Abundance, and, like Pharaoh's lean Kine, devour the fat, and yet are never the fatter: whereas the good Man finds Comfort in a little, and fits eafy and contented under the fmaller fhadow of his own Vine.

But to go on, When they were fill'd, he said unto his Difciples, Gather up the Fragments that remain, that nothing be loft. Gather up the Fragments! Why, what Fragments could remain of a few Loaves and two little Fishes, after more than five thousand had eaten of them, and were fill'd? One would wonder how fo fmall a matter fhould hold out for fo great a Multitude, or indeed feed half the Number. Sure none could fancy there fhould be any thing left of fo flender a Pittance, after fo many Bellies were fill'd, or fear that any thing fhould be loft, where there could be nothing to lofe: And yet our Saviour put his Difciples upon gathering up the Fragments or broken Meat that remain'd, which one would think fhould be no hard Task, and that nothing fhould be found after so many had divided the Spoil.

But what happen'd, or how did the Difciples find it? Why, that the next Verfe tells us, Therefore they gather'd them together, and fill'd twelve Baskets with the Fragments of the five Barley-Loaves, which remain'd over and above unto them that had eaten. Strange! when all the Meat they had would not near fill one Basket, that after fo great a number had eaten and were fill'd, they should take up and fill twelve Baskets with the Fragments that were left. Their Provisions it seems increas'd by eating, and, like the Widow's Crufe of Oil, multiply'd by being confum'd; and when all were fully fatisfy'd, there remain'd above ten times more than was at first fet before them.

This the People faw, and found by their own Experience, and were all amaz'd at it. But what follow'd upon it? Why, thofe Men, when they had feen the Miracle that Jesus did, faid, This is of a truth that Prophet that should come into the World. They had heard much of a great Prophet that was to come, and that he fhould come with Miracles, and doing many mighty Works: This they had learnt from the Prophecies of the Old Teftament, and were then in an earnest Expectation of him: And here beholding with their Eyes this great Miracle, they all concluded with one Voice, that this for certain was the Prophet that was promis'd, and whom they had been long looking for. Their Judgment herein was found enough, and their Conclufion

well

well grounded. But thefe taking him for the promis'd Meffias, began to expect great things from him, that he should deliver them from the Roman Yoke, and reftore again the Kingdom to Ifrael, and thereby advance them to Power and Preferments in the World: To which end they fought To make him a King, and to fet him up as their General, to fight their Battels for them againft their Enemies. And no wonder that an opprefs'd People fhould feek to make him their King, who could raise an Army by a Word's fpeaking, and feed them too by Miracles, without Taxes and Contributions. But Jefus perceiving the Carnality of their Minds, and knowing his Kingdom not to be of this World, departed again to a Mountain himself alone, and return'd to his former Privacy and Prayers, from whence he withdrew over the Sea again to Capernaum: But thofe People, who had eaten of the Bread after that the Lord had given Thanks, mifling him and his Difciples, took Shipping alfo, and went to Capernaum, feeking for Jefus, and finding him there, faid to him, Rabbi, when cameft thou hither? hearing that he went not in the Ship with his Difciples, but walk'd thither on the Sea. But Jefus giving them no Anfwer as to the Time or Manner of his Coming, faid unto them, Verily, verily, I fay unto you, ye feek me, not becaufe ye faw the Miracles, but because ye did eat of the Loaves, and were fill'd; ver. 26. meaning, that they confulted only their own Intereft, and follow'd him more for the Loaves and their worldly Advantage, than for any Love to his Perfon or Doctrine: and therefore to wean their Minds from all fuch vain Expectations from him, he feeks to divert them from thefe earthly to more heavenly Matters, faying, in the next Verfe, Labour not for the Meat that perisheth, but for that which endureth to everlasting Life, which the Son of Man fhall give you, for him bath God the Father feal'd: that is, fet not your Hearts on corporal Food, nor dream of any earthly Greatness or Victories from me, for that is none of my Bufinefs; but raifeyour Minds to that fpiritual Food, that can alone feed your Souls to eternal Life. This is the Food that the Meffias is to give you, who is a King of the Father's making, and not of your chufing; and is to be inftall'd in his fpiritual Kingdom by God, and not by you. This is the Ufe that Chrift would have made of this Miracle, and not that carnal one, which the Jews and others may fondly expect from it. These are the Circumftances that went before, and Vol. IV. Part 2.

