A view of human life : in a series of sermons on the following subjects ..

^^^

rmt

\ ■m-

■^

4\

S

*• ■?*,.

i:^^

'W^^

%•

' u^

f

I

OF Til 13

Theological Seminary

PRINCETON, N. J.
f-se, ..>r^.rr>~- Division.

Cm

Shelf,
Booh, .

Section.
.No,....

^7

i

A VIEW of HUMAN LIFE?

In a series of

S E R M o'n S

O N T H E

Following Subjects

VIZ.

The Duty of Parents to their Chil- A Providence, or our Obligations to God

dren. o our Preferver and Benetaftor.

The Mortality of Children confider- 'g The Goodnefs of God in former Life,

ed and improved, ^ a Ground of Encouragement in

The Pofljbility of a Young Man pre- 3^ Old Age.

ferving his Virtue, ^ Th° Returns due to Gcd for all his

The Young Man muft take Heed to ^ Benefits.

his Way, & The Fear of Death conquerable.

Perfonal Care without a Principle of ^ How to conquer the Fear of Death.

Piety infufficient. ^ The great Duty of drawing near to

The Word of God the Young Man's w God confidered and explained.

Guide. , '8^'^^^ Happinefs ot drawing near to

Creation, or our Obligations to God ^ God.

our Maker. ^ The gradual Workings and Produft

■^ of Affliaions.

By

S AMU EL

EATON,

Z).

D.

For ;he Use

of Families.

PUBLI

,HED at the Req^st

of man;r of the Authc

)r's friends.

L 0\n''''D 0 N:

Printed for the Author, and Sold by James
Waugh, at the Turk's Head in Lombard-
Street. M. DCC. lxiv.

■.^-Me

CONTENTS.

Sermon I.

TH E Duty of Parents to their Chil-^
dren.
Prov. xxii. 6. Train up a Child in the Way
be Jhould go ; and when be is old he mil not
depart from it. Page I

Sermon II.

The Mortality of Children confidered and

improved. .
Job i. 1 8 — 22. While he was yet fpeahng^
there came alfo another y and fai(L thy Sons
and thy Daughters were eating and drink'*
ing Wine in their eldeji Brother s Houfe :
And behold there came a great Wind from
the Wildermfsy and fmote the four Corners
A 2 of

The CONTENTS.

of the Houfe, and it fell upon the Young
Men, and they are dead j and I only am
efcaped alone to tell thee. Then Job arofe
and rent his Mantle, and fiaved his Head,
and fell upon the Ground, and wor/hipped ;
and f aid. Naked came I out of my Mo-
ther s Womb, and naked Jhall I return thi-
ther — I'he Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away — blejjed be the Name of the
Lord, In all this Job finned not, nor
charged Godfoolijhly, Page 26.

Sermon III.
The Mortality of Children confidered and

improved.
Job i. 21. — The Lord gave, and the Lord
bath taken away, hleffed be the Name of the
Lord. p. 47.

Sermon IV.

The Poflibility of a Young Man preferving
his Virtue.

Pfalm cxix. 9. Wherewith Jlmll a Toung
Man eleanfe his Way? By taking Heed
thereto, according to thy Word. P« /!•

Ser-

The CONTENTS.

Sermon V.

The Young Man muft take Heed to his

M4ay.
Pfalm cxix. 9. — By taking Heed thereto^
according to thy Word, p. ^5,

Sermon VI.
Perfonal Care, without a Principle of Piety,

infufficient.
Pfalm cxix. 9. Wherewith Jhall a Towig
Man cleanfe his Way? By taking Heed
thereto^ according to thy Word, p. 114,

Sermon VII.

The Word of God the Young Man's Guide.

Pfalm cxix. 9. — By taking Heed thereto,
according to thy Word, p. 133.

Sermon VIII.
Creation, or our Obligations to God our

Maker.
Pfalm Ixxi. 5, 6. For thou art my Hope^ O
Lord God $ Thou art my Truft Jrom my
Youth — By thee have L been holden up

from

The CONTENTS.

from the Womb j T^hou art he that took me
out of my Mother's Bowels : My Praife Jhall
be continually of thee, p. 162.

Sermon IX.

Providence, or our Obligations to God our

Preferver and Benefador.
Pfalm Ixxi. 5, 6. - For thou art my Hope^ O
Lord God, &c. p. 187.

Sermon X.

The Goodnefs of God in Former Life, a
Ground of Encouragement in Old Age.

Pfalm Ixxi. 17, 18. O God^ thou haji taught
me from my Touthj and hitherto have I de-
clared thy wondrous Works — • Now aljb,
when 1 am Old and gray-headed^ O God,
forfake me not ; until I have floewed thy
Strength unto this Generation, and thy Pow-
er to every one^ that is to come* p. 210.

Sermon XI.
The Returns due to God for all his Benefits.
Pfalm cxvi. 12. What Jhall 1 render unto
the Lord J for all his: Benefits towards me ?

P- ^37-
Ser-

The CONTENTS.

Sermon XIL

The Fear of Death conquerable.

Pfalm xxiii. 4. Tea, though I walk through

the Valley of the Shadow of Death, I will

fear no Evil : For thou art with me, thy

Rod and thy Staff they comfort me. p. 260.

Sermon XIII.
How to conquer the Fear of Death.
Pfalm xxiii. 4. Tea, though I walk through
the Valley of the Shadow of Death, &c.'

p. 281.

S R R M O N XIV.

The great Duty of drawing near to God,

confidered and explained.
Pfalm Ixxiii. 2S. —7/ is good for me to
draw near to God, p. 307.

Sermon XV.
The Happinefs of drawing near to God,
Pfalm Ixxiii. 28. — ■// is good for me to
draw near to God, ?• 337*

Ser-

The C O I^ T E N T S.

Sermons XVJ, XVII.

The gradual Workings and Product of Af-
flidions.

Rom. V. 3, 4, 5. — We^lory in Tribula-
iiom alJOf knowing that Tribulation worketh
Patience j — and Patience Experience (or
Proof) — and Experience (or Proof) Hope :
And Hope maketh not a/hamed-, becaufe the
Love of God is fl^ed abroad in our Hearts,
by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us,

P- 359> 3^4-

SER.

^SERMON I.

The Duty of Parents to their
Children.

Prov, xxii. 6.

^rain up a Child in the Way he fiould go ;
and when he is old be will not depart from it,

WM)^"^ MONGST the many ufeful
§ A 8 Directions for Preaching, which
3eC •; 3eC the great Apoftle of the Gentiles
k.MM^jH^ gave to his Son Timothy, this I
think is the beft and moft comprehenfive,
Study to Jhew thy [elf approved wito God — a 2 Tim. H.
Workman that needeth not to be afhamed, right"
ly dividing the Word oj Truth, Herp the
Art of ufeful Preaching i^ comprifed. It is
the Word of Truth , that we muft preach —
in a Manner y that needeth not to be afldamed
— and to render it ufeful, it mufl be rightly
B divided

2 ^he Duty of

Sermon divided^ as our Divine Teacher explains it,
u.,,^*-^ gi'^ifig to every one their proper Portion in due
Seafon. The Word of Truth muft be divi-
ded and proportioned according to the differ-
ent Capacities, Circumftances, and Charac-
ters of our Hearers 5 for that which is proper
Food for one, is not fo for another. Sec
Heb. V. 12, 13, 14.

The Scriptures divide all Mankind, ac-
cording to their Charadters, into two differ-
ent Ranks the Righteous and the

Wicked 5 into which they will be feparated
in the Day of Judgment. Here Ihould great
Care be took, in dividing the Word of Truth
aright, that each may have his proper Por-
tion. The Wicked muft be called to convert
and become New Men^ without which they
have neither Lot nor Portion with the Righ-
teous : But the Righteous, inftead of revert^
ingy and turning back, muft be exhorted to
hold on their Way^ and to grow Jironger and
jironger. Without a careful Attention to this
Divifion, as God declared by his Prophet,
Exek. xiii. We fhall make the Heart of the Righteous fad 5
'7~"23. and firengthen the Hands of the Wicked, that
he Jhould not return from his wicked Way, by
fromifng him Life — yea we Jhall flay the

Soulsy

t

Parents to their Children.

Souls, that Jhould not die^ and fave the Souh
alive-y that Jhould not live.

But there is another Divifion made by
the God of Providence, arifing from the dif-
ferent Circumftances and Relations in Life^
in which we are placed, as Rich and Poor
— High and Low — Hufbands and Wives—*
Parents and Children — Mafters and Ser-
vants. To each of thefe the Word of Truth
ihould be divided aright.

There is like wife a third and prior Di*
vifion, made by the Author of Nature, ari-
fing from the feveral States we pafs through
from Infancy to Old Age j each of which
require a different Di vifion of the Word of
Truth, This Divifion I purpofe to make the
Rule of a Series of Difcourfes adapted to
your feveral Ages, and Circumfl:ances in
Life 5 and have chofe this for my firft Sub-
jeft. Train up a Child in the Way he foould
go, and when he is old he will not depart Jrom
it.

Permit me here a Citation from a hte
ferious Writer, which will be a proper In-
trodudtion to my Defign, and /hew the Plan
which I propofe. *' The Life of Man, ai
'* he ohferues, is divided into fve different
B a " Perio4s^

I.

^e Duty of

Sermon *' Periods. We do not come into the World
«' in our full Stature and Capacity, and die
<« in the fame State ; but pafs through differ-
«* ent Stages, as Infancy, Childhood^ Youth,
"Manhood, and Old Age. — How to fix
" the precife Limits of thefe feveral Periods
»* may not be fo eafyj nor is it of much Con-
« fequence. Infancy is the firft and (horteft
<• Stage of Life — we may allow to it four
*' or five Years. Childhood may be extended
** to about twelve Years. — Touth reaches
" from thence to about twenty. — And Man^
** bood to the Time, when the Strength and
" Vigour of Nature begins to be impaired.
«« — From thence Old Jge creeps on us."

These are the five diftin6t Periods, or
Stages of Human Life, in each of which
Man is a quite different Being from what he
was in the former Parts, — not only in Re-
fpeft of the Form, Features, and Powers
of his Body ; but like wife in the Capacities,
Defires, and Endowments of his Mind.

Infancy is the fir/i and fhorteft Stage;
to which we may allow three, four, ovfve
Years, more or lefs, according as Reafon
begins to dawn, and intelligent Capacities,

and

Parents to their Children. S

and adive Powers difcover themfelves. — Sermom
Here Infancy ends, and Childhood begins. v— 0— J

This firft Stage of Infancy I would have
made the Subjedt of my iirft Difcourfe ; but
really I can find no Text for it, nor does it
furnifli out Subjedt Matter. In this State,
the MAN can fcarcely be looked upon as
born 5 though the Infant-Creature is brought
into the World. The Infant is neither a
Reafonable Being, nor a Free Agent j and
confequendy is no Subjed of Religion j be-
ing incapable of receiving Inftrud:ion, and
of doing either Good or Evil j for in Propor-
tion as that Capacity begins, Infancy ends.
In this State the Infant can do nothing for
itfelf, and all the Parents can do for it, is to
devote it ferioufly to God, take care of, and
pray for the Prefervation of it's tender Life,
and ftand prepared for training it up in the
Nurture and Admonition of the Lord, as
foon as it becomes capable of it. And let
not the prefent Incapacity of your Infant-
Offspring abate your tendereft parental Re-
gards. To borrow the Prophet's Language,
Deflroy it not, for a Bkfjing is in it. A pre-
cious, rational, immortal Soul, capable of
B 3 rifing

^he Duty ef

rifing to be a Bleffing here -, and of being
blelTed and happy for ever.

Childhood is the next State that fuc-
ceeds ; when the little Creature has learned
to walk and ^peak, — When the Intelledual
and Rational Faculties begin to dawn, and
the young Mind firft becomes capable of
Moral Adion and of receiving Difcipline
and Inftrudion — of diftinguifhing in fome
Mcafure betwixt Good and Evil ; and confe-
quently of forming it*s own Condud, and
being accountable for it. Now it firft be^
comes a Rational Being, and capable of be-
coming a Religious Being. At the time of
it's natural Birth, it was a Creature ; but
now is the time it fhould become a Child of
God. — Be born again — barn from above ^
and enter into the Kingdom of Heaven*
The natural Birth and Life commenced to-
gether : So fhould the rational and Spiritual
Zjife-r-^2in^ the one endure as long as the
other. Now is the fitteft and moft proper
Time ; and the Means moft proper and ne-
ceilary for this greateft and beft End, we are
direded to in my text ; which now comes
Vinder Qonfider^tion, Train up a Child in the

way

Parents to their Children,
way he Jfjould go 5 and when he is old, be wMl
not depart from it.

My Text confifts of two Parts.

I. A Command, and general DIre(5tion

given to Parents, and to all thofe to
whom the Care and Education of
Children is committed, during this
State of Minority, and that is, to Train
them up in the Way, in which they
Jhould go,

II, A MOST encouraging Promife, When
they are old, they will not depart from
it.

In explaining and conlidering this Com-
mand and Diredlion I muft not attempt a
Treatife upon Education j but refer you to
your own Knowledge, and to the Choice of
Books, which you may meet with upon this
Subjed.

Th e general Diredion given in my Text,
is this, T^rain up a Child in the Way hefioutd
go. The Child is not to be left to himfelf
— nor is he only to be told and taught, but
be is to be tkained, watched, conduced,
guided, difciplined and formed. His Infant-
B 4 Mind

I.

the Duty of

S£R»*oN Mind is now to be nurfed and tended as
carefully, as his Infant-Body was before.
The Nature and Condition of our Children
calls for this j and the Fruit of it will richly
reward all our Care, and all our Labour.
If left to themfelves in fuch a World as ours,
much Evil may be counted upon ; but little
Wifdom or Goodnefs can be expected from
them, during thefe Years, from three to
iwehe. Their childifh young Minds are fo
perfedly ignorant and unexperienced, and
their Capacities fo weak, that in this State
of non-age they are not Beings fit to chufe
their own Ways j nor can we expert, that
they fiiould find out the Principles of Wif-
dom and the Rules of Prudence : — though
much may and ought to be done for them
in this Morning, this Spring, and Seed-
Time of Life 3 and what is done or neglcdt-
ed now, may prove of greater Confequence
both to Soul and Body, for Time and Eter*
nity, than any Thing that can be done af-
terwards.

It is afked by the Pfalmift, Wherewith
jhalldToung Man cleanfe his Way ? And the
Anfwer is given, By taking heed thereto ac^
wording to God's Word, Should it be afked iri

like

Parents to their Children, 9

like Manner, Wherewith fiall a Child cleanfe Sermom
bis Way ? The Queftion would be impro- (^.^-v-^-J
per, and the Anfwer more fo, as it would
imply the Expedlation of a natural Impdf-
fibility. If a Child cleanfe hrs Way, it muft
be by the Care and Help of the Parent or
Guardian, taking Heed thereto according to
God's Word. The Child is to be trained, not
left to itfelf, but guided, inftrudled, taught,
and led as by the Hand — in which cafe
the young Creature will be found teach-
able and tradable j but is by no Means fit
to take the Lead, or to be left to itfelf. By
this Means, it both can and will readily con- '
cur, and whilft much is done for it in a pro-
per Way, it will be enabled to do much for
itfelf J though without fuch Ailiftance, what
can be expensed, but that Childhood and Touth
will both be Vanity^ Whom^ fays the Pro-
phet, fiall he teach Knowledge, and whom Ifa.xxviii
fiall he make to under ft and Dodfrine f Them ^* '°'
that are weaned Jrom the Milk, and drawn
from the Breaji (diredting to begin as early
as poflible) for Precept muji be upon Precept,
Line upon -Line, Line upon Line, here a lit-
tle and there a little. And in Order to fliew
it is not enough to give Diredioos and Com-
mands

7he Duty of
mands to thefe young Minds, but they muft
be continued and accompanied with daily
Watchfulnefs and tender Tuition, it is re-
Ifa.xxviii. peated, — The Word of the Lord muft be to
'3- them Precept upon Precept, Line upon Line^

Line upon Line^ here a little and there a lit-
tie. See likewife Dent, vi. 7.

By fuch conftant and tender Aid, there is
no faying what Attainments the Child is ca-
pable of, in this Morning of Life. The
Knowledge, the Fear, and the Love of God,
which is the Beginning ofWiJdom and Hap-
pinefs, may be inftilled and implanted, to-
gether with virtuous Principles and pious
Difpofitions, and that Command, Subjedi-
on, and Modefty of Tem.per, which is the
Foundation of all Virtue, and recommends
to growing Favour both with God and Man.
All this is attainable in Childhood, in Con-
jundion with the Rudiments of that Learn-
ing, and of thofe Arts, which are the beft
Preparatives for a Life of Ufefulnefs and
Comfort in this World.

But on the contrary, if the Child be
negleded and left to itfelf, which we know is
now too commonly the Cafe, What is to be
expeded ? Nothing, but that the Child re-
main

Parents to their Children. i»

main ignorant, grow idle, trifling, and care- Sermon
lefs — averfe to every Thing that is wife and ^ ' ,^
good — and in Time, become peevifli, ftub-
born, obftinate, and untradtable — fond of
bad Company and idle Companions, with
whom it has been allowed to aflociate, whofe
profane Language and evil Manners it has
learned, all which foon renders it fit only
for Deftrudion. Now when this is the Cafe,
as it is too frequently, the poor miferable
Child is not only blamed, chaftifed, and
perhaps hated j but God and Nature ^re
both blafphemed, whilft the Sin and Guilt
lie a: the Parents Door. In the Day, the
great and awful Day of Judgment, Parents
may count upon receiving either the Reward
due to the Wifdom and Virtue of their OiF-
fpring. during their Childhood ; or the Re-
proach due to their early Vices, which
fprung from the Parents negledt of their
mod important Duty and Trufl. The Vi-
ces of fuch Children are their Unhappinefs,
but they are the Fruit of their Parents great
Sin. — Their Children {hall die in their Ini-
quity 3 but their Blood will be required at
fhefr Parents Hands. Thefe awful Thoughts

fhpuld

The Duty of
fhould awaken a ferious Attention to the
two Things, which remain to be confidered.

