his image to this they are appointed Let no man saith Saint Paul be moved by these afflictions for ye know that we are appointed thereunto to this they are called if when ye doe well saith St. Peter and suffer for it ye take it patiently this is acceptable with God for even hereunto were ye called this is propounded to them as a condition to be undertaken and undergone by them as such they are by profession crucigeri bearers of the cross If any one will come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me Every one that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution by this are they admitted into the state of Christians by many afflictions we must enter into the Kingdom of heaven this doth qualifie them for enjoying the glorious rewards which their religion propoundeth We are coheirs with Christ so that if we suffer together we shall also together be glorified with him If we endure we shall also reign with him And shall we then pretend to be Christians shall we claim any benefit from thence if we are unwilling to submit to the Law to attend the call to comply with the terms thereof Will we enjoy its privileges can we hope for its rewards if we will not contentedly undergoe what it requireth Shall we arrive to the end it propoundeth without going in the way it prescribeth the way which our Lord himself doth lead us in and himself hath trod before us In fine seeing adversity is as hath been declared a thing so natural to all men so common to most men so incident to great men so proper to good men so peculiar to Christians we have great reason to observe the Apostles advice Beloved wonder not concerning the fiery trial which is to try you as if some strange thing happened to you we should not wonder at it as a strange or uncouth thing that we are engaged in any trouble or inconvenience here we are consequently not to be affected with it as a thing very grievous The Fifth Sermon PHIL. IV. 11. I have learned in whatsoever state I am c. MOreover considering the nature of this duty it self may be a great inducement and aid to the practice of it 1. It is it self a sovereign remedy for all poverty and all sufferance removing them or allaying all the mischief they can doe us It is well and truly said by S. Austine Interest non qualia sed qualis quis patiatur It is no matter what but how disposed a man suffereth the chief mischief any adversity can doe us is to render us discontent in that consisteth all the sting and all the venome thereof which thereby being voided adversity can signifie nothing prejudicial or noxious to us all distraction all distemper all disturbance from it is by the antidote of contentedness prevented or corrected He that hath his desires moderated to a temper sutable with his condition that hath his passions composed and settled agreeably to his circumstances what can make any grievous impression on him or render him any-wise miserable He that taketh himself to have enough what doth he need he that is well-pleased to be as he is how can he be better what can the largest wealth or highest prosperity in the world yield more or better than satisfaction of mind he that hath this most essential ingredient of felicity is he not thence in effect most fortunate is not at least his condition as good as that of the most prosperous 2. As good do I say yea is it not plainly much better than can arise merely from any secular prosperity for satisfaction springing from rational consideration and vertuous disposition of mind is indeed far more pretious more noble and worthy more solid and durable more sweet and delectable than that which any possession or fruition of worldly goods can afford The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 incorruptibility as St. Peter speaketh of a meek and quiet spirit is before God of great price before God that is according to the most upright and certain judgment it is the most pretious and valuable thing in the world There is the Philosopher could say no spectacle more worthy of God or gratefull to him than a good man gallantly combating with ill fortune Not to be discomposed or distempered in mind not to fret or whine when all things flow prosperously and according to our mind is no great praise no sign of wisedom or argument of goodness it cannot be reckoned an effect of sound judgment or vertuous affection but a natural consequent of such a state But when there are evident occasions and urgent temptations to displeasure when present sense and fancy do prompt and provoke to murmuring then to be satisfied in our mind then to keep our passions in order then to maintain good humour then to restrain our tongue from complaint and to govern our demeanour sweetly this is indeed honourable and handsome to see a worthy man sustain crosses wants disgraces with equanimity and chearfulness is a most goodly sight such a person to a judicious mind appeareth in a far more honourable and invidious state than any prosperous man his vertue shining in the dark is far more bright and fair this as St. Peter saith in a like case is thankworthy if a man for conscience toward God suffereth grief if in our case we may say after him a man out of conscientious deference to God's will doth contentedly undergo adversity this God is ready to take for an obligation on himself and will be disposed in a manner to thank him or to reward him for it this indeed amounteth to a demonstration that such a person is truly wise and really good so is the satisfaction of a contented poor man more worthy And it is no less more sweet and comfortable than that of any rich man pleasing himself in his enjoyments contentedness satisfieth the mind of the one abundance doth onely satiate the appetites of the other the former is immaterial and sprightly the complacence of a man the latter is gross and dull like the sensuality of a beast the delight of that sinketh deep into the heart the pleasure of this doth onely float in the outward senses or in the fancy one is a positive comfort the other but a negative indolency in regard to the mind The poor good man's joy is wholly his own and home-born a lovely child of reason and vertue the full rich man's pleasure cometh from without and is thrust into him by impulses of sensible objects Hence is the satisfaction of contented adversity far more constant solid and durable than that of prosperity it being the product of immutable reason abideth in the mind and cannot easily be driven thence by any corporeal impressions which immediately cannot touch the mind whereas the other issuing from sense is subject to all the changes inducible from the restless
break forth questioning the power of God or his willingness to succour us venting wrath and displeasure toward him charging him foolishly with injustice or with unkindness or with negligence or with impotency the abstaining from which behaviour under the sense of his bitter calamities is a great commendation of Job In all this 't is said Job sinned not neither charged God foolishly 2. We should indeed forbear any the least complaint or murmuring in regard to the dispensations of Providence or upon dissatisfaction in the state allotted us St. Jude saith that God in the last day will come to execute judgment and to convince men of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him these subjoineth he are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 murmurers that complain of their lot which signifieth the heinousness and extreme dangerousness of this practice Wherefore doth the living man complain is the Prophet's question implying it to be an unreasonable and blameable practice Wherefore the advice of David is good to suppress all complaint to be still and silent in such cases Be still saith he and know that I am God and Be silent to the Lord the which Precepts his practice may seem well to interpret and back I was saith he dumb I opened not my mouth because it was thy doing and accordingly Job Behold said he after having considered all the reasons he could imagine of God's proceedings I am vile what shall I answer thee I will lay my hand upon my mouth And thus our Saviour when he was oppressed and afflicted opened not his mouth 3. Yea it is our duty in these cases to spend our breath in declaring our satisfaction in God's dealing with us acknowledging his wisedom justice and goodness therein blessing and praising him for all that hath befallen us each of us confessing after David I know O Lord that thy judgments are right and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me imitating Job who upon the loss of all his goods did say no more than this The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. 