To the foregoing motives to Obedience to the Gospel laws, let us laftly add, the usefulness of them. They are calculated to promote at the fame time our virtue and happiness, to make us at once better and happier men. They have a natural tendency to promote peace on earth and good will among men, as well as to advance the glory of God on high; they do not only pave our way to Heaven, but if religiously obeyed, will make our life here an Heaven upon earth. On the whole, the Gofpel laws are reafonable and juft, clear and concise, confiftent and uniform, fixt and immutable, fublime and useful; they are given by that God to whom our fervice is due, through the mediation of that Saviour to whom we have the greateft obligations, fo that in point of duty and reafon, gratitude and intereft, we are bound to perform a chearful, ready, and univerfal Obedience to the will of God, as it is manifefted in thofe laws contained contained in the Gospel of his fon. Notwithstanding which potent ties, we find it extremely difficult, and without the affiftance of God's grace impoffible, to keep ourfelves from falling; and therefore we are taught by our Saviour to pray to God that his will may be done in earth as in Heaven, to make us fenfible that without his grace we cannot fo perform it, and even with it, in many things we offend all. How thankful therefore should we be to God, who has appointed a remedy for our weakness, and how joyful should we be to apply it, making up for the imperfection of our Obedience, by the fincerity of our Repentance. Such a course will not only greatly redound to our temporal peace, but is also the only means, through Christ's blood, to entitle us to eternal glory; and the only way to become sharers of the happiness of Angels in Heaven, is to be fincere though imperfect imitators of their Obedience in earth. I pro I proceed now to confider the other duty included in doing God's will, namely, a. patient and chearful fubmiffion to whatever dispensations God is pleased, in the course of our lives, to lay upon us. It is not in our power indeed to difappoint God's defigns and reverse his decrees, but, it is in our power, and too often in our practice, to murmur and repine at them. By Submiffion therefore we are to understand that virtue which enables us to appear, in all stations and under all circumitances, with an equal and refigned temper, arifing from a full conviction that whatever happens unto us is according to God's appointment, and that whatever he appoints is always beft. This is the only folid foundation upon which our Submiffion can be built; and Submiffion is that duty which of all others conduces to our ease and quiet, which conducts us with a fteady course through all the storms of life, which foftens every forrow, affwages every pain, and blunts the edge of the most severe misfortunes. When we reflect on the fufferings of human nature in general, and those which we ourselves groan under in particular, the unequal diftribution of them, fo that the lives of fome men glide on in ferenity and peace, whilft others know nothing but misfortunes from the cradle to the grave, and that oftentimes the righteous fuffer, and the wicked profper, upon fuch reflections we are often tempted to call in queftion the Justice of God, and cavil at his difpenfations; actuated by a principle of felf-approbation, we are readier to condemn any thing than ourselves, to impute our sufferings to any rather than the true cause, to clear ourselves, and accuse God. A practice this as unreasonable as impious, greatly prejudicial to our own interefts, and injurious to his honour; instead of removing it augments our fufferings, increafes God's displeasure, and inspires all those those uneafy paffions, and produces those dishonest actions, which are the general confequences of a difcontented mind. Submiffion on the contrary, fuch a Submiffion as giveth thanks in all things, has not only a tendency in itself to alleviate our griefs, but also to prevail on God to remove them. However dark and mysterious, unintelligible and inconfiftent the ways of Providence may appear, this patient and refigned temper receives and fuffers all things without repining; and is firmly perfuaded, that in a future ftate all which feems dark and myfterious in God's government shall be cleared up, all that seems unintelligible fhall be thoroughly explained, and all which feems inconfiftent fhall be fully reconciled; fo that however we may repine at our fufferings here, we fhall fee the juftice and good tendency of them hereafter. It is indeed impoffible for us to suffer and not to feel, what is required of us is to feel like men, and bear like Chriftians; neither are our endeavours to extricate ourselves, |