Casuistical morning-exercises the fourth volume /

4. Make it your care to give a silencing account to the Devil, and all his Agents. I grant, that neither he nor they will ever be silent, they'll reproach and revile you, they'll mutter and whisper, and secretly say and do all they can against you, and they'll never want something out of which they'll force matter of reproach. You have Christ in this very Context, saying,^(b) Whereunto shall I liken this Generation? It is like unto Children sitting in the Markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented; for John came neither eating nor ⟨p. 10⟩drinking, and they say, He hath a Devil: The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man Gluttonous, and a Wine-bibber; a friend of Publicans and Sinners: But Wisdom is justified of her Children. They do as it were say of John, the Devil enables him to endure such hardship, and therefore they reject his Doctrine; and they reproach Christ's person, as if his more free temper encouraged Licentiousness. Let a Godly Mans Conversation be what it will, 'twill never please those that hate Holiness. But yet my Brethren, 'twill strangely muzzle them, they can but grumble out a reproach; or if they speak out, 'tis by clamour, to drown the whispers of their Consciences, when they can say something like that;^(c) So she gleaned in the field until even, and beat out that she had gleaned:— And she took it up, and went into the City, and—brought forth, and gave to her that she had reserved, after she was sufficed; and her Mother in Law said unto her, Where hast thou gleaned to day? &c. q. d. Such of Christs Harvest-men have been at work, and I have been gleaning after them; I have met with that which to me hath been a feast, the Word hath been refreshing, and I can show you some of the handfuls that I have gleaned; I have attended upon the Ministry of the Word, and have picked up some Knowledge, who was before an ignorant wretch, and never minded my Soul. I have picked up something of food for my Soul, whereas I was pining away in mine iniquities. My Conversation will witness where I have been gleaning, and I humbly resolve there I'll abide, in the use of such means, while God vouchsafes them. When you thus resolve, you must expect Satan will do his utmost to flatter or fright you out of your purposes: