who was made perfect by fuffering. Confider the difparity of the perfons: he most innocent, without any fin to deserve it; thou a perfon laden with fin, that meritoriously deserves as much, if not more than thou haft a capacity to bear: he the Son of God, clothed with innocent flesh; thou a worm clothed with impurity and fin. Confider the difparity of the fufferings: he a man of forrows, under the perfecution of thofe whom he came to fave, fubjected to all the fcorns and torments that the wit of most exquisite malice could inflict, and above all this, under the sense even of the wrath and seeming desertion of his Father; thou, it may be, hast loft fome eftate, or reputation, or art in prison, or banishment, or fickness, or pain; but, under all this, doft or mayeft enjoy that peace, and pardon, and favour of God, that his fufferings purchased for thee; the ingredients of his cup, nothing but gall and vinegar; but thy cup, though never fo feemingly bitter, yet fanctified and sweetened by his fufferings: and yet under all this, As a fheep before his fhearers is dumb, fo he open⚫ed not his mouth.' Though his most innocent human nature fhrunk at the pre-apprehenfions of this bitter portion, yet with patience he refigned up his will to his Father, Not my will but thine be done.' In fum, as his patience was meritorious and expiatory for thy fin, so it was left as a pattern and example for thy practice. Bear it patiently, for it is reached unto thee from the hands of God; though it may be by the hands of moft vile and accurfed inftruments and this confideration is enough to tutor thee to an invincible patience. 1. It is the difpenfation of God, who is infinite in mercy and goodness; and therefore it is moft certain, it is a meffage of mercy, for he doth not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men.' Be sure that, it coming from the Fountain of Goodness and Love, it hath a bleffing in it, though thou canst not at the present fee it. 2. It comes from the hands of the most wife God, that doth all things for moft excellent ends, and even in thofe difpenfations that are most

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obfcure

obfcure and rugged, that we cannot unriddle, yet there is always a complication of moft fovereign and excellent defigns which fhall not be disappointed. 3. It comes from the hands of that, God, that is under the relation of a moft tender Father, that hath the very fame bowels of mercy, goodness, and love to us, in his correction, as in his favours. A poor filly child, when a father corrects him for a fault, or takes that from him that will hurt him, or keeps him hard to his book, or other employment, or denies him somewhat that is noxious to him, thinks his father deals hardly with him, when in truth the very fame tender and fatherly love, that discovers itself in more grateful difpenfations, is the caufe and companion of these. The fame is thy cafe and mine; be patient therefore, it is the hand of a father that afflicts thee; and that may affure thee that it is for thy good, and it fhall be in measure. 4. It comes from that God, that is thy abfolute Lord, that hath that unlimited right over his creature, that his only will is a fufficient rule of his justice. Thou owest an infinite fubjection to him, from whom thou haft received thy being; his fovereignty over his creature is even by the very right of nature, infinite and boundless. Be contented therefore to bear whatsoever he inflicts, without the least difputing of the juftice or injustice of it. This was that excellent contemplation of old Eli, under the most severe denunciations of God's judgment. It is the Lord, let him do what feemeth him good. And it was that great leffon that Job's afflictions were fent to teach him, though he could not learn it, till God himself, as well for our inftruction as his, taught him out of the whirlwind: but then he learned it, and abhorred himself in duft and ashes for his former ignorance and frowardness. 8. Yet further, bear it patiently, for that God that fent this meffenger, doth behold and obferve how thou entertaineft it; wherein we may with all due reverence, fuppofe the Lord of Heaven, thus refolving. Yonder is fuch a man, that profeffeth

