XL. SERM. upon princes, and weakeneth the ftrength of the mighty; fo he raiseth the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out Ifa. xxv. 5. of the dunghill: he cafieth down the mighty from their seat, Job v. 11. and exalteth the humble and meek: he fendeth the rich Pfal. xviii. empty away, and filleth the hungry with good things. He maketh fore, and bindeth up; he woundeth, and his hands make whole. Ifa. ii. 11. 27. Pfa. cxiii. 7. cvii. 41. Job v. 18. 30. Luke xxi. 18. 1 Sam. ii. 7.. Confidering therefore the reason of things, and the nature of God, if our state be at present bad or forrowful, we have more reason to hope for its amendment, than to fear its continuance b. If indeed things went on in a fatal track, merely according to a blind and heedless chance, or a ftiff and unalterable neceffity; if there were no remedy from God's providence, or support by his grace to be expected, (although even then there would be no reason to grieve or complain; grief would be unreasonable, because unprofitable, complaint would be vain, because fortune and fate are deaf,) yet our infirmity might somewhat exMatt. x. 29. cufe that idle proceeding; but fince not a sparrow falleth to the ground, not a hair of our head perisheth; nothing at all paffeth otherwise, than by the voluntary difpofition of a most wise and gracious God; fince he doth always ftrictly view, and is very fenfible of our griefs, yea doth in a manner fympathize with them, (according to those Hof. xi. 8. pathetical expreffions in the prophets: His bowels found, Jer. xxxi. and are troubled; his heart is turned within him; In all Ifa. Ixiii. 9, their afflictions he was afflicted :) fince he farther hath by Luke xii. promife obliged himself to care for us, to fupport and fuccour us; we have all reason to hope, yea firmly to believe, Matt. vi.33. (if at least we can find in our hearts to hope and to bePhil. iv. 6. lieve,) that we shall, as soon as it is good and expedient for Pfal. Iv. 23. us, find relief and ease; we shall have that suxaipov Boýdsav, xxxvii. 5. that feasonable fuccour, of which the Apostle to the Hebrews fpeaketh. 20. 15. 29, 31. Heb. xiii. 5. 1 Pet. v. 7. Heb. iv, 6. · Τοῖς γε νῦν ἔχωσι και σώφρονι λογισμῷ κεχρημένοις ὐδὲν τῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἀδίκησαν, bdiv yàg toútwv sædsgòv # Bílaur, &c. Theod. Ep. 14. Sperat adverfis, metuit fecundis, Alteram forteni bene præparatum pectus. Hor. Carm, ii. 10. Hope lieth at the bottom of the worst condition that SERM. can be: The poor, faith Job's friend, hath hope; and the XL. rich can have no more; the future being equally clofe to Job v. 16. both, the one can have no greater affurance to keep what he hath, than the other hath to get what he needeth; yea clearly the poor hath the advantage in the cafe; for God hath more declared, that he will relieve the poor man's want, than that he will preferve the rich man's ftore: if then we have in every condition a hope prefent to us, why do we grieve as those who have no hope? having 1 Theff. iv. ever ready the best anchor that can be to reft upon, (for in 13. this rolling fea of human affairs, there is no firmer anchor than hope,) why do we let our minds be toffed with difcontentful folicitudes and fears? why do we not rather, as the Apostle enjoineth, rejoice in hope, than grieve out Rom. xii. of defpair? why do we not, as the Prophet adviseth, hope Lam.iii.26. and wait quietly for the falvation of the Lord? The effect of so repofing ourselves for the future on God's providence would be perfect content and peace, according to that of the Prophet, Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose Ifa. xxvi. 3. mind is ftayed on thee, because he trufteth in thee; and that Heb. vi. 19. 12. of the Wife Man, A patient man will bear for a time, and Eccl. i. 23. afterwards joy fhall spring up unto him. The truth is, and it seemeth very obfervable, in order to our purpose, that most discontent arifeth, not from the sense of incumbent evil, but from fufpicion, or fear of fomewhat to come; although God at prefent difpenfeth a competency of food and raiment, although we are in a tolerable condition, and feel no extremity of want or pain, yet, not defcrying the way of a future provifion for us, anfwerable to our defires, we do trouble ourselves; which demeanour implieth great ignorance and infidelity: we think God obliged in kindness, not only to bestow upon us what is. needful in its feafon, but to furnish us with ftores, and allow us fecurities; we must have fomewhat in hand, or we cannot trust him for the future: this is that which our • Πολλῆς μικροψυχίας ἰσὶν ὑπὲρ τῶν ὕφερον συμβησομένων, ἢ μηδὲ ὅλως συμβα sopivwr càv åðvμíav ñòn xagxãoda, è nízkodas. Chryf, ad Stagir. 2. SERM. Saviour cautioneth against, as the root of discontent and XL. fign of diffidence; Take no thought for the morrow, for the Matt. vi. 34. morrow shall take thought for the things of itself; fufficient xl. 31. xlix. 23. Pfal. xxv.3. xxxvii. 9. to the day is the evil thereof: an advice no less pious, than manifeftly full of reason and wisdom: for what a palpable folly is it to anticipate that evil which we would avoid; then, when we earnestly defire to put off forrow, to pull it toward us; to feel that mischief which poffibly shall never be; to give it a being in our fancy, which it may never have in natured? Could we follow this advice, never resenting evils before they come, never prejudging about future events against God's providence and our own quiet; conftantly depending on the Divine care for us; not taking falfe alarms, and trembling at things which fhall never come near us; not being disturbed with panic fears; no difcontent could ever feize upon us: for the present is ever supportable; our mind cannot be overwhelmed by the pangs of a tranfitory moment. If we need farther encouragement for application of Lam.iii. 25. this remedy, we have manifold experiments to affure its Ifa.xxx.18. virtue: as there are innumerable promises, that none who hope in God fhall be difappointed; fo there are many illuftrious examples of thofe, whom God hath in remarkable manner and wonderful measure relieved from wants and xxviii. 