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a sentence of death upon thy dearest mercy, thank thyself, and hold thy peace.

5. If in this case God had made thee a pre<cedent to others, thou must have held thy peace; how much more then shouldst thou be mute when God hath made many others precedents to thee? Did not God smite Aaron in his dear and near enjoyments? Lev, x. 1. 2. and doth he not hold his peace; Did not God (smite David in his Absalom, and Abraham in his Sarah, and Job in his sons, daughters, estate, and body, and Jonah in his gourd? Art thou more beloved than these? No. Hast thou more grace than these? No. Hast thou done more for divine glory than these. No. Art thou richer in spiritual experiences than these? No. Hast thou attained to higher enjoyments than these? No. Hast thou been more serviceable in thy generation than these? No. Hast thou been more exemplary in thy life and conversation than these? No. &c. Then why shouldst thou murmur and fret at that which hath been the common lot of the dearest saints?

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Though God hath smitten thee in this or that near and dear enjoyment, it is thy wisdom to hold thy peace; for that God that hath taken away one, might have taken away all. Justice writes a sentence of death upon all Job's mercies at once, and yet he holds his peace; and wilt not thou hold thine, though God hath cropt the fairest flower in all thy garden?

Anytus, a young spark of Athens, came

sat at supper

revelling into Alcibiades's house; and as he with some strangers, he rose on a sudden, and took away one half of his plate; thereupon the guests stormed, and took on at it; he bade them be quiet, and told them, that he had dealt kindly with him, since that he had left the one half, whereas he might have taken all. So when our hearts begin to storm and take on, when God smites us in this pear mercy, and in that dear enjoyment; Oh! let ús lay the law of silence upon our hearts, let us charge our souls to be quiet for that God that hath taken away one child, might have taken away every child; and he that hath taken away one friend, might have taken away every friend; and he that hath taken away a part of thy estate, might have taken away thy whole estate: therefore hold thy peace; let who will murmur, yet be thou mute.

6. It may be thy sins have been much a bout thy near and dear enjoyments; it may be thou hast over-loved them, and overprized them, and over-much delighted thyself in them; it may be they have often had thy heart, when they should have had but thy hand; it may be that care, that fear, that confidence, that joy that should have been expended upon more noble objects, hath been expended upon them. Ah! how often hath one creature-comfort, and sometimes another, put in between Christ and your souls? How often have your dear enjoyments stood in Christ's Place? Ezek. xxiii. 17. Now, if a husband, a child, a friend, shall take up th

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room in thy soul that is proper and peculiar to God, God will either embitter it, remove it, or be the death of it. If once the love of a wife runs out more to a servant, than to her husband, the master will turn him out of doors, though otherwise he were a servant worth gold. The sweetest comforts of this life, they are but like treasures of snow; now do but take a handful of snow, and crush it in your hands, and it will melt away presently; but if you let it lie upon the ground, it will continue for some time: and so it is with the contentments of this world; if you grasp them in your hands, and lay them too near your hearts, they will quickly melt and vanish away; but if you will not hold them too fast in your hands, nor lay them too close to your hearts, they will abide the longer with you. There are those that love their mercies into their graves, that hug their mercies to death, that kiss them till they kill them, Many a man hath slain his mercies, by setting too great a value upon them: many a man hath sunk his ship of mercy, by taking up in it over-loved mercies are seldom long lived, Ezek. xxiv. 21.-When I take from them the joy of their glory, the desire of their eyes, and that whereupon they set their minds, their sons and their daughters. The way to lose your mercies, is to indulge them; the way to destroy them, is to fix your minds and hearts upon them; thou mayst write bitterness and death upon that mercy first, that hath first taken away thy heart from God. Now, if God

hath stript thee of that very mercy with which thou hast often committed spiritual adultery, and idolatry, hast thou any cause to murmur? hast thou not rather cause to hold thy peace, and to be mute before the Lord? Christians, your hearts are Christ's royal throne, and in this throne Christ will be chief, (as Pharaoh said to Joseph, Gen. xli. 40), he will endure no competitor. If you shall attempt to throne the creature, be it never so near and dear unto you, Christ will dethrone it, he will destroy it; he will quickly lay them in a bed of dust, who shall aspire to his royal throne. But,

7. Thou hast no cause to murmur, because of the loss of such near and dear enjoyments, considering those more noble and spiritual mercies and favours that thou still enjoyest. Grant that Joseph is not, Gen. xlii. 36. and Benjamin is not; yet Jesus is; he is yesterday, and to-day, and the same for ever, Heb. xiii. 8. 1 John iii. 9. Thy union and com`munion with Christ remains still, the immortal seed abides in thee still, the Sun of righteousness shines upon thee still, thou art in favour with God still, and thou art under the anointings of the Spirit still, and under the influences of heaven still, &c. and why then shouldst thou mutter, and not rather hold thy peace? I have read of one Dydimus a godly preacher who was blind; Alexander, a godly man, once asked him, whether he was not sore troubled and afflicted for want of his sight? Oh yes, said Didymus, it is a great

affliction and grief unto me; then Alexander chid him, saying, Hath God given you the excellency of an angel, of an apostle, and are you troubled for that which rats, and mice, and brute beasts have? So say I, Ah Christians! hath God blessed you, Eph. i. 3. 4. with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places? hath the Lord given you himself for a portion? hath he given you his Son for your redemption, and his Spirit for your instruction; and will you murmur? Hath he given his grace to adorn you, his promises to comfort you, his ordinances to better you, and the hopes of heaven to encourage you; and will you mutter? Paulinus Nolanus, when his city was taken from him, prayed thus, Lord, (said he), let me not be troubled at the loss of my gold, silver, honour, &c. for thou art all, and much more than all these unto me. In the want of all your sweetest enjoyments, Christ will be all in all into you, Col. iii. 11. My jewels are my husband, said Phocion's wife; My ornaments are my two sons, said the mother of the Gracchi; My treasures are my friends, said Constantius; and so may a Christian under his greatest losses, say, Christ is my richest jewels, my chiefest treasures, my best ornaments, my sweetest delights; look what all these things are to a carnal heart, a worldly heart, that (and more) is Christ to

me.

8. If God, by smiting thee in thy nearest and dearest enjoyments, shall put thee apon a more thorough smiting and mortifying of thy

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