ness be made ftrong *, provided we trust not presumptuously to our own efforts, but humbly join with them, faith in God, and prayer for the aid of his holy spirit, through the mediation of Jefus Chrift: for his grace shall be fufficient for us, and his Strength made perfect in our weakness †. Without him we can do nothing : every wrong inclination, dissatisfaction amongst others with every thing within and without, in their turns will prevail over us: but through Christ who ftrengtheneth us, we can do all things §. To him we owe our deliverance from the wrath to come : and well may we be easy with an inferior share of worldly advantages; for the best of us deserve nonę. From him proceeds all the good, that we think or do: and furely we have no title to greater abilities in any refpect, than he bestows on us. On him depend our hopes of future happiness: and the lowest place in it is too high for us. Yet we know not how far we may advance in spiritual attainments by modest perfeverance. We may be enabled in time to out-do both ourselves and others, and be rewarded accordingly. But however that proves, it may abundantly fuffice us all, that we shall make our calling and election fure ||, and enter into some degree of the joy of our Lord **, in return for our faithful improvement of the talents 'committed to us, be they more or fewer, if in an honest and good heart, having beard the word, we keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience t, though it be in very different proportions, some an hundred fold, fome fixty, Some thirty ‡‡.

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PSALM Xxxix. 10.

I became dumb, and opened not my mouth: for it was thy doing.

IT would be our wisdom and our duty, though we had no knowledge of religion, to bear the fufferings of life with patience, and submit to the inequalities of it with contentment. I have therefore hitherto inforced upon you the practice of these two virtues, chiefly from prudential and moral confiderations, though I could not altogether forbear adding fome inducements of piety also. But these last are both fo fuperior to the former, and so necessary in human circumstances, that I must now dwell upon them distinctly.

Pains of the body, and uneasiness of the mind, may fometimes be so grievous, that, had we no invisible fovereign to obey, and nothing to hope or fear after death, it would be hard to perfuade ourselves to continue in life. At least we should undergo in it a great deal of misery, with few and poor confolations. Those indeed, which I have mentioned to you, are in many cafes of confiderable use by themselves: in all cases they may be of service, when combined with reflections of a higher nature. And our groveling minds are often more affected with feeble reasons, that are level to them; than with strong ones, that feem above them: or however may best be quieted a while by a previous use of the former, till they can be raised to an ability of applying the latter. And humanity requires, that even the weakest aid be called in: but at the fame time, that the principle stress be laid on the firmest support: else what will be the consequence? Only indeed what most of us in our turns have probably experienced. We have been told that grieving would not help us, without being told

what would; and so have been left to grieve on. We have been told, that fooner or later our fufferings would abate, which is small fatisfaction in the mean while; or that they would be short, because our lives are so, which is leaving us to be miferable, as long as we are any thing. We have been told perhaps, that pain is no evil, and virtue is its own reward in all circumstances, when we were actually feeling the contrary: or that others were as wretched as we, or even more fo; as if that could make our wretchedness cease. We have been bid to turn our thoughts from our forrows to amusement; when we could not, if we would; and possibly should have abhorred to do it, if we could. Sage maxims and counsels of various and contradictory forts, have been urged upon us, which had no authority or weight to make their way into our hearts: but we have remained in the condition, which poor Job expresses to his friends: I have beard many such things: miferable comforters are ye all *. Or though men have ever so few fufferings, yet, without religious views, they may have so few enjoyments, and those so low, that a rational foul must disdain, them, and feel its existence to be infipid and unfatisfactory. Or, however content, upon force, to acquiefce after a fort in our own condition, we may still either be perfuaded, that the general state of things upon the whole is wrong and unhappy, or doubt so greatly whether it be right and good, that the world may appear very gloomy and comfortless to a benevolent mind.

If therefore we defire to pass through it with complacency, we must extend our thoughts further, like the pfalmist in the text; and confider ourselves, as in the hands of God: for then, whatever happens, or whatever is wanting, to us or to any one, we shall fee cause to submit to it, compofsedly and placidly, without objecting. I became dumb, and opened not my mouth: for it was thy doing.

