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 concife, 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 greatest obligations, so that in point of duty and reason, 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 in the Gofpel of his fon.

Notwithstanding which potent ties, we find it extremely difficult, and without the affiftance of God's grace impoffible, to keep ourselves 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

without his grace we cannot perform it, and even with it, in many things we offend all.

How thankful therefore fhould 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 Chrift's blood, to entitle us to eternal glory; and the only way to become fharers of the happinefs of Angels in Heaven, is to be fincere though imperfe&t imitators of their Qbedience in earth.

I proceed now, to confider the other duty included in doing God's will, namely, a patient and chearful fubmiffion to whatever difpenfations God is pleased,

in the course of our lives, to lay upon

us.

It is not in our power indeed to disappoint 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 underftand that virtue which enables us to appear, in all ftations and under all circumftances, 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 best.

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 eafe and quiet, which conducts us with a steady courfe through all the ftorms of life, which foftens every forrow, affwages every pain, and blunts the edge of the moft fevere misfortunes.

when

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 Juftice 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 fufferings to any rather than the true caufe, to clear ourselves, and accufe 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, increases God's difpleafure, and infpires all those uneafy paffions, and produces those N 3 difhoneft

dishonest actions, which are the general confequences of a difcontented mind.

Submiffion оп 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 myfterious, 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 fhall be cleared up, all that feems 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 shall fee the justice and good tendency of them hereafter.

It