I. What may farther be learned from

the general Dire^ion in my Text.

II. The Enforcement contained in it.

I. Parents and Tutors are here direded
to Train up a Child in the Way he Jhould go.
How inftrudlive is this general and (hort Di-
redlion ! And how different from the com-
mon Method of Edication ! Children arc
too often taught and trained up in a Variety
of Tempers and Pradices, which muft af-
terwards be renounced as wrong, or laid a-
fide as ufelefs. Thus is the precious Morn-
ing of Life, and often the whole of Life,
loft and trifled away, never to be retrieved.
But Wifdom's Advice is this,. Train up a
Child in the Way he Jhould go^ and fhould
perfift in, if he live to be old. — Set him
forward in the Journey of Life — accompa-
ny and dired him till he has learnt the
Road, and then tell him, This is the Way^
walk in it.

In further opening this Diredion, I fhall
mention nothing but what is properly con-
tained

Parents to their Children,

tained in it ; and what it concerns every Pa-
rent and Tutor to put in Pradice, and every /'j
Child to learn and fubmit to. Know then,
that there is a Way and Courfe of Life, into
which ALL fhould be entered, as foon. as
poffiblej and from which no one fhould ever
depart. You may know it from the Parti-
culars I am going to mention.

The Jirft Remark in this Book of Pro-
verbs^ intended to give Subtilty to the Sim-
ple, and to the Young Man Knowledge and
Difcretion, is this, The Fear of the Lord is P'^ov. L 7,
the Begimting 0/ Knowledge, This firft Prin-
ciple of all true Wifdom and Goodnefs, I
judge, is nearly the firft, that the Child is
capable of being taught, and having impref-
fed upon it's Mind. This (hould be taught
in fo ferious, fo amiable, and endearing a
Manner, that the Child may like to retai?i
God in his Knowledge — confidering God as
his Heavenly Father — his beft Friend — his
Maker, Preferver, and conftant Benefactor.
In this pleafing Senfe of Deity, the Child is
to be trained up j not only by Inftrudions,
and Diredions for Prayer and Praife ; but
by a daily Attendance upon fuch Family-
Devotion as is due to God — and the fre-
quent

The Duty of
quent hearing of Prayer and Praife, offered
up to God on it's own Account.

Next to God, Children are to be train-
ed up in a Veneration for their Parents and
Guardians i without which no proper Obe-
dience and Subjedion can be expelled. If
Children do not firft learn to (hew Piety at
Home, by requiting and obeying their Parents,
it is not to be expected, that they fhould
learn proper Subjedion to either God or
Man. Hence the Command, Children obey
your Parents in the Lord, for this is right.
— Honour thy Father and Mother, which is
thejirft Commandment with Promife ; that it
may be well with thee, and thou mayeji live
long on the Earth. — It follows, And ye Fa-
thers provoke not your Children to wrath j but
bring them up in the Nurture and Admonition
of the Lord,

Consequent upon this, Children fhould
be trained up by Precept and Example, in a
careful Abiftnence from all Appearance of
Evil, in Word or Adion, and in the Culti-
vation of all thofe virtuous Tempers and
Practices, which are recommended in the
Religion of Jefus Chrift : Such as Humility,
Modefty, Humanity, Benevolence, Mercy,
I Com-

I.

Parents to their Children, 1$

Compaflion, Meeknefs, Forbearance, For- Sermom
givenefs. — All thefe and the like, they
Should be taught to (hew forth in their Be-
haviour towards the Family, and to all with
whom they have to do. — They (hould love
as Brethren and Sifters, be pitiful, be courte-
ous. As they are taught to behave in this
little Society whilft Children, fo they are
likely to behave afterwards in the World.

And with Refpe<5l to Themfelves, they
fhould be trained to Diligence, Moderation,
Sobriety, Temperance, Self-denial, Content-
ednefs with their Lot, Thankfulnefs for eve-
ry Allowance and Favour, a Defire to learn
and improve Honefty and Sincerity. And
above all, in an inviolable Regard to Truth,
and dread of a Lie. I do not fay that Chil-
dren fhould be taught a Love of Truth, but
trained and held to it j for it is evidently na-
tural to them. It is true to a Proverb, that
Children tell I'ruth, A Lie is never invent-
ed at firft, but fled to at fecond-hand to co-
ver fome other Fault. Now as Truth is fa-
cred above every Thing, and the Foundation
of all Righteoufnefs and Virtue — and as
Lies are fled to as a Refuge and Covering
for all Sins j fo I think the chief Art and

Secret

I.

16 The Duty of

Sermon Secret in the Government of Children is this,
that excepting Obftinacy and Perfeverance in
what is wrong, the Faults of Children, after
proper Advice, Reproof, and Rebuke, (hould
all pafs unpunifhed, excepting this one Sin of
Lying and Prevarication. — But this {hould
never pafs off without fevere Punifhment.
Let the Child know this, and when he may
hope for Pardon, he will ingcnuoufly con-
fefs his other Faults ; and when the Refuge
of Lies is thus took from him, he will fcarce
dare to commit any known Sin.

I WOULD gladly enlarge, but the Bounds
of my Difcourfe will not permit. You mud
fee, that the Steps and Inftances which I
have mentioned, are fuch as the Man fliould
perfift in through Life j and Childhood is
the proper Time for fettling the Principles of
thefe virtuous Habits. If thefe are not form-
ed by proper Difcipline, during this Seafon,
the contrary Tempers will be formed, and
contradled ; and being contraded fo early,
may perhaps be afcribed to Natural Temper :
Whereas moft of that which now paffes for
Natural Temper, whether ^W or bady is the
fecret Refult of Education and Example.

I ONLY

Parents to their Children. tf

I ONLY add, that in training Children at Sermo»
this Age, Regard fhould be had to the Way <^„.J^^
and Bulinefs they fliould follow in after Life ;
and the Method of Education drawn from
their Circumftances, and the Genius and A-
bilities which they now difcover. All this^
and much more, arifes from the Diredion in
my Text, Train up a Child in the Way he
P^ould go. I now proceed,

II. To confider the encouraging Promife
and Enforcement which is added, Jnd
when he is old he will not depart from
It. This is not an abfolute Promife, that
admits of no Exception. It is enough, if
it generally holds good, as it doubtlefs will,
where the hopeful Child does not afterwards
fall into bad Hands. And even in fuch un-
happy Cafes, the difappointed Parent has
this for his Support, that he has done his
Duty, and delivered his own Soul. Befides,
the melancholy Inftances that feem to weak-
en the Force of this Promife, are not fo ma-
ny as the World imagines. We too often
fee the Children of religious Parents mif-
carry — but if we trace back to the prior
Caufes, we fhall find, that mofl: of thefe
C were

^^ The Duty of

were not trained up in Childhood, and dif-
pofed of afterwards, as they ought to have
been.

In Childhood the Mind, as well as the
Body, is tender and pliable, eafily formed in-
to the Shape we chofe, which by Time and
Habit becomes fixed ; and it is of infinite
/ Advantage, when the Principles of Pru-
dence, Virtue, and Piety, get the firft Pof-
feffion of the Heart and Soul, before the En-
trance of Vice and Impiety. If Virtue and
Piety be cherifhed, there are no contrary
Principles of equal Strength to caft them
out. See Prov. ii. lo, ii.

Had I time to enter into the Law of Ha-
bits, provided by the Author of our Being,
I: might from thence argue the Truth, and.
Force of this Promife. Habits are contrad:-
ed by Training and Pradice ; and no Habits
are fo lafling, as thofe that are contracted in
Childhood and Youth ; nor any fo flrong,
as thofe that are of a moral Nature, I may
here add, that pious and good Habits when
once fettled, muft needs beflronger, and take
fafter Hold of the Mind, than vicious and
bad ones. The Reafon is plain j becaufe the
I Mind

Parents to their Children, jg

Mind always approves the good, but difap- Sermom
proves the i>ad, ^ __' j

But let me argue from the Nature of
God, who has made and intended us all for
Virtue and Piety, and not for Vice and Fol-
ly. God would have all Men, and all Chil-
dren, to be faved, and come to the Know-
ledge of Truth and Goodnefs. Every Child
is his Creature — his Hand formed and fa^
Jhioned it altogether — He planted it a noble
Fine, wholly a right Seed — and fubjeds it
to the Care of Parents and Guardians. This
is the Provifion that God has made for the
Prefervation of it's Body, and the Culture
of it's Mind, in the Beginning of Life. But
if Parents negledt their Charge, it is eafy to
fee, how it becomes turned into a wild and
degenerate Plant. If Parents can be pre-
vailed upon to do their Part, we may fafely
and comfortably leave the reft with the God
of all Grace. And if fome of thefe Children
who have been thus trained up in the Way
they [hould go, afterwards fuffer themfelves
to be feduced for a Time, though doubtlefs
they will pay dear for it, and may die in their
Sins, before this Time comes, yet when the
Heat of Youth is cooled, and they come to
C 2 ' b«

I.

