2. An house is the^ seat of our blessings, and the place where we lay up our comforts ; and so God is our habitation, as we expect all our supplies and provisions from him. So the saints have God for their storehouse, and his all-sufficiency for their portion, out of which they fetch not only peace, and grace, and righteousness, but food and raiment : Ps. xxiii. 1, ' The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want ; ' Ps. xxxiv. 1, ' 0 fear the Lord, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear him ; ' Ps. Ixxxiv. H, ' For the Lord God is a sun and a shield ; the Lord will give grace and glory, and no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.' We must not prescribe at what rate we will be maintained, for that is to ask meat for our lusts, and to set providence a task which it will not comply withal. But that which is good for us he will not deny unto us. He that satisfieth the desire of every living thing cannot be unkind to his people: Ps. cxlv. 16, 'Thou openest thy liand, and satisfiest the desire of every living thing;' compared with ver. 18, 19, 'The Lord is nigh unto all that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth ; he will fulfil the desire of them that fear him ; he also will hear when they cry, and will save them.' He that provideth not for his own is worse than an infidel ; and can unbelief paint out God as so negligent and careless ? Christ taxeth them as of little faith : Mat vi. 30, ' Wherefore if God so clothe the grass of the field, that to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into thooveu, how much more will he clothe you, 0 ye of little faith?' Shall we pretend to believe in God for eternal life, and not trust in him for daily bread ?
3. The house is the place of our abode and rest ; so in God we have consolation, as well as protection and provision. It is blustering
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178 SERMONS UPON PSALM XC. 1.
weather abroad, but in the bosom of God we may repose ourselves : John xvi. 33, * These things have I spoken unto you, that in me ye might have rest : in the world ye shall have tribulation ; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.' As it is comfortable to be within, and hear the rattling of the storm on the tiles, so it is to have inward peace in outward trouble : 2 Cor. i. 5, ' As the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.' Abroad a christian hath his labours and sorrows, but in God is his rest ; when he has recourse thither, he is at ease : 1 Sam. xxx. 6, David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Well, then, we have the effect of a house in God ; in him we may dwell quietly, as in a secure, safe, and comfortable place, and need not fear any danger whatsoever. Thus much for the metaphorical reflec- tion upon these words, which is the third consideration.
4. I observe, this title hath a special respect to that particular mercy of a dwelling-place, and to God's providence in and about our habitations. And so it is of use to us — (1.) When we want a dwelling- place ; or, (2.) When we have one.
[1.] When we want a dwelling-place, or such an one as may be safe and commodious for us. A child of God should not be dismayed, nor altogether without hope, as if God could not provide a dwelling- place for him. Now, now is the time for God to show himself most eminently to be an habitation. Neither through ignorance and unbe- lief should we conclude ourselves to be forgotten and forsaken of him. We are very apt to do so ; and it is a great temptation when we are shiftless and harbourless : Isa. xlix. 14, ' Zion said, The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me.' Therefore I shall lay down some considerations,
(1.) Consider God's general providence. The apostle telleth us, that * he hath determined ' concerning all men ' the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation,' Acts xvii. 26 ; when and where men shall live. They do not flit up and down by chance, but by God's providence. They are not born by chance, nor do they die by chance, nor live here and there by chance ; some in this climate, some in that, in Europe, or Asia, or America. That one possesseth so much, another so little ; all is under God's guidance and direction. As God divided the land of Canaan by lot, which is a kind of appeal to God, Josh. xiv. 2, so the whole world is carved out by God's direction. He enlargeth and straiteneth nations and persons according to his own pleasure. The generality of men, indeed, are spilt upon the great common of the earth by a looser providence ; but there is a more especial care about his people. They are ' the salt of the earth, ' and ' the light of the world,' Mat. v. 13, 14. God sprinkleth them, and scattereth them here and there, for use and service. They are his jewels ; a man is more careful of them than of ordinary and common utensils : and among them, as any are more useful, so they are more under his special care ; as the journeys of the apostles were guided by the Spirit, as well as their doctrine. The Spirit moved them, or the Spirit suffered them not : Acts xvii. 7, ' They essayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not.' Therefore certainly God taketh notice of their coi\dition ; and in every place where they are scattered he will provide subsistence for them while he hath service