locamus Juv. Sat. 10. are meer Heathen Deities altho the Wiser there did laugh thereat The Almighty Wise and Righteous Providence governs even our Inadvertencies and Mistakes and directs them to the issue they arrive at Nay all Events whatever are so much influenced Thence as to be Effected or thereby Permitted Gen. 45.8 Acts 4.28 Such hand it had about the selling Joseph into Egypt and the villanous Murder of the blessed Jesus that neither That nor This were brought to pass without it Yet wicked Men and Devils are the sole Efficients of all Moral Evil. Sin is hateful unto God Psal 45.7 Psal 5.5 Hab. 1.13 and Sinners too who persist therein and they shall be punish'd to a sad Eternity for the same So tho it be highest Blasphemy once to conceit it that God is the Author of Iniquity yet He undoubtedly sets Bounds thereto as to the Raging Sea and saith Hitherto shalt thou come and no further and here shall thy Proud Waves be staid Wherefore notwithstanding All our Culpable Errors are to be truly and fadly repented of with Supplication for God's Pardon yet we may not overlook his Hand in ordering of them to their Issue Under which being humbled duly we may expect seasonably to be lifted up 1 Pet. 5.6 But most especially let 's never forget the Lesson that our blessed Saviour taught his most dear Disciples That not one of the poor Matth. 10.29 little and * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Magna hic emphasis Diminutivi Bez. despicable Sparrows fell to the ground without our Father his License Order or Appointment that is Fear ye not therefore ye are of more value than many Sparrows Vers 31. is our dear Lord's Inference thence And so we may conclude That the most unhappy Accidents in Estate Health Relations or any other way are of God's wise and good sufferance or sending to us Then as for the Lives of the Saints of God if their Hairs be all numbred v. 30. and their Death be precious in his sight Ps 116.15 as both are certain with what exactness will he keep the reckning of their Abode on Earth Surely no single Day nor Hour nor Minute shall carelesly or casually be cast away Yea doubtless not only our times are in God's hand Psal 31.15 but our days are determined and the number of our months are with the Lord our bounds are appointed which we cannot pass Job 14.5 And then we need not fear but that we shall reach up thereto whatever may be thought unto the contrary Indeed the Will of Purpose in the Lord is unknown to us until the Event declares it And 't is our Duty only to attend his Will of Precept We must use lawful Means which he approves yet be content that the Almighty's pleasure be effected by them And as for Means suggested to be omitted Either it was really so or not If not how childish is it to complain for nothing If so 't was either through thy fault or not If this Not through thy fault And how unlikely is it that the fear of God and love of one so dear would suffer Means to be omitted wilfully Suppose it thine Unhappiness 't is not thy Sin and should not be thy Torment Therefore such Fears and Jealousies which often overcome afflicted Spirits must be withstood and banished Obj. 6. Some yet may say But I am ignorant of God's meaning towards me in his heavy Dispensation And what to do but Mourn I know not Ans Admit thou art to seek therein wil't make thy self yet more uncapable to find it out This is the readiest way of all thereto Excessive Grief both blinds and deafs the Soul at once And what is to be seen in Midnight-darkness or heard at the Cataracts of Nilus or by the beating of a Drum Thou raisest Clouds and makest Clamours within thy Bosom that put thee to confusion and astonishment Be therefore Master of thy self in patience and thou mak'st it possible to enquire to purpose Whil'st Job was in this Hurry he saith indeed to God Shew me wherefore thou contendest with me Job 10.2 c. But this came from such discontent that it return'd without its Errand Tho afterwards when he came fully to himself and dealeth in a quiet humble and submissive way with God abhorring himself for his past frowardness and impatience Job 42.6 c. per tot and repenting in dust and ashes he quickly meets with blest success unto abundant satisfaction as may be read in the Chapter quoted in the Margin Observe beside it is no easie matter ordinarily and doubtless oftentimes impossible to assign the special Message of such or such a severer Providence toward those that truly sear the Lord. 