Divine Conduct, or The Mystery of Providence

(7.) Corruption discovers its strength in good men, by their adherence to things below, and loathness to go hence. This often proceeds from the engaging enjoyments and pleasant fruitions we have here below. Providence mortifies this inclination in the Saints, (1.) By killing those ensnaring comforts before-hand, making all or most of our pleasant things to dye before us. (2.) By embittering this world to us, by the troubles of it, (3.) By making life undesirable, through the pains and infirmities we feel in the body, and so loosing our root, in order to our more easy fall by the fatal stroke.

(7.) Corruption discovers its strength in good men, by their adherence to things below, and lothness to go hence. This often proceeds from the engaging enjoyments and pleasant fruitions we have here below. Providence morti•ies this inclination in the Saints, (1.) By killing those ensnaring comforts before-hand, making all or most of our pleasant things to dye before us. (2.) By imbittering this world to us, by the troubles of it, (3.) By making life undesirable, through the pains and infirmities we feel in the body, and so loosing our root, in order to our more easie fall by the fatal stroke.

And thus I have finished the Second General Head; but before I pass from this, I cannot but make a pause, and desire you with me, to stand in an holy amazement, and wonder at the dealings of God with such poor worms as we are! Surely God deals familiarly with men! his condescensions to his own clay are astonishing! All that I shall note at present about it, shall be under these three heads, wherein I find the matter of my present meditations summed up by the Psalmist, Psal. 144. 3. Lord what is man, that thou t•kest knowledge of him? or the son of man, that ⟨p. 118⟩thou makest account of him? And in this Scripture you have represented,