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be full of fruits, Pfal. xcii. 14. "They fhall bring forth fruit in old age, they fhall be fat and flourishing."

REFLECTIONS.

1. How hard have I laboured for the meat that perifheth? PreThe worlding's vented the dawning of the day, and laboured as in the very fire, and yet is the Chriftian's work reflection. harder than mine? Surely, then, I never yet understood the work of Chriftianity. Alas, my fleepy prayers, and formal duties, even all that ever I performed in my life, never coft me that pains, that one hour at plow hath done. I have either wholly neglected, or at beft, fo lazily performed religious duties, that I may truly fay, I offer to God what coft me nothing. Wo is me, poor Wretch! How is the judgment of Korah fpiritually executed upon me?. The earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up his body; but it hath opened its mouth and swallowed up my heart, my time, and all my affections. How far am I from the kingdom of God!

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2. And how little better is my cafe, who have indeed profeffed religion, but never made it my bufinefs? Will The formalift's an empty (though fplendid) profeffion fave me? reflection. How many brave ships have perifhed in the storms, notwithstanding their fine names, the Profperous, the Success, the Happy Return? A fine name could not protect them from the rocks, nor will it fave me from hell. I have done by religion, as I fhould have done by the world; prayed, as if I prayed not; and heard, as if I heard not. I have given to God but the fhadow of duty, and can never expect from him a real reward.

3. How unlike a Chriftian doft thou alfo. O my foul, go about thy little zeal and activity doft thou exprefs in thy work; though upright in the main; yet how

The reflections of a

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flothful Chriftian. duties? Awake love and zeal, feelt thou not the toil and pains men take for the world? How do they prevent the dawning of the day? and labour as in the very fire till night; and all this for a trifle! Should not every drop of sweat which I fee trickle from their brows, fetch, as it were, a drop of blood from my heart, who am thus convinced and reproved of fhameful laziness, by their indefatigable diligence? Do they pant after the duft of the earth? Amos ii. 7. And fhall not I pant after God? Pfal. xlii. 1. Ah, my foul, it was not wont to be so with thee in the days of my first profeffion. Should I have had no more communion with God in duties then, it would have broken my heart: I should have been weary of my life. Is this a time for one to ftand idle, who ftands at the door of eternity? What, now flack-handed, when so near to my everlasting reft, Rom. xiii. 11. or haft thou found the work of God fo unpleasant to thee? Prov. iii. 17. or the trade of godliness fo unprofitable? Pfal. xix. 12. Or knowest thou not, that millions,

now in hell, perished for want of ferious diligence in religion, Luke xiii. 34. nor doth my diligence for God, anfwer to that which Chrift hath done and fuffered, to purchase my happinefs or to the preparations he hath made in heaven for me? Or doft thou forget that thy Mafter's eye is always upon thee, whilst thou art lazying and loitering? Or would the damned live at this rate as I do, if their day of grace might be recalled? For fhame, my foul, for fhame! rouze up thyfelf, and fall to thy work, with a diligence anfwerable to the weight thereof; for it is no vain work concerning thee, it is thy life.

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THE POEM.

When advanc'd in pow'r,
Husband every hour,

Men ftrive with all their might,
Find a fweet delight.

Nought befides that pay
To cheer us in our way;
Do the best we can ?

No fuch reward from man.
Work, and not regard
To get a small reward?
Turn flugs, and loiter thus ?
Their zeal might quicken us!
Hands, and feet fo flow,
Unto our business go?
Then Chrift's pay expect,
Chriftian's work reject?
Alfo that embrace-

If not, we both disgrace.

They could these two divide,

Please them well, with Chrift to fide!

May not, then it were

Cenfe pleading, they'll not hear.
From floth, my foul betake
Work, no cavils make.

And try! Saints fay that even,
Take, hath much of heaven.
Their best wine's kept till last,
Eafe comes all fo fast.

CHAP. II.

Upon the Thriftinefs of the Hufbandman.

The hardest lab'rers are the thriving men,
If you'll have thriving fouls, be active then.

OBSERVATION.

NDUSTRY and diligence is the way to thrive and grow rich in

IND

the world. The earth must be manured, or its increafe is in vain expected; Qui fugit molam, fugit farinam; He that refufes the mill, refufes the meal, (faith the proverb). "The diligent foul "fhall be made fat." Solomon hath two proverbs concerning thrif tiness and increase in the world. In Prov. x. 4. he faith," The "hand of the diligent maketh rich." And in ver. 22. he faith, "The blefling of the Lord maketh rich." Thefe are not contradictory, but confirmatory each of other; one fpeaks of the principal, the other of the inftrumental caufe. Diligence without God's blefling will not do it; and that blefling cannot be expected without diligence therefore hufbandmen ply their business with unwearied pains, they do even lodge in the midst of their labours as that good husband Boaz did, Ruth ii. 3. They are parfimonious of their time, but pro digal of their fweat and ftrength, because they find this to be the thriving way.

APPLICATION.

As nature opens her treasures to none but the diligent, fo neither doth grace. He that will be a rich, must be a painful Chriftian; and whofoever will clofely ply the trade of godlinefs, fhall comfortably and quickly find, "That in keeping God's commands there is great "reward," Pfalm xix. 11. God is a "bountiful rewarder of fuch "as diligently feek him," Heb. xi. 6. They muft not indeed work for wages, nor yet will God fuffer their work to go unrewarded; yea, it fufficiently rewards itfelf, 1 Tim. vi. 6. And its reward is twofold; (1.) Present and in part; (2.) Future, and in full, Mark X. 29, 30. Now in this time an hundred-fold, even from fuffering, which feems the most unprofitable part of the work, and in the world to come life everlafting. If you ask what prefent advantage Chriftians have by their diligence? I answer, as much and more than the husbandman hath from all his toils and labours. Let us compare the particulars, and see what the husbandman gets that the Christian gets not alfo. Compare your gains, and you will quickly fee the odds.

