" The craggy rock to foxes holes afford, " The pleasant woods a resting-place to birds ; " For Chrisht no fixed habitation's found, " But what was borrowed, or the naked ground."*'* O melting consideration ! that the glorious Son of God, John i. 14. " The Lord of glory,*" James ii. 1. " The brightness of hisFa- " ther's glory,'' Heb. i. 3. " Who was rich," 2 Cor. viii. 9. " and " thought it not robbery to be equal with God," Phil. ii. 6. who from all eternity was infinitely and ineffably " delighting and rejoic- " ing in the bosom of his Father," Prov. viii. 30. that he, I say, should manifest himself in flesh, 2 Tim. iii 16. yea, " in the likeness of sin- " ful flesh," Rom. viii. 3. that is, in flesh that had the marks and effects of sin upon it, as hunger, thirst, pain, weariness, and mortality, and not only so, but to chuse such a state of outward meanness and poverty, never being possessed of a house in this world ; but living as a stranger in other men's houses, and stooping in this respect to a lower condition than the very birds of the air, and all this for ene- mies. O let it work both admiration and thankfulness in my soul ! my body is better accommodated than the body of my Lord. " Dear *' Jesus ! by how much the viler thou madest thyself for me^ by so *' much the dearer shalt thou be to me."-f-
Upon the early singing of birds.
.OW am I reproved of sluggishness by these watchful birds! which cheerfully entertain the very dawning of the morning
* Vulpibtis in sallu rupes excisa latebras
Prcebet, et aereis avibus dat ailva quielem.
Ast hominis Nato nullis succedere tectis
Est licitum Heins. in loc.
f Quanto pro me vilior, tanto mihi charior. Berc,
THE HEAVENLY USE OF EARTHLY THINGS. IQl
with their cheerful and dehghtful warblings ! They set their httle spirits all a-work betimes, whilst my nobler spirits are bound with the bonds of soft and downy slumbers. For shame, my soul ! Suf- fer not that publican sleep to seize so much of thy time, yea, thy best and freshest time ! reprove and chide thy sluggish body, as a good bishop once did, when, upon the same occasion, he said, Sui^- rcxerunt passeres^ et stertnunt pontiflces.
The early chirping sparrows may reprove Such lazy bishops as their beds do love.
Of many sluggards it may be said, as TuUy said of Verres, the deputy of Sicily", Quod nunquam solem nee orientem, nee occidentem viderat : that he never saw the sun rising, being in bed after ; nor setting, being in bed before.
It is pity that Christians of all men, should suffer sleep to cut such large thongs out of so narrow a hide as their time on earth is. But alas ! it is not so much early rising, as a wise improving those fresh and free hours with God that will enrich the soul ; else, as our proverb saith, A man may be early up^ and never the nearer ; yea, far better it is to be found in bed sleeping, than to be up doing nothing, or that which is worse than nothing. O my soul ! learn toprepossess thyself every morning with the thoughts of God, and suffer not those fresh and sweet operations of thy mind to be prostituted to earthly things; for that is experimentally true, which * one, in this case hath perti- nently observed, that if the world get the start of religion in the mornicg, it will be hard for religion to overtake it all the day after*
Upon the haltering of Birds •with a grain of Hair.
BSERVING, in a snowy season, hov/ the poor hungry birds were haltered and drawn in by a grain of hair cunningly cast over their heads, whilst, poor creatures, they were busily feeding, and suspected no danger ; and even whilst their companions were drawn away from them, one after another, all the interruption it gave the rest was only for a minute or two, whilst they stood peeping into that hole through which their companions were drawn, and then fell to their meat again as busily as before ; I could not chuse but say, ' Even thus surprizingly doth death steal upon the children of men, ' whilst they are wholly intent upon the cares and pleasures of this ' life, not at ail suspecting its so near approach.' These birds saw not the hand that ensnared them, nor do they see the hand of death plucking them one after another into the grave.
* Mr. Case, in Epist, to the Morn. Lect,
192 HUSBANDRY SPIRITUALIZED; OR,
" Death steps as swift, and yet no noise it makes ; " Its hand unseen, but yet most surely takes *."
And even as the surviving birds for a httle time seemed to stand affrighted, peeping after their companions, and then as busy as ever to their meat again; just so it fares with the eareless, inconsiderate world, who see others daily dropping into eternity round about them, and for the present are a little startled, and will look into the grave after their neighbours, and then fall as busily to their earthly employ- ments and pleasures again, as ever, till their own turn comes.
I know, my God, that I must die as well as others ; but O let me not die as others do, let me see death before I feel it, and conquer it before it kill me; let it not come as an enemy upon my back, but rather let me meet it as a friend, half way. Die I must, but let me lay up that good treasure before I go. Matt. vi. 19- Carry with me a good conscience when I go, 2 Tim. iv. 6, 7. and leave behind me a good example when 1 am gone, and then let death come, and wel- come.
Meditations upon Beasts.
Upon the clogging of a straying heast
AD this bullock contented himself, and remained quietly within his own bounds, his owner had never put such an heavy clog upon his neck ; but I see the prudent husbandman chuses rather to keep him with this clog, than lose him for want of one. What this clog is to him, that is affliction and trouble to me ; had my soul kept close with God in liberty and prosperity, he would never thus have clogged me with adversity ; yea, and happy were it for me, if I might stray from God no more, who hath thus clogged me with preventive afflictions. If, with David I might sa}^, " Before I was " afflicted I went astray, but now I have kept thy word," Psalm cxix. 67. O my soul ! it is better for thee to have thy pride clogged with poverty, thy ambition with reproach, thy carnal expectancies with constant disappointments, than to be at liberty to run from God and duty.
It is true, 1 am sometimes as weary of these troubles, as this poor beast is of the clog he draws after him, and often wish myself rid of them ; but yet, if God should take them off, for ought I know, I might have cause to wish them on again, to prevent a greater mis- chief It is storied of Basil, that for many years he was sorely afflicted with an inveterate head-ach, (that was his clog) he often prayed for
* Omnibw ob?curas injecit ifla manus, Ovid»
THE HEAVENLY USE OP EARtHLY tHTXGS.' 19^