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5. Your joy is but a gift of common providence. Turks and heathens can rejoice with your joy, but the joy of a Christian is a peculiar favor and gift of God. Corn is given to all nations; even the most barbarous and wicked have store of it; but Christ is the portion but of a few, and those the dearly beloved of God. Luther said of the whole Turkish empire, (where is the best and greatest store of corn,) that it is but a crumb which the master of the family throws to the dogs. He that had more corn than his barns could hold, now wants a drop of water to cool his tongue. Christ is a gift bestowed only upon

God's elect.

6. Your joy will have an end; the time is coming that when you have reaped down your harvests, yourselves must be reaped down by death, and then you shall rejoice in these things no more. But when your joy is ended, then is the joy of saints perfected; they reap their harvest when you leave your harvest; their consolation is everlasting.

7. God can separate your joy from these enjoyments, even while you have them, as well as when you leave them. It is one thing for a man to have riches and full barns, and another thing to have comfort in them. Eccles. v. 19, 20. But now the joy of Christians is a thing inseparable from their enjoyment of Christ; indeed, the sense of their interest may be lost, and so the acts of their joy intermitted; but they always have it in the seed, if not in the fruit. "Joy is sown for the upright." He hath it still in the principle and in the promise.

8. The joy of harvest-men, for the most part, is only in their harvest, and in such earthly things; take that away, and their joy ceases. Earthly hearts are acquainted with no higher comforts; but the people of God can

joy in him, and take comfort in their earthly enjoyments too; and what comfort they take in these things is much more refined and sweet than yours; for they enjoy all those things in God, and his love in giving them puts a sweetness into them that you are unacquainted with. Thus you see how far your joys fall short of their's.

A reflection for one that hath a full barn, but no Christ.

REFLECTIONS.

What if
What if

1. How have I rejoiced in a thing of nought, and pleased myself with a vanity? God hath blessed me in my fields, and in my stores; but not with spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. My barns are full of corn, but my soul is empty of grace; common bounty hath given me a fulness of the things of this life; but what if the meaning of it should be to fat me for the day of slaughter? this be the whole of my portion from the Lord ? the language of his providences to my soul should be this: Lo! here I have given thee, with Ishmael, the fatness of the earth? Thou shalt not say but thou hast tasted of thy Creator's bounty; but make the most of it, for this is all that ever thou shalt have from me; there be others in the world, to whom I have denied these things; but for them I have reserved better; for the most part, they are poor in this world, but rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom. Is not this enough to damp all my carnal mirth? Should my conscience give me such a memento as Abraham in the parable gave to Dives, "Remember that thou in thy life-time receivedst thy good things!" Ah! what a cut would that be to all my comforts! A man in a fever hath a lively color, but a dying heart. I have an appearance, a shadow of comfort, but a sad state of soul.

2. "Blessed be the God and Father of

my

Lord Jesus

Christ, who hath blessed me with all A reflection for one spiritual blessings in heavenly places that hath Christ, but in Christ." Though he hath not no barn. seen fit to give me much of this

world in hand, yet it hath pleased him to settle a rich inheritance upon me by promise, the hopes and expectations whereof yield my soul more true comfort than all the present enjoyments of this world could have done. Blessed be the Lord, who hath not given me my portion in this life, that by keeping me from the enjoyment, hath also preserved me from the snares of a prosperous estate!

Lord Jesus, I have no bags, I have no barns; but thou shalt be to me instead of all those things. When others rejoice in the fulness of their earthly comforts, I will rejoice in the fulness of my Christ; they have that which, though I have not, I shall not want, and I have that which all their riches cannot purchase. Bless the Lord, O my soul!

too.

3. But, Lord, how am I obliged, above thousands, to love and praise thee! to bless and adA reflection for one mire thee, who hast not only plentithat hath a full fully provided for my soul, but for my barn, and Christ body too! who hast given me both the upper and the nether springs, heaven and earth, things present and things to come! Thou hast not dealt so with all; no, not with all of thy own people: many of them are strangers to the mercies which I enjoy. God hath done great things for me, O my soul! what wilt thou do for God? The freer the condition is he hath placed me in, the more am I both obliged and advantaged for his service; and yet, I doubt it will be found that many a poor Christian, that labors with his hands to get his bread, redeems more hours for

God than I do.

Lord, make me wise to understand and answer the double end of this gracious dispensation! let me bestow the more of my time upon God, and stand ready to minister to the necessities of his people.

4. Oh! what an unhappy wretch am I! that have nothing either in hand or in hope; am A reflection for one miserable here, and like to be so for that hath neither a ever: Had I but an interest in Christ, barn nor a Christ. as the godly poor have, that would sweeten all present troubles, and shew me the end of them; but, alas! I am poor and wicked, contemned of men, and abhorred of God; an object of contempt both to heaven and earth. Lord, look upon such a truly miserable object with compassion, give me a portion with thy people in the world to come, if thou never better my outward condition here! O sanctify this poverty-bless these straits and wants, that they may necessitate my soul to go to Christ; make this poverty the way to glory, and I shall bless thee to eternity that I was poor in this world.

CHAPTER XIX.

UPON THE THRESHING OUT OF CORN.

More solid grain with greater strength you thresh,
The ablest Christians have the hardest lash.

OBSERVATION.

HUSBANDMEN having to do with divers sorts of grain, some more tough and stubborn, others more free and tender, do not beat all alike on the threshing-floor; but

as they have threshals of several sizes, so they bestow on some grain more, on others fewer strokes, according to the different qualities of the grain to be threshed. This observation the prophet Isaiah hath. "The fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is the cart-wheel turned about upon the cummin, but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin with a rod." The manner of beating out the corn in former times was far different from that which is now in use among us; they had the cart-wheel, which was full of iron spokes or teeth, and the hoofs of beasts for the harder sort of grain, as wheat, rye and barley; a staff or flail for the fitches, and a rod or twig for the cummin all which instruments are proportioned to the nature of the grain.

APPLICATION.

:

God having to do, in a way of correction, with divers sorts of offenders, doth not use the like severity with them all, but proportions his correction to their abilities and strength. "I will not make a full end of thee, [but will correct thee in measure] and will not leave thee altogether unpunished:" Afflicted thou must be; my respect to my own glory, and thy good puts a necessity upon that; but yet I will do it moderately: I will not lay on without measure or mercy, as I intend to do upon the enemies ; but will mete out your sufferings in a due proportion, even as a careful physician, in prescribing pills or potions to his patient, hath regard as well to the ability of the patient, as to the nature and quality of the disease; even so thy God, O Israel, will not afflict thee according to the greatness of his power and his wrath, answerable thereto, Psalm xc. 11. that would break thee to pieces. Nor yet will he afflict thee according to the demerit of thy sin : as it shall be much less than what I could inflict, so it shall

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