they forsook that God that had conferred upon them many rich and royal favours. But oh ! then, what madness and folly is it in you, that you should forsake that God that hath done such mighty things for your souls I I may say, to keep you close to God, as Saul said to his servants, to keep them close to him, 1 Sara. xxii. 7, ' Then Saul said unto his servants that stood about him, Hear now, ye Benjamites, will the son of Jesse give every one of you fields and vineyards, and make you all captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds V Ah, Christians ! can the world give you spiritual life ? Can the world give you peace of con- science, pardon of sin, the favour of God, the hopes of glory ? No. Oh then ! never leave nor forsake that God that hath given you all these royal favours, which none can give nor take, but himself He that for- sakes God forsakes his own mercies ; he forsakes his life, his joy, his crown, his all in all.
No evil to this, of forsaking the greatest good. It makes a man's life a very hell. ' Such shall be written in the dust,' Jer. xvii. 13.
[8.] Eighthly and lastly. Be not ivipatient nor froivard, when God shall take away some lesser mercies from you}
Hath God given you the best and the greatest gifts that your souls can beg or himself can give ? And will you be froward or impatient when he shall come to take away lesser mercies? What? wilt thou be an impatient soul, when God comes and writes death upon such a near mercy, and passes the sentence of death upon such and such desirable mercies ? Verily this is the way to provoke God to strip thee naked of thy choicest ornaments, and to put thee in chains, or else to turn thee agrazing among the beasts of the field, as he did Nebuchadnezzar. God gives the best, and takes away the worst ; he gives the greatest, and takes away the least ; the sense of which made Job bless God when stripped of all. If a man should give you a pearl and take away a pin ; if he should give you a bag of gold and take away a bag of counters, would it not be a madness in you to be impatient, and froward 1 Doth God take away a pin, and hath he not given you a pearl for it ? He hath given thee a pound, 0 Christian ! for every penny that he hath taken from thee ; therefore be not froward, nor impatient. Remem- ber, Christians, how many in the world there be that sit sighing and mourning under the want of those very favours that you do enjoy. ' Why does the living man complain V What ! out of the grave, and complain ! What ! out of hell, and complain ! This is man s sin, and God's wonder.
But now some poor sinners may say. Here is good news for saints, but what is all this to us all this while?
Why, I will tell you; I have something to say for the comfort and encouragement of poor sinners. Ah, sinners ! Christ is willing to bestow the best gifts upon the worst sinners. Take one text for all ; it is a sweet one, and full to the point in hand: Ps. Ixviii. 18, 'Thou hast ascended on high, thou hast led captivity captive, thou hast received
* Diis proximiia ille est, qiiem ratio non ira movef, he is next to God wliom renson, and not anger, movetli. — Seneca. \Dc Ira et JJe Animi TranqtiiUitnle — (}.] Did iin impa- tient s(ju1 but see himself in a glass, he would loathe himself; for, saith Homer, his eyes sparkle like fire, his heart swells, his pulse beats, &c. In u word, an impatient soul is a bedlam, a monster, a devil, &c.
EpH. III. 8.] RICHES OF CHRIST. 123
gifts for men, yea, for the rebellious also, that the Lord God might dwell among them.''
Christ hath received gifts, as a steward, from the hand of the Father, to dispense them among men, yea, among the rebellious, the worst of men. If there be here at this time any rebellious sinner, or rebellious Sabbath-breaker, or rebellious drunkard, or rebellious curser, &c., let such rebellious sinners know that Christ hath received gifts ' even for the rebellious.'
' That the Lord God might dwell amongst them.'^ That is, that the Lord God might have sweet fellowship and communion with them : ' Behold I stand at the door and knock ; if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.'
' Behold I stand at the door and knock.' I, that have heaven to give, and peace to give, and pardon to give, and grace to give, and myself to give ; I, that have tried gold to enrich you, and white raiment to clothe you, and eye-salve to anoint you, ' I stand at the door and knock; if OMy man will open the door,' let him be never so guilty, never so filthy, never so unworthy, &c., ' I will come in and sup with him, and he with me.'
Lord, at whose door dost thou stand knocking? Is it at the rich mail's door, or at the righteous man s door, or at the humbled man's door, or at the weary and heavy-laden man's door, or at the mourner's door, or at the qualified or prepared man's door ? No, says Christ, it is at none of these doors. At whose then, O blessed Lord ? At the luke- Avartn Laodicean's door; at their door that are neither hot nor cold, that are 'wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.' These, says Christ, are the worst of the worst ; and yet if any of these wretches, these monsters of mankind, will open the door, ' I will come in, and will sup with them, and they with me.'
I have read a remarkable story of a great rebel that had raised a mighty party against a Roman emperor. The emperor upon this being much provoked and stirred in spirit, made a proclamation, that who- soever brought in the rebel, dead or alive, should have a great sum of money. The rebel, hearing of this, comes and presents himself unto the emperor, and demanded of him the sum of money ; whereupon the emperor reasons thus, ' If I should now cut him off, the world would say I did it to save my money ;' and so he pardoned him, and gave him the great sum of money, notwithstanding all his former rebellion.^
Oh ! shall a heathen emperor do thus to a rebel that was in arms against him, and will not God do as much for poor rebelHous sinners ? Surely he will. What though thou hast been in arms against God, and mustered up all the strength and force thou couldst, even all the mem- bers of thy body, and faculties of thy soul, against God, and Christ, and holiness, yet know that the King of Israel is a merciful king ; he is a God of pardons ; he delights to make his grace glorious, and there-
' Rear! also Prov. i. 20-29, chap. viii. 1-8, and chap. ix. 1-7 ; Isa. xliii. 22-25 ; Jer- li. 5. None so faithful as Christ, Heb. iii. 5, 6.
2 Rev. iii. 20, 2 Cor. vi. ]6, ' I will dwell in them.' The words are very significant in the original : Ivoixtna-m Iv ailroi;, I will indwell in them. There are two nj-s in the original, as if God could never have enough communion with them.
^ Bodin relates this story. [As before. See Index, sub nomine, — G.]
1 24< THE UNSEAKCHABLE [EPH. III. 8.