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that

'that follow'd after this Miracle, which is the Subject of the Gofpel, and of our Meditations for this Day. From whence • we may infer the following Leffons; as,

1. From Chrift's feeding fo great a Multitude with fuch fmall Provifions, we may learn to depend upon God's Providence in the greatest Extremities; for we see he is both able and willing to help us, either by giving much, or bleffing a little: The Lions may lack and Suffer Hunger (faith David) but they that fear the Lord shall want nothing that is good, for God will give Grace and Glory, and no good thing will be withhold from them that lead a Godly Life. He that hath given us his Son (faith the Apoftle) how shall be not with him freely give us all things? 'Twere endless as well as needlefs to recount the many Promifes extant in Holy Scripture to this purpofe, which for our Encouragement are back'd too with many Examples to confirm them. The Ifraelites were fed with Quails and Manna from Heaven in the Wilderness, where ordinary Provifions fail'd them: Elijah was fed in the Defart by Ravens, who brought him Bread and Flefh every day; and the Widow of Sareptha, with a handful of Meal in a Barrel, which wafted not, and a little Oil in a Crufe, which fail'd not till the Day that God fent Rain upon the Earth, 1 Kings 17. And here a few Loaves and two little Fifhes ferv'd to feed and fill above five thoufand Men, befide Women and Children; which may teach us that Leffon of the Apoftle, Be careful for nothing, but in every thing, by Prayer and Supplication, Let your Requests be made known unto God: Phil. 4. 6. which our Saviour inculcated by many Arguments in his Sermon on the Mount, willing us to feek first the Kingdom of God and its Righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us; Mat. 6.

2. From Chrift's giving of Thanks before he distributed the Provisions, we may learn always to crave a Bleffing before Meat, and to return Thanks after it. This was our Saviour's Practice here, and upon all Occafions of this kind; and the Apoftles have taught us the fame: Every Creature of God is good (faith St. Paul) if it be receiv'd with Thankf giving; 1 Tim. 4. 4. As if all the Goodness of them to us depended upon our giving of Thanks, which gives them all their Virtue and Nourishment. To the fame pofe fpeaketh he in another place, that all things are fanctify'd by the Word of God and Prayer, which give them all their Bleffing, and without it they cannot do us any good:

pur

Of

Of which therefore it will behove us to be always mindful.

3. From Chrift's multiplying fuch fmall Provifion, to the ferving and fatisfying of fo many, we may be abundantly convinc'd of his Divine Power, that he is the Son of God, yea, God bleffed for evermore; for none but he that made, preferves and bleffeth all things, could do fuch a Miracle.

4. From Chrift's commanding the Disciples to gather up the Fragments, that nothing be loft, we may learn not to wafte any of God's Creatures, which he is pleas'd to afford us, nor to make Spoil of his good Gifts for the Abundance that we enjoy; for this is fuch a vile Abufe of his Bounty, as provokes him to withdraw what we fo idly confume, and to make us know the Worth of his Bleffings by the want of them. Careleffnefs and Profufeness naturally lead to Poverty, and many have been brought to wish for that in their Penury, which they have vainly thrown away in their Profperity; and therefore that we may not want, let us take heed that we do not waste any thing that God is pleas'd to give, but labour rather to improve than confume his Bleflings.

5. From this Miracle of the Loaves, let us all concur with the People, in faying, Of a truth this is that Prophet that should come into the World. This he abundantly prov'd by a Power of Miracles, confirming all that he faid; and therefore his Errand being to teach and to fave Mankind, let us all receive his Doctrine, and obey his Precepts to thofe Ends.

Laftly, From Chrift's turning the Minds of his Difciples from vain worldly Expectations to more heavenly Matters, let us learn to wean our felves from this World, to which we are too much addicted, and fet our Affec tions more upon the things above, which are infinitely more worthy of our Thoughts and Defires; let us labour not fo much for the perifhing Food of our Bodies, as Our Saviour declar'd the immortal Food of our Souls. himfelf to be the Bread of Life, or that living Bread that came down from Heaven, and is able to bring us there. Let us therefore fay with the Apoftles, Lord, evermore give this Bread, to feed our Souls to eternal Life.

The End of the Second Part of the Fourth Volume

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