(3.) That we may have the comfortable use of them, with God's leave and blessing. The natural, comfortable use is the fruit of faith ; for ' Man liveth not by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God,' Mat. iv. 4. The power of sustaining life is not in the means, but in God's word of blessing. As God hath a creat- ing word, by which he made all things, so a providential word, by which he preserveth and upholdeth them from falling into nothing. He may give the means, when he doth withdraw the blessing ; when they do not prosper to continue us in health, and strength, and vigour, and blessing, and fitting us for the service of God : Ps. evi. 15, ' He gave them their requests, but sent leanness into their souls ; ' that is, no comfort in that which they obtained ; and therefore the apostle maketh it an argument of God's bounty to the heathens that he gave them not only food, but ' gladness of heart,' Acts xiv.17, and cheerfulness. And in scripture there is a distinction between bread, and ' the staff of bread,' Lev. xxvi. We may have bread, and yet not ' the staff of bread : ' we may have worldly comforts, but not with a blessing.
(4.) We must act faith in the promises, that we may have a sancti- fied use of them, that our hearts may be raised the more to love God
VOL. XV. G
98 THE LIFE OF FAITH.
for every taste of mercy : Hosea ii. 8, * They did not know that I gave them corn, and wine, and oil.' The creatm'es live u[)on God, but they are not capable of knowing the first cause ; man only is capable, and God giveth him an heart to love him as the strength of our lives aud. ' the length of our days,' Deut. xxx. 20 ; and to serve him cheerfully and ' with gladness of heart for the abundance of all things,' Deut. xlviii. 47. Alas ! they that live by sense, all their meals are but a sacrifice, a meat or a drink-offering, to tlieir own lusts ; but when we live by faith, we use all these comforts for God. ' Holiness to the Lord' was written in all the pots in Jerusalem, Zecli. xiv. 20; not only upon the vessels and utensils of the temple, but upon the very pots and horse-bells. All blessings that come from God must return to God again ; as all rivers come from the sea, and in all countries, dis- charge themselves into the sea again. The most part of the world abuse these gifts of God, as occasions of sinning against the giver, and so we fight against him with his own weapons — ' Their table is their snare,' Ps. Ixix. 22, and that is a heavy judgment. We think the want of worldly comforts is a great judgment, but the abuse of worldly com- forts is a greater, for that is a spiritual judgment; and this not only when they are grossly abused to surfeiting and drunkenness, and open contempt of God, but when they are abused to security, hardness of heart, forgetfulness and neglect of God, which is the more secret and common evil. Christ giveth a caution to his own disciples : Luke xxi. 34, ' Take heed, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with sur- feiting and drunkenness, and the cares of this life.' Take these words in the vulgar and gross notion of them, they are not unseasonable. We had two common parents, Adam, the father of all mankind, and Noah, the preserver of all mankind, and both miscarried by apjjetite, the one by eating, the other by drinking. The throat is a slippery place, and had need be well guarded. But I suppose the words are to he taken in a more spiritual notion ; the heart may be overcharged, tvhen the stomach is not, when we are less apt to praise God, or when we settle into a worldly, sensual, careless frame of spirit, and from an inordinate delight in our present portion are taken off from minding better things, and are fully satisfied with these things. 4. How shall we bring our hearts thus to live by faith ?
[1.] We must empty our hearts of covetous desires : Heb. xiii. 5, ' Let your conversation be without covetousness, and be contented with such things as ye have ; for he hatii said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee' — implying, that he that will depend upon God, and receive the comfort of the promise, that God will not leave him nor for- sake him, must so do. He that would cast himself upon God's provi- dence, he must be content with God's allowance. We do but ensnare and perplex our thoughts while we would go about to reconcile the promises with our lusts, and crave more than God ever meaneth to bestow. Many men set God a task, to provide meat for their lusts : Ps. Ixxviii. 18, 19, ' They tempted God in their hearts by asking meat for their lusts : yea, they spake against God, they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness ? ' And what was the issue P their carnal affections and hopes did but make trouble to themselves. Though it be the ordinary practice of God's free-grace and fatherly care to provide