4. We should abstain from all irregular unlawfull and unworthy courses toward the removal or remedy of our needs or crosses chusing rather to abide quietly under their pressure than by any unwarrantable means to relieve or relaxe our selves rather bearing patiently than violently like those in the Prophet breaking our yoke and bursting our bands Take heed regard not iniquity for this hast thou chosen rather than affliction We should rather continue poor than by couzenage or rapine endeavour to raise our fortune we should rather lie under disgrace and contempt than by sinfull or sordid compliances strive to acquire the respect and favour of Men we should rather willingly rest in the lowest condition than doe as those who by disturbing the world by fomenting disorders and factions by supplanting their neighbours welfare by venting slanders and detractions do labour to amplifie their estate we should rather endure any inconvenience or distress than have recourse to ways of evading them disallowed by God doing as the Jews did who in their straits against the declared pleasure of God set their faces toward Aegypt strengthned themselves in the strength of Pharaoh trusted in the staff of that broken reed In neglect or diffidence toward God to embrace such aids is as God in the Prophet declareth a very blameable and mischievous folly Ephraim saith he is like a silly dove without heart they call to Aegypt they go to Assyria Woe unto them for they have fled from me destruction unto them because they have transgressed against me We may consider how St. Paul reproveth the Corinthians for seeking a redress of wrong scandalous and dishonourable to the Church Now therefore it is utterly a fault among you that ye go to law one with another Why do ye not rather take wrong why do ye not rather suffer your selves to be defrauded even to right our selves in a way whereby any dishonour may come to God or damage to his Church is not to be approved and better it is in the Apostle's judgment to bear any injury or damage our selves Better it is saith St. Peter if the will of God be so that we suffer for well-doing than to doe ill And Let them who suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithfull Creatour is another wholsome advice of that great Apostle 5. We should notwithstanding any adversity proceed in our affairs such as God requireth or reason putteth us upon with alacrity courage and industry performing however so far as our circumstances do permit what is good and fit for us No disappointment or cross no straits or grievances of condition should render us listless or lazy but rather it should quicken and inflame our activity this being a good way to divert us from the sense of our misfortunes and to comfort us under their pressure as also the readiest way to remove or to abate them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to order the present well what ever it be to make the best of a bad matter to march forward whither reason calls how difficultly soever or slowly it be in a rough or dirty way not to yield to difficulties but resolutely to encounter them to struggle lustily with them to endeavâ—our with all our might to surmount them are acts worthy of a manly reason and courage to direct ill accidents to good ends and improve them to honest uses is the work of a noble vertue If a bad game be dealt us we should not presently throw up but play it out so well as we can so perhaps we may save somewhat we shall at least be busie till a better come Put thy trust in the Lord and be doing good is the Psalmist's advice in such a case and it is a practice necessary to the procuring and maintaining content If we be not otherwise well employed we shall be apt in our thoughts to melancholize and dote upon our mischances the sense of them will fasten upon our spirits and gnaw our hearts 6. We should behave our selves fairly and kindly toward the instruments and abettors of our adversity toward those who brought us into it and those who detain us under it by keeping off relief and those who forbear to afford the succour we might expect forbearing to express any wrath or displeasure to exercise any revenge or enmity toward them but rather even upon that score bearing good will and expressing kindness toward them not onely as to our brethren whom according to the general Law of Charity we are bound to love but as to the servants of God in this particular case and the instruments of his pleasure toward us considering that by maligning or molesting them we do express ill resentments of God's dealing with us and in effect through
world but a region of tumult and trouble a theatre of vanity and disasters the kingdom of care of fear of grief and pain of satiety of disappointment of regret and repentance we came not hither to doe our will or enjoy our pleasure we are not born to make laws for our selves or to pick our condition here No this world is a place of banishment from our first countrey and the original felicity we were designed to this life is a state of travel toward another better countrey and seat of rest and well it is in such cases well it is I say for us as exiles and travellers if we can find any tolerable accommodation if we can make any hard shift It should not be strange to us if in this our peregrination we do meet with rough passages foul ways hard lodging scant or course fare if we complain of such things we do not surely consider where we are whence we came whither we are going we forget that we are the sons of Adam the heirs of sin and sorrow who have sorfeited our rest and joy upon earth we consider not how unavoidable the effects are of that fatal condemnation and curse which followed our first transgression we mind not that the perfection and purity of the blessings we have lost is not to be found on this side the celestial paradise This world is purposely made somewhat unpleasant to us lest we should overmuch delight in it be unwilling to part with it wish to set up our rest here and say Bonum est esse hîc It is good for us to be here This life is a state of probation and exercise like to that which prefigured and represented it of God's people in the wilderness wherein God leadeth us through many difficulties and hazards in many wants and hardships to humble and prove us in order to the fitting us for another more happy state No temptation therefore or affliction can seize upon us but such as is humane that is such as is natural and proper to men 't is the consideration which St. Paul useth to comfort and support us in troubles and a plainly good one it is for seeing Man as Eliphaz saith is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward that nothing is more natural to any thing than trouble is to us if we are displeased therewith we are in effect pleased that we are men it implieth that we gladly would put off our nature and cease to be our selves we grieve that we are come to live in this world and as well might we be vexed that we are not Angels or that we are not yet in heaven which is the onely place exempt from inconveniencies and troubles where alone there is no sorrow no clamour no pain It hath always been and it will ever be an universal complaint and lamentation that the life of man and trouble are individual companions continually and closely sticking one to the other that life and misery are but several names of the same thing that our state here is nothing else but a combination of various evils made up of cares of labours of dangers of disappointments of discords of disquiets of diseases of manifold pains and sorrows that all ages from wailing infancy to querulous decrepitness and all conditions from the carefull sceptre to the painfull spade are fraught with many great inconveniencies peculiar to each of them that all the face of the earth is overspread with mischiefs as with a general and perpetual deluge that nothing perfectly sound nothing safe nothing stable nothing serene is here to be