allays them at his pleasure. What a shame were it for man, to whom alone God hath given an understanding heart, a nimble tongue, and articulate language, wherein he can express his rational thoughts, to be wanting in this universal devotion; and to be as insensible of the great works of God, as the ground on which he treads. If others shall be thus unthankfully dumb, yet, Praise thou the Lord, oh my soul; and all that is within me, bless his holy name. While I live, will I praise the Lord; I will sing praises to my God, whilst I have any being. Psal. ciii. 1. cxlvi. 2. But alas, Lord, thou knowest I cannot so much as will to praise thee without thine assistance: do thou fill my heart with holy desires, and my mouth with songs of thankgiving. The Fiery Conflict. 'I am Ir may seem strange that our Lord should say, come to send fire on the earth.' Luke xii. 49. When the two fervent disciples would have had fire sent down from heaven upon a Samaritan village, our Saviour rebuked them; and told them, they knew not of what spirit they were; yet here he makes it his own business to send fire on the earth. Alas, may we think, we have too much fire already. How happy, if the fire which is kindled in the world were well quenched. And what is the main drift of the prince of darkness but fire; if not to send fire down from heaven upon the inhabitants of the earth, yet to send the inhabitants of the earth down to the fire of hell. As then we find divers kinds of material fire, so there is no less variety of spiritual fires. It was in fiery, cloven tongues, that the Holy Ghost descended upon the apostles on the day of pentecost; and even this fire did our Saviour come to send on the earth. John xvi. 7. Thy word was in me as fire,' saith the prophet. Jer. xx. 9. Did not our hearts burn within us,' said the two disciples, in their walk to Emmaus, 'while he talked with us?' Luke xxiv. 32. This fire he also came to send. Heavenly love and holy zeal are fire. Many waters cannot quench love:' My zeal hath consumed me,' saith the psalmist: and these fires our Saviour came to send into the hearts of men. Holy thoughts are the beams of celestial fire: My heart was hot within me: while I was musing, the fire burned :' and these we know he sends. He maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire:' these he sends forth to the earth, to minister for them that shall be heirs of salvation. Heb. i. 14. Besides these, afflictions and persecutions are fire. 'We have passed through fire and water. Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as if some strange thing had happened to you;' and even these are of his sending. The Lord hath kindled a fire in Zion, and it hath devoured the foundation thereof. Lam. iv. 11. There is no evil in the city, but the Lord hath done it: The Lord hath done that which he had devised: he hath thrown down, and not pitied. Lam. ii. 17. But this expression of our Saviour, goes yet deeper, and alludes to the effect of separation which follows upon the fiery trial. When the lump of ore is put into the furnace, the fire tries the pure metal from the dross; and makes an actual division of the one from the other: so doth Christ by his word and Spirit. Even he that is the Prince and God of peace, comes to make division in the world. Surely there are holy quarrels, worthy of his engagement; for as the flesh lusteth and warreth against the Spirit, so the Spirit also fighteth against the flesh; and these second blows nake a happy fray. The first thing Christ does is to begin this conflict in every heart: there all is quietness and self-contentment till he comes. How should it be otherwise, when Satan sways all without resistance. But when once Christ offers to enter, civil wars begin betwixt the old man and the new; and it fares with the heart, as with a house divided against itself, where the husband and the wife are at variance. Nothing is to be heard but janglings, brawlings, and secret opposition: the household takes part, and professes a mutual vexation. This spiritual self-division, wherever it is, though it be troublesome, yet it is cordial. It puts the soul into the state of Rebekah's womb, which when barren yielded no pain; but when an Esau and a Jacob were conceived and struggling within, it yielded for a time no ease. Yet this was that which caused her joy, That she had not children merely, but nations in her womb; even so the trouble of this inward conflict is abundantly requited with the joy of this assurance, That now Christ is come into our soul, and is working his own desired ends in and upon us. Let vain and sensual hearts please themselves in their inward peace and calmness; there cannot be a greater sign of a graceless state. When they shall say, Peace, peace; then shall come upon them sudden destruction. The old word was, No safety in war: here it is just the contrary. It is this intestine war, with fire and sword to our corruptions, that must bring us true rest for the present; and hereafter, eternal peace and happiness. Now, Lord, since it is thy desire that this fire should be kindled, kindle thou and enflame my heart with a