SERM. (1.) As to our opinions and judgments of things, conXXXVII. tentedness requireth, that, Lam.iii. 38. 1. We should believe our condition, whatever it be, to be determined by God; and that all events befalling us do proceed from him; at least that he permitteth and orderSoph. Aj. eth them, according to his judgment and pleasure: Ev T Lor. Deã mãs xai yeλã x'dúperaι, all, as the Prophet fingeth, both Amos iii. 6. good and evil, proceedeth out of the mouth of the Moft High; that affliction, as Job faid, cometh not forth of the duft, neither doth trouble fpring out of the ground; as a thing arifing spontaneously, or fowed by the hand of fome creaIfa. xlv. 7. ture, but rather defcendeth from him, who faith, I form the light, and create darkness; I make peace, and create evil; I the Lord do all these things. 1 Kings xii. 15, 24. Atque crudelia mater. We are apt, when any thing falleth out unpleasant to us, to exclaim against fortune, and to accuse our stars; or aftra vocat to inveigh against the second caufes which immediately offend us, afcribing all to their influence; which proceeding doth argue in us a heathenifh ignorance and infidelity, or at least much inconfideratenefs, and impotency of mind; that our judgment is blinded and clouded, or perverted and feduced by ill paffions; for that in truth there is not in the world any occurrence merely fortuitous, or fatal, (all being guided and wielded by the powerful hand of the all-wife and almighty God,) there is no creature which in its agency doth not depend upon God, as the inftrument of his will, or fubordinate thereto; wherefore upon every event we fhould, raifing our minds above all other caufes, difcern and acknowledge God's hand; as 2 Sam. xvi. David did, when Shimei curfed him; Let him, faid the good King, curfe, because the Lord hath faid unto him, Curfe David; as Job did, when he was rifled of his goods, Job i. 21. The Lord, faid he, gave, and the Lord hath taken away; as our Saviour did, when, in regard to the fore hardships John xviii. he was defigned to undergo, he faid, The cup which my Father hath given me, fhall I not drink? 10. 11. 2. Hence we fhould always judge every thing which happeneth to be throughly good and fit, worthy (all things confidered) to be appointed, or permitted by that Governor of things; not entertaining any harsh thoughts SERM. of God, as if he were not enough wife, juft, or benign in XXXVII. ordering us to be afflicted or croffed; but taking all oc currences to be well confiftent with all God's holy perfections and attributes a. We are apt to conceit, that the world is ill ordered, when we do not thrive and profper therein; that every thing is irregular, which squareth not to the models of our fancy; that things had gone much better, if our defigns had found fuccefs: but these are vain and perverfe conceits; for that certainly is most good, which feemeth good to God; his will is a perfect standard of right and convenience, his eye never aimeth wrong, his hand never faileth to hit the mark of what is beft; All his paths are Pla.xxv.10. mercy, and truth; he is righteous in all his ways, and holy in all his works; so did king Hezekiah rightly judge, when, upon denunciation of a fad doom to his country and posterity, he replied to the Prophet; Good is the word of the 2 Kings xx. Lord, which thou haft spoken; fo even the Pagan sage difcerned, when he thus rebuked a malecontent; You Лlave, do you for footh defire any thing, but what is beft? and is not that only beft, which feemeth beft to God? 3. We should even be fatisfied in our mind, that, according to God's purpose, all events do tend and conduce to our particular welfare; being not only good to us as members of the world, and in order to more general ends, but ferving towards our private benefit and