be! Why, it may be, it will not be long, ere thou be there. Be still, it is God; things will end well, if heaven will make it so.

You may object, Yea, but mine are not such yet, as concerning whom I can thus relieve myself; that they will be partakers of eternal felicity, when this miserable life ends.

;

I answer, Do thy duty to bring them to be such thou hast now time and leisure, now all is gone; what else shouldst thou do now, but give all diligence to make up a felicity for thee and thine where it may be, seeing all is gone here? Time was thou didst pretend multitude of businesses, and great employment in thy calling, that thou couldst not discharge this and that duty in thy family, for the eternal good of servants and children, as thou wouldst. Now thou hast nothing to do, God hath removed that hinderance; let us see now how heavenly thou wilt be in the discharge of the divine duty. It will be heavy upon thee indeed, to see thy children lie in bodily misery, and yet still go on to do nothing to deliver them out of soul misery. If God stir up thy heart by this to do thy duty thoroughly, for the soul good of thine, thy misery may prove blessed misery to thee and thine. This will be thy comfort at giving up, that thou hast discharged thy duty, to make a miserable condition blessed. But if success suit thy industry, thy miserable children are made indeed. This may cheer thee under sad thoughts; I can leave my children on earth, but I can leave my children heaven; I cannot leave my children this hilly country, nor that; neither the blessing of hills, nor vallies here; but I can leave them the blessing of the everlasting hills, as the expression is of Joseph's blessing heaven was eyed in that expression. I

conclude all thus: we are under age here, hardship here is fit for us and ours. Such heirs must comfort themselves with what they shall have. You

who are partakers of the divine nature, shall be partakers of more felicity than the tongue of men and angels can express; and yours, for your sakes, will be blessed below when you are so blessed above.

SERMON XIX.

COLOSSIANS I. 12.

GIVING THANKS UNTO THE FATHER, WHICH HATH MADE US

[FIT TO THE PART OF THE LOT OF SAINTS IN LIGHT.]

THE greatest favours come most immediate to us. Eternal mercies fall as a lot in our lap; no art, no medium, no merit. God's own finger points them to persons, to such, and not to such. "Who hath

made us fit to the lot of saints."

Providence hath a mediate and an immediate

course to give out favours to man.

This that ex"House and

pression of the wise man gives us ; riches are the inheritance of fathers: but a prudent wife," saith he, is of a higher descent, "is from the Lord." The mercy is higher, and therefore disposed by a more immediate and special providence. As things rise in the nobleness of their own nature, so they rise in the manner of their birth and bringing forth to us. Grace and glory are simply and absolutely the noblest natured things, and these in the noblest way descend upon us by a very immediate disposing hand of God, like a lot.

Things are of a double descent. There is man's offspring, and God's offspring. "We are his offspring," saith the apostle. The noblest things are only God's offspring: the great things of eternity come only from God; heaven comes forth from him. Some things come down along in such a line to us, through so many hands, into our hands. Heaven

comes out but from God's immediate hand, by providence, not to be explained, just as a lot; "The lot of saints," &c.

Some things have succession; others have none. Melchisedec had neither father nor mother. The greatest favours come all so into the world, neither father nor mother, but God. Out of nothing came all; from nothing comes all still, to the saints. Heaven, which is a saint's all, from nothing but from heaven. From what house doth that great house descend upon us to be ours? from what progenitors but Christ? Is it not disposed to such and such secretly, wonderfully, by a hand and power unknown to all the world? Upon Christ's vesture they did cast lots, and as that fell, so the vesture went, by a supreme hand only. Heaven is Christ's vesture, the Son's best garment, his robe of state and glory, and this goes by lot too; it is put upon the back of none by any art of their own, but by a power supreme, by that hand which disposeth lots which none sees; so all the saints get their greatness; "The lot of the saints," &c.

A

As power did create, so providence doth dispose. very unknown creation had the heaven of heavens. The angels, and all the state and glory of that brave world to come. Do you find any piece of that stately building above, so much as once expressly mentioned in the days of creation? It is disposed of as

it was created, in a very close way, by such a power and providence as no creature can explain, or peep into. This world was made by an immediate hand, but that above after a more close, more entire, and more supreme way, utterly without all hint to be

guessed at. So this world is disposed of by a providence of God, but by a providence working very externally, and all along in such and such human and secular ways as usually known unto us. But

that glorious world above is disposed by such a providence as works very internally, very hiddenly, in means utterly unlikely, and in these moves utterly out of our sight and reach, just as that hand and those fingers do, which dispose into your bosom such a lot of great treasure.

Some motion is peculiar for state. Kings give low things by offices, and take no notice of them themselves, what they are, nor to whom they go. But other things, of a more noble nature, they give with their own mouth, and with their own hand; such and such noble things, to such and such noble persons. Heaven is nobility conferred with God's own hand. It is the best robe put upon the prodigal by the hand of his father, and none else. It is Mephibosheth advanced by word of mouth, from David himself, as a piece of the state of his greatness, to which God had raised him, and as a high point of love. The more immediate things come out of one friend's hand into another, the more they speak out love, and render parties honourable. "I did it for him with my own hand," you have such a common expression when you would work your respect, with such and such, to a great height. The king gives a jewel, and he gives it with his own hand; his love and honour doubly sparkle in

such a jewel every time it is looked upon. Heaven is a jewel hung about our neck by God's own hand. God makes a rich portion, and as it were rolls it up in a lot, and with his own hand, without any art of man, casts it into our lap; "The lot of

saints."

Some motion is peculiar for compliment. It is a filling up of love, to give, and to give with a man's own hand to give an only Son, and the Father to do it with his hand only; this is love to admiration, love filled up to the brim. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son." Some persons give as if they would give themselves too, if they knew how; that makes the gift mighty large: ye shall have gift, and hand and all; words, and arms and all. A gift fully circumstanced with love is a double gift. Heaven given, and cast into our lap with God's own hand, is a double heaven. A lot in a good ground, and to fall there; heaven, and to fall as out of heaven, that is two heavens. God's love-motions are fully circumstanced with love; the sun wants not a beam to give forth its glory. Heaven comes from God to the soul, as the soul itself came from God; the soul and the felicity of the soul both breathed from God's own mouth.

Some motion is peculiar for echo. Some things are done so and so, to suit and join to others. The holy land was divided by lot, immediate Providence carried it there. Friendship made no revenue in Canaan. God's own hand cast every man his fortune, so full and so good; in such a place, in the mountains, or in the vallies, with springs, or without. Divine dispensations are harmonious. Heaven comes in no new way to us. God gives as he did give. He did give Canaan with his own