Ohj. But must we not commit our bodies and our estates to God, as well as our souls ?
Ans. Yes, all we have ; for that is only well kept which God keeps ; but yet in time of suffering we must be at a pointf with these things. If God will have our liberty, if he will have our life and all, we must hate all for Christ's sake ; but we must not be at such a point with om- souls, we must keep them close to God, and desii-e him to keep them in well-doing.
Obj. Suppose it come to an exigent, that we must either sin and huii, our souls, or else lose all oiu" outward good things ?
See note k, page 334.— G. t That is, ' make light of.'— Ed.
408 THE saint's hiding-place in the evil day.
Ans. Our chief care must be over our souls. We must desire God to pre- serve our souls, whatsoever becomes of these ; our principal care must be that that be not blemished in the least kind ; for, alas ! other things must be parted with fii'st or last. This body of ours, or whatsoever is dear in the world, must be stripped from us, and laid in the dust ere long. But here is our comfort, though our body be dead, yet our souls are themselves still ; dead St Paul is Paul still. Our body is but the case or tabernacle wherein our soul dwells ; especially a man's self is his soul ; keep that and keep all. I beseech you, therefore, as things are in worth and excellency in God's ac- count, let our esteem be answerable. You have many compliments in the world, how doth your body, &c., mere compliments indeed, but how few will inquire how our souls do ? alas ! that is in poor case. The body per- haps is well looked unto, that is clothed, and care taken that nothing be wanting to it, but the poor soul is ragged and wounded, and naked. Oh that men were sensible of that miserable condition their poor souls are in.
Beloved, the soul is the better part of a man, and if that miscarries, all miscarries. If the soul be not well, the body will not continue long in a good estate. Bernard saith sweetly, ' Oh, body, thou hast a noble guest dwelling in thee, a soul of such inestimable worth that it makes thee tiTdy noble.' Whatsoever goodness and excellency is in the body, is commimi- cated from the soul ; when that once departs, the body is an unlovely thing, without life or sense. The veiy sight of it cannot be endui"ed of the dearest friends. "What an incredible baseness is it therefore, that so precious a thing as the soul is, should serve these vile bodies of om's ! Let the body stay its leisure ; the time of the resurrection is the time of the body. In this life it should be serviceable to our souls in sufleriug and doing whatso- ever God calls us unto. Let om* bodies serve our souls now, and then body and soul shall for ever after be happy ; whereas, if we, to gratify our bodies, do betray our souls, both are undone.
Beloved, the devil and devilish-minded men, acted with his spiiit, have a special spite to the soul. Alas ! what do they aim at in all their wrongs and injuries to God's childi-en ? Do they care to hurt the body ? in- deed, they will do this rather than nothing at all ; they will rather play at small game than sit out. The devil will enter into the swine rather than stand out altogether. Some mischief he will do, however ; but his main spite is at the soul, to vex and disquiet that, and taint it with sin aU he can. Considering therefore that it is Satan's aim to unloose our hold from God, by defiling our souls with sin, so to put a divorce betwixt his blessed majesty and us, oh ! let it be om- chief care to see to that which Satan strikes at most ! He did not so much care, in Job's trouble, for his goods, or for his house, or childi'eu, &c. Alas ! he aimed at a fui-ther mischief than this ! his plot was how to make him blaspheme and wound his soul, that so there might be a difference betwixt God and him. He first tempts us to commit sin, and afterwards to despair for sin.
Quest. But to whom must the soul be committed ?
Ans. Our souls viust be committed to God. Commit the keeping of your souls to God. Indeed, he only can keep our souls. We cannot keep them ourselves ; neither can anything else in the world do it. Some when they are sick will commit themselves to the physician, and put all their trust in him. When they are in trouble they will commit themselves to some great friend ; when they have any bad, naughty cause to manage, they will com- mit themselves to their purse, and think that shall bear them out in any- thing. One thinks his wit and policy shall secure him, another that l^s^
THE saint's hiding-place IN THE E\T;L DAY. 409