'T is true it sometimes happens that the Judgments carry such visible Tokens of the Sins that sent them written as it were in Capital Letters on them that it becomes no difficulty to understand the special Errand that they bring You saw it the Case of Holy David Example 4. Supra spoken of before But commonly and for the most part as I said 't is otherwise And the Pious in affliction if they find not full satisfaction in our Saviour's words to Peter spoken of before What I do thou knowest not now but shalt know afterwards yet I am very confident that under the smartest darkest and most uncouth Providence let them nut loath themselves in their own sight for all their offences be numbled under the mighty Hand of God run to the Fountain open'd for Sin and for Vncleanness die more unto the World and lay up their Treasure and Heart too more in Heaven have none but God Above and God above all Below unto them Let them make this their Business under their saddest Sufferings and persevere thereat And most undoubtedly as God obtains his End they shall not miss his Mind Thus all Afflictions shall serve his greater Glory and surely issue in their greatest Good And then I conclude with confidence This will not only still a distressed Saint but turn his weeping into laughter and put off his Sackeloth for more beautiful Garments and exchange his Lamentations into Songs of Praises unto the God of his Salvation who commandeth light to shine forth out of darkness and will bring Good from Evil to them are good and upright in heart before him 3. The last Thing undertaken was Some Guidance for the better Application of the whole unto our selves for good And this I shall dispatch in these two or three following Inferences Infer 1. Since it is so That c. Then certainly pious People must not expect all Halcyon Days on Earth nor flatter themsleves with hopes of a Summer that shall last their life without any storm or cloud attending it but they must reckon on 't and be content to take their share of trouble that happens to them How otherwise could it be a Duty on them To be quiet in Distresses if none should ever reach them
righteously at his Disposal But I shall not stay on Arguments to perswade hereto being fully of opinion that those on whom the former Discourses will not have sufficient Influence to convince them of their Duty in the point neither would they believe themselves obliged should a Messenger from the Dead come and acquaint them with it All I shall therefore further meddle with at present will be to do what service I am capable of in giving the best Directions that I can for our more ready Obedience unto God in this important Business Of being still and silent under the greatest troubles that befal us There are but three or four though many more are ready that I shall insist upon and they are these Direct 1. Make sure thy Soul be furnished with effectual and saving Grace that thou be not barely an Appendant unto Jesus Christ but implanted into him and hast devoted thy self entirely to him Then being found a Christian in Sincerity either there is little danger of thy being plunged into that Gulf or great presumption of speedy getting out again But otherwise there are no hopes of special Help from Heaven I grant indeed if any People have attain'd to Stoical Apathy or are the Masters of the ancient Roman Gallantry as 't is called they then may seem to out-brave the worst of Evils on them with a quiet and Christian Resolution But alas 't is nothing so at all The Principle whereby the former is acted puts of true Man and what moves the latter is an utter stranger to the true God And neither of them deserve the Name of true constant Fortitude but indeed of a fool-hardy desperate Stupidity The Christian Valour neither rashly courts a Misery nor declines it basely but being come as it feels the smart so it knows who sent it and that much worse was well deserved but yet this coming on a gracious Errand it bears up under it with out Repining at it and waiteth quietly a seasonable Deliverance from it and great Advantage by it But now this Herb grows not in the Common-fields of Christianity 'T is not the High-way Matth. 13. Luke 8. nor the Thorny nor the Stony Ground will bring it kindly forth No it must be a good and honest Heart made so by special Grace where it arriveth to persection If thou hast now a bare Name to live when thou art dead and takest up with a form of Godliness but without the power thereof there are no hopes thou shouldst have help and be kept steddy when violent Winds and Waves assault thee But if Religion be thy Business the biass of thy Heart be Heaven-ward and Jesus Christ be the Loadstone that thy Soul stands to and only sixeth at why then as thou art Upright with thy God thou also art become even God's Delight Prov. 11.20 Now unto the Vpright there ariseth light in darkness Ps 112.4 The reason is Light is sown by the sure Husbandman for him and gladness for the upright in heart Psalm 97.11 And what God sows must sure grow up and soon be ripe too Wherefore we are called on to look upon it as that which never faileth to our Observation Mark the perfect Man and behold the Vpright for the end however his beginning or middle time shall prove of that Man shall be peace Psal 37.37 And all know 't is the End crowns all O that we every one would rouze up our Souls from a luke-warm Temper and by no means settle under the leaves of a bare Profession without the power of a living Principle of Holiness in our Hearts always making Heaven-ward whence it came This would so six us on the Rock that tho' the Tempests shake they should never overturn us We are certainly else upon a sandy bottom and that hath no security How can we stand in an evil Day