BERKELEY GENERAL LIBRARY UNIVERSITY Of CALIFORNIA NG. FISHER (J.) A SPRING DAY, or lations on Occurrences which naturally j Eye in that delightful Season, with a ifter Allan of Dumfries, and four large by BEWICK, 8vo, purple calf, full gilt -ce, 7s 6d Edinburgh, 1803 tains a chapter (pp. 30) on Fishing. JOHN GERARD HECKSCHER //.rz JAMES FISHER . c and the foil of man, that thou vifiteft " him!" Pfalm viii. 4. And well might he, in confideration of that infinite power, wifdom, greatnefs, and glory, that hung thofe immenfely ponderous luminaries in the midft of the va'ft expanfe of ether, l6 CREATION. poifed them fo nicely, and bade them, to a pun&ilio, obfervc their courfes, and Hill fupports thefe vaft orbs in their ftations. I lay, in confideration of that Almighty Being, who wrought out the heavens with liis fingers, adorning them with ftars, which in luitre, number, arid magnitude, far fur- pafs the ken of the moft acute ailronomer, and lighted up thefe wonderful lamps, or rather globes of fire, in the flupendous arch that a Being of fuch infinite wifdom, power, and glory, mould condefcend to take notice of fndi a little thing as man ! yea, fuch a vile thing as man had made himfelf. But O, what notice was it that Jehovah did take of him ! " Hear, O heavens, and be aftonifhed, G earth !" it was not only to create him a holy and happy creature, nor, when lie had fallen by his iniquity, (till to con- tinue to preferve him in being> .and fupply him out of his bountiful hand with number- lefs temporal good things ; but how {hall it be told for wonder and amazement ! that fame God, who made the liars, counteth their numbers, and calleth them all by their names ; mcafured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and meted out heaven with the CREATION. 17 fpan, and comprehended the duft of the earth in a meafure ; and weighed the moun- tains in fcales, and the hills in a bal- Jance ; before whofe face the earth and the heavens flee away, and in whofe prefence the higheft feraphim in heaven veil their faces with their wings, Gen. i. 16. Pf. cxlvii. 4. Ifa. xl. 12. Rev. xx. 1 1. Ifa. vi. 2. fent his own eternal, only-begotten, and well- beloved Son, one in eiTence with himfelf, into this world, to become an infant of days, to lead a forrowful life, and at length to bear all that infinite wrath, or equal to it, which the eledl fliould have borne through all eter- nity, and die the ihameful, painful, accurfed death of the croft for man ; vile, (infill man, his avowed enemy ! O, unfpeakable love ! was ever love like this ? Well might the royal Pfalmift ftand amazed at it, when he confidered, that that God, who wrought out the heavens with his fingers, made the moon and the ftars, and all the hoft of heaven ; fuftains all the planets with his hand, and fwaddled the ocean with thick darknefs.fetting doors and fears, fay ing, Hitherto (halt thou come, but no farther; and here fliall thy proud waves be flayed : fliould l8 CREATION. himfelf be wrapt in Twaddling cloathes, and laid in a manger ; have his hands and feet nailed to the accurfed tree of the crofs, groan, bleed, and die, for fuch a finful creature as man. Jf the king of Ifrael was loft in thought at viewing this afar off, what ougkt we to be who live in gofpel days ! The works of nature naturally lead the contemplative mind up the ftream of creation to God the foun- tain-head. This they did to David, and fo mould they do to us. All the works which we behold fhew forth his wifdom, power, and goodnefs. *' The heavens declare the " glory of God, and the firmament fheweth ' his handy-work : day unto day uttereth " fpeech, and night unto night flieweth 4< knowledge : there is no fpeech nor Ian- " guage where their voice is not heard : c fant thing it is for the eyes to behold the 4 fun." Eccl. xi. 7. This puts me in mind of the creation of the world, when God faid, :< Let there be light, and there was light." Gen. i. 3. Had that omnipotent, infinitely gracious word, not been fpoken, how mifer- able,if at all, had our world been! man would have groped in darknefs, and worn out a fhort life in wretchednefs and grief. But this calls to my memory a ftill more interefting fubjeft ; namely, the fall of man, THE MORNING. 43 . and the firft promife of the Gofpel ;,when Adam, by his awful apoftacy from the path of reditude, eternally benighted, not only himfelf, but all his pofterity, in mifery and woe : Thus was man in grofs darknefs, go- ing headlong down to the pit of deftru&ion, when, lo ! a voice was heard which might well aflonifh, both heaven and earth, for it was the voice of mercy, the Lord God fay- ing, as it were, Suffer him not to go down .to the pit, for I have found a ranfom, Job xxxiii. 24. ; when, to the wonder of angels, and the aftomfhment of men, he faid in ef- fedl, as he faid with refpecl to the natural world, " Let there be light." When he gave that infinitely gracious, unfpeakably precious promife, that the feed of the woman mould bruife the head of the ferpent, Gen. iii. 15. this no doubt furprifed Adam with joy inexpre/Iible, and enkindled fuch a flame of gratitude in his foul, as eter- nity itfelf fhall never be able to extin- guifh. This firft promife of the gofpel, like the natural dawn, unfolded itfelf ftill more and more, through all the Old-Teftament difpen- Da 44 DAWN OF fation, until at length it fliined in the per- fe<5t day in the new. When Chrifl Jefus, the Sun of righteouf- nefs, arofe with healing in his wings, and fhone on our earth, in a body of flelh, for about the fpace of thirty-three years ; though, indeed, he had no form nor comelinefs in the eyes of thofe who were ftill in a natural ftate, how falutary were his beams to thofe who believed in his name. He, to the ap- prehenfion of his enemies, finally fet on the croft, when be yielded up the ghoil : while the fun in the firmament hid his face with a fable covering, as amamed to behold his Creator's fufFerings ; and the vail of the tem- ple rent in twain from top to bottom ; to fh w that the way to the holieft of all was then made clear, and the fhadows of the morning, viz. the types and ceremonies of the Mofaical difpenfation, terminated in the great antitype Chrifl Jefus, the Sun of righ- teoufnefs ; who, to the unfpeakable joy of his people, but terror of his enemies, quickly arofe from death, behind which cloud his humanity had fet, for a very fhort time, ufli- ering in the broad day of the everlafting gofpel, to fhine with additional fplendor THE MORNING. 45 through all eternity. It is true, as he was God, his glory was the fame from ever- lafting, and could admic of no increafe but as he was man, it certainly did : ' being *' found in faihion as a man, he humbled lc himfelf, and became obedient unto death, " even the death of the crofs : wherefore Cod :t alfo hath highly exalted him, and given : * him a name, which is above every name, ' that at the name of Jefus every knee " fliould bow, of things in heaven, and " things in earth, and things under the earth: " And that every tongue mould confefs chat " Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God 5 the Father." Phil. ii. 8, 9, 10, n. c: Since, now, *' life and immortality are" clearly " brought to light through the gof- " pel," 2 Tim. i. I o ; and " through the ten- ;C der mercy of our God the Day-fpring from " on high hath vifited us, Luke i. 78., even us, in this ifland of the fea, where our fa- thers " who fat in darknefs faw great light ; u and to them who fat in the region and (ha- " dow of death light is fprung up," Matt iv. 1 6. even him (who is the Sun of righteouf- nefs with healing in his wings, (Mai. iv. >.) through whofe blefled rays they Jaw their 46 DAWN OF benighted fituation, and were enabled to come out of the dark howling wildernefs of fin, from the fnares of Pagan and Romim fuperftition, and made to walk in the way everlafting, Pfalm cxxxix. 24. ; and fince to us, their children, the light of the glorious gofpel ft ill mines in our land, how ought we to rejoice in God our Saviour, who " hath " broken down the middle wall of partition," Eph. ii. 14. and, as well as the Jews, hath vifited the Gentiles with falvation. For my part, I defire to ling with the fweet Pfalmifl of Ifrael, that u the lines are fallen unto me in pleafant places." Pfalm xvi. 6. ; May I walk in the light of his countenance, Pfalm Ixxxix. 15. while here, and at length enter into that " city, which hath founda- " tions, whole builder and maker is God," Heb. xi. 10. ; where there is " no need of |C the fun, neither of the moon to mine in " it ; for the glory of Gad" doth " lighten " it, and the Lamb is the light thereof, and *' the nations of them which are faved {hall *' walk in the light of it," Rev. xxi. 23, 24. He, whofe ftar condudled the wife men of the eaft to the humble place of his THE MORNING. 47 Matt. ii. 2, 9, 10. ftill " holdeth the feven flars in his right hand," Rev. ii. i. minifters of the everlafting gofpel, to direcft thofe who are made wife to falvation, 2 Tim. iii. 15. ; not only in the eaft, but in north, fouth, eaft, and weft, to that city of habitation, Pfalm cvii. 3, 7. his kingdom of glory : May I follow their light, in fo far as they are enlightened by the glorious Sun of righ- teouftiefs, until at length I enjoy his beams in that land of blifs, where " the inhabi- ' tants fhall not fay, I am fick, arid the peo- " pie that dwell therein fhall be forgiven their " iniquity," Ifa, xxxiii. 24. and reap that end- lefs harveft of light and gladnefs, which is fown for the righteous and the upright in heart, Pfalm xcvii. n. in the fpring time of grace, in the field of the everlafting gof- pel, by the good Husbandman, 4< the Father '' of mercies and the God of all comfort/' 2 Cor. i. 3. Some of the inclofures, into which it is divided, where this good feed is fown, are, the field of meditation and contemplation, 'the valley of prayer and praife, the green paftures of the Scriptures, and the mount of the preached gofpel, with its verdant fun> 48 DAWN OF mit the Sacraments. In thefe delightful in- clofures may I ftill delight to walk, that I may fee the feed fpringing up with pleafure in the blade, and tafte of the full corn in the ear ; that, in the valley of death, I may begin to reap that harveft which, after I have palfed the Jordan of diifolution, I {hall reap and feaft on fully in the heavenly Canaan. But this I cannot do, tinlefs He " who " commanded the light to fliine out of dark- " nefs," fliine in my heart, " to give the *' light of the knowledge of the glory of God " in the face of Jefus Chrift," 2 Cor. iv. 6. for, through the fall of man, grofs darknefs hath overfpread the whole foul, fo that " the ;c natural man receiveth not the things of " the Spirit of God, for they are fuolifhnefs *' unto him ; neither can he know them, be- * c caufe they are fpiritually difcerned." i Cor. ii. 14. And indeed it is impoflible that he can, fo long as his mind is in this ilate, dif- cern the beauty of fpiritual objedls ; any more than a man, during the darknefs of the night, can difcover the beauties of crea- tion ; till God, of his infinite mercy, vouchfafe to illuminate his mind by his Holy Spirit. It is then alone that he can THE MORNING. 49 difcover the vilenefs of his own heart, the deformity of fin, and the beauty of holi- nefs, But though light doth make manifeft the deformities and beauties of objects in the natural world ; yet, without the rays and fa- lutary beams of the fun, nothing is cherim- ed or brought forward to perfection. In like manner, though a finner Tnay be fo far enlightened, as to be convinced of the evil nature of fin, the hatefulnefs of his own heart, and the neceffity of renewing grace ; yet, without the Sun of righteoufnefs arife to him, with healing in his wings, he cannot be favingly converted ; nor any of the graces of the fpirit in his foul, made to fpring up and flouriih to eternal life. How much doth it then concern me to examine whe- ther I have experienced the dawn of fpiri- tual things only, which confifts merely in knowledge ; or the fructifying beams of the Sun of righteoufnefs, making me fpring and grow in grace ! 50 ] CONTEMPLATION II. the SINGING of a LARK. "ITSTHAT pleafant found is this falutes my ear fo early ! while I liften, I per- ceive it is a Lark, newly fprung from the turf, where he had repofed during the darknefs. Anxious, as it were, to be the firft of all the terreftrial creation in expreffing its thank- fulnefs to the great Creator, and upholder of all, for his kindnefs during the night, it pours forth its little, grateful foul, in rap- turous ftrains of melody ; fwelling the an- them of praife, with Hill more, and more, harmonious notes, the nearer it approaches the Iky. This delightful bird^ above moft of the feathered tribe, is truly worthy of my imi- tation, and that in various points of view. While. I am ravifhed with its fong, may I accord with the little charmer, in expreffing SINGING OF A LARK. 4 5! my gratitude to the bountiful Creator of all, which I am ten thoufand times more bound to do than this cheerful fongfter. How may I be put to fhame with the ear- ly gratitude of this little creature, which en- joys fo little in comparifon of what I do, who am ftill fo unthankful ! No houfe nor vault flickered it from the hawk during the night ; while I flept in my houfe with doors ihut againft any who might molefl either niy peiibn or goods. It is now defcended from its aerial excur- fion, and is filent for a little, gathering a fcanty meal on yonder fpot, but knows not where to find its next repaft ; while I have provifion, not only for fundry meals, but per- haps for fome months. Led only by inftinct, it gathers a few corns for the prefent ; w r hile I have reafon to direcT: me, not only how to provide for the prefent, but alfo for future wants. It enjoys but a fhort temporal life ; while I not only enjoy the fame, but alfo hope to inherit life eternal. No fongfler of the grove foars fo high as the lark, and none fits lower. This is truly J2 SINGING OF piclurefque of a faint, and teaches me this excellent leffon, that the higher I arife in ho- linefs and in likenefs to God, the more hum- ble I ought to be, calling myfelf, with the apoflle of the Gentiles, " lefs than the lead " of all faints," Fph. iii. 8. Knowing that it is only grace that maketh me, or any, to dif- fer from another, i Cor. iv* 7. The lark has a long heel, which is one reafon that it does not lit on the fpray. So a believer, while he is here, hath a long heel, which keeps him humble, even the iniquity of his heels, whit h compafs him about, Pf. xlix. 5. The fongfters of the grove will not fit on the ground, but perch on forae elevat- ed flation, like the men of the world, who fcorn the humble difpoiition of the faints, and lit high in their own eftirnation. The lark will not aflemble with any but thofe of its own tribe, except in cafe of win- ter's extremity ; and even not then, unlefs for the purpofe of gathering a little food. So a faint only finds pleafure in the compa- ny of faints : thefe are they whom he makes his companions, and in them he places all Jiis delight, Pf. xvi. 2. And though he is of- A L A R K. 53 ten neceffitated, from the affairs of human life, to aflbciate with the men of the world, yet thefe may be laid to have his actions a- lone, but the faints his affedions. To the former he will only impart the common oc- currences of life ; but to the latter, the things concerning his foul : with the one he aflbcU ates through neceflity, but with the other through real choice. The lark, too, like a difconfolate mourner, for the lofs of the pleafant feafons, gives up with its fong in winter, and aflumes a chirp- ing note ; yet even then, it is remarkable, for being as fat, if not fatter ,than when it rejoic- ed in the cheerful morn of Spring. So a faint, when under fpiritual clouds in the winter of defertion, hangs by, as it were, his harp on the willows, Pf. cxxxvii. 2. and falls a mourning inftead of ringing the fweet fongs of Zion : yet even then, he may be growing inwardly, though outwardly he cannot per- ceive it ; and may be as, fat, and full of fip, as when he ikw that his mountain flood ftrong, Pf. xxx. 7. For it is one thing to grow in fenfe and manifeftations, and ano- ther thing to grow in faith and pa- tience ; and when his fun comes from un- 54 O N T H E der the cloud, {hall have reafon to fing with the Pfalmift, *'. It was good for me that I was tc afflided ;" and to fay, " Lord, thou haft " clone all things well," Pf. cxix. 71. Mark vii. 37. The lark, too, as has been already obfer- ved, is not only the earlieft fongfter,but is of- ten heard by the nodlurnal traveller, at fmall intervals through the fummer night, mak- ing low harmonious notes. Juft fo,afaint doth not only praife his Maker early ; but often, with the fweet finger of Ifrael, prevents the dawning of the morning, Pf. cxix. 147. Yea, even at midnight rifes to give thanks unto him, Pf. cxix, 62. and meditates on him in the watches of the night, Pf. Ixiii. 6. Like Da- vid, he not only experiences the loving kind- nefs of the Lord by day, but his fongs are alfo with him by night, PL xlii. 8. The lark, too, has often been known, when flying from the rapacious hawk, to take fliel- ter in the bofom of man. Juft fo a finner, when the eyes of his underftanding are en- lightened by the Holy Spirit to fee his wretched and undone ftate by nature ; the condemning fentence of the law, and the SINGING OF A LARK. 55 wrath of God ready to fall on his guilty head, flies to the man Chrift Jefus, who is " as a hiding place from the wind, and a co- " vert from the tempeft,' 1 Ifa. xxxii. 2. the only refuge. Ungrateful man, through an unfeeling heart and wanton cruelty, may give up the innocent bird to the will of its enemy ; but will the compaflionate Jefus ever give up to vengeance the foul who hath fled to him for refuge ? No : for he hath faid, '* Him " that cometh to me, I will in no wife caft 8 out," John vi. 37. ; and, " whofoever be- < c lieveth on him fhall not be afhamed," Rom. ix. 33. ; and, " Can a woman forget " her fucking child, that flie ihould. not c have compaflion on the fon of her womb ; yea, they may forget, yet will I not for- A SHEEP FOLI). ous twigs ; nay, often, in love to thei? fouls, blaft thole riches and r*iar thofe pleafures which held back his people's af- fections from himfelf, fo that they may fet them on things above, renew their flrength, go on their Christian journey, and feed on green paftures of fpiritual things, as before. Whilft I am thus in ferious meditation, I begin to be difturbed by a clamorous noife, which feems to come from the far- ther fide of the hill ; methinks it is like the barking of dogs. Ah ! now I perceive I am right ; yonder they are purfuing a num- ber of the fleecy tribe with open mouth. Oh ! what will become of thefe innocent fheep, they will certainly foon-be deftroy- ed, for thofe cruel dogs are almoft clofe at their heels : fie upon them ! will none call them off? Yes, to my great joy I hear a voice threatening them, and calling them back -y It is the voice of the fliepherd : I difcover him {landing on the top of the hill ; I now perceive thofe fheep have been ftraying in forbidden paths, which has oc- cafioned the fliepherd to ufe his dogs for bringing them back. A SHEEP FOLD. 6l The wicked in fcripture are called dogs, Pfal. xxii. 1 6. Ha. Ivi. 10, n. Matt. vii. 6. Rev. xxii. 15. thefe the great fhepherd of- ten ufes in chaftifing his flock when they go aftray, and in turning them back from forbidden paths ; as we fee in the cafe of the rebellious Ifraelites, when they affayed to go up into the land of Canaan, contrary to the command of the Lord and his fer- i^ant Mofes ; the Amalekites and Canaan- ites came down, fought againft them, and turned them back, Num. xiv. 40 45. Al- fo when the flock of Ifrael in the land of *Canaan went aftray after idol gods, feed- ing on high places and under every green tree, contrary to the will of the great Shep- herd, he fent againft them Nebuchadnez- zar with the Chaldeans, who like dogs did hunt them fo feverely, that they were dri- ven away out of their own land for the Ipace of feventy years : And this woeful hunting had fuch a blefled effect upon them, that they were never known to ftray in fuch paths afterwards. The wicked in no age of the church could ever run one ftep againft the flock of God, till they were either ordered or permitted by the great Shepherd; which indeed he hath often 3 62 A SHEEP FOLD. done for the beft of purpofes, but has al- ways flayed fuch dogs, and called them off in his own due time ; fo that they have ne- ver yet devoured, nor {hall ever be able to devour any of his flock, though they may harafs and terrify them much. When fuch dogs run with the open mouth of perfecu- tion againft the people of the Lord, whe- ther as individuals, or as a body, it is ei- ther for turning them back from forbidden paths, preventing them from going aftray, recovering them from lukewarmnefs, try- ing their ftedfaftnefs in the faith, their zeal for the caufe of Chrift, keeping them hum- ble, weaning their aftecTions from the things of this life, or for fome good end or other. A wife fhepherd will not fend his dogs upon the fheep wantonly : much lefs will the good Shepherd of Ifrael, who laid down his life for his fheep, John x. 15. fuf- fer the wicked to perfecute his people with- out having the beft of reafons for fo doing ; therefore, when any of the flock of God are perfecuted, flandered, or in any ways e- vil entreated, they ought to eye the great Shepherd ftanding on Mount Zion, order-i ing and overruling all for their good. A SHEEP FOLD. 63 But now the fhepherd appears to have ioft fome of his flock, for I behold him on the fummit of the hill, running from one eminence to another, looking anxiously a- round him : Now he defcends the fteep to- wards the place where I fland ; but all on a fudden, with hafly fteps, he turns afide the other way, round the corner of the hilf, and is loft to my view. Whilfl I ftand ga- zing the way which he ran, on the farther fide of the hollow, at a great diftance, I per - ceive him rifing to my fight, ^p the fide of a neighbouring mountain : With how much affiduous care does he feek the wan- derer? This puts me in mind of that beau- tiful parable uttered by our Lord, " What u man of you having an hundred fheep, if " he lofe one of them, doth not leave the " ninety and nine in the wildernefs, and go " after that which is loft until he find it ? and when he bath found it, he layeth it on his fhoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his " friends and neighbours, faying unto them, " Rejoice with me, for I have found my " fheep which was loft," Luke xv. 4, 5, 6. As the parable itfelf is highly delightful, the inference which our Lord draws from it is 64 A SHEEP FOLD. po lefs beautiful, and full of comfort to fin- ners: " I fay unto you, that likewiie joy - 4 fhall be in heaven over one firmer that " repenteth, more than over ninety and " nine juft perfons which need no repenr ^ tance," ver. 7. When fhepherds are fo careful of their flocks, which are but dumb animals ; and above all, when the great Shepherd, our Lord and Saviour, hath done fo infinitely much for his people, his flock ; nay, even laid down his own life for them, that they might be gathered from their wanderings, and brought to his fold atove, and rejoiceth over the converfion of every iinner : What an awful reproof does this reach to car-elefs uiider-ihepherds, minifters of the gofpel, who are at little or no rains to keep their flocks together in the green paf- tures and Way of hoiinefs ; neither to leek them back when they go ailray in the way of the ungodly ! Nay, on the contrary, of- ten by their erroneous principles and loofe examples, drive them away, and fcatter them in the cloudy and dark day, Ezek. xxxiv. 12. "As I live, faith the Lord God, ^ furely becaufe my flock became a prey, f* arid my flock became meat to every beaft A SHEEP FOLD. 65 of the field, becaufe there was no fhep- herd, neither did my fhepherds fearch for '* my flock ; but the fhepherds fed them- " felves and fed not my flock : Therefore, " O ye fhepherds, hear the \jord of the H Lord ; thus faith the Lord God, behold I " am againft the fhepherds; and I will re- quire my flock at their hands, and caufe them to ceafe from feeding the flock, neither fhall the fhepherds feed them- felves any more," Ezek, xxxiv. 8, 9, 10. u And, on the other hand, what an excellent leflbn doth it teach thofe under-fhepherds of care and diligence, not only to keep their flocks together, but to feed them with wholefome doctrine, and ufe all pains in their power to bring them back to the good paftures when they have gone aftray on the mountains of fin and vanity. How ought not I alfo, w r ho defire to be one of the fheep of Chrifl's pafture, to be careful in following the footfleps of the flock, feed- ing befide the fhepherds tents, Cant, i. 8, in the green paflures of his ordinances, delight- ing myfelf only in thofe things in whicfy he would have me to take pleafure, being }ed and guided by him through Ufe, fo that 66 A SHEEP FOLD. when the chief Shepherd fhall appear, r Pet. v. 4. I may be fet among the fheep on his right hand, and received into his ever- lafting fold. Now the fhepherd is returned with his flrayed fheep : poor creature ! It appears to have been in the mire, for it is all defiled ; he is wafhing it at yonder rill ; how com- paffionate he is ! In like manner, the great Shepherd of Ifrael wafhes every one of his flock, not only from the'guilt of fin, in the fountain of his own blood, but alfo from the filth, the love and power thereof, in the laver of regeneration, and fanctification of the Holy Ghoft ; fo that their garments may be clean, and at laft they may walk with him in white, Rev. iii. 4. How pleafant is it to fee the fleecy mo- thers fuckling their little lambs ! If the God of nature had not endowed them with that maternal care, their tender offspring would foon periih from the field, and the labour of the fhepherd be loft. Juft fo the ftrong among ChrifVs flock ought to exercife an affectionate care towards thofe that are weak, by contributing all in their power to ftrength- A SHEEP FOLD. 6j en the feeble, cheer the drooping, and help the young in grace forward in the paths of religion. If it is not only natural, but ab- iblutely neceflary in the fleecy tribe, to fuckle their young, it is certainly as much fo for the church to nourifh her fpiritual feed : If this is incumbent on thofe who are fathers in piety, ftrength, and experience ; it is likewife the duty of thofe who are but as babes in knowledge and grace, to be i- mitating the lambs which fuckle their mo- thers, by applying to thofe who have more knowledge and experience than themfelves, for afliftance and council in their Chriftian courfe, always " defiring the fincere milk " of the word, that they may grow there- " by," i Pet. ii. a. It is delightful to fee thefe little lambs, this pleafant morning, alternately frifking fportively on the hill, and browling on the tender fproutings of the grafs, which are rendered ftill more foft and fweet by the balmy dew which lay upon them during the night. It is certainly incomparably more fo, to fee the young among the flock of Chrift, in the morning of youth, rejoi- cing in holinefs, folacing themfelves with 68 A SHEEP FOLD. ipiritual food, having the dew of heaven lying all night upon their branches, Job xxix. 19. Poor innocent lambs, the period is not far diftant, when many of you will be led to the ilaughter, nor will you repine at your fate. So the great Shepherd of his flock, for his peoples lins, was led as a lamb to the flaughter, without the leaft repining at the will of his heavenly Father ; and as a fheep before her fhearers is dumb, fo he opened not his mouth, Ifa. liii. 7. The fhepherd robs the flock of their fleece in {hearing-time, for the purpofe of cloathing, not only himfelf, but alfo many others. But in this refpecl our Lord differs from all other ihepherds ; for he, as it were, deprived himfelf for a time of his declara- tive glory for the good of his flock : when he who thought it not robbery to be equal with God, left the bofom of the Fa- ther, came to this earth, and that in the form of a fervant, Phil. ii. 6. and wrought out a complete right eoufnefs, a garment in- deed without feam, to clothe his flock with ; nay, even fuch a garment that the thun > A SHEEP FOLD. 6$ derings and lightenings of mount Sinai can- not pierce through. Adam the firft made all his pofterity naked ; but the fecond Man from heaven hath completely reflored the covering. The Shepherd not only clothes himfelf with the fleece, but alfo in due time flays the animal itfelf, and feeds upon its car- cafe. But to the wonder of angels, and the aftonifhment of men, our Shepherd laid down his life for his fheep, and that moft willingly of himfelf, for no man took it from him ; that all his true flock might feed upon him, for " his flefh is meat in- " deed, and his blood is drink indeed," John vi. 55. The life of a fhepherd is highly "delight- ful during the fpring and fummer months ; he rejoices in his labour through the cheer- ful day, and in the night, like Jacob, dreams concerning his flock. If thofe fea- fons were always to laft, fuch a life might almoft be deemed free from that curfe of toil which was inflicted on man for his dil- obedience : but this will not be the cafe ; thefe muft end, and the dreary winter ap~ 7O A SHEEP FOLD. proach with her ftern fhort day, and long bleak night, turning the earth as it were into iron, and covering thefe green paf- tures and every neighbouring hill deep over with fnow. Then will the fhepherd's life be changed from a life of pleafure to a life of toil. In the morning from his cot, fhivering he will afcend the hill, fcarcely knowing where to find his fheep ; and when he hath found them, where to feed them : Nay, on the ftormieft fide of the hill muft his ftation often be, there to keep his flock from falling down to the hollows, and being drifted over with fnow, and fo perilh. So Chrift, the great Shepherd of his fheep, did not only lead and feed his flock, in that joyful feafon, when he rode in tri- umph into Jerufalem, while many fpread their garments in the way, and others cut down branches from the trees, and ft-rew- ed therein, and Hofanna's in the higheft Were fung, Mark xi. 8, 9. but alfo in that awful winter, when the malice of men and devils were let loofe againft him, and like a furious ftorm raged full in his face. A florm yet ftill more dreadful and tremen- dous than this he bare for his flock, even A SHEEP FOLD. 7* the infinite wrath of Almighty God, which would have fwept them all down to hell, and there overwhelmed them through all eternity, if he had not borne it for them : But this he did ; and the tempeft was fo infinitely fierce, that it laid him flat on the ground, filled his foul with agony,, and made him to fweat, as it were, great drops; of blood falling down to the ground, Luke xxii. 44. Nay, fo terrible was the blaft, that on the crofs it made him to cry out, u My God ! my God ! why haft thou for- 44 faken me ?" Matt, xxvii. 