Men need it as well at Sea as at Land, in Sickness and Health.
VI. Salt (as Pliny, and other Naturalists say) is exceeding good against the Sting of Serpents, and will destroy Worms that breed in the Body, and hath many other medicinable Virtues in it. | VI. Grace is a most Sovereign Remedy against Sin, (that Sting of the old Serpent) and there is nothing like it to kill the Worm of Conscience, that is bred by means of the Corruption of the inward Man, and there gnaws, and greatly torments the Soul; and many other Soul-medicinable Virtues it hath.
VII. Salt was made use of under the Law in Sacrifices: And every Oblation of thy Meat-Offering shalt thou season with Salt. 1With all thy Offerings thou shalt use Salt. | VII. Grace must be made use of in all our spiritual Sacrifices and Offerings unto God. We must pray with Grace, and sing with Grace, and do all in God's Worship with Grace in our Hearts; nothing we do will be accepted without it.2 Every one shall be salted with Fire, (or seasoned with Affliction) and every Sacrifice shall be salted with Salt, viz. Grace.
Metaphor. | Disparity.
Salt is natural, or else made by Art, of salt Water, Ashes, Fire,3 &c. Pliny says, that in India they have Salt out of Quarries of Stone. | Grace is supernatural. No Man hath the Divine Influence and Operation of the Spirit of God naturally, nor can he get it by any humane Contrivance or Art whatsoever;4 it is the Gift of God.
⟨p. 3⟩II. If Meat be quite corrupted, putrefied, stink, and is loathsome, Salt cannot recover it, nor make it savoury. | II. But if the Soul be wholly or in every Faculty thereof corrupted, stinks, and is loathsome in the Nostrils of God, yet Grace can quickly recover it, and make it very savoury and sweet to God and good Men.
III. Salt may lose its Saltness or Savour, and become good for nothing, but to be trodden under the foot of Men. | III. Grace cannot lose the excellent Savour thereof. Christians may lose much of their Salt, or decay in Grace; but Grace, be it little or much, will never lose its own precious Virtue.
IV. Things may be over-salted or seasoned, so that they may be spoiled, and become unwholesome to human Bodies. | IV. But no Man can be over-much seasoned with Grace; never had any Christian too much of this spiritual Salt in him. The more you receive and take in of this, the better you will be seasoned thereby.
Men need it as well at Sea as at Land, in Sickness and Health.
VI. Salt (as Pliny, and other Naturalists say) is exceeding good against the Sting of Serpents, and will destroy Worms that breed in the Body, and hath many other medicinable Virtues in it. | VI. Grace is a most Sovereign Remedy against Sin, (that Sting of the old Serpent) and there is nothing like it to kill the Worm of Conscience, that is bred by means of the Corruption of the inward Man, and there gnaws, and greatly torments the Soul; and many other Soul-medicinable Virtues it hath.
VII. Salt was made use of under the Law in Sacrifices: And every Oblation of thy Meat-Offering shalt thou season with Salt. 1With all thy Offerings thou shalt use Salt. | VII. Grace must be made use of in all our spiritual Sacrifices and Offerings unto God. We must pray with Grace, and sing with Grace, and do all in God's Worship with Grace in our Hearts; nothing we do will be accepted without it.2 Every one shall be salted with Fire, (or seasoned with Affliction) and every Sacrifice shall be salted with Salt, viz. Grace.
Metaphor. | Disparity.
SAlt is natural, or else made by Art, of salt Water, Ashes, Fire,3 &c. Pliny says, that in India they have Salt out of Quarries of Stone. | GRace is supernatural. No Man hath the Divine Influence and Operation of the Spirit of God naturally, nor can he get it by any humane Contrivance or Art whatsoever;4 it is the Gift of God.
⟨p. 3⟩II. If Meat be quite corrupted, putrified, stink, and is loathsom, Salt cannot recover it, nor make it savoury. | II. But if the Soul be wholly or in every Faculty thereof corrupted, stinks, and is loathsom in the Nostrils of God, yet Grace can quickly recover it, and make it very savoury and sweet to God and good Men.
III. Salt may lose its Saltness or Savour, and become good for nothing, but to be trodden under the foot of Men. | III. Grace cannot lose the excellent Savour thereof. Christians may lose much of their Salt, or decay in Grace; but Grace, be it little or much, will never lose its own precious Virtue.
IV. Things may be over-salted or seasoned, so that they may be spoiled, and become unwholsom to human Bodies. | IV. But no Man can be over-much seasoned with Grace; never had any Christian too much of this spiritual Salt in him. The more you receive and take in of this, the better you will be seasoned thereby.
- 1••v. 2 13.
- 2Mark 9.4.
- 3Plin. lib. 3•. p. 41•, 41•.
- 4Joh. 1.14.