1. You get credit and reputation by your diligence; it is a commendation and honour to you to be active and stirring men: But how much more honour doth God put upon his laborious fervants?

• Non mercenarii fed operárii.

It is the highest honour of a creature to be active and useful for its God. Saints are called veffels of honour, as they are fitted for the mafter's use, 2 Tim. ii. 21. Wherein confifts the honour of angels but in this, that they are miniftering fpirits, ferviceable creatures? And all the apostles gloried in the title of fervants. The lowest of fice in which a man can serve God, even that of Nethinim, or doorkeepers, which was the lowest order or rank of officers in the house of God, Ezek. xliv. 10, 11. is yet preferred by David before the fervice of the greatest prince on earth, Pfalm lxxxiv. 10. It is no fmall honour to be active for God.

2. You have this benefit by your labour, that thereby you avoid loofe and evil company, which would draw you into mischief. By diligence for God, the Chriftian alfo is fecured from temptation; "God is with them while they are with him," 2 Chron. xv. 2. Communion with God in the way of duty is a great prefervative against temptations. The Schoolmen put the question, how the angels and glorified faints become impeccant? And refolve it thus: That they are fecured from fin by the beatifical vision; and fure I am that the vifions of God, not only in glory, but now also in duty, are marvellous defences against fin; and they who are most active for God, have the fulleft and clearest visions of God, John xiv. 21.

3. You have this benefit by your labour, that it rends much to the health of our bodies. The Chriftian hath this benefit by his labour, that it tends to a healthful state of foul; "The way of the Lord is "ftrength to the upright," Prov. x. 29. As thofe that follow their daily labours in the field, have much more health than citizens that live idly, or scholars that live a fedentary life: So the active Christian enjoys more spiritual health, and is troubled with fewer complaints than others.

4. By diligence in your civil employments, you preferve your eftates, and are kept from running behind-hand in the world. Bailiffs trouble not fuch men's doors; they ufually have the forefoot of their neighbours. And by activity and diligence for God, fouls are kept from backfliding, and running back in their graces and comforts. Remiffness and intermiffion in our duties are the first steps and degrees by which a foul declines and wastes as to his spiritual estate.

5. Your pains and diligence in the fields, make your bed sweet to you at night, Ecclef. v. 12. Reft is fweet to a labouring man, whe"ther he eat little or much." But the diligent life of a Chriftian makes the clods of the valley, his grave, fweet unto him, 2 Cor. i. 12. 2 Kings xx. 3. "Remember now, O Lord, how I have walked before "thee," &c. Think Christian, how fweet it will be for thee when thou comeft to die, to say then as thy Redeemer did, when near his death, John xvii. 4, 5. "I have finished the work which thou gaveft "me to do; and now, O Father, glorify me with thine own felf."

6. The expence of your fweat fills your purfes, you get eftates by your diligence and labour; but what are your gains to the gains of

Chriftians? They can get in an hour that which they will not part with for all the gold and filver on earth, Prov. iii. 14.

So that compare these labourers, as to all their advantages and you fhall fee, that there is no trade like that which the diligent Chriftian drives.

Reflections of the

REFLECTIONS.

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1. Blush then, O my foul, at the confideration of thy laziness and floth, which is attended with fo many fpiritual wants! And can I wonder at it, when I flothful foul. refuse the painful way of duty, in which the precious fruits of godlinefs are only to be found? If the fruits lie upon the furface of duty, or could be had with wifhes, I fhould not want them; but to dig deep and take pains I cannot. My defires, like thofe of the flothful man, kill me, because my hands refuse to labour, Prov. xxi. 25. If every duty were to be rewarded presently with gold, would I not have been more affiduous in them, than I have been? And yet I know that a heart full of the grace and comfort of the Holy Ghoft, is better than a houfe full of gold and filver. O what a compofition of stupidity and floth am I! I have been all for the short cut to comfort, when conftant experience teacheth, that the further way about, by painful duty, is the nearer way to it. What pains do husbandmen take? What peril do feamen run for a little gain? O fluggish heart! wilt thou do nothing for eternal treasures?

Secondly, If there be fuch great reward attending diligence in duty, then why art thou fo apt, O my foul, to caft off duty, because thou findeft not prefent comfort in it? How quickly am I discouraged, if I prefently find not what I expect in duty? Whereas the well is deep, and much pains must be taken to draw up those waters of joy, Ifa. xii. 3. There is a golden vein in the mount of duty, but it lies deep; and because I meet not with it as foon as I expect, my lazy heart throws by the shovel, and crys, Dig I cannot.

The worldling's reflections.

Thirdly, If this be indeed the rich and thriving trade, why do I puddle about the poor, low things of the world fo much, neglecting the rich trade of godliness for it? how much of my time and ftrength have these things devoured? Had I employed that time in communion with God, would it not have turned to a better account? Thinkeft thou in earnest, O my foul, that God hath endowed thee with fuch excellent faculties, capable of the most Divine and heavenly employments, or that Jefus Chrift hath fhed his invaluable, precious blood, or that he hath fent forth the glorious Spirit of holiness, and all this to fit men for no higher, no nobler employments than thefe.

Is this the end of thy wonderful creation? Doth God whirl about the heavens in endless revolutions, to beget time for this? Or doth he not rather expect that the weightiest work should engross thy

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