46. but at length he cried out, 44 It is finifhed," (the horrible tempeft which his flock otherwife fliould have borne was all fpent upon him) he bowed his head, and gave up the ghoft, John xix. 30. Blefs the Lord, then, O my foul, and forget not all his benefits, Pfal. ciii. 2. Let all his flock on earth join with thofe in heaven, faying, 44 Unto him that loved us, 44 and wafhed us from our fins in his own 44 blood, and hath made us kings and priefts 44 unto God and his Father ; to him be 44 glory, and dominion for ever and ever. 44 Amen." Rev, i. 5.6. C 73 3 CONTEMPLATION IV. ON THE SUN. comes the glorious king of day, in ftately fteps of Majefty, from his chambers in the eaft, like a bridegroom, as the Pfalmift beautifully de j fcribes him, or as a ftrorig man rejoicing to run his race, Pfal. xix. 5. Dame nature, glad at his approach, welcomes his return with a cheerful countenance, and fpreads wide her blooming arms to receive his fa- lutary embraces, and dries up the dewy tears from her lovely cheek, which (he has (hed in his abfence during the night, and now fmiles pleafantly around* From F 74 THE SUN. time he returns to her with his lengthened day at the vernal equinox, his fructifying beams make her prolific, till he again in Autumn retires beyond the line, to per- form his winter's journeys : then fhe be- comes barren, unlefs through her laxed- ednefs a few untimely births appear in our fields and gardens ; I except the fnow-drop and crocas, thefe ftated > harbingers of fpring. And is all creation, both animate and in- % animate, glad at the rifing of the fun? What infinitely more reafon hath the new creation, even all true believers, to rejoice, when to them the Sun of righteoufnefs ari- feth with healing under his wings ? When that fun arofe, I beheld the mifts of the morning difpelled from the hills, and all the fky became clear. In like manner^ when the Sun of righteoufnefs fheds fortji his benign beams in the heart of finners, the mifts which Satan raifed there quickly evanifh, and all the foul becomes clear and ferene. The joy which the believer expe- riences in fuch a feafon, who hath been long under the hidings of God's counte- THE SUN, 73 fcance, is only known to himfelf, and can- not fully be defcribed. When the fun arifes,, the royal Pfalmifl tells us, " The beafts of prey gather them- " felves together and lay them down in. " their dens : and man goeth forth unto his " work and to his labour until the even- " ing," Pfal. civ. 22, 23, So when the Sun of righteoufnefs fhineth into the heart of a finner, Satan, who is compared to a roaring lion, that goeth about continually^ feeking whom he may devour, i Pet. v. 8. (and greatly doeth fo in the fad night of defer- tion) is compelled by his cheering beams, to withdraw from the poor foul, with unbe- lief, hard thoughts of God, and defpair, which are incomparably more cruel than beafts of prey : and the man goeth to work the works of God, even to believe in Chrifl Jefus whom he hath fent, John vL 28 j 29. whom to know is life eternal, John, xvii. 3, When the fun arifes, men fee clearly a- round them, and every objedl appears in its native dye. In like manner, when the Sun of righteoufnefs arifeth on the foul of 76 THE SUN. a firmer, the eyes of the underftanding are enlightened to behold fin in its proper co- lours ; that it is highly offenfive to God, and that which only he abhors ; truly hate- ful in itfelf, and eternally deftrudive in its confequences ; alfo the juftice of God, the purity of the law, and man's utter inabili- ty to keep it ; his loft and undone ftate by nature, and the remedy which God hath provided for him, namely, the blood and furety righteoufnefs of Chrift, , who is not only a fun to enlighten, warm, and cherifh, but alfo a fhield of protection from the wrath of God, and defence againft all his enemies, who will " give grace and glory, " and no good thing will he withhold " from them that walk uprightly," Pfal. Ixxxiv. ii. By the beams of the fun the earth is made warm, and fhe, like a tender mother, nourifhes the infant fpring : the grafs and herbs grow up together ; and the daifies of the field, with the reft of the early flowers, look forth with a feeble, yet pleafing coun- tenance, declaring the winter is paft. So by the falutary beams of the Sun of righte- oufnefs, the affections are warmed with gra- THE SUN. 77 titude to God, and all the graces of the Spi- rit grow up and flourifh ; and faith and hope in lively exercife, fhew the fad winter of de- fertion is over, It is by the light of the fun alone that man can fee that glorious luminary ; fo it is only by the light which the Sun of righ- teoufnefs imparts, that the finner can fee HIM : All that reafon which, is fo much boafted of, which even the wifeft philofo- phers among the heathen poffeffed, of itfelf is as unavailing to difcover him, and the way of falvation through him, as the light of a candle would be to .difcover the natu- ral fun. Though I enjoy the light, and feel the warming beams of that fun, this pleafant morning, yet millions do fo as well as I, and yet my enjoyment of him is nothing impaired thereby ; for I have as much of his benign influence as if there was not a- nother man on the earth but myfelf. In like manner, though the Sun of righteoui nefs {hine upon all true believers, yet every individual among them, enjoys him to that degree, as if it had been for him alone: he 78 THE SUN. left the bofom of the Father, came to earth, obeyed the law, fuffered the wrath and curfe of God, died on the crofs, a- rofe again, and-afcended up intp heaven. What a glorious objed is the fun, and how immenfely great ! a body of fire fuppof- ed to be no lefs than eight hundred thoufand times larger than the earth, muft need fur- pafs the proud monarch of Babylon's fiery furnace, inconceivably more than the traniiant fpark, fmitten from the flint by the fteel. How infinitely great muft that power be who made and fuftains that globe in ether ! Nor is his wifdom and goodnefs lefs confpicuous in poifing it at fuch a con- venient diftance from the earth, fo that in- ftead of men and things being burnt up by it, they are only warmed and cherifhed thereby. But how infinitely more doth the goodnefs of God appear to man, in that when he had finned and rendered himfelf obnoxious to divine juftice, God fent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be iaved, John iii. 17. THE SUN. 79 The fun is the moft ufeful, and moft de- lightful of all inanimate creatures, the beft emblem (as one obferves) of his Creator which we here behold. No wonder if the poor blind heathen miftook him for his Maker, and paid that worfhip to this lumi- nary which was due to him alone. But what is it for which we love the fun moft ? Is it becaufe of that refplenden- cy that he is poffefled of? or is it not rather on account of the benefits we derive from his cheering rays and frudtifying beams ? But far otherwife is it with refpecl to the Sim of righteoufhefs ; his people love him more on account of what he is in, and of himfelf, and what he hath done for them, than for all the good things he hath pur- chafed for them, nay, than for heaven it- felf. I will not indeed fay, that this is al- ways the cafe upon a perfon's immediately clofing with Chrift ; for like as one who finds himfelf inevitably perifhing in a mighty flood, ready every moment to be over- whelmed in the impetuous furge will cry vehemently out for help, and when a rope is thrown in for his delivery, felf-preferva- tion makes him eagerly grafp the fame ; 80 THE SUN. but no fooner does he find himfelf efcaped the danger than he contemplates with love the benevolent hand that preferred his life. So the Shipwrecked finner in Adam, when he fees himfelf perilling in a fea of wrath, ready to be fwallowed up in the inexorable billows of divine juftice, will be apt, like a woman in pangs, to cry out with the jai- lor of Phillippi, * 4 What muft I do to be " faved ?" And when by the hand of power a cord of mercy is let down for his delivery, with a " Believe on the Lord Je- u fus Chrift, and thou fhalt be faved ;" will he not eagerly take hold of it, and hold for life ? But no fooner doth he fee his intereft in Chrift, than he loves him main- ly becaufe of his own excellency, and what he hath done for him, even far more than on account of the good things he hath pur- chafed for him. Indeed if our love to Chrift rife no higher than for the benefits he hath procured for us, it is only fpecious felf-love fpringing from a falfe faith, and that which will ftand the foul in no more ftead than thofe fine words and fair pretenfions did to them who thought to impofe upon our Sa- viour by faying, " Rabbi, when cameft thou hither ?" to whom our Lord replied, THE SUN. 8 1 <* Verily, verily, I fay unto you, ye leek 44 me not becaufe ye faw the miracles, but " becaufe ye did eat of the loaves and were 44 filled/' John vi. 25, 26. As the natural fun has oppofite ef-> feds upon different bodies, by foften- ing fome, fuch as the wax, and har- dening others, as that of the clay (yet is this hardening effect not to be attributed to the fun, but to the nature of the clay upon which it fhines : So the Sun of righ- teoufnefs proves the favour of life unto life to fome, but that of death unto death to others. Some finners are melted under the preaching of the gofpel, while others become more hardened thereby ; nor is this hardening owing to any fault in this Sun, who from unrighteoufnefs is altogether free, Pfal. xcii. 15. but totally to their own de- pravity and unbelief. Where the fun beams directly fhine, the eye beholds it full of motes, though before there appeared none. In like manner, when the Sun of righteoufnefs fhineth into the heart of a finner, the man fees what he ne- ver thought of before, even his whole in-* 82 THE SUN. ward part, as well as the outward, to be full of fin. and filthiuefs. In the rays of the fun the rainbow i$ feen, that token of the covenant which God made of not deflroying the earth any more by a flood of water : So in the rays of the Sun of righteoufnefs, the believer be- holds a token of that covenant of grace which God made with his Son Chrift, in the cleft's name, that he would not de- flroy them with his flood of wrat;h for his fake. The fun in the firmament is unchange- able and conftant ; every morning he ari- feth and performeth his courfe from eaft to weft, fhining forth for the benefit of all the terreftrial creation, though his benign beams, are often obfcured from the earth, by reafon of intervening clouds. With refpeft to immutability, the Sun of righ- teoufnefs incomparably excels, for he is e- ternally unchangeable ; he ftill fhineth forth in the firmament of his grace, for the good of all his eleded ones, although his cheer- ing beams may often be obfcured from the THE SUN. 83 foul by reafon. of fin, which like intercept- ing clouds prevents them from having this comfort : Yet let inch folace themfelves by viewing the Sun of nghteoufnefs with the eye of faith, as flill filming for their good in the firmament of his grace, though the eye of fenfe cannot behold him, ftill hoping and waiting for a brighter day, when their iky fhall be cleared, and they enjoy again his gladening beams. The naked eye cannot directly look the .fun in the face, without great danger of being hurt (unlefs in fome fecondary way) his luftre is fo great. In like manner, fin- ful man made naked by the fall, cannot look directly in the face of the Sun of righ- teoufnefs, as he is one in efience with the Father and Spirit, the infinitely holy, juft, and pure, dreadful, almighty Jehovah, with- out great danger of eternal deftruction, un- lefs in and through the Mediatorfhip of Chrift Jefus ; and fo through his human nature, behold his divine; for out of Chrift God is a confuming fire, Deut. iv. 24. Heb, xii, 29, 84 THE SUN. The fun never takes the traveller at a difadvantage, but gives him timely warn- ing of his going down, by his cooling the evening, and making the fhadows long ; fb that if he be benighted and lie in the fields, he has only himfelf to blamel In like man- ner, the Sun of righteoufnefs gives warning to thofe who travel Zion-ward, in profef- fion only, of his total withdrawment from them, by his leaving them to a coldnefs and careleflhefs about the things of God, and to delight in the fhadows, more than in the fubflance of religion ; fo that with the reft of the reprobate they have only themfelves to blame for being eternally be- nighted. How then ought not thofe who obferve fuch figns of his withdrawment, whether as individuals, or a particular church, Jofhua like, to pray that this fun may fland ftill, and if they pray in faith, like Jofhua they fhall be heard, Jofh. x, 12, 13. When the fun goeth down, darknefs et if it is not fown and further culti- 9^ PLOUGHING. vated, the weeds and poifonous plants will again take fafter root, and grow more nu- merous than before, and it will in a very fhort time return to its former uncul- tured ftate. So though the fallow ground of a finner's heart hath been broken up by the law, and the vile weeds of corrup- tion, and bitter poifonous roots of fin turned up and loofened, yet if it be not fown with the good feed, and farther cul- tivated by the Holy Ghoft, thofe weeds and poifonous bitter roots will take fafter hold of the accurfed foil, and fpring up more vile and numerous than ever, and very foon will ic become as barren and hard as before, if not a great deal harder. As the farmer may plough fome of his ground, and yet, for reafons known to him- lelf, leave it unf6wn ; fo the great Huf- bandman may, and we cannot doubt but often doth caufe a law-work to take place in many hearts, that for wife reafons he never fows with the good feed. How care- ful then ought I to be in examining my- felf whether this law.-work hath taken place in rny heart or no ! and if my fal- PLOUGHING. 93 fow ground hath thus been ploughed and broken up ! if the Huibandman hath end- ed his Work with me there, or hath culti- vated my heart as a field for his own ufe, by fowing in it the good feed. The hufbandman fallows fome of his ground, lets it reft a while ; then fallows it over again, and lets it remain a while longer undifturbed, then ploughs it over and over again, till it is fit for being fown. So the great Hulbaiid- man fallows the heart of fome finners with the law, then abates the work for fome time, then renews it again, and fo again and again, till it is fit for being fown with the good feed. The hulbandman too ploughs fome of his ground early in the fpring, other fome of it when it is pretty far advanced, and fome of it nigh the latter end of the year. So the great Huibandman breaks up the fallow ground of fome in youth, of others in more advanced years, and of other fome .at the eleventh hour, when the feafon of life is well nigh ended, according as he in 54 PLOUGHING. his infinite wifdom fees beft, and none can. flay his hand, or fay unto him, What do-* eft thou ? Dan. iv. 35. r 95 i CONTEMPLATION VI ON SOWING. . K While through the neighVring fields the sower stalks " With measured steps, and lib'ral throws the " grain *. THUS fung our Scottifh bard, and this I verified behold : While o'er yon furrowed land the hufbandman, with care- ful fteps, and flow, in handfuls from his * Thonison, SOWING. flieet, by damfel fair fupplied from yonder fack, fows wide in hope the wholefome grain, and diftributes to every ridge its juft proportion. The crows fly round, and view with ea- ger eyes the tempting corn white cover- ing all the field, defcend by Health, and peck, till once the harrows come and dif- appoint them all. As this man is joyful in lowing his grain in the earth, fo the greav Huibandman, with infinitely more joy, fows the feed of grace in the heart of a finner ; for he re- joiceth over his eled: to do them good, Jer. xxxii. 41. This hufbandman, I obferve, ufes his fer- yantsin carrying the feed to the ground, but he fows it there himfelf. So the great Huf- bandnian ufeth his fervants, the minifters of the gofpel, for carrying the feed of the word to the ears of finners, but he fows it in the ground of their hearts himfelf by the Holy Spirit. This man, I observe, is careful in fow- ing that he mifs none of the ground with The Sower sows, the Maid From yonder Sack the Seed ; The Harrows come, the Crows arist Reluctant from their feed* Te frwit page 96, SOWING. 97 the feed, and gives to every ridge its juft proportion. With infinitely more care doth the great Hufbandman fow the good feed in the heart ; no place of it is miffed ; eve- ry faculty of the foul receives a proper mea- fure of it : the underitanding is not en- lightened and the will left unren^wed ; nor the confcience made tender, arid void of offences, while the memory is unfandtified, and the affecTions cold : No, all are fown, with the good feed, which will grow up in 4ue time to perfection. I obferye the harrows following the huf- bandman, and covering up the feed ; if this was not done, very foon would it be fnatch- ed from the earth by the fowls of the air. In like manner, the good feed of the word muft be as it were covered up, and hid deep in the heart, left the foul fiend Satan come and catch it out : thus did the royal Pfal- mift ; ^ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, ** faith he, that I might not fin againft " thee," PfaL cxix. n. From this ground which is now harrow- ed over, I behold large quantities of weeds gathered together, with a number of ftoneSj 98 SOWING. which would have intercepted the growth of the feed ; yet fome of the weeds and many of their poifonous roots ilill remain there, but will be more and rriore taken out as the feed fprings up. In like manner, from the heart which the great Hufband- man hath cultured and fown in the day of converfion, the hard and ftony heart, that would have intercepted the growth of the heavenly feed, is taken out, together with a great deal of the weeds of fin and corrup- tion ; though, alas ! many of them with a bitter root Hill remain, which will be taken more and more away as the believer grows in grace, and the good feed fprings up in him to eternal life. Next comes the ponderous roller, which faddens the ground, keeps it from heaving and fpewing out the grain. So a proper fenfe of fin, and man's ftate by nature, like a weighty roller faddens the heart, keeps it humble from proud rifings, and throwing out the good feed. To a partial obferver this ground ap- pears to be fown ; and fo does much that is only harrowed over., but has no good feed SOWING. p fown in it, which the hufhandmarx has re- ferved for other purpofes than growing of corn : but by a more careful fcrutiny, fuch as entering into the field, and turning over ibme of the mold, it may be certainly known whether the feed be there or not. In like manner, owing to fome external re- formation and civility of life, many are de- ceived, and too often, it is much to be doubt- ed, the perfon himfelf that hath thefe out- ward appearances, thinking his heart is fown with the good feed, but by a more fhict examination of it, made by the man him- felf, he may know whether the good feed be in him. How careful then ought I to be, not to {land at a diftance, as it were, from myfelf, but to enter into the field of my own heart, which appears to be thus cultured and fown, and turn up the fecret recefies thereof, to try if it be fo in reality or not. Have I ever experienced any faving work there ? are the faculties of my foul renewed ? is the hard and ftony heart taken away, with many of the foul weeds of fin and corruption ? and are the remainder a burden under which I groan and long to be rid ? chiefly becaufe they are offenfive to God, and coft my Lord and 100 SOWING, Saviour fo dear : if fo, I may conclude I am certainly fown with the good feed, which will never perifh, but fpring up to e- ternal life, John iv. 14. t CONTEMPLATION VII. ON A FIELD OF SPRINGING CORN. WHAT a delightful profped is here ! the joy of the hufbandman and hope of the poor ; even a field of fpringing corn. Truly grateful to the eye is the blade newly come from the teeming earth, the fight of which infpires with gratitude, sind 1O2 CORN*. creates throughout all the foul a pleafant fenfation. Bejft of vegetables, and flaff of life ! my contemplations be on thee. As it is de- lightful to behold this corn in the blade, growing up to perfection under the influ- ence of the natural heavens : It is certain- ly ftill more fo to feel and fee the feeds of grace fpringing up in the heart and life, under the influence of the God of heaven. As fhowers of rain are necefTary to refrefli, cherifh, and promote the growth of the blade ; fo are the fhowers of blefling which come down in the ordinances of God's grace abfolutely neceflary for cherifhing and pro- moting the growth of the good feed. After a long drought, how does the hufbandman rejoice at the appearance of -rain, when he fees it come down on the blade? theii it is, to ufe the language of the Pfalmift, the vallies fhout for joy, they alfo fing, Pfal. Ixv. 13. And is the hufbandman fo glad at the fliowers of tepi- poral blefling, and do the vallies themfelves thus rejoice ? Far more fo doth that heart CORN. which is fown with the good feed (in this dry and parched land of the world where- in there is no water, PfaL Ixiii. i.) at the Ihowers of fpiritual bleffings : then do thefe thirfty vallies fhout and fing for joy in the ordinances which the great Hufbandman maketh ufe of to water them with, and he himfelf rejoiceth at their good. The feed does not lie long hid in the earth, but foon fprings up to view. In like manner, the good feed will not lie long hid in that heart where it is fown, but foon ap- pear in the man or woman's life and con- verfation. I obferve in fome places of this field the blade farther advanced than in other fome ; here it is pretty long, there it is juft but coming through the mold ; and this is not owing to any fault in the feed, but to the difference of the foil. Juft fo is it in re- fpeft to the infant ftate of grace in the heart : in fome of the faculties of the foul, for a time, it is more readily obferved by the be- liever himfelf, than in other fome ; as for inftance, it may eaiier be perceived in the will, conference and affections, than in the IO4 CORN. underftanding and memory ; and this is not owing to any fault in the good feed it- felf, but wholly to the foil where it is fown ; for that mind which before was very igno- rant and had but a fmall fpeculative know- ledge of the matters of religion, and that memory which is naturally very weak ; en- lightening and fandifying grace will not fo foon be obferved in them as in that under- ftanding and memory, which formerly were more naturally enlightened with a greater degree of fpeculative knowledge in thefe things, and more retentive. But in another part of this field, I ob- ferve the blade has been pretty far advan- ced, even much farther than any where elfe, but is now going back again and wi- thering away. Ah ! this is the ftony ground which our Lord telleth us of in the parable, where the feed fprang up quickly, and be- caufe it had not much root, when the fun arofe it withered. Hear the beautiful in- ference which he maketh : " But he that re- " ceived the feed into ftony places, the fame " is he that heareth the word, and anon " with joy receiveth it ; yet hath he not CORN, 1O5 " root in himfelf ; but dureth for a while^ " for when tribulation or pefecution arifeth, " becaufe of the word, by and by he is of- 44 fended," Matt. xiii. 20, 21. At the end of this ridge grow a few per- nicious thorns, among which I perceive fome of the feed has fallen, for there is fome of the blade fpringing up ; this too will foon be chocked and rendered unfruit- ful, by thefe deftructive neighbours among which it is involved, agreeable to our Lord and Saviour's defcription in the above pa- rable. Note the ftriking inference : " He 44 alfo that received feed among the thorns, is 44 he that heareth the word, and the care of 44 this world, and the deceitfulnefs of rich- 44 es choke the word, and he becometh 44 unfruitful," Matth. xiii. 22. As for thofe feeds which the hulband- man let fall by the way-fide when coming hither to fow, they are no doubt picked up by the fowls fome time ago ; but the infer- ence which our Lord maketh of this part of the parable ftill abideth for our inft ruction. 44 When any one heareth the word of the H CORN. " kingdom, and underflandeth it not, then " cometh the wicked one and catcheth a-- " way that w T hich was fown in his heart : " this is he which received feed by the " way-fide," Matt, xiiL 19. This good ground, which may be ex- peded to bring forth an hundred fold, rnuft be carefully kept from the inroads of beafts, otherwife the crop will be much injured,, if not wholly deftroyed. But how fhall this field be preferved from fuch ravages ? for I perceive it hath no fufficient fence a- round it. No doubt the huibandman will take care of it, and tend it with his herds from liich intrufions. So the field of the heart muft be carefully kept from the in- roads of fin and Satan, elfe thefe worfe than beafts of prey will foon deftroy the crop of grace, and leave nothing againft the har- veft but a heap in the day of grief, and of defperate forrow, Ifa. xvii. n. ^ But how r mufl this field of the heart' be kept from fuch deftrucSion ? for the fence thereof was quite broken down in paradife* by Adam's going over it to eat the forbid- den fruit. Trie hedge of original righte- CORN. IO7 oufnefs being then no more round this field, how fhail it be preferved r But diffi- cult as the tafk is, nay, tho' altogether out of our power, we are commanded to do it, and that with all diligence, Prov. iv. 23. for the fence was entirely of man's own breaking down, and he thereby put it out of his power to keep it, though bound thereto in the covenant of works But al-* though he loft his ability to bbey^ God did not lofe his right to command whatfoever he was bound to, and endowed with abili- ty for before the fall. But the queftion ftill recurs^ How {hali the field of the heart be kept ? The anfwer is, By giving it into the care of the great Hulbandman, who hath laid, u My fon, " give me thine heart," Prov. xxiii. 26. If this field then be given to his protection, it fhall be kept indeed* left any hurt it ; he will keep it night and day> Ifa. xxvii. 3. When this field is well advanced towards the harVeft, and every ftalk in it loaden with full ears, tinged with yellow, forming a delightful profpeft of a luxuriant crop ; perhaps the clouds, tremendous clouds will 1C 8 CORN. gather, and burft forth in alarming falls of rain, with boifterous winds, which will lay it down along the furface of the earth : ther* will it look folitary, but as it holds faft by the roots, when the rains are over, the fky clear, and the fun broken forth with his radiant beams, it will begin to change its fad appearance, and in time re- fume its former gaiety, look up and ftand erefl, waiving its head in the funny beams as before. So the believer, when he is growing up as the planting of the Lord, bringing forth the fruits of grace and ho- linefs, a comfort to himfelf and all around him, concluding with the Pfalmift, that his mountain Hands ftrong, and he fhall not be moved, Pfal. xxx. 6, 7. perhaps for wife ends the Lord fees beft to darken his iky, and ihower down upon him heavy crofles, which, with adverfe providences blowing full in his face, will lay him low in humi- lity and felf-abafement : then will he mourn, faying with Job, " O ! that I were as in " months pair, when the candle of the Lord 44 filmed upon mine head !" Job xxix. 2, 3. but as he holds faft by the foundation, be- CORN. .109 ing rooted and grounded in Chrift, though -he be thus laid low, his iky will again clear, and his mourning be turned into joy ; the Sun of righteoufnefs will again break forth, and urife to him with healing in his wings, Mai. iv.. 2. and he fhall refume his for- mer comfort, and grow up and flourifh in the courts of the Lord, Pfal. xcii. 13. Dark weather impregnates the ears as well as fun-fhine, though it is not fo good for whitening them over for harveft. In like manner, fpiritual darknefs impregnates the believer with ftronger defires after the light of God's countenance, clearer views of his intereft in Chrift, and faith in lively exercile ; fo that he maketh, if I may uie the expreffion, defperate efforts to b- faying with Job, " Though he llay r " willtruft in him," Job xui. 15. w~ei like Jacob till the dawning of the day, jay ing, " I will not let thee go except thou u blefs me," Gen. xxxii, 24, 26. praying with David, that the Lofd would mak face to fhine upon him, Pfal. xxxi. 16. The ftrength of the marmer's a^ichor is beft proved in a ftorm : lo is the ftrength of .faith in time of defertion. Many an an- II CORN. chor that will hold the fhip in calm wea- ther, becomes as ufelefs for that purpofe as a ftraw, in time of a heavy gale. The young man in the gofpel, who had his anchor fixed to a rope of his own making, thought it fufficient to hold his veflel a-, gamft wind and tide, when he was for fet- ting out to fail after our Lord, when lo ! it went all to pieces at the very appearance of a tempeft, and we never hear that he un- dertook the voyage any more, Matt. xix. j6 22. Even Peter's too, held very faft about the edges of the brook Kedron, but dragged fliamefully, and had almoft gone in pieces in the high prieft's hall. So we fee the beft way of knowing the weaknefs or ftrength of the anchor of faith, is not by examining how it holds in ftill weather, but in a tempeft. But how have I made this fudden excur- fion from the land to the ocean ! Let me return again a while longer to contemplate this field, which in a few months will be loaden with full ears, white over for har- yeft, inviting the hufbandman to thruft in CORN. Ill ills fickle, and reap it for himfelf ; with joy then will he do fo, and after he hath left the fheaves a little to deaden in the field, with gladnefs will gather them home to his barns. So the believer, when he is fully ripe for heaven, the great Hufbandmaii will thruft in the fickle of death, and reap him for himfelf: then (hall he come to his grave in a full age, as a Ihock of corn cometh in in his feafon, Job y. 26. And as the corn is left in the field a little to deaden ; fo will he, with refpecl to his bo- dy, be left to corrupt in the grave till the refurreclion of the juft, when the great Huf- bandman will houfe both foul and body in his heavenly game** for ever and ever. It certainly now concerned! me to know whether the good feed hath been fown in my heart, and to comply with the a- pofhle's injunction, which is, " Examine u yourfelves whether ye be in the faith ; " prove your ownfelves : Know ye not " your ownfelves, how that Jefits Chrifl is " in you except ye be reprobates," 2 Cor- xiii. 5 .. To begin theu : 112 CORN. Good feed is never fown but in bro? ken cultured ground. Hath my heart then been made broken, contrite, and humble, on account of the fin of my nature, as well as that of my life ? Have I ever feen myfelf in the deplorable cafe of that infant defcribed in the prophecies of Ezekiel, with my navel uncut, original fin hanging about me ; not wafhed in the laver of regeneration to fupple me from the fliffnefs of that rebel- lion, and cleanfe me from its guilt ; nor faked at all, nor fwaddled at all, with purifying, re- newing, preferring and ftrengthening grace ; caft forth in the open field of the world, to the loathing of my perfon, devoid of any fhelter to cover me from the wrath of God; without any eye to pity, or a hand to do any of thefe things to me : And whilft I was thus polluted in my blood, did I experience the Lord's fpreading his fldrt o- ver me ? covering my nakednefs, intereft- ing me in the righteoufnefs of his Son Je- fus Chrift, and taking me into covenant with himfelf through him ? Then I may fay my time was the time of love, Ezek, xvi. 4, 5, 6, 8. CORN. 113 Secondly, where corn is fown it renews the face of that part of the earth, agreeably to Pfal. civ. 30. Now, have I felt myfelf renewed in the w^hole man after the image of God ? Is my underftanding, which before was dark, now enlightened in the knowr- ledge of Jefus Chrift ? Doth my will, which made choice of the things which were con- trary to God's will, now choofe thofe that are agreeab]- to it ? Are my affections, which formerly were placed on this earth and car- nal things, now fet on heaven and fpiritual enjoyments ? Is my confcience, which in times pad was feared as it were with a hot iron, i Tim. iv. 2. now faithful to its truft, quick in admonifhing me of what is wrong, and fandioning what is right ? And my memory, that before was treacherous to that which is good, and retentive of e- vil, now made to delight in recording the doings of the Lord, and the things that make for his glory ? Does my tongue, which before was given to delight in vain and idle difcourfe, now" take pleafiire in extolling its Creator, commending him to others, and fpeaking on profitable fubjefts ? Do my ears that were wont to delight with the A- thenians, Ads xvii. 21 . in hearing new and 1 14 CORN. idle tales, and things that pleafed the flefli ; receive no fatisfadion, but in hearing thofe things which are glorifying to' God, and profiting to the foul ? Do my eyes, that u~ fed to folace themlelves in gazing on the pomp and vanities of this world, now take pleafure in looking into the word of God as revealed in the Scriptures ? are my hands, inftead of being engaged in unlawful works, now employed in honeft labours, and in miniftering to the neceflities of the poor faints, and fupplying the wants of the needy according to the ability God hath given me ? and are my feet which were fwift in running to mifchief, and walking in for- bidden paths, carrying me after vanities, now directed to noble purpofes entirely op- pofite to thofe, even to carry me to the houfe and ordinances of God, and upon er_ rands to do good to my fellow men, fet and made to walk in the ways of righteouC- nefs. Thirdly, a field of corn in time of a drought wears a languid appearance, but greatly revives when the Ihowers defcend ; then, in the language of the king of If- rael, that great contemplator of the works CORN. 115 of God, " The vailies fliout ! they alfo * 4 ling," as was formerly obferved. Now, have I felt difagreeable, when, through fome means or other I have been kept back from the ordinances of God, and longed with t he fweet finger of lirael, vehemently to enjoy again thole privileges ; faying, * 4 O God, thou art my God ; early will " I feek thee : my foul thirfteth for thee 44 in a dry and thirfty land where no wa- *' ter is, to fee thy power and thy glory 44 fo as I have feen thee in the fandtuary," Pfal. Ixiii. 