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not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things ?' What ! says the apostle, hath he given us his Son, his only Son, his bosom Son, his beloved Son, the Son of his joy, the Son of his delights ? Oh how can he then but cast in all other things, as paper and pack-thread, into the bargain? Oh ! that Christians would learn to reason themselves out of their fears, and out of their distrusts, as the apostle doth. Oh ! that Christians would no longer rend and rack their precious souls with fears and cares, but rest satisfied in this, that he that hath been so kind to them in spirituals, will not be wanting to them in temporals,^ Prov. viii. 23-32.
[5.] Fifthly, If the Lord hath given the best gifts to his people, this should then bespeak his p)eople, not to envy the inen of the world for those lesser favours that God hath conferred up^n therm.
It was horrid wickedness in Ahab to envy poor Naboth, because of his vineyard ; and is it a virtue in you that are Christians to envy others, because their outward mercies are greater or sweeter than yours? Should the prince upon whose head the royal crown is set, and about whose neck the golden chain is put, envy those whose hands are full of sugar-plums, and whose laps are full of rosemary, &c. Hath not God, O Christians ! put a royal crown of glory upon your heads, and a golden chain of grace about your necks, and his Son's glorious robe upon your backs ? and why then should your hearts rise against others' mercies ? O ! reason yourselves out of this sinful temper.^
I would have every Christian thus to argue : Hath not the Lord given me himself ? Is not one dram of that grace that God hath given me, more worth than ten thousand worlds ? and why then should I envy at others' mercies ?
There was a soldier which, for breaking his rank in reaching after a bunch of grapes, was condemned to die by martial law, and as he went to execution, he went eating of his grapes ; upon which, some of his fellow-soldiers were somewhat troubled, saying, ' He ought then to mind somewhat else ; ' to whom he said, ' I beseech you, sirs, do not envy me my grapes, they will cost me dear ; you would be loath to have them at the rate that I must pay for them.' So say I, O saints ! do not envy the men of this world because of their honours, riches, &c., for you would be loath to have them at that rate that tliey must pay for them. Oh ! there is a day of reckoning a-coming, a day wherein all the nobles and brave gallants in the world must be brought to the bar, and give an account how they have improved and employed all the favours that God hath conferred upon them ; therefore envy them not. Is it madness and folly in a great favourite at court, to envy those that feast them- selves with the scraps that come from the prince's table ? Oh ! then, what madness and folly is it that the favourites of heaven should envy the men of the world, who at best do but feed upon the scraps that come from God's table ! Spirituals are the choice meat, temporals are but the scraps. Temporals arc the bones, spirituals arc the marrow.
Is it below a man to envy the dogs because of the bones ? And is it
' Tantum possumvs, quantum credimna. — Cyprian.
•* David fliree Heveral tiiiics k-'ivc liiinself this counsel, not to envy at others. Ps. xxxvii. 1, 7, 8, compared. So J's. Ixxiii. 21.
EpH. III. 8.] EICHES OF CHRIST. 1 21
not much more below a Christian to envy others for temporals, when himself enjoys spirituals ?
[6.] Sixthly, Be not troubled for the want of lesser gifts.
It is to me a sad thino^ to see gracious souls, that have some comfortable satisfaction in their own hearts that the Lord hath givenChrist and gTace to them, John xiv. 1-3, &c., go up and down whining and weeping be- cause they have not health, or wealth, or child, or trade, &c., when the Lord hath bestowed upon them such choice, spiritual blessings, the least of which will outweigh all temporal blessings. Well, Christians, remem- ber this, you act below your spiritual birth, your holy calling, when you suffer your hearts to be troubled and perplexed for the want of tem- poral things. Can you read special love in these? Doth your happiness lie in the enjoyment of them i Are not the angels happy without them ? Was not Lazarus more happy than Dives ? Yes. Oh ! then, let not the want of those things trouble thee, the enjoyment of which can never make thee happy. Should the child be troubled for want of a rattle or a baby,' that is proclaimed heir of a crown ? And why then should a Christian, that is heir-apparent to a heavenly crown, be troubled upon the want of worldly toys ? &c.
Jerome tells us of one Didymus, a godly preacher, who was blind ; Alexander, a godly man, coming to him, asked him whether he was not sore troubled and afflicted for want of his sight ? ' Oh yes,' said Didy- mus, ' it is a great affliction and trouble to 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.^
It is great folly, it is double iniquity for a Christian to be troubled for the want of those things that God ordinarily bestows upon the worst of men. Oh the mercies that a Christian hath in hand, oh the mer- cies that a Christian hath in the promises, oh the mercies that a Christian hath in hope, are so many, so precious, and so glorious, that they should bear up his head and heart from fainting and sinking under all outward wants.
There goes a story among scholars of ^sop's deceiving Mercury, he having promised him one part of his nuts, keeps all the meat to himself, and gives the other the shells. Ah, Christians ! God hath given you the meat, but the world the shells ; why then should you be troubled for want of the shells, when God hath given you the kernel I &c.^
[7.] Seventhly, // the Lord hath given his 'people the best gifts, oh then, let not them leave off that God that hath bestowed such choice a7id noble favours on them.
Jer. ii. 11-13, ' Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods ? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit : Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the Lord.' Why'? ' For my people have com- mitted two evils, they have forsaken me, the fountain of living Avaters,' &c. This was that aggravated the Israelites' sin, Ps. cv. and cvi., that
• ' Doll.'— G. 2 Socrates, H. E., lib. iv. cap. xx.
' Cyprian, in his sermon de lapsis, reports of divers who, forsaking the Lord, were given over to evil spirits, and died fearfully. A backslider may say, 02)eTa et impensa periit, all my pains and charge is lost.
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