of Life or Death or Judgement except we are thus provided Think sadly of the woful Disappointment to the foolish Virgins that had their lamps indeed but had no oil and were shut out when they thought sure of entring in Mat 25.10 And that thou maist fare better trust not in outward Form but get the Truth and Life of Grace which God alone approveth and thou art safe Direct 2. Be not indulgent to thy flesh let not thine earthly Tabernacle be too much cocker'd and fondled by thee 'T is not intended here to prohibit Men from running out into excess of Riot and following of the dissolute Courses of the Debauchees of the Evil Age we live in No those Spots are not the Spots of the Children of God to whom I now am speaking They are the manifest Brand-mark set upon the Herd belonging to the Bottomless Pit Who think it strange and speak evil of the others because they will not be as vile that way as themselves are 1 Pet. 4.4 But what I plainly mean is that Christians who will bear Distresses to the best advantage should not allow themselves unto the utmost Bounds of Christian-liberty in things that are so far from being simply evil that they are indifferent yea good and necessary in the due use thereof Such are both Rest and Labour Meats and Drinks Habits and lawful Recreations with other things like these He that treads upon the very Line of some large Circle may soon step over 'T is very dangerous to run upon the Edge of the Bank least ye fall into the Brook All that is lawful is not expedient 1 Cor. 6.12 the Apostle teacheth Moderate Sleep and Exercise refresh Nature and preserve Health but excess in that brings fuel to Corruption and in this consumes the Spirit The sober use of wholesom and meet Food and Liquors is necessary to our subsisting but Intemperance in Delicacies and Varieties specially brings Sickness and Death So Cloathing hides our Nakedness and defendeth from the God but Garrish and Antick Fashions are a Vanity full of Michief to ourselves and others Nay Recreation that should be only used to sit for Business how often being excessive doth it untune for that and rob us too of our choicest Jewel Precious Time And yet amongst good People some may be found I wish the Number were much smaller that are so coy and delicate that nothing but the best and most of every thing will content them Nay and 't is so that the Sun must not shine nor the Wind blow nor the Rain drop on some of Them These are the ways so to Emasculate poor Peoples Souls that the lightest load is able to sink them to the ground And how should great Distresses then be born and stood up under with such an even and fixed Resolution as they ought The holy Apostle doth indeed allow a little Wine for the stomack 's sake and for those infirmities of that good Man whose drink was nothing else but Water 1 Tim. 5.23 But otherwise the self-same Person he calls upon to endure hardness and as a good soldier 2 Tim. 2.3 Are we not all Christ's Souldiers
for prevailing represents his sad Condition as a most suitable Object of Divine Compassion Ver. 12 13. But I must return to the second particular Petition whereto I did observe my Text was added as an Enforcement of it David Ver. 8. begging pardon for his Sins which were the cause of all his Troubles and which particularly made wicked Men to open their mouths against him begging pardon as I was saying in these words Deliver me from all my transgressions and make me not the reproach of the foolish now that this humble Suit might speed the better readily yields and plainly enough makes this Confession That notwithstanding their Reproaches as well as all his other Troubles were most unjust from Men yet they came not without the justest reason from the Lord upon him And therefore he had not one Word to speak nor Thought to think against the same I was dumb saith he I opened not my mouth c. Thus stands the Text in relation to the Context But if we consider it in its self then it gives us 1. A sresh Account of David's Carriage under his great Distresses 2. The important Reason why he did so 1. The former here I was dumb I opened not my mouth where the latter Phrase ascendeth higher than that before it Both importing plainly that as he did not speak at all so he never so much as offer'd it neither Yea and the Hebrew Verb in the latter Clause being of the Future Tense doth intimate that he would not ever make any such attempt in time to come And this demonstrates the absolute silence and perfect satisfaction his Soul was brought unto under that heavy Providence whatever it was that lay upon him For as when the Waves don't swell the Winds are still so when the Mouth makes no complaint the Heart doth use to be at rest And 't is our Saviour's saying Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh Matth. 