1,2, And when I have been reflored to thofc privileges again, can I in the fight and hearing of the fearcher of hearts fing with David, 44 I was glad when they faid unto me, Let us go into the houfe of the Lord," Pfal. cxxii. i. and 44 I have re- joiced in the way of thy teftimonies, as 44 much as in all riches," Pfal. cxix. 14, and 44 thy teftimonies alfo are my delight/* Pfal. cxix. 24. Fourthly, where a field of corn is, care is taken to preferve it from the rava- ges of beafts. Now, have I been taking pare to preferve my heart from the rava* Il6 CORN. ges of fin and Satan ? am I careful to guard and keep out of it every difhonouring thought of God and his law ? every incli- nation to fin ? every high thought of my- felf with refpecffc to my own fpiritual a- bilities ? every revengeful wifli againft any that may have offended me ; and in fhort, every thing that is contrary to the will of God. Now, if I can call God to witnefs, that I have had, or have all, or any of thefe evidences in reality, it is a fign the good feed hath been fown in my heart : and to prove that it hath not fallen upon ftony ground, neither among thorns, with refpect to me, let me perfevere to the end, and root out every worldly care that may in the leaft mar the growth of the feed, not in my own flrength, but in that of the great Hufbandman, who hath faid, " My grace is fufficient for thee : for my u flrength is made perfeft in weaknefs." s Cor. xii. 9. C "7 1 CONTEMPLATION VIH ON A WOOD THIS wood forms an agreeable prot- peel ; all the trees and flirubs where- of begin to be attired in native green, bud- ding forth with a pleafant fcent, while al- moft every fpray is made vocal with mufi- cians of gay plumage, and the cuckoo juffc arrived, repeats her name from bough to bough ; fwains at a diftance catch the glad- fome founds, liften again, and tell their neighbours they have heard the voice of the welcome vifitant ; all which invite my 1 1 8 A WOOD. be more pleafant than to have the fight, fmelling, and hearing all regaled at one and the fame time, while the mind finds ample fcope for contemplation. While I walk through the glades, I be- hold trees and fhrubs of various kinds, di- vers growths, and of different ufes. Here I have a pi&ure of the world, and may fee with the blind man in the gofpel, when partly enlightened, men as trees, Mark viii. 24. though all of one kind by nature, of very different difpofitions ; pofleffing va- rious talents ufeful for different purpofes. Some of thefe trees, for ftature and ma- jefticnefs look like kings over the reft, be- ing as fo many Sauls among the woody people. In like manner, fome mens edu- cation, excellent talents and good behavi- our, give them a fuperior dignity to the reft of their brethren. Here I perceive feveral beautiful trees growing as it were out of one root, like fo many brothers linking their branches to- gether, fupporting one another as they A WOOD. lip grow, fo that hardly any wind, though blow- ing never fo tempeftuoufly fhall be able to overturn them. A beautiful emblem this of what man ought to do : being all fprung from one root by nature, ought not they to live as brethren, linking their concerns together, fupporting and ftrengthening one another : if this was the cafe, how ftable and ffourifhing would kingdoms, nations, and families be ! then the florms of anar- chy, fedition, and inteftine broils fhould be unable to overthrow them. Thus the church would flourifh like Lebanon, Hof. xiv. 5. and the world be rendered a para- dife. The royal Pfalmift beautifully exprefles the high delight he had of fuch a flate as this through the whole of Pfal. cxxxiii. and that this may more and more take place, may I cast in my mite in cultivating a bro- therly difpolition towards all men, efpecial- ly the houfehold of faith, accounting them my neareft and deareft brethren ; for have we not all one Father, one Saviour, one Sandifier, one hope, one faith, and one in- heritance, at laft to be conferred on us all. If we love not one another, it is a proof I 20 A WOOD, fteps through its receffes : And what can we love not God, and therefore have no title to the inheritance of the faints in light : for if we love not our brother whom we have feen, how can we love God whom we have not feen ? i John iv. 20. Neither ought this love to be confin- ed to thofe faints only who are rich in this world, but extend alfo to thofe who are poor ; for if we love the former only, it is the image of the world in them which attracts our love ; but if alfo the lat- ter, it is a fign it is the image of God in both which engages our efteem. Neither ought the perfonal injuries of either com- mitted againft us, if we hope they are faints, to cool our love to them as fuch, but ra- ther to draw forth our companion to be- wail thofe fad flips of theirs, while we pray for their recovery. If Stephen prayed for the forgivenefs of his enemies, when they were in the very ad: of ftoning him ; and Chrift for his bloody murderers on the crofs, Ads vii. 60. Luke xxiii. 34. ought not we for thofe who are real friends in Chrift, tho' at times they be guilty of the aftions of our enemies ? A WOOD.' 121 Neither ought their favours to us to be the main thing which draws forth our love to them, although they may tend to heigh- ten it, for if either the one retard our love^ or the other mainly attrad: it, it is a fign it is not of the genuine kind, and there- fore dangerous to be relied on as a mark that we are the children of God. Here is a ftately walnut tree, under the fhade of which grow a few young aflies, which have unhappily been planted there by the wind ; for owing to his droppings they make but little progrefs, nay, rather feem to be on the decline : So I may call him an oppreflbr. And how many among the children of men more juflly merit this name ; who^ when they are advanced fome- what highly, and grown rich in this world's goods, opprefs thofe whom providence hath placed under them ? but this is their com- fort that fear the Lord, he will arife for their oppfeffion and fighing r and fet them in fafety from their oppreffors^ Pfal. xii. 5. What a privilege is this which I enjoy in common with others ! that I can walk through the wood, approach to and con-* I 122 A WOOD. template e\ r ery tree with fafety, though juft~- ly on the account of our firft parents ha- ving not only approached to, but eaten of the forbidden tree, every tree in the world might have been made a Bohun-upas, or poifon tree, that no man could have come within many miles of, without certain death ; as is reported of this tree, which is faid to grow hi the ifland of Java in the Eaft In- dies, where for ten or twelve miles around,,, no tree, herb, grafs, or any animal is feen to exift, and very few of the criminals who are compelled to viiit it ever return *. What is this which makes the whole toood refound f it is repeated again and a- gain. What an awful cram is that ! let me cautioufly ftep back a little to that glade ^ and fee if I can difcover what it is. Ah I now I perceive it hash been the hewer ply- ing his axe, which has occafioned all I have heard ; for yonder is the lofty walnut tree which I Was but lately contemplating laid low. Happy Afhes ! you are how deliver- ed from your' opprefibr,,and may grow up * See Appendix to Darwin's Botanical Garden? , and the Universal Magazine for January, 1784, A WOOD. 123 tvith freedom, Juft fo death at length will hew down every oppreflbr among men ; then fhall the opprefled be delivered from their tyranny. As the neighbouring trees were made to quake> while the hewer was cutting down that of the walnut, fo at the report of death having done his office on fome of our neigh- bours, we are ftriick with awe, which _al- moft as foon is over with us, as that vibra- tion of the trees after their neighbour had fallen, and alas ! too often leaves no falu- tary effect Here in this rather marfhy place is an a- ged alder, in the trunk of which the night owl has often fhrieked, hatched, and brought forth her young; fo brittle, t wilted, and crooked, that it is good for. nothing but to be caft into the fire. This is an emblem of a finner who hath lived perhaps three fcore and ten, or fourfcore years in the worldj iii whofe heart Satan hath often, as it were, brooded and brought forth his hor- rid temptations ; whofe life and converfa- tion all that time hath been crooked from the divine law : and fuch not deriving faj> 124 A WOOD. from Chrift Jefus (not being ingrafted in him) are good for nothing, but being call forth into hell fire* There are a few elms ftraight and tall, which does no little honour to the fkill of the woodman ; not a dead branch nor fuper- fluous bough encumber them. By this care, together with the anfwerablenefs of the foil where they grow,- their trunks are become comely and large ; thele in due time will be taken from the wood and put to excel- lent ufes. So the righteous grow up as the planting of the Lord, Ifa. Ixi. 3. being pur- ged and pruned from every thing that would hinder their growth in grace, with the po- tion of perfonal afflidion, and fharp knife of outward crofles ; they grow up heaven- ward, ftrong in the Lord ; and when they are cut out of the wood of the world, they will be put to a noble ufe, even to glorify God, and to enjoy him through all eterni- Here is the lofty bay proudly fpreading his branches around, as if he were king of the wood, and valued none of his neighbours* This is it to which the royal Pfalmift coin* A WOOD. I 25 pares the profperous ftate of the wicked : '* I have feen the wicked, faith he, in great ^ powder, and fpreading himfelf like a green " bay tree/' Pfal. xxxvii. 35. How juft is the comparifon ! To look with afuperficial eye on the wicked in profperity, we are apt with Ifrael's king to conclude they are hap- py, and envy their ftate, Pfal. Ixxiii. Yonder is a tree with a large and beau- tiful fhade, under which I -may find an afy- lum from the beams of the fun, which are now become fcorching : Thither will I go for a little. How falutary is filch a fhade when the fun is fo hot ! O how infinitely more fo is the covert which ChrifVs blood and righ- teoufiiefs afford from the fcorching v/rath of Almighty God ! and glory to his name who hath made all men welcome, nay, even in- vited them to fly under this flicker for pro- tection. . O ! this is the plane ; how r exceedingly broad are its. leaves, of a lovely green, and curious delicate fhape : the lhade - is truly delightful ! This is the tree which was an- 126 A WOOD, ciently fo much efteemed, according to liif- tory, by the Romans, that they went to Africa to fetch it into Italy, from which it was propagated in France, where thofe who walked under its fhade had to pay tribute to the Romans. What infinitely more rea- fon haye all men to pay the tribute of thanks and praife to the Creator of all, for not only making the world, but alfo boun- tifully furnifhing it with excellent, comfort- pble, and ufeful accommodations for man and beaft, of which trees are none of the fmalleft. There on thefe branches the birds fing, and may build their nefts in fafety, free from the ravages of quadrupeds, which, if their nefts were not fo elevated, would thereby often be deftroyed : and under their fhadows, not orily the beafts, but alfo men often find a fhelter from rain, cold, or heat, as I do at prefent. But far, nay, very far more ought I and all men to praife the Lord for his unfpeakable gift, Chrifl Jefus, who is as an hiding place from the wind of the Almighty's fury, and a covert from the tempeft of his infinite wrath, and as re- frefhing as rivers of water in a dry place. A WOOD. 1 27 to all them who will fly under his fhadow, which is as a great rock in a weary land, Ifa. xxxii. 2. The fpoufe proved this when ihe faith, " I fat down under his fhadow with u great delight, and his fruit was fweet to my tafle," Cant. ii. 3. He is that tree of life whofe leaves are for the healing of the nations, Rev. xxii. 2. and blefled be God, though he debarred man from approaching the tree of life in paradife, he hath difcovered unto him one in the paradife above, of a fpiritual kind, and infinitely better, to which he hath not only allowed free accefs, but alfo invited, nay, even entreated : Aftonifhing love ! and earneftly befought us who were not his friends, but enemies, and full of enmity, to come under his fhadow, eat of his fruit, and live for ever, Ifa. Iv. i. Matt. xi. 28. 2 Cor. v. 20. John iii. 16. O that I may then fay from experience, " I fat down under " his fhadow with great delight, and his " fruit was fweet to my tafte," Cant. ii. 3, While I am prefling through this thick- et, I perceive a timorous hare alarmed for her fafety, has fprung from her den : how *2 A WOOD. fwiftly fhe runs acrofs yonder opening, and is loft to my view. Poor creature ! thou might eft have enjoyed thy repofe in fafety for me. What can be the reafon that the animal creation are fo much afraid of man, and man of them ? Methinks fomething whifpers in my ear, The fall is the occa- fion of both ; for ever fince man brake his truft with the Creator, thefe inferior crea- tures durft truft him no more ; and even no man could put confidence in a brother. And though he had the grant of dominion over all the creatures, yet they, as it were fenfible he had loft that wifdom, prudence, and mildnefs that was necefiary for fiich a governor, ever fince he was afraid to meet with God, Gen. iii. 8, 9, 10. have been a-> fraid to meet with him, and fought to fhun his prefence : And indeed well they may, for fince that time, they have often experi- enced his cruelty. Among all the fins that men are guilty of, I am perfuaded that of cruelty to brutes is none of the leaft ; and I cannot doubt, but in the judgment of the great day, by the Search - er of hearts, and Witnefs of all our a&ions, that fin will be expofed. What an awful A WOOD. 129 account then will many have to give, who have here unmercifully treated thofe beafts over which they had power ? If God hear the young ravens that cry unto him, and fup- ply them with food, Pfal. cxlvii. 9. will not he who is a God tif pity hear the cries and groans which the cruelty of man extorts from the animals, and avenge their oppref- fion ? A righteous man regardeth the life of his beaft, Prov. xii. 10. the negative of this fcripture no doubt is, a man that regardeth not the life of his beaft is not a righteous man : 6 * The Lord is good to all, and his " tender mercies are over all his works," Pfal. cxlv. 9. We ought therefore to copy after this darling attribute of the Creator ; for our Lord and Saviour hathfaid, "Blefs- " ed are the merciful, for they (hall obtain " mercy," Matth. v. 7. the negative of which no doubt is, Curfed are the unmer- ciful, for they fhall not obtain mercy : What a ftrong incitement to this duty is this be- nediction and its negative ? Be ye therefore merciful, as your father alfo is merciful, Luke vi. 36. J30 A WOOD, If God were as unmerciful to us, as ma-- ny of us are to brutes, how miferable would our lives in this world be ! Thofe inferiour creatures were given to man for his ufe, but not to be abufed by him. The facul- ty of reafon which fets him fuperiour to them, gives him no more warrant to be cruel to fuch ; than the fuperiour nature of the angels gives thern a right to tyrannize over us ; but on the contrary, ought to move him with compaffion to thofe crea- tures which are made to groan and travail in pain for his fins, Rom. viii. 22 To induce us to be tender to them, efpe- cially thofe of the domeflic kind, we ought to confider, that they could do much better, without us, than we could do without them : And are they not inoft obedient fervants, not for a fhort term only, but all their lives if we chufe ; fubmitting to our greateft drudgeries, without ever repining ? If we are of the opinion that the brutal creation have no futurity of any kind, what a fad thing then is it to make their fhort exiflence a miferable one ? On the other hand, if we think with others, they will be A WOOD, reftored to their primeval ftate, we may be afraid they will one day witnefs againfl their relentlefs oppreflbrs; To favour this laft opinion ,fome take Rom. viii. 1 922. to refer. Whether this be the cafe or not, one thing is certain, that man at the laft muft give up an account how he hath improved the talents and power he was entrufted with, and fo of his lordfhip over the creatures. That fhot has furprifed me very much ! it has made all the wood echo. Oh ! I perceive a poor robin hath fallen a vidlim to the fowler. Cruel man ! how could you deprive fuch an innocent creature of its ex- iftence, and at the very time it was attempt- ing as it were to foften your cruel breaft with its delicate fong : Sure it was doing you no harm, nor is its little carcafe of any benefit to you, for I perceive you have left it lying at the foot of yonder tree. . Poor robin ! no more wilt thou vifit my habitation in the pinching froft, peck up a few crumbs, and fhelter thyfelf under its roof, nor repay me with thy fong in the A WOOD, fpring ; no, thou art gone, and has nothing to reckon for; but trifling as thy death may feem to thy murderer, I will not fay but he will have to anfwer for it, for not a fparrow can fall to the ground without our heavenly Father's notice, Mat. x. 29. By this barbarous deed, an innocent crea- ture is not only deprived of life, but its mate of a partner, the young of a parent, and the grove of a fongfter. Strange depravity 1 that any man can take pleafure merely in the pain and deitrudion of harmlefs creatures ! I am very much afraid, among all the in- ftrudions which parents give their children, that this of being merciful to the brutal creation is too often neglected ; whereas, if this were inculcated by example, admoni- tion and the rod, it might be the means of preventing boys from exercifing a wanton cruelty upon domeftic animals, killing birds, with ftones, and deftrbying their pro- geny when they find them in the field:, and might be the means, thro' grace, of giv- ing them a merciful turn of mind when they arrive at riper age : "Train up a. child ^ in the way he ihould. go, and. when he is: A WOOD. 133 " old he will not depart from it," faith the infpired Solomon, Prov. xxii. 6. Here is a lofty fpreading oak, probably deftined to encounter the dangers of the fea, and the fiery ftorms of war ; round which clings the woodbine. Happy fhrub ! though feeble in thyfelf and unable to fland in the furious blaft, thou haft made choice of a noble fupport. May I like thee take hold of, and lean upon Chrift Jefus by faith, who hath borne the infinitely furious tern- peft of God's wrath for all them who thus cleave to, and. lean upon him; and then by fo doing, though feeble in myfelf, I fhall be able to ftaiid and endure the blafts of per- fecution, temptation and trial, agreeably to that promife, " My grace is fuflicient for "- thee ; for my flrength is -made perfed in " weaknefs," 2 Cor. xii. 9. There lie a number of trees of various kinds and growths, which have been late- ly felled, with their tops, fome of them toward the eaft, others toward the weft, fome toward the north, and fome the fouth ; as they have fallen fo they lie, nor can they alter their fituation. Juft fo it is 134 A WOOD. with refpefl to mortal men, in the ftafe they die, there they muft continue thro' all eternity. How much then doth it concern me, and all men living, to fee that we die in a ftate of reconciliation with God, in and through the Mediator Chrift Jefus ! Many' things that we do wrong, while we live may be rectified : if we read wrong, that may be righted ; if we hear wrong, that may be righted ; if we pray wrong, that may be righted; if we communicate wrong, that may be righted ; but if we die wrong, that never can be righted ; for there is a great gulf fixed, over which there is no paffing neither from heaven to hell, nor from hell to heaven, Luke xvi. 26. What is the lan- guage of fuch a paflage to us who are in the land of the living, and in the place of hope, but this, " O that they were wife, " that they underftood this, that they " would confider their latter end !" Deut, xxxii. 29. There I perceive many of the flumps of the trees are begun to fprout forth. This puts me in mind of what the man of pa- A WOOD. tience beautifully exprefleth in thefe words : " For there is hope of a tree, if it " be cut down, that it will fprout again, and " that the tender branch thereof will not " ceafe : though the root thereof wax old *' in the earth, and ch6 flock thereof die " in the ground : yet through the fcent of " water it will bud, and bring forth boughs " like a plant* But man dieth and waft- " eth away ; yea, man giveth up the ghoft, " and where is he ? As the waters fail from " the fea, and the flood decajeth and dry- " eth up : fo man lieth down, and rifeth " not till the heavens be no more ; they " fhall not awake, nor be railed out of " their fleep," Job xiv. 7 12. but at the refurrection they Qi all, in that awful, mira- culous morning, big with events, and full 6f amazing wonders, when the great arcrn angel winds fo loud his trumpet, that it fhall refound through all the dark caverns of the tomb, and awaken all the dead with a voice more tremendous than Sinai's loudeft thunders, the awful import of which is, " Awake ye dead, and come to " judgment." Then fhall every neceflary particle of human duft, whether in the land or in the fea, though incorporated 1 36 A WOOEf. with that of the inferior creatures in tome forth from ^all the four winds fpeedi ~ ly, with every bone to the deftined place of rendezvous, and rear the human frame a- gain immortal : nor fhall a bone miflake his bone, but every bone to his own bone fhall clofely join, and not a bone, nor leaft particle of dufl fhall be mifplaced or a-want- ing. Then fhall literally take place what prophet faw in vifion concerning the dry bones, Ezek. xxxvii. i 8. while the gates of heaven and hell are thrown open, and all the fouls come forth and take up their old tenements again for ever, Righteous fouls and bodies then, like near and dear friends who have long been parted from one another, fhall rejoice to meet again: But dreadfully, nay, dreadfully reluctant fhall wicked fouls and bodies meet, each beyond defcription irkfome to one a^ nother, but meet they rnuft to their eter- nal horror. This day they often heard of while irr time, but either made light of it, or en- A WOOD. 137 deavoured to difbelieve it altogether ; but now it is come, come to their everlailing confufion. Though they ufed to fay by their prac- tice while in this life, there was no God, and many of them attempted to diibelieve that eternal truth ; now they are convin- ced eflfedually of their error, and with the devils believe and tremble, James ii. 19. in horrible amazement, knowing there is a God, a jufl God too., and a tei rible, whom they fee with infinite wrath in his counte- nance, coming in the clpuds of heaven with awful majefly and glory, with ten thou- fands of his faints, and all the holy angels in his train, Jude 14. Matt. xxv. 31. Before his infinitely augufl prefence, fun, moon and ftars, as confcious of their impu- rity in his fight, {hall go into a tc-al e- clipfe, again to fhine no more ; while the heavens, as it were fenfible that their end. ^s come, pafs away with a ^reat noife, 2 Pet. iii. 10. and are rolled together as a fcroll, Ifa. xxxiv. 4. Rev. vi. 14. for which there is np more ufe : For man fhall read 110. K 138 A WOOD. more in their fair page the greatnefs, wii- dom, mercy, and kindnefs of the Lord ? while the elements {hall melt with fervent heat, 2 Pet. iii. 10. and the mountains be diilblved like wax ; while the earth and works therein name all in one deftrudive blaze ; all in horrible confirmation, fhiver- ing with abfolute defpair ; where to fly, or what to do, they are for ever at a lofs to know. To fly from the prefence of the Almigh- ty God their Judge, they are anxious incon- ceivably more than a woman in travail is to be delivered, but that is altogether im- poflible ; to do any thing for their fafety, is as much fo as the former ; for now the long fparing mercy of God is for ever, ever, at an end with refpect to them. He who once offered to be their Saviour, and earneftly entreated them to accept of him and all his benefits, by the everlafting gofpel : (but him they would not accept, and made light of all his benefits :) now with refpeft to them his clemency is no more : No, he who once would have been their Me- diator, and fhed his blood to have faved them A WOOD. 139 if they would, (eternally cutting thought to them !) is now their judge and inexora- ble enemy. Now they cry to the rocks and moun- tains to fall on them, and hide them from the face and wrath of the Lamb, Rev. vi. 1 6. but thefe are all in flame. Contented for ever would they be if they could but obtain that wifh, though dreadful to hu- man nature to be entirely annihilated ; but neither fhall this be granted. If after ten thoufand times ten thoufand years, if years could be then numbered, they were to be freed from their torment, they would count it an ineftimable privi- lege, and endeavour to be willing to bear their horrible pains ; but neither fhall this be the cafe. Oh ! then, if after as many millions of years as there are piles of fand on the fea , fhore, bottom of the ocean, and beds of rivers ; blades of grafs in the fields, parti- cles of duft in the earth, herbs and trees in the world, fowls in the air, men, beafts, and reptiles on the earth, filh in the waters, ears 14 A WOOD. of corn in autumn, leaves on the trees in fummer, feathers on the fowls, hairs oil men and beafls, fcales on the fifh, conftel- lations and ftars in the heavens, and aU thefe a million times a million fo many as they are, they were to be entirely annihi- lated, they would count it fome alleviation of their mifery. Dreadful thought ! Awful count ! far furpaffing the arithmetic of man, and per- haps that of angels ! Yet neither indeed fhall this, take place ; for as their, offences have been againfl the infinite God, who deferveth an infinite fa- tisfactiori, and as they can never be able to give that;, they mull be punifhed through all eternity. All dread, all horror, and all defpair, they forced wait their final doom,with all their crimes full in their face, written in the page of their memory in legible characters as with a fun beam, which fhall be declared before men and angels. But, on the other hand, the righteous are as much tranfported with love, joy, arid happinefs, as the wicked are racked with A WOOD. defpair, mifery and woe. With joy they lift up their heads, fee their Lord and Sa- viour; not in the manger and ftable of Bethlehem, not as a man of forrbws and acquainted with grief, not defpifed of the people, nor having where to lay his head, not arraigned at Pilate's judgment bar, nor fuffering on the bloody crofs and giving up the ghoft ; but coming in the ciduds of heaven with power and great glory ; in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels ; the Almighty God, the Judge of quick and dead, their Friend, who once did die for them ; and are joyfully caught up to join the happy train, and meet him in the air. The wicked, as trees twice dead, pluck- ed up by the roots, Jude 12. fliall be ad- judged and caft into eternal burnings; while the righteous, as trees planted by the Lord, (hall be acquitted from all the afperfions thrown on them by men and devils, and removed to the higheft heavens, there to flouriih and grow ever green with happinefs, glory and joy through all the countlefs a- ges of eternity. 142 A WOOD. Here is an apple tree, which in its wild ft ate bears nothing but crabs, hard and four fruit, which are only fit for feeding fwine ; whereas if contrary to nature, it were cut out of its natural ftock, and in- grafted into a good tree, the fruit of it might be much improved, and rendered ufeful to its owner. Juft fo is it with re- fped; to men while in their natural ftate ; all the fruits they bring forth are corrupt, hard, and four, fit only for feeding their fwinifh lufts, hateful to God, and deftruc- tive to themfelves. Their own righteoufnefs, a fruit being produced from the foil of a broken cove- nant, inftead of nourifhing the foul that eats it, will only poifon it at laft, if it be not prevented from feeding thereon ; whereas, when they are cut out of their own natural ftock, and ingrafted into Chrift Jefus, they bring forth the fruits of lighteoufnefs and true holinefs in, and through him, acceptable to God, ufeful to themfelves, and grateful to others. How much then doth it concern me to know whether I have been cut out of my 145 natural ftoek in Adam, and Ingrafted in- to Chrift Jefus, that true vine, John xv. i. who maketh every branch that abideth in him fruitful: And by thefe marks I may know if I be in him : Am I bringing forth the fruits of love to him, more for what he is in and of him* felf, and what he hath done for me, than on account of what he hath purchafed for me ? and the fruits of love to men, and good works, as a teft of this love to him, in a cheerful compliance with his autho- rity in his commands, depending nothing on my own righteoufnefs for falvation, but entirely on his adive and paffive righte- oufnefs for that alone. If fo, then I may conclude I am certainly in him. Here and there are trees cut down, of various ages, kinds, and lizes : Here lies an aged elm, and there a young afh ; in that place a fmall chefnut tree* and in this a lofty oaki So death is doing his work upon perfons of all ranks and all a- ges,on our right hand and on our left, be- hind and before us every day, and yfct how little are we concerned ! almoft as little 144 A wopix attentive to thofe warnings of mortality a^ the inienfible Handing trees are to the fall of their rleighbours r which know not how foon the axe will be laid to their own roots, nor we how foon we muft die. Strange flupidity ! to be every day as it were in the midft of deaths, and yet think fo little about our own ! How many of us live here as if this world were to be our e* tefnal home, and as if it had been the main end of our creation to indulge the flefh, and amafs wealth together ; fcarcely ever con* lidering that this world is only as an inn by the way to the next, and the good things in it, conveniences of it ; while we are as travellers and way-faring men, which turn afide to tarry therein for a night, Jer. xiv, 8. and muft quickly be gone:' Therefore, as a traveller fets light by all that are in an inn, farther than what ferves his own con- venience while he lodges there ; fo ought we with refped to the things of this world* There grow a few mulberry trees, the leaves of which are greatly efteemed in fome jflaces for feeding the filk worm, and the berries for making a kind of wine ? bus A wool*. 