found this with one sad voice all mankind resoundeth this our Poets are ever moanfully singing this our Philosophers do gravely inculcate this the experience of all times loudly proclameth For what are all histories but continual registers of the evils incident to men what do they all describe but wars and slaughters mutinies and seditions tumults and confusions devastations and ruines What do they tell us but of men furiously striving together circumventing spoiling destroying one another What do we daily hear reported but cruel broils bloudy battels and tragical events great numbers of men slain wounded hurried into captivity cities sacked and rased countries harassed and depopulated kingdoms and commonwealths overturned What do we see before us but men carking toiling bickering some worn out with labour some pining away for want some groaning under pain And amidst so many common miseries and misfortunes in so generally confused and dismal a state of things is it not ridiculously absurd for us doth it not argue in us a prodigious sondness of self-love heinously to resent or impatiently to bemoan our particular and private crosses May not reasonably that expostulation of Jeremy to Baruch reach us The Lord saith thus Behold that which I have built I will break down and that which I have planted I will pluck up even this whole land And seekest thou great things for thy self seek them not for behold I will bring evil on all flesh 4. Again if we more closely and particularly survey the states of other men of our brethren every where of our neighbours all about us and compare our case with theirs our condition hardly can appear to us so bad but that we have many consorts and associates therein many as ill many far worse bestead than our selves How many of our brethren in the world may we observe conflicting with extreme penury and distress how many undergoing continual hard drudgeries to maintain their lives how many sorely pinched with hunger and cold how many tortured with grievous sickness how many oppressed with debt how many shut up under close restraint how many detained in horrible slavery how many by the wasting rage of war rifled of their goods driven from their homes dispossessed of all comfortable subsistence How many in sine passing their lives in all the inconveniencies of rude beggarly sordid and savage barbarism And who of us have in any measure tasted of these or of the like calamities Yet are these sufferers all of them the same in nature with us many of them as reason as humility as charity do oblige us to believe deserve as well divers of them much better than our selves What reason then can we have to conceive our case so hard or to complain thereof Were we the onely persons exposed to trouble or the single marks of adverse fortune could we truly say with the Prophet Behold if there be any sorrow like my sorrow We might seem a little unhappy but since we have so much good company in our conceived woe since it is so ordinary a thing to be poor and distressed since our case is as the Poet speaketh not rare but commonly known trite and drawn out from the heap of lots offered to men by fortune since pitifull objects do thus environ and enclose us 't is plainly reasonable humane
scarce any thing more but empty shews of respect and hollow acclamations of praise whence the Psalmist might well say Surely men of low degree are vanity and men of high degree a lye a lye for that their state cheateth us appearing so specious yet being really so inconvenient and troublesome Such is the state of the greatest men such as hath made wise Princes weary of themselves ready to acknowledge that if men knew the weight of a Crown none would take it up apt to think with Pope Adrian who made this Epitaph for himself Here lieth Adrian the Sixth who thought nothing in his life to have befallen him more unhappy than that he ruled Such in fine their state as upon due consideration we should were it offered to our choice never embrace such indeed as in sober judgment we cannot prefer before the most narrow and inferiour fortune How then can we reasonably be displeased with our condition when we may even pity Emperours and Kings when in reality we are as well perhaps are much better than they 7. Farther it may induce and engage us to be content to consider what commonly hath been the lot of good men in the world we shall if we survey the histories of all times find the best men to have sustained most grievous crosses and troubles fcarce is there in holy Scripture recorded any person eminent and illustrious for goodness who hath not tasted deeply of wants and distresses Abraham the Father of the faithfull and especial friend of God was called out of his countrey and from his kindred to wander in a strange land andlodge in tents without any fixed habitation Jacob spent a great part of his life in slavish toil and in his old age was in reflexion upon his life moved to say that the days of his pilgrimage had been few and evil Joseph was maligned and persecuted by his brethren sold away for a slave slandered for a most heinous crime thrust into a grievous prison where his feet were hurt with fetters and his soul came into iron Moses was forced to fly away for his life to become a vagabond in a foreign place to feed sheep for his livelihood to spend afterward the best of his life in contesting with an obstinately perverse Prince and in leading a mistrustfull refractary mutinous people for forty years time through a vast and wild desart Job what a stupendious heap of mischiefs did together fall and lie heavy upon him Thou writest bitter things against me he might well say David How often was he plunged in saddest extremity and reduced to the hardest shifts being hunted like a partridge in the wilderness by an envious Master forced to counterfeit madness for his security among barbarous infidels dispossessed of his kingdom and persecuted by his own most favoured son deserted by his servants reproached and scorned by his subjects Elias was driven long to sculk for his life and to shift for his livelihood in the wilderness Jeremy was treated as an impostour and a traitour and cast into a miry dungeon finding matter from his sufferings for his dolesull lamentations and having thence occasion to exclaim I am the man that have seen affliction by the rod of his wrath c. Which of the Prophets were not persecuted and misused as St. Stephen asked The Apostles were pinched with all kinds of want harassed with all sorts of toil exposed to all manner of hazards persecuted with all variety of contumelies and pains that can be imagined Above all our Lord himself beyond expression was a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief surpassing all men in suffering as he did excell them in dignity and in vertue extreme poverty having not so much as where to lay his head was his portion to undergo continual labour and travel without any mixture of carnal ease or pleasure was his state in return for the highest good will and choicest benefits to receive most cruel hatred and grievous injuries to be loaded with the bitterest reproaches the foulest slanders the forest pains which most spitefull malice could invent or fiercest rage inflict this was his lot Am I poor so may one say was he to extremity am I slighted of the world so was he notoriously Am I disappointed and crossed in my designs so was he continually all his most painfull endeavours having small effect Am I deserted or betrayed of friends so was he by those who were most intimate and most obliged to him Am I reviled slandered misused Was not he so beyond all comparison most outrageously Have all these and many more of whom the world was not worthy undergone all sorts of inconvenience being destitute afflicted tormented And shall we then disdain or be sorry to be found in such company Having such a cloud of Martyrs let us run with patience the race that is set before us Is it not an honour should it not be a comfort to us that we do in condition resemble them If God hath thus dealt with those who of all men have been dearest to him shall we take it ill at his hands that he in any manner dealeth so with us Can we pretend can we hope can we even wish to be used better than God's first-born and our Lord himself hath been If we do are we not monstrously