to further mercies. When Kachel had a son, she called his name Joseph, saying, ' The Lord shall add to me another son,' Gen. xxx. 24. Every mercy that a righteous man enjoys may well he called Joseph, because it is a certain pledge of some further and greater mercy that is to be added to those the righteous man already enjoys. But,
Seventlily, The righteous man enjoys his little with a great deal of comfort, peace, quiet, and contentment. The righteous man with his little, sits Noah-like, quiet and still in the midst of all the hurries, distractions, combustions, and confusions that be in the world, Phil, iv. 12, 13 ; Prov. x. 22, and xv. 16, 17. Though the righteous man has but from hand to mouth, yet seeing that God feeds him from heaven as it were with manna, he is quiet and cheerful : but now wicked men have abundance of vexation with their worldly abun- dance: as you see in Haman, Esth. v. 9, 11-13, ' Then went Haman forth that day joyfully and with a glad heart: but when Haman saw Mordecai in the king's gate, that he stood not up, nor moved for him, he was full of indignation against Mordecai. And Haman told them of the glory of his riches, and the multitude of his children, and all the things wherein the king had promoted him, and how he had ad- vanced him above the princes and servants of the king, Haman said moreover. Yea, Esther the queen did let no man come in with the king unto the banquet that she had prepared but myself ; and to- morrow am I invited unto her also with the king. Yet all this availeth me nothing, so long as I see Mordecai the Jew sitting at the king's gate.'i It is seldom seen that God allows unto the greatest darlings of the world a perfect contentment. Something they must have to complain of, that shall give an unsavoury verdure"^ to their sweetest morsels, and make their felicity miserable. It was not simply Mordecai's sitting at the king's gate, but Mordecai's refusing to stand up, or to move either hat, head, or hand, or to bow any part of his body, that damped all Haman s joy, and that filled him with rage and vexation of spirit. The want of little things — viz , a knee, a hat — will exceedingly vex and discompose an ambitious spirit. So Ahab, though a king, yet when he was sick for Naboth's vineyard, his heart did more afflict and vex itself with greedy longing for that bit of earth, than the vast and spacious compass of a kingdom could counter-comfort, 1 Kings xxi. 4. And so Alexander the Great, in the midst of all his glory, he was exceedingly vexed and discontented, because he could not make ivy to grow in his garden in Babylon. Contentment is a flower that does not grow in nature's garden. All the honours, riches, pleasures, profits, and preferments of this world cannot yield a man one day's contentment ; they are all sur- rounded with briers and thorns. ^ You look upon my crown and my purple robes, said that great king, Cyrus, but did you but know how they were lined with thorns, you would never stoop to take them up.*
^ If I had an enemy, saith Latimer, to whom I might lawfully wish evil, I would chiefly wish him great store of riches; for then he should never enjoy quiet.
^ ' Green mould.' — G.
■* Pheraulas, a poor man, was wearied out with care in keeping those great riches which Cyrus had bestowed upon him. [Xenophon, Cyr. ii. 3, sees. 7, 8, viii. 3. — G.J
* As before : and ascribed to Xerxes, Themistocles, and others. — G.
2G8 London's lamentations on [Isa. XLII. 24, 25.
Charles the Fifth, emperor of Germany, whom of all men the world jmi^ed most hapin', cried out at last with grief and detestation to all his honours, pleasures, trophies, riches. Abi/e hinc, abile longe: Get you hence ; let me hear no more of you ! Who can sum U]) the many grievances, fears, jealousies, disgraces, interruptions, temptations, and vexations that men meet with in their very pursuit after the things of this world ! Oh how sweet is it to want these bitter-sweets ! Riches are com])ared to thorns ; and indeed all the comforts the wicked enjoy, they have more or less of the thorn in them. And indeed riches may well be called thorns ; because they pierce both head and heart — the one with care of getting, and tlie other with grief in parting with them. The world and all the glory thereof is like a beautiful harlot : a paradise to the eye, but a purgatory to the soul. A wicked man under all his enjoyments,
(1.) Enjoys not the peace of his conscience upon any just or solid grounds.
(2.) He enjoys not the peace of contentment upon any sober or righteous grounds. But now a righteous man, with his little, enjoys both peace of conscience and peace of contentment ; and this makes every bitter sweet, and every little sweet to be exceeding sweet. A dish of green herbs, with peace of conscience and peace of contentment, is a noble feast, a continual feast to a gracious souL But,
Eighthhj, The righteous man sees God, and acknowledges God, and enjoys God in his little. Job i. 21 ; Gen. xxvii. 28, and xxxiii. 10, 11. Look, as he that cannot see God in the least affliction, in the least judgment, will never be truly humbled ; so he that cannot see God in tlie least mercy will never be truly thankful nor cheerful. In every crust, crumb, di-op, and sip of mercy that a righteous man enjoys, he sees much of the love of his God, and the care of his God, and the wisdom of his God, and the power of his God, and the faithfulness of his God, and the goodness of his God, in making the least provision for him. I have read of the Jews, how that when they read the little book of Esther they let fall the book on the ground, and they give this reason for that ceremony, ' because the name of God is not to be found in all that history.' So a righteous, man is ready to let that mercy drop out of his hand, out of his mouth, wherein he cannot read his God, and see his God, and taste his God, and enjoy his God. But now wicked men may say, as Elisha did in another case, ' Here is tlie mantle of Elijah, but where is the God of Elijah ? Here is abundance of riches and honours and dignities, &c., but where is the God of all these comforts?' 2 Kings ii. 14.
But alas ! they mind not God, they see not God, they acknowledge not God in all they have, in all they enjoy ; as you may see by com- paring the scriptures in the margin together. ^ Wicked men are like the horse and the mule that drinks of the brook, but never think of the spring. They are like to the swine that eats up the mast, but never looks to the tree fiom whence the mast falls. They are like such barren ground that swallows up the seed, but returns nothing to
' Ilosca ii. .<), 8, 9 ; Isa. i. Z. \ ; Jcr. ii. 6 : Esther v. 10-12 ; F.uke xii. 19.
IsA, XLII. 24, 25.] THE LATE FIERY DISPENSATION. 269