12.34 2. The latter part is there Because thou Lord didst it As who should say Whatever influence second Causes may have had immediately upon my present Troubles and whatever Imputation I may justly lay on Persons or on Things for what I suffer I must not here abide but pass on further through them and beyond them to the first Cause of all Thou Lord didst it This was like holy Job who for all the mischief Satan the Chaldeans and Sabeans wickedly did him looks higher to the righteous Hand of God and humbly bows before him saying The Lord giveth and the Lord taketh away and blessed be the Name of the Lord Job 1.21 We see Good Men are utterly unlike the sottish Cur which snarleth at the Stone that hits him until he dangers breaking of his Teeth in gnawing it without regard unto the Hand that threw it The Ungodly commonly are thus guilty and are reproved justly by the Prophet for it Lord when thy hand is lifted up they will not see Isai 26.11 But the Pious practise otherwise as we find and thence find also cause to stoop to God and possess their Souls in patience under all their Sufferings And that there is sufficient reason so to do we shall see anon when besides all other Arguments it will appear particularly what a prevailing influence the latter part of my Text hath on the former In order whereunto since there is just presumption that this great Example is obliging to all other Persons in like Circumstances let this Proposition seriously be considered by us viz. Propos A Godly Person is to be still and silent and by no means impatient under the heaviest Hand of God upon him Now this Proposition being plain and very intelligible in all the Terms thereof we have only need of 1. A further Confirmation of it 2. A fair Solution of some Objections 3. and lastly Some Guidance for the better Application of the whole unto our selves for good Whereof in order And 1st 1. Proof by Examples and Arguments To make full Proof I shall produce two kinds of Evidences viz. Plain Examples and Powerfal Arguments and with a good stock of both from the Holy Scriptures I begin with Plain Examples I. Examples They shall be Seven or Eight and every one well deserving special Observation I will take them in that order the Scriptures set them And so begin with 1. Moses That the most wise and gracious Providence saw meet to exercise this most eminent Saint with various Tryals and some that had much sharpness in them the Book of God bears ample testimony nor is it silent about that even and quiet Temper wherein his Soul was preserved under them The danger of his Life from the hands of Pharaoh at his first appearance in one of his Brethrens cause against an Egyptian made him to fly the Country for his fafety But he * Heb. 11.27 endured it saith the Text and left no Murmuring nor Complaints behind him no nor carried he any with him that we can sind Exod. 2.15 His Brethren likewise often dealt so unkindly by him and their Insolencies towards him not withstanding his most constant and tender concernment for them were so insufferable that the righteous God doth espouse the quarrel and is provoked to destroy them root and branch for the same Yea and he promised Moses to make of him a Nation mightier and greater than they were if he would consent thereto But he good Man Exod. 32.10 11. bears all with patience from Them Num. 11.17 19. and is most instant with God for saving of them Deut. 9.18 c. and so requites them good for evil Why tho' * Numb 26.59 Aaron and Miriam that came out of the same Womb with him affronted and reviled him unjustly we are sure because God was offended with them highly for the same yet he takes it quietly and begs and procures God's pardon to them for it Numb 12.9 13. Nay when the Wise of his Bosom taunts him to his face and at the same time the Face of God was frowning on him also yet is he the same Man still Exod. 4.24 25. Should not we think that these were none of them slight Afflictions tho' some more sharp than others Would they not easily warp us to impatience under them But as it is written That he was the meekest man upon the face of the earth Numb 12.3 doubtless 't was meant that he was not only so towards Men but towards God also However you shall yet hear greater things than these 2. Aaron 'T is true he had great Frailties in him and like Afflictions on him but still he hath this excellent Character given him The saint of the Lord Psal 106.16 Now this Saint hath a bloody Breach made by an angry God upon his Family and not for any personal Crime of his neither nay the Method was not usual but extraordinary and full of terrour His Sons make a daring but it proved a dear Adventure They offered strange fire before the
