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such choice flowers that will never fade, but be always fresh, sweet, green, and flourishing, and if in the day of affliction they prove thus to thy soul, thy afflictions are in love. Sertorius paid what he promised with fair words; but so doth not God. Men many times eat their words, but God will never eat his; all his promises in Christ are Yea, and in him Amen, 2 Cor. i, 20. Hath he spoken it, and. shall it not come to pass? If in all thy troubles thy heart be drawn forth to act faith upon the promises, thy troubles are from love. And thus much by way of answer to the first objection.

Object. 2. Oh! but, Sir, the Lord hath smitten me in my nearest and dearest comforts and contentments, and how then can I hold my peace? God hath taken away a husband, a wife, a child, an only child, a bosom-friend, and how then can I be silent? &c.

Ans. To this I answer, 1. If God did not strike thee in that mercy which was near and dear unto thee, it would not amount to an affliction. That is not worthy the name of an affliction, that doth not strike at some bosommercy, that trouble is no trouble, that doth not touch some choice contentment; that storm is no storm, that only blows off the leaves, but never hurts the fruit; that thrust is no thrust, that only touches the clothes, but never reaches the skin; that cut is no cut, that only cuts, the hat, but never touches the head; neither is that affliction any affliction, that only

reaches some remote enjoyment, but never reaches a Joseph, a Benjamin, &c.

2. The best mercy is not too good for the best God; the best of the best is not good enough for him who is goodness itself; the best child, the best yoke-fellow, the best friend, the best jewel in all thy crown, must be readily resigned to thy best God; there is no mercy, no enjoyment, no contentment worthy of God, but the best; the milk of mercy is for others, the cream of mercy is due to God; the choicest, the fairest, and the sweetest flowers are fittest for the bosom of God: if he will take the best flower in all thy garden, and plant it in a better soil, hast thou any cause to murmur? wilt thou not hold thy peace?

3. Your near and dear mercies were first the Lord's, before they were yours, and alway the Lord's more than they were yours. When God gives a mercy, he doth not relinquish his own right in that mercy, 1 Chron. xxix. 14. All things come of thee, and of thine own have we given thee. The sweet of mercy is yours, but the sovereign right to dispose of your mercies, is the Lords. Whatsoever thou art, thou owest to him that made thee; and whatsoever thou hast, thou owest to him that redeemed thee. You say, it is but just and reasonable, that men should do with their own as they please; and is it not just and reasonable, that God, who is Lord paramount, should do with his own as he pleases? Dost thou believe that the great God may do in

heaven what he pleases, and on the seas what he pleases, and in the nations and kingdoms of the world what he pleases, and in thy heart what he pleases? and dost thou not believe that God may do in thy house what he pleases, and do with thy mercies what he pleases? Job ix. 12.* Behold, he taketh away, or he snatcheth away, (it may be a husband, a wife, a child, an estate,) who can hinder him? who will say unto him, What dost thou? Who dares cavil against God? who dares question that God that is unquestionable? that chief Lord that is uncontrollable, and who may do with his own what he pleaseth? Dan. iv. 35. "And all the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing: and he doth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What dost thou? Where is the prince, the peasant, the master, the servant, the husband, the wife, the father, the child, that dares say to God, What dost thou? In matters of arithmetical accounts, set one against ten, ten against a hundred, a hundred against a thousand, a thousand against ten thousand, although there be great odds, yet there is some comparison; but if a man could set down an infinite number, then there could be no comparison at all, because the one is finite, the other infinite; so set all the princes and pow-. ers of the earth in opposition to God, they *Job plainly alludes to God's taking away his children servants, and cattle.

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shall never be able to withstand him. It was once the saying of Pompey, that with one stamp of his foot he could raise all Italy in arms; but let the great God but stamp with his foot, and he can raise all the world in arms, to own him, to contend for him, or to revenge any affronts that by any are put upon him; and therefore who shall say unto him, What dost thou? Water is stronger than earth, fire stronger than water, angels stronger than men, and God stronger than them all; and therefore who shall say unto God, What dost thou, when he takes their nearest and their dearest mercies from them? But,

4. It may be thou hast not made an happy improvement of thy near and dear mercies, whilst thou enjoyedst them; thou hast been taken with thy mercies, but thy heart hath not been taken up in the improvement of them; there are many who are very much taken with their mercies, who make no conscience of improving their mercies. Have thy near and dear mercies been a star to lead thee to Christ? have they been a cloud by day, and a pillar of light by night, to lead thee towards the heavenly Canaan? have they been a Jacob's ladder to thy soul? hast thou by them been provoked to give up thyself to God as a living sacrifice? Rom. xii. 1. hast thou improved thy near and dear mercies to the inflaming of thy love to God? to the strengthening of the confidence in God? to the raising thy communion with God? and to the engaging thy heart to a more close and circum

spect walking before God? &c. If thou hast not thus improved them, thou hast more cause to be mute, than to murmur; to be silent, than to be impatient; to fall out with thyself, than to fall out with thy God. Children and fools are taken with many things, but improve nothing: such children and fools are most men; they are much taken with their mercies, but they make no improvement of their mercies; and therefore no wonder if God strip them of their mercies. The candle of mercy is set up, not to play by, but to work by.

Pliny speaks of one Cressinus, who improved a little piece of ground to a far greater advantage than his neighbours could a greater quantity of land; thereupon he was ac cused of witchcraft; but he, to defend himself, brought into the court his servants and their working-tools, and said, These are my witchcrafts, O ye Romans; these servants, and these working tools, are all the witchcraft that I know of. When the people heard this plea, with one consent they acquitted him, and declared him not guilty; and so his little piece of ground was secured to him. There is no way to secure your mercies, but by improving them; there is nothing that provokes God to strip you of your mercies, like the non-improvement of them, Matth. XXV. 24.-31. "Take therefore the talent from him, and give it unto him that hath ten talents." By some stroke or other God will take away the mercy that is not improved. If thy slothfulness hath put God upon passing

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