Husbandry spiritualized, or, The heavenly use of earthly things consisting of many pleasant observations,…

AND doth not spiritual experience teach Christians, that a mediocrity and competency of the things of this life, best fits them for the fruits of obedience, which is the end and excellency of their beings? A man may be overmercied as well as over afflicted. Rare fumant foelicibus arae, the altars of the rich seldom smoke. When our outward enjoyments are by providence shaped and fitted to our condition, as a suit is to the body, that fits close and neat, neither too curt nor long; we cannot desire a better condition in this world. This was it that wife Agur requested of God. Prov. 30. 8, 9. Give me neither Poverty nor Riches, but feed me with food convenient for me, least I be full and deny thee? and say who is the Lord, or lest I be poor and steal, and take the name of my God in vain. Against both he prays equally, not absolutely; that had been his sin, but comparatively and submissively to the will of God. He had rather, if God see it fit, to avoid both these extremes; but what would he have then? Why food convenient. Or, according to the Hebrew, give me my prey or statute bread; which is a Metaphor from birds that fly up and down to prey for their young, and what they get they distribute among them; they bring them enough to preserve their lives, but not more than enough to lye mouldering in the nest. Such a proportion Agur desired; and the reason why he desired it, is drawn from the danger of both the extremes. He measured (like a wise Christian) the conveniency or inconveniency of his estate in the world, by its suitableness or unsuitableness to the end of his being; which is the service of God. He accounted the true excellency of his life to consist in its reference and tendency to the glory of his God; and he could not see how a redundancy or too great a penury of earthly comforts, could fit him for that, but a middle estate