ble, and make you blush to take any thing ill out of God's hand. Thus Job taught his impatient wife, Job ii. 10. "What? fhall we receive good at the hand of God, and fhall we not receive evil?" O believer, let not thy affliction caufe thee to bury thy mercies in oblivion. Has not God brought thee from Satan's family, and put you among his children and will you forget or undervalue that honour? Hath he ftruck off thy fetters, taken off thy prifon garments, and fet you at liberty; and will you be unthankful? Hath he given thee Chrift for thy treafure and portion, and entitled you to his unfearchable riches: and will you be difcontented? Hath he given you the graces of his Spirit, which are more precious than rubies, and will you quarrel when he fmites in fome outward things? Hath he made you an heir of glory, and provided eternal manfions above for you; and will you be fretful for want of fome trifles here? The view Mofes had of the recompence of reward in heaven, caufed him to chufe to fuffer affliction with the people of God.

6. The time of affliction is ufually God's gracious tryfting feafon with his people, the time of their rarest comforts and sweetest foretastes of heaven, according to 2 Cor. i. 5. Paul and Silas did never fing more joyfully than when they were laid in the inner prison, with their backs torn with fcourges, and their feet faft in the stocks, Acts xvi. 24. And when was it that Jacob faw the angels of God afcending and defcending upon the ladder that reached between heaven and earth, but at the time when he was in a deftitute cafe, forced to lie in the open field, having no canopy but the heavens, and no pillow but a stone? When was it that the three children faw Chrift in the likeness of the Son of man walking with them, but when they were in the furnace, and that when it was hotter than ordinary? When was it that Ezekiel had a vilion of God, but when fitting folitarily by the river Chebar in the land of his captivity? When was it that John got a glorious vifion of Christ, but when he was an exile in the isle of Patmos? And, when was it that Stephen faw the hea

vens opened, and Christ standing at the right hand of God pleading for him; but when they were ftoning and bruifing him to death? So that the most remarkable experiences of God's kindness, that believers get in this world, have been trysted to the time of affliction: The confideration whereof should move every Christian to wait on the Lord, and bear his crofs with patience.

7. When you are helped to Chriftian patience and fubmiflion under God's hand, it doth contribute much to the credit of religion, and to the conviction of the world, that there is a certain reality in the truths of the gospel, and a great efficacy in the grace of God which bears you up, and carries you through beyond the ftrength of nature.

8. O believer, bear up with patience under the cross, for thou hast not long to bear it. God's wrath on the church abideth but for a moment, yea, a little moment, Ifa. xxvi. 20. "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and fhut up thy doors about thee, hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpaft" Surely a moment, a little moment, which is the smallest part of time, will foon be over; and wilt thou not have patience for a moment? The Pfalmift fupported himself with this confideration, Pf. ciii. 9. He will not always chide, neither will he keep his anger for ever." The time of indignation will foon be overpaft, and the time of confolation will fuc-. ceed. O believer, the end of all thy trials is near; think on it, and look for it. Is it bodily pain or sickness that is thy affliction! Then confider, the end of it will be either life or death: If death, then what thou fuffereft, is the last brunt, bear it patiently: Thofe enemies you now fee, you will fee them again no more. In the manfions above, there is no pain nor crying: The inhabitants there shall never fay they are fick; and one hour with them will make thee forget all thy momentary afflictions. If the iffue fhall be life, you will be alhamed, when well, that you had not more patience whilft fick.

I fhall close this direction with the words of the apoftle James, Jam. v. 1o, 11. "Take, my brethren, the VOL. I. prophets

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prophets, who have fpoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of fuffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."

DIRECT. III. Let believers be much employed in the prailes of God, while they are under Affliction by Sickness, or otherwise.

AS we should blefs the Lord at all times, and keep up good thoughts of God on every occafion; fo efpecially in the time of affliction. Hence we are commanded to glorify the Lord in the fire, Ifa. xxiv. 15. And this the three children did in the hottest furnace. So Job bleffed God when he had taken away his greateft comforts, Job i. 21. And this is agreeable to that command, I Theff. v. 18. " In every thing give thanks." I grant, indeed, we cannot give thanks for afflictions as affliction, but either as it is the means of fome good to us, or as the gracious hand of God is fome way remarkable therein towards us. In this refpect, there is no condition on this fide of hell, but we have cause to praise God in, even in the greatest calamities. Hence it was that David, when he speaks of his affliction, Pf. cxix. 67. adds prefently, " Thou art good, and dost good." And he declares, ver. 65. "Thou haft dealt well with thy fervant, O Lord, according unto thy word." Hence Paul and Silas praifed God when they were fcourged and imprisoned.