advantage. We may be ready perhaps to confess, that whatever happeneth may be indeed juft and fit in fome diftant and occult respects; but hardly can we be induced to allow, that what we feel offenfive to our sense and fancy is * Παραχωρήσωμεν τοίνυν παρακαλῳ τῷ σοφῷ τοῦ παντὸς κυβερνήτῃ, καὶ σέρξωμεν τὰ οἰκονομάμενα, ὁποῖα ποτ' ἂν ᾖ κἂν θυμέρη, καν λυπηρὰ, &c. Theod. Ep. 136. ⚫ Placeat homini quidquid Deo placuit. Sen. Ep. 75. Στέργειν γὰρ χρὴ τὰ παρὰ τῆς ἀῤῥήτε σοφίας πρυτανευόμενα, καὶ ταῦτα πάντως νομίζειν συμφέροντα. Theod. Εp. 15. Οἶδε γὰρ ὡς σοφὸς τὸ συμφέρον, καὶ ὡς ἀγαθὸς τοῦτο ἡμῖν πραγματεύεται. 14. Ep. 18. ̓Ανδράποδον, ἄλλο γὰρ θέλεις, ἢ τὸ ἄμεινον ; ἄλλο οὖν τι ἄμεινον, ἢ τὸ θεῷ ὅσα *; Arr. xi. 7. cxlv. 17. 19. SERM. really good for us, or was meant for our benefit; we cannot XXXVII. eafily difcern any thing of love or favour in such matters: Job v. 17. those fort of aphorifms, in holy Scripture, Happy is the James i. 12. man, whom God correcteth; As many as I love, I rebuke Prov. iii.12. and chaften; found ftrangely, and are huge paradoxes to Rev. iii. 19. us; fuch is our blindness of mind, and dulnefs of apprehenfion but God knoweth with fo exact a fkilfulness to manage things, that every particular occurrence fhall be advantageous to the perfon, whom it toucheth; and accordingly to each one he difpenfeth that which is most fuitable to him; whence, as frequently it is neceffary for our good that we fhould be croffed, (for that indeed otherwife we should often much harm, fometimes we should quite undo ourselves,) fo it always, when God fo ordereth it, is to be deemed most profitable and wholesome for us: we are therefore in reafon obliged to take the faddeft accidents, and sharpeft afflictions, coming upon us by Providence, to be no other than fatherly corrections, or friendly rebukes, defigned to render us good and happy; as arguments therefore and inftances of efpecial good-will toward us; conceiving under every dispensation that we do, as it were, hear God speaking to us, as he did to those in Jer. xxix. the Prophet: I know the thoughts, that I think toward you, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. 11. Ezek. 4. Hence we are to believe, that our prefent condition (whatever it be to carnal or worldly fenfe) is in right judgment, all things confidered, the beft; most proper, most desirable for us; better than we, if it were at our discretion and choice, should put ourselves into: for that 1 Tim. ii. 4. God (the Saviour of all men, who defreth that no man xxii. 11. Should perish; who is good to all, and whofe tender mercies 2 Pet. iii. 9. are over all his works; who exceedingly tendereth the Pía. cxlv. 9. welfare of his children and fubjects) doth ever (here in this life, the time of merit and trial) with a most wise good-will defign our beft good; and by the most proper methods (fuch as do beft fuit our circumftances and capacities) doth aim to draw us unto happinefs; and accordingly doth affign a ftation for us moft befitting in order to XXXVII. that great end: we therefore fhould think ourfelves well SERM. placed, because we are where God doth fet us; that we have enough, because we have what God allotteth us. There are other more particular judgments, which contentedness involveth, or which are required toward it; such as these that nothing originally is due to us, but all cometh purely from divine favour and bounty; that all adversities are justly and deservedly inflicted on us, as the due wages, or natural fruits of our fins; that our happiness dependeth not on any prefent enjoyments or poffeffions, but may well fubfift without them; that a competency (or so much as fufficeth to maintain our life without intolerable pain) ought to fatisfy our defires: but thefe and the like judgments will come opportunely to be confidered as motives to the practice of the duty. (2.) From fuch acts of our mind, or intellective part, concerning things incident to us, fhould proceed the following difpofitions of will and affection. 