THE saint's hiding-place IN THE EVIL DAY. 123
ward, yet rely on him still. Hath he not given his Son to us, and will he not give heaven also ? Why do we limit the Holy One of Israel, and not cast ourselves upon him, except he will covenant to deal thus and thus with us ?
A true Christian hath his eye always heavenward, and thinks nothing too good for God. 0 Lord, saith he, of thee I have received this life, this estate, this credit and reputation in the world. I have what I have, and am what I am of thee, and thei'efore I yield all to thee back again. If thou wilt serve thyself of my wealth, of myself, of my strength, thou shalt have it. If thou wilt serve thyself of my credit and reputation, I will adventure it for thee. If thou wilt have my life, of thee I had it, to thee I will restore it, I will not limit thy majesty ; come of it what will, I leave it to thy wisdom ; use me and mine as thou wilt ; only be gracious to my soul, that it may go well with that, and I care not. Thus we should wholly resign ourselves to the Lord's disposal, and thereby we shall ex- ceedingly honour his majesty, and cause him to honour us, and to shew his presence to us for our good, which he will assuredly do if we absolutely yield up ourselves to him. But if a man will have two strings to his bow, and trust him so far but not so far, so he may be kept from this danger or that trouble, &c., this is not to deal with God as an omnipotent Creator; for he that doth a thing truly in obedience to God, will do it generally to all his commands. So far as the reason of his obedience reaches, his trust extends. He that commits anything to God will commit all to him. He chooseth not his objects. But upon the same gi-ound that he commits his sold to God when he dies, he commits his estate, liberty, and all he hath while he lives. He can never rely on God for greater matters, that distrusts him in lesser.
Trial 5. Again, a man that truly trusts God iiill commit all his irays unto him; he will take no course but what he is guided in by the Lord. He looks for wisdom from above, and saith, Lord, though it is not in me to guide my own way ; as thy word shall lead me, and the good counsel of thy Spu'it in others direct me, so I will follow thee. He that commits not his ways to God, will not commit his comforts to him. God must be our counsellor as well as our comforter. Therefore the wise man bids us ' acknowledge God in all our ways, and lean not to om- own wisdom,' Prov. iii. 5. Most men look how safe their counsels are, not how holy and agreeable to God. Is this to trust in him ? Will God save us at last, and yet suffer us to live as we list now ? Deceive not yourselves ; he that will have his soul saved must commit it to God beforehand to be sanctified,
I'fial G. Again, those that commit themselves aright to God icill commit their jjosterity to him, their wives and children, &c.
Obj. Whj ! do not men make their wills and commit their goods to them ?
Solution. Oh ! but how do they resign them ? How covetous and full of distrust are they ! I must leave such a child so much and so much ; and why, I pray you ? Because God cannot bless him else ? 0 fearful ! is God tied to means ? cannot he bless with a little as well as with a groat deal ? Is not ' the earth the Lord's, and the fulness thereof?' Ps. xxiv. 1. Why must God have so much in hand, or else he cannot enrich and raise up thy children ? Oh ! consider, he hath declared himself to be the father of the fatherless, and looks to the widow in a special manner ; he doubles his providence there ; he provides for all, but takes special notice of them ; therefore quiet thyself, they are in covenant with God, and God is thy God, and the God of thy seed also ; therefore if thou wilt commit thy soul, why not thy wife, childi-en, goods '? &c.
424 THE saint's hiding-place in the evil day.
Look into the course of God's people in all times. Those that have left but little with honest dealing, God hath blessed the same exceedingly ; whereas those that have left great matters ill gotten, instead of a blessing have often left a curse and a snare behind them. Why then should men take indirect courses, and wound their consciences for worldly pelf?
Consid. 1. Consider, 1, thy children are God's and not thine; he gave them to thee at first, and he can provide hereafter when thou art gone. Thou art the father of their body, but he is the father of their soul.
2. He provided for them before they were born. Doth not he provide care and affection in the mother's heart ? Doth he not provide suck in the mother's breasts ? and will he not care for them now they are born as well as he did before they came into the world ? It is atheism to think such a thought. Those that commit themselves to God in one thing will do so in all things, otherwise thej deceive their own souls ; for it is a universal act that runs through their whole life. Committing is an action of trust, and there is a kind of intercourse of trust between God and a Christian continually.