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'to know, and fear, and love me, and I fee him nevertheless fond of his wealth or honour, or fome other bleffing; I will give leave to evil men or evil angels (as once in the cafe of my fervant Job) to spoil him of wealth, and to caft him into difgrace; and I will obferve his carriage and deportment under it; and though I know what it will be, yet I will make it now confpicuous both to himself and men, and angels: and if his deportment be not anfwerable to his profeffion, if he ftorm against my providence, or ufe unworthy means to free himfelf, or will grow impatient and diforderly under it, I will make his folly confpicuous, and fend more and fharper vifitations unto him, till this fire of affliction hath brought him to his due temper of patience, humility, fubmiflion to my will, dependance upon my power, fubjection to my fovereignty: but if on the other fide I fee him humble himfelf under my hand, fubmit to my will, juftify me in fufferings, patient under them, and waiting my time to be delivered from them, I will exhibit him before men and angels as a pattern of patience, and I will make him a fignal in his deliverance, as he is eminent in his patience.' Suppose thou couldst hear fuch a deliberation, and fee and behold fuch fpectators of thy deportment, how wouldst thou endeavour to compofe thyfelf with all patience and contentednefs, and quietnefs, and refignation of thy felf under the moft fevere affliction? And how little wouldst thou dare in fuch a prefence to discover, or fo much as entertain any murmuring or impatient thought? Affure thyfelf, though thou canst not with a bodily eye behold this great Lord of the World beholding thee, while thou art in this fcene of affliction, yet he beholds and obferves thee, and the very motion of thy foul; and the glorious angels, though they cannot look into the fecret retirements of thy thoughts, yet they behold thy external deportment, and are grieved, if it be unfeemly and unfuitable to the honour of their and thy Lord, and are glad to behold

behold a deportment fuitable to the ends and glory of their Lord. And the evil angels, which irritate and provoke thee to impatience, are pleafed and gratified if they effect it, and afhamed and vexed if they are disappointed in it. Believe it, in a fignal and eminent degree of profperity or adverfity, thou art like a man upon a ftage, a fpectacle expofed to the view of God, and men, and angels, and devils; let thy carriage, therefore, be fuch, as if thou didst as vifibly behold thy fpectators, as they moft certainly do fee thee.

Tenthly, As thus thou art to bear thy affliction patiently, fo endeavour to use it profitably; and, befides thefe advices before-mentioned, add to them thefe enfuing: 1. Learn by them to have a just eftimate of the world. Affliction pulls off thofe fine gay clothes from the world, by which, in profperity, it deceives us; and renders it, as it is, a vain, empty, vexing, world. 2. From that found and just estimate of the world, difcipline thy affections to a moderate and loofe application to it. It is true, afflictions do ordinarily embitter the world to us; and fo, for the prefent, our affections may be dull towards it; but this arifing merely from fenfe, without a found, practical, eftablifhed judgment, it ordinarily lafts no longer than the afflictions laft; and, as they wear away, and worldly comforts begin to grow up and increafe, fo our love to the world comes on, and grows up again but when a man, by the advantage of affiction, digefts this principle into his judgment, commonly it abides, and moderates the love of the world, notwithstanding the return of the comforts and advantages of the world. 3. Keep up thy heart in a dependance upon God's power and all-fufficiency to deliver thee from affliction, or to fupport thee under it; and labor, by obfervation and experience, to rivet this dependance into thy judgment and choice. It is most certain, that almoft every man, as long as he can have any thing to lay hold of befides, will make that his dependance: the fick man will depend upon his phy

fician;

fician; the impoverished man upon his friends, and the like; but when there is nothing else to reft upon, then men will to their prayers, with the mariners in the storm; but this being but an act of neceffity, as it rifeth upon neceflity, fo it vanifheth with it: when the neceffity is over, and other dependancies come to hand, we are apt to throw off our dependance upon God. Labour, therefore, for an experimental and judicious dependance upon God: fometimes in afflictions we begin to attain it; but the beft way is to begin to entertain fuch a dependance before we are driven to it, and then the neceffity of our afflictions will faften and improve it, that it will stick with us after. 4. By thy afflictions learn to value and improve thy hope and affurance of everlasting life: and, indeed, thy neceffity now doth in a fpecial manner drive thee to it; and it is a great end of God's fending afflictions, that it may drive us off from the clafping of this prefent world, and thereby carry us over to the valuation of our eternal condition. Thy wealth is gone, and thy honour and reputation is funk and blafted, and thy friends have forfaken thee, and thy body is mouldering to duft and rottennefs, and thy foul fits hovering upon thy lips ready to take her flight, and all thy hold of this prefent life is broken and gone, fo that thou haft nothing now to lodge and faften thy hopes upon, but the promises of Everlasting Life, thy intereft in Chrift, the hope of Everlasting Life; and now, if ever, these things will be welcome to thee. God hath fcattered and broken all other confidences; improve this unum magnum, this one thing neceffary,' that alone doth stand by thee, when all things elfe forfake thee, and will accompany thee in and through death itself; and fix in thy heart fuch a value upon this that hath been thy only comfort, when all others forfake thee, as not to let go the valuation of it, though thy temporal profperity fhould return. unto thee.

Eleventhly, Wait God's leifure for thy deliverance