145 for neither of thefe purpofes do I fd highly efteem thofe^ as for that great deliverance and vidory which the found of a going on the tops of them was made a fignal of to Ifrael's king, from, and over his arid Ifrael's enemies, 2 Sam. v. 23, 24. If I were to hear fiich a goirig at pre~ fent on the tops of thofe trees, how would it alarm me ! but David being forewarned of the iign, no doubt fuch a found greatly rejoiced his heart, added fwiftnefs to his feet, and ftrength to his arms, in purfuit of, and fighting with the Philiftines. Ought not then the call of him who is the Lord of hofts to us, to arife and fight againft his and our enemies, and his promifes of fup- port and victory, to encourage our .hearts, and flrengthen our hands while we tight the fpiritual combat againft thefe wor'fe than Philiftines, fin, Satan, and the fleih. The woods now clothed in green, are filled with harmony, love, and care : while fome of the feathered people diftend their variegated throats in graceful vibrations, linging their artlefs tales of love to the gay charmers which they eye with delire on A WOOD. the neighbouring boughs ; then having a- lighted on the verdent turf, and colled a little prefent for their plumy nymphs, ap- proach them with eager wing, and they, though fomewhat ihy at firft, at length joining beak to beak, accept the endearing food, and foon retire amid the thicket to receive higher tokens of affection. Others, buried in collecting materials for building their little matchlefs edifices, beat the air with active wings. Some, in a ftate of more forwardnefs, have hatched their little families, and now explore the fields in fearch of food for their tender offspring. Come hither then, ye faithlefs youths, who take pleafure in decoying innocents, and learn a leflbn from the birds of the air ! Shall not their conftancy to their mates put you to fhame, and in the day of judg- ment witnefs againft you ? You, who have not only nature, but alib realbn and divinq revelation for your direction. And ye too, carelefs hufbands and pa- rents, learn from their feeding their mates when brooding, and providing; for their A WOOD. t/j.? young, the duty which nature hath taught you in providing for your families, for if any " provide not for his own, and efpeci- " ally for thofe of his own houfe, he hath de- " nied the faith, and is worfe than an infi- " del," i Tim. v. 8. The crows have already formed their republics, and are repairing their old habi- tations on the branching firs ; and now throughout their lofty towns, all is buftle and cawing noife. The fea fowl have for- faken the fhore, and are retired to their u- fual haunts in this feafon of love. Paufe a while, O my foul, and confider whence have the fowls that wifdom to choofe the propereft place to brood in : Is it not worthy of remark, that thefe which frequent the fhore almoft all the year round, iporting themfelves in the tide, do not, as might naturally be fuppofed, build on the fand, as if feniible the fwelling forge would render their labours abortive ; neither on the adjoining open beach, left their nefts fhould quickly be difcovered ; nor on the inland, as that would be too far off when hatching to duck, or procure their fcaly A WOOD, food ; nor yet by the river's rapid flream; as that would render the obtaining of their provifibn precarious : but in the clifts of rocks which overhang the tide, or by the fides of lochs, where they can leave their eggs for a moment, imfnerfe in the water, procure their fubiiftence, and return again to their affiduous tafk, without prejudicing the brood. Doth not the wifdom of God appear con- fpicuous in thus implanting fuch an in- ftm '* and mine eyes fhall behold, and not ano- 44 ther, though my reins be confumed with- " in me," Job xix. 25 27. And with the fweet Pfalmift of Ifrael, " Although my 44 houfe be not fo with God ; yet he hath 46 made with rne aneverlafting coy en ant, or-. 44 dered in all things and fure ; for this is all 44 my falvation and all my defire," 2 Sam. xxiii. 5. And with the apoftle, " For me to 64 live is Chrift, and to die is gain," Phil. i. L 154 ' 2i. " And I heard a voice from heaven f 4 faying unto me, Write, BlefTed are the * c dead which die in the Lord, from hence? " forth : Yea, faith the Spirit, that they " may reft from their labours ; and their ^ works do follow them," Rev. xiv. 13. By the fides of this rill grow a few wil-? lows, which bring me in mind of thofe by the ftreams of Babel, on which the difcon- folate Ifraelites hanged their harps, PfaL cxxxvii. 2. as having no more ufe for them ; yet it is not faid they broke them, or threw them into the river, but hung them on the willows ; which argued their hope that after a very long time, the term of feventy years, foretold by the prophet, Jer. xxix, 10. they fhould again take them up and rejoice with them, finging the foiigs of the Lord in the temple of Jerufalem. And what reafon have we of this land to be thankful that we are not obliged to hang our harps as it were upon the willows, and mourn with a bitter lamentation on ac- count of our being removed from our na- tive land and the gofpel, or the ordinances thereof taken from us, becaufe of our ill A WOOD. 155 improvement of it, which is of itfelf glad tidings of great joy, and the moft precious thing on earth ; but how little do we re- joice and be glad at the ever-blefled and fa- lutary news!, angels no doubt are ftruckwith wonder and amazement at our flupidity and carelefihefs. It is an old proverb, The well is never mifled till it go dry ; The Jews made but light of their privileges and Mofai- cal ordinances when in their own land ; but after they were carried captive to Babylon, fenfible of the value of thefe, liow did they mourn for their lofs ! In like manner fhould we, if deprived of the blefl- ed ordinances of the gofpel. Strange, then, that we fhould now efteem them fo little, and prove fo barren under them ! Much need have w r e to pray that the Lord would accomplifh that promife to us, ** I will pour water upon him that is thir- *' fty, and floods upon the dry ground : I " will pour my Spirit upon thy feed, and " my bleffing upon thine offspring : and " they fhall fpring up as among the grafs, L 2 X j6 A WOOD. '* as willows by the water courfes," Ifa. xliy. ^ 4- As willows delight to grow by the cour- ts of water, fo ought we to delight to grow up by the refrefhing and healing ordinan- ces of the everlafiing gofpeL Seeing that the Lord hath planted us in a fruitful field ia this land by great waters, even by, and under the ordinances of the ever-blefled gofpel, (which are more refrefhing to the people of the Lord, than waters are to a thirfty land) and let us as a willow tree ; we ought to prove fruitful as a vine, inho- Hnefs and good works ; being humble be- fore him, and turning our branches of thankfulnefs and love towards him who hath thus planted us, and bellowed upon us in this iiland, fuch great privileges, where- as, if we mifimprove them, and bend our roots, and fhoot forth our branches towards fm and Satan to his diihonour, and find more pleafure in the ways of fin than in holinefs, feeking fatisfaction and happinefs mainly in the enjoyments of carnal things ; we may juflly be afraid, that though we ]iave tr^us been planted in a good foil by great waters, even thqfe ordinances of the A WOOD. 1-57 el, for the purpofe of bringing forth, the fruits of holiiiefs ; he will pull up our roots, that they (hall wither, and blaft aM. the leaves of our fpring ; and the Lord, for ought we know, may do this without the power of a foreign enemy or people, to deprive us of thofe ineftimable privileges, even by infenfible decays *. And have we not reafon to' fear that this prove the cafe with us in this land, and that we are already begun to wither ? Where are now the vifible tokens of God's favour ; the power of the word, and the heart melt- ings under fermons which ufed to be feeri and felt in the days of our forefathers ? "When the fhadows wax long, as the pi- ous Gray obferves, is it not a fign that the day is haftening to an end, and the night: faft approaching ? And is it not lamenta-* ble to obferve, that the fhadows of religion are more delighted in by many than the fubfl'ance thereof? and hath not church^ difcipliite of late years been more in fhadow * See the ground of all this applied rather diffeie it- ly by the Prophet, Ez.ek. xvii. 5 10, 158 A woon. than in fubftance, and growing ffill nicrre and more fo ? All which call loudly in the ears of church members, to figh and ry for all the abominations that be done in the midft thereof, Ezek. ix. 4. May I be among this happy number of Zion mourners, fo that I may have a mark fet upon my forehead, which may diftinguifh me for fafety in the day of deftrudtion. Willows are very pliable, eafily twifted whatever way their owner chufes ; fo ought mortal men to be to their Creator. Is it his will that we fhould be in profperity and affluent circumftances ? let us therein be humble and rejoice with thankfgiving, join- ing trembling with our mirth, according to that beautiful direction of the royal Pfalm- ift, Pfal. ii. ii. On the other hand, are we afflicted and poor ? let us humble ourfelves under' the mighty hand of God, with a degree of cheerfulnefs and refignednefs to the divine will, (not with a forced fubmiffion), faying A WOOD; with the man of exemplary patience, when he was flripped of all his wealth and children, Naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked fhall I return thither ; the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away ; bleff- ed be the name of the Lord. What ? fhall ,we receive good at the hand of God, and fhall we not receive evil ? Job i. 21, and ii. ,10. and with the prophet, Wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the pu- nifhment of his fins? Lam. iii. 39. On this riling ground ftands the ever ver- dant yew, expofed to the northern blaft ; the anceftors of which have no doubt furnifhed many famous bows to our ancient warriors ; but ever fince the invention of powder has been found out, it has been but little regard- ed ; nay, for fome offenfive qualities more ima- ginary than real, this once efteemed tree is ba- nifhed the fociety of thofe trees planted in the gardens and pleafant groves, to places more remote and barren, and only here and there one of this hardy ufeful race is now to be found. Such trees are emblematical of the peo- ple of the Lord, whofe verdure of grace and r6o .eonftancy to the truth ftill remain, in midit of the fharpeft trials to which they are ex^- pofedj whether from men or devils. If at any time through the weaknefs of the flefh, and the ftrength of indwelling firr, they be overcome (which indeed they often are, for there is no man that liveth hers and finneth not, i Kings viii. 46. 2 Chron. vi, 56, Eecl. vii. 20.) like bows made of this elaflic wood, they immediately return to that bent from which they had been forced by the law of the members, Rdm. vii. 23, are often too perfecu'ted tb banifh* rhent, and death itfelf ; and for what rea<- ibn ? only becaufe they prove to be ofFen- five to' the wicked : nor is this owing to a^ ny thing in them, or the principles of that holy religion of which they are the votaries, (which are all calculated for the moft falu- tary and endearing jMirpofes) but wholly owing to the noxious qualities of the wick- ed themfelves, which, like fore eyes that cannot endure the light and beams of the fun, are offended by the purity of their A woob. iGi lives, precepts, and dodtrines which they teach. There is the comely chefnut which is not only patient of the cold itfelf, but af- fifls thofe of its own kind in defending o- ther trees from the nipping frofts and feve- rities of winter. So the people of the Lord are not only patient under trials, whether of a fpif itual or temporal nature them- felves, but contribute alfo 'very much by their example and falutary counfels to fupport others that are afflided with fuch* This tree alfo puts me in mind of thofe variegated rods of the fame wood, which : Jacob ufed to encreafe his wages from his deceitful father-in-law, Gen. xxx. 37. thele means he knew, though unavailing in them-' felves, by the blefling of the Lord upon them, would anfwer his etid ; and that it was only this made them do fo, he faw in a dream, Gen. xxxi. 10, n. Very final! means, and even thefe one would imagine to be contrary to the de- fign for w T hich they arc ufed, through the 1 62 A WOOD. divine bleffing prove effectual . Witnefs the clay which our Lord made ufe of to anoint the blind man's eyes, John ix. 6. Here is the fir, which for its lofty majef- tic ftature, and perpetual verdure, Hands un- rivalled by any tree in the wood. To this our Lord hath condeicended fo infinitely low for our more fui table uptaking of his goodnefs, to compare himfelf ; "I am like " a green fir tree, faith he, from me is thy " fruit found," Hof. xiv. 8. Not more delightful and refrefhing to the fun-burnt weary traveller is the {hade of this tree, (which indeed is moft plea- fant and falutary in thofe hot eaflern. coun- tries, where it grows to a very great fize) than Chrift is to the Zion 'traveller : " I " fat down uijder his fhadow with great 46 delight, faith the fpoufe, and his fruit was *' fweet to my tafte," Cant. ii. 3. As this tree fhades thofe that come uu- der it, not only from the fcorching beams of the fun, but alfo from tempeftuous winds, hail and rain : fo Chrift Jefus flickers them t'hat come under his fhadow from the heat A WOOD. 163 of Satan's malice, the furious blafts of an accufing confcience, the ftorms of God's in- finite wrath, and {bowers of eternal ven- geance : " he that dwelleth in the fecret u place of the Moft High, fhall abide un- " der the fhadow of the Almighty," PfaL xci. i . And as this tree like others, ftands with open fliade to receive any under it that will come; fo Chrift Jefus {lands with open arms, as it were, to flielter all guilty finners that will fly to him for fafety : He, the God- man, is " as an hiding place from the wind, " and a covert from the tempeft," Ifa, xxxii. 2. It is faid that the fmell of this tree drives away wild beafts ; fo Chrift, whole " gar- " ments fmell of myrrh, and aloes, and " caffia," PfaL xlv. 8. driveth away the wild beafts of fin and corruption from them who fly under his ftiadow. Here in this low level part of the wood grow a number of beeches, tall and ftraight, yielding a beautiful fhade. It is obferved , in this friendly manner and fituation of foil, thefe trees make the moft proficiency ill growth : So when Chriftians live hum- bly and friendly with one another, bearing one another's burdens, helping each othef forward in the way to Zion, they make the moft profficien cy in growth in grace : where- as he that exalteth himfelf fhall be abkfefd j and woe to him that is alone, for when he falleth he hath none to help hirft up, Luke xiv. ii. Eccl. iv. 10. Thefe trees when young grow exceed- ingly crooked, knotty, and ill fhaped, but turn more and more beautiful and ftraight as they grow up: In like manner, thofe newly converted from fin to a life of holineS are but crooked from the divine law, knot- ty and thwart to the will of God, in co'm- pa'rifoh of that beautiful conformity to the holy law, and cheerful acquiefctoce to the divine will, to which they arrive afterward through fan&ification of t he Ho- ly Ghoft: It is likewife obferved, that the leaves of thefe trees vary their colours toward au- tumn ; fo the Chriftian's robe of implanted A WOOD. 1 65 righteoufnefs grows whiter and whiter to- wards the harveft of death. The leaves of thefe trees alfo are reported to mate fine fweet beds to lie upoji ; fq a well fpent life, and a confcierice void of of- fences toward God and man, make a fweet death-bed. The maft of this tree yields fit oil for lamps ; fo the life and converfation of a Chriftian ought to be all as a fhining lamp to direft others the way to Zion, paft the (hoals and rocks of vanity, which the God of this world hath made and reared to wreck the unwary mariner while he fleers }iis veilel over the fea of hu-r man life. Here is the fervice tree, which, regard- kfs of his own fafety, gives us early iritima^ tions of the approaching fpring, by daring to bud forth, while yet the fhort-lived da/ affords the fhivering fpedator but a bleak profpeft, and the tops of diftant hills lie buried in fnow. Thus the righteous in the midft of the fevereft trials, fhew forth their attachment to religion, and dare confefs 1 66 A WOOD. the name of Jefus, although the times pre- ient a dangerous profped ; even threaten- ing perfecution unto death for fo doing. This tree for its medicinal qualities may be reckoned the citron of our ifland, as the fruit of a certain, kind of it, along with fome other things, greatly corroborate the fto- mach. It is alfo good for removing feden- tary and laxative complaints, while the ftalks and flowers, through a chemical prepara- tion, recover confumptions, and tabid bo- dies. This tree is alfo faid to prove beneficial in a variety of other difeafes * : So the righ- teous, through the divine blefling, by their example and precepts prove healing to minds which before could not relilh the things of a fpiritual nature, but like a fore ftomach, in- capable of proper digeflion, was uneafy un- der fuch : they are alfo often made the in- ftrumnts of awakening and recovering fin- ners from their carelefs and loofe liv^fs and through their means have not both the vi- fible church and ftate been preferved from * See Evelyn's Discourse on Forest Trees. A WOOD. 167 decay. They are the fait of the earth., Matt. v. 13. which preferve the world from deftruftion ; yet how much are they defpi- led by the men of the world, though it is owing to them the finally impenitent are kept fo long out of hell. See Gen. xviii. /-> 3_ 1 9 -3 J 2 - But whatever healing qualities this tree of any other plant or mineral pofleiTes, they are all owing to the great Phyfician Chrift j-efus, by whom the worlds were made, Heb. i. 2. who for the good of mankind created them with luch virtues ; and however much 'they as a mean cure natural difeafes, and the righteous through their example and precepts heal fpirituals ; infinitely more doth Chrift Jefus, that great phyiician of value, heal both kinds of difeafes ; nay, it is only by his divine bleffing that all means of recovery are made effectual ; and blefled be his mod holy and excellent name, that he ftill waiteth without money and with- out price, to heal all difeafed fouls that come to him for a cure : and feeing there is yet balm in Gilead and a phyfician there, Jer. viii. 22, may I and every one apply ?68.. A WOOD. tp him for the recoyery of the health of Qur fouls. There is the fycamore, which in fummer yields a pretty, delightful fhade ; but I ve- ry much difpiite whether it be the tree which is called by that name in facred fcripture, This is not very much efteemed, that appears to have been confiderably valuable ; this is barren, that was fruitful, as we fee .by the employment that the prophet A- mos followed before the Lord called hirn to that high office, fee Aroosvii. 14. Yet little efteemed as this tree is in com- parifon of many others in the wood, from if, Zaccheus-like, we may fee the Lord, Luke xix. 4, riot in his perfon and human nature, but in his bountiful works of crea- tion, who hath fumifbed the world with liich a variety of trees, herbs, and flowers, not for the ufe only, but alfo for the plea- sure of his reafonable creature man. But Oh ! how unthankful, is man for all the bounties of creation ! inftead of ufing A WOOD. 169 fuch for the glory of the Creator, they are too often proftituted to ferve his own pride and vanity. Pliny and other naturalifts fay, that the fruit of the fycamore mentioned in fcrip- ture, does not ripen till after it has been rubbed with an iron comb ; and Jerom on Amos fays, it cannot be eaten till after this ^ be done, it is fo bitter. So man will never ripen in the fruits of gratitude till once he hath been rubbed with the convincing iron comb of the law, and fo made to fee and feel how ill deferving df any mercy, and hell deferving he is ; nor will his fruits of thankfulnefs be acceptable and well-pleafing to God, till he be converted from nature to grace, and even only then either, in, and through Chrift Jefus. The Lord's bounty and goodnefs is ma- nifefted much in the works of creation, more in the works of providence, but rhoft of all in the aftoniftiing work of redemption. " Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and forget not u all his benefits," was the language of that royal contemplater of God's works, PfaL iii. 2. and PfaL Ixxvii. 12. and fhall it not M 170 be my language ? Yes, O my feral, blefs the Lord and forget not all his benefits ; forget not that he made thee out of nothing a rea- fonable creature at the firft, after his own image, Gen. i. 27, and formed for thee, out of the duft of the earth, an ered and con- venient body ; for the handfomenefs of its fhape, beauty of its form, and dignity of Its countenance, far furpaffing all other crea- tures on earth, over all which thou waft made lord : and that he placed thee not in the houfe of the world till once he had furnifhed it with all thiftgs necefTary, con- venient, and comfortable for thy accommo- dation : that thou waft then made perfedl- lyholy and happy: forget not alfo that he not only formed thee in the womb a com- plete man in miniature, but preferved thee there, and in due time opened it and brought thee out fafely ; nourifhed thee on the breaft, and guarded thee from numbeiiefs acci- dents to which thy heedlefs fteps in child- hood expofed thee ; guided thee fafely up the flippery paths of youth to the fummit of manhood; when wounded, pained, and fick, hath often healed thee and reftored thy health, fupplied thy returning wants, and relieved thee out of many flraits, and con- wool). ftantly preferveth thy being : But above all j forget not, that when in Adam thou hadft fallen by thine iniquity, and deftroyed thy- felf, rebelled againft God, confequently loft his image, and thy holy and happy eftate, and waft become a flave to the devil, vile and miferable, obnoxious to the wrath of God and his eternal difpleafure : that then, even then, aftonifhirig to think ! the Three- one God manifefted the plan devifed from all everlafting for thy recovery, even the ever-wonderful plan of falvation by Chrift Jefus. Forget not to the remoter! ages of eterni- ty, ttiat the moft High God* againft whom thou hadft rebelled^ and whom thbu didft difhonour, nbt by thy briginal tranfgrefliori bnly$ but alfo by thy highly aggravated ac- tual iniquities, fent his owii Son who Was, and is Gdd$ equal with himfelf, into the worldj to tike thy nature upoh him, to work but a righteoufnfefs, and to bear all that in- finite wrath^ or equivalent to it, which thy fins jiiftly incurred^ in thy room and ftead 5 that thou mighteft be fet free from the fcurfe of the broken law, and mighteft again M 2 A WOOD. enjoy the favour of God, and be eternally happy. Forget not that he willingly came on this errand, and hath fully paid thy ranfom : believe this, and reft wholly on him for fal- vation, and thou (halt not to eternity forget this ever amazing and aftonifhing bene- fit which he hath conferred upon thee. There grow a few beautiful limes, the bloflbms of which perfume the air, and in- vite the bees to an ample ftore of fweets, from which now they go richly loaden to their cells, The fhade of them is alfo truly delight- ful. Like thefe trees fhould all thofe who profefs the Chriftian name be ; ftill perfum- ing the Church, and that part of the world where they live, with the fweet favour of a meek, holy life and converfatioti, that thereby they may attrad others to partake of their fweets ; and that none may go a- way who come into their fociety, without receiving fome benefit, unlefs the fault be their own, A WOOD. Their fhade too of protection and com- fort ought to be extended toward all their poor brethren. In all this may I as an in- dividual, according to my fphere, acquit myfelf through life. Round this corner of the wood (lands a formidable hedge of rugged thorns, like fo many foldiers, all with pointed bayonets, armed cap-a-pee, to refift the invader ; not on the offenfive, but all on the defenfive they a6t For this fhould kingdoms arm themfelves, and nations wage war ; and in this manner as individuals fliould every one's paffion of refentrnent be employed : thus war alone is juftifiable, and only then too, when in defence of juft rights and privile- ges; and until fuch times as nations and individuals arm for this only, we need not expert to fee our fwords beat into plough fliares, nor our fpears into pruning hooks, Ifa. ii. 4. Wheu a hedge is broken down, the rich-? eft pafture, and moft pleafant nurferies are in great danger of being deftroyed ; fo when #n army, which is as a fence around a com- monwealth or kingdom, is much enfeebled 174 A WOOD. and broken ; the conftitutiqn, wealth, a,nd inhabitants thereof are greatly in danger, of being deflroyed by foreign and domef- tic enemies. In like manner, when the hedge of difcipline around the vineyard of the church is not taken care of, but fuffered to be broken down, is not the beautiful planting therein, even that delightful vine, Pfal. Ixxx. 8. expofed to the ravages of the, boar out of the wood, and the wild bead of the field, ver. 1 3. even to error and cor- ruption, which are more deftruttive than thofe would be to a pleafant planting or vine? Might not our ancient reformers, if they were now alive, adopt the language of the man of wifdom with a little variation, and fay, We went by the field and vineyard of the church, which, owing to the floth- fulnefs of its watchmen and keepers, was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the ftone Wall thereof was broken down, Prov. xxiv. 3> 3 1 * quite different it was from the beautiful order in which we left it ? A WOOD, 175 Here amidft a group of thorns I fee a delicate lily fpringing* up. Charming flower ! thou art deftined to grow in a dif* agreeable fituation; fcarcely wilt thou have room to open thy delightful foilage for thy rugged neighbours, which, regard- lefs of thy beauty or odours, will pierce thy bloflbm ; and fcarce will the wind blow but thou {halt find their hard op- preffion and fharp fling : yet though thus pierced and opprefTed, thou wilt grow, ijpread forth, and flourifh to perfe&ion. This puts me in mind of that beautiful paflage in the Song of Solomon, where the fpoufe is compared to a lily among thorns, Cant. ii. 2. Thus the church hath been in all ages furrounded by an unneighbour- ]y and unfriendly woi;ld, which, regard- lefs of either her beauty or falutary bene- fits, hath opprefled and pained her fore, and driven to retard, by the fierce winds of perfecution, her growth and fuccefs in the world : yet wonderful ! to the praife of free grace, even of her head and huf- band Chrift Jefus, in. \he midft of this in- cumberance, fhe hath been made to grow, Ij A WOOD. bud forth, and bloffom as the rofe, Ilk xxxv* I. and Hof. xiv. 5. As the bufh burned and was not con- fumed, Exod. iii. 2. fo the fire of perfecu- tion hath never been able to deftroy her, but flie hath always remained and grown, and fhall grow when that fire {hall be fi- nally extinguifhed. While 1 am mufing, fome how or other thefe thorns have entangled me by my garments. This reminds me of that mon~ fter of wickednefs and miracle of grace, even Manaffeh the king of Judah's being taken among thorns. Whether thefe were thorns literally, or the thorns of afflictions, I {hall not determine ; only whatever they were, they were made the mean of catch- ing him in his mad race to perdition, and of making him flop and confider his ways, Hag. i. 5, 7. which coiifideration, through grace, was not only made effe&ual for flop- ping him in his mad career, but of alfo turning him about, and making him run a $uite contrary courfe, even the way of* commands, Pfal. cxix. 32. A WOOD. 177 Thus the royal Pfalmifl himfelf was once caught in the thorns of affliction when he was running aftray, and made to turn a- gain into the paths of the righteous, Pfal. cxix. 67. Happy thorns ! happy afflictions ! when thus blefled for preventing men from running to deftruftion, But ah ! how many are caught in the thorns of affliction, that are never a whit the bettered thereby, but pufh forward in their mad career ftill. Thefe may be faid to be taught with thorns the evil of their doings, but making no improvement of their leflbn, are only torn thereby, as Gi- deon taught the men of Succoth, Judg. viii. 7, 1 6. Surely then it is my duty, as well as all others, whenever we are caught in the thorns of affliction, to comply with that call, to confider our ways, Hag. i. 5, 7. >vhat we have been doing, and whither we have been going ; what has brought us in- to thefe troubles, and what is their to us ? A WOOD. This is not only to hear the rod, but aU fo him who hath appointed it, Mic. vi. 9* If we are grieved for the pain only which thefe thorns occafion, and feek to get rid of them without looking duly to the caufe that involved us in them, it is a fign. they are deftitute of that effect which they had upon David and Manafleh. The thorns of afflidion, inftead of being acurfe, according to their nature, are now made a blefling to the people of the Lord ; and are gracioufly promifed to them as preventatives from purfuing their idols to their deflrudion ; " Therefore " behold, I will hedge up thy way with " thorns, and make a wall that fhe fhall " not find her paths : And fhe fhall fol- " low after her lovers, but fne fhall not o- " vertake them; and fhe fhall feek them, ' but fhall not find them. Then fhall fhe " fay, I will go and return to my firft huf- " band, for then was it better with me " than now," Hof. ii. 6, 7. But efpecially thefe thorns bring to my remembrance that awful event when the powers of earth and hell were let loofe A WOOD. 1 79 againft our ever blefled Lord and Saviour ; when a crown of thorns, for pain and flerifion was plaited for him, and put on his all-facred head by the wicked Jews and Roman foldiers, which, after they had mocked him and fpit in his face, (that in- finitely facred and glorious face, before which the earth and heavens fly away, Rev. xx. ii. as unworthy to be looked on by him ;) they fmote with a reed, no doubt into his facred temples ; meantime the blood fprang from a thoufand pores while they ftruck him on the head, Matt, xxvii. 31. Fie upon you, thorns ! you fruit of the curfed ground, Gen. in. 17, 18. that gave our Lord fuch excruciating pain ! rather fie upon the Jews and foldiers who contri- ved and executed this barbarous torture ! But above all, fie upon my fins, and the tins of an elecT: world, that were the pro^ curing caufe of all that flaame and pain which our ever blefled Lord and Saviour fuffered ; thefe conceived the barbarous torture, mocked him, fpit in his face, and fmote the thorns into his temples. 1 80 A WOOD, Revenge, revenge, O my foul, all this in- dignity, cruelty, and pain which thy fins occafioned to thy dear Saviour, on thy fins, by deftroying their life in thee : Yes, O my oul, crucify them which crucified thy Lord, the Lord of glory. Away with them from thy heart which cried, "away with this man," Luke xxiii. 