fond and arrogant especially considering that it is not onely an ordinary fortune but the peculiar character of God's chosen and children to be often crossed checked and corrected Even Pagans have observed it and avowed there is great reason for it God saith Seneca hath a fatherly mind toward good men and strongly loveth them therefore after the manner of severe parents he educateth them hardly c. The Apostle doth in express terms assure us thereof for whom saith he the Lord loveth he chastneth and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth If ye endure chastning God dealeth with you as with sons but if ye be without chastisement whereof all that is all good men and genuine sons of God are partakers then are ye bastards and not sons Would we be illegitimated or expunged from the number of God's true children would we be devested of his special regard and good-will if not Why do we not gladly embrace and willingly sustain adversity which is by himself declared so peculiar a badge of his children so constant a mark of his favour If all good men do as the Apostle asserteth partake thereof shall we by displeasure at it shew that we desire to be assuredly none of that party that we affect to be discarded from that holy and happy society Verily verily I say unto you that ye shall weep and lament but the world shall rejoyce It is peculiarly the lot of Christians as such in conformity to their afflicted Saviour they are herein predestinated to be conformable to
whom the Prophet said When they shall be hungry they will fret themselves and curse their King and their God such as they were guilty of whom St. Jude calleth 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 murmurers and querulous persons or such as found fault with their lot that which is styled charging God foolishly for abstaining from which notwithstanding the pressure of his most grievous calamities Job is commended where 't is said Job sinned not neither charged God foolishly that which the Prophet condemneth as unreasonable in that expostulation Wherefore doth the living man complain In such cases we should smother our passions in a still and silent demeanour as the Psalmist advised and as he practised himself I was dumb saith he and opened not my mouth because it was thy doing Yea contrariwise patience requireth 10. Blessing and praising God that is declaring our hearty satisfaction in God's proceedings with us acknowledging his wisedom justice and goodness therein expressing a gratefull sense thereof as wholsome and beneficial to us in conformity to Job who upon the loss of all his comforts did thus vent his mind The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away blessed be the name of the Lord. 11. Abstaining from all irregular and unworthy courses toward the removal or redress of our crosses chusing rather to abide quietly under their pressure than by any unwarrantable means to relieve or relaxe our selves contentedly wearing rather than violently breaking our yoke or bursting our bonds rather continuing poor than striving to enrich our selves by fraud or rapine rather lying under contempt than by sinfull or sordid compliances attempting to gain the favour and respect of men rather embracing the meanest condition than labouring by any turbulent unjust or uncharitable practices to amplifie our estate rather enduring any inconvenience or distress than setting our faces toward Aegypt or having recourse to any succour which God disalloweth according to what is implied in that reprehension of St. Paul Now therefore it is utterly a fault among you because ye go to law one with another Why do ye not rather take wrong why do ye not rather suffer your selves to be defrauded and in that advice of St. Peter Let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well-doing as unto a faithfull creatour 12. A fair behaviour toward the instruments and abettors of our affliction those who brought us into it or who detain us under it by keeping off relief or sparing to yield the succour which we might expect the forbearing to express any wrath or displeasure to exercise any revenge to retain any grudge or enmity toward them but rather even upon that score bearing good-will and shewing kindness unto them unto them not onely as to our brethren whom according to the general law of charity we are bound to love but as to the servants of God in this particular case or as to the instruments of his pleasure toward us considering that by maligning or mischiefing them we do signifie ill resentment of God's dealings with us and in effect through their sides do wound his providence thus did the pious King demean himself when he was bitterly reproached and cursed by Shimei not suffering upon this accompt any harm or requital to be offered to him thus did the holy Apostles who being reviled did bless being persecuted did bear it being defamed did entreat thus did our Lord deport himself toward his spitefull adversaries who being reviled did not revile again when he suffered did not threaten but committed it to him that judgeth righteously 13. Particularly in regard to those who by injurious and offensive usage do provoke us patience importeth 1. That we be not hastily over-easily not immoderately not pertinaciously incensed with anger toward them according to those divine precepts and aphorismes Be slow to wrath Be not hasty in thy spirit to be angry for anger resteth in the bosome of fools Give place to wrath that is remove it Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamour and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice Cease from anger let go displeasure fret not thy self any wise to doe evil 2. That we do not in our hearts harbour any ill-will or ill-wishes or ill designs toward them but that we truely desire their good and purpose to further it as we shall have ability and occasion according to that law even charged on the Jews Thou shalt not bear any grudge against the children of thy people but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thy self and according to that noble command of our Saviour Love your enemies pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you 3. That in effect we do not execute any revenge or for requital doe any mischief to them either in word or deed but for their reproaches exchange blessings or good words and wishes for their outrages repay benefits and good turns according to those Evangelical rules Doe good to them that hate you Bless them that curse you Bless them that persecute you bless and curse not See that none render evil for evil Be pitifull be courteous not rendring evil for evil or railing for railing but contrariwise blessing If thine enemy hunger feed him if he thirst give him drink Say not I will doe to him as he hath done to me I will render to the man according to his work Say thou not I will recompence evil but wait on the Lord and he shall save thee 14. In fine patience doth include and produce a general meekness and kindness of affection together with an enlarged sweetness and pleasantness in conversation and carriage toward all men implying that how hard soever our case how sorry or sad our condition is we are not therefore angry with the world because we do not thrive or flourish in it that we are not dissatisfied or disgusted with the prosperous estate of other men that we are not become sullen or froward toward any man because his fortune excelleth ours but that rather we do rejoice with them that rejoice we do find complacence and delight in their good success we borrow satisfaction and pleasure from their enjoyments In these and the like acts the practice of this vertue a vertue which all men in this state of inward weakness and outward trouble shall have much need and frequent occasion to exercise consisteth unto which practice even Philosophy natural reason and common sense do suggest many inducements the tenour of our holy faith and religion do supply more and better but nothing can more clearly direct or more powerfully excite thereto than that admirable example by which our Text doth enforce it some principal of those rational inducements we shall cursorily touch then insist upon this example It will generally induce us to bear patiently all things incident if we consider That it is
