The godly mans iourney to heauen containing ten seuerall treatises. Viz. 1. An heauenly chariot the first part. 2. An heauenly chariot the second part. 3. The blessed chariots man. 4. The lanthorne for the chariot. 5. The skilfull chariot driuer. 6. The gard of the chariot. 7. The sixe robbers of the chariot. 8. The three rocks layd in the way. 9. The only inne Gods babes aime at. 10. The guests of the inne. By maister David Lindsey Minister of Gods word at Leith.

13. Cast thy care vpon thy God, and he will care for thee.

LEt me not be carefull, ô my soule, for my selfe, what I shall eate, or what I shall drinke, or for my bodie what I shall put on: for thy blessed God, that great Maister of the houshold of his Church, wisely prouideth for his owne, euen in their greatest extremitie: albeit not al∣wayes y^t which they would be at; yet euer that which shall serue them, vntill his good worke be accomplished in them. The King of Egypt taketh from the Israe∣lites straw, which before was furnished vnto them,* 1.1 the taskmaisters of Egypt re∣solue them notwithstanding hereof, that the number of their brickes must be fulfil∣led dayly: when they with wearie hearts, are carefull to prouide themselues with straw, they can find none; for the people of the land will neither giue them any for request, nor sell them any for siluer. How then shall they come by it, & where shall they find it. Blessed be God, ô my soule, when the King of heauen who was a man carrying the same shape that the Israelites carried with their taskmaisters & people,

can refuse all helpe vnto distressed Israel, can adde affliction vnto afflicted Israel; that senslesse dead hard earth, which they trod vpon, will offer her helpe vnto them, praying them as it were to pull vp haire, before they should perish, and so she propined them with that stubble wherewith she was couered, before they should want altogether that, wherewith they should make bricke vnto cruell, bloudie Pharoah. O Dauid no fauour canst thou find, notwithstanding of thy humble carriage, and manie good seruices, in thy eyes of thy maister Saul, & father-in law; and yet art thou not louingly embraced, and kindly entertained by that stranger Achis,* 1.2 that vncircumcised King of Gath? Achab and Iezabel do busily seeke thy life ô Elias; But do not the verie rauens enter∣taine it as carefully?* 1.3 O Nebuchadnezar thou art so fiercely set against these three children of God,* 1.4 who refused to worship that Image thou madest, that thou wilt not onely haue them cast into a hot fierie fornace, but thou wilt haue this fornace to be hot at that time, seuen times more then it was wont to be hot. Alwayes, were not these furious fierce flames mer∣cifull

vnto them, yea, so mercifull vnto them, that not onely they slew them not, but the haires of their head were not burnt, neither were their coates changed, not any smell of fire vpon them? O abu∣sers of Darius, ye are so maliciously set against the seruant of God Daniel,* 1.5 that ye will haue him cast into the lions denne, because he prayed vnto his owne God, as he was wont, contrarie to the wicked de∣cree which ye by your malicious subtiltie made your King to subscribe vnto, and yet these lions will haue him saued, whom ye resolued to haue slaine. No refresh∣ment can hungrie Lazarus find at the hands of the rich glutton,* 1.6 and yet he can find ease from the tongues of bloudie dogges. How many wicked men in this our time, ô my soule, haue soft downe beds and pillowes to lie vpon, while the religious child of God cannot find a fea∣ther bed, no not a fodder bed, and yet the earth is contented to be a bed vnto him. But, ô my soule, what if the cruell Princes of the earth will not so much as suffer the earth to be a bed vnto thee, ô then what shalt thou do? what canst thou looke for? Be sure either this thy proui∣dent,

pitifull, powerfull God, who hath absolute commandement ouer all, shall ô my soule, either alter their hearts, and make them pitifull, or furnish thee with a strong contented heart, able to beare out all they can deuise, or do against thee: or make death (which is a cruell burthen to the wicked, but a louing friend to his se∣cret o••es) to finish thy labours and to send thee to his rest.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Exod. 5.
• * 1.2

  1. Sam. 27.
• * 1.3

  1. King. 17. 3. 4. 5. 6.
• * 1.4

  Dan. 3.
• * 1.5

  Dan. 6.
• * 1.6

  Luke 10.