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399 even as the Lord commanded the Jews, that one sex should not wear the dress of the other. And, in regard of men's quality, we may obferve, that it is not blamed, but afferted, that they who wear gorgeous apparel live in king's courts. So they who excuse the vanity of rich apparel by their birth and quality, who are in king's courts, who are about their prince, or have derived honours from him, have the best pretenfions to it: but the nobleft perfons ought to confider, that there are many better ways than this of diftinguishing themselves, and commanding the refpect and obfervance that is due to them: there are many duties which lay claim to their wealth; many great and generous actions are expected from them, as they are chriftians: they are bound to remember, that by a folemn vow at their baptifm they renounced the pride of life under the name of the pomps of the world: though pride is not the neceffary effect of rich ornaments; for many wear them with no other defign than to keep up their rank and dignity, that they may not appear covetous, nor seem to affect a greater pride in going beneath their station. Men and women, in every ftate and condition of life, fhould never ftrive to exceed their fellows, much less their fuperiors, in the way of drefs: for, if we believe every man's portion to be allotted by God's providence, and that all things fhall work together for good to them that fear him, we fhall eafily be fatisfied with the condition he has put us into, and shall like every thing that is fuitable or belonging to it : for what God has appointed must be the best for us; and, how mean foever it be, we have no reason to be ashamed of it, fince he is the great Lord and fole difpofer of all things, that we can enjoy. Mean and plain apparel is as becoming in a low eftate, as a richer drefs would be in a higher station: he who difdains the one would be as proud of the other. Therefore let us not mind high things, but let us condefcend to men of low degree: thatis, conform our way of living to our circumstances: be content, and boaft not of gay cloathing or raiment. Confider there is nothing in them to value ourselves upon : they anfwer well the ufes which God defigned them for: to defend us from the weather, or to cover our nakedness; but it

is

is folly to boast of that which owes its valour to our shame, weakness, or natural neceffities.

Too much

as excejs.

Now, to prevent any mifapplication of these several rules of temperance, I must obferve, that they in no Sparing is as wife countenance the vice of avarice or covetousgreat afault nefs: for whoever denies his body the neceffaries of life, fuitable to his ftation, ability, and quality, fins against the goodness of God, by robbing his back to fill his purfe. The like may be urged against the flavish life of those who moil and toil day and night; and for the fake of what they never enjoy themselves, nor have any heart to do any good with, deprive their bodies of their nourishment, competent time of fleep, and neceffary recreation. Therefore the covetous man is not a temperate man; because it is not a regard to the duty of temperance, but an inordinate defire of riches, which is the root of all evil, that makes him refrain, and to facrifice his health, peace, confcience, life and foul, to fave his purse,

SUNDAY XVI. PART II.

V. To the foregoing virtues of temperance we Of chriftian fortitudeand may add thofe other duties of chriflian refolution, patience. patience, and felf-denial; Of which in order; and

First, Of chriftian FORTITUDE OF PATIENCE. Patience is that virtue, which qualifies us to bear all conditions, and all events, by God's difpofal incident to us, with fuch apprehenfions and perfuafions of mind, with fuch difpofitions and affections of heart, and with fuch external deportment and practice of life, as God and good reafon require, viz. with a thorough perfuafion, that nothing befals us, but either by the permiffion or direction of divine providence; a firm belief that all occurrences, however contrary to our desires, are both confiftent with God's holy attributes, and conducive to our good; a full truft and dependence on him, either for ftrength to enable us to bear our afflictions, or for a seasonable removal or mitigation of them; abftaining from all difcontented complaints and murmurings against providence; from all malicious and revengeful thoughts against the inftruments of our fufferings; and from all unworthy and irregular

courses,

courses, to extricate ourselves from them; that fo fuffering according to the will of God, we may commit the keeping of our fouls to him in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. For this duty is exercised in bearing prefent evils, or waiting for future good, and the future bleffed state of immortality. It is a difpofition of mind, which keeps us calm and compofed in our frame, and steady in the practice of our duty, under the sense of afflictions, or in the delay of our expectations. And it is this patience with which Chrift exhorts his disciples to poffefs their fouls, after he had foretold them the sufferings and dangers they would be exposed to in the course of their ministry and christian warfare; and in them inftructs us, that in every circumftance that tends to difcompofe us, we must always fhew ourselves men, by permitting reafon and grace to have the upper hand.

