The zealous Christian taking heavenThe zealovs Christian taking heaven

1. When he asks any thing of God that is sinful in its own nature; as the denial of it is an act of mercy, so the grant of it is a fruit of Gods anger. God doth many ¹times give those things in his anger, which he denies when he is well pleased. God will not hear his own people according to their wills, but according to his own will. It is in this case, as it is with a father, when his child, for want of knowledge, asks a knife of him, by which he may cut his fingers; the father will not give him the knife, except it be in wrath. So a man may ask mercies at the hand of God, and it may ⟨p. 82⟩be God will give them in wrath to cut themselves with them.

1. When he asks any thing of God that is sinful in its own nature; as the denial of it is an act of mercy, so the grant of it is a fruit of Gods anger. God doth many ¹times give those things in his anger, which he denies when he is well pleased. God will not hear his own people according to their wills, but according to his own will. It is in this case, as it is with a father, when his child, for want of knowledg, asks a knife of him, by which he may cut his fingers; the father will not give him the knife, except it be in wrath. So a man may ask mercies at the hand of God, and it may ⟨p. 82⟩be God will give them in wrath to cut themselves with them.

1. 1Concedit iratus, quod negat propitius.

2. If you ask those things of God, which though they are not sinful in their own nature; yet if thy asking of these lawful things be to an unlawful end, God will deny these in mercy; and when he gives them it is in wrath. As if thou desirest temporal mercies to abuse them to drunkenness, or to live in any other sin and wickedness; if God give thee those mercies, tis as a testimony of his wrath to thee. So it was in the 78. Psalm v. 18. They tempted God in their hearts,