ther to enforce it, that, besides higher benefit, it oftentimes cuts off the occasions of present evils and disturbances, which otherwise are incident to men. Who is he that will harm you? Men, evil men, will often be overcome by your blameless and harmless behaviour. In the life of a godly man, taken together in the whole body and frame of it, there is a grave beauty or comeliness, which oftentimes forces some kind of reverence and respect to it even in ungodly minds.-Though a natural man cannot love them spiritually, as graces of the Spirit of God, yet he may have and usually hath a natural liking and esteem of some kind of virtues which are in a Christian, and are not, in their right nature, to be found in any other, though a moralist may have somewhat like them; meekness, and patience, and charity, and fidelity. These and other such like graces do make a Christian life so inoffensive and calm, that, except where the matter of their God or religion is made the crime, malice itself can scarcely tell where to fasten its teeth or lay hold; it hath nothing to pull by, though it would; yea, oftentimes, for want of work or occasions, it will fall asleep for a while. Whereas ungodliness and iniquity, sometimes by breaking out into notorious crimes, draws out the sword of civil justice, and where it rises not so high, yet it involves men in frequent contentions and quarrels. How often are the lusts, and pride, and covetousness of men, paid with dangers, and troubles, and vexations, which, besides what is abiding them hereafter, do even in this present life spring out of them! These the godly pass free of by their just, and mild, and humble carriage. Whence so many jars and strifes among the greatest part, but from their unchristian hearts and lives, from their lusts that war in their members, their self-love and unmortified passions? One will abate nothing of his will, nor the other of his. Thus where pride and passion meet on both sides, it cannot be but a fire will be kindled; when hard flints strike together, the sparks will fly about: but a soft mild spirit is a great preserver of its own peace, kills the power of contest; as woolpacks deaden the force of bullets. A soft answer turneth away wrath, says Solomon, beats it

off, breaks the bone, as he says, the very strength of it. And thus we find it. Those who think themselves highspirited and will bear least, as they speak, are often, even by that, forced to bow most, or to burst under it; while humility and meekness escape many a burden and many a blow, always keeping peace within and often without too.

If this were duly considered, might it not do somewhat to induce your minds to love the way of religion-that it would so much abate the turbulency and unquietness that abound in the lives of men, a great part whereof the most do procure by the earthliness and distemper of their own carnal minds, and the disorder in their ways that arises thence?

You whose hearts are set towards God and your feet entered into his ways, will find no reason for a change, but many reasons to commend and endear those ways to you every day more than the last, and, amongst the rest, even this, that in them you escape many present mischiefs which you see the ways of the world are full of. And if you will be careful to ply your rule and study your copy better, you will find it more so. The more you follow that which is good, the more will you avoid a number of outward evils, which are ordinarily drawn upon men by their own enormities and passions. Keep as close as you can to the genuine even track of a Christian walk, and labor for a prudent and meek behaviour, adorning your holy profession, and this shall adorn you and sometimes gain those that are without, yea, even your enemies shall be constrained to approve it. It is well known how much the spotless lives and patient sufferings of the primitive Christians did sometimes work upon their beholders, yea, on their persecutors, and persuaded some who would not share with them in their religion to speak and write on their behalf.

Seeing then that reason and experience do jointly aver it, that the lives of men have generally a great influence one upon another. Whosoever of you are in an exemplary or leading place in relation to others, be ye, first, followers of God. Set before you the rule of holiness, and withal the best and highest examples of those who have walked according to it, and then you will be leading in it those

who are under you, and they being bent to follow you, in so doing will follow that which is good. Lead and draw them on by admonishing, and counselling, and exhorting; but especially by walking. Pastors, be ensamples to the flock or models, that they may be stamped aright, taking the impression of your lives. Sound doctrine alone will not serve. Either teach not at all, or teach by the rhetoric of your lives. Elders, be such in grave and pious carriage, whatsoever be your years; for young men may be so, and possibly grey hairs may have nothing under them but gaddishness and folly many years old, habituated and inveterate ungodliness. Parents and masters, let your children and servants read in your lives the life and power of godliness, the Practice of Piety not lying in your windows or corners of your houses, and confined within the clasp of the book bearing that or any such title, but shining in your lives.