2.0 The Duty of

Sermon be fober and thoughtful, the Principles of
Education will revive, and it will be found
that the Seed remains in them. — And the Pro-
mife in my Text is found literally true.
Train up a Child in the Way he fhall go, and
when he is old, he will 7iot depart from it.
See PJaL Ixxxix. 30 — 34.

II. What now remains, is to enforce
upon Parents a faithful Difcharge of that
great Duty which I have been fetting before
them. This I fhall do by referring, to two
Branches of Scripture-Hiflory; and then con-
clude with a general Exhortation.

For Encouragement, first let Parents
confider the Hiftory of Abraham, the Fa-
ther of many Nations. In Gen. xviii. 18^
19. it is promifed, Abraham Jloall fur ely be-
come a great and mighty Nation^ and all the
Natio7is of the Earth fhall be blejjed in him.
Why To ? The Reafon follows, For I know
Abraham^ that he will command his Children
(whilft Children) and his HouJJjold after him,
and they Jloall keep the Way of the Lord, to do
Juflice and Judgment, that the Lord may
bring upon Abraham, that which he hath fpo-
ken of himt Here Parents, you fee GodV

Method

Parents to their Children, 21

Method in the Conftitution of Nature, and Sermon
Courfe of his Providence, whereby he con- ^' .
veys down his Bleffings from and by Parents
to Children, to thoufands of Generations of
them that fear bim^ and keep his Command-
ments, It is by Parents, in Imitation of
faithful Abraham, commanding their Chil-
dren and their Houfhold after them, and
training them up from their Childhood in
the Way they (hould go. It is here farther
obfervable, that this Promife was made to
Abraham by the Angel, that was fent to de-
ftroy Sodom-, and delivered, whilft he flood
looking down upon that devoted City 5 where
(righteous Lot and his Family excepted) eve-
ry Perfon and Family, Root and Branch,
peri£hed for ever. Now knowing the Rea-
fon with God for comm.anding a Blefling
upon Abraham, and his Seed ifter him, we
may learn the Reafon with God for deilroy-
ing Sodom, This was not only the Wick-
ednefs of that Age, but the Negled; of the
riling Generation. There was no Family-
Religion, nor any Care or Concern about
Pofterity. — And whenever that is the Cafe,
it is high Time that Family or City fhould
be extin(a, and cut off.

C 3 AliV>

22 The Duty of

Sermon And here know, that God is in one
. J'_ , Mind, the fame Yefterday, To-day and for
ever. — The Lord, the Lord God, merciful
and gracious, long-fuffering, abundant in
Goodnefs and Truth, keeping Mercy for thow
fands of Generations, of them that jear him,
and hep his Commandments. — But vijiting
the Iniquities of the Fathers upon their Chil-
dren (if perfifted in) to the third or fourth
Generation. Be it the third or fourth Gene-
ration, before utter Deftrudion comes (fuch
is the long-fufFering of God) yet if Children
are negleded and expofed, and God do not
deftroy them fooner ; in the third or fourth
Generation, fuch Families will extirpate
themfelves, or be extirpated by the righte-
ous Judgments of God.

All that remains of old Eli and his Fa-
mily, is the Hiflory of their Deftrudllon, and
the Reafon of it, preferved as a Warning to
all Parents, not to negled their Children.
Read and tremble, And the Lord faid unto
Samuel, behold^ I will do a Thing in Ifrael,
at which both the Ears of every one that hear-
eth it Jhall tingle. For in that Day I will
perform againfl Eli all Things which I have
fpoken concerning his Houfe. When I begin,

I will

I.

Parents to their Children^ 23

mil alfo make an End -, for I have told himt Sermo*!
that I mil judge his Houfe jor ever ; for the
Iniquity which he knoweth. The Iniquity
tvas this — Becaufe his Sons made themf elves
vile^ and he refrained them not, — It follows
Ver. 14. "Therefore have I fworn unto the
Houfe of Eli, that the Iniquity of E!i*s Houfe
fiall not be purged with Sacrifice^ nor with
Offering for ever. How awful is this Story !
Eli was now ninety and eight Years old,
and his Eyes dim, that he could not fee^ —
and his Sons of full Age, miniftering in the
Prieft's Office, grown now above his Re-
ftraint. — Of how much forer Judgment
then (hall you be thought worthy, if your
young Children make themfelves vile, and
you reftrain them not ? This doubtlefs was
the Ground and Reafon both of E//'s Judg-
ment, and his Sons Vilenefs, that he neg-
leded to reftrain them in their younger Tears;
for if this be not done in Childhood and
Touthy it will be in vain to attempt it after-
wards.

To conclude — Parents, you now fee your

great Duty, and the Encouragement you

have to fet about it. Your Care begins, when

your Child, is born, yea, fooner. Your Au-

C 4 thority

I.

24. 7he Buty of

Sermok thorlty commences, when your Children be^
come Rational Beings, capable of Inftrudti-
on ; and continues abfolute^ during their
Childhood. Now you are to command,
and your Children to obey. The Cafe will
be different in the fucceeding Stages of Life,
as I (hall (hew in a future Difcourfe from
another Subject. Be not you like thofe Pa-
rents, who think that little or nothing can
be done in Childhood. Little good can be
expeded without your Aid, but much may
be done with it : And if not done now, you
probably lofe your Opportunity and Power
for ever.

You can never fufficiently admire the
Wifdom and Goodnefs of God, who puts
your Children into your Hands, in fuch a
weak and trad:able State, both of Mind and
Body. If they had been born with that
Strength and Capacity of Mind and Body,
which they have in the Time of Touth ',
but as ignorant ajs they now are, upon their
Entrance into Life, they had been the moft
unteachable and untradable, Monfters in
Nature. Take Care then, that you do not
fufFer them to become fuch Monfters, thro'
your Negledl. For there is no fuch wild,

untra(5table.

I.

Parents to their Children* 25

untradable, mifchievous Creature upon Earth, Sermok
as an undifciplined Youth. It is noiv^ in Child-
hood, that you Parents muft do your Jirfl and
chief Work. It is nowy you muft gain your
Authority and Afcendency over the Minds
and Hearts of your Children, and bring them
into eafy Subjedtion, It is noWy that you
muft form in them every Infant- Virtue, and
bring every Thought and Imagination into
a Preparednefs for fubmitting to the Laws
both of God and Man. Now, I fay, is ycui
Time — now or never. Now, O Parents,
the Work is your's, not your Children's.
You are to lead — they are to follow «— you
are to teach, they are to learn «— you are to
Command, they are to obey. Upon the
Authority of my Text, I promife in their
Name, that if you do your Duty, they will
do theirs — and be your Comfort here, and
your Joy and Crown of rejoicing for ever.
"iTrain up a Child in the Way he jhould go^ and
niohen he is old, he will not depantfrom it^

ii M u N

26

S E R M O N II

^^el Mortality of Children
,..,^ , eonfidered and improved.

Job i. i8 — 22.

fFi^ile he was yet /peaking, there came alfo an*
other, and Jatd, .thy Sons^ and thy- Daugh-
ters were eating and drinking Wine in their
eldeft Brother s Houfe — And behold there
came a great Wind from the Wildernefsj
and fmote the four Corners of the Houfe^
and it fell upon the Toung Men^ and they
are dead ; and I only am efcaped alone to
tell thee, — Then Job arofe and rent his
Mantle^ and fhaved his Head, and fell
down upon the Ground^ and worffjipped ;
and /aid — Naked came 1 out of my Mo-
ther's Womb, and naked fh all I return thi-
ther — • T^he Lord gave^ and the Lord hath
taken away — blejjed be the Name of the
Lord, In all this Job fmned not, nor
charged Godfoolijhly,

THE

Jhe Mortality of Childr^n^ &c.' ty

%^^%% HE Mortality of Children, as Seri^on
S T S ^^^^ ^^ °^ Parents, needs no Proof. ^J^^
)e(' M Daily Obfervation evinces this aw-

^)^M^ ful Truth. 0«^ ^/V^^ /« his full
Strength, being wholly at Eafe and quiet : His
Breajis are full oj Milk, and his Bones are
moiftened 'with Marrow. — Another dieth in
the Bitternefs of his Soul, and never eateth
with Pleafure. I'hey lie down alike in the
Duft, and the Worms cover them. Yea ma-
ny die from the Womb, and give up the
Ghoft, when they come out of the Belly.
In (hort, not one half live to half the Age
of Man. May I not fay, not one half fur-
vive the Term of Childhood ? So true is it,
Jhat Man who is born of a Woman , is of few
Days, and full of Trouble, He cometh forth
like a Flower : and is cut down : He fieeth
alfo as a Shadow, and continueth not.

It is not the Mortality of Infants ; nor
^f adult Perfons, that I now purpofe to con-
(ider, but (hall confine my Thoughts more
particularly to the State of Childhood j with
a View to excite Parents to the moft early
and diligent Care in the Education of their
Young Children j that both they and their

Children

2^ Tbe Mori all ^y of Children

Children may be provided for this Event, if
it fliould pleafe God, in the Courfe of his all-
wife and righteous Providence, to take from
them, and take to himfelf, the Souls of their
dear Children. And let not Parents put this
Thought from them, as an unlikely Event,
or as fome rare or nev7 Thing in the Earth,
lince Parents more frequently follow their
Children to the Grave, than Children their
Parents.