1 Sam. iii. 2 Sam. xv. 1. We should entertain all occurrences, how grievous foever to us, with entire fubmiffion, and refignation of our will to the will of God; wholly acquiefcing in his good pleasure; faying in our hearts after our Lord, Let not my Luke xxii. will, but thine be done; with good Eli, It is the Lord, let 42, him do what feemeth him good; with David, Behold here 18. I am, let him do to me as feemeth good to him; even with 26. Socrates, Iffo it pleafeth God, fo let it bec; with Epictetus, I always chiefly will that which cometh to pass; for I account that better which God willeth, than what I will myfelf; I will adhere as a minifter and follower to him, I purfue, I affect, I fimply will with himd: looking upon them as fent from God, we should heartily bid them welcome, we should kindly embrace them, we fhould use them with all fair refpe&t: ἀσπάζεσθαι τὰ συμβαίνοντα (to M. Anton. hug, or kindly to embrace things incident,) piλeiv rà άπOVEμLÓ- 3. 4. 2. 17. peva (to love things difpenfed by Providence,) are precepts, i • Εἰ ταύτῃ θεοῖς φίλον, ταύτῃ γενέσθω. · Αεὶ μᾶλλον θέλω τὸ γινόμενον· κρεῖττον γὰρ ἡγοῦμαι, ὅ ὁ Θεὸς θέλει, ἢ ἐγώ· προσκείσομαι διάκονος καὶ ἀκόλουθος ἐκείνῳ, συνορμῶ, ὀρέγομαι, ἁπλῶς συνθέλω. Arr. iii. 7. 10. 11. 12. SERM. which even as dictated by natural reafon philofophers do XXXVII. much inculcate. This excludeth all rebellious infurrection, and fwellings of mind against Providence, fuch as argue that we dislike God's government; that, were we able, we should struggle with God's will; that we gladly would thake off his yoke; all fuch ill refentment and repining at our lot, which maketh God's hand grievous, and his yoke uneasy to us; fuch affections as the Wife Man toucheth, when he Prov.xix. 3. faith, The foolishness of man perverteth his way, and his heart fretteth against the Lord. be moved 2. We should bear all things with fteady calmness and compofednefs of mind, fuppreffing or quelling thofe tumults, thofe forms, thofe exceffes of paffion, which the Let no man fenfe of things difguftful is apt to excite; fuch as are imby thefe af. moderate grief, fierce anger, irkfome defpair, and the flictions; like. No adverfity fhould fo ruffle our minds, as to defeat μηδένα σαί. da (i. e. or pervert the use of our reason, so as to hinder us from Jogveriodas. Saga perceiving, or perceiving, or performing what becometh us, fo as to Chryf.) 1 Theff. iii. engage us into any irregular or unfeemly behaviour. 3. 22. 3. We fhould indeed bear the worst events with an Supía, that is, with a fweet and cheerful difpofition of mind, fo as not to be put out of humour; not to be dejected or quite difcouraged by them, not to fall into that heaviProv. xii. nefs, which, as the Wife Man faith, maketh the heart of man to floop; but rather finding delight and complacence in them, as confidering whence they come, whither they aim and tend: fuch was the difpofition and demeanour of the Apoftles and primitive good Chriftians in the midst of Acts v. 41. their moft grievous adverfities and sufferings f; they reHeb. x. 34. 4.joiced, &c. they did take joyfully the Spoiling of their James i. 2. goods, they did account it all joy when they fell into divers 2 Cor.vi.10. tribulations: they were, is λuméμevor, deì dè xaíportes, as grieved, but always rejoicing; their state was grievous, but their heart was conftantly cheerful. Such a constant e Ἡ κατὰ κόσμον λύπη θάνατον κατεργάζεται. 2 Cor. vii. 10. * Εὐδοκῶ ἐν ἀσθενείαις, ἐν ὕβρεσιν, ἐν ἀνάγκαις, ἐν στενοχωρίαις ὑπὲρ Χριστοῦ. 2 Cor. xii. 10. Εἰς πᾶσαν ὑπομονὴν, καὶ μακροθυμίαν μετὰ χαρᾶς. Col. i. 11. |