And this I say to all, for none are so complete but they may espy some imitable good even in meaner Christians -acquaint yourselves with the word, the rule of holiness; and then, with an eye to that, look on one another and be zealous of progress in the ways of holiness. Choose to converse with such as may excite you and advance you, both by their advice and example. Let not a corrupt generation in which you live be the worse by you, nor you the worse by it. As far as you necessarily engage in some conversation with those who are unholy, let them not pull you into the mire, but, if you can, help them out. And let not any custom of sin prevailing about you, by being familiarly seen, gain upon you, so as to think it fashionable and comely, yea, or so as not to think it deformed and hateful. Know that you must row against the stream of wickedness in the world, unless you would be carried with it to the lake of perdition. Take this grave counsel, Be not conformed to this world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind; that is, the daily advancement in renovation, purifying and refining every day.

Now in this way you will have sweet inward peace and joy, as well as some outward advantage, in that men, ex

cept they are monstrously cruel and malicious, will not so readily harm you; it will abate much of their rage. But however, if you do not escape suffering by your holy carriage, yea, if you even suffer for it, yet, in that are ye happy, as the apostle immediately adds,

Ver. 14. But and if ye suffer for righteousness' sake, happy are ye; and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.

In this verse are two things-I. even in the most blameless way of a Christian his suffering is supposed; II. his happiness even in suffering is asserted.

I. Suffering is supposed, notwithstanding righteousness, yea, for righteousness; and that, not as a rare unusual accident, but as the frequent lot of Christians. And we, being forewarned of this as not only the possible, but the frequent lot of the saints, ought not to hearken to the false prophecies of our own self-love, which divines what it would gladly have and easily persuades us to believe it. Think not that any prudence will lead you by all oppositions and malice of an ungodly world. Mamy winter blasts will meet you in the most inoffensive way of religion, if you keep straight to it. Suffering and war with the world is a part of the godly man's portion here; it seems hard, but, take it altogether, it is sweet: none in their wits will refuse that legacy entire, In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in me ye shall have peace.

Look about you, and see if there be any state of man or course of life exempted from troubles. The greatest are usually subject to the greatest vexations, as the largest bodies have the largest shadows attending them. We need not tell nobles and rich men, that contentment doth not dwell in great palaces and titles, nor in full coffers; they feel that they are not free from much anguish and molestation, and that a proportionable train of cares, as constantly as of servants, follows great place and wealth. Riches and trouble or noise are signified by the same Hebrew word. Compare Job xxxvi, 19, with xxx,

24. And kings find that their crowns, which are set so richly with diamonds without, are lined with thorns within. And if we speak of men who are servants to unrighteousness, besides what is to come, are they not often forced to suffer, in the service of their lusts, the distempers that attend unhealthy intemperance, the poverty that dogs luxury at the heels, and the fit punishment of voluptuous persons in painful diseases, which either quickly cut the thread of life or make their aged bones full of the sins of their youth? Take what way you will, there is no place or condition so fenced and guarded, but public calamities or personal griefs find a way to reach us.

Seeing then we must suffer whatever course we take, this kind of suffering, to suffer for righteousness, is far the best. What Julius Cæsar said ill of doing ill, "Si violandum est jus, regnandi causâ violandun," we may well say of suffering ill-If it must be, it is best to be for a kingdom. And these are the terms on which Christians are called to suffer for righteousness-if we will reign with Christ, certain it is we must suffer with him; and if we do suffer with him, it is as certain we shall reign with him; and therefore such sufferers are happy.

But I shall prosecute this suffering for righteousness only with relation to the apostle's present reasoning. His conclusion he establishes, 1, from the favor and protection of God; and, 2, from the nature of the thing itself. Now we would consider the consistency of this supposition with these reasons.

1. From the favor or protection of God. The eyes of the Lord being over the righteous for their good and his ear open to their prayer, how is it that, notwithstanding all this favor and inspection, they are so much exposed to suffering, and even for the regard and affection they bear towards him, suffering for righteousness? These seem not to agree well; yet they do agree.

It is not said that his eye is so on them, as that he will never see them afflicted nor have them suffer any thing; no, but this is their great privilege and comfort in suffering, that his gracious eye is then upon them and sees their trouble, and his ear towards them, not so as to grant them an exemption, but seasonable deliverance, and,