2. What it is at Chrift's call to leave and give up with them for his fake and the gofpel's.

FIRST, I am to inquire how Chrift calls people to leave and give up with any worldly comforts and enjoyments they have had.

Firft, When we cannot keep them without fin. When we are brought to that, that we muft either lose them, or fim against God; must either part with them, or part with a good confcience; be sure then Chrift is faying, Give up with them, leave them for ME. And fo it is in four cafes.

I. In the cafe of perfecution, or the violence of evil men reducing us to that ftrait. Thus confeffors goods were called for by Chrift, Heb. x. 34. and the lives of the martyrs, chap. xi. 35. And they parted with them, as Jofeph dropt his mantle, when he could not keep it and his chastity too. If there had been

a fair way to have preferved the fubftance and the life, and a good confcience too, they would not have been required; but as they could not preferve a good confcience with the poffeffion of them, therefore they were called to part with both fubftance and life.

The fame holds in the cafe of illegal violence, when men are reduced to fuch a ftrait by the violence of evil men in common life; that lofs is on the one hand, fin on the other; that is a providential call to give up with worldly good things and enjoyments, 1 Cor. vi. 6, 7.

2. In the cafe of juftice. It is a divine command, "Owe no man any thing, but to love one another," Rom. xiii. 8. What juftice requires us to part with, God requires us to part with; for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness, Pfal. xi, 7. And to keep it is. robbery, because in justice it is not ours, but another's. And therefore no man can reckon any more his own, than what remains to him after payment of his juft debts, 2 Kings iv. 1, 7. To this belongs,

3. The cafe of reftitution of goods unjustly got. What

i

What we have unjustly got, is not ours in the fight of God, and therefore God calls to reftore it, Luke xix. 8. And the fin of the taking it away, is not forgiven while it is kept. And where it is fo, God often forces it out of the hand of them or theirs, taking away more with it, Job xx. 10, 15. For a little of that fort is a moth among, and worms one out of much.

4. In the case of charity. It is a divine command to improve our worldly fubftance for the honour of God, Prov. iii. 9. and to relieve the wants of the poor and needy, according to our ability, and their need. God has made us ftewards, and the truly poor his receivers, Prov. xix. 17. The fturdy beggars are indeed the reproach of our land, and eat the meat out of the mouths of those that are poor indeed; their idleness is their fin, and the fin of the government that fuffers them to be idle, 2 Theff. iii. 10. and their vagabond life is their fin and punishment, Pfal. cix. 10. But the truly-poor that fain would, but are not able, or cannot have access to do for themfelves, God obliges others to help them, even though they be ftraitened themfelves, 2 Cor. viii. 2. "In a great trial of affliction, the abundance of their joy, and their deep poverty, abounded unto the riches of their liberality.". Eph. iv. 28. "Let him that stole, fteal no more; but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth." See Prov.xxi. 13.

Secondly, When he himself is providentially taking them away from us. Sometimes he lays worldly good things to one's hand; at other times he returns. and takes them away, and then doubtlefs he fays,. Give them up to ME. Job faw this in his own experience, chap. i. 21. "Naked came I out of my mother's womb, (fays he), and naked fhall I return thither; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; bleffed be the name of the Lord." And this the Lord does in two cafes.

1. In the cafe of providential loffes, when the things themselves are by holy providence taken away. Thus the Lord fwept away Job's fubftance, his children, and his health too. At whatever time God thus is pulling from us, we are called to open our hearts to quit them, and let go our grip of them. In that cafe God is fending to us as he did to the owner of the afs, Matth. xxi. 1,-3. "The Lord hath need of them;" and we shall entertain his fend as that man, who straightway fent the afs and the colt.

2. In the cafe of providential reftraints, when the comfort of the things is taken away, though themfelves remain. Thus the Lord took away Job's comfort in his acquaintance, friends, and domeftics, there was an embargo laid upon them, that they had not power to be comfortable to him, but on the contrary were a crofs to him, Job xix. 13,-16. Yea, in his own wife, who proved unkind to him, ver. 17. and a fnare and a crofs to him, chap. ii. 9. No perfon, no thing, can be to us other than what God makes it to be; and fometimes God, for one's trial, fqueezes the fap out of their creature-comforts, and fo calls them to quit their comfort in them.