The Creator of all things is evidently, as such, Lord of all things: and hath a right to place us in what station, and expose us to what accidents he pleases; provided the being, which he hath given us, be not, on the whole, without our fault, worse than not being. For who art thou, O man, that repliest against God? shall the thing formed fay unto bim that formed it, why baft thou made me thus †? Is it not lawfull for for him to do what he will with his own *? He can have no need, no temptation to use us unjustly: and, without any, we never use one another fo: which knowledge alone is enough to produce in us a confiderable degree of dutiful fubmiffion. If what we dislike in our condition were the effect of mere chance or fatal neceffity, we might rebel in our hearts against it. But a principle of yielding to the lawful authority of an almighty ruler is part of human nature. Our circumstances perhaps are difadvantageous, or even our fufferings great. But if we look diligently into our temper and behaviour, have we not deferved all that we undergo, have we not deserved much worfe? And if fo, furely we should say in our hearts, with poor penitent Eli, It is the Lord; let him do what feemeth to him goodt: and with Jeremiah, wherefore doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his fins? Let us fearch and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. Perhaps also, the uneasiness, which we feel, whether inflicted for our tranfgreffions or not, is more than overbalanced by the comforts that we enjoy. Our impatience may lead us into great mistakes in this matter: but God is liable to none. Or if, at present, wretchedness preponderates, he can easily make us a compenfation, either here or hereafter: nay, if justice requires it, he certainly will. And it is good, that a man should both hope, and quietly wait for the falvation of the lord §. In the midst of heathen darkness indeed, there may to fome have feemed cause of doubt, especially on trying occafions, whether the administration of things were just or not; and, fuppofing it to be so on the whole, whether it was or could be so in regard of each particular perfon. Now these, the more love and zeal they had for what was right, the more they must be dissatisfied with what appeared to be wrong and therefore might be excufible in a degrée, if they murmered against the dispensations of providence towards themselves, or others. Some again, impatient of the evils of this life, ignorant of the means of procuring strength to bear them, and perhaps also doubtful at best of another to reward them, might, without any heinous depravity, yield to the temptation of thinking themselves allowed or even called, by the author of their beings, to put a voluntary end to them, whenever they were oppressed by fufferings hard to fupport. But in the clearer light of our days, either of these dispositions would be unspeakably more criminal.

Yet,

Matth. xx. 15. † I Sam. iii. 18. Lam. iii. 39, 40. § Lam. iii. 26.

Yet, were we only to believe, that God will do us no wrong, our fubmiffion to his will, though it might well be full of the profoundest reverence, would not be accompanied with the highest degree of esteem. But happily he hath also shewn us great kindness For every pleasure that we enjoy, every саpacity of receiving pleasure that belongs to our inward or outward frame, proceeds from his bounty. And how do we commonly behave upon it? Yield ourselves up to his disposal with a chearful trust in him? No: repine and complain, that he hath not done more for us, or that he doth not continue to us all that we ever had. But every thing is more than we are intitled to. We have no property in any thing: we ourselves are his property. Our very being is not our own: He bestowed it, and whatever we possess in it, and that only during his pleasure: he may allow us as few comforts, or mix with them as many afflictions as he will. Shall we receive good at the band of God, and shall we not receive evil*? All that he granted, he may withdraw at any time and our concern is only to say with Job, the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away : bleffed be the name of the Lordt. He might have made any one of us the very lowest of his creation and if the meanest of the works of his hands hath a claim to more than he hath vouchsafed, it hath an equal claim to more without end: and if it is not bound to refignation at present, can never be bound to it in any fituation at all.

But though the fovereignty of God is. absolute, we know not that he ever uses it in an arbitrary manner. The fcripture tells us in express terms, that he doth not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men I. And to think, that he limits the happiness of the least happy of his creatures without caufe, would be entertaining a disrespectful notion of his glorious attributes. Manifold as his works are, yet in wisdom bath be made them all §: and the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord. The farther men fee into whatever he hath done or appointed, the more evidence they difcern of forefight and skill, of bounty and mercy: and therefore ought firmly to believe they take place, even where they fee them not. Such and such things we are apt to imagine might have been contrived more for our particular advantage. Yet perhaps we mistake: VOL. I.

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