The Christian-man's calling: or, A treatise of making religion ones business. Wherein the nature…

I cannot more fitly resemble man then to a silly Hen, which though much good Corn lie before her, takes little notice of it, but still scrapes in the Earth. The favour of God, the promises of the ⟨p. 81⟩Gospel, the Covenant of Grace, the blood of Christ, the embroidery of the Spirit, the life of faith, the hope of Heaven, joy in the Holy Ghost, are laid before man, yet he overlooks them all, and lives like a Mole digging and delving in the earth.

I cannot more fitly resemble man then to a silly Hen, which though much good Corn lie before her, takes little notice of it, but still scrapes in the Earth. The favour of God, the promises of the ⟨p. 81⟩Gospel, the Covenant of Grace, the blood of Christ, the embroydery of the Spirit, the life of faith, the hope of Heaven, joy in the Holy Ghost, are laid before man, yet he overlooks them all, and lives like a Mole digging and delving in the earth.

Though men see before their eyes, a period and end of all earthly perfections, that the beauty, bravery, of all earthly things is but like a fair Picture drawn on Ice, quickly perishing; that their riches and estates are but like Snow, which children take much pains to rake and scrape together, to make a Ball of, which upon the Suns shining on, it presently melteth away; though they see daily men that hoarded up Silver, and wrought hard for wealth, hurried away into the other World, leaving all their heaps behind them; yet they will take no warning, but as the silly Lark still play with the feather in the Glass, till they are caught and destroyed by the Fowler: Men wrong themselves, and misconstrue God, who (as if he had hidden those things because he would have them sought, and laid the other open for neglect) bend themselves only to the seeking of those earthly commodities, and do no more mind Heaven, then if there were none. If we could imagine a beast to have reason, how could he be more absurd in his choice.