God's soveraignty displayed from Job 9. 12. : Behold he taketh away, who can hinder him? &c., or, A discourse shewing, that God doth, and may take away from his creatures what hee pleaseth, as to the matter what, the place where, the time when, the means and manner how, and the reasons thereof : with an application of the whole, to the distressed citizens of London, whose houses and goods were lately consumed by the fire : an excitation of them to look to the procuring causes of this fiery tryal, the ends that God aims at in it, with directions how to behave themselves under their losses / by William Gearing ...

SECT. V.

He takes away wealth and riches [ 5] from men: It is the Lord that giveth wealth, and it is in his power also to take it away. Seneca said, That For∣tune is a glass; which oftentimes is the sooner broken, the more that it shineth: And the Psalmist saith, I have seen the wicked spreading himself like a green bay-tree, yet he passed-away, and loe he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found, Psa. 37.35, 36. As Job acknowledgeth that God had given, so likewise that God had taken. One might have said to him, O Job thou seemest to be mistaken, for this large Patrimony thou hast now lost, thou hadst from thy Parents, thou gottest it together by thy own proper industry; these flocks and droves of cattle thou

hast obtained by thy own wit: But Job saith, I am not mistaken; for nei∣ther my Parents, nor my own labour, nor yet my own ingenuity, but the Lord gave me all these things, all which therefore by right and equity he hath taken away, because he gave them. But it may be objected, did God take them away? Is it not injurious to God to say so? For the Chaldeans and Sa∣beans drove away all his cattle; or if you will behold the original of all this mischief, Satan bereaved him of all, for he procured the fire, he raised the winds, he instigated those Robbers and Free-booters, he threw down the house, and in very deed he did all these things; and therefore Satan took all away: but Job holdeth his former sentence, and repeateth it; the Lord hath taken a∣way, even the same Lord who gave me these blessings, he hath taken away; not the Sabeans, not the Chaldeans, not Satan, but the Lord hath taken away, and that rightly too, for he gave them all unto me; for except the Lord had given this license to Satan, neither he nor any other of his Instruments could so much as have stoln a Fleece, nor a lock of wooll from me. The Son

of Syrach saith, that good and evil, life and death, poverty and riches, are from the Lord; and saith he further, In the day of good, remember the day of evil; when thou hast enough, remember the time of hunger; and when thou art rich, think, upon poverty and need: From morning until the evening the time is changed, and all such things are soon done before the Lord: Art thou a Lord, and of great power, thou mayst be brought to serve? Art thou rich and wealthy, thou mayst be brought to beggery and penury? Dost thou now swim in wealth, and is thy substance encreased? One hour, yea a few mo∣ments, may deprive thee of all thy goods; and when thy wealth shall take its uncontrolled wings, and fly a∣way from thee, then thou shalt be dri∣ven to say, I knew, what was but for my use, was not my own; the Lord gave it, and he also took it away.

Notes

• Seneca.
• Ecclus. 11.14.