1 8. " away with him, away with him, crucify him," John xix. 15. Rather do it, O Al- mighty God, by thy infinite power and grace, for it is a tafk too hard for me ; yet I am refolved, that through thy grace which is fufficient, and ftrength which is made perfect in weaknefs, 2 Cor. xii. 9. I ihall mortify fin daily, crucifying the flefh with the affections and lufts, Gal. v. 24. And fhould not I and every one do fo, fee- ing that they crucified the Lord of glory ? may I fo revenge the death of Chrifl on the life of fin in my foul ! And are not we bound to do fo in bap- tifm, and many of us fince by our own vo- luntary vows ? and fhould we harbour as dear friends in our bofoms the flern ene*- plies of Chrift ? Should we allow thofe to A XVOOD, live in our hearts, that flew our dear Savi- our ? No, whatever others do may I refolve, Jofhua-like, to ferve the Lord, Jofh. xxiv: 15. and to crucify them which cried out, " Crucify him, crucify him," Luke xxiii. 2 1 . for till this be done fully, they will be pricks in my eyes and thorns in my fide, Num. xxxiii. 55. and vex me while I dwell in the church below. As fire devours thorns, fo let the flame of divine love to my dear Lord and Saviour, who hath done and fuffered fo unfpeakably much for me, burn vehemently in my heart, and confume all my fins and lufts ; and may God, to kindle up this fire, fhed his love abroad in my foul by the power of the Holy Ghoft! Rom. v. 5. To be fenfible of their evil nature and their dreadful confequences, let me often take a view of them in the glafs of my Lord and Saviour's fufferings ; and fo thro' divine grace, though thefe Canaanites be not all expelled out of my heart at once, yet they fhall by little and little be driven out, Exod. xxiii. 30. till at length they be clean deftroyed ; for fin ? like the plague of X&2 A \VOOD> leprofy, has got into the walls of the houfe of our human frame, and hath fpread <> ver and corrupted our whole nature, and though we may and muft through divine grace, be continually fcraping and clean- ling the houfe, yet fin will never be finally deftroyed, till at length the walls of the houfe, even of our mortal tabernacle, be thrown down by death, Levit. xiv. 37 -45- As the man that the prieft faw fully co- vered over with leprofy was to be pronoun- ced clean, Levit. xiii. 12, 13. fo we can have little or no hope of ever being pro- nounced clean by the great high prieft of our profeffion, Heb. iii. i. till we have feen ourfelves, not in part, but altogether* foul and body, defiled and covered with the dreadful leprofy of fin, and have fled to him for cleanfing ; if this be done, we may reft affured God the Father will pro- nounce us clean, in and through thejufti- fying righteoufhefs of Chrift Jefus the great High Prieft, who hath atoned fully for all fuch lepers. A WOOD. i^ Let every one of us then, like the le- per of old, come to him and fay, " Lord, if thou wilt, thou canft make me clean;" that he may fay unto each of us as he faid un- to him, " I will, be thou clean," Matt. viii. 2. for he is as willing to cleanfe us at this day from our fins, as he was at that time to cleanfe the leper, if we believe in him who is able to fave to the uttermofl all them that come to God thro' him, Heb. vii. 25. nay, if we may ufe the expref- fion, it is in a manner contrary to his will that any (hould periih ; for eternally bleifed be his name, he willeth not the death of a finner : " Say unto them, as I |live, " faith the Lord God, I have no pleafure " in the death of the wicked, but that the <4 wicked turn from his way and live : " turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways ; " for why will ye die, O houfe of Ifrael," Ezek. xxxiii. 1 1 . In my wanderings through this pleafant wood, I find through different windings, I am got back again to that place where I beheld the fpreading bay ; but where is it now ? not a trace of it is to be feen: it was but a* little ago when its fpreading A woo>. verdure feemed to promife lading profpe- rity ; but the wood-man has been here, and for fome caufe or other has not only blafted its beauty, but removed it root and branch, fo that I can fcarcely tell where it grew. Jud fo the wicked are removed ac- cording to that driking defcription of the royal Pfalmid, which I noticed a little be- fore, when I law this tree growing in. full verdure in this place ; " I have feen the wic- " ked in great power, and fpreading him- " felf like a green bay tree : yet he palled " away, and lo, he was not ; yea, I fought " him, but he could not be found, 11 Pfal xxxvii. 35, 36. Hlli I Nor will a refledion on their hitter erd yield the fmalled fatisfactioii to furviving friends or acquaintances ; nay, aghail, they rather force off their thoughts from contem- plating fuch a fubject. O how needful then is this ardent wiih to be adopted by all li- ving, which we find recorded in Mofes's fong, thus : " O that they were wife, that they underdood this, that they would con- fider their latter end!" Deut. xxxii. 29, ( ( I M I a A WOOD. 185 O that the wicked in a day of profperi- ty would thus confider their latter end! that if they go on in this their evil conrfe 9 notwithftanding of all their worldly profperi- ty and grandeur, their end at laft will not only fill their friends and acquaintances with awful reflections ; but prove beyond defcription dreadful to themfelves ; where- as the latter end of trie righteous affords, not only pleafant contemplations to their lurviving friends and neighbours ; but fatis- facTion, eternal fatisfaftion to themfelves, agreeably to the following paflage in that beautiful pfalm of contrafl of the righteous and the wicked ; " Mark the perfect man, " and behold the upright ; for the end of " that man is peace," Pfal. xxxvii. 37. Again we are told, the memory of the wicked (hall rot, Prov. x. 7. that is, prove unfavoury to their friends and former ac- quaintances, be as difguftful to their re- flections as rotten ftinking things are to our noftrils, be quite difregarded, and ftriveri to be forgot ; but the memory of the juft is blefTed. u The righteous fhall be in ever- <4 lafting remembrance," Prov. x. 7. PfaL N 1 86 A WOOD. cxii. 6. Their memory, like " a good " name is better than precious ointment," Eccl. vii. i ; it fpreads a fragrance around where they live, yields a delightful favour after they are dead, and the grateful odours' of it invite men into the fame pleafant paths of righteoufnefs in which they walk- ed. Their memory may be faid, in fome refpecl:, to be like the name of the Lord, even as ointment poured forth, Cant, i, 3,. There are two trees, to which the righ- teous are compared, that are not inhabi- tants of our Britilh woods ; but feeing my contemplations are on fuch delightful fub- jecls, they deferve my ferious confi deration; thofe are that of the palm and the cedar : " The righteous fhall flourifh like the palm- 46 tree, he fhall grow like a cedar in "Lebanon," faith the Pfalmift, Pfal. xcii, 12. The firft of thefe trees is faid to be beau- tiful, round, and ftraight. So the lives of the righteous, in fo far as they are con- formed to the dictates of infpiration, are beautiful, orderly, and flraight. A WOOD. 187 This tree alfo maintains its verdure thro' all feafons of the year, and on its top wears a tuft of fpiring leaves ibme feet in length, which never fall off. At the bottom of the leaves grows its fruit, called dates in cluflers. In like manner, the righteous maintain their verdure of holinefs through divine grace in all feafons, whether profperous or adverfe ; they ftill continue in their pro- feffion of religion and attachment to Chrift; having on their head as an helmet the hope of falvation, Eph. vi. 17. and i TheiT. v. 8. while under the leaves of their Chriflian profeflion, the fruit of the Spi- rit, w r hich " is love, joy, peace, long luf- fering, gentlenefs, goodnefs, faith, meek- nefs, temperance," grows in cluflers, " in all goodnefs, and right eoulhefs, and " truth," Gal. v. 22, 23. and Eph. v. 9. It is obferved of this tree, that it will grow though much opprefTed and borne down. Thus did the church in Egypt ; the more they afflicted her, the more me multiplied and grew, Exod. i. 12. and fo will every I 88 A WOOPv true believer ; no oppreffion from their enemies ftiall prevent their growth in grace ; and like the cedar, which fpreads wide, and grows very high and ftrong, yields a delight- ful favour* is very durable, and in fome fort incorruptible ; fo the righteous fpread wide,= not only in their holy profeffion, but alfo in charity, and in all manner of good works r and grow high, even to perfection, till they all arrive unto a perfect man, unto the meafure of the flature of the fulnefs of Ghrifty Eph. iv. 13. and like Abraham, are ftrong in faith^ giving glory to God, Rom. iv. 20. they endure to r t-hey end,finell like Le- banon, and are, born of incorruptible feed, Matt. x. 22. Hof xiv. 6. and i Pet. i. 23. May I thus flourifh like the palm-tree, and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. There lies a 4 lofty pine/ which the winds have overturned by the roots ; the caufe of which is, the ground is rather loofe, and in- clined to mofs where it grew ; whereas, had it been rooted in firm ground, it might flill have been growing in full verdure. Thus many who profefs Chriftianity, and a flrong attachment to the principles of our A WOOD. I 89 holy proteftant religion ; make a great (hew of godlinefs, and apparently bid fair for the kingdom of heaven ; but owing to the -winds of adverfity blowing full in their face, or the ftrong gales of profperity on their back, are overturned and fall away, Luke viii. 13. and this is owing to their not ha- ving been rooted and grounded in Chrift Jefus, Eph. iii. 17. Col. ii. 7. Hear the <*wful confequence of fuch an apoftafy : * For it is impoffible for thofe * 4 who were once enlightened, and have u tafted of the heavenly gift, and were " made partakers of tiie Holy Ghoft, and ;" have tafted the good word of God, and 44 the powers of the world to come, if they u fhall fall away, to renew them again unto ? 4 repentance ; feeing they crucify to them- " felves the Son of God afsefli, and put him 44 to an open fhame," Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6. But blefled be God this is not meant of .all falls, for a juft man falleth feven times, and rifeth up again, Prov. xxiv. 16. " Tho^ - i4 he fall he fhall not utterly be caft down ; " for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand,'* Pfal. xxxvii. 24. but of the falling 19 A WOOD. away of thofe who had arrived at fuchlengths, and partaken of fuch bleffings as the apof- tle there defcribes : yet how very carefully ought we to comply with the apoftle's ad- monition, u Let him that thinketh he " ftandeth, take heed left he fall." i Cor. X. 12. Ye therefore, beloved, feeing ye know thefe things before, beware left ye al- fo being led away with the error of the wicked, fall from your own .ftedfaftnefs, 2 Pet. iii. 17. What a raviihing concert is this all on a fudclen ftruck up over my head ! How the little choirifters warble their notes and ling the beauties of fpring ! From the midft of yonder flowery haw- thorn, the blackbird, cheering his mate which he tenderly eyes in the tafk of incu- bation by the fide of the rill, fweetly pipes thefymphohy; while the wood-lark and thrufh, as mafters of the long, perch high on the bough, and pour forth their peer- lefs melody through the grove. These warblers sweet, on pinions borne^ My heart with joy elate ; While by the Rill, on yonder Thorn, The Blackbird cheers his Mate* To front page 190. A WOOD. 191 How delightful is this place ! amid the harmony of f prays, the fweet fmellmg crow- foots, and the fmiling green which every where rlufhes the lovely cheek of furround- ing nature, where is the man who can in- dulge himfelf in careleflhefs of thought ? Write that man thoughtlefs indeed, unwor- thy of the bleffings of fpring. But as for thou, O my foul, as the fap of -yegitation arifes from the root to the top, improving the whole, climb the ladder of nature, contemplate thy God, fee his glo- ry in all, and his goodnefs profufely fcatter- ed around . Is there a fingle plant filent in his praife ? Yes, filent they are, but expreffing infinite- ly more than language can. unfold. Bear me witnefs of this ye lofty pines, which lift your ever verdent heads to the fky in ho- nour of him. I am here reminded of the earthly para- .dife when our firfl father was placed in the delightful garden, midft trees in full verdure, the fruits of all which, one only excepted, he might freely eat ; while the birds fang " " J 92 A WOOD, melodioufly around, and all creation was joy : And minds me ftill more of the para- dife above, where fongs of ever lafting prai- fes to God and the Lamb ftill refound. May I join that happy concert of the re- deemed before the throne, in finging that eternally fweet anthem of gratitude, " un- to him that loved us, and wafhed us from our fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priefts unto God and his Fa- ther ; to him be glory and dominion for ^ ever and ever. Amen. v Rev. i. 5. where a pure river of water of life, clear as cryflal, proceedeth out of the throne of God and of the Lamb : and in the midft of the ftreet of the city, and on either fide of the river is there the tree of life which bears twelve manner of fruits, and yields her fruit every month; the leaves of which are for the healing of the nations, Rev. xxii. i, 2. Here grow a number of hazels : though t:hey be but little efteemed in comparifon of moft other trees in the wood, yet are there none more fruitful, if indeed any fo A WOOD. 1 93 much : though they be humble plants, yet are they as ufeful in their kind as fome o- t her trees which are more highly valued. Not to fpeak of various other ufes they are for, that of hoops for fupporting ftaves of far more valued wood is none of the leaft : and as they hold up the ftaves, and the ftaves ithem, thus the one fupporting the other forms a complete vefiel : fo tho* the poor are numerous in the world, and but little efteemed in comparifon of the rich and great ; yet are they, generally fpeaking, moft fruitful in holinefs and good works. As hoops of the hazel fupport ftaves of efteemed wood ; Ib they hold up the rich and great in their affluence and dignity, and the rich and great fupport them, Without the poor, not only the wealth, but the dignity of the great would foon come to nought, neither without theie could thofe fubfift : thus the veflel of human fo- pety is ftill preferved uniformly up. 194 A WOOD. How wifely then hath the infinitely wife and good God connected and linked toge- ther human fociety ! In confideration of this chain of connection, and how ufeful the one is to the other, let not the poor and low difregard and dishonour the rich and great, nor thefe defpife and .opprefs the poor. There is the quick-beam which is fu much idolized by the vulgar as an antidote agamft witchcrafts. Greatly bewitched in- deed thofe are ; not by the devil at fecond- hand, dealers with familiar fpirits, but with the evil fpirit, the father of lies' himfelf, who believe in this lie, and worfhip the creature more than the Creator, Rom. L 25. and trufl in a fenfelefs piece of wood more than in the living God, Horribly depraved, ftrangely bewitch- ed, and great idolaters fuch certainly are. However light and trifling to fome this charm may feem, it cannot be proved to be any thing lefs than idolatrous worfhip : and fliould we fall down to the flock of a tree ? Ifa. xliv. 19. A WOOD. 195 As the ftock is a doctrine of vanities, Jer. x. 8. fo furely this charm is the fame : ho\v carefully then ought parents and mafters to be, in teaching their children, and thofe they have under them, both by example and precept, the evil of fuch a pernicious conduct ; and to place their truft only in the living God, who hath faid, " Thou " flialt have no other gods before me," Ex. xx. 3. and who hath all power over devils and wicked men, fo that they can harm none of his fervants -without his fpeciai per- million. The devil could not touch Job, but even not enter into a fingle fwine without the Lord's particular permiflion, Matt. viii. 3 1 . and whenever he withdraws the fuffer- ance, not a moment longer can Satan ha- rafs, tempt, or hold his pofleffion. Seeing then the mafter is under fuch re- ftraints, what muft his fervants be ! In full belief of this, that the moft high God hath him and them under his abfolute control:! ; may I, regardlefs of bo 1 h, perfevere through grace in difcharging my duty to God and A WOOD The berries of this tree regale the cheer* .ful thrufhes, that entertain us with their fong through the months of fpring and fummer, for which -this tree ought to be chiefly valued : Herein the goodnefs of God is manifeft, who not only fupplies in due feafon his rational creatures, but alfo the fowls of the air, beafts f the earth, and fifties of the fea, with food convenient for them, Pfal. cxlv. 15, 16. 4 > The Lord is good 44 to all, and his tender mercies are over all u his works," PfaL cxlv. 9 The wood-man, I perceive, has planted this grove variouily ; 'fome trees in a moift foil, and others on a dry ; fome on an emi- nence, and others on low ground ; fome expoled to the northern blafts, and others to the gentle gales of the fouth ; fome at more diftance from one another, and others more clofe ; and all according as beft fuits with their natures. So the Lord, the great Creator of all hath planted men in the world in various fitua- tions : fome in affluent circumftances, o- thers in more ftraitened ; fome in eminent llations, fome in low, fome expofed to the A WOOD. f 9? iharp blafts of affliction, and others amid the fweet gales of profperity ; fome as it were fingly without relatives in compari- fon of others, and folitary, while others are fet in families, Pfal. Ixviii. 6. and thefe in- creafed like a flock, Pfal. cvii. 41.- and have many friends : and all according as he in his infinite wifdom hath feen beft for them. Had fome of thefe trees which now grow in a low and moifty foil, been planted on a high and dry fituation, their growth had been much marred ; and on the other hand, had thofe which now grow in fuch a foil, been planted in a low and marfhy ground, they would not have profpered fo well. Juft fo is it with refpecl to men in this world ; that fituation in which every man is placed is certainly the beft for him. If many of the people of the Lord, who are poor in this world, had been planted in high and opulent circumftances, it is very probable their fulnefs would have made them forget God, and thus their profperity have retard- ed their growth in religion. A WOOD, If poor believers would properly eonfider this, through divine grace, it might be a means of reconciling them to thofe flrait- ened fituations in which they are placed in this life ; and would thofe, on the other hand, who are placed in exalted ftations, fed with the fineft of the wheat, Pfal. IxxxL 1 6. having abundance of this world's goods, and flourifhing like a green bay tree, eon- fider it is from the Lord they have received their fulnefs, and to him at laft they muft give in an account how they have ufed the goods he hath entrusted them with, it might thro' grace be the happy means of caufing them make to themfelves friends of the mammon of unrighteoufnefs ; fo that when they fail, they may be received into ever- lafling habitations, Luke xvi. 9. If this be not done, all the wealth which they poflefs will prove a curfe only, inftead of a bleffing : and what will they do when death comes to them with this awful mef- fage, Give an account [of thy fteward- fhip, for thou mayeft be no longer fteward, Luke xvi. 2. A WOOD. 199 No doubt this grove was all at firfl plant- ed from proper fhoots, yet how many of its trees are become exceedingly crooked, mif- fhapen and knotty. This puts me in mind of that beautiful paflage recorded by the prophet, where the Lord expoftulates with his people,, and tells them he had planted them a noble vine, wholly a right feed ; and aiketh this confounding queftioii, How then art thou turned into the degenerate plant of a flrange vine unto me ? Jer, ii, 21. Let me fuppofe the queftion afked by the great God at myfelf in particular, w^hat an- fwer (hould I give ? Would it not certainly be this ? Lord, I broke covenant with thee in Adam, voluntarily threw off thy yoke and fervice for that of Satan by eating of the forbidden fruit, which thou difcharged me to touch, or tafte, under the awful pe- nalty of death, Gen. ii. 17. and iii. 3. and thereby fell from reditude, having loft thy image, which is the reafon of my degener- acy and being crooked and thwart to thy divine arid righteous law. But glory to God in the higheft ; though man did thus degenerate and become the plant of a 2OO A WOOD. ftrange vine, in and through the covenant of grace, entered into betwixt God the Fa^ ther, and God the Son, in name of the eleft from all eternity, he is again fet right t the efteds of which all-gracious covenant was, that God the Son, the Lord Jefus Chrifl, in the fulnefs of time came from heaven to earth, not to condemn the world, as our guilty fears might well have fuggeft- ed, but to fulfil the covenant of works which man had bafely violated, by yielding a perfeft obedience to the divine law, and undergoing the penalty which was denoun- ced againft man in cafe of his difobedience r ' -and to deliver thofe for whom' he became furety, from going down to the pit: In and through whofe obedience and all-aton- ing death, fallen men are not only delivered from the condemnatory fentence of a bro- ken law, but alfo reftored again to the fa- vour and friendfhip of God, being united to him, who is the true Vine, by faith. Through regeneration the great Huf- bandmari purgeth them from fin and dead works, and maketh them to bring forth more fruit, John xv. i, 2. fo they grow up as the trees of Iign-aloe6 which the Lord A WOOD; hath planted, and as eedar trees befide the waters, Num. xxiv. 6. How much then doth it eoncerri me to know whether I be broken off from the old flock of Adam, and ingrafted into Chrifh Jefus the true vine ! And can there be bet- ter marks, or a more certain way of know- ing this, than thofe which our Lord himfelf hath given us to judge by ; for he hath faid, By their fruits ye (hall know them : As the branch cannot bear fruit of itfelf except it abide in the vine, no more can ye except ye abide in me : He that abideth iii me and I in him, the fame bringeth forth much fruit : Ye are my friends if ye do whatfoever I command you. Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that doeth the will of my Father which i in heaven, Matth. vii. 1 6; John xv. 4, 5, 1 4. Matth. vii. 2 1 . Nowif I find thefe marks in myfelf itiswell^ but if not, left I fhare the fate of that barren fig-tree, mentioned in fcripture, let me fly to Chrift Jefus by faith, receiving and refi> O 202 A WOOD. ing upon him alone for falvation as he is offered to me. in the gofpel ; that fo being united to him who is the true vine, I may bring forth fruit that fhall be well pleating to God, and comfortable to myfelf. While I gaze around me I obferve fe~ veral trees fo fkilfully pruned that not a fucker from the rodts, nor a fuperfluous branch or withered bough on them are to be feen, either to mar their beauty, or re- tard their growth, while many others I fee ftand neglecSed, having not only va- rious fuckers fpringing from their roots, but alf covered over with branches which prove pernicious to both their comelinefs and growth, and draw off the fap which other- wife would nourifh, lengthen, andftrength- en their trunks. Juft fo is it with refped: to men ; the great Hufbandman pur- geth fome from the love of the world by chaftening them with many loffes, crofTes, and ftraits in it ; fo that their affedions may be fet on things above, not on things on the earth, Col. iii. 2. and pruneth them often of near and dear relatives, which like fo many fuckers from the roots and fuperflu- A WOOD. 203 ous branches from the trunks, tend to draw their fap of love and affection off from God, and place it upon the creature ; and likewife with the fharp knife of afflidive trials, cutteth off their fpiritual pride and high mindednefs, and fo maketh them humble and lowly, and to grow up to a perfed man, to the meafure of the ftature of the fulnefs of Chrift, Eph. iv. 13. " For " whom the Lord loveth he chafteneth, and " fcourgeth every fon whom he receiveth : " If ye endure chaftening, God dealeth with " you as with fons ; for what fon is he " whom the Father chafteneth not ? But if " ye be without chaftifement, whereof all " are partakers, then are ye baftards, and " not fons," Heb. xii. 68. Let me then examine myfelf, whether I have been thus purged and pruned ? and if fo, what effed fuch have had upon me ? God's end in purging and pruning the branches is, that they may bring forth more fruit, John xv. 2. How careful then ought I and every one elfe to be, after having been under the rod, 02 204 A WOOD. to fee that we anfwer the intention of ths ehaftening, and fhew ourfelves to be men of wifdom, and pliable children, by hear- ing the rod, and him that hath appointed it, Mic. vi. 9. if fo, inftead of being envious, like the Pfalmift in an unthinking hour, at the profperity of the wicked, Pfal. Ixxiii. 3. like him, on a proper reflection, we will fee fuch to be fet on flippery places, ver. 18. and have reafon to blefs God for his chaf- tifements, acknowledging that his rod, as well as his ftaff, comforteth us, Pfal. xxiii. 4. Inftead then of being too much caft down,, and grieved on account of the afflic- tions and troubles which we meet with in a prefent life ; let us blefs God for thefe di- flinguifhing marks of fons, and improve them for his glory, knowing well, that thefe light affli&ions which are but for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, 2 Cor. iv. 17. Deep in this fequeftered wood, far from the hurry and buftle of life, meditation may be amply indulged, and prayer and praifes with freedom afcend on the wingp A WOOD, 2O5 ef faith, to the God of heaven, the bounti- ful Creator of all. For thefe ends, woods appear to have been at firft planted by the hands of man ; and hence the fa- ther of the faithful planted a grove, Gen, xxi. 33, Thefe arbourous temples, when in full ver- dure, cannot fail to call forth the ferious mind to contemplate that power, wifdom, glory, and goodnefs which not only clothe the grafs of the field, but alfo every tree of trhe wood ; and lead to adore our boun- teous Lord. Then it is, in the figurative language of the Pfaknift, that all the trees ef the wood fing out, 2 Cor. xvi. 33. That groves were highly honoured of eld is evident from both facred and profane hiflory; for what elfe was paradife, but a delectable arbour and fruitful grove, in- t Matt. xxi. 8. Not to mention the tabernacle, mercy- feat, and the adorning of the temple, in all which woods were highly ho- noured, is it not by them we corref- pond with the different nations of the world ? For what are our fhips but invert- ed woods ? and has it not been through their means that the gofpel hath been car- ried to all the kingdoms of the earth ? As an echo refounds through the wood, ib through thefe means the glad tidings of great joy, which began firft to be proclaim- ed in Jerufalem, have refounded through all the world. And was it not upon wood our ever- blefled Lord and Saviour offered himfelf an expiatory facrifice for our fins ? Let us 2O8 A WOOD. then blefs God for the bounties of crea- tion, and for making woods to be fuch a blelfing to man. As woods have thus tended to the propa- gation of religion, they have alfo been made the means of punifhing the wicked : Wit- nefs that from which the two {he-bears if- iiied, which tare the forty and two children that impioufly mocked the prophet, 2 Kin, ii. 23, 24. And that wood through which the rebellious Abfalom rode, where the oak caught him by the head, and fufpended him between the heaven and the earth, as a monument of divine indignation, and un- worthy of a place in either, till Joab came, and thruft him through with his darts ; and many a rebel befides, that day the wood der voured, 2 Sam. xviii. 715. Hence we fee, that the moft High who ru- leth ever all can make the bleffings of crea- tion prove a curfe to the wicked. When-, ever I fee an arbour, behold a bufh, green branches of trees, or fpecious woods ; may they bring thefe memorable things to my remembrance ; and may I think on fuch, and improve them as I ought ! A WOOD. 2O9 True, indeed, groves have been much a- bufed to fuperftition and idolatrous worfhip, for which they have often been cut down,, and burned with fire, in order that the de- luded votaries thereof might be deprived of fuch opportunities for celebrating their ido- latrous worfhip, and as a teftimony againft idolatry Groves of themfelves naturally tend to ftrike the mind with a kind of folemn awe, and fit the wanderer through their fecret re- cefles for deep and ferious meditation. It was when fitting under the ihade of a tree that St Auguftine was converted : and I cannot doubt but many thoufands elfe have either been converted, or at leafl much improved with refpeft to their fpiritual intereft, by retiring into groves for the purpofes of me- ditation and prayer. Then, while many are engaged in vain purfuits, trifling amufements, idle and fro- thy converfation, the talk be mine, fre- quently to retire from the hurry and buftle cf life among the fhades, to contemplate fhe glorious perfections pf the Author of rny 21 A WOOD. being, and what kind of a creature I am myfelf, for what end f was fent into the world, how I am anfv/ering that end, how I fhall die, and where I fhall take up my e- ternal abode : Thus frequently employing my time, through grace I fhall become wifer and better, fitter to live and fitter to die. Perhaps to this place fome of the cient druids of our ifland often retired, for the purpofe of worfhipping their ima- ginary deities ; and fhall I in thefe recefTes forget to adore the true God, who hath manifefled his exceeding abundant loving kindnefs towards man, not only in the works of creation and providence, but a- bove all in his work of redemption ; as our Lord faid in another cafe, " If thefe " fhould hold their peace, the flones would " immediately cry out," Luke xix. 40. So if I negleft to celebrate his goodnefs, the very trees by their cheerful, folemn ap- pearance would put me to fhame, and the birds upon their branches fingtmt my in- gratitude, while they praife him after their kind, A WOOD. 211 It was when Ifaac was going into the field to meditate, he met with the beauti- ful and comfortable Rebecca : fo in the field of meditation we fee the beauty, and meet with the comfort of holinefs. My medi- tation of him fhall be fweet, faith the fweet finger of Ifrael, Pfal. civ. 34. And I will meditate of all thy works, Pfal. Ixxvii. 12. Among all the various fubjeds of medi- tation which offer themfelves to our minds, that of plants is none of the leaft ; and a- mong all the varieties of vegitation, none claims our attention more than the pro- dudlion of trees. That large fpreading oak, tall chefnut, lofty pine, and majeftic fir which I now behold, were all produced, beautiful and huge as they are, each from a, rudiment, the thoufandth part of which the moft a* cute botanift cannot deicribe : This firft principle, fhut up as it were in prifon, or rather caflle, remained in the malt defend- ed from the winds, guarded from the birds and the injuries of infeds, until the full time, when nature broke open its prifon, delivered it from confinement, and com-* mitted it to the teeming earth, where it 212 A WOOD. was turned into mucus, or rather rotten- nefs, and fo exceedingly fmall and light, that a iingle ant could have borne it to its cell : Yet, how aftonifhing is it ! from this linall particle, and that even itfelf reduced to a ftate of rottennefs, fuch flupendous trees ihould arife ! Juft fo is it with refped to man, who from a mere embryo, in conception, is formed a man in miniature, or rather, as tlie Pfalmift beautifully expreffes it, curiouf- ly wrought in the loweft parts of the earth : Thine eyes., faith he, did fee my fubftance, yet being imperfed ; and in thy book all my members were written, which in con- tinuance were fafhioned, when as yet there was none of them, Pfal. cxxxix. 