fear he should have done himself a Mischief upon hearing of it As the Hebrew Phrase importeth * 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and both the a Procul dubio malum sibi inferet Syriack and the b Ne malum sibi inferat Arabick Version read Now all these Considerations put together make it fully manifest that this Stroke of Providence must needs fall very heavy and certainly was enough to shake him sorely if not link him utterly to the Ground Yet mark his Stilness under so great a Storm Whilst the Child was living he did his utmost to preserve the Life thereof But when 't was Dead What had he else to do but at the least to acquiesce in what the Lord had done And note what weighty Arguments he stops the mouth of all Impatients by And they are three 1. 'T were most Vnreasonable to Afflict my self saith he for this Affliction any longer Wherefore should I fast i. now when the Child is Dead Produce just Cause or any colour of Reason for that if any of you are capable so to do Reason is so far from Patronizing such a Practice that it quite abandons it as carrying 2. Perfect Vanity and impertinent Folly in the face thereof Can I bring him back again i. to life Kings can do much indeed And good Kings in all reason should be able to do more than other Now in this number David was But this is above all Mortal Art and Power The King of Kings alone is sufficient for such Work 3. To conclude I have other business and of far greater conscquence upon my hands faith t is great Man Instead of foolish and fruitless afflicting of my thoughts in the bringing of him back 't is my grand concernment to bethink me of and prepare myself for * Cur immoderate ferat ab isse quem mox subsequeris Tert. de Patient c. 9. going unto him Whose turn is next God only and no Mortal knoweth But this I know that I must go to him how soon I known not He cannot return to me Here lies the Art of putting such an Affair into its right Method And proves the best Improvement of what we may account the worst of Providences So shall the loss of some dear Friend tend to the saving of a dearer self our precious Soul This is the Example of that Person who was A Man after God's own heart and who elsewhere too and in a worser Case was yet content That God should do unto him as seemed good in his eyes 2 Sam. 15.26 And are not these such Steps as are most worthy to be trod in by us 5. Job Next let us look on Job On him this glorious Character is bestowed even by God himself as to a very NONE-SUCH viz. A perfect and an upright man that feared God and eschewed evil Chap. 1.8 Nay his Judge and the Judge of all the World declares him innocent as to a Guilt deserving such a Punishment as was falling on him And for full proof thereof makes him a full Amends and ample Reparation for all him Losses afterwards Chap. 42.10 c. But that as yet could not come under the Sufferer's Cognizance Well this so excellent a Person 's Calamities assault him like the Billows of the Sea where furious Tempests force them foreward one upon another's back till all before them is overwelmed by them First the bad News of the Sabeans seizing on his Oxen and his Asses and slaying of his Servants that attended them Then how the Lightning had consumed his Sheep and Shepherds all together Next that the Chaldeans fell upon his Camels and destroyed their Keepers too And last of all with scarcely a time to breathe between them as we say the frightful Death of his Dearest Children Chap. 1.14 15 no fewer then seven Sons and three Daughters by the sudden fall of an House upon them is brought unto his Ears Now when so sad a Story with all the frightful Circumstances of it shall be considered seriously by us shall not we be apt to start these question What flesh could bear it what heart of steel but must sink under it Well grant the Case be insupportable unto meer Humanity yet Nothing is too hard for God Gen. 18.14 For tho' the flesh and the heart doth faile where He is the strength of the heart Ps 73.26 there is full support notwithstanding His grace s sufficient 2 Cor. 12.9 and can give Conquest and make Triumphant when the other is utterly overcome and routed See here a Proof Job is affected greatly and his Soul affected deeply God's hand is very heavy upon him But 't is far from driving him into Rebellion The most humble Submission is practised by him He worshiped and said Naked came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return thither The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away and blessed be the name of the Lord Job 2.21 Where we see plainly 1. He disclaims is own right to any Mercies 2. Proclaims God's sole Interest in them also 3. Thanks him heartily for his Rod as well as for his Staff And what lively Arguments are these of a Mind acquiescing fully in God's good Pleasure altho' its one great Pain Thus 't was with this good Man Nay when the Hurricane that before had overturned his Estate destroyed his Servants and all his Children reacheth at last his Person with a tremendous Judgment both an unusual and universal kind of shameful loathsome and painful leprosie Job 2.7 having great advantage to his other Afflictions for forcing him unto Impatience and Desperation and when She that lay in his Bosom and whose Duty 't was to have administred Help and Comfort to him in his Distress instead of cooling labours to inflame the Feaver of his Soul and puts him upon Raving like a Bedlam or a Devil rather Verse 9. How doth he play the Man shall I say yea with a Vertue more than manly act the Saim and instead of being overcome comes off with Victory Thus he both justly rebukes his Wise and vindicates God Thou speakest as one of the foolish women speaketh What shall we receive good at the hand of God and shall we not receive evil Verse 10. Q. D. Must we be cocker'd so as to have all Days and no Nights the Sun shine constantly but not a Shower or a Cloud The Summer to last all the Year and Winter never take its turn most foolish fond and proud Presumption That Man's Humour should be still complied with and the Supream Providence by no means cross it Oh! the vile Absurdity the prophane Impudence of the Clay to prescribe unto the Potter Who doth not know when he remembers that he is a Creature and will not acknowledge if he be a Christian that we are not to be Carvers for ourselves but thankfully should accept the Portion given us And in a Journey to the heavenly Kingdom we should be well content that foul Ways sometimes as well as fair
