Thus faith in Christ makes him that is a stranger here, content and patient. He whose soul hath embraced Christ is contented with anything : anything is sufficient to his soul that is filled with better things. Nothing will content a covetous earthly man, a man of earth. Such men think themselves at home ; they make a league with hell and death. The men of the world they think they shall Hve here alway ; but a Christian that embraceth a better life with Christ in happiness to come, he knows he shall not be here long. He is here but as a stranger, and shall shortly be at home ; and therefore he is contented with anything.
FAITH TKIUMPHANT. 455
' 4. Likewise the knowledge of this that we are strangers and pilgrims, it will make a man not only content and patient, hut thankful, for any kind- ness he finds in this ivorld ; that God sweetens his absence from heaven and his pilgrimage on earth [somejwhat ; that God should love me so, not only to give me heaven, but to give me contentments on the earth to sweeten my way to heaven : what a mercy is this ! He is thankful for any content- ment ; he is thankful to the world, to those that do anything for him, that afford him any courtesy here that may help him in his pilgrimage, and make it less troublesome and cumbersome to him.
All the saints in former time were wondrous thankful for that they had ; for what can a traveller look for but discourtesies and hard usage ? And if he find anything better he will be thankful : certainly it is more than I looked for, saith he. When a man is bent toward heaven, he cannot but look for hard usage from the world. We see when Christ did but look toward Jerusalem, the Samaritans had enough ; they began to malign him. Why ? ' His face was toward Jerusalem,' Luke ix. 53. So when base world- lings see that a man will to heaven, and leave their company and courses, they cannot digest this. A man with an ill conscience, when he sees another oppose that course that he resolved to stick to, he sees he confutes his course, he sees his face is toward heaven, and therefore labours to dis- grace him. As the wench said to Peter, ' Thou speakest as one of Galilee ; thy speech bewrays thee,' Mat. xxvi. 73 ; so when a man is going toward heaven, every base person, the veriest rascal of all, hath pride enough to scorn rehgion. So we see they make not much of the world, nor the world of them ; therefore they are contented and thankful if they find better ; for what can a stranger look for but strange usage in a strange place ?
And therefore we see in Scripture how thankful they were, even for refreshings, for meat and drink. Our Saviour Christ was known by ' breaking of bread.' He used to be thankful. ' In all things give thanks,' Eph. V. 20. They saw the favour and love of God in a crumb of bread, and in a drop of refreshing in any kind. Oh, here is a blessed God, that hath given us these comforts in the way. The saints of God are wondrous thankful for the comforts of their pilgrimage, the comforts of this life.
And this should make us more thankful, because all men's pilgrimages are not alike ; for do we not see the life of some more cumbersome ? Some live in a great deal of want ; some live in a great deal of opposition more than others do ; others go in a smoother way to heaven. God sees his children's weakness; he sees they have not strength; and if in pity he keeps them that they shall not encounter with opposition, but lead them a better way than others, it is special matter of thankfulness to God and men too.
5. He that is a stranger, he is glad of any good company. Oh, if he meet with a man of his own country, he is a man alone for him ; so it is with a Christian that walks in the way to heaven with him, he is com- forted much in it.
6. A stranger, he hath his prime intention"^ home to his country, and what he doth in the way, it is in virtue of his prime intention, though he doth not, in every particular action that he doth, think of it. A traveller when he rides on the way he doth not think of home in every step. Ay, but he doth that that he doth in virtue of his prime intention when he first set out, and calls to remembrance ofttimes as he goes home; he thinks of his journeys. And by the way,
* Cf. Glossary, sub voce. — G.
456 FAITH TRIUMPHANT.
I observe this note of some weak Christians that think they are not heavenly-minded, except they do nothing but think of heaven and heavenly things. That is but a weak and silly conceit. It should be our thought in the morning. Our thoughts should open with that. It should be the key to open the morning, the thought of this course what will become of us ere long in heaven. But then all that we do should be in virtue and strength of tbat prime intention to please God, and to go to heaven. Though we think not alway of the present business, yet it is good as much as may be to quicken our endeavour.