Perhaps you may think my prefent Sub-
jed not fo proper for this particular Purpofe ;
imagining from Ver. 4, 5, 13. that Joh'^
feven Sons and three Daughters, who all
died together in an Inftant, were all grown
up, and fettled in Houfes, and had Families
of their own j and confequently had long
furvived the State of Childhood. An En-
glifh Reader muft conclude fo from the
Face of our Tranflation j but a little Confi-
deration will make the Contrary more than
probable. Had this been the Cafe, Job
muft have been an old Man : Whereap the
Ciofe of this Book tells us, that he lived to
have feven Sons and three Daughters more,
and to retrieve, yea, redouble his Subftance
in the Earth. The two laft Verfes, which

mention

confidered and improved, 2^

mention his great Age, tell us, that he lived Sermok
to fee his Sons, and his Sons Sons, even four ^_,^^-^^j
Generations : but thefc two Verfes, as Gro-
tius obferves, appear to have been an Addi-
tion to the Book by fome later Hand.

Besides, there is in the Original, no
mention of any Honfet but that of the eldefi
Brother, where the other Brothers and Sif-
ters made a Pradlice of regaling themfelves
together in a Manner that gave great Con-
cern to their good Father, as appears from
Ver. 5. — It was at one of thefe Feftivals,
that they all perifhed in a Moment. Far-
ther, we read nothing of their Wives and
Children peri(hing along with them, as might
have been expeded, but only Job's feven
Sons and three Daughters. I have one Thing
to obferve, that when the Bearer of this me- .
lancholy News tells Job, that the Houfe fell
upon the young Men and they are dead-, in
the Hebrew k is not you?2g Men^ but Children
— and the Greek Tranflation calls them lit-
tle Children * -, as fome of them appear to
have been, and others not much older.

It now remains to be confidered, how
Job behaved himfelf, and how every ten-
der

The Mortaliiy of Children
der and pious Parent (hould behave, under
afFeding Providences of this Sort. And,

First, he (hewed a deep Sorrow and
Concern of Mind, becoming an afFedlionate
and tender Father. — He arofe and rent bis
Mantle, and Jhaved his Head, and fell upon
the Ground and worjhipped.

Secondly, he exprefled ajuft Senfe of
his great Lofs ; and a pious Submillion to
the Will of Godi.'-'And]oh faid. Naked
came I out of my Mother's Womb, and naked
Jhall I return thither — - The Lord gave, and
the Lord hath taken away j blejfedbe the Name
of the Lord, It is properly added, in all this
^oh fnned not, nor charged Godfooli/hly,

In farther difcourfing from this Subject,
I would confider,

I, The Nature and Reafonablenefs of
pious Grief and Concern, under fuch
forrowful and affecting Providences.

II. I WOULD (hew, that a pious Refigna-
' tion to the Hand and Will of God,

is the great Duty, and the chief Sup-
port of the mournful Parent. And
then,

III.

confidered and improved, 3 r

HI. I WOULD point out fome of the Sermon

Ufes, that (hould be made of fuch ^ J^_t
Difpenfations of Divine Providence.

I. I WOULD confider, the Nature and
Reafonablenefs of pious Grief and Concern
under fuch forrowful and affeding Provi-
dences, as the Death of a Child or Children.
Jolf's renting his Mantle -— (having his
Head, and falling upon the Ground, are on-
ly the external Modes and Formalities of
his Country, and would be indecent in our's:
But that inward unfeigned Concern of Mind,
which Joif difcovered, and natural Exprefli-
ons of it, are becoming, and a Relief to the
burdened Heart. Thefe are no Indications
of Weaknefs, but of natural Affedion — .
The neceffary Refult of that Inftin6t, which
every Parent ought to cherifli towards his
own Offspring, and which the God of Na-
ture has implanted in us to fecure our Re-
gard for their Life and Happinefs.

We muft not therefore fo much as at-
tempt to ftifle or eradicate thefe tender Af-
fections. They are the fineft, the beft and
mod finifhed Part of our Nature, and all
ovir other Powers and Faculties without them

would

The Mortality of Children
would be of little Ufe. '* Reafon alone is
" not, in reality, a fufficient Motive to Vir-
" tue, in fuch a Creature as Man : But Rea-
«* fon joined with thofe AfFedions, whick
** God has implanted upon his Heart ; and
*' when thefe are allowed Scope to exercife
*' themfelves, under the Government and
" Diredion of Reafon j then it is we adt
** fuitably to our Nature, and to the Circum-
•* ftances God has placed us in. Neither is
" AfFedion itfelf at all a Weaknefs — nor
" does it argue Defedt, any otherwife than
" our Senfes and Appetites do : They be-
** long to our Condition of Nature, and are
*' what we cannot be without. God Al-
*' mighty is, to be fure, unmoved by Paffion
** or Appetite, and unchanged by Affedion :
*^ But then, he neither fees, nor hears, nor
** perceives Things by any Senfes like ours j
" but in a Manner infinitely more perfedt.
" Now, as it is an Abfurdity, almoft too
" grofs to be mentioned, for a Man to en-
" deavour to get rid of his Senfes, becaufe
*« the Supreme Being difcerns Things more
" perfedly without them. — Ic is as real,
•* though not fo obvious an Abfurdity, to
** endeavour to eradicate the Paffions he has

given

II.

'confidered and improved, 33

-' given us ; becaufe he is without them. Sermow
" For, fince our Paffions are as really a Part
'' of our Conftitution as our Senfes -, and
" fince the former as really belongs to our
" Condition of Nature as the latter; to get
*• rid of either, is equally a Violation of,
" and breaking in upon, that Nature and
*' Conftitution God has given us. Both our
*' Senfes and our Paffions are a Supply to
" the Imperfedion of our Nature — being
*« Creatures that ftand in Need of thofe
*' Helps, which higher Orders of Creatures
«* do not/' Birhop Butler, p. 88, 89.

Love of Children, I know, is often ac-
counted a felfijh Affedion j but doubtlefs,
^true parental Love is the moft dijinterejied
and benevolent. — The moft like to the Love
of God, the great Parent and Father of all.
*Xht felfifi Man, who would pafs through
Life free from Care, and concerned only for
his own dear Self, muft never think of be-
ing a Father. It is likewife looked upon as
a little and weak Paffion. Foolifti Fondnefs
and Indulgence, I grant is fo. — But true pa-
ternal Love and Affection, is the moft man-
ly Paffion in the Human Breaft — the ne-
ceflary Confequence of which, upon the
D Death

34 ^^^ Mortality of Children

Sermon Death of a beloved Child, muft be propor^
,^}_' f tionate Grief and Sorrow. Never does the
Charadter of a Jacobs a David, or a Joif,
appear to more Advantage, than when la-
menting and difcovering their afFedionate
Grief upon the Death of their Children. See
Job xxix 2 — 5.

Nor is this peculiar to Jewifh and Chri-
ftian Parents i or the EfFed: only of ReveaU
ed Religion ; but it is the Refult of Nature,
and found in the Writings and Hiftory of
the Heathens, ^^o that if any Man love not
his own, and elpecially his own Children,
. he has denied the Faith, and is worfe than
an Infidel. — The fineft PafTages both in the
Greek and Latin Poets are thofe, where they
paint the natural Sorrows of Parents upon
the Death of their Children. And Virgil
not only defcribes the Grief of pious Evan-
der upon the Death of his Son Pallas -f- ;

But

f At non Evandrum potis eft vis ul!a tenere ;
Sed venit in medios : feretro Pallanta repofto
Procumbit fuper j atque hseret lacrymanfque gemenfque.
Et via vix tandem voci laxata dolore eft.

Tuque O fandtiffima Conjux,

Felix morte tua, neque in hunc fervata dolorem !
Contra Ego vivendo vici mea fata, fuperftes

Reftarem ut Gemtor — —

iEn. xi. 1. 148.

confidered and improved. 35

But likewife the diftrefTing Sorrow of the Sermon
Tyrant and Atheift Mezentiusy upon the Death ._ ^- j
of his brave and pious Son Laufus *. I on-
ly add, that the Brute-Creation mourn the
Lofs of their Young. So that the Parent is
worfc than brutijh, who hath ftifled this ten-
der AfFedtion — He or She is without natu^
ral AffeSiion, implacable^ unmerciJuL

I KNOW it is common to addrefs Parents
on thefe Occafions with every Thing that
may footh, ftifle, and fupprefs their Sorrow.
But I have faid thus much to awaken it 5
being apprehenfive that more Parents want
to have a proper Concern roufed up, than
thofe who need to have it abated. Yea, ma-
ny of the Stoick kind, have thought it the
Perfedtion of Virtue to fupprefs the natural
AfFedtions, but have found it impoflible, and
the Attempt hurtful. I will proceed pre-
fently to (hew the proper Bounds, and the
D 2 pious

* Canitiem immundo deformat pulvere, et ambas
Ad Ccelum tendit palmas, et corpore inhaeret,

. Heu ! nunc mifero mihi demum

Exilium infelix — nunc alte vulnus adadum

— Quid me erepto, feviffime, nato

Terres ? haec via fola fuit, qua perdere poffes. .
Nee mortem horremus, nee Divum parcimus ulli.