15, 16. And as the moft acute philofopher can- not defcribe how a tree in its firft princi- ple proceedeth to vegetation in the earth, fo none can tell how the bones do grow in the womb of her that is with child, Eccl. >:i. 5. 'At length from his dark concealed non-thinking ftate, man is brought forth an infant of days, and in a few years arrives fro manhood, with all the members of the A W00t>. tody in full vigour, together with all the fa- culties of a rational foul ; the nobleft and beft of all God's works below. Then what comparifon is there betwixt the embryo in conception, and the full grown man ? The thoughts of this, or con- fiderations fimilar, made the Pfalmift break forth in this anthem, " I will praife thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made : marvellous are thy works, and that my foul knoweth right well," Pfal. cxxxix> 14. Let me then join with the fweet finger of Ifrael in thus praifing the Lord, not for the make of my body only, but alfo for the formation of my foul, which is no lefs won- derful : and feeing I am taught more than the beads of the earth, and made wifer than the fowls of heaven, Job xxxv. 1 1 . may I improve thefe talents to his honour and glory, for which end they were be- ftowed upon me, and for whofe glory I was created. But wonderful as the generation, forma- tion, and growth of man is, no left fo will 214 A WOOD. the rearing up of his frame be in a future ftate, when in the morning of the refurrec- tion every atom of his duft, whether in the land, air, or fea, incorporated with reptiles, beafts, fowls, or fillies, fhall meet together at the appointed place, and build the man immortal. Then when corruption fhall inherit in- corruption, and this mortal fhall have put on immortality, and that faying which is written is come to pafs, Death fhall be fwallowed up in victory ; and the vile bo- dy of the righteous fafhioned like unto ChrifTs glorious body, I Cor. xv. 53, 54. Phil. iii. 21. What comparifoii is there between the flench of putrid carcafes, rotten bones and fkulls, and bodies thus form- ed ? The thoughts of which glorious change ought to comfort relatives, when laying their deceafed friends in the tomb ; and efpecially when we con- fider that our Lord fandified and changed the grave from a gloomy prifon to a bed of reft, by his having lain there. A WOOD. How many and various are the leaves with which the trees are now adorned ! fome broad, others narrow, round, oval, multangular, and triangular fhaped ; fome crifped, others indented ; delicately varie- gated; fmooth and rough ; fome hard and ftiff, while others are foft and plia- ble. Nor is this clothing of the woods only for ornament, bat alfo for ufe; both for preferving and nourifhing the trees and their fruits : for as the roots colled the juices of the earth, fo thefe the dews of heaven, whereby not only the beauty, but alfo the ftature and growth of the trees are promoted. And though thefe leaves are hung on the trees by very flender {talks, and yield at the fmalleft breath of wind that mur- murs through the grove, and one might think they would drop off every moment, yet how furprifing is it they are made to withfland the moft furious attacks of the ftorm, and maintain their ftation by a clofe adherence to their twigs, tijl the God of nature who fixed them there bid 21 6 A WOOD. them fall off! In like manner, the leaves of a Chriflian profeffion, in fome refp^cts with men, are very different ; fome have a broad and flaming profeffion, which at- tradls the notice of all around them ; others are not fo confpicuous in theirs : but fince .good principles are as neceflary to the be- ing of a Chriftian, as roots to the tree ; fo a good profeffion is as ornamental and necefTary to the one, as leaves are to the other; though without the fruit of a holy pradice, fuch leaves will ferve no other end than thofe did, which adorned that fig-tree which our Lord faw in the way, Matth. xxi. 19. and no doubt upon it were very plentiful, and attracted his notice, and made him to examine it the more narrowly for fruit, but finding none he curfed it : an awful warning to all thofe who maintain a fair profeffion, but are deftitute of the fruits of holinefs ! Not every one that faith unto me, Lord, Lord, fhall enter into the kingdom of heaven, faith our blefled Saviour ; but he that doth the will of my Father which is in heaven, Matt. vii. 2 1 . A WOOD. 217 As the heart, rind, bark, and fibres are all neceilary to the growth and profperity of a tree ; fo blood, bones, flefh, and fkin, are all abfolutely neceflary to conftitute the human body " Thou haft clothed me " with fkin and flefhj faith Job, and fenced a me with bones and finews," Job x. n. In like manner, faith^ knowledge, found principles and holinefs, as neceflarily con-^ ftitute the new creature ; and as without the heart, rind, bark, and fibres^ or any one of thefe, the tree could not grow and profper : nor without blood, bones, fleftu linews, and fkin, or any one of them, could the human frame fubfift ; fo wholly defti- tute of all, or any one of thofe conftituent parts of the new creature, no man need flat ter himfelf he is created in Chrift Jefus, Eph. ii. 10. or have on the new man* which after God is created in righteoufnefs and true holinefs, Eph. iv. 24. or have any expectation of falvation fo long as this is the cafe ; for without faith it is impoffibl^ to pleafe God, Heb. xi. 6. For it is a people of no underftanding, faith the prophet, therefore he that made them will not have mercy on them, and he that formed them will fhew them no favour, Ifa xxviL u. P 21 8 A WOOD." My people are deftroyed for lack of know* ledge, faith the Lord, Hof. iv. 6. Ye have need that one teach you again which be the firft principles of the oracles of God, Heb. v. 12. He layeth up found wifdom for the righteous : a found heart is the life of the flefh. Hold faft the form of found words. Rebuke them fliarply, that they may be found in the faith. Speak thou the things that become found docTrine, Prov. ii. 7. xiv. 30. 2 Tim. i. 13. Tit. i. 13. ii. i. " To the law and to the teftimony, if they " fpeak not according to this word, it is be- " caufe there is no light in them," Ifa. viii. 20. " The new man after God is created in " righteoufnefs and true holinefs," Eph. iv. 24. And without holinefs no man fhall fee the Lord, Heb. xii. 14, How careful then ought I and every one elfe to be, in examining whether we have faving faith, knowledge, found principles r and holinefs ? and which of thefe we find ourfelves mod deficient in, that let us cul- tivate more and more. This wood is a recepticle for both clean and unclean animals : fome ferocious, and A WOOD. others gentle, and the latter are often de- voured by the former. Juft fo is this world, a habitation for both bad and good men : and as Pharaoh's lean and ill favoured kine ate up the well favoured and fat kine, Gen. xli. 3, 4. fo thofe ill-favoured* and hell fa- voured, eat up thefe that are the favdurites of heaven, Pfal. xiv. 4. and this is permitted by the wife orderer of all things^ for the befl of reafons : but it fhall not always be fo ; for the tables fhall foon be changed ; " Like fheep they are laid in the grave, " death fhall feed on them, and the upright " fhall have dominion over them in the " morning^" Pfal. xlix. 14. As beafts of the foreft come forth in the night to hunt for their prey, but no fooner is the fun up, than they gather themfelves to- gether, and lay them down iti their dens, thn man goeth to his labour, Pfal. civ, 2023. and the traveller may proceed on in his journey with fafety: So the wicked, who are compared to lions^ Pfal. Ivii. 4, harafs and devour the righteous in this fhort mortal life, which is but as a night or a dream of the night, or rather no* thing, in comparifon of that endlefs day P 2 A WOOD* which the righteous ftiall enjoy in a flate. In that morning, big with the greateft of events,, even that decifive morning of the refurre&ion, when the Sun of righteouf- nefs fhall, to the unfpeakable joy and com- fort of his people, be feen coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glo- ry: then indeed {hall the righteous have power over the wicked, and thefe lions fhall be gathered together, and made to lie down in the infernal den of utter darknefs, eter- nal mifery and woe. Then will the righ- teous rejoice with joy unfpeakable and full of glory ; there being nothing to hurt or deftroy in all God's holy mountain, Ifa, si. 9. What pitiful fhrieks are thefe which I hear ! O, I perceive it is a hawk which has feized on a feeble wren, and is bearing it off in his claws, and the poor little creature can do nothing but cry. Well done, lucky fhot ! A fowler juft now pafling through yonder glade has obferved and fhot the hawk ; and I cannot help be- A WOOD 221 ing fomewhat glad at the circumftance ; though, poor creature, it was only ading a- greeably to the law of nature, yet I could not help feeling very much for the little -Captive it had feized. This circumftance puts me in mind, that however much the wicked may opprefs and tyrannize over the people of the Lord, and thole that are poor in this w r orld, and tho* thefe poor opprefled can do nothing but cry ; yet their cries fhall enter into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth, Jam. v. 4. who will arife for the oppreffion of the poor, and the fighing of the needy, and fet them in fafe- ty from their oppreflbrs, Pfal. xii. 5. for the Lord is the avenger of all fuch, i Theff. :iv. 6.. The wicked may take their time in fin- ning and opprefling the poor and the needy ; but the Lord will take his time in punifh- Ing them for their iniquity and cruelty; *' Vengeance is mine, I will repay, faith , *< the Lord,' J Rom. xii. 19. CONTEMPLATION IX. BROOK. THIS large brook directly in my way, without either bridge or boat over it, puts me in mind of that recorded Pfal. ex. 7. of which our Lord is faid to drink. Whatever be the true interpretation of that paflage I fhall not determine ; but one thing is clear, the brook of God's infinite wrath ran in the way of man's falvation, fo that none of the fons of Adam could e- ver have got to heaven : nay, like Jordan, it overflowed all its banks, Jof. iii. 15. and 224 A BROOK. would have fwept down a whole guilty world into the dead fea of eternal ven- geance, had not the High Prieft of our pro- feffion waded therein, and drunk it up^ and fo made a fafe way for the ranfomed of the Lord from this wildernefs flate to the heavenly Canaan. How then ought all the redeemed to ce- lebrate the praifes of the Redeemer ! who lather than they who had baiely rebelled againft God, and forfeited their title to e- teriial happinefs, fhould bear the infinite wrath of Almighty God, juftly due to them On account of their fins, bare it himfelf j himfelf who was in the form of God, and thought it not robbery to be equal with God ; nay, who was God, and one with the. Father, Phil. ii. 6. John i. i. x. 30. for thofe that were his avowed enemies to the aftonifliment of all in heaven and all inearth; nor will that aftonifhment end throughout all eternity, but more and more increafe. - Say, O my foul, was ever love like this ? O the breadth, and length, and depth, and height of the love of God, it pafleth know- ledge, Eph. iii. 1 8, 19. Jonathan's love to A BROOK. 225 David was wonderful, paiTmg the love of women, 2 Sam. i. 26. but Chrift's love to his people pafleth not only the love, but the comprehenlion of the higheft feraph in heaven : it is an ocean without brim or bottom, end, or fhore, in which the faints will fwim through all eternity, crying, Un- to him that loved us, and waflied us from our. fins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priefts unto God and his Fa- ther ; to him be glory and dominion for e- ver and ever. Amen. Rev. i. 5, 6. As the ocean of redeemingiove is infinite- ly great ; fo no lefs boundlefs is that of the wrath of Almighty God, which raged and was tempeftuous againft all the fons of A- dam, and was ready to fwallow them down into its bottomlefs gulf; but for ever blefled be our Lord and Saviour, who Jo- nah-like faid unto his Father, Take me up and caft me into this ocean, fo fhall it be calm to all my eleft. This infinitely won- derful fubftitute the Father willingly ac- cepted of; fo he was caft into the fea of infinite wrath, and like his type was in the belly of hell for his eleft, and forfaken of pod, Jon. i. 1 2. ii. 2. Matt, xxvii. 46. Jon. ii 22$ A BROOK. "4. and as it were caft out of his light for a, tirne, that his people might enjoy the favour and light of God's countenance for ever in heaven. Thus he dried up that fea, and drank off that brpok, and fo made a fafe way for all his ran- ibmed ones to come to Zion, If&. 1L I o, 1 1 . But as the Red Sea was only dried up for Ifrael, and none but they who had an intereft in Mofes as their leader could venture fafely therein ; fo the Egyptians who prefumptu- oufly went in after Ifrael were all totally overwhelmed in it : In like mariner, the fea of Infinite wrath is only dried up for the fpi- ritual Ifrael ; but all thofe who have not an intereft in Chrift Jefus as their Saviour and atonement, who venture on the general mercy of God, will find themfelves over- whelmed in that ocean of infinite wrath ; for God out of Chrift is a confuming fire, Deut. iv. 24. Neither is there falvation in any other ; for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we muft be faved, Acts iv. 12. And how {hall we efcape if we negleft fo great falva- tion, Heb. ii. 4. Great indeed beyond the Conception of men or angels ! A BROOK. 227 Juftice and mercy are both attributes of God ; and mercy will never be ihewn at the expence of juftice. Man hath finned, and juftice muft be fatisfied either in his own perfon, or by another in his room. If man fliould attempt to do this himfelf, he would eternally perifh, in fatisfying that, which through eternity he fhall never be able to do ; (pay that thou oweft would ftill be the unalterable claim of law and juftice). Yes, for it is a talk infinitely too hard for men or angels : none of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ranfom for him, Pfal. xlix. 7. What then muft be done ? Shall all the fons of Adam everlaftingly periih ? No : blefled, and for ever bleiled be the Lord our God, who in his infinitely wonderful, aftonifhing, and unfpeakable love and free mercy, hath provided a furety every way iufficient to anfwer the demands of law and juftice, even no lefs a perfon than his own eternal, only begotten, and well-beloved S on, one in eflence with himfelf ; for all fuch and pnly for fuch who fhould believe in him ; i* for God fo loved the world that he gave his 228 A BROOK. " only begotten Son, that whoibever belie- " veth in him ihould not perifh, but have u everlaftinglife," John iii. 16. Doth it then follow, that God will not fhew mercy to any of the fons of Adam, un- lefs in and through an atonement ? And if fo, as certainly it is, how comes it then that the wicked who have no intereft in Chrift as their Saviour, receive mercies, and even many comforts in this life ? for that they do is evident both from fcripture and daily ob- fervation? Pfal. cxlv. 9. Ixxiii. 3 13. True indeed, God will extend mercy to none of the children of men but in and through Chrift Jefus, and though the wick- ed have no fpecial intereft in him as their mediator, yet they have as their Creator, and in the fufficiency of his merits to fave them if they would believe ; for God is called the Saviour of all men, efpecially of thofe that believe, i Tim. iv. 10. hence the wicked for a time are fufpended out of the pit of mifery, that their rejection of a Sa- viour, and of the offers of mercy, may be clearly feen to be of themfelves, and God may be juftified in their own conferences A BROOK, \vhen he judgeth them, Pfal. li. 4. Ye will not come unto me that ye may have life, faith our ever blefled Lord, John v. 40. And again, How often would I have gathered thy chil- dren together, even as a hen gathereth- her chickens under her wings, and ye would not ? Matth. xxiii. 37. To will to come to Chrift and be faved is a work of God's free grace, which Chrift hath merited for his people ; but not to will to come to Chrift and be faved, is wholly owing to the wicked themfelves, and for which they fhall be condemned : " Becaufe I have called, " and ye refufed," faith the Lord, " I have " ftretched out my hand, and no man regarded ; but ye have fet at nought all my counfel, and would none of my re- proof: I alfo will laugh at your calamity, I will mock when your fear cometh ; when your fear cometh as defolation, and your deftruftion cometh as a whirl- wind ; when diftrefs and anguifh com- " eth upon you. Then fhall they call " upon me, but I will not anfwer ; they 44 fhall feek me early, but they fhall not " find me, for that they hated know- ledge, and did not choofe the fear of the u A BROOK. 44 Lord ; they would none of my counfel, 44 they defpifed all my reproof: Therefore 44 fhall they eat of the fruit of their own 44 way, and be filled with their own de- 44 vices," Prov. i. 24 31. And again, 44 He that belie veth not fhall be damned," Mark xvi. 1 6. All the mercies which the wicked are privileged with on this fide of time will on- ly tend to their greater condemnation, be- caufe they do not improve them. Many waters, we are told in fcripture, cannot quench love ; neither can the floods drown it, Cant. viii. 7. This was perfectly verified in the eafe of our blefled Lord and Saviour ; for though from all eternity he forefaw what our ranfom would coft him, he will^- ingly and cheerfully undertook our redemp- tion. The many waters of deep abafement which he faw he muft w r ade through in his human nature could not quench his love to his elecS : neither could the great floods of perfecution from men and devils, which ran with an impetuous current over him, from his cradle to his grave, drown it : no, nor yet the flood of Gcd's infinite wrath, though it overwhelmed his foul ? and caft A BROOK. Kim down to the ground in an agony and bloody fweat, Luke xxii. 44. drown his love, or in the leaft abate it to thofe for whom he fuffered : nor all the floods of refiftance and backiliding which he forefaw his own, even thofe for whom he died, would be guilty of Amazing love ! love without a parallel ! Was ever love equal to this ? Blefs the Lord, O my foul, and forget not all his be- nefits, Pfal. ciiL 2. Seeing that thofe ma- ny waters could not quench his love, nor thefe mighty floods drown it ; fhall the fmall ftreams, either of adverfity or profpe- rity that I meet with in a prefent life, quench my love to him who is the only lovely ob- jed: in heaven or earth ? Forbid it, O God; but grant that my love may burn to him with an encreafing ardour, until at length it be perfected in heaven in beholding his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, John i. 14. This brook alfo brings to my memo- ry that over which Jacob fent his cattle, goods, wives, children, and all that he had : 232 A BROOK. but remained himfelf there by the fide of it that nightj in which there wreflled a man with him until the breaking of the day, who faid unto Jacob, Let me go for the day breaketh ; but he faid unto him, I will not let thee go except thou blefs me. Gen. xxxii. 22, 23, 24, 26. Noble refolution ! O Jacob ! may I imi- tate thee in thus wreftling with the Angel of the covenant by prayer, faying unto God, I will not through grace ceafe to im- plore thy mercy and forgiveiiefs for all my fins, not becaufe of any worthinefs in me ; 110, for I am utterly unworthy of any thing but thy infinite wrath ; but only for the fake of thy Son, my dear Saviour, who drank fully of that brook which ran in the way of my falvation ; even bare all that in- finite wrath which my fins juftly deferved, in my ftead. What Jacob once refolved, through grace, fo do I, even not to let thee go ex- cept thou blefs me ; for my Lord hath me- rited falvation for me, and hath encoura- ged me to wreftle with thee in prayer, by the example of the unjuft judge, Lukexviii. A BROOKi 233 i 8. and hath alfo promifed, faying, Afk, and it fhall be given you ; feek, and ye fhall find ; knock, and it fliall be opened un- to you, Matth, vii. 7. With fuch wrefllings God is well plea- fed : Caufe me to hear thy voice, faith Chrift to the fpoufe, Cant. viii. 13. They that make mention of the Lord are com- manded, faying, " Keep not filence, and " give him no reft, till he eftablifh, and till 44 he make Jerufalem a praife in the earth," Ifa. Ixii. 6, 7. And our Lord hath faid, " ftrive to enter in at the ftrait gate," Luke xiii. 24. and told us likewife, that " the king- dom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force," Matt. xi. 12. But as Jacob neither wreftled nor prevailed by his own ftrength, but thro' the grace and ftrength of him with whom he wreftled; fo let us beware of ever wreftling with God by pray- er in our own ftrength, or depending upon any thing in or about ourfelves for accep- tance, knowing well, that it is only through the agency of the Holy Ghoft, and the all^ ^prevailing merits and interceffion of Chrift Q. 234 A BROOK. Jefus, our prayers can find acceptance with a juft and holy God. With what propriety prayer may be termed a. wreftling with God is beft known in the true Chriftian's own experience : for although at fome times he may pray with joy, and like a fhip in a calm, caft the an- chor of faith with eafe, yet at others he is fo dreadfully tofTed with Satan's tempta- tions, under the heavy clouds of defertion when God withdraws from him the light of his countenance, that he is ready to fink in thefe deep waters ; then it is, in the lan- guage of a certain godly minifteiv the foul, as it were, makes defperate efforts to be- lieve, faying with Jacob, I will not let thee go, except thou blefs me : and with Job, though he flay me, I will trufl in him, Gen. xxxiL 26. Job xiiL 15. But were Jacob and Job the only per- fons who thus wreftled ? No, fuch alfo were Moles, Samuel, David, Heman, Elias, He- zekiah^ Nehemkh, and Daniel, with many more on facred record, who all prevailed ; and fo fhall we, if like them, inftant in prayer, we wreftle with God through faith in Chrift ; for 235 he laid not unto the feed of Jacob, Seek ye me in vain, Ifa. xlv. 19. And our Lord hath told US) that God will avenge his own eled, who cry unto him day and night? Luke xviii. 7, 8. And the royal Pfalmift, for our encouragement hath left his own fweet experience on record, faying, " I " waited patiently for the Lord, and he " inclined unto me, and heard my cry ; he u brought me up alfo out of an horrible pit, " out of the miry clay, and fet my feet up- " on a rock, and eftablifhed my goings : " and he hath put a new fong in my mouth, " eveii praife unto our. God/' Pfalm xL Methinks now this queftion highly ne- ceflary for us to put to ourfelves t Do we deferve the character of wreftlers with God ?. if fo, what are the marks or evidences thereof? Firft, If we are fuch wreftlers, fach wreft- lings will make us humble ; for as the Lord, no doubt to keep Jacob fo, touched the hollow of his thigh, and put it out of joint^ Gen. xxxii. 25, 31. fo that he halted ever rafter s fo he, as it were toucheth the hoi* 236 A BROOK, low of every believer's thigh, putting them out of conceit with themfelves, fhewing them that they were all diflocated by the fail of Adam ; and fo grievouily put out of joint to the divine law, that it is impoflible to walk uprightly before God in their own ftrength. Secondly, We will not only lodge our petitions before the throne of grace, but anxioufly look and feek after them as a con- demned rebel who petitions his fovereign for life, will fuch a one only lodge his pe- tition for the royal clemency, and mind no more about it ? No : will he not ardently wifh for a favourable anfwer, thinking e- very hour a day, and day an age, till the meffenger arrive with the all-important anfwer, which if delayed, will he not again and again, with a degree of ardour known to himfelf only, repeat the momentous pe- tition ? Thus did David : u One thing, faith he, have I defired of the Lord, that will I feek after," PfaL xxvii. 4. We do not pray for our daily bread on- ly, but alfo ftrive by every mean in our power to obtain it ; fo all true wreftlers with A BROOK. 237 God, not only pray for fpiritual blels- ings, but alfo drive through the means of divine appointment to obtain the fame thro' grace. But alas ! too many of us en- deavour to quiet our conferences, by pre- fenting a few lukewarm defires in a for- mal manner before the Almighty, without looking any more after them, as indif- ferent whether they be granted, as Pilate was, who after he had afked our bleffed Lord, What is truth ? went out without flaying for an anfwer, John xviii. 38 : or if we do in reality defire fpiritual bleflings, and delivery from the love and power of lin, it is too often, as St Auguftin prayed before his converfion, Not yet. Suchfeek- ers, if they continue ftill feeking in fuch a manner, fhall never obtain, nor be able to enter in at the ftrait gate, Luke xiii. 24. for the kingdom of heaven fuffereth violence, and the violent take it by force. Thirdly, All true wreftlers with God ef-r teem communion with him dearer to them than every thing elfe in the world ; hence Jacob, to obtain that, flayed behind, not only Leah and her children, but even his be- loved Rachel and Jofeph, that ever memora- 4- BROOK, ble night to him, in which he was honour* ed with the name of Ifrael, Gen. xxxii. 28. What gay flowers are thefe which grow On the brink of the river I Let rne draw near and explore their beauties. All aghaft, I fpritig back from the aw- ful fpot ! - Poor flowers, , for all your gaiety the brook is undermining you, in which you will foon be fwallowed, and all your beauties deftroyed. Juft fo is it with refpedl to the wicked and carelefs in this life ; though they may be gay and proiper- ous, having more than their heart can wifli, the brook of God's infinite wrath is under- mining them, and will foon overwhelm them : then lhall their beauty confume in the grave from their dwelling. Pfal. xlix. 14. From this we may fee the ftate of the wicked, however profperous, is not to be envied. This water likewife brings me in mind of that near which Gideon and his compa- ny gained fuch a fignal victory over the hoft of Midian, by only ufing the means of founding trumpets, breaking pitchers, and. A BROOK, 239 holding lamps in their hands, crying, The fword of the Lord, and of Gideon, Judg. viL 19 22. Jufl fo true believers obtain a complete vi&ory over the devil, the world, and the flefh, thefe worie than Midianites, through ufing the means of God's appointment, VLZ. attending to, and knowing the joyful found of the everlafting gofpel ; breaking the empty pitchers of felf-confidence, and cor- rupt reafon, and holding the lamp of divine revelation in the hand of faith ; believing that in and through the fword of the Mofl High having been awakened againft the man that is his fellow, Zech. xiii. 7. even Chrift Jefus, ' on our account, becaufe he had taken upon him our furetifhip, our debt is now paid, law and juftice perfedly fatisfied, and we acquitted from the charge ; which is made manifeft by the Lord our furety being taken from prifon, as one that had fully paid the debt of the eleft, and therefore ought no longer to lie there, Ifa. liii. 8. Matt- xxviii. 2 8* This brook alfo recals to my remem- brance that fhiking comparifon which the 240 A BROOK. Pfalmift maketh betwixt himfelf longing for the ordinances of God's grace in the tabernacle, and the hart thirfting for the brooks of water. After that creature has been long and forely hunted in a dry and parched wilder- nefs, the ardor with which it pants and longs for brooks of water to quench its al- mofl infatiable thirft, is only felt by fuch a believer as David was, when debarred from holding communion with his God, in the public ordinances of his grace. Thus did the man after God's own heart, when banifhed from the public ordinances of God, either by the wicked perfecution of Saul, or the unnatural rebellion of his fon Abfalom, or both ; faying, " As the " hart panteth after the water brooks, fo " panteth my foul after thee, O God: my 66 foul thirtieth for God, for the living God : u whenfhalllcome and appear before God?" Pfal. xlii. i, 2. " O God, thouart my God, " early will I feck? thee ; my foul thirfleth < c for thee, my flefh longeth for thee in a u dry and thirfty land where no water is ; '* to fee thy power and thy glory, fo as I A BROOK. 241 " have feen thee in the fandhiary," Pfal. Ixiii. i, 2. ." How amiable are thy taber- u nacles, OLord of holts ,! my foul longeth, " yea, even fainteth for the courts of the " Lord ; my heart and my flelh crieth out " for the living God/' Pfal. Ixxxiv. i, 2. The more any perfon longeth for com- munion with God in the ordinances of his grace, the greater are his evidences for hea- ven ; for he fatisfieth the longing foul, and filleth the hungry foul with goodnefs, Pfal. cvii. 9. And our ever blefTed Lord hath faid, " Blefled are they that hunger and thirft af- " ter righteoufnefs, for they fhall be filled," Matt. v. 6. On the contrary, the lefs that any one Jongs for communion with God in his or- dinances, the lefs are their evidences for heaven. If they are pronounced blefled who hunger and thirft after righteoufnefs, certainly they who do not fo, nor ever will, are, and fhall be curfed. O may I then, whatever others do, often be communing with my own heart con- cerning what appetite I have for fpiri-. 242 A BROOK. tual things, and praying, whatever that be, that it may be increafed. Water is very refrefhing to the thirfly traveller ; and fo are the ordinances of di- vine grace to the Zion pilgrim : to him they prove as refrefhing and flrengthen- ing in his heavenly journey, as thofe wells which the Israelites dug up in the dry valley of Bacca were to them when going to Zion, Pfal. Ixxxiv. 6, 8. And as the fpies who went to view the land of Canaan returned not without fome of the fruits thereof, having brought from the brook Efhcol one clufter of grapes, alfo of the pomegranates, and of the figs, Num. xiii. 23. In like manner, thofe who go to the ordinances of the gofpel, in order to get a faith's view of the heavenly Canaan, will not return without tafting fome of its fruits : for by the brook of divine ordinan- ces grow continually a large clufter of gof- pel promifes ; grapes, pomegranates, and rigs of confolation, for the refrefhing, com- forting and ftrengthening of every true believer ; of which precious fruits they jnay freely take, and eat, without money A BROOK. 24.3 without price, Ifa. Iv. i. Nay, not only freely eat themfelves, but even invite others, faying with the Pfalrnift, "O tafte, u and fee that the Lord is good," Pf. xxxiv. 8. And this isone diftinguifhing mark of all who hc,\ ^ tatted that the Lord is gra- cious, they would have others alfo to tafte of his goodnefs. This brook likewife puts me in mind of that out of which the {tripling David chofe the five fmooth ftones with which he went againft the giant of the Philiftines, and who, by only ufing one of them, prevail* d over that bluftering defier of Ifrael, I Sam. xyii. 4049. Juft fo every belie- ver, though but a ftripling, weak and infufficient of himfelf to combat a- gainft Satan, the world, and the flefh, in the brook of gofpel ordinances finds five fmooth ftones ; namely, faving faith in the merits of Chrift, love to God, repentance unto life, a fight of his own emptinefs, and a view of the fulnefs of Chrift, by means of all which he prevails againft, and finally overcomes thofe migh-> ty giants. 