have forfeited God's primitive donation of all right in the creatures. Every wicked man in the world has forfeited his right to the creatures in Adam, and lies under that forfeiture. But to the glory of divine patience be it spoken, God has not sued out his forfeiture, God has not brought a writ of ejection against him ; and by this means he comes to be lawfully possessed of those earthly blessings he does enjoy ; as a felon, though he hath forfeited his life and estate to the king's justice, and is still subject to ejection at the king's pleasure, yet while the king forbears him, his possession is good and lawful, and no man may disturb him. Wicked men are lawful owners and possessors of the good things God hath given them : Num. xxii. 30, ' Am not I thine ass?' whence you may observe : —
(1.) That the silliest and simplest being wronged, may justly speak in their own defence.
(2.) That they who have done many good offices and fail in one, are often not only unrewarded for former services, but punished for that one offence.
(3.) That when the creatures formerly officious to serve us start from their former obedience, man ought to reflect upon his own sin as the sole cause thereof.
(4.) That the worst men have good title to their own goods.i For though Balaam was a sorcerer, yet the ass confesseth twice that he was his ass. Luke xii. 33, 'sell' and 'give' are words of propriety. And God hath set the eighth commandment as a hedge, as a fence to every man's possession : Dan. iv. 17, ' This matter is by the decree of the watchers, and the demand by the word of the holy ones, to the intent that the living may know that the Most High ruleth in the kingdoms of men, and giveth it to whomsoever he will, and setteth up over it the basest of men.' He that gave Canaan to Jacob, gave mount Seir to Esau. And did not Jacob buy a burying-place of the sons of Heth ? and did he not buy corn of the Egyptians ? Gen. xxiii. 3-5, 9, and xlii. 3, 5. By all which they did acknowledge that those wicked men and idolaters had a lawful title to those temporal blessings that they did enjoy. Now mark, God, as he is the God of nature by com- mon providence, allots to wicked men their lawful i)ossessions, and this is the best tenure they hold b}^ Oh, but now that little that a child of God has, he holds it by a more glorious tenure and honourable title, and therefore his mite is better than a wicked man's millions. But,
[2.] Secondly, That little a righteous man hath, he hath through the covenant and through precious promises, 2 Peter i. 4. Now a little mercy reached out to a man through the covenant, and as a fruit of the promise, is more worth than a world of blessings that flow in upon a man merely by a general providence. There are no mercies so sweet, so sure, so firm, so lasting, as those that flow in upon us through the covenant of grace. Oh, this sweetens every drop, and sip, and crust, and crumb of mercy that a godly man enjoys : ' All the paths of the Lord are mercy and truth to such as keep his covenant,' Ps. xxv. 10. This is a sweet promise, a precious promise, a soul-satisfying promise, a promise more worth than all the riches of the Indies. Mark, all
^ Consult these scriptures : Deut. xxxii. 8; Acts xvii. 26; Luke Hi. 14.
264 London's lamentations on [Isa. XLII. 24, 25.
the paths of the Lord to his people are not only mercy, but they are mercy and truth ; that is, they are sure mercies that stream in upon them throui^^li the covenant.^ Well, sirs, you must remember this, viz., that the least mercy, the least blessiug tlowing in upon us through the promise, is more worth than a thousand blessings that flow in upon us from a general providence. The least blessing flowing in upon us through the covenant, is better than ten thousand talents that are the mere products of a general providence. For,
First, (Such as enjoy all they have only from a general providence, tliey enjoy their mercies from that common source or spring that feeds the birds of the air and the beasts of the field, Ps. cxlv. 15, 16. The same common bounty of God that feeds and clothes the wicked, feeds the birds and beasts that perish. But,
Secondly, There is no certainty of the continuance of such mercies that are only the product of a common providence, Isa. xxxiii. 16 ; but now the mercies that flow in upon the saints through the covenant of grace, they shall be sure to us so long as the continuance of them may be for our good and God's glory, chap. Iv. 3. Now the least mercies held by covenant are infinitely better than the greatest riches in the world, that only drop upon us out of the hand of a common providence.
Thirdly, The righteous man hath his little from the special love and favour of God. All his little flows in upon him from that very same love which moved the Lord to bestow Christ upon him, Ps. cxlvi. 8, and Prov. xv. 17. All the righteous man's little is from the good-will of him that dwelt in the bush, Deut. xxxiii. 16. His little comes from a reconciled God as well as a bountiful God ; from a tender Father as well as a merciful Creator. A dinner of green herbs, Daniel's pulse, barley loaves, a few fishes, yea, Lazarus his scraps, crusts, and rags, and John's garment of camel's hair, from reconciled love, is infinitely better than all the riches and dainties of the Avicked, which are all mixed and mingled with crosses and curses. All the mercies and abundance that wicked men have, is in wrath and from wrath ; there is wrath in every cup they drink in, and in every dish they eat in, and in eveiy bed they lie on, and in every stool they sit on, Prov. iii. 33 ; Mai. ii. 2 ; Ps. Ixxviii. 30, 31. But the little the righteous man hath flows from the sweetest springs of divine love; so that they may well say as Gideon did, ' The gleanings of the grapes of Ephraim, is it not better than the vintage of Ahi-ezer?' Judges viii. 2. Tiie very gletmings of the righteous are better than the greatest vintages of the wicked. The abundance of the wicked still flows in upon them from the bitter streams of divine wrath. A little water flowing from a sweet spring is much better than a great deal that flows from the salt sea. The loving-kindness of God does raise the least estate above the greatest estate in the world ; yea, it raiseth it above life itself — or lives, chajim — which is the bcvst of all temporal blessings, Ps. Ixiii. 3. Ten pounds given by a king out of favour and respect, is a better gift than a thou- sand given in wrath and displeasure. But,
Fourthly, The little that the righteous man hath is blessed and sanctified to him, as you may see by comparing the scriptures in the
' Consult these scriptures : Joshua xxiii. 14, 15, and 1 Tim. iv. 8.
ISA. XLII. 24, 25.] THE LATE FIERY DISPENSATION. 265