Anjrtus, a young spark of Athens,1 came revelling into Alcibiades's house; and as he sat at supper with some strangers, he arose on a sud- den, and took away one half of his place.2 Thereupon the guests stormed, and took on at it. He bade them be quiet, and told them that he had dealt kindly with him, since that he had left the one half, whereas he might have taken all. So when our hearts begin to storm and take on when God smites us in this near mercy and in that dear enjoyment, oh let us lay the law of silence upon our hearts ! let us charge our souls to be quiet! for that God that hath taken away one child, might have took away every child ; and he that hath taken away one friend, might have taken away every friend ; and he that hath taken away a part of thy estate, might have taken away thy whole estate : therefore hold thy peace ; let who will murmur, yet be thou mute.
(6.) Sixthly, It may be thy sins have been much about thy near and dear enjoyments. It may be thou hast over-loved them, and over-prized them, and over-much delighted thyself in them ; it may be they have often had thy heart, when they should have had but thy hand ; it may be that care, that fear, that confidence, that joy that should have been
1 The foremost of the accusers of Socrates, and the infamous friend of Alcihia<les. Cf. Plato and Plutarch, sub nomiiw.—G. * Qu. ' plate '? — Ki>.
PS. XXXIX. 9.] UNDER THE SMARTING ROD. 34:9
expended upon more noble objects, hath been expended upon them. Thy heart, O Christian ! is Christ's bed of spices, and it may be thou hast bedded thy mercies with thee, when Christ hath been put to lie in an outhouse, Luke ii. 7 ; thou hast had room for them, when thou hast had none for him ; they have had the best, when the worst have been counted good enough for Christ. It is said of .Reuben, that he went up to his father's bed, Gen. xlix. 4. Ah ! how often hath one creature comfort and sometimes another put in between Christ and your souls ! how often have your dear enjoyments gone up to Christ's bed ! It is said of the Babylonians, that they came in to Aholah and Aholibah's bed of love, Ezek. xxiii. 17 ; may it not be said of your near and dear mercies, that they have come into Christ's bed of love, your hearts ; they being that bed wherein Christ delights to rest and repose himself? Cant. iii. 7. Now, if a husband, a child, a friend shall take up that room in thy soul that is proper and peculiar to God, God will either embitter it, remove it, or be the death of it. If once the love of a wife runs out more to a servant than to her husband, the master will turn him out of doors, though otherwise he were a servant worth gold. The sweetest comforts of this life, they are but like treasures of snow ; now do but take a handful of snow, and crush it in your hands, and it will melt away presently ; but if you let it lie upon the ground, it will continue for some time. And so it is with the contentments of this world ; if you grasp them in your hands and lay them too near your hearts, they will quickly melt and vanish away ; but if you will not hold them too fast in your hands, nor lay them too close to your hearts, they will abide the longer with you. There are those that love their mercies into their graves, that hug their mercies to death, that kiss them till they kill them. Many a man hath slain his mercies, by setting too great a value upon them ; many a man hath sunk his ship of mercy, by taking up in it ; over-loved mercies are seldom long lived : Ezek. xxiv. 21, 'When I take from them the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters.' The way to lose your mercies is to indulge them ; the way to destroy them is to fix your minds and hearts upon them. Thou mayest write bitter- ness and death upon that mercy first that hath first taken away thy heart from God. Now, if God hath stripped thee of that very mercy with which thou hast often committed spiritual adultery and idolatry, hast thou any cause to murmur ? Hast thou not rather cause to hold thy peace, and to be mute before the Lord ? Christians, your hearts are Christ's royal throne, and in this throne Christ will be chief, as Pharaoh said to Joseph, Gen. xli. 40 ; he will endure no competitor. If you shall attempt to throne the creature, be it never so near and dear unto you, Christ will dethrone it, he will destroy it ; he will quickly lay them in a bed of dust who shall aspire to his royal throne. But,
(7.) Seventhly, Thou hast no cause to murmur because of the loss of such near and dear enjoyments, considering those more noble and spiritual mercies and favours that thou still enjoy est. Grant that Joseph is not, and Benjamin is not, Gen. xlii. 36, yet Jesus is ; he is yesterday, and to-day, and the same for ever, Heb. xiii. 8 ; thy union and communion with Christ remains still ; the immortal seed abides in thee still, 1 John iii. 9 ; the Sun of righteousness shines upon thee
350 THE MUTE CHRISTIAN [Ps. XXXIX. 9.
still ; thou art in favour with God still, and thou art under the anoint- ings of the Spirit still, and under the influences of heaven still, &c. ; and why then shouldst thou mutter, and not rather hold thy peace ? I have read of one Didymus, a godly preacher, who was blind; Alexander, a godly man, once asked him, whether he was not sore troubled and afflicted for want of his sight? Oh yes! said Didymus, it is a great affliction and grief unto me. Then Alexander chid him, saying, Hath God given you the excellency of an angel, of an apostle, and are you troubled for that which rats and mice and brute beasts have?1 So say I. Ah, Christians ! hath God blessed you with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places? Eph. i. 3, 4. Hath the Lord given you himself for a portion ? Hath he given you his Son for your redemption, and his Spirit for your instruction ; and will you murmur ? Hath he given his grace to adorn you, his promises to comfort you, his ordinances to better you, and the hopes of heaven to encourage you ; and will you mutter ? Paulinus Nolanus,2 when his city was taken from him, prayed thus : Lord ! said he, let me not be troubled at the loss of my gold, silver, honour, &c, for thou art all, and much more than all, these unto me. In the want of all your sweetest enjoyments, Christ will be all in all unto you, Col. iii. 11. My jewels are my husband, said Phocion's wife ;3 my ornaments are my two sons, said the mother of the Gracchi ; my treasures are my friends, said Constantius ; and so may a Christian under his o-reatest losses say, Christ is my richest jewels, my chiefest treasures, my best ornaments, my sweetest delights. Look what all these things are to a carnal heart, a worldly heart, that and more is Christ to me.