Mu, X. 1. 844.

36 The Mortality of Children

Sermon pious Sentiments, that fliould fupport and
^^,,..^^1^^ compofe the Soul. But at prefent, I advife
to let parental Love give free Vent to itfelf
in correfpondent Grief and Sorrow, Our
dear Saviour w/ept over the Grave of his
Friend Lazarus, and mingled his with the
Tears of the weeping Sifters. Let pious
Grief freely difcharge itfelf. It is the natu-
ral Relief, which God has provided for the
burdened Soul. If it be not forced, nor
fuppreffed, there is no Danger, under the
Condud of Piety, of its becoming pernici-
ous, or continuing too long. When the
Mind thinks it has paid this laft Tribute, it
will find Eafe, and conceive Satisfadion,
fuch as will give Pieafure upon Review.
And know this, that if there is nothing elfe
mixed with them, our Paffions are but tem-
porary Emotions, and particularly our Griefs
and Sorrows. Our Minds may bedifturbed
and muddied by affli6^ive Providences, as
the fair Stream by Floods and Storms, but
it works itfelf clear in due Time by the
Courfe of Grief, and the Difcharges that our
Creator has provided for us. — So fearfully
and wonderfully are we made. It is God
that bindeth up the broken-hearted, and

Ctm forts

confidered and improved, ^f

comforts thofe that mourn — and when we Ser moh
fancy we {hall go down to the Grave mourn- ^ _^1 _j
ing, he comforts us again after the Days
wherein he has afflided us j and like to Joi^^
bleffeth our latter End more than the Begin-
ing.

It is not Grief and Sorrow, that we
fhould fupprefs — no, let us leave that to
God; But it is Impatience, a very dif-
ferent Thing — this fhould not be modera*
ted, but wholly refifted and caft out. Im^
patience and Sorrow ^ I fay, are two quite
different Things, though too often con-
founded. You may know their Difference

by this Criterion -^ Sorrow^ natural and

godly Sorrow, does not choofe Ceflation but
Indulgence^ Whilft Sorrow freely difcharges
itfelf it imperceptably runs off, and the Soul
is pleafed with the grateful Senfation. But
Impatience, as the Word imports, is a Tem-
per the Mind cannot bear. — It grows
reftlefs, frets, and fl:ruggles to free itfelf
from it's intolerable Burden : And being un-
able, Indignation and Rage arifes, produc-
tive of Self-Torment, in Proportion to it's
Degree and Continuance* This is the Sin^ .
the very 5//7, tbat doth fo eafih befet us.^^ Heb= ^:;;i.
D 7 ' The ''^

38 The Mortality of Children

Sermon The Only Si?2, that is faid to do (o. It the
__ L^ more eafily befets us, as it comes upon us
under the Name and Appearance of natural
or godly Sorrow: though no two Things
were ever more different. Becaufe we do
well to be ferious and forrowful, we think
with Jonabj that we do well to be angry and
impatient. Sorrow, when the Objed and
Providence calls for it, is always right, and
works fome Good : But Impatience is al-
ways wrong, and Works fome Evil. You
may know it by it's Fruits — I (hall menti-
on fome of them, and then proceed to warn
againft it in every Shape and Degree.

First, Impatience generally begins, not
with a Flow of Tears, but with fullen Si-
lence, Thus Job was impatient, not upon
the Death of his Children (for here he
fliewed deep Sorrow, but no Impatience)
but when fmote with fore Boils from the
Sole of his Foot to the Crown of his Head.
Nor did he then grow fullen and impatient
atjirjl ; but when his Wife afked him, Dq/i
thou ftill retain thy Integrity ? Curfe God and
die, he patiently replies, What! Shall we
receive Good at tho. Hand of God, andjhall
we not receive Evil § In all this did not Job

cohfiJend and improved. 39

fin with his Lips. But when he had fat down Sermo»
fevcn Days and feven Nights, and none ,.„_^L^
fpake a Word unto him, feeing that his
Grief was very great ; He then opened his
Mouthy and cur fed his Day^ in Language not
to be juftified, not to be excufed j but only
on Suppofition, he was now fpent out with
Pain, Watching, and Parting j which fre*
quently produces an excufable Deliriunij
though the Language be very indecent*
However, it (hould be a Caution againfty«/-
kn Silence, Again,

Next, Impatience exerts itfelf in in-
ward Vexation and Reflleffnefs of Soul, at-
tended with Confufion, and a Defire to do
fonnething we know not what, in order to
free ourfelves from the Hand and Stroke of
Divine Providence. When this comes to
be the Cafe, fubmiflive Sorrow is gone, and
the Spirit of Impatience has got hold upon
US; and if not timely fupprefied, will pro-
duce the following EfFeds.-^A Refufal to be
comforted —- an Averfion to Company — an
Abftinence from Food — a Negledt of ne-^
ceflary Bufinefs — a Didiitisfadion with God
— an Indignation againft him — a Renun-
ciation of Religion as vain — ■ a Wearifome-*
D 4 mh

II.

40 The Mortality of Children

Sermon nefs of Life — a giving up of all Hope —
till it fometimes terminates in this, Curfe God
and die %. From this dreadful Temper, —
This defperate Impatience, and every Thing
leading to it, good God deliver us ! Is this
Sorrow? Is this immoderate Sorrow ? No, it
bears no Refemblance to fo tender and pious
a Paffion. It is a Mixture of Indignation,
Wrath, impotent Revenge, and every Thing
that is Evil. This Sorrow of the World
worketh Death. — But the Spirit of godly
Sorrow is the Reverfe, as defcribed PJalm
cxxxi. 2. Surely I have behaved and quieted
myfelf as a Child that is wea?2ed of his Mo'
ther -y my Scul is even as a 'weaned Child —
that weeps for a while, and then becomes
chearful and eafy. Having feen the Nature
of Impatience, I proceed.

Secondly, to diffwade from it in every
Shape, and in every Degree, on all Occafions,
and particularly if God fhould take from us
one or more of our dear Children.

In

+ Cum, complexa fui Corpus miferabile nati
Atque Deos, atque Aitra vocat crudelia mater.

Virg. Eel. V. 1. zi.
Nee Mortem liorremus, nee Divum parcimus ulli.

iEn. X. 1. 88o.

confidered and improved.

In all fuch Cafes where the Hand of God
is concerned, though Sorrow is decent and be-
coming, yet Impatience is impotent and vain.
It is ftriving againft the Almighty to no
Purpofe. If he cut off, and pout up, or ga^
ther together y who can hinder him, or fay to
him, What doji thou ? We may as foon re-
move Mountains, as reverfe any one of the
Works of God. We may as foon create a
new Being, as raife one from the Dead.

As Impatience is impotent, fo it ferves on-
ly to aggravate our Trouble, and encreafe
our Vexation. All it does for us is to make
bad worfe. The impatient Man teareth him- ]o^ xviii,
felj in his Anger : Shall the Earth he forfa- ^'
ken for thee ? A?2d JJoall the Rock he removed
out of its Place ? But this is not the worft.

Impatience denies, or at leafl: forgets
God, and the Right he has over his own
Creatures, to difpofe of them according to
his Divine Wifdom, and Sovereign Pleafure.
Our Children are God's Creatures, and his
Property, not ours. He made them, and
not we ourfelves — yea, the World is his,
and the Fulnefs thereof.

It follows hence, that Impatience is Im^
piety ; as it oppofes the Authority, impeaches

the

42 The Mortality of Children

Sermow the Wifdom, and denies the Goodnefs and
^^...^^ Righteoufnefs of God. If poffible, it would
wreil the Reins of Government out of God*s
Hands, under a Pretence of more Goodnefs
and Compaffion, and of more Knowledge
of what is right, than God is poffefled of.

I ONLY add, that fuch Impatience denies,
that there is another Life and World after
this } and forgets the Nature of both. If we
know any Thing, we know that our Time
here is fhort, and this World is not intend-^
ed to be our lading State of Abode. Man
that is born of a Woman is of few Days, and
full of Trouble. And, when we grow im-
patient at the Death of a dear Relation or
Friend, and mourn as thofe that are without
Hope, we forget that Rejl, which remaineth
for the People of God; that better and eternal
Life, which is the Gift of God, in Jefus
Chrift our Lord — efpecially when impati-
ent upon the Death of an innocent Child,
or a pious and good Friend. BleJJed are the
Dead, that die in the Lord, yea^ faith the
Spirit, for they reft from their Labours, and
their Works Jollow the?n. I have faid enough
to (hew the evil Nature of all Impatience,
and to dilTwade from it — and to iliew the

Nature

conjidered and improved.
Nature and Reafonablenefs of natural Grief,
and pious Sorrow, under fuch affeding Pro-
vidences.

