BUT I told you there is another fort of people who come under the cenfure of taking thought for to-morrow those who are continually dif treffing themselves by their fears of future evil. They are always looking forward with a foreboding eye, and feeing mischief at a distance: they can magnify every thing into a distress: if they fee a cloud rifing, no bigger than a man's hand, their imagination presently overspreads the heavens with wind and tempeft. This is, indeed, a juft picture of them: for they are often a religious fort of people much more fo than the others; and perhaps bear the great afflictions of life with fortitude. When the ftorm really comes on, they can meet it with refolution: it is the diftant gathering only the little rifing cloud, no bigger than a man's hand, which they dread. But whatever be their religious fentiments on other fubjects, on this they certainly indulge a frame of mind, which cannot well fubfift with the firm belief of the wisdom, the power, and goodness of God: for, as thefe corroding cares destroy our comforts and embitter our bleffings, fo do they interrupt our devotion, unfettle our better thoughts, check our refignation, and abandon us to thofe gloomy conceptions which cut cut away faith and hope, the anchors of the foul. All religion affures us, that our affairs are infinitely better in the hands of God than in our own: and that they who are continually brooding over future evil, as far as these thoughts go, difpoffefs God of the government of the world. Now both these forts of men are cenfured, as taking thought for the morrow those who make an unreasonable provifion for future good, and those who are under an unreasonable fear of future evil. To these two kinds of people, therefore, the text addreffes two different modes of inftruction: The former are told, that the morrow will take care for the things of itself; the latter are put in mind, that fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. Let us examine the weight of these two reasons, which was the fecond point I propofed to confider. IN the first place, they who are never fatiffied with heaping up are told, that the morrow will take care for the things of itself. The expreffion is much the fame as that in the Lord's Prayer, Give us, day by day, our daily bread; and inftructs us to depend on God. God's character, as our Father, is our fecurity for our future future fubfiftence; but then, like good children, we must not prefume to prefcribe to our parent. A good Christian may reasonably hope, that God will give him a fufficient provifion of the things of this world. but in this dependence on God, he must not expect more than a reasonable pro vifion. We may truft God for a fupply of our wants; but God hath no where promised that we shall be clothed in purple and fine linen. Our own prudence, care, and industry, fhould always accompany our dependence on God: but when thefe are properly exerted, we must totally leave the events of to-morrow to him; and may hope, that, through his gracious providence, to-morrow will take care for the things of itself. Even those in the lowest circumftances may hope that fomé favourable event will take place to-morrow, if they should feel any deficiency to-day. All events, which we foolishly call chances, are in the hands of God; and it is an easy matter for him to direct fome of those chances into the course of our affairs, fo as to give them a more favourable turn. If to-morrow does not repair the defi ciencies of to-day, we may be affured there is fome good reafon for it, of which we ourselves hereafter will probably see the propriety. God's promises promises have reference chiefly to the next world. If he give us fufficient to carry us through this world, it is all he has promised: but the great misfortune is, that while God would carry our expectations to heaven, we are more inclined to keep them on earth. Such is the advice given to those who are too folicitous about future good. They who are too apprehenfive of future evil are told, that fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof. It is fufficient, because your care and anxiety cannot make things better. Yes, you fay, your forefight of evil prepares you to meet it. That is true, when the evil cannot be avoided; you may then make it more tolerable, by impreffing your mind frequently with the thoughts of it. The more you live under the impreffion of death, for inftance, the better prepared you will be to meet it. But the advice in the text respects only fuch evils as it is full as probable may never happen-fuch evils as may be greater, or may be lefs, or may be the means of happinefs, or may be any thing different from what you apprehend. Your care and anxiety may adminifter great diftrefs, but certainly no real comfort. Secondly, Secondly, fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; because, when the evil does arrive, you can adjust yourself to it better than when you only foresee it. When it is fully before you, you examine it in all its circumstances; and caft about, how you may beft-either oppose it, if you can; or, if you cannot, how you may bear it with refignation: but till it arrive, you can do nothing effectually. No man will act upon conjecture when he may have certainty; and furely no wife man will endeavour to accommodate himself and his affairs to circumstances, which may never arrive at all. Thirdly, fufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; because God, in his good providence, hath ordered the afflictions of each portion of time in fuch a way as to fuit beft with a ftate of trial, He does not defire you to crowd more evil into the day than belongs to it: he does not require you to go out of your way to meet evil, and, as it were, to folicit it; but only religiously to bear it, and make a proper use of it, when he thinks proper to fend it. Lastly, sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof; because we are in the hands of a gracious God, who will fupport us in the day when the evil ar VOL. IV. Ꮐ rives, |