9. diftreffes, raifing them out of deepest poverty, contempt, Ezr.viii. 22. and worldly wretchedness, into moft eminent degrees of 2 Chron. wealth and profperity: Look, faith the Hebrew Sage, into the ancient generations, and fee; Who hath trusted in the Lord, and hath been ashamed? Or who hath abiden in his fear, and hath been forfaken? Or who hath invoked him, and he did overlook (or defpife) him? If we look into thofe generations, we may there find Jofeph, out of flavery and out of prison, advanced to be the chief gover Amos v. 4. XV. 2. Eccl. ii. 10. d Calamitofus eft animus futuri anxius, et ante miferiam mifer. Sen. Ep. 18. Ne fis mifer ante tempus; cum illa quæ imminentia expavifti, fortaffe nunquam ventura fint, certe nondum venerint, &c. Sen. Ep. 13. Quod juvat dolori fuo occurrere? fatis cito dolebis cum venerit. Ibid. i. 3. nor of a moft flourishing kingdom: Mofes, from an exile SERM. and a vagrant, made the redeemer and commander of a XL. populous nation: Job, out of extreme poverty and difgrace, restored to be in wealth and honour twice greater Job xlii. 10. than the greatest men of the East: Daniel, out of captivity and perfecution, become prefident of the greatest monarchy on earth: David, raised out of great meanness to highest dignity, restored out of extreme ftraits into a moft profperous state; according to those words of admiration and acknowledgment: O what great troubles and adverfi- Pfal. Ixxi. ties haft thou fhewed me; and yet didft thou turn and re-xviii. 36. fresh me, yea and broughteft me from the deep of the earth again: thou haft brought me to great honour, and comforted me on every fide. Thus hath God eminently done with divers; thus we may be affured that he will do competently with us, if with the like faith and patience we do, as they did, rely and wait upon him. 6. But farther, imagine or fuppofe, that our condition (fo irksome to us at prefent) will certainly hold on to the utmoft; yet confider alfo, that it foon will cease, and change of itself: fince we are mortal, our evils cannot be perpetual, we cannot long be infefted with them. 18. Ixix. 29. As it may debafe and embitter all the profperity in the world, to confider, that it is very fading and fhort-lived that its fplendour is but a blaze, its pleasure but a flash, its joy but as the crackling of thorns; fo it fhould abate Eccl. vii. 6. and sweeten any adverfity, to remember, that it is paffing away, and fuddenly will be gone e. Put, I fay, the worst cafe that can be: that it were certainly determined, and we did as certainly know it, that thofe things which cause our displeasure should continue through our whole life; yet fince our life itself will foon be fpun out, and with it all our worldly evils will vanish, why are we troubled ? What is faid of ourselves muft in confequence be truly applied to them: They flee like a fhadow, and continue1 Chron. not; they are winds paffing and coming not again; they' e (Pfal. xxvii. 13.) I had fainted, if I had not believed to fee the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. xxix. 15. 39. Jam. iv, 14. xl. 6. 5. bilia effe de bent,etiam Cic. Lal, 37. SERM. are vapours appearing for a little time, and then vanishing XL. away; they wither like grafs, and fade away as a leaf; Pf. lxxviii. they may die before us, they cannot outlive us; our life is but a handbreadth and can then our evils have any Pfal. xc. 5. vaft bulk? Our age is as nothing, and can any croffes thereIfa. Ixiv. 6. in be then any great matter? How can any thing fo very Pfal. xxxix. fhort be very intolerable? It is but oxyov äpti XuzyJévres, Omnia bre-being, as St. Peter speaketh, a little while yet aggrieved; via tolera- it is but μixpòv öσov öσov, a small quantity, whatever it be of time, as the Apostle to the Hebrews faith, that we need f magna patience ; it is but τὸ παραυτίκα ἐλαφρὸν τῆς θλίψεως, an af1 Pet. i. 6. fliction for a prefent moment; and therefore, as St. Paul inHeb. x. 36, timateth, light and inconfiderable, that we are to undergo. 2 Cor.iv.17. We have but a very narrow ftrait of time to pass over, but we shall land on the firm and vaft contineut of eternity; when we shall be freed from all the troublesome agitations, from all the perilous ftorms, from all the naufeous qualms of this navigation; death (which may be very near, which cannot be far off) is a fure haven from all the tempefts of life, a fafe refuge from all the perfecu tions of the world, an infallible medicine of all the difeases of our mind and of our ftate: it will enlarge us from all restraints, it will discharge all our debts, it will eafe us from all our toils, it will ftifle all our cares, it will veil all our disgraces; it will still all our complaints, and bury all our difquiets; it will wipe all tears from our eyes, and banish all forrow from our hearts: it perfectly will level all conditions, fetting the high and low, the rich and poor, the wife and ignorant all together upon even ground'; fmothering all the pomp and glories, fwallowing all the wealth and treasures of the world. It is therefore but holding out a while, and all our molestation, of its own accord, will expire: time certainly will cure us; but it is better that we should owe that benefit to reason, and let it presently comfort us 5: it is Ο Μίσος χώρος ἅπασι, πένησι τι ξ βασιλεῦσι, Πάντες ἴσοι νίκνις, Phocyl. Ο μέλλεις τῷ χρόνῳ χαρίζεσθαι, τόσο χαρίζεσθαι τῷ λόγῳ. Plut. ad Αpoll. |