and if we will be good Souldiers must we not follow and be like unto our Leader O how unlikre him do we acquit our selves who court this World which he so scorn'd and trampled on and pamper the Body which he made drudge of to the Soul and in God's service Is' t probable at this rate when Poverty Sickness Persecution or Death assault and how near any of them may be to us who can tell we should be dumb and open not our mouth submitting quietly to his Father's Hand as he did constantly At least let 's labour to tread in his Apostle's steps keep under our body as it were by Club-law and bring it into subjection 1 Cor. 9.27 that the vain Fancies and sond Appetites there may be restrain'd and curb'd and our Souls may fasten and abide on what will fully satisfie them and never can be rifled from them Direct 3. Lay not thy treasure up on earth but in the heavens Matth. 6.19 Excellent Counsel of our blessed Lord For where the Treasure is there will the Heart i. the Man himself be also And if a Man hath once his Heart viz. his Love Delight Desire and Hopes as high as Heaven with God and Jesus Christ above he can't be so concern'd with any Disaster here below as to be disorder'd greatly by the same As he that looketh down from some high Steeple sees every thing beneath him but as a small and little matter so Earthly Good and Bad must necessarily seem to one whose Conversation is in Heaven 'T is certain that there are those Mountains in the World whose tops will be serene and clear and calm when Thunder Storms and Lightning threaten to mix Heaven and Earth together at the lower parts thereof Could we take off our Affection from things Below to set and always keep them upon what 's Above how should we live as in a constant Sun-shine Nihil erus sentit in nervo cum animus in caelo est Tert. ad Mart. cap. 2. When Pestilence Famine Sword should range the Earth when Poverty Sickness Death should knock at our own Doors how little would the Disturbance be unto us Poor Archimedes was so intent upon his Mathematical Studies that he knew not when his City was storm'd and taken And verily as Christian that gets his Heart full bent towards Heaven will find the distracting Hurries of the Earth slip over him with but little observation by him The holy Apostle Paul was certified by the Holy Ghost in every City he pass'd through that bonds and afflictions waited for him at Jerusakm and yet he faith none of those things so much as moved him Acts 20.24 The Joy in finishing his Course and the Reward after it made even his life it self tho likely to be lost but a little matter with him We are very sure that Moses refused being a King's Grandson and chose rather an afflicted state with the People of God than sinful Pleasures in a Prince's Court valuing the Reproach for Christ as a Better Estate than the Exchequer of Egypt Heb 11.24 25 26. But what was that which betrayed so wise and good a Man into such a Paradox in the World's Opinion Why let them think so still but his Judgment was truly Orthodox notwithstanding For he had respect unto the recompence of reward Verse 26 fin And sure to be Heir apparent unto the Crown of Egypt deserves not to be compared with an undoubted Title to God's Kingdom And the Delights in Heaven are so surpassing that all Earthly Joys are not insipid only but nauseous fulsome Carrion and Poison to them Which having his Heart affected with by a Believing Prospect thereof what was 't to him to throw off the Courtier and take up the Clown Nay worse To skulk and hide a while for scaping of those Blood-hounds that were hunting after him And at the last to flee his Country and abide those many dangers and distresses that attend a Banish'd Outlaw Seculi hujus quem non decipit prosperit as non frangit adversit as S. Aug. de verb. Dom. Serm. 42. All that the Earth could do against him you see how little 't was unto him because his Treasure was in Heaven he had respect to the recompence of reward Were Christians heartily making after him although they should not fully overtake him how light and easie would their many great and heavy Burdens lye upon them To conclude The Author and Finisher of our Faith for the Joy above that was set before him endured the pain and despised the shame of the Bloody Cross whereon he suffer'd Heb. 12.2 And would the Christian duly look to Christ he surely would be like him much more than he is Direct 4. Lastly Let Sin be more