Diseases, pains, lofs of friends, ingratitude, difappointments in our affairs, and all the various troubles Why necefto which man was born, fall to the lot of the good sary. as well as the wicked. For, as the deceitfulness of riches blinds men's eyes, the pleafures of life fteal from their understandings: power is very apt to lead them into ambition and tyrannicalnefs; plenty, into intemperance; and continued profperity, into a careless fpirit, and into a neglect and forgetfulness of God: fo afflictions of all kinds, though for the present they cannot but be grievous, have naturally a tendency in the end to lead men into fober thoughts and confiderate counfels; to wean them from the numerous vanities and follies of the world; and to amend the habit and temper of their minds, by addicting them to the expectation of a better and more lasting state. Do not therefore conclude, because God fuffers thee to fall into many difficulties and afflictions; because thouart preffed with hard and pinching circumstances; because thouart vifited with fad and grievous loffes, or with long and painful fickness, or with the death or miscarriage of thy nearest relations, or the like heavy misfortunes: do not, I fay, conclude from hence, that God is angry with thee, or that he hath no kindness for thee. The beft of his children he thinks fit to exercife in this way, for the trial and improvement of their virtue, for the exer

cife of their patience, for the correction of their faults, and for purging them, that they may bring forth more and more fruit, till we arrive at eternal reft and glory: which glory we can no more inherit without patience, than without an unfeigned faith and repentance. Yet

tions.

We are convinced by obfervation, that few bear afflicIn all fates tions with due refignation: for the man who is and condi- touched in his reputation declares how willingly he would fubmit to any other affliction that could befal him, but is not able to bear injurious reflections: the man who is confined to his bed complains that his distemper makes him impatient and difcontented, and prevents the practice of feveral good works he defigned, if free from his illnefs. Again we may obferve a woman with a perverse husband, and difobedient children, declaring that she would fuffer willingly any other affliction, except that which lies upon her; which the imagines can only ferve to increase her mifery both in this and the next world. And indeed, every body feems willing to exchange their prefent crofs for another, and most think themfelves unhappy in the particular fort of their fufferings, which difcontent renders their minds always unquiet, and their management unreasonable: for without doubt God fends or permits that affliction; it does not fpring out of the ground: we must not determine what God ought to do to us. It is able, in truth, to draw tears from one's eyes feriously to reflect upon the fad, deplorable, calamitous condition of a great part of mankind in this world; to exhibit to our minds that difinal scene of things that are every day prefented to our eyes. Here are fome languishing under a long and tedious diftemper, unfit for all the functions and incapable of any of the enjoyments of life: others roaring out for the extremity of torture they fuffer from the ftone, or gout, or an ulcer, or a broken limb, or fome fuch other tormenting accident: others mourning for the lofs of a dear parent, on whom they depended; on the death of a child, who was the ftay and comfort of their age: others fretting and fuming for the difgraceful circumftances they are fallen into from an high fortune: others even heartbroken for the poverty and the neceffity to which they are re

duced

duced through the profufeness of their lives, or the mifadventures of trade, or the ruins of a fire, or the calamities of a war: others groaning and howling under the whips and ftings of an awakened conscience, being filled with horror and amazement and defpair, from the fenfe of their crimes, and the apprehenfions of the vengeance of God in the other world. Yet we ought not to prefcribe to him the particular cross he shall lay upon us. Such thoughts must be banished from our mind, and we muft receive the cross which he sends us, with fubmiffion; and though it be not what we would have chofe for ourfelves, we must obey: it is fufficient that it comes from God. The meaning is, God hath fo balanced and mixed adverfity and profperity together, that a man upon a review of the whole, upon a full and impartial eftimate of things, fhould have no juft ground to arraign the conduct of providence; but fhall find he has had more good fortune than he deferved, and as much as was beneficial to him; and no more ill fortune than was neceflary to correct his faults, moderate his affections, and exercife his virtues. Therefore

Let us be careful that the exercife of our patience be lafting; that it be a fixed habit, and not by ftarts; in It mft be great as well as in lefs trials; and in fmall as well perfevering. as in great; for fometimes impatience breaks out upon trifling occafions, after long patience in great and fhocking calamities; and let it be unconquerable in uncommon trials, as well as in those to which we have been used. The great difficulty is to act and think in fome measure above the world, while poverty expofes us to the neglect and contempt of it; to fcorn to build our fortunes on the ruins of our probity; to defpife the little injuries we receive, and to pity the little men that do them; little I mean in themselves, and in the eye of reafon; though they may be very great in the eye of the world, and perhaps much greater in their own eyes. A good confcience is a perpetual fource of joy and comfort, it gladdens the heart, chears and refreshes the foul, and fills the mind with a conftant ferenity and chearfulnefs, which is infinitely to be preferred before the noify mirth of fools and madmen. He that is pofiefed of this ineftimable jewel,

has

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