244 A BROOK ' May I then examine myfelf whether I have ever found thefe fmooth ft ones in the brook of divine ordinances ; and if I have ever ufed them with the fling of divine grace againft my fpiritual foes, and what fuccefs I have had in the attempt. Thus examining myfelf, through grace, I may come to know how I have profited by gofpel ordinances ; whether I have wref- tled againft principalities, againft powers, againft the rulers of the darknefs of this world, againft fpiritual wickednefs in high places, Eph. vi. 12. and whether, like Paul, I have fought the good fight, 2 Tim. iv. 7. C 245 CONTEMPLATION X. ON FISHING. ^V7"ONDER ruftic, juft come to angle in -* the brook, is preparing his rod, and running out his line. Now he views at- tentively the atmofphere, and anon con- fiders the appearance of the liquid ele- ment ; paufes a little, and fele&s from his hooks the fly which he judges befl, and having put all in order, artfully throws the line, and raifing his hand, gently leads the impoftor, where the ftream curls round the {tone, by the cavity of the brow, or 246 WISHING. the prominent olier root: the unwary trout obferves the deceitful fly, and is tempted from its covert. As if cautious of the danger, at firft it fprings at a little diftance, but the temptation being renew- ed it can withftand the force of appetite no longer, but greedily leaps cloie, and defperate takes the death ; plunging down to the bottom it fharply feels the dreadful miftake ; diflraded with the crooked im- poftor in its mouth, it rufhes impetuoully down the current, bending the pliant rod, crofling and recroffing the ftream, ftrug- gling hard to get rid of its unhappy mor- fel ; but all in vain. At length exhauft- ed, it is ilowly dragged, plafhing feebly to the flowery bank. J.ufl fo the adverfary of mankind fifti- eth in the ftream of human life, fuiting his temptations to the various inclinations of men and women, by which many un- wary fouls are finally deftroyed. This fkilful angler, I perceive, dreiles his hook to anfwer both the day and the water ; and juft now has on a lucid fly, at which the trout s are taking very fa ft, FISHING. 247 In like manner, Satan manageth his temp- tations to anfwer the time, constitution and circumftances of every one : Sometimes he fifheth with a golden hook, and with this he caught Gehazi, Judas, Demas, with thoufands in every age. When Satan draweth this hook along the furface of that fhallow ftream of hu- man life called poverty, the danger of it is moll confpicuous ; for many, by too greedily fnatching at it, like the fifties that are taken in an evil net, Eccl. ix. 1 2. come to be fufpended by a rope, or gibbet, as a warning to others ; but alas ! without grace all will not do ; no man will be a warning to another. The devil fo artfully manageth ^this hook in fuch circumftances, alluring men to catch at it, by holding out to them the grandeur, ufefulnefs' and convenience of riches, and what a noble thing it is to have money to fwagger away with, and procure thofe pleafures which their hearts defire ; perfuading them, in order to ob- tain this great good, they may ft eal, forge, plunder and rob fafely, without any eye feeing them ; and in order to quiet their confciences, tells them, if fuch a practice 284 FISHING. be any fin, they may leave it off when they have got fufficient, and repent there- of time enough before they die. Thus he draweth them into his fnare : The love of money is the root of all evil, faith the apoftle, i Tim. vi. 10. and what evil is there that the lovers of it have not commicted for fake thereof? Hath it not made its deluded votaries commit the greateft of excelles ; call off all religion, betray their friends, the church of God, and even the Saviour of mankind, the' e- ternal Son of God himfelf, who came to lay down his life a ranfom for a guilty e- left world ? Let fuch a thought as this ever make me fet light by all the gold in the earth ; nay, defpife, and even hate it farther than it ferves to glorify God, and procure a comfortable fubfiftence through life. Although the evil of this hook be moft perceptible when drawn along the fhallow ftream of life, viz. indigent circumftances, it is no lefs dangerous when drawn along the face of the fmooth pool of profperity : FISHING; 249 then it is that men too often fet their affec- tion on riches, efteeming them the chief good; and the more they grafp after this golden hook, the more they are attached to them, till at length, with the fool in the gofpel, they addrefs their fouls, Soul, thou haft much goods laid up for many years ^ take thine eafe 3 eat, drink, and be merry, Luke-xii. 19. But, ah! ere ever they are aware, their fond hopes of pleafure are blafted ; the many years they dreamed of are come to an end, and God faith to eve- ry fuch fool, This night thy foul fhall be required of thee ; then whofe fhall thofe things be which thou haft provided ? Luke xii. 20. For what fhall it profit a man if he fliall gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul ? or what fhall a man give in exchange for his foul ? Matt. xvi. 26. There are another ckfs of men who gape at, and fwallow down this hook greedily: thefe are mifers who like the horfe-leech which hath two daughters; crying, Give* give ; are never fatisfied with riches. Nor do they appear to do them any more good^ or fill their defires one whit better than the R 250 FISHING. blood or nutriment which that reptile tinually fucks, fills or fatisfies it. Such an infatiable thirfl for riches, which fatisfieth not, but only increafeth more thirfl is truly deplorable, and thefe men of all others are moft to be pitied, whofe infa- tiable thirfl for riches continually tortures their fouls in this world, and deflroys them in the next. " There is one alone, and " there is not a fecond ; yea, he hath nei- " ther child nor brother : yet is there no " end of all his labour, neither is his eye fa- " tisfied with riches, neither faith he, For " whom do I labour and bereave my foul 44 of good ? This is alfb vanity ; yea, it is a 44 fore travail," faith the wife man. And 44 there is a fore evil which I have feen un- 46 der the fun, namely, riches kept for the 44 owners thereof to their hurt." And 44 there is an evil which I have feen under 44 the fun, and it is common among men : 44 a man to whom God hath given riches, 44 wealth and honour, fo tfrat he wanteth 44 nothing for his foul of all that he defireth ; 44 yet God giveth him not power to eat 44 thereof, but a flranger eateth it : this is FISHING. 251 " vanity, arid it is an evil difeafe/' Eccl. iv 8. v. 13. vi. i, 2. While I am meditating, this angler has changed his hook, put on a bait, and funk it with lead in the deep waters, giving the finny tribe an opportunity to fwallow it in fecret, without being obliged to come in view. Thus Satan often fiftieth with the flefhly bait of uncleannefi, in the ftagnated pool of corrupt nature ; holding it out as moil delightful, and a thoufand times more fatisfaclory to the flefh than its deluded proftitutes have ever been able to find. Yet fenfual men luft after itj and greedi- ly fwallow it in the fecret intrigues of carnality, and fo for a momentary pleafure rifk an eternity of mifery and woe ; at which incomparable folly the devil himfelf cannot fail to be flruck, and for which he will upbraid them in hell through all eter- nity* Though now he tempt them to com- mit that fin which he himfelf was never capable of; whereby many are deftroyed whofe deeds never come to the light to be reproved; and even few of thofe whofe R a 252 FISHING, deeds are made manifeft, are ever recover^ ed from this fnafe of the devil, we have reafon to fear, if we eonfult the wifdom of Solomon, who faith y and not of himfelf, but by infpiration, when fpeaking of the ftrange woman, " none that go unto her return a- 44 gain ; neither, take they hold of the paths "oflife,"Prov. ii. 19. As the angler often makes ufe of one kind of fifh for baits to deceive and enfnare another; fo doth the devil in refpecl: to men and women. Did he not make ufe of that lewd adulterefs mentioned in the Proverbs, as a bait to infnare the young man void of underftanding ? Hear the paf- fage, and may every young man take warn- ing by the finful intrigue : " For' at the 44 window of my houfe I looked through " my cafement, and beheld, among the " fimple ones, I difcerned among the 44 youths, a young man void of underftand- 44 ing, pafling through the, ftreet near her 44 corner, and he went the way to her houfe 44 in the twilight, in the evening^ in the 44 black and dark night : and behold there 44 met him a woman with the attire of an 44 harlot, and fubtle of heart. (She is loud and FISHING, 253 ** ftubborn, her feet abide not in her houfe : 44 Now is fhe without, now in the flreets, 44 -and lieth in wait at every corner). So 44 fhe caught him and luffed him, and with " an impudent face faid unto him, I have 44 peace offerings with me ; this day I have 44 paid my vows. Therefore came I forth 44 to meet thee, diligently to feek thy face, 44 and I have found thee. I have decked my 44 bed with coverings of tapeftry, with carved " works, with fine linen of Egypt. Ihaveper- 44 fumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cin- 44 namon. Come, let us .take our fill of love 44 until the morning, let us folace ourfelves 44 with loves. For the good man is not at 44 home, he is gone a long journey, he hath taken a bag of money with him, and will come home at the day appointed. With her much fair fpeech fhe caufed him to yield, with the flattering -of her lips fhe 4 forced him. He goeth after her flraight- * 4 way^ as an ox goeth to the flaughter, or " as a fool to the correction of the flocks : 44 till a dart flrifce through his liver, as a 44 bird hafteth to the fnare,and knoweth not " that it is for his life," Prov. vii. 6 23. The fin of uncleannefs is the bane of fo- 1 54 FISHING. ciety, and that which degradeth human na- ture below that of the brutal. Serious men not only abhor it,' but fpeak of it with the greateft deteftation. " Know ye not, faith " the apoftle, that your bodies are the mem- "bers of Chrift? Shall I then take the " members of Chrift, and make them the " members of an harlot ? God forbid," i Cor. vi. 15. The apoftle taketh particular notice of the heinous defiling nature of this fin above all others ; faying, " Fle& fornication. Eve- a ry fin that a man doth, is without the " body j but he that committeth fornica- " tion, finneth againft his own body. What, " know ye not, that your body is the tern- " pie of the Holy Ghoft which is in you, " which ye have of God, and ye are not " your own ?" i Cor. vi. 1820. Trivial as this fin of uncleannefs may ap- pear to be in the eyes of licentious men, it is not trivial in the eyes of God, who hath faid. If any man defile the temple of God, him lhall God deftroy, i Cor. iii. 17. and whore-mongers and adulterers God will judge. Heb. xiii. 4. FISHING. 255 Nor doth the devil count it trivial, other- wife he would not ufe fo many arts and ftratagems to enfnare men with it ; nor will they themfelves think it trivial in a future ftate. Nor do they even count it trivial in this life, however they may fpeak of it, and often commit it ; for would not almoft the moft hardened whore-monger be afhamed to commi f ; the fin of uncleannefs in the prefence of. a child, how much more in the prefence ot an earthly fovereign I Yet, aftonifhing wickednefs ! amazing ftupidity ! fuch flick not at indulging their lufls, not indeed before a child who cannot punifh their crimes, nor an earthly judge or fovereign who could only punifh them in this life ; but in the prefence of Almighty God, the fovereign Judge of heaven and earth, who can cafl both foul and body into hell fire for ever, and will by no means clear the guilty, Exod. xxxiv. 7. This brings to my memory a ftory I have fomewhere heard, which runs thus : " A ftrumpet wifhing to entice a young gentle- man to the ad of uncleannefs with her, be- 256 FISHING. ing requefted of him firft to lead him into fome place that would be fecret enough for indulging this deiire : fhe accordingly led him into a private room ; but upon his fay r ing that it was not private enough, fhe took him into another ftill more fo ; but upon his faying it would not do neither, fhe led him into another ftill more dark and fecret, and faid, there is not a more fecret place in the houfe ; and fure it is impoffible for any to hear or fee us in this place. Whereupon the young gentleman replied, O yes, I am ftill afraid God will fee us ; and unlefs you can. take me into fome place where God cannpt fee, I date not fatisfy your defires.' O that I and every one elfe would re- member that the Almighty eye of God is ever upon us, and that darknefs covereth not from him, but to him the night doth fhine as day, Pfal. cxxxix. 12. This, through grace, would deter us from thofe paths where fuch deftroyers go, and put us upon fiiying with Jacob in another cafe, O my foul, come not thou into their fecret : into their aflembly mine honour be not thou united, Gen. xxxix. 6. left thou mourn at the laft, when thy ikih and thy body are confumed,Prov. v. i j . FISHING. 257 There is another artifice fometimes ufed in the taking of fiih, which cannot be fo well done but in the drought of fummer, when there is but little water running either in or out from a pool ; and that is by putting a certain combuftible into the water, where- by the tenants of the ftream become intox- icated, fwim above, and fubmit to be taken at pleafure. Alas ! doth not the adverfary of mankind greatly ufe the artifice of intoxicat- ing men thro' the immoderate ufe of fpiritu- ous liquors, and leadeth them on by little and little, from drinking at firft merely to fatisfy nature in quenching their thirft, to a real in- clination for the bewitching juice ; which defire he augments in every opportunity where it may be indulged ; and even to feek opportunities when no opportunities offer themfelves, till at length they become habitual drunkards ; which pernicious cut- torn is not only a crime itfelf, but leadeth to the commiffion of all others. He that feeth a drunkard, feeth every thing that is bad, for what crime is there that a drun- kard is not capable of? He willalmoftundejv take every thing, and do any thing to which 25 FISHING. the devil, his own heart, and cup-compa- nions prompt him. Have not the great- eft of crimes been perpetrated by men in a Hate of intoxication ? even good men them- felves, when overcome by this vice have been guilty of moft atrocious crimes : wit- nefs Noah, who by making too free with the juice of the grape, became intoxicated, and expofed his nakednefs,Gen.ix. 20 22. And juft Lot, the favourite of heaven, but a little before delivered from the deftruftion of So- dom, fell into the fin of drunkennefs, and committed inceft with his two daughters, Gen. xix. 33 36. It is likewife fuppofed by fome, which foppofition is not improbable, if we com- pare Le yit . x . i . with 9 . that Nadab and Abihu through drinking, offered ftrange fire before the Lord, for which he deftroyed them. An awful warning this to all in clerical orders who indulge this vice ; for although they may not fuffer the marks of divine venge- ance in this life, as Nadab and Abihu did by external fire ; yet, without repentanp e, fuch cannot expert to efcape eternal fire. FISHING. 259 This vice, however odious in. other men, is doubly fo in thofe who minifter in holy things. Let fuch know, their Matter, whofe ambaffadors they profefs to be, is a jealous God ; and if grace prevent not, will vifit that iniquity upon them, and rank fuch fhepherds at laft among the goats. What noife is this ? I am all in a fur- prife ! a great concourfe of people run this way from yonder village, fcreaming and making a clamorous noife, and one a little before the reft entirely naked. I am all in a confirmation ! whether t like nipping frofls freeze up almoft every com- fort of the foul : The benefit of this David and Heman experienced in fuch a time. BEES. 291 They will alfo prove cordials in the mo- Clients of diffolution, when every thing elfe in the world is of no avail : An apoftle calls fuch flowers exceeding great and precious, 2 Pet. i. 4. to which all the faints on earth, find all the redeemed in heaven will, put to their hearty Amen. Thefe little bees are bufy all the fpring, fummer, and harveft, in providing for the approaching winter. O my foul, learn a leifon from the bees and ants, to make much of thy time, improving the feafon of grace, by laying up for thyfelf treafures in hea- ven ! Matth. vi. 20. And may God of his infinite mercy, forbid that ever thou have to complain, with the church of old, " The " harveft is paft, the fummer is ended, and " w^e are not faved," Jer. viii. 20. That this may not be the doleful cafe, feeing that there is yet balm in Gilead, fly on the wings of faith to that plant of renown, the Lord Jefus Chrift, whofe name is as oint- ment poured forth, Cant. i. 3. (which at- trads all virgin bees, even true believers to this flower, who fprang from the root of Jeffe) and there by the mouth of faith feed in time, and lay up for eternity. 292 BEES. Bees are often attacked by wafps and d- ther enemies, which deprive them of life, and bear olF their treafures ; but blefTed be God, though devils and wicked men harafs the faints here much, and often deprive them of their natural exiftence ; yet they cannot rob them of their treafures : No, for they are laid up " in heaven, where nei- u ther moth nor ruft doth corrupt, and " where thieves do not break through nor " fteal," Matth. vi. 20. All that they do by taking away their lives here, is only put- ting them out of that which is checkered with many miferies, into an eternal life of joy and happinefs, "und the full enjoyment of their heavenly inheritance : therefore fuch enemies, inftead of doing them mar- terial injury as they intend, do them un- fpeakable and eternal fervice, which they intend not. Samfon having gone down to Timnath, came to the vineyards thereof, where, be- hold a young lion roared againft him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid : the carcafe of which, on a time returning thither again, he went to fee, wherein was a fwarm of bees, and honey, which afford-. BEfcS. 293 ed him matter of an excellent riddle, which he put forth to his wedding guefts*, faying, " Out of the eater came forth meat, and out " of the ftrong came forth fweetnefs," Judg. xiv. 5, 6, 8, 12, 14. With how much more propriety may believers fay of Chrift Jefus, who came down to this world, and in the garden of Gethfemane and crofs of Cal- vary, bruifed the head of the old ferpent the devil, that roaring lion, i Pet. v. 8. and fpoiled principalities and powers, making a fhew of them openly, triumphing over them in it, Col. ii. 15. he hath out of the eater brought forth meat, and out of the ftrong, fweetnefs to his people. He hath done great things for us, Pfal. cxxvi. 3. he hath not fpoiled principalities and powers only, but made all the evils of life, perfecutions, affli&ions, temptations, and death itfelf ; nay, all things to work to- gether for good to them that love God, Rom. viii. 28. A ftrange riddle indeed! that faints fhould receive benefit from the perfecu- tions and temptations of men and devils ; yet it is certainly true, and affords incorn- BEES. parably more fweetnefs to the foul of a be- Hever, than the honey which Samfon found in the carcafe of the lion did to him. Sa- tan's lifting Peter as wheat, Luke xxii. 31. only blew av/ay the chaff of felf-confidence from him ever after. Satan's meflenger buffeting Paul, kept him a humble depen- dent on the fufficiency of God's grace, 2 Cor. xii. 7 9. The perfecution of Jofeph's brethren fent him to Egypt for good : and to haften his great preferment with Pha- raoh, the lewd adultrefs got him caft into prifon. And Mofes was obliged by Pha- raoh, who fought his life, to fly from E- gypt to Horeb, where he met with God, from which time he became God's vicege- rent, Exod. iv. 1 6. and the redeemer of If- rael from Egyptian bondage. Saul's per- fecution of David prepared him for relifli- ing more the crown, which he after- wards wore : And John was banifhed from the fociety of men to the ifland of Patmos, that he might receive a glorious revelation from God. Thefe works of the roaring lion proved in the end fweet honey-combs of comfort to all thofe worthies ; and fo will trials BEES. 295 temptations, persecutions, afflictions, and death, prove in the end to ail the people of God. I perceive there are many of the gay eft flowers which thefe bufy infects pafs over, while they alight with apparent pleafure on others much lels efteemed for their beau- ty. Juft fo is it with true believers ; not thofe empty fhews which the men of the world take pleafure in, are their delight ; thefe, like the fkilful bee, they (lightly pafs over, knowing w^ell there is no fubftantial good to be found in them ; while they foar on the pinions of faith, far above carnal enjoy- ments, and alight with fweet contempla- tion on the things which are above : on thefe are their affections fet, and from them they gather honey, even fpiritual joys and comforts, far more precious to the foul than honey, or the honey-comb : while they Ibok not at the things which are feen, but at the things which are not feen : for the things which are feen are temporal, but the things which are not feen are eternal, 2 Cor. iv. 18. BEES. All the fpring and fummer feafon, bees delight and are bulled in ranfacking flowers and herbs for the delicious fweets ; but ef- pecially do they beftir themfelves to adivi- ty, that part of the feafon when the honey dews are to be found : Before, they con- tented themfelves with feeding and load- ing from herbs and flowers, but now they perch on the trees in fwarms together, loud- ly buzzing their joys, while they gather ho- ney in abundance. If any fliould impede them in their aerial journeys to or from the trees enriched with fuch dews, how fhould they be made to fmart by their keen flings for fuch inter- ruptions. In like manner, the faints delight in, and conftantly attend on the ftated or- dinances of grace, but efpecially do they take pleafure in the more folemn ordinances of the gofpel, even in the holy facraments, thefe peculiar memorials of Chrift's love and death: In thefe precious feafons heavenly dews fall abundantly for the refrefhment of his people ; then it is believers call forth eve- ry grace, in lively exercife : before, they contented themfelves with the ordinary in- ftitutions of the gofpel, thefe falutary herbs BEES. 297 and flowers planted in the church, but now they foar higher on the Wings of faith and love, and feaft on Chrift himielf the tree of life, who inviteth them, faying^ " Eat, O " friends ; drink, yea, drink abundantly, O " beloved," Cant,v. i; When fuch Ihowers of bleflmg are fall- ing, were the world, the devil, or the flem to interrupt their joys^ keenly would they draw but the fword of the Spirit againft them, faying with Ephraim^ What have I to do any more idols ? Hof. xiv. 8. and with Nehemiah, I am doing a great work, fo that I cannot come down, Neh. vi. 3. and with David, Depart from me ye evil doers, for I will keep the commandments of my God, Pfal. cxix. 115. Tinkling on bra"fs or iron is very often ufed in the fwarming of bees f for the pur- pofe of alluring them to fettle and hive, In like manner, the joyful found of the e- verlafting gofpel is proclaimed, in order that linners, who have been driven from reft- ing in the old flock of Adam by the ter- rors of the law, and know not where to fly for fafety, may be induced to take refuge U under the righteoufnefs of (Jhrift, the lafl Adam, i Cor. xv. 45. But as bees do not always halt, though never fo tinkled, nor yet when cluftered take the hive without further affiftance ; fo though all men hear the glad tidings of the everlafting gofpel, yet to many it proves but as founding brafs, or a tinkling fymbal, i Cor. xiii. i. they come and go to ordinan- ces, and are never a whit the better, either with refped: to principles or practice ; and even though many are enticed thereby to fettle in Chrift by a nominal profeffion, fay- ing unto him, Lord, Lord, yet will he pro- fefs unto them, he never knew them, Matt. vii. 21 23. unlefs through the energy of the Holy Ghoft they be planted in him. How much doth it then concern all gof- pel hearers to know whether divine effica- cy hath gone along with the word preach- ed, uniting them by faith and love to Chrift jefus, feeing that many are called, but few are chofen, Matt. xxii. 14. Owners of bees feed their ftocks 1 only in winter, rainy and cold feafons, when thefe BEES. 299 infects are not able to fly abroad in queft of their fubfiftence, or when no flowers are to be found in the fields : and is not the Lord very gracious in feeding the fouls of his people in private and fecret ordinances, when they are deprived of attending upon him in public, either through perfecu- tions, difeafes, infirmities, age, or other rie- cefTary lets ; but cin thofe expect fuch fup- plies who wilfully neglect, through idlenefs, floth, or any other unwarrantable excufe, to wait upon him in the public ordinances of his appointment ? No ; but on the con- trary, may be afraid they fhall be fuffered to ftarve by the great mafler, who neglecl: to improve fuch fweet feafons of his grace, and that they who will not afTemble with the faints here^ in his ordinances of grace, at his footftool, fhall not be allowed to af- femble with them at his right hand on the great day of accounts, and fo not in glory- before his throne above. Many felect the Sabbath from all the other days of the week^ for the purpofe of feeing Friends, viiiting the fick, or taking medi- cine ; fo that they may not retard their work by fo doing on other days ; yet fuch we . U 2 ' M, 300 BEES. probably fhudder at obferving any of their fellows following their ordinary employ- ment on that holy day. Strange fhipidity ! do not they them- felves virtually do fo, who rather than their labour fhould be interrupted on other days, or a fingle penny be loft by doing fuch things, poftpone all till Sabbath ; and I am afraid, if grace prevent not, thofe who ha- bitually do fo, will be ranked among Sab- bath-breakers, and defpifers of the ordinan- ces at laft. I remember a charge I have fomewhere heard which a confiderable farmer ufed to give on Sabbath to his family and fervants ; which was, not to ftay at home from the pub- lic ordinances of the gofpel, unlefs they had fuch an excufe as they could carry to the judgment of the great day. O that this charge may found freflily in the ears of my foul every Sabbath, and in the ears of all privileged with gofpel opportunities ! In every hive, naturalifts inform us, there are a number of drones, (and thefe work not) which often fly about towards the ap- BEES.. 3OI proach of night, making a greater buzz than any of the other bees ; yet are they necefTary to be preferved for a while, being the only males, fo that workers may be pro- pagated. And are there not likewife a number of drones in the world, even men who do nothing at all for the glory of God, or the good of fo- ciety ? thefe, like thofe drone bees make of- ten a great noife, both by word and deed, againft God and his people ; for " lo ! thine " enemies maketh a tumult, faith David, " and they that hate thee have lifted up " the head," Pfal. Ixxxiii. 2. " They re- ^ turn at evening, they make a noife like *> a dog. Behold ! they belch with their " mouth, fwords are in their lips," Pfal. lix. 6, 7. But it is a great comfort for believers that their Lord who is on high ftilleth the noife of the feas, the noife of their waves, and the tu- mults of the people, Pfal. Lxv. 7. that fuch wicked drones fhould be fo long preferved in the world at firft view may feem ftrange, yet it is highly neceflary ; for among other rea- &ns, bed known to the Divine Being, this is 302 BES. none of the leaft, that many of the elet are . to Ipring from their loins ; when this, and other ends are accomplifhed, they will then be driven away in their wickednefs, Prov* xiv. 32. And as the death of fuch bees after the breeding feafon, whether it be natural or accidental, is but little regarded or refent- ed by the workers ; fo when fuch wicked drones perifh, the wife man tells us there is ihouting, Prov. xi. 10. Such live undefir- ed, and die unregretted. Owners of bees, in order to afcertairr nearly what quantity of honey is in the hives, are often poizing them : in like man- ner the people of God, that they may know the ftrength and truth of their graces, ought frequently to be weighing their prin-' ciples, lives, and converfations in the ba- lance of the fanftuary : If this were done, I am afraid on many fair profeflbrs Tekel , might be written, Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting, Dan. v. 37: BEES. 303 A man cannot approach with fafety a hive of bees in the fwarming feafon, with- out being equipped with a fuitable drefs, to defend him againft their venomous flings : So no believer need think to be in fafety while furrounded by the world, the devil, and the flefh, without having on a drefs of defence, even the Lord Jefus Chrift, Rom. xiii. 14. and the whole armour of God, Eph. vi. 13. The benefit of fuch a drefs the royal Pfalmift declareth he experienced, when fpeaking of his , enemies, faying^ ". They compafled me about like bees, tn.^ " are quenched as the fire of thorns ; for "in the name of the Lord I will deftroy "them," Pfal.cxviii. 1 2. O that I may be thus arrayed and ac- coutered, fo that in the name of the Lord I may deftroy and root out thofe fwarms of idle and wicked thoughts, that continually, as it were, like bees encompafs my heart ; and fo overcome my fpiritual foes. In windy weather bees are very irritable, and apt to fling any perfon who approach- es near their hive ; but in doing fo they often do more harm to themfelves than 304 BEES. thofe on whom they inflict the venomous imart ; as they frequently thereby lofe their iting, for which they are difcarded the hive, and treated as members unfit for fociety : The fame it is with refped: to many men, when pride blows up the paffion of anger : O how ready are they then to relent injuries ! never coniidering that thereby they often hurt themfelves moft ; for without timely repentance, their unlawful anger will bring down the wrath of the Almighty upon themfelves, and debar them of the peaceful fociety above. O that I and all men may then cheerfully fubmit to the teaching of him, c >- who taught " as never man taught," and hath faid, " Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in " heart," Matt. xi. 29. " This is my com- " mandment, that ye love one another as " I have loved you," John xv. 1 2. " He *' that ruleth his fpirit, faith Solomon, is " better than he that ^aketh a city," Prov, xvi. 32. f O that men would fhew their courage and valour this way, and not in haft/ and angry paffions at one another: be this my BEES. 305 itudy and conftant care, well knowing what evils hafty anger hath done to many of the people of God themfelves ; Did it not ex- clude the meekMofes from entering into the land of promife ? make Jonah infolently juf- tify his unwarrantable paffion to his Maker ? and- Paul and Barnabas part from one a- nother, Niim. xx. 10 12. Deut. iii. 25, -36. Pfal. cvi. 32, 33. Jon. iv. 8, 9. Ads xv. 39. How feafonable then is that admonition, Ceafe from anger, and forfake wrath ; fret not thyfelf in any wife to do evil, Pfal. xxvii. 