the natural right and prerogative of God to dispose of all things to assign our station here and allot our portion to us whence it is a most wrongfull insolence in us by complaining of our state to contest his right or impeach his management thereof That we are obliged to God's free bounty for numberless great benefits and favours whence it is vile ingratitude to be displeased for the want of some lesser conveniences That God having undertaken and promised to support and succour us it is a heinous affront to distrust him and consequently to be dissatisfied with our condition That seeing God doth infinitely better understand what is good for us than we can do he is better affected toward us and more truly loveth us than we do our selves he with an unquestionable right hath an uncontrollable power to dispose of us it is most reasonable to acquiesce in his choice of our state That since we have no claim to any good or any pleasure and thence in withholding any no wrong is done to us 't is unjust and frivolous to murmur or grumble since we are by nature God's servants it is fit the appointment of our rank our garb our diet all our accommodations and employments in his family should be left entirely to his discretion and pleasure That we being grievous sinners less than the least of God's mercies meriting no good but deserving sore punishment from him it is just that we should be highly content and thankfull for any thing on this side death and damnation That our afflictions being the natural fruits and results of our choice or voluntary miscarriages it is reasonable we should blame our selves rather than pick quarrels with Providence for them That our condition be it what it will cannot being duly estimated be extremely bad or insupportably grievous for that as no condition here is perfectly and purely good not deficient in some accommodations not blended with some troubles so there is none that hath not its conveniencies and comforts for that it is our fond conceits our froward humours our perverse behaviours which create the mischiefs adherent to any state for that also how forlorn soever our case is we cannot fail if we please of a capacity to enjoy goods far more than countervailing all possible want of these goods or presence of these evils we may have the use of our reason a good conscience hope in God assurance of God's love and favour abundance of spiritual blessings here and a certain title to eternal glory and bliss hereafter which if we can have our condition cannot be deemed uncomfortable That indeed our adversity is a thing very good and wholsome very profitable and desirable as a means of breeding improving and exercising the best vertues of preparing us for and entitling us to the best rewards That our state cannot ever be desperate our adversity probably may not be lasting there being no connexion between the present and the future vicissitudes being frequent all things depending on the arbitrary dispensation of God who doth always pity us and is apt to relieve us That however our affliction will not out-live our selves and certainly must soon expire with our life That this world is not a place of perfect convenience or pure delight we come not hither to doe our will or enjoy our pleasure we are not born to make laws or pick our condition here but that trouble is natural and proper to us We are born thereto as the sparks fly upwards No tribulation seiseth us but such as is humane whence 't is reasonable that we contentedly bear the crosses sutable to our nature and state That no adversity is in kind or degree peculiar to us but if we survey the conditions of other men of our brethren every where of our neighbours all about us and compare our case with theirs we shall find that we have many consorts and associates in adversity most as ill many far worse bestead than our selves whence it must be a great fondness and perversness to be displeased that we are not exempted from but exposed to bear a share in the common troubles and burthens of mankind That it hath particularly been the lot of the best men persons most excellent in vertue and most deep in God's favour to sustain adversity and it therefore becometh us willingly and chearfully to accept it That in fine patience it self is the best remedy to ease us in to rescue us from adversity for it cannot much annoy us if we bear it patiently God will in mercy remove it if we please him by demeaning our selves well under it but that impatience doth not at all conduce to our relief doth indeed exasperate and augment our pain Such considerations may induce us to a patience in general respecting all sorts of evil There are also reasons particularly disposing to bear injuries and contumelies from men calmly and meekly without immoderate wrath rancorous hatred or spitefull revenge toward them Because they do proceed from divine providence disposing or permitting them for the trial of our patience the abasing our pride the exercising of some other vertues or for other good purposes to fall upon us Because vindication of misdemeanours committed against us doth not appertain to us we not being competent Judges of them nor rightfull executours of the punishments due to them God having reserved to himself the right of decision and power of execution Vengeance is mine saith the Lord I will repay it Because we are obliged to interpret charitably the actions of our neighbour supposing his miscarriages to proceed from infirmity from mistake or from some cause which we should be rather inclinable to excuse than to prosecute with hatred or revenge Because indeed our neighbours most culpable offences as issuing from distemper of mind are more reasonably the objects of compassion and charity than of anger or ill-will Because we are bound to forgive all injuries by the command of God and in conformity to his example who passeth by innumerable most heinous offences committed against himself Gratious is the Lord and full of compassion slow to anger and of great mercy long-suffering and plenteous in mercy and truth so must we be also if we will be like him or please him Because we our selves being subject to incur the same faults in kind or greater in value do need much pardon and should thence be ready to allow it unto others both in equity and in gratitude toward God lest that in the Gospel be applied to us O thou wicked servant I forgave thee all that debt because thou desiredst me Shouldst not thou also have had compassion upon thy fellow servant even as I had pity on thee Because God hath made it a necessary condition of our obtaining mercy promising us favour if we yield it menacing us extremity if we refuse it If ye forgive men their trespasses your heavenly father will also forgive you But if ye forgive not men
dumb so he opened not his mouth and I gave my back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting Neither did the wrongfull slanders devised and alledged against him by suborned witnesses nor the virulent invectives of the Priests nor the barbarous clamours of the people nor the contemptuous spitting upon him and buffeting him nor the cruel scorgings nor the contumelious mockeries nor all the bloudy tortures inflicted upon him wring from him one syllable importing any dissatisfaction in his case any wrath conceived for his misusages any grudge or ill-will in his mind toward his persecutours but on the contrary instead of hatred and revenge he declared the greatest kindness and charity toward them praying heartily to God his Father for the pardon of their sins Instead of aggravating their crime and injury against him he did in a sort extenuate and excuse it by consideration of their ignorance and mistake Lord said he in the height of his sufferings forgive them for they know not what they doe The life they so violently bereaved him of he did willingly mean to lay down for the ransome of their lives the bloud they spilt he wished to be a salutary balsame for their wounds and maladies he most chearfully did offer himself by their hands a sacrifice for their offences No small part of his afflictions was a sense of their so grievously displeasing God and pulling mischief on their own heads a foresight of his kind intentions being frustrated by their obstinate incredulity and impenitence a reflexion upon that inevitable vengeance which from the divine