of the harvest) Jer. v. 24. and these cannot be haftened; but when we have done all that we can on our part, muft wait till God fend the former and the latter rain, and give every natural cause its effect: fo is it in reference to our fpiritual harveft; we are appointed to sweat in the use of all God's appointments; and when we have done all, muft patiently wait till the divine decrees be accomplished, and the time of the promise be fully come; " In due time we "fhall reap, if we faint not." To which patient expectation, and quiet waiting for the glory to come, these following confiderations are of excellent ufe.

*Dr. Taylor's great Exemplar, p. 103.

1. As the husbandman knows when the feed-time is past, it will not be long to the harveft; and the longer he waits, the nearer still it is: so the Christian knows, "It is but yet a little "while, and he that fhall come, will come, and will not tarry," Heb. x. 37. “And that now his falvation is nearer than when "he firft believed," Rom. xiii. 11. What a small point of time is our waiting-time, compared with eternity? Yet a few days more, and then comes the long expected and welcome harveft.

2, The husbandman can find other work to do, before the reaping-time come; he need not stand idle, though he cannot yet reap. And cannot a Christian find any work to do for God, till he come to heaven? O there is much work to do, and fuch work as is only proper to this feafon! You may now reprove fin, exhort to duty, fuccour the diftreffed; this is good work, and this is your only time for fuch work; the whole of eternity will be taken up in other employments. "I think it meet (faith Peter) as long as I am in this tabernacle, to ftir up "your minds, knowing fhortly that I must put off this taber "nacle," 2 Pet. i. 13, 14. q. d. I know I have but a little time to work among you; I am almoft at heaven; and therefore am willing to husband this present moment as well as I can for you. O Chriftians! you need not stand idle; look round about you upon the multitude of forlorn finners; speak now to them for God; fpeak now to God for them; for fhortly you fhall fo fpeak no more; you shall see them no more till you fee them at Chrift's bar; God leaves you here for their fakes, up and be doing: if you had done all you were to do for yourselves and them, he would have you to heaven immediately; you fhould not wait a moment longer for your glory.

3. Hufbandmen know, though they cannot yet gather in the precious fruits of the earth, yet all this while they are ripening and preparing for the harvest; they would not house it green, or take it before its time. And is not this alfo my preparationtime for glory? As God prepared heaven for his people, by an eternal decree; Mat. xxv. 34. by an act of creation, Heb. xi. 10. by the death of Chrift, which made a purchase of it, Heb. X. 19, 20. and by his afcenfion into it, John xiv. 2, 3. So the reason why we are kept here, is in order to our fitting for it. Heaven is ready, but we are not fully ready; the barn is fit to receive the corn, but the corn is not fit to be gathered into it. "But for this felf-fame thing God is now working us," 2 Cor. v. 5. he is every day at work, by ordinances, and by providen Ges, to perfect his work in us; and as foon as that is finished,