Labour to plant ourselves in Christ by faith, that so in him we may have an eternal estate. ' Thou art our habitation from generation to generation,' Ps. xc. 1. It was a psalm that was made upon occasion of their falling away in the wilderness. They dropped away as leaves, and few of them came to Canaan. ' Well,' saith he, ' we fall away here, and wither as grass,' &c. ' But thou art our God from generation to generation ;' that is, we have a perpetual subsistence in thee, A Christian when he is in God by being in Christ, hath a pei-petual everlasting subsistence. As we are temples of God, so he is our temple. We dv/ell in him, ' thou art our habitation,' &c. Who would not labour to be in such an estate ? for in this world there is nothing but a succession of generations.
494 KING David's epitaph.
Obs. 2. Secondly, Every man hath a particular generation. There is some emphasis in this. ' David in his generation.' For men drop not into the world at all adventure ; but every man hath his own time appointed ; when to come into the world and when to go out ; some in one time, and some in another. Therefore the times wherein they live are foreknown of God. He hath set down when such a man shall be born, in such an age of the world. So long he shall live ; such work he shall do ; and when he hath done his work, he shall be taken away hence, and another shall come and stand up in his place. So every man hath his own generation designed, and appointed, and ordained by God himself from all eternity ; not only his generation, but all the circumstances of it. The very place of his abode, the time, and season, and country where he shall live, all are set down.
Use 1. It is useful for this end to observe in what times our Jot is fallen, to ichat times God hath reserved tts ; what generation and age we live in : to consider of the state of the times.
(1.) Are theij rjood? Bless God that hath reserved us to those times. We pity some good men 'that lived in ill times ; as our countrymen in Queen Mary's time, and other dark times. They were worthy men, and it was pity they lived not in better ages. Certainly they would have been excel- lent men then. Therefore we should bless God for resemng us to better times. What makes the times better ? The discovery of salvation by Jesus Christ ; the discovery of the means of happiness in another world. In what age there is a clearer discovery, where there is most Spirit work- ing together with the outward means, that is a blessed age. The Spirit of God was not working so much in former times of darkness and popery. Then there were many that followed the beast to their eternal destruction, though God had mercy on many souls that followed him. As it is said in Scripture, ' they followed Absalom in the simplicity of their hearts, not knowing whither they went,' 2 Sam. xv. 11, so they followed popery in the simplicity of their hearts, not knowing the danger. God had mercy on them; yet certainly thousands of them were wrapped up in darkness. They were miserable times then. Those that know popery will say so. Those that read the story will say so. The world was wrapped in wars and miseries in those times.
It is true our times are not so good as they should be, and in many regards they are miserable times ; and we must not murmur at this dis- pensation of God, if God hath so appointed that our lot shall be to hve in hard and ill times. I say in some respects these are bad times ; for the world, the older it grows, the worse it is. As it is in a sink, the farther it goes the more soil it gathers ; so all the soil of former times are met in the sink of later times, and in that respect this generation is an ill generation. (2.) But if we consider what makes times good; the manifestation of Christ's glorious gospel, that hath shined for a hundred years and more in our church ; the discovery of the means of salvation so clearly ; the abundance of the Spirit with the means, making men to apprehend the means ; enlightening their understandings to make use of them, and work- inc their hearts to obedience. Look in what age these are ; they are happy times. Witness our Saviour, and he is the best judge : * Happy are the eyes that see the things that ye see, and the ears that hear the things that you hear,' Mat. xiii. 17. Oh, in former times, if they had seen that that we see, and heard that that we hear, they would have accounted them- selves happy. Oh, those that lived two hundi-ed years ago, though they
KING David's epitaph. 495
were good men, if they had lived to see that that we see, and to hear that that we hear, Uving in the glorious lustre and sunshine of the gospel, how would it have rejoiced them ! Therefore, as we have cause to consider of the ills of the time and generation, that we be not swayed away with them, so we have cause on the other side to bless God, that hath reserved us to these times of knowledge. In regard of the ills we may say with St Austin, ' Lord, to what times are we reserved !' (d). But in regard of the good things we may say. Blessed be God, that hath reserved for us these things, that he hath cast our time thus ; that we should be born in this genera- tion ; in the blessed time of the gospel ; in this second spring of the gos- pel. We should bless God for it.