124 BIRDS OBSERVING THEIR SEASONS.

not, they must be upon thine account. Take the opportunities put into thy hands. Improve every talent God hath lent thee, and let none rust by thee. Cherish every motion of the Spirit, and blow it up into a flame. This is thy seed-time, where thou must sow what thou must reap in eternity; “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting;" and "he which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly;" Gal. vi. 7, 8; 2 Cor. ix. 6. This also is thy harvest-time, lay in for winter; it is thy market-day, fetch in provision; it is thy now or never, neglect it not.

O my God, rouse up my dull and drowsy soul by some quickening considerations, and let me not sleep away my time in security; rather spur me on by some affection, than suffer me to fall short of my journey's end. Let me live every day as if it were my last, and perform every duty as if I were presently to give an account of it to God.

Lord, make me to know mine end, and the measure of my days, what it is; that I may know how frail I am. Behold, thou hast made my days as an handbreadth; and mine age is as nothing before thee, Psa. xxxix. 4, 5.

So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom. -O satisfy us early with thy mercy; that we may rejoice and be glad all our days, Psa. xc. 12, 14.

XXXVI. ON THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WELL

MANAGED AND A NEGLECTED ORCHARD.

WHEN I observed the difference between a well manured and well managed orchard, and one that was slighted and carelessly cultivated: when I beheld in the one the trees orderly ranked, not too near nor at too great a distance, carefully pruned also, and freed from superfluous branches, and the suckers cleansed from moss and other offensive enemies; the whole manured and fenced from the violence of cattle; and, in a word, that the orchard answered expectation, and made amends for the care and cost: whereas the other was neither handsome to the eye, nor profitable to the owner, lying open to the beasts of the field, out of order and shape; some trees too thick, others too thin; most overgrown with moss, suckers, cankers, and unprofitable branches; the ground overrun with briers, brambles, and other unprofitable weeds; and the fruit, thus choked and spoiled, proved accordingly. By this I saw the difference between diligence and sloth: "In all labour," saith Solomon, "there is profit," Prov. xiv. 23; that is, all honest labour. We should work with our hands the thing that is good, Eph. iv. 28. Some labour diligently to do mischief, and take pains to go to hell; there is small profit in this work and some take great pains to small

126 DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A WELL MANAGED

purpose. Some take as much pains to spend their estate, as others do to acquire it; and more pains in the way to hell, than others in the way to heaven. But diligence, even in earthly business, is doubtless a commanded duty, and negligence is a forbidden sin; the one brings profit and the other loss. The apostle says of those that will not labour, that they shall not eat, 2 Thess. iii. 10: and it is an apostolical command, that we labour with our hands, that we may be able to give to those that need, Eph. iv. 28. "He becometh poor," says Solomon, "that dealeth with a slack hand: but the hand of the diligent maketh rich," Prov. x. 4. Diligence usually, though not constantly, is attended with abundance; but the sluggard shall be covered with rags. We read, in Prov. xxiv. 30 -34, that Solomon "went by the field of the slothful, and by the vineyard of the man void of understanding; and, lo, it was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone wall thereof was broken down. Then I saw, and considered it well: I looked upon it, and received instruction.

Yet

a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man," that is, unexpectedly and irresistibly. Idleness is the nurse of beggary, the mother of misery, and the forerunner of ruin.

This made me raise my meditations a little higher. I considered, if idleness be so great a hinderance to worldly advantages, what is it then to spiritural profits? If ground not manured brings

AND A NEGLECTED ORCHARD.

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forth briers and thorns, weeds and thistles, what will the soul bring forth if it be neglected? this will soon abound with sins and vices, lusts and corruptions. The soul is more subject to the weeds of sin, than any field or garden can be to briers or thorns, or other noisome things; and more diligence is required to keep it in order, and there is more danger in the neglect. Briers and thorns are not more natural to the ground since the curse, than sin and corruption to the soul since the fall.

O my soul, refuse no pains, neglect no labour, heaven will make amends for all; pluck up thy sins by the root, and content not thyself to lop off the branches; regulate thy affection, subdue thy headstrong passions, bring under thy will, and make it submit to God's will; set a watch over thy heart, look well to thy words and thoughts as well as to thy actions; set a guard over thy senses, otherwise the enemy will enter; take heed of thy company, for seldom good is got by ill companions. Beware of Satan's temptations and the world's allurements; avoid all occasions to sin, nay, all appearances of evil, and know that for all the pains thou canst take thou shalt be rewarded. Heaven will make thee amends; but the sluggard is never likely to come there.

O my God, I have been this spiritual sluggard; it is I have neglected my field and vineyard, and hence are all those briers and brambles sprung up. Lord, help me to double my diligence and amend my pace, and so run that I may obtain, and so fight as to conquer, 1 Cor. ix. 24.

XXXVII. UPON A GREAT TREE SPRINGING FROM A SMALL KERNEL.

WHEN I beheld some fruit trees grown to a large stature, the persons being yet alive that set them of small kernels, and that not very many years ago; the consideration thereof led me to contemplate the mighty power of God, who, from such contemptible beginnings, could produce so large a body; and that of the small seeds of the cypress tree, such a huge bulk should so soon proceed; and that a slender acorn should bring forth so vast a tree as some oaks are, carrying so many tons of timber.

This brought to my mind the parable of the mustard seed, Matt. xiii. 31, 32, where Christ tells us, though it be the least of seeds, that it grows up to a great tree, and that suddenly, so that the fowls of heaven lodge in the branches of it; for though, in our northern climates, it arrive not to that size, yet travellers speak much of the greatness of it in hotter countries. Our Saviour Christ's intention in this parable, is to teach us, that as from this small seed proceeds a great tree, so is also the progress of the gospel, which though at first it seems contemptible, yet is quick and powerful, and wonderful in operation; becoming a resort in prosperity for shadow, in adversity for defence. In the promulgation of the gospel from small