91 THE LIFE OF FAITH.
earth, it shaketh, and heaves, and causelh terrible earthquakes, till it get a vent, then all is quiet ; so we are full of unquiet tossings in our minds till we go and pour out our hearts before the Lord.
[2.] This dependence is manifested by keeping us from the use of unlawful means, and base shifts. Faith can rather trust God though we have nothing, than step out of the way for a supply : Prov. xvi. 8, ' Better is a little with righteousness, tlian great revenues without right.' That proverb expresseth the disposition of a gracious heart: though a man might easily hel|) himself out of his straits by bending a little to some sinful way, yet he i-ather waiteth upon God, and looks for his blessing in his own way. They that use ill means, and do not tarry God's leisure, they live upon the creature, not God. The protec- tion of the law is only for them that travel in the day, and \\])on the road ; a man never gets anything by going aside out of God's way. Therefore faith lookelh upon unjust gain as a certain loss, like the flesh stolen from the altar with a coal in it, that fireth the bird's nest. Besides peace of conscience which we lose, faith seeth a ruin in the estate: Prov. xx. 17, ' Bread of deceit is sweet to a man, but after- wards the moutli is filled with gravel ; ' they think to find a great deal of comfort in that biead they have gotten by deceit, but it proveth gravel in the belly. To make haste to be rich is to make haste to be poor, to bring a curse upon ourselves and families.
[3.] By doing our duty without distiaction, and referring the event, issue, and success of every business to the Lord.
Because this is the sum of the whole duty of trusting upon God for temporal things, I shall show you —
(1.) That duty n)ust be done by us without distraction, with quiet- ness and a contented mind.
(2.) That events must be left to God.
Ist. Duty must be done. God would not put the trouble of the event upon us, but only requireth us to perform the subservient duty : Phil. iv. 6, /ji')]Bev fxepijuivdre, ' Be careful for nothing ;' and 1 Peter v. 7, 'Cast all your care upon the Lord ;' he is willing to take the burden upon him, all of it. What! must we leave all things to sixes and sevens, and let wife and childt-en shift for themselves? There is aTtovBr) and jxepiixva, anxious solicitude and holy diligence ; as in a pair of com- passes one foot is fixed in the centre, whilst the other wandereth about the circumference. The work of faith is not to abate industry, but to fix the heart ; the de])endence of laith is not an idle and devout sloth, but an industrious waiting. Not to labour is to tempt providence, and io cark is to distrust it. Miracles are not to be multiplied without necessity. When we neglect means, we discharge God of the obligation of his promise. If you starve for want of industry, you can blame none ; God hath not undertaken that sin shall not be your ruin, rather the contrary. By a quiet use of means you enter into God's j)rotection ; do your duty, and then take no thought what you shall eat, and drink, or wherewith you shall be clothed, nor how sustained ; that is to take God s work out of his hands.
2d Events must be left to God. There are two acts of faith, committing and submitting all our affairs to God.
First, Committing all your affairs, persons, and conditions, and all
THE LFFE OF FAITH. 05
events that concern you, to the will, wisdom, power and goodness of God. Put them into his hands, and see wluit he will do for you. We are directed to do so in two places, each of which hath a distinct pro- mise, the one of ease, the other of success. The one is in Prov. xvi. 3, 'Commit thy works unto the Lord, and thy thoughts shall be estab- lished;' the other place is, Ps. xxxvii, 5, ' Commit thy way unto the Lord, and he shall bring it to pass ; ' this will bring success, or else ease us of a great deal of unnecessaiy trouble. Some do not under- stand the weight and burden of their affairs, because they are retch- less, and foolish, and have slight spirits ; others that have a sense of their business and difficulties, take all the burden upon themselves, aud so through their own distrust are eaten out with piercing cares. But the believer that is sensible of iiis own weakness, and acknow- ledgeth the wise and faithful conduct of God's providence, after he hath done his duty leaveth the event of all things to God. Lito how many inconvenience.s, temporal and spiritual, do we plunge ourselves, till we do so. Let God alone, for he will guide all to his own glory aud our comfort, for he is a faithful God. This is the true depending upon his providence, when we put all our comforts into his hands.
Secondly. Submit your thoughts and affections to God in the dis- posal of your condition. As Je>us Christ our Lonl — ' Not my will be done, but thine/ Luke xxii. 42. Lord, if thou wilt bring about this comfoi-t, I will bless thee; if not, here I am, let the Lord do to me as he will : 2 Sam. xv. 25, 26, ' If 1 find favour in the eyes of the Lord, he will bring me again, and show me both it and his habitation : but if he say thus, I have no delight in thee, behold here am T, let him do as seemeth good unto him.' When a man puts himself and all his intere.^ts as a die into the hands of God's j)rovidence, to be cast iiigh or low, as he pleaseth; as those in Acts xxi. 14, 'When they saw he would not be persuaded, they ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.' When we cannot by lawful means avert evil, let us acquiesce in ids providence ; he knows what way is best to bring us to heaven. Whether is it most equal for us to desire that the will of God should be subject to our affections, or our wills and afiections subject to God's provitleuce ? If things fall out contrary to our inclinations, they are agreeable to his wisdom; and though they are against our wiils, yet not against our salvation ; for God in all the ways of his providence aimeth at his own glory and the salvation of his peo{)le. Therefore what is against our will, is not against our profit, and it is not fit the wheels of providence should move according to our fancies, as if we could guide things better than Gud, We ascribe too nuich to our- selves when we would prescribe to God. It is man's duty to submit, admire, not quarrel at providence ; if things are not as we would have them, they are as God would have them. We all condemn the blas- phemy of Alphonsus, who said, Si Deo a consiliis adfuisset in crea- iione mundi, se consuUius multa ordinaturam — If he had been by wiien God made the world, he would have ordered things a great deal better than now they are. Yet we are guilty of the same blasphemy in our murmurings ; we think if we had the reins of government in our own hands, we would order the affairs of the world in a better way. Foolish creatures ! thus are we oftended, because we know not God, and do not consider the end and meaning of his dispensations.