Two treatises of Mr. Jeremiah Burroughs. The first of earthly-mindedness

Fourthly, Gods withdrawing of comfort is not always the withdrawing of his presence: Thou mayest mistake, thou thinkest that God is withdrawn, why? because he hath withdrawn comfort; there may be a great mistake in this: ⟨p. 337⟩God (I say) may withdraw comfort, and not withdraw his presence, take this for a certain rule and make much use of it, when comforts are gone: Do not say when comforts are gone, therefore the presence of God is gone, there may be as full and as gracious a presence of God when comforts are gone as ever there was: he may be present with his graces and support; as in Psal. 63. 8. My soul followeth hard after thee, thy right hand upholdeth me; though thou seemest to be gone. So, God may be present to uphold thee, and to strengthen thee, and to exercise thy faith in him, and that may be as acceptable to God: The exercise of faith in the want of comfort may have as much of God in it as all the comfort that ever thou hadst in all thy life; and therefore do not say, that Gods presence is gone because comforts are gone: The beams of the Sun in the winter time is not so effectual as the influence of the Sun when it is in a cloud in the summer time: Is the presence of the Sun gone in the summer because there's a cloud between the sun and you? It may be a child will think, Oh the Sun is gone out of the firmament because there's a cloud: I but I know there's the Sun still, for there's the influence of the Sun, there's some heat in the day, and there's some light whereby I may see to do my work, though I have not that lustre as before; Now when the Sun shines in winter it shines bright but there's not that influence of the sun upon the earth as makes the plants grow: So, sometimes the beams of Gods presence may be clouded to a Christian by reason of outward afflictions, and yet there may be more of Gods presence than at another time, when it shall shine in the beauty of it in the comforts of a Christian for so I compare the shining of the Comforts of a Christian to the shining of the Sun in the winter, that sometimes have no influence to sanctify the heart, As in winter times the Sun hath not that influence to fructify the ground, but at other times though the Sun be clouded yet it hath influence to make the ground fruitful;

Fourthly, Gods withdrawing of comfort is not alwaies the withdrawing of his presence: Thou maiest mistake, thou thinkest that God is withdrawn, why? because he hath withdarwn comfort; there may be a great mistake in this: