3. Faith cafts the foul's anchor upon the rock of ages, and flays itself on God and the faithful promises; whereby the foul is eased and difburdened of its fears and melancholy apprehenfions, Pfal. iv. 22. Ifa. 1. 10.

4. Faith brings new ftrength and auxiliary fupplies of grace from heaven, when the former fupply is exhausted and fpent; whereof David had the fweet experience, Pfal. xxvii 13. As God doth plant and actuate grace in the foul, fo he is pleafed to come in with feafonable fupplies and reinforcements to the weak and decayed graces of his people, anfwerable to their prefent exigencies and preffures; And thus he doth, from time to time, feed the believer's lamp with fresh oil, giving more faith, more love, more hope, and more defires; and hereby he gives power to the faint, and ftrengthens the things which remain when ready to die.

5. Faith keeps the foul from finking under heavy trials, by bringing in former experiences of the power, mercy, and faithfulness of God, to the afflicted foul. Hereby was the Pfalmift fupported in diftrefs, Pfal. xiii. 6. Pfal. Ixxxvii. 4. O, faith faith, "Remember what God hath done both for thy outward and inward man ; he hath not only delivered thy body when in trouble, but he hath done great things for thy foul; he hath brought thee out of a ftate of black nature, entered into a covenant-relation with thee, made his goodness pafs before thee; he hath helped thee to pray, and many times hath heard thy prayers and thy tears. Hath he not formerly brought thee out of the horrible pit, and out of the miry clay, and put a new fong in thy mouth, and made thee to refolve never to give way to fuch unbelieving doubts and fears again? And how unbecoming is it for thee now to fink in trouble ?"

6. Faith fupports the foul, by giving it a pleasant view and profpect of a happy outgate from all trouble; when it thall be admitted to fee and dwell with Christ hereafter. Thus was Job fupported in his great diftrefs, Job xix. 25, 26, 29. "For I know that my Redeemer liveth; and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth. Whom I fhall fee for myself, and

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cattle? And will you not patiently fubmit to your wife and abfolute Sovereign ?

3. Confider thy fin as the meritorious caufe of all thy afflictions, however heavy they be. If thou haft right thoughts of thy fins, and the aggravations thereof, thy mind may be compofed to a patient fubmission to God's hand: If fin be heavy on thee, all thy afflictions will be light. Luther gives us this as a reason why he flighted the rage of the Pope and the Emperor, and all his outward troubles: "They are all little to me, becaufe fin is fo weighty on me." Hence it was, that Paul complained not at all of his fufferings, for as great as they were; but he cried out much of his fins, Rom. vii. 23. "O wretched man that I am, who fhall deliver me from the body of this death?" Senfe of fin doth fwallow up the fenfe of affliction, as the ocean doth little brooks. For with whom shouldst thou quarrel, but thyfelf, when thou bringest troubles on thyfelf? This confideration fhould bring thee to refolve, and fay with the prophet, Mic. vii. 9. "I will bear the indignation of the Lord, because I have sinned against him."

4. Confider how fharp foever the pains are, you are called to bear, yet they fall infinitely fhort of what you have justly deferved at God's hands. It is of his infinite mercy, that death and everlasting deftruction hath not been your portion long fince; and that you are not now groaning under the extremity of his indignation in the bottomlefs pit, together with the devil and his angels And, confequently, whatever falls fhort of this, is truly a great mercy, and is fo far from being ground of quarrelling, that the greatest fufferer on this fide hell, hath just cause to admire God's clemen. cy in dealing more favourably with him than he hath deferved.

5. Compare thy cafe with others that have been, or prefently are in diftrefs. Do not fay, there is none fo hardly dealt with as thou art; for thou knoweft not the affliction of others. Confider duly the trials of that eminent faint, Job, in all the circumstances thereof, and fee if you can fay, that your forrow is near fo

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great as his forrow was. Again, compare your cafe with that of the damned in hell, who lie and fry in endlefs and ceaseless flames, so that they have no reft, day nor night, but the smoke of their torment afcends for ever: And think what a blessing it is, that you are yet in a state of falvation, and not delivered over to those everlasting burnings, which were the due demerits of your fins, and to which you might long ago have been justly condemned, had it not been for the patience and long fuffering of Almighty God, who waiteth to be gracious to guilty finners. When you confider these things, inftead of being diffatisfied with the Divine difpenfations, you have cause to blefs God, that matters are not worfe with you; and that you are kept out of hell to this day, where thoufands, not more guilty than you, are presently roaring in endless defperation.

Unto these confiderations, I fhall fubjoin fome few helps, or advices, in order to the attaining of patience under fore troubles. 1. Labour to get pardon of fin, and peace with God, fecured to thy foul, and this will enable you to bear the heaviest crofs with patience. Hence it was that Luther cried, "Smite, Lord, as thou wilt, I take all in good part, feeing my fins are pardoned: O, pardon of fin is the crowning bleffing, therefore I will bear any thing, I will fwallow up quarrelling into admiring; I will welcome the pruning knife, feeing there is no fear of the bloody axe to fell me down.”

2. Labour to fee God's hand in thy affliction. Do not, like the dog, fnarl at the ftone, but look up to the hand that throws it. And, furely, a view of the hand of a holy God, may ferve to calm all the boisterous waves of thy corruption; fo did it with David, Pfal. xxxix. 9. "I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou didft it." When he looked to the inftruments and fecond caufes of his afflictions, his heart waxed hot, and the fire of his inward paffion began to burn and break out; but, when he once efpied God's hand and feal to the warrant for his correction, he became filent, and patiently fubmitted to the Divine will.

3. Get a humble and self denied frame of fpirit, that you may have low thoughts of yourfelf, and of all your VOL. I.

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attainments whatfoever. A proud man cannot think of fubmitting to the Divine will, but will break before he bow. Hence we see a vaft difference between a proud Pharaoh, and an humble Eli, under the rod; the one fays, "Who is the Lord, that I fhould obey him?" But the other faith, "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good."

4 Get love to Jefus Chrift. Love is an enduring principle, 1 Cor. xiii. 7. It endureth all things. It makes the foul, like the kindly child, draw nearer to Chrift the more it is beaten.

5. Interpret God's ways and dealings with you always in the best fenfe. And, laftly, be earneft in pray. er, that God may conquer your rebellious will, and fubdue thofe mutinous ifings of heart within you against himself.

DIRECT. VI. Beware of envying wicked men, when you fee them in health, and profperity.

THE Pfalmift, when he was chaftened every morning, and in great adverfity, was liable to this evil, Pfal. ixxiii. 3. "I was envious at the foolish, when I faw the profperity of the wicked." Corrupt nature doth ftrongly incline us to this finful difpofition, efpecially in the day of fore affliction': "For the Spirit that dwelleth in us lufteth to envy," James iv. 5. But, did we rightly confider the ftate of wicked men, we would fee greater ground to pity than envy them, in the most profperous condition Why?" The profperity of fools fhall deftroy them," Prov. i. 32. It makes them forget God, and turn hardened and fecure in fin, which haftens their ruin. Who would envy a malefactor's going up a high ladder, and being mounted above the reft of the people, when it is only for a little, and in order to his being turned over and hanged? This is just the cafe of the wicked men, who are mounted up high in profperity; for it is fo only that they may be caft down deeper into deftruction. Obferve that word, Pf. xxxvii. 1, 2. "Fret not thyfelf because of evil-doers, neither be thou envious against

against the workers of iniquity: for they fhall foon be cut down like grafs," &c. and that word, Pf. xcii. 7. "When the wicked fpring as the grafs, and when all the workers of iniquity do flourish, it is that they fhall be destroyed for ever." It would be a brutish thing to envy an ox of his high and fweet pafture, when he is only thereby fitted for the day of laughter. Who would have envied the beasts of old, the garlands and ribbons with which the heathens adorned them, when they went to be facrificed? These external ornaments of health, wealth, pleasures, and preferments, wherewith wicked men are endowed, cannot make their ftate happy, nor change their natures to the better. Whatever appearance thofe things make in the eyes of the world, they are but like a naufeous dunghill covered with fearlet, as vile and loathfome in God's fight as ever. How quickly is the beauty of earthly things blaftéd!" The triumphing of the wicked is fhort," Job xx. 5. They live in pleasures on the earth for a while; but God fets them in flippery places, from whence they foon slide into perpetual pain and anguifh. They have a fhort time of mirth, but they fhall have an eternity of mourning. The longer their profperity is, their fins are the greater, and their fufferings will be more grievous. But, Ö believer, it is in mercy to thee that God doth hedge up thy way with thorns, that thou mayeft not find thy paths; whilft he turns the wicked loofe, and fuffers them to ftray and wander whither they will, to their eternal ruin. God takes this method with thee to make thee meet for an inheritance, and prepare you for a crown of glory; but he takes a contrary way with the wicked, to fit them for deftruction: Therefore you ought not to be fretful under his hand, but thankful. We read of queen Elizabeth, when the was in prifon, how the envied the poor milk-maid the faw paffing by, and would have thought herself happy to have been in her condition: But had that afflicted princess known the glorious reign of forty-four years the was foon to enter upon, fhe would not have repined at the happinefs of fo mean a perfon. But, O afflicted believer, it is not a glorious reign for a fet number of years, that

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