SECONDLY, I come to fhew what it is at Chrift's call to leave and give up with them for his fake and the gofpel's. And thus we will fee, who they are to whom this fecurity is made. It lies in three things.

Firft, Difcerning of heaven's call to give up with them, 2 Sam. xvi. 10. None can leave any thing at God's call, when he difcerns no call from him for that effect. There is a generation who like the dog fnarl at the ftone, but look not to the hand above that caft it. In their loffes they blame this or that person, this and that unlucky accident: but they confider not God's hand over-ruling them, and by these things taking trial of them, Pfal. xxviii. 5. We fhould fee him firft mover in all the loffes that befal us.

Secondly, Loving of Chrift and the gospel more than

the

the world, and all that is in it: for that perfon or thing for whofe fake we leave any thing, muft needs be more beloved than that thing. This is the habitual temper of foul, from whence, that action doth proceed, to be found in all believers, Luke xvi. 26. and them only, 1 John ii. 15. And unless the heart be once moulded into this frame through faith, it is not to be expected that one will truly quit any worldly good for Chrift's fake and the gofpel's, whatever they may do for their own fake.

Thirdly, Heart and hands quitting grips of them, out of love to Chrift and the gospel, Heb.x. 34. “Ye -took joyfully the spoiling of your goods." The call clears to them, that they muft part either with Christ or the world in that inftance: and laying the two in the balance, Chrift and the gospel downweigh the worldly thing, and they quit it to hold them faft; not only giving it up with the hand, which may be done against one's will, but with the heart. So that this is a religious, holy parting therewith, an act of Chriftian refignation and felf-denial. Hence we may state the character of the losers to whom the hundredfold is fecured, in the following particulars.

1. They are true believers, who have taken Chrift and the promises of the gospel for their portion, their all, Pfal. cxix. 57. "Thou art my portion, O Lord.” In vain is it expected, that the heart will ever quit its grip of the world, till it takes grip of Chrift and the promife of the gofpel. Therefore faith is called buy ing, wherein the party gets as good as he gives, Rev. ii. 18. Mat. xiii. 45, 46. And indeed in the day of the foul's clofing with Chrift, it gives up with all things in the world, and takes Chrift for them all, Luke xiv. 16. And to fuch the hundredfold is fecured.

2. In all their loffes thy take God for their party, and yield the things to him, as Job did, chap. i. 21. forecited. They fay as Eli did, I Sam. iii. 18. "It is the Lord; let him do what feemeth him good." They

have

have a faith of the divine providence with application to themselves, knowing that nothing can befal them, but as he orders it: they know that he is juft in all his ways, and does them no wrong, whatever wrong may be done them by men: yea, that he is good, and punishes them not as they well deserve. Therefore they fubmit to him, faying as the church, Lam. iii. 22." It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not confumed, because his compassions fail not;" and as Hezekiah, Ifa. xxxix. ult. "Good is the word of the Lord which thou haft fpoken." And thus delivering up their comforts to him, he will restore them an hundredfold, as in Job's cafe.

3. They yield up the things into the hand he directs, be that what it will. Whether he take away immediately by his own hand, or by the hands of men, right or wrong; the intimation of his will is fufficient to them, as it was to Job, chap. i. 21. though the devil and his agents were inftrumental in these loffes. They look above fecond causes, and take their lofs out of the hand of the first cause, which employs what fecond caufes he fees meet. If men look not to God in these cafes, they cannot expect that he will make up what is not given him.

4. They leave and give up with them, to keep the road of duty in obedience to his command, Heb. xi. 25. It is their care to keep their worldly enjoyments as valuable gifts of God, and not to waste them by riot or negligence; but it is their greater care to keep themselves in the love of God, and in the way of holy obedience. And therefore when they cannot do both together, they quit the former, and cleave to the latter. Such lofers God will make up (Heb. xi. 25, 26.), that will rather lose their substance, than a pure confcience; that will rather fuffer than fin against him.

5. They feek their reft and comfort in him under all their loffes, and in the promise of the gospel, Pfal. xxvii, 10. By an eye of faith they fee a fulness in