I SHOULD now have proceeded to my fe-
cond Propofal, but muft referve that to an-
other Opportunity.

I SHALL conclude with a Recommenda-.
don of virtuous Patience, and pious Refig-
nation to the Will and Providence of God.
It is hard, fays the Poet §, when comforting
his mourning Friend, '* It is hard — but
** what cannot be altered becomes lighter
"by Patience." Patience and Piety, or
pious Patience, is our only and all-fufBcient
Relief. Let me here recommend this Prin-
ciple and Spirit, as a Cure for all Sorrow, as
Mr. Hales recommends Repentance as a
Cure for all Sins. — Pious Patience, or Sub"
mijpon under the Hand of God, is a Word
of that lingular Weight and Moment, that
it contains in it all the Chriflian's Art, Wif-
ddm, and great Strength, by which all the
Sufferings and Sorrows of the World are
fruftrated and defeated altogether. If we

furvey

^ Durum ! Sed levius fit Paitentia
Quicquid *corrigere eft nefas.

Hon Od. xxiv, L, i.

II.

44 ^he Mortality of Children

Sermon furvcy and fum up all their Forces, thlS
One Word, and what is intended by it, con-
tains that in it, which difannuls them all.
The great Phyfician Galen^ obfcrved of the
Difeafes of the Body, that to fuppofe there
were fome one Cure for all Maladies, were
extreme Folly. The Difeafes of the Body
muft each have a proper Antidote to prevent
them, and a proper Remedy to cure them
' — Befides the Difference from the Temper,
Age, Cuftom, and Diet of the Patient, muft
be attended to. But in the Cure of pious
Souls, and inward Sorrows, though the Cau-
fes are various, as well as the Cafes, there
is but one Prefervative, and one Remedy ;
and that is Pious Patience^ and Submiffion to
the Will of God. Patience and Piety com-
pounded and took together, are the only So-
vereign Panacea^ or All-heal^ for the for-
rowful mourning Soul. Thefe two Simples,
Patience and Piety, cheap and eafy, fuited
to all Climates, and to every Man's own
Garden, compofe an univerfal Medicine for
all our Griefs, and all our Sorrows. All
Gilead will yield no other Balm but this.
We have not, like fome Phyficians, a Box-,

and

conftdered and improved,

and a Box. — One Receipt for the Rich, and
another for the Poor — one for the Old,
and another for the Young — onje for the
Parent, and another for the Child — The
fpiritual Cure of the mourning Soul admits
of no fuch Partiality ; but from the Sceptre
to the Spade, from Childhood to Old Age,
there is but one Remedy j but one Relief,
and that is. Pious Patience^ and Submiffion
under the Hand of God.

I CONCLUDE with a Paraphrafe upon the
Words of our dear and compaffionate Savi-
our, who came to bind up the broken-heart-
ed, and to comfort them that mourn, Come
unto me all ye that labour ^ and are heavy la- ^^"- '^*-
deny and I will give you Rejl, — Comey take
my Toke upon you^ and learn oj me^ for 1 am
meek and lowly in Hearty and ye jhall find Reji
unto your Souls. As if he had faid. Take
your Yoke upon you as I take mine — take
up your Crofs, or Crofles, as I take up mine ;
and bear it with the fame Temper and Spi-
rit — Mine you fee is meek and lowly, pati-
ent and fubmiffive — take up, and fubmit
to your's with the fame Spirit, and ye fiall
find Reft to your Souls, as I find Reft to mine,

•^For

^6 The Mortality of Children, &c.

5e&mo« "-^For my Toke is eafy^ and my Burden is
^\ light. Mine is in itfelf as heavy, and as un-
cafy, as any of your's is, or ever will be;
but to me it is eafy and light ; all owing to
the Frame of my Spirit, which is meek and
lowly, humble and fubmiflive, patient and
pious — do you learn of me the fame Spirit,
and your Yoke will be as eafy, and your
Burden as light as mine.

S E R-

47

*%,^ -^^ "^^ %% '%J!S^ "^J*^ ■^^

^%. ^'tfe. •S'%' <§# '^'%o -^C^ i^Tfe.

SERMON III.

The Mortality of Children
confidered and improved.

Job i. 21. •

•^— TZ*^ Lor^ ^^"y^, ^«^ the Lord hath taken
away, blejfed be the Name of the Lord,

W'^'^^^yK N a former Difcourfe from this. Sermon
^ T § and fome preceding Verfes, I ,_,--_}
)k )^ have confidered,

I. The Nature and Reafonablenefs of pi-

ous Grief and Concern, under fuch
forrowful and affeding Providences as
• the Death of a Child or Children:
And now proceed, as I promifed,

II. To fhew, that a pious, humble Re-
fignation to the Hand and Will of
God, is the great Duty, and the chief

Support

48 The Mortality of Children

Support of the mournful Parent: Such
as Job difcovers in my Text, Job wor-
fjipedy and f aid — T^he Lord gave, a?id
the Lord hath taken away — bleffed be
the Name of the Lord. Here is a
Temper and Behaviour, that com-
mends itfelf to every Parent, without
the Need of one Argument.

If you aik, what Thoughts, and what
Arguments are moft proper, to beget this
happy Submiffion of Soul ? I Anfwer, They
are all comprized in this one Thought, The
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away.
There are a Number of little, low, childifli
Confiderations, that are frequently offered ;
but they are none of them worth mention-
ing, nor fit to be named, along with this
One, which is ^// in all— The Lord gave ^
and the Lord hath taken away. This can
never be repeated too often, nor thought on
too much : and if allowed it's proper Force,
the Conclufion will be, Blejfed be the Name
of the Lord. The Work of it will be Peace,
and the Effe^ft of it Compofure, Qujetnefs,
jSam.iii. and AiTurance for ever. It is the Lord —
'^'' kt him do what feemeth him Good^ fays old

Father

cofifidered and improved. 49

Father Eli, when Samuel told him of the sfrmom
approaching Death of his Sons. I ivas dumb^ ^^!l^
fays the Pfalmirt, I opened not my Mouthy be- Pfalm
caufe Thou didft it. When the Chriilians Eye '''"''''' ^*
is up to God, his Hand is upon his Mouth.
— '* I am refigned." — That is the Lan-
guage of his Soul — '* lam refigned, be-
** caufe thou didft it — it is the Lord-, that is
" enough. Be ftill^ O my Soul, and know,
*' that it is God^ who will and ought to be
** exalted in the Earths This one Thought,
this fliort, but awful and big Thought, is
enough to filence all Complaints, and to pre-
vent all Impatience. '« Had an Enemy done
" it, or a Fellow-Man took away the Life
** of my Child, 1 would have fhown a pro-
*' per Refentment j but it is my Friend, my
** Almighty Friend — mine, and my Child's
** beft Friend — Father thy Will be done. —
" Why art thou caft down, O my Soul ?
** Why art thou difquieted within me ? Truft
** in God, for thou (halt yet praife him."

The Reafon of all this is obvious— -If
it be the Lord's doing, it muft be right ;
whether we fee his particular Reafons and
Defigns or not. Indeed there would be lit-
tle Depth of Wifdom, or Length of Defign,
E "^in

50 ^he Mortality of Children

Sermon in the Providencc and Government of God,
^_^,^^J_^ if there were no more than we fliort-fighted
Creatures can difcover and comprehend. As
Job xi. 6. Zophar reminds Job^ If Godfhouldfpeak, and
fhew thee the Secrets ofWifdom, they are dou-
ble to that which is known^ he goes on> Canji
thou by fearching find out God? (the Depths
of his Defign) Canft thou find out the Almigh'
ty unto Perfe5iion? It is high as Heaveriy
what canfi thou do F Deeper than Helly what
canft thou know ? The Meafure thereof is lon^
ger than the Earthy and broader than the Sea.
If therefore he cut offy andfkut up^ or gather
together y then who can hinder him ? As for
God, his Way is perfect — he is wife in
Counfel, and excellent in working — And
though but a fmall Portioii of his prefent,
future, and eternal Defigns lie open to our
View, yet he has not left himfelf without
Witnefs, in that he is always doing good.
We have Samples and Evidences enough of
the confummate Wifdom, and fatherly
Goodnefs of God, to convince us, that
when Clouds and Darknefs are around him,
and the thickeft Gloom hangs over us, yet
Jufiice and "Judgment are the Habitation of

his

»3'

conjidered and improved* fl

bis Throne : Mercy and Truth go before his Sermon
Face, . _ _ ^

Many particular Providences, may I not
fay all, are like Daniel's Vifion, and the
Anfwer of God to him, ftands as a fatisfac-
tory Anfwer to us. And I heard, but I un- Dan. xil.
der flood not. Then /aid I, O my Lord, What f»9. »«'
Jhall be the End of thefe Things ? Or what is
the Reafon of them 'I And he fat d. Go thy
Way, Daniely for the Words are clofed up and
fealed till the Time of the End,^ Blejed is
he that waitethy and cotneth to the End. —
But go thy Way till the End be, for thoufhalt
reft, and fland in thy Lot at the End of the
Days, Or as in Hab, ii. 3. The Vifion is yet
for an appointed Time j but at the End it f jail
fpeak, and not lie — though it tarry, wait for
it 5 becaufe it will fiirely come, it will tiot
tarry. O happy Day ! when the End fliall
reveal the Counfel of God, and prove that
all Thijigs have been working together for
good to them, that love hi?n. Then lliall I
behold thy Face in Righteoufnefs ; I fhali
be fatisfed, when I awake with thy Like-
iiefs.

