aud therefore I may not, I cannot be such a churl as not to give them some of my honey to taste, who have drunk deep of my gall and worm- wood.1 Austin observes on that, Ps. lxvi. 16, ' Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my soul.' ' He doth not call them,' saith he, ' to acquaint them with speculations, how wide the earth is, how far the heavens are stretched out, what the num- ber of the stars is, or what is the course of the sun ; but come and I will tell you the wonders of his grace, the faithfulness of his promises, the riches of his mercy to my soul.' Gracious experiences are to be communicated. Lilmod lelammed, we therefore learn that we may teach, is a proverb among the Rabbins. And I do therefore ' lay in and lay up,' saith the heathen, that I may draw forth again and layout for the good of many. When God hath dealt bountifully with us, others should reap some noble good by us. The family, the town, the city, the country, where a man lives, should fare the better for his faring well. Our mercies and experiences should be as a running spring at our doors, which is not only for our own use, but also for our neigh- bours', yea, and for strangers too.
Secondly, What is written is permanent ; litera scvipta manet, and spreads itself further by far, for time, place, and persons, than the voice can reach. The pen is an artificial tongue ; it speaks as well to absent as to present friends ; it speaks to them afar off as well as those that are near ; it speaks to many thousands at once ; it speaks not only to the present age but also to succeeding ages. The pen is a kind of image of eternity ; it will make a man live when he is dead, Heb. xi. 4. Though ' the prophets do not live for ever,' yet their labours may, Zech. i. 6. A man's writings may preach when he cannot, when he may not, and when, by reason of bodily distempers, he dares not ; yea, and that which is more, wheu he is not.2
Thirdly, Few men, if any, have iron memories. How soon is a ser- mon preached forgotten, when a sermon written remains ! Augustine writing to Volusian, saith, ' That which is written is always at hand to be read, when the reader is at leisure.'3 Men do not easily forget their own names, nor their father's house, nor the wives of their bosoms, nor the fruit of their loins, nor to eat their daily bread ; and yet, ah ! how easily do they forget that word of grace, that should be dearer to them than all ! Most men's memories, especially in the great concernmeuts of their souls, are like a sieve or boulter,4 where the good corn and fine flour goes through, but the light chaff and coarse bran remain behind ; or like a strainer, where the sweet liquor is strained out, but the dregs left behind ; or like a grate5 that lets the pure water run away, but if there be any straws, sticks, mud, or filth, that it holds, as it were, with iron hands. Most men's memories are very treacherous, especially in good things; few men's memories are a holy ark, a heavenly storehouse or magazine for their souls, and therefore they stand in the more need of a written word. But,
Fourthly, Its marvellous suitableness and usefulness under these
1 Some have accounted nothing their own that they have not communicated to others.
' There are here, as elsewhere in Brooks, reminiscences of Thomas Adams, who was
a prime favourito of our like-minded author. See Works, vol. i. page, xx — G.
s Aug. Ep. i. ad. Volus. * ' Sifter.'— G. 6 ' Grating.'— G.
EPISTLE DEDICATORY. 289
great turns and changes that have passed upon us. As every wise hus- bandman observes the fittest seasons to sow his seed — some he sows in the autumn and fall of the leaf, some in the spring of the year, some in a dry season and some in a wet, some in a moist clay and some in a sandy dry ground, Isa. xxviii. 25, — so every spiritual husbandman must observe the fittest times to sow his spiritual seed in. He hath heavenly seed by him for all occasions and seasons, for spring and fall ; for all grounds, heads, and hearts. Now whether the seed sown in the follow- ing treatise be not suitable to the times and seasons wherein we are cast, is. left to the judgment of the prudent reader to determine ; if the author had thought otherwise, this babe had been stifled in the womb.
Fifthly, The good acceptance that my other weak labours have found. God hath blessed them, not only to the conviction, the edifica- tion, confirmation, and consolation of many, but also to the conversion of many, Rom. xv. 2 1.1 God is a free agent to work by what hand he pleases ; and sometimes he takes pleasure to do great things by weak means, that ' no flesh may glory in his presence.' God will not 'despise the day of small things ;' and who or what art thou, that darest despise that day ? The Spirit breathes upon whose preaching and writing he pleases, and all prospers according as that wind blows, John iii. 8.
Sixthly, That all afflicted and distressed Christians may have a pro- per salve for every sore, a proper remedy against every disease, at hand. As every good man, so every good book is not fit to be the afflicted man's companion ; but this is. Here he may see his face, his head, his hand, his heart, his ways, his works ; here he may see all his diseases discovered, and proper remedies proposed and applied ; here he may find arguments to silence him, and means to quiet him, when it is at worst with him; in every storm here he may find a tree to shelter him; and in every danger, here he may find a city of refuge to secure him ; and in every difficulty, here he may have a light to guide him ; and in every peril, here he may find a buckler to defend him ; a,ud in every distress, here he may find a cordial to strengthen him ; and in every trouble, here he may find a staff to support him.2
Seventhly, To satisfy some bosom friends, some faithful friends. Man is made to be a friend, and apt for friendly offices. He that ib not friendly is not worthy to have a friend, and he that hath a friend, and doth not shew himself friendly, is not worthy to be accounted a man. Friendship is a kind of life, without which there is no comfort of a man's life. Christian friendship ties such a knot that great Alexander cannot cut.3 Summer friends I value not, but winter friends are worth their weight in gold ; and who can deny such anything, especially in these days, wherein real, faithful, constant friends are so rare to be found ? 1 Sam. xxii. 1-3. The friendship of most men in these days is like Jonah's gourd, now very promising and flourishing, and anon fading and withering ; it is like some plants in the water, which have broad leaves on the surface of the water, but scarce any root at all; their friendship is like melons, cold within, hot without; their expressions are
1 Philip, i. 15, xi. ; 1 Cor. i. 17, ii. 9.
2 Prov. xxv. 11. That remedy is no remedy that is not proper to the disease.
3 The ' Gordian Kuot' is alluded to. — (i.