fervent desire and endeavour, that this thy desire may be accomplished in me. Set me at war with myself, that I may be at peace with thee, Majesty of God. In all that we have to do with God, he justly requires and expects from us an awful disposition of heart towards his infinite greatness. Hence he delivered his law in thunder, fire and smoke, and with dreadful magnificence. When also he sent down his Spirit for the propagation of the gospel, it was done with astonishing majesty; with a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and with the apparition of cloven and fiery tongues. And as it was thus in the descent of the Holy Ghost in miraculous gifts, so it is in his sanctifying graces. God seldom seizes upon the heart, but with a vehement concussion going before. Paul's conversion was extraordinary and miraculous; but in some degree it is thus in every soul. We are struck down first, and made sensible of our spiritual blindness, ere our full call be accomplished. As it was with Elijah in the mount of Horeb, there came first a strong wind that tore the rocks and mountains; and after that an earthquake, then a fire, before the still small voice; so it is usually in our breasts. Ere the comfortable voice of God's Spirit speak to our hearts, there must be some blusterings and flashes of the law. It is our honour and his favour, that we are allowed to love God: it is our duty to fear him. We may be too familiar in our love we cannot be too awful in our fear. The True Riches. THE value we set on outward things is arbitrary, according to the opinion we have of their rarity, convenience, or necessity. To an Indian, a bracelet of worthless beads is estimated above his gold: a hungry Esau values a mess of pottage above his birthright. In the seige of Samaria, an ass's head was sold for fourscore pieces of silver, and a cab of doves' dung for five pieces of silver. 2 Kings vi. 25. We have heard, that those of Angola have valued a dog at the price of many slaves. In all these earthly commodities, the market rises and falls according to conceit and occasion; there is no intrinsic or settled worth in any of them. Only spiritual things, as virtue and grace, are good in themselves; and so carry their infinite value in them, that they make their owner absolutely rich and happy. When therefore I see a rich man hugging his bags and admiring his wealth, I behold him with pity; knowing the poorness of that pelf, wherein he places his felicity. I behold him as a discreet European sees a savage Indian priding himself in those trifles, which our children have learned to contemn. But when I see a man rich in the endowments of mind, well fraught with knowledge, eminent in goodness, and truly gracious, I shall rise up to that man, how homely soever his outside may be, as the most precious and excellent piece which this world can afford. Brightness of the Divine Glory. WERE I to see an angel, I should expect with Manoah, to die at the sight of such glory. Yet even that angel is fain to hide his face, as not able to behold the infinite majesty of God his Creator. When Moses did but talk with God in the Mount for forty days, his face did so shine, that the Israelites could not look upon the lustre of his countenance. The presence of the Divine Majesty not only hath, but communicates glory. Lord, that I could see but some glimpse of the reflection of those glorious beams of thine upon my soul: how happy should I be in this vision, whose next degree is perfectly beatific Vain Excuses for Sin. We are all apt to put off the blame of our misconduct from ourselves. Even in paradise we did so: 'It was the woman,' saith Adam. It was the serpent,' saith the woman. So the idolatrous pagans of old, though flagitiously wicked, could impute their public judgments to none but the christians, whose innocence was their protection from utter ruin. So foolishly partial does self-love render us to our own demerits, that all are guilty save ourselves. Yea, rather than want shifts, our very stars shall be blamed; which are no more accessary to our misfortunes, than our eyes are to the eclipses of their most eminent lights. On the contrary, we are ready to arrogate to ourselves those blessings, which the mere bounty of divine providence hath cast upon us; to which we could not contribute so much as a hand to receive them, but by the mercy of the Giver. It cannot be well with me, till I have learned to correct this palpable injustice in both; taking to myself all my errors, and the guilt of all my sufferings, and yielding to God the praise of his own free and gracious beneficence. Benefit of Affliction. How profitable and necessary is affliction, in some cases more especially. Some trees will not thrive, unless their roots be laid bare; unless, besides pruning, their bodies be gashed and sliced. Others, that are too luxuriant, need their blossoms to be pulled off, or they will yield nothing. Rank corn also, if it be not timely eaten down, may yield something to the barn, but little to the granary. Some full bodies can enjoy no health without strong evacuations, or letting of blood. Such also is our |