A word in season to this present generation, or, A sober and serious discourse…

Tenthly and lastly, To move you so to order, demean, ¹and carry your selves, as that you may enjoy the gracious presence of God with you, in your greatest troubles and deepest distresses, consider that the Divine presence will make up the absence of all outward comforts, this gracious presence will supply and fill up the place of a friend, a child, a father, a husband. Some of the Rabbis write, that Manna had all sorts of tastes, and all sorts of sweets in it: Sure I am, that the favourable presence of God has ²all sorts of sweets in it, it has the sweet of all ordinances in it, it has the sweet of all duties in it, it has the sweet of ³all Church privileges in it, it has the sweet of all Relations ⟨p. 180⟩in it, it has the sweet of all your outward comforts in it, and therefore above all keeping, keep the presence of God with you. Many in their distresses and miseries are full of complaints; one cries out, he wants a faithful Friend; another cries out, he wants an active Relation; a third cries out, that he wants necessaries both •or back and belly; a fourth cries out, he wants the means that others enjoy, but he that enjoys the gracious presence of God finds all these wants made up to him, Yea he finds the Divine presence to be infinitely better ⁴than the presence of all outward comforts. As Elkanah said to Hannah, Am not I better than ten Sons? So assuredly the presence of the Lord is wonderfully better than all other things to every soul that has tasted the sweetness of it. You know, that one Sun is more glorious, delightful, useful and comfortable than ten thousand Stars, so here. Seneca tells a Courtier that had lost his Son (Fas tibi non est, salvo Caesare, de fortuna tua query, &c.) That he had no cause to mourn, either for that or ought else, so long as his Sovereign was in safety, and he in favour with his Sovereign, he had all things in him, and he should be unthankful to his good fortune, if he were not cheerful both in heart and look, so long as things stood so with him as they did: How much more may we say to every sincere Christian, that enjoys the gracious presence of God with him. Let thy wants and thy crosses be never so great, thy afflictions never so pressing, thy necessities never so biting, thou hast no just cause to be troubled or dejected, so long as thou art in favour with God, and enjoyest the presence of God.