justice would attend them this foreseen did work in him a distastfull sense more grievous than what his own pain could produce and drew from him tears of compassion such as no resentment of his own case could extort for When he was come near he beheld the City and wept over it saying O that thou hadst known even thou at least in this thy day the things which belong unto thy peace If ever he did express any commotion of mind in reference to this matter it was onely then when one of his friends out of a blind fondness of affection did presume to dissuade him from undergoing these evils then indeed being somewhat moved with indignation he said to St. Peter Get thee behind me Satan for thou art an offence unto me for thou savourest not the things that be of God but those that be of men Neither was it out of a stupid insensibility or stubborn resolution that he did thus behave himself for he had a most vigorous sense of all those grievances and a strong natural aversation from undergoing them as those dolorous agonies wherewith he struggled those deadly groans he uttered those monstrous lumps of bloud he swet out those earnest prayers he made to be freed from them declare but from a perfect submission to the divine will an entire command over his passions an excessive charity toward mankind this patient and meek behaviour did spring The Cup which my father hath given me shall I not drink it O my Father if it be possible let this cup pass from me nevertheless not as I will but as thou wilt Let not my will but thine be done No man taketh away my life but I lay it down of my own accord I will give my flesh for the life of the world So doth our Lord himself express the true grounds of his passion and his patience Such is the example of our Lord the serious consideration whereof how can it otherwise than work patience and meekness in us If He that was the Lord of glory infinitely excellent in dignity and vertue did so readily embrace did so contentedly endure such extremities of penury hardship disgrace and pain how can we refuse them or repine at them can we pretend to a better lot than he received or presume that God must deal better with us than he did with his own dearest Son Can we be displeased at a conformity to our Lord and Master Can we without shame affect to live more splendidly or to fare more deliciously than he chose to doe Shall we fret or wail because our desires are crossed our projects defeated our interests any-wise prejudiced whenas his most earnest desires and his most painfull endeavours had so little of due and desired success when He was ever ready and had so constant occasion to say Let not my will be done Can we despise that state of meanness and sorrow which He from the highest sublimities of glory and beatitude was pleased to stoop unto Can we take our selves for the want of any present conveniences or comforts to be wretched whenas the fountain of all happiness was destitute of all such things and scarce did ever taste any worldly pleasure Are we fit or worthy to be his disciples if we will not take up his cross and follow him if we will not go to his School that School wherein he is said himself to have learnt obedience if we will not con that lesson which he so loudly hath read out and transcribe that copy which he so fairly hath set before us Can we pretend to those great benefits those high privileges those rich and excellent rewards which he hath attained for us and which he proposeth to us if we will not go on toward them in that way of patience which he hath trod before us Can we also if we consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners be transported with any wrathfull or revengefull passion upon any provocation from our brethren Can we hope or wish for better usage from men than our Lord did ever find Can we be much displeased with any man for thwarting our desires or interests for dissenting from our conceits for crossing our humours whenas he to whom all respect and observance was due did meet with so little regard or compliance in any way continually did encounter repulses disappointments oppositions from the perverse and spitefull world Can we be very jealous of our credit or furious when our imaginary honour honour that we never really deserved or can justly claim being guilty of so many great faults and sins is touched with the least disgracefull reflexion if we do well observe and mind that the most truly and indeed onely honourable personage onely honourable because onely innocent person that ever was had his reputation aspersed by the most odious reproaches which deepest envy and malice could devise without any grievous resentment or being folicitous otherwise to assert or clear it than by a constant silence Can we be exasperated by every petty affront real or supposed when the most noble most courteous most obliging person that ever breathed upon earth was treacherously exposed to violence by his own servant shamefully deserted by his own most beloved friends despitefully treated by those whom he never had
office usurping his authority snatching his sceptre into our hands and setting our wills in his throne It is the will of our Judge from whose mouth our doom must proceed awarding life or death weal or woe unto us and what sentence can we expect what favour can we pretend to if we presumptuously shall offend oppose that will which is the supreme rule of justice and sole fountain of mercy It is the will of our Redeemer who hath bought us with an inestimable price and with infinite pains hath rescued us from miserable captivity under most barbarous enemies that obeying his will we might command our own and serving him we might enjoy perfect freedom And shall we declining his call and conduct out of that unhappy state bereave him of his purchase frustrate his undertakings and sorfeit to our selves the benefit of so great redemption It is the will of our best Friend who loveth us much better than we do love our selves who is concerned for our welfare as his own dearest interest and greatly delighteth therein who by innumerable experiments hath demonstrated an excess of kindness to us who in all his dealings with us purely doth aim at our good never charging any duty on us or dispensing any event to us so much with intent to exercise his power over us as to express his goodness toward us who never doth afflict or grieve us more against our will than against his own desire never indeed but when goodness it self calleth for it and even mercy doth urge thereto to whom we are much obliged that he vouchsafeth to govern and guide us our service being altogether unprofitable to him his governance exceedingly beneficial to us And doth not such a will deserve regard may it not demand compliance from us to neglect or infringe it what is it is it not palpable folly is it not foul disingenuity is it not detestable ingratitude So doth every relation of God recommend his will to us and each of his attributes doth no less for It is the will of him who is most holy or whose will is essential rectitude how then can we thwart it without being stained with the guilt and wounded with a sense of great irregularity and iniquity It is the will of him who is perfectly just who therefore cannot but assert his own righteous will and avenge the violation thereof is it then advisable to drive him to that point by wilfull provocation or to run upon the edge of necessary severity It is the will of him who is infinitely wise who therefore doth infallibly know what is best for us what doth most besit our capacities and circumstances what in the final result will conduce to our greatest advantage and comfort shall we then prefer the dreams of our vain mind before the oracles of his wisedom shall we forsaking the direction of his unerring will follow the impulse of our giddy humour It is the will of him who is immensely good and benign whose will therefore can be no other than good will to us who can mean nothing thereby but to derive bounty and mercy on us Can we then fail of doing well if we put our selves entirely into his hands are we not our own greatest enemies in withstanding his gratious intentions It is finally the will of him who is uncontrollably powerfull whose will therefore must prevail one way or other either with our will or against it either so as