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But you will say, There may be obedience in this submission, but how is it an act of dependence ?
I answer, thus: when we believe that God is so good and faithful that he will do what is best, though we see not how. Certainly mur- muring is the effect of unbelief: Ps. cvi. 24, 25, 'They believed not, but mm'mured in their tents.' So submission is an act of faith. Could we believe that the wise and faithful God is carrying on all things for our good, that would make us in quietness and silence to pos>ess our souls, till we see the end of the Lord, and what he pur- poselh by all the straits he reduceth us unto.
[1.] This dependence is manifested by using all comforts vouchsafed with i-everence and thankfulness. There is a living by faith in pro- sperity as well as adversity ; and it is a part of the divine and spiritual life ' to learn how to abound' as well as ' how to be abased,' Phil. iv. 12. Faith must be exercised when we have comforts as well as wdien we want them. 1 Tim. iv. 3, it is said, 'the creature is to be received with thaidvsgiving of them that believe ; ' and ver. 5, ' Every creature m sanctified by the word and }>rayer.' We aie to take all our comforts out of the promise, and to seek God's blessing upon them, giving thanks for the use. Alas ! otherwise when we have earthly things, we have them not with God's blessing ; and then the creatures will be like a deaf nut, when we come to ciack it there is no kernel in it. Com- pare Prov. X. 4, with Prov. x. 22; in one place it is said, ' The diligent hand maketh rich ; ' and in the other place it is said, ' The blessing of the Lord maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.'
Well then, it will not be amiss to treat of living by faith when we have these outward supplies, and the comforts of this life. Now the acts of faith when we have these blessings, are these —
(1.) To look up and acknowledge God, the donor of all that we have : 1 Tim. vi. 17, ' Charge them that are rich in this world thatthey be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjo}'.' These blessings do not come by chance, but from the God of heaven. You shall find your betters made conscience of this duty: Jesus Christ ever gave thanks, when he made use of the creatu!-es, John vi. 11; though he wei-e heir and lord of all things, and thought it no robbeiy to be equal with God, he gave thanks to God ; and that not for the choicest dainties which we enjoy, but for sober and coarse fare, five barley loaves, and two small fishes, ver. 9. And it seemeth Christ had expressed himself very affection- ately, for mark, it is said, ver. 23, 'When they came nigh unto the place where they had eaten bread, after the Lord had given thanks.' He doth not say, Avhere the Lord wi-ought the miracle, but where the Loi-d had given thanks; hecharacteriseth the place, not by the miiucle, but the thaid^sgiving. Christ's way of exi)ressing himself made some deep impression upon them, therefore it is repeated. Well then, so much faith we should express, as to acknowledge the donor of all our comforts, and have our minds raised thereby ; and therefore the spouse's eyes are compared to ' dove's eyes,' Cant. v. 12. Doves sip and look upward, so should we; not like swine that raven upon the acorns, and never look up to the oak from whence they drop ; especially at your full and well-furnished tables, where such clusters of
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mercies crowd in before your eyes and observations: Dent. viii. 10, * When thou hast eaten and art full, then tliou shalt bless the Lord.' They are great mercies, and sweetened and sanctified to you when you acknowledge them to come down from heaven ; though the matter of the provision be fetched fi'om the field or the sea, yet it comes from God as the first cause.
(2.) This piece of living by faith is necessary too, not only to take them out of the hands of God as a creator, but to take them out of the promise. It is said they are ' to be received with thanksgiving of them that believe and know the truth,' 1 Tim. iv. 3. It is good to see by what right and title you have your mercies, comforts, and supplies. Tliere is a two-fold right, a providential right, and a covenant right — Dominium poUticum/undaiur inprovidentid, et dominium evang el icum fundatur in gratia ; by a providential right, wicked men as well as the godly possess outward things as the fruits and gifts of God's com- mon bounty ; it is their portion, Ps. xvii. 14. They are not usurpers of what falleth to their share in the course of God's providence, and are not responsible merely for possessing what they have, but abusing what they have. They have not only a civil right by the laws of men to prevent the encroachment of others, but a providential right before God, and must give an account to him for the use of them. But then there is a covenant-right from God's special love; so believers have a right to their creature-comforts ; and that little which the righteous have is better than the treasures of many wicked r as the mean fare of a poor subject is better than the large allowance of a condemned traitor. This we have by Christ who is the heir of all things, and we by him, in his claim — 'AH are yours, for you are Christ's, and Christ is God's.' 1 Cor. iii. 23. This covenant-right then is that we should look after, that we may enjoy all things as the gifts of God's fatherly love and compassion to us, and take all out of the promise, as a part of our por- tion in Christ, which doth very much better the relish of our com- forts.