adhere and cleave to him. He will not caft a- SER M' X. 2. IN fubordination to the former, the very native tendency of the principles, which GoD has implanted in a holy foul, and which incline and difpofe it towards him, are its great relief against every thing that tends to distress, or works that way. As for instance; faith, which adjoins the foul to GoD, interefts it in his infinite fulness; when the foul must be far remote from straits or distress. Love too, is another principle by which the foul comes to have the actual fruition of that fulness, according to its measure; and what GOD doth now fee meet, or fit, and fuitable for it. There is patience alfo, by which' the foul is composed; and brought into a perfect mastery and dominion over itself, fo far as this gracious principle obtains. By your patience pofJefs ye your fouls. You are outed of yourselves, if you be not patient; but if you be patient you injoy yourselves. So that let the ftorm be never fo great and boisterous without, there will be peace and calmness within. Patience is an ability to fuffer. It is paffive fortitude. He that can fuffer, who is furnished with this ability, is in peace and quiet; is in no diftress. He confiders the cafe thus: "Such and fuch can afflict, and I L 4 f Luke xx1. 19. can VOL." can fuffer; I am therefore in this refpect on II. " even terms with all the world. They can in "deed lay upon me fuch and fuch things, and I 66 can bear them through grace that helps me. If fuch be the temper of a Christian that he cannot fuffer, he must be a flave. Every fuch perfon must be subject to the power of those that can hurt him, or do him an ill turn; only because he can fuffer nothing. He cannot fuffer, therefore he must ferve; or yield to every one's beck that hath any power to hurt him. But he that can fuffer, hath the maftery over himself, and remains in felf-poffeffion. The other is outed of himfelf; and must refign his will, his judgement, his confcience, and every thing to the pleasure of another. Again, the principle of a good confcience alfo keeps a perfon from distress. When a man's own heart doth not reproach him, what can be diftreffing unto him? As Job faid his fhould never do fo, though he fuffered, you know, very hard and grievous things. My heart. fhall not reproach me fo long as I live, till I die I will not remove my integrity from me 8. Where fuch a difpofition of spirit remains, there can be no distress; no distress can ever fall there. And now to make some brief ufe of this fubject, we learn, I. How happy a good man is when no external trouble, though it compass him on every fide, is yet able to bring him into distress. Is not this Job xxvII. 5, 6. man man a happy man that can defy the world? that SER M. can stand in the face of ftorms unhurt, untouch- X. ed, unfhaken? The matter deferves our ferious thoughts, that there should be fuch a privilege as this communicated unto mortality; unto a poor creature dwelling in mortal flesh. It gives us to fee, that there is fomewhat that greatens the fpirit of fuch a one to that degree, as to make it too big for all this world. For what else is the reafon, why such a one cannot be distressed? only because things apt to distress in their own nature, and in a fubject more liable to it, are not able to compafs, and intirely comprehend within themfelves that. fpirit, which they would aim to diftrefs. The spirit of a good man, as fuch, is too big for all this world; and if it have that grace in exercife, that is fuitable to fuch a cafe, it is too big for this world intirely to compafs. You cannot compress and ftraiten that, which you cannot grafp. This world cannot grasp such a spirit. It is, I fay, too big to be held within this narrow fphere. It looks above all fenfible things. It is of too great a profpect to be confined in its apprehenfion of things, to time; it looks into a vast and boundless eternity. Therefore fuch a perfon cannot be diftreffed in his fpirit. It furmounts the world, and is too great to be ftraitened by all the powers thereof, which can never reach unto it. Or if it fhould be brought into fome very great trouble, it looks beyond this prefent troublous state of things. It looks into eternity, and fays; "If it be not well now, it shall be. "Things VOL." Things at prefent are not as I could wish, but II. 66 they shall be as well as ever I could wish here"after." In fhort you cannot confine the eye of such a one, but it will have a look at something beyond what is present and liable to common view. Therefore there is no way intirely to cut off relief from the fpirit of a good man; for though it be troubled on every fide, it is yet exempt from diftrefs. who is unacquainted Such perfons, when II. HENCE We fee also the vaft difference that there is between fuch a one, and a wicked carnalman that knows not GOD; with, and unrelated to him. external trouble comes upon them, are presently diftreffed, or are very liable to be so upon every occafion. They have rot the way of escaping the preffure thereof, that holy gracious persons have. A perfon is not diftreffed fo long as he hath fome way of escape or other left. This is intimated by St. Paul himself, when he says; There hath no temptation taken you, but fuch as is common to man: but GOD is faithful, who will not fuffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation alfo make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it h. It is no ftrange thing that an affliction or trial fhould be borne, when there is a way of escape. BUT it may be faid, Why is there any talk of bearing what I fhall escape? I answer, it is plain that it is not escaping to fuffer, that is there 1 Cor. x. 13. meant ; X. meant; but real hurt or damage by that fuffer- SER M. ing, fo as to be not at all the worse for it, or prejudiced by it, at least in our spiritual concerns. It is fuch an escape as that, which our Saviour means in these words: Watch and pray always, that ye may be counted worthy to escape the things that shall come to pass, and to ftand before the Son of Man. Not that they should escape suffering, for he had been telling them before what grievous things they fhould fuffer; but that they should receive no hurt from their fufferings: that is, upon the whole matter they should have no caufe to reckon themselves fufferers, in as much as no damage fhould accrue to them from thence. Now when a man hath a way of escape, he is not distressed; his ftate, I fay, is not to be called a real diftrefs. There is at least upward always a way of efcape. David was fore diftreffed in Ziklag, after the Amalekites had invaded, and burnt it with fire and taken his people captive; yet it is faid, that be incouraged himself in bis GOD. He looked upward, and had a way of escape or deliverance open to him from above. BUT it is however faid there, that he was greatly diftreffed. I anfwer it is very true, and fo any good man may be in a great degree diftreffed, as well as David. Thus the Apostle Paul speaking of the impoffibility of working any separation between him and Chrift, and intimating that nothing could force him out of the arms of his love; not even perfecution, or tribulation, nor famine |