to bow and satisfie us or so as to break and plague us for My counsel saith he shall stand and I will doe all my pleasure As to his dispensations we may fret we may wail we may bark at them but we cannot alter or avoid them sooner may we by our moans check the tides or by our cries stop the Sun in his carriere than divert the current of affairs or change the state of things established by God's high decree what he layeth on no hand can remove what he hath destined no power can reverse our anger therefore will be ineffectual our impatience will have no other fruit than to aggravate our guilt and augment our grief As to his commands we may lift up our selves against them we may fight stoutly we may in a sort prove Conquerours but it will be a miserable Victory the Trophies whereof shall be erected in Hell and stand upon the ruines of our happiness for while we insult over abused grace we must fall under incensed justice If God cannot fairly procure his will of us in way of due obedience he will surely execute his will upon us in way of righteous vengeance if we do not surrender our wills to the overtures of his goodness we must submit our backs to the stroaks of his anger He must reign over us if not as over loyal Subjects to our comfort yet as over stubborn Rebels to our confusion for this in that case will be our doom and the last words God will design to spend upon us Those mine enemies which would not that I should reign over them bring them hither and slay them before me Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus that great shepherd of the sheep through the bloud of the everlasting Covenant make you perfect in every good work to doe his will working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory for ever and ever Amen FINIS A Catalogue of Books and Sermons Writ by the Reverend Dr. Tillotson Dean of Canterbury Viz. 1. SErmons Preached upon several Occasions in two Volumes in Octavo 2. The Rule of Faith c. 3. A Sermon Preached on the 5th of November 1678. at St. Margarets Westminster before the Honourable House of Commons upon St. Luke 9. 55 56. But he turned and rebuked them and said Ye know not what manner of Spirit ye are of For the Son of man is not come to destroy mens lives but to save them 4. A Sermon Preached at the first General Meeting of the Gentlemen and others in and near London who were Born within the County of York Upon John 13. 34 35. A new Commandment I give unto you that ye love one another c. 5. A Sermon Preached before the King at White hall April 4th 1679 upon 1 John 4. 1. Beloved believe not every Spirit but try the Spirits whether they are of God c. 6. A Sermon Preached before the King at White-hall April 2d 1680 upon Joshua 24. 15. If it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord chuse ye this day whom ye will serve 7. The Lawfulness and Obligation of Oaths A Sermon Preached at the Assizes held at Kingstone upon Thames July 21. 1681 upon Heb. 6. 16. And an Oath for Confirmation is to them an end of all Strife 8. A Sermon Preached at the Funeral of the Reverend Mr. Thomas Gouge November 4th 1681 with an account of his Life upon Luke 20. 37 38. Now that the Dead
offended by those upon whom he had heaped the greatest benefits without expressing any anger or displeasure against them but yielding many signal testimonies of tenderest pity and love toward them Can we see our Lord treated like a slave and a thief without any disturbance or commotion of heart and we vile wretches upon every slight occasion swell with fierce disdain pour forth reproachfull language execute horrible mischief upon our brethren He indeed was surrounded with injuries and affronts every sin that since the foundation of things hath been committed was an offence against him and a burthen upon him God laid upon him the iniquities of us all so many declared enemies so many rebels so many persecutours so many murtherers he had as there have lived men in the world for every sinner did in truth conspire to his affliction and destruction we all in effect did betray him did accuse him did mock did scourge did pierce and crucifie him yet he forgave all offences he died for all persons while we were yet enemies yet sinners he died for us to rescue us from death and misery And shall we not then in imitation of him for his dear sake in gratitude respect and obedience to him be ready to bear the infirmities of our brethren to forgive any small wrongs or offences from them whatever they doe to us to love them and doe them what good we can If so admirable a pattern of patience and meekness so immense cannot what is there that can oblige or move us I conclude with those doxologies to our so patient and meek Redeemer Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisedom and strength and honour and glory and blessing Blessing and honour and glory and power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne and to the Lamb for ever and ever Unto him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his bloud and hath made us Kings and Priests unto God and his Father to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever Amen OF RESIGNATION TO THE DIVINE WILL. The Seventh Sermon LUK. XXII 42. Nevertheless let not my will but thine be done THE great Controversie managed with such earnestness and obstinacy between God and Man is this whose will shall take place his or ours Almighty God by whose constant protection and great mercy we subsist doth claim to himself the authority of regulating our practice and disposing our fortunes but we affect to be our own masters and carvers not willingly admitting any law not patiently brooking any condition which doth not sort with our fancy and pleasure to make good his right God bendeth all his sorces and applieth all proper means both of sweetness and severity persuading us by arguments soliciting us by entreaties alluring us by fair promises scaring us by fierce menaces indulging ample benefits to us inslicting sore corrections on us working in us and upon us by secret influences of grace by visible dispensations of providence yet so it is that commonly nothing doth avail our will opposing it self with invincible resolution and stiffness Here indeed the business pincheth herein as the chief worth so the main difficulty of religious practice consisteth in bending that iron sinew in bringing our proud hearts to stoop and our sturdy humours to buckle so as to surrender and resign our wills to the just the wise the gratious will of our God prescribing our duty and assigning our lot unto us We may accuse our nature but it is our pleasure we may pretend weakness but it is wilfulness which is the guilty cause of our misdemeanours for by God's help which doth always prevent our needs and is never wanting to those who seriously desire it we may be as good as we please if we can please to be good there is nothing within us that can resist if our wills do yield themselves up to duty to conquer our reason is not hard for what reason of man can withstand the infinite cogency of those motives which induce to obedience What can be more easie than by a thousand arguments clear as day to convince any man that to cross God's will is the greatest absurdity in the world and that there is no madness comparable thereto Nor is it difficult if we resolve upon it to govern any other part or power of our nature for what cannot we doe if we are willing what inclination cannot we check what appetite cannot we restrain what passion cannot we quell or moderate what faculty of our soul or member of our body is not obsequious to our will Even half the resolution with which we pursue vanity and sin would serve to engage us in the ways of wisedom and vertue Wherefore in overcoming our will the stress lieth this is that impregnable fortress which everlastingly doth hold out against all the batteries of reason and of grace which no force of persuasion no allurement of favour no discouragement of terrour can reduce this puny this impotent thing it is which grappleth with Omnipotency and often in a manner baffleth it And no wonder for that God doth not intend to overpower our will or to make any violent impression on it but onely to draw it as it is in the Prophet with the cords of a man or by rational inducements to win its consent and compliance our