8. that paffion was implanted in man for a noble purpofe, even to fhew his zeal for the glory of his maker, in ardently teftifying againft (in : but O ! how much is it abufed when ufed in a finful manner ! then, inftead of glorifying God, we difhonour him with his own gift : "- Be ye angry, and fin not :' - " Let not the fun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the de- vil," faith the apoftle, Eph. iv. 26, 27- And indeed being angry at any thing but 1m, is an inviting the devil to take poflef- fion of our hearts, and wh^t pleafeth him well. 306 BEES, May I therefore for the future keep a ftrider watch over my fpirit than I have done in times paft, knowing thac the wrath of man worketh not the righteoufnefs of God, James i. 28. " The difcretion of a *' man deferreth his anger, and it is his " glory to pafs over a tranfgreffion," Prov. six. n. Thefe little infeds in their fociety arc not without a kind of monarchial govern- ment, for there is only one female in eve- ry hive, which naturalifts denominate the queen. She is not only remarkable for fecundity, being the breeder of all the workers, but maintains a fuperiority over the whole, being more grave in her de- portment, feldomer feen, and armed differ- ently from the reft. ' It is fhe that gives them the iignal when to fwarm, when to plufter, and where to hive. Say now, my foul, doth not the wifdom of the Creator greatly appear in the eco- nomy of thefe feeble infeds ? in fubor- dinating the workers to the dominion of the queen bee, and in enduing her with fuperiority over them ? and no lefs confpi- BEES. 307 cuous is the wifdom of God in the ma- nagement of men in fubordinating fome under the fupremacy of others. If this had not been the cafe, all had been anar- chy and confulion : It is therefore of ab- folute neceffity, in this imperfect flate of things, that there fhould be power and au- thority, and fuperior s as well as inferiors , that the great chaia of human fociety may hang as it were by links in uniformity toge- ther, and the greateft as well as the leaft be dependant on one another for mutual fup- port : for if all the lower links of a per- pendicular chain were cut off from the frigheft, there would then be no chain ; and if, on the other hand, the higheil were cut off, the others would fall to the ground : juft fo would it be in human fo- ciety. How much reafon have men then to adore the Creator of all for his infinite- ly wife difpofal of human affairs ! if C 309 3 CONTEMPLATION XIIL ON OBSERVING A S W A L L O W. ^TTTELCOME, fweet harbinger of fum- mer ! Quick as an arrow newly launched from the bow of an Indian thou fliefl along. Terrible as the war-hoop founds in the favage ear, no lefs fo doth thy fhrill, or twittering note to that of the infect tribe, which thou now purfueft thro' the air with open mouth. ' By whom waft thou awakened from'thy long repofe ; or rather advertifed in 'dif- 3IO A SWALLOW, tant climes, of the fetting in of the infect feafon in our ifland, that thou art fo op- portunely come ?. Come while yet the ver- nal months remain, anxious as it were that thou mighteft lofe no opportunity of im- proving the precious approaching feafon. O that I and all men living, who are on our way to the other world would learn a leffon from this bird of paflage ! even to improve our precious feafons of grace. Strange ! that man who is taught more than the beafts of the earth, and made wifer than the fowls of heaven, Job xxxv. I 1 . fhould be outdone by the ftork in the heaven, the turtle, the crane, and the fwallow, which all know, and " obferve the " time of their coming." With thefe an- cient Ifrael were reproached, who knew not the judgment of the Lord, Jer. viii. 7. And by thefe may not I, and many a one elfe be put to fhame ? who alas ! have too much neglected and ftill do, to improve the precious ordinances of the gofpel, not only in the fpring-time of youth, when every mental power is moft lively, and ea- fily impreflfed ; but alfo in the fummer and prime of life< A SWALLOW. 3II The want of the faving knowledge of the mercy of God, made our blefTed Lord and Saviour weep over Jerufalem, faying, " If " thou hadft known, even thou, atleafh in " this thy day the things which belong unto " thy peace, but now they are hid from " thine eyes/' Luke xix. 42. and the want of this ought to make every one who feels it weep for himfelf, and at the fame time to blefs the Lord, that the things which belong unto their peace are not yet hid from their eyes, but that flill the door of mercy ftandeth open, and God is yet faying, " Behold, now is the accepted " time, behold now is the day of falva- " tion. To day, if ye will hear his voice, * 4 harden not your heart. Turn ye, turn ye " from your evil ways ; for why will ye 44 die, O houfe of Ifrael," 2 Cor. vi. 2. Pfal. xcv. 7, 8. Ezek. xxxiii. n. To behold the fwallow now again in our climate is truly delightful, and teacheth me the truth of what the wife man faith of the God of nature, that he hath made every thing beautiful in his time, EccL iii. n, 312 A "SWALLOW. If then every thing be beautiful in its feafon, and we are pleafed to fee thefe birds of paflage in this joyous time of the year again revifit our land, how incomparably more delightful is it to fee in the fpring- time of childhood and youth, men com- ing to, and attending on the ordinances of the gofpel, improving the precious feafons of grace ! The fwallow, as it were knowing that her ftay in this ifland muft not be long, is willing to make the mod of her time, fo fkims the air with active wing in purfuit of her food, and performs the other functions 9 for which me came, with alacrity : And fhall man, who was fent into this world for bulinefs of an infinitely greater impor- tance, trifle away in indolence his fhort time, and negled: the things that belong to his everlafting peace ? The fwallow chiefly purfues and lives upon food which it gathers in the serial heaven ; fuch as the beetle and gnat ; and if at any time fhe is forced to peck from the earth, it is more through neceffity than choice : fo every believer mainly feeks A SWALLOW. 313 after celeftial things ; fpiritual and heaven- ly enjoyments are thefe in which he chief- ly delights, and thefe alone are the food of his foul, though through neceflity he is o- bliged in part to care for the things of this life. When this bird is obferved to fly near the earth in purfuit of infeds, it is account- ed a fign of dark and rainy weather, but on the contrary when purfuing them high in the air, it is an indication of fettled and clear. Juft fo when a believer beginneth to fet his affedion on things of the earth, and delighteth in carnal enjoyments ; it is a to- ken that heavy clouds of darknefs, and ihowers of afflictions and crofles, will inevit- ably enfue : whereas, on the other hand, when he fetteth his affedioiis on things bove, not on things on the earth, Col. iii. 2 . it evidences to himfelf, and all who know his frame, that his fky is clear, and fhall brighten more and more, till at length he fhall enjoy a perfect ferenity above. The fwallow feems to delight in the fo- ciety of man, by its building and hatching about his habitation, on the chimnies ot X 314 A SWALLOW. houfes, and often in churches. For this laft privilege, the royal Pfalmift, when in a ftate of exile from the public ordinances* feemeth to envy this bird in being allowed to rear its nefl, and hatch about, or near the altar of the Lord, faying, " How arriia- " ble are thy tabernacles, O Lord of hofls ! " my foul longeth, yea, even faint eth for ".'the courts of the Lord ; my heart and my " flefti crieth out for the living God. Yea, " the fparrow hath found an houfe, and " the fwallow a neft for herfelf, where fhe ** may lay her young ; even thine altars, O a Lord of hofts, my king and rny God," Pfal . Ixxxiy, i 3 . But blefled be the Lord, we in this land, in this age, have no reafoii to envy the. fwallow in this, for we have perfecl liberty to wait upon God in his ordinances, even publicly in his houfe of prayer, none externally to make us afraid. Such was not the cafe with many of our fathers : yet, alas !- we their children make but an ill improvement of thefe privileges, for we either too often neglecl the public worfhip of God altogether, or go to the or- dinances to rear up a fhelter for ourfelves, even that of our own righteoufnefs, which A SWALLOW. 315 is no better than the mud and ftraw with which the fwallow builds her neft, and which is eafily fwept down ; valuing ourfelves up- on our punctuality in attending the ordi- nances, and obferving the letter of the law ; and fo in our nefl of performances hatch felf-conceit, imagining we are good Chri- ftians, all will be well with us. But fuch a fabric will only deceive thofe who truft therein, and both them and it be fwept a- way at laft. 'It is only they who build on the rock Chrift, and take fhelter alone in his righ- teoufnefs, that, (hall be faved. Every true believer therefore goeth to the ordinances, not fo much for the inflitutions themfelves, as to meet and hold communion with the God of ordinances in them. The fwallow, it is faid, by means of the herb celandine, or fwaliow-wort, opens the -eyes of her young ones, and brings them to fight : However this be, O that parents among men would ufe the means which God hath put in their power, for opening the fpiritual eyes of their tender offspring, to fee their loft and undone ftate by nature, X 2 3*6 A SWALLOW. and that there is no falvation any where elfe, but in Chrift ; and would pray often to him to anoint their young eyes with eye- falve, that they may fee, Rev. iii. 18. The want of this care among parents is 110 doubt the reafon of fo many blind, igno- rant youths in our day. The fwallow teaches her young ones to take food in the air, in this manner : while they are playing near where the dam is hawking for flies, and the latter has caught a mouthful, by a fignal given by the pa- rent, the young one and fhe advances to- wards each other, and meets at an angle, when the old one imparts what it has taken into the mouth of its offspring, which all the time it is receiving it, utters a fmall twittering note of gratitude. O that parents of the human kind, would learn from this inftance what duty they owe to their tender progeny, even that of accuftoming them early to attend on the public ordinances of the gofpel, by bring- ing them th^re, to get fpiritual food for their fouls, and taking pains to impart un- to them Chriftian knowledge. For fuch a A SWALLOW*. 317 bleiling children ought to utter fongs of gratitude to God, and to blefs him for fuch parents. The fwallow too, adls as an excubitor for feveral other fmall birds, and when it'fpies the hawk approaching, founds the alarm ; then prefently all the others that are near colled: in a body, and give battle to their common enemy, by riling up high in the air, and coming down with force on their foe : this they do again and again, till he is beat far from their place of refidence. Juft fo ihould minifters of the gofpel, thofe watchmen which are fet on the walls of Je- rufalem, Ifa. Ixii. 6. do, when they obferve the people in danger of being deftroyed with refped to their fpiritual intereft, whe- ther by innovations in religion, the fpread of error, the infringement of their facred privileges, or any other way whatever ; then it is they ought to put the trumpet to their mouth, and found an alarm, Hof. viii. i. Joel ii. i. even warn the people, fo that their blood may not be required at their hands, Ezek. xxxiii. 3 6. and alfo do what in them lies to arm and flrengthen them againft fuch fpiritual enemies, colled- 31 8 A SWALLOW. Ing, as it were, all their force together, ri- ling up to heaven in prayer, and uling the weapons of their warfare, which are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of flrong holds ; cafting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itfelf againft the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift : and having in a readinefs to revenge all difobe- dience, when their obedience is fulfilled,, 2 Cor. x, 4 6. and thus beat and banifli fuch errors, innovations, and corruptions, whether in do&rine,. worfliip, or difcipline, away from the church of God, This bird is faid to be moft alert in time of thunder, when fulphurous clouds are im- pending. In like manner fhould every true believer be moft adlive in fleeing to God by prayer, in humbling themfelves, and in performing the other duties of a Chriftian life, when the Lord's judgments are abroad in the earth, and heavy clouds, of his difpleafure hang over a guilty land. When the Lord's voice of judgments crieth to a city, country-fide, or nation at* A SWALLOW* 319 large, thofe alone are the men of wifdom that fee his name, hearkening to the rod, and who hath appointed it, Mic. vi. 9. well knowing that fin is the procuring caufe of all evil ; and it is not for nought when God lifteth up his hand to punifh a nation, or people ; for he doth not afflid willingly, nor grieve the children of men, Lam. iii. 33- Whether therefore his judgments are on nations, families, or individuals, they ought to have this effed, to make all who are con- cerned learn righteoufnefs. It is an awful thing and fign of great depra- vity, when they ftill remain carelefs : at fuch ftupidity the prophet feemeth to have been deeply affedted^ when he crieth out, Lord, when thy hand is lifted up they will not fee : but they fhall fee^ Ifa; xxvi. 1 1 . So they that will not fee the Lord's hand in a way of mercy, fhall in a way of judgment. It was when Jonah thundered in the ears of the Ninevites, " Yet forty days, and 46 Nineveh fhall be overthrown," that the inhabitants thereof " believed God, and 320 A SWALLOW. " proclaimed a faft, and put on fackcloth ^ from the greateft of them even to the " leaft of them : for word came unto the ' king of Nineveh : and he arofe from his " throne, and he laid his robe from him, and " covered him tvith fackcloth, and fat in " afhes, And he cauied it to be proclaim* " ed and publifhed through Nineveh (by the " decree of the king and his nobtes) fay- " ing, Let neither man nor beaft, herd nor " flock tafte any thing : let them not feed " nor drink water : but let man and beaft 14 be covered with fackcloth, and cry migh- " tily unto God 5 yea, let them turn every " one from his evil way, and from the " violence that is in their hands. Who can " tell if God will turn, and repent, and turn " away from his fierce anger, that we pe- 44 rifh not ? And God faw their works, that " they turned from their evil way ; and " God repented of the evil that he faid he " would do unto them ; and he did it not," Jonah iii. 4. to the end. We fee what a blefled effeft fuch humi- liation had ; and fhall heathens put Chri- ftians to fhame ? fhall we in this land, in the year 1801, when the Lord is thunder- A SWALLOW. 321 ing over our guilty heads in his awful judg- ments, by war abroad, tumults and famine at home, with diforders in ftate, and divi- lions in the church, fuch as never were known in the annals of Britain, not hum- ble ourfelves under the mighty hand of God, and cry mightily unto him, that he would avert the judgments, which like dif- mal clouds, not only gather thicker and thicker, but are begun to pour down veu- geance upon our land ? Thefe judgments (or fimilar) we may well expedl, according to the experience of other nations, recorded both in facred and profane hiftory, fhall continue on our if- land, till they either make us turn unto him that fmiteth us, or deftroy us from being a nation altogether. Let none think they are innocent in bringing down thefe heavy judgments with which this kingdom is at prefent afflided ; for every one of us as individuals, of all ranks, have had a high hand in procuring thofe evils in which we are involved by our fins and iniquities. *22 A SWALLOW. chat we Would all then nationally and PL rib^ally humble ourfelves under the migh- ty haiivi. of God, and turn unto him that irniteth us, that iniquity may not be our ruin, Ezek. xviii. 30. However others do, may I be complying with that fweet invi- tation, " Come, my people, enter thou into " thy chambers, and {hut thy doors about " thee : hide thyfelf as it were for a little " moment, until the indignation be over- " pad : For, behold ! the Lord cometh out " of his place to puniih the inhabitants of " the earth for their iniquity ; the earth al j " fo fliall difclofe her blood, and fhall no " more cover her {lain," Ifa. xxvi. 20, 21. What becomes of the {wallow tribe when they leave us in autumn ? Whether in ca- verns, or hollow places of the earth they remain in a torpid ftate during the winter ; or emigrate beyond the feas to fome warm- er climate ; or clufter together and defcend to the bottom of lakes, is equally uncertain, and what naturalifts are divided in their o- pinions about. But not fo is it with refpect to man when he dieth ; for wherein reafon is weak in this, revelation fteps in to aflure its, that man goeth either to heaven or hell. A SWALLOW. 323 That all men would wifli to be happy at laft, is a defire founded in nature ; but that any are fo at length, is wholly owing to grace. Many, nay, I may fay all, defire with Balaam to die the death of the righteous, and to have their laft end like his, Num. xxiii. 10. but few truly defire to live a righteous, holy life. Nature alone may make a man requeft to die happy, but it is grace only that can make any defire, and really live the life of the righteous. May it then be my care through grace to do fo, that in the fpring morning of e- ternity, even that wonderful morning of the refurrection, I may with refpecl: to my body return from the duft with joy unfpeak- able and full of glory, i Pet. i. 8. to fing with all the redeemed the fong of Mofes and the Lamb for ever and ever in the pa- radife of God. C 325 1 CONTEMPLATION ON THE EVENING OF THE DAY. THE bright monarch of day having but a little ago difappeared in the weft, darjoiefs beginneth again to refume her an- cient reign, and claimeth a primeval right ; while the village bell calls the laborious huf- bandman from his toil, and invites the wea- ry traveller to reft. The herds forfake their dewy paftures, and with their udders richly fraught for the dairy, move lowing on, to be difcharged 326 EVENING. of their moft nutritious burdens, one of the chief bleffings of Canaan: and the woolly tribes are fhut up in their folds. The verdure of the fields darkens on the light; while night fpreadeth her fable veil over the face of nature. Where is now the pleafant landfcape I fo lately beheld ? It is loft to my view : and the warbling pe'ople with their wing covered heads fit filent on the fpray : only the bird of ete uihers in the gloom with her irkfome folitary dirge, while labour reclines her head on the bo- fom of reft, and balmy fleep endeared by toil refrelhes animal life. And is this delightful day come to an end? O my foul, fo fhall foon the day of this life, and all its buftle be filenced in the tomb. How much then doth it concern me and all men living, to be putting by our work in our twelve hours ! O that while it is called to day we might labour for the meat which perifheth not, but endureth to everlafting life, John vi. 27. feeing the night of death approacheth wherein no man can irork ; for there is no work, nor device, EVENING. 327 nor knowledge, nor wifdom in the grave, Eccl. ix. 10, This dewy evening, calm and ferene, miiideth me of the clofe of a Chriftian's life in old age, Happy alone then is he, who while his head is flour ifhing like an almond tree, can calmly reflect on a well fpent life * ; fuch ihali come to his grave " like " as a (hock of corn cometh in in his fea- " fon," Job v. 26. As the Lord once faid unto Jacob, " Fear " not to go down into Egypt : I will go " down with thee into Egypt, and I will " alfo furely bring thee up again," Gen. xlvi. 3. fo he will fay, as it were, to luch a one, Fear not to go down to the duft or death : I will go down with thee, and I will alfo furely bring thee up again. But O how reverfe is it with the hoary headed firmer, who hath fpent his days in the purfuits of fin and vanity ! Confcience * This did the great Addifon when on his death-bed ; grafping the hand of a young acquaintance, he faid, See \vith what peace a Chriftian can die. 328 EVENING. that was rocked afleep in the narrow, fhort bed of carnal delights, in the clofe of life awakeneth from her flumbers like a mighty giant, and fcreameth ten thoufand times more terrible in the ears of the guilty foul than that owl from the ruinous tower doth in mine ; while remorfe and forrow, more fierce than the vultures of the defert, prey upon the mind, ufhering in the worm which never dieth. From this learn a leflbn, O my foul, to be hufbanding thy time well, and anfwer- ing the end of thy creation, that the even- ing of my life may be calm and ferene, and I may fay with the apoftle, " I have * 4 fought a good fight, I have finifhed my ^ courfe, I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righte^ " oufnefs, which the Lord, the righteous " Judge fhall give me at that day ; and not 46 to me only, but unto all them alfo that V love his appearing," 2 Tim. iv. 7, 8. HQW taftelefs now are all the beauties of nature. The flowery meads and delight- fully chequered lawns, which but a little ago appeared in all the gaiety of drefs, EVENING. 329 charming the eye of the beholder, now fhrouded in fable, pleafe no more. Juft fo fhall it be with all the pomp of this world in a dying hour. O that mortals would be wife in time, and chiefly feek after that which would then yield real fatisfadion ! Will frothy converfation, vain entertain- ments, licentious company, the fparkling bowl$ or midnight revels, or (what is more plaufible) wealth or fame, dignified flattens, high founding titles, or great honours give that ? No, no ; thefe may, and often do fill the death-bed with thorns ; religion alone ftrews it with rofes. Nothing lefs than an intereft in the merits of Chrifl will comfort the foul when hovering on the utmoft verge of life. Though religion be fcoffed at by fome> difregarded by many, and trifled with by the generality, yet there is a reality in it which all muft either fweetly or awfully ex- perience. Many complain on a death-bed of not having been religious enough, but never one of having been too much fo. There are many fools in the world, but none fo great as thofe who leave their fal~ Y 330 EVENING; vation work till a dying hour : in thefe trying moments, though reafon be conti-* nued, which is often not the cafe, toffing licknefs and racking pains, will leave the mind but little time for ferious medita- tion : Befides, how many are matched a- way in a moment ? Think feriouflyon this, ye giddy mortals, who are fpending the morning and prime of your days in the purfuits of fin and folly ; if ye will not, I will here draw Solomon's bow (but not at a venture), and fhoot that fcripture-arrow, which will fiick faft in your confcience one day ; " Rejoice, O *' young man, in thy youth, and let thy " heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, " and walk in the ways of thine heart, and " in the light of thine eyes; butknowthou, " that for all thefe things God will bring " thee into judgment/* Eccl. xi. 9. The traveller who has this evening taken up his lodgings, forgets his toilibrne jour- ney in the arms of fleep : What matters it now to him, though his way were crook- ed and rough ? he is now at his jour- ney's end, and refts as fweetly as he whofe EVENING. 33t path was ftraight and fmooth. Jufl fo is it with refpeft to the Chriftian when he com- cth to diej and take up his lodgings in the grave : what matters it then to him though his journey through life were ftrewed with poverty, ficknefs, croffes, and trials * ? he is now at his journey's end, and can reft as fweetly in the houfe appointed for all living, as he who wafhed his fteps in butter, and the rock poured him out rivers of oil f ; Job xxix. 6. this remembers his pleafures no more, and that hath forgotten his for- rows. Frorri this may I learn, calmly to bear the ills of life, and when a few years are paft, perhaps months, days, or hours, if I fleep in Jefus I fhall reft as quietly in the tomb as the Chriftian whofe life was al- ttioft one continued round of tranquillity. What ought to make Chriftians patient- ly bear their trials, is the falutary confider- ation that they are all meafiired out to them by the hand of their heavenly Father, who in infinite wifdom giveth what is beft ; nor Y 2 * Such \fcas the lot of Lazarus, f Such was Abraham, 33 2 EVENING, need they doubt his love : " he that fpared " not his own Son, but delivered him up " for us all, how fhall he not with him al- " fo freely give us all things ?" Rom. viiL 32. if he hath given to us that heavenly pearl of infinite value, and withholdeth no other fpiritual bleffings, much lefs will he withhold from us the good things of this- life (which are but as dung and drofs in comparifon of thefe) that he knoweth to be needful for us : But as a wife and tender father gives play-things to fome of his chil- dren, that he will hot allow to others of them, forefeeing they would hurt them- felves with fuch, and whippeth fome more than others, according as their ftubborn tempers require ; fo dealeth our heavenly Father with refpeft to his children here, in giving them fuch a proportion of good things and chaflifements, as he knoweth maketh mofl for his honour and glory, and their good. * Nor fhould the righteous fret when they fee the wicked in profperity, having more than their heart can wiih : What if thefe baftards, with Iflhmael and the fons of Ke- turah, be fent off with their portions here ; EVENING 333 the Lord referveth the heavenly inheritance for his Ifaac's. Let thefe reflections reconcile me to that fituation of life in which the Lord hath placed me, and may I be daily proving to myfelf and others, by a holy life and coii- verfation, that I am of the feed of Abra- ham by faith, and an heir according to the promife, Gal. iii. 29. Art has now laid afide her implements. The ponderous hammer, raifed by the ner- vous arm of the fmith is heard no more on the anvil : Bufinefs has laid by his pen, and left many an account unclofed ; and the well frequented fhop is fhut : As it is with the feller, fo it is with the buyer. All are gone to reft ; and the taker of ufury, and the giver of ufury are alike rich in fleep : And fo fhall they be in the grave. Think on this, ye worldlings, and let the thoughts of it moderate your affedion to the things of earth ; knowing that in a very little, your pooreft neighbours fhall be as wealthy as you. In order to induce you to this, ye whofe coffers are now full, and 334 EVENING. acres, perhaps, almoft innumerable, con-* iiaer what a great account you will have to make for the wealth you are entrufted wl-^, and how jfrnall a portion of land you muft occupy at laft. The accounts which are not clofed this evening, may be fettled to-morrow ; but at death the accounts which are not clofed betwixt the foul and God, muil lie open for ever ; for as the tree falleth, fo it fliall lie. True, indeed, they will be looked over in the morning of the refurredion, by the eye of unerring juftice ; but not the fmalleft al- teration will be made. The infolvent debtor fhall be condemned to the prifon of hell till he fhall have paid the uttermoft farthing to law and juftice, which can ne- ver be the cafe. O that I from this may take warning to have my accounts with God a>l cleared in Chrift before a dying hour ! feeing that after death there is no more work. What grave harmonious found is this which I hear broken by difcordant paufes ? Methinks it proceedeth from yonder cot : EVENING, 335 Let me approach the homely edifice, and learn the meaning. O, now, I perceive it is a poor man at worfhip with his family, reading the line. Happy were it for the world, if all thofe who have families were thus employed e- vening and morning ; but alas ! this is not the cafe ; the generality neglect this rea- fonable fervice, and thereby iliew them- felves more brutiih than the brutes them- felves; for the " ox knoweth his owner, " and the afs his mailer's crib," Ia. i. 3. If the love and goodnefs of God will not engage men in this grateful fervice, me- thinks that dreadful imprecation uttered by the Prophet fliould alarm their confciences : 4t Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that " know thee not, and upon the families that " call not on thy name," Jer. x, 25, And is it not awful to think that many who bear the Chriftian name, notwithftanding the folemn engagements they come under to perform this duty, when they are receiving the ordinance of baptifm for their children, mould trifle with their vows ? Such I would addrefs in the language of an inipired wri- EVENING. ter, " Be not deceived ; God is not rnock- " ed," Gal. vi. 7. one day you will have to accoufit for all the engagements you have come under to the Lord : think then what your reckoning will be. But there are others who dare not ne~ gle6l this important duty altogether, yet do it only by halves ; fuch are thofe who in the morning, when their fpirits are moft vigorous and lively, begin the day with the purfuits of the world, and only clofe it with God, when they have nothing elfe to do. When the family, fatigued by labour, re- cline their weaiy heads in the prayer; and fometimes afleep,andfometimes awake, and fometimes properly neither, imagine they hear diftin&ly the pithkfs words which fall from the liftlefs tongue of their yawning, drowfy parent or matter, which afterwards trying to recoiled:, they find all was decep- tion, and they remember no more of them than the idea of a forgotten dream : Nor know they often when he faulters out, A- men ; till he himfelf, or fome other, fur- prifed by the filence, ftart from his knees, and jog up the reft of his fleepy compa- nions. EVENING. 337 Is this any thing elfe than an offering of the torn and lame to God ? But " curfed " be the deceiver which hath in his flock " a male, and voweth and facrificeth unto " the Lord a corrupt thing," MaLi. 14. And can ye read this who follow fuch prac- tices, and not fee your own doom ? but though this fervice is not always gone a- bout in the evening with fuch languor as has been defcribed, yet thofe who give the vigour of their fpirits in the morning to the world, and referve only the dregs of the e- vening for God, I am afraid will come un- der this curfe : the beft you can make of it is only half fervice. Now, if a farmer pa^ the one half-year's rent never fo punctually, if he flill continue to negledt the other, will his landlord be fatisfied with his conduft ? And think ye God will be well pleafed with fuch a partial fervice ? , The omiffion of family duty is often fol- lowed with the negleft of fecret prayer, whereas the performance of the one is a ftrong indication of the obfervance of the other. The worfliip of God is a duty found-* ed, not only on revelation, but even in na- ture itfelf ; witnefs the worfhip which the EVENING. heathens pay to their imaginary deities. And fhall the poor blind heathens put en- lightened Chriftians to ftiame ? From all this may I learn, like this poor jnan, evening and morning, to be prefent- ing my body a living facrifice, holy, ac- ceptable unto God, which is my reafon- able fervice, Rom. xii. i. renouncing my own righteoufnefs, depending upon nothing in or about me or my fervices, for accep- tance with God, but only in the merits of his Son Jefus Chrifl alone : And fp may I clofe this evening, praying for a bleffing upon my poor labours this day, both to piyfelf and others.. THE END. ^Thomas Turnbull, Printer,^ Canongate, Edinburgh. 3 CONTENTS, Lines Spoken at Ednam, the birth-place of the celebrated THOMSON, Page 7 A Descant on Creation, 9 SPRING DAY. CONT. I, On the Dawn of the Morning, 41 II. On the Singing of a Lark, 50 III. On a Sheep Fold, 56 IV .'On the Sun, 73 V. On Ploughing, 87 VI. On Sowing, 95 VII. On a Field of Springing Corn, 101 VIII. On a Wood, 117 IX. On a Brook, 223 X. On Fishing, .245 XL On a Flower growing in a Field, 277 XII. On Bees, 289 XIII- On Observing a Swallow, 309 XIV. On the F/vemng of the Day, 325 ^s&. YC155320