Well, then, O believer, obey the command of thy God, and imitate his worthies, by praifing God under thy affliction. 1. This practice would be very pleasant and acceptable to God; for as mufic is fweeteft on the waters, fo praife is moft agreeable to God from an afflicted foul on the waters of trouble. It is a fign of a noble and generous fpirit, to fing the praises of God's goodness while his hand is afflicting us. Distress and danger will make the wickedeft to pray; but it is a

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principle of love and gratitude that makes thy foul to praife. 2. It would bring credit to religion, to fee faints thankful and prailing God under the crofs: It would make people fay, furely they find fweetness in God and his ways, that we fee not; they have meat to eat the world knows not of. And this would invite ftrangers to come and try a religious life. The joyful praifes of the martyrs at the ftake, and in the flames, made people go home with love to religion in their hearts. 3. If the iffue of your affliction should be death, this employment of praife would be a fweet preparative to fit and difpofe you for the work of heaven. Ufe yourfelves much to this heavenly life, and be often trying to fing the fong of Mofes and the Lamb in time of fick nefs and trouble; and this would fweeten the thoughts of death, and make you incline to be there, where praife is their conftant employment.

Quest" What should be the subject of a believer's thanksgiving and praise under affliction ?"

Anf. He hath manifold grou: d; of praife; as, 1. Upon the account of God's mercies to him through the bypaft part of his life. His mercies to thee, O believer, cannot be numbered; compare thy mercies with thy croffes, and thou wilt foon fee thy receivings are far greater than thy fufferings. Thou haft had many days of plenty for one day of fcarcity, many days of liberty for one day of ftraits, many days of health for one day of fickness. And are not these to be remembered with praife.

2. And, more particularly, in the greateft afflic tion, thou haft ground to praife God, O believer, that thou waft born in a land of light, where thou hadit the means of converfion to God, and acquaintance with Jefus Chrift; and especially, that God of his free grace made these means effectual to work a faving grace in you, when others are past by. Is not this matter of praise, that he opened your eyes, humbled your soul, and renewed your heart; that he gave you Chrift, forgave your fins, and adopted you into his family, and made you an heir of heaven? Oh, what a fad cafe would it be, if you were yet in your fins, and in the bondage L 2

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of fatan? If you had converfion-work to begin to, if you had your faith and juftification, and intereft in Chrift, all to feek, and all your preparation for heaven to make; if you had all this to do with a fick and pained body, and a disordered mind, that cannot command one fettled thought, with the terrible views of death and eternity before your eyes! This is the cafe that God in juftice might have left you to. Well, then, ought you not to praife God, that fent his Holy Spirit in time to determine your hearts to close with Chrift, and be reconciled to that God you are shortly to appear before; and that those fins, which now would have been your terror, are all forgiven and washed away through the blood of Jefus Christ?

3. Is it not matter of praife, in thy greatest trouble, that thou haft a great high priest, that is paffed into the heavens, to provide a manfion with the Father for thee, and to receive thy foul when feparated from the body; "that, where he is, there you may be alfo ?"

4. You have caufe to blefs God, that he fends fuch fuitable harbingers, as fickness and trouble, to tell you that death is approaching; and that he should take fuch pains on you, to wean you from the world, and make you willing to be gone. Many of God's people, that have been averfe to dying at the beginning of a fickness, by the increase and continuance of it, have been brought to be well fatisfied to depart, that they may be with Chrift.

5. You have ground to blefs God for timeing your afflictions fo well, that he fent them not till he faw you stood in need of them; he saw a need before them, as 1 Pet. i. 6. and he would not let you want what was needful.

6. You ought to praise God, that he mitigates your trials, and proportions your burdens for your back; that when he takes a rod to you, he hath not made it a scorpion; that when he deprived you of one comfort and enjoyment, he did not strip you of all, and leave you wholly comfortlefs; that when you fuffer in one thing, he hath not made you to fuffer in every thing, in foul, body, eftate, relations, and all together; that, inftead of afflicting you for a few days, he hath

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