service is not so considerable to him that he should extort it from us nor doth he value our happiness at so low a rate as to obtrude it on us His victory indeed were no true victory over us if he should gain it by main sorce or without the concurrence of our will our works not being our works if they do not issue from our will and our will not being our will if it be not free to compell it were to destroy it together with all the worth of our vertue and obedience wherefore the Almighty doth suffer himself to be withstood and beareth repulses from us nor commonly doth he master our will otherwise than by its own spontaneous conversion and submission to him if ever we be conquer'd as we shall share in the benefit and wear a crown so we must join in the combat and partake of the victory by subduing our selves we must take the yoke upon us for God is onely served by volunteers he summoneth us by his Word he attracteth us by his Grace but we must freely come unto him Our will indeed of all things is most our own the onely gift the most proper sacrifice we have to offer which therefore God doth chiefly desire doth most highly prize doth most kindly accept from us Seeing then our duty chiefly moveth on this hinge the free submission and resignation of our will to the will of God it is this practice which our Lord who came to guide us in the way to happiness not onely as a teacher by his word and excellent doctrine but as a leader by
his actions and perfect example did especially set before us as in the constant tenour of his life so particularly in that great exigency which occasioned these words wherein renouncing and deprecating his own will he did express an entire submission to God's will a hearty complacence therein and a serious desire that it might take place For the fuller understanding of which case we may consider that our Lord as partaker of our nature and in all things bating sin like unto us had a natural humane will attended with senses appetites and affections apt from objects incident to receive congruous impressions of pleasure and pain so that whatever is innocently gratefull and pleasant to us that he relish'd with delight and thence did encline to embrace whatever is distastfull and afflictive to us that he resented with grief and thence was moved to eschew to this probably he was liable in a degree beyond our ordinary rate for that in him nature was most perfect his complexion very delicate his temper exquisitely sound and fine for so we find that by how much any man's constitution is more sound by so much he hath a smarter gust of what is agreeable or offensive to nature If perhaps sometimes infirmity of body or distemper of soul a savage ferity a stupid dulness a fondness of conceit or stiffness of humour supported by wild opinions or vain hopes may keep men from being thus affected by sensible objects yet in him pure nature did work vigorously with a clear apprehension and lively sense according to the design of our maker when into our constitution he did implant those passive faculties disposing objects to affect them so and so for our need and advantage if this be deemeed weakness it is a weakness connected with our nature which he therewith did take and with which as the Apostle saith he was encompassed Such a will our Lord had and it was requisite that he should have it that he thence might be qualified to discharge the principal instances of obedience for procuring God's favour to us and for setting an exact pattern before us for God imposing on him duties to perform and dispensing accidents to endure very cross to that natural will in his compliance and acquiescence thereto his obedience was thoroughly tried his vertue did shine most brightly therefore as the Apostle saith he was in all points tempted thence as to meritorious capacity and exemplary influence he was perfected through suffering Hence was the whole course of his life and conversation among men so designed so modelled as to be one continual exercise of thwarting that humane will and closing with the Divine pleasure it was predicted of him Lo I come to doe thy will O God and of himself he affirm'd I came down from heaven not to doe my own will but the will of him that sent me whereas therefore such a practice is little seen in atchieving easie matters or in admitting pleasant occurrences it was order'd for him that he should encounter the roughest difficulties and be engaged in circumstances most harsh to natural apprehension and appetite so that if we trace the footsteps of his life from the sordid manger to the bloudy cross we can hardly mark any thing to have befallen him apt to satisfie the will of nature Nature liketh respect and loatheth contempt therefore was he born of mean parentage and in a most homely condition therefore did he live in no garb did assume no office did exercise no power did meddle in no affairs which procure to men consideration and regard therefore an impostour a blasphemer a sorcerer a loose companion a seditious incendiary were the titles of honour and the elogies of praise conferred on him therefore was he exposed to the lash of every slanderous every scurrilous every petulant and ungoverned tongue Nature doth affect the good opinion and good will of men especially when due in gratefull return for great courtesie and beneficence nor doth any thing more grate thereon than abuse of kindness therefore could he the world's great friend and benefactour say the world hateth me therefore were those whom he with so much charity and bounty had instructed had fed had cured of diseases both corporal and spiritual so ready to clamour and commit outrage upon him therefore could he thus expostulate Many good works have I shewed you from my father for which of those works do ye stone me therefore did his kindred slight him therefore did his disciples abandon him therefore did the grand traitour issue from his own bosome therefore did that whole Nation which he chiefly sought and laboured to save conspire to persecute him with most rancorous spite and cruel misusage Nature loveth plentifull accommodations and abhorreth to be pinched with any want therefore was extreme penury appointed to him he had no revenue no estate no certain livelyhood not so much as a house where to lay his head or a piece of money to discharge the tax for it he owed his ordinary support to alms or voluntary benesicence he was to seek his food from a fig-tree on the way and sometimes was beholden for it to the courtesie of Publicans 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he was saith Saint Paul a beggar for us Nature delighteth in case in quiet in liberty therefore did he spend his days in continual labour in restless travel in endless vagrancy going about and doing good ever hastning thither whither the needs of men did call or their benefit invite therefore did he take on him the form of a servant and was among his own followers as one that ministreth therefore he pleased not himself but suted his demeanour to the state and circumstances of things complied with the manners and fashions comported with the humours and infirmities of men Nature coveteth good success to its design and undertakings hardly brooking to be disappointed and defeated in them therefore was he put to water dry sticks and to wash Negroes that is to instruct a most dull and stupid to reform a most perverse and stubborn generation therefore his ardent desires his solicitous cares his painfull endeavours for the good of men did obtain so little fruit had indeed a contrary effect rather aggravating their sins than removing them rather hardning than turning their hearts rather plunging them deeper into perdition than rescuing them from it therefore so much in vain did he in numberless miraculous works display his power and goodness convincing few converting fewer by them therefore although he taught with most powerfull authority with most charming gracefulness with most convincing evidence yet Who could he say hath believed our report though he most earnestly did invite and allure men to him offering the richest boons that heaven it self could dispense yet Ye will not was he forced to say come unto me that ye may be saved although with assiduous fervency of affection he strove to reclaim them from courses tending to their