uneasie and be sure thy Sufferings then will be easier far Wert thou worse able to endure Corruptions thou would'st be better to abide Afflictions When once Iniquity is our greatest Burden all others will be little felt The very reason why Distresses sometimes triumph is because we have not made a Conquest over our Transgressions They are these that bring Tribulations to us and make them sit more heavy on us when they are come Guilt is a most heavy Load to an Awarkened Mind although Another's Eye should not be able to espy so much as a light Feather on its back But the weight must needs be much increased when Actual Punishment cleaveth unto Guilt Whether the good Woman of Zarephath's words spoken to the Prophet Art thou come to call may Sins to remembrance and to slay my Son 1 King 17.18 do not imply that a fresh cognizance took by Conscience of her faultiness towards God had imbittered the Affliction to her tho it seem probable I will not determine But it is very plain that This added Chains as I may call them to the Confinement of Joseph's Brethren For their open Confession is We are verily guilty concerning our Brother in that we saw the anguish of his Soul when he besought us and we would not hear THEREFORE IS THIS DISTRESS COME VPON VS Gen. 42.21 Whence it must follow would we be more Innocent we should be less Unhappy most certainly our Misery would pinch and gall us less What made our blessed Lord so Easy Patient and Submissive in those worst of Evils upon him Verily because He had the best of Souls within Him No Sin had ever thouched it and how should Sorrow fetch Blood from it O let us grow in Grace and then our bitter Cup shall have no Dregs to touch our Lips Those are reserved for the Graceless Ones to wring them out and drink them up Ps 75.8 But thriving Christians tho' they must have Burthens shall not sink under them Such wait upon the Lord to purpose and so renew their strength They are enabled to walk without fainting and run and not be weary Isa 40.31 Wherefore abound ye in the work of God and your labour will not be in vain 1 Cor. 15.58 Not only by a more diligent Attendance on all Ordinances but especially about increasing Faith inslaming Love confirming Hope perfecting Patience and setting and keeping the whole Heart on Heaven This would advance the Spirit to its due Soveraignty and reduce the Flesh to just Subjection And what can bring Disorders then This will draw back Sin 's Fuel and then its Fire goeth out of itself But the neglect hereof is throwing off our Armour instead of girding it close about us and then we are easily Shot ands fall Meer Nature with all the strength that Reason brings it proves a weak Creature at the last however But Grace and when like David waxing stronger and stronger overcomes all Difficulties in the way to Glory And tho' a Pharoah be behind a Sea before and a Wilderness on both sides it will bear up the Soul until it see the Salvation of its God The Sum of all my Advice is this 1. Make sure of Saving Grace and being Right at Heart 2. Be not indulgent to the Flesh nor fond upon thy Earthly Tabernacle 3. Lay not thy Treasure up on Earth but in the Heavens and let thy Heart be with it there 4. Lastly Let Sin be more Uneasie to thee and thy Sufferings will be easier far Grow but in Grace and thou shalt Out-grow all Grief that can possibly seize thee here For Then thou wilt be the fullest Eccho to the Psalmist I was dumb I opened not my mouth because c. FINIS BOOKS Printed for and Sold by J. Salusbury at the Rising-Sun over-against the Royal-Exchange in Coruhill THE Harmony of the Divine Attributes in the Contrivance and Accomplishment of Man's Redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ by William Bates D. D. The Changeableness of this World with reflect to Nations Families and particular Persons with a Practieal Application thereâ—f to the various Conditions of this Mortal Life by Timothy Rogers M. A. A Mirror for Athiests being some Passages of the Life and Death of the Right Honourable John Earl of Rochester written by his own Direction on his Death-bed by Gilbert Burnet Lord Ep. of Sarum An end of Doctrinal Controversies which have lately troubled the Churches by Richard Baxter The Certainty of the Worlds of Spirits fully evinced by unquestionable Histories of Apparitions and Witchcrafts Voices proving the Immortality of Souls by Richard Baxter The Protestant Religion truly Stated and Justified by the late reverend Mr. Richard Baxter prepared for the Press sometime before his Death Whereunto is added some account of the learned Author by Mr. Daniel Willams and Mr. Matthew Sylvester The Christian's Coverse with God or the Insufficiency of Haman-friendship and the Improvements of Solitude in Converse with God with some of the Author's breathings after him by Richard Baxter Recemmended to the Readers serious Thoughts when at the House of Mourning and in Retirement by Mr. Matthew Sylvester The Mourners Memorial in two Sermons on the Death of the truly Pious Mrs. Susannah Soame with some account of her Life and Death by Timothy Wright and Robert Fleming