Let me llluftrate and conclude this with

the Hiftory of Father Jacob. When he

E z was

111.

xxxvu.
33.34.35

Gen. xl

52 The Mortality of Children

Sermon was firft made to believe, that his Son Jo-
feph was dead, and concluded without doubt,
fome evil Beaft had rent and devoured him ;
Genefis Jacob moumed f@r bis Son many Days, and
refujed to be comforted^ j^yi^g^ I will go down
into the Gra'ue unto my Sen, mourning. Again
we find him under a like groundlefs Appre-
henfion, crying out, Me have ye bereaved of
risVilB.* my Children — Jofeph is not, and Simeon is
not, and ye will take Befijatnin away^ all thefe
Things are againft me. — My Son fijall not go
down with you ; for his Brother is dead, and he
is left alone, — Te will bring down my gray
Hairs with Sorrow to the Grave. Look for-
ward to the Event, and you will find all had
been confpiring Jacob's Joy, and the Wel-
fare of his Children : And his Tranfport of
Joy (refembling fomething what we may
hope for, when we come to Heaven) far
exceeded his former Sorrow, when he receiv-
ed the Tidings, that Jofeph, whom he had
Gen. xlv. fo long given up for lod, Jojeph is yet alive;
^ * ^ * and is Governor over all the Land of Egypt.
— Jacob's Heart fainted for Joy — and
when he came to himfelf, he faid, it is e-
nough — Jofeph my Son is yet alive — 7 « ///
go and fee him before I die. But, Q my

Frl.-:ds,

confidered and improved. 53

Friends, how much higher and truer Joy, Sermon
when we come to find our beloved Children .^^^J..^
in Heaven, to die no more^ but to dv^^ell to-
gether in fulnefs of Joy for ever ! Then
ftiall we find, that thefe pious Sorrows, and
light Afflictions, which are but for a Mo^
ment, have been working out for us a far
more exceeding and eternal Weight of
Glory.

But may I not fpeak in the Bitternefs of
my Soul, and fay to Cod, as Job did, Shew
me wherefore thou contendeji with mef I an-

fwer, No. — Behold in this thou art not juli :' Jo^xxxm.

1212
I will anfwer thee, in the Words of Elihu^

God is greater than Man. Why dojl thou
Jlrive again/i him f For he giveth not Account
of any of his Matters. For this Job after-
wards humbled himfelf before God, when
called to account for it. Moreover the Job xi.
Lord anfwered Job, and f aid ^ Shall he that
contendeth with the Almighty,- infiruSl him?-
He that reprove th God, let him anfwer it.
Tien Job anfwered the Lord, and f aid. Be-
hold I am vile, what Jhall 1 anfwer thee ? 1
will lay mine Hand upon my Mouth. Once
have I [poke n, but I will not anfwer '•^ yea
twice i but 1 will proceed no farther,

E 3 The

1— s-

III.

54 The Mortality of Children

SsRMOM The Conclufion of all is this, Submis^
SION, pious Submiffion^ to the Almighty, All-
wife, Righteous, and Good God, is at once
the great Duty and Happinefs of Man. Re-
figning then, for ever refigning up the Spi-
rit of Impatience j and fubmitting ourfelvcs
under the mighty Hand of God, let us with
one Heart, and with one Voice, fay to him,

* Father thy Will be done here upon Earth,

* as it is done in Heaven. — Not my Will,

* but thine be done — It is the Lord, let

* him do what feemeth him good — Deal

* with me and with mine for the future, as

* thou pleafeft ; for all mine are thine, and

* thou art mine — Thou haft my beft, my

* free, and full Confent — Lead me whither

* thou wilt — Difpofe of me as thou pleafeft;

* I will patiently and pioufly fubmit ; and

* defend thee and thy Providence before all

* the World — All is good becaufe thou art

* fo. Thou art holy in all thy Ways, and
•righteous in all thy Works. — The Lord

* gave, and the Lord hath taken away^ bleffed

* be the Name of the Lord.*

III. What now remains, is to point out
fome of the Ufes that fliould be made of

this

III.

confidered and improved, ^^

this iDifcourfe, and of fuch Divine Provi- Sermo^
dences as we have been confidering. Here
not only fuch Parents have an Interefl and
Concern, who at prefent are lamenting the
Lofs of Child or Children 5 but every one
who is, or may hereafter be a Parent. Yea,
Children themfelves have an Interefl: ; for it
is your Mortality, that is the Subject of our
jprefent affeded Thoughts. I have an In-
terefl, a deep Interefl: and Concern myfelf.
Though bleffed, doubly blefl^ed be the Name
bf the Lord, I was never called forth to at-
tend the Funeral of a Child of my own j
and would fain hope, I never {hall, yet
ftill my Hope is not without trembling. My
Sons have furvived Infancy and Childhood-,
but not Mortality, It ftill remains for them
as well as myfelf, and every one of us, once
to die; but when^ or how Joony God only
knows. Let it not be thought, I never felt
this Kind of Sorrow, or thefe Supports, which
I have been fpeaking of. — Let not any fuch
Thought weaken the Force of the Truths,
I have delivered. I have had my Share of
Trials and Afflidions of a different Kind,
and would fain hope, God will excufe me
here. I am no Stranger to Sorrow, nor un-
E 4 acquainted

$6 I'he Mortality of Children

Sermon acquainted with.Grieif. — And, bleffed be
.^_'^ God, I am no Stranger to his Divine Con-
folations and Supports. I have the Bowels
of a Parent, and have felt their Workings.
Nor am I v^^holly a Stranger to that parti-
cular Sorrow of a Parent upon the Death of
a Child ; and know how to fympathize and
feel with the Parent, when touched in this
tender Part. I always confidered my dear
Sons as mortal, from the Timj of their Birth ;
and do fo ftill. Beiides many other trying
Seafons, it is now not two Years fince *, I
was called forth to refign up one of them,
and all Hopes of his Recovery. — I received
him back, and ftill regard him, as one alive
from the Dead-, and I hope, as fuch, he has
yielded up himfelf and his Life to God.
Let me here borrow our Apoftle*s Language,
2 Cor. i. Bleffed be Gody even the Father of our Lord
Jefus Cbrifiy the Father of Mercies, and the
God of all Comfort ; 'who comforteth us in all
our ^tribulation, that ive may be able to com-
fort them, which are in any Trouble^ by the
Comfort wherewith we our/elves are comjorted
of God. fob's Friends were miferable Com-
forters, The bitterefl: Sarcafm is that, with

which

* This was delivered />^r*«ry 20, 1763,

3.4

confidered and improved, 57

which Eliphaz makes the fir ft Attack. Be- Sfrmos

hold thou haft inftruBed many^ and thou haft . ^ _'_^

Jirengthejjed the weak Hands : Thy Words have 1"^ 'v-

uphoUen him that was fallings and thou hajl
ftrengthened the feeble Knees ; but now it is
come upon thee, and thou faintejl — it touch-
eth theey and thou art troubled. Is not this
thy Fear (refering to what Job had faid in
the Clofe of his Speech, Chap. iii. 25, 26.)
thy Conjidencey thy Hope^ and the Uprightnefs
of thy Ways. ** O my God, lay no more
" upon me, than what thou wilt enable me
" to bear — Fit me for thy whole will con-
** cerning me and mine. — May thy Grace
*' with me, be fufficient for me, and thy
** Strength made perfect in my Weaknefs.
" — O my God^ Jorfake me not, till 1 have
" fiewed thy Strength unto this Generation ^
'* and thy Power to every one^ that is to come,
" Hitherto, no Temptation has taken me,
" but fuch as is common to man (the Death
** of a Child is {<>) and this is my Encourage-*
*' ment, God is faithful, who will not fuf-
** fer me to be tried above my Ability, but
*' will with every Trial find a Way for my
" Efcape, that I may be able to bear it."
Whilft we do our Duty, and live refigned

and

3-6,

5^ "^he Mortality of Children

and fubmiffive to God, we need not doubt
of his all-fupporting Spirit, the great Com-
forter. I now proceed to name the Ufes
and Improvement proper to be made of this
Difcourfe.

I. Let Parents ferioufly confider, and lay
to Heart the Mortality of their Children.
To do this, would be a proper Ufe and Im-
provement of this Sermon, and of the frequent
Calls and Providences of God, which have
the fame Tendency. Children die as well
others. More die before their Parents, than
what furvive them. Some in Infancy —
fome in Childhood, and others in Youth,
or riper Years. Few, comparatively, live to
half the Age of Man, and follow their Pa-
rents to the Grave. Their tender Frame
more eafily catches Difeafes, and is more
difficultly cured. Their Imprudence, Rafh-
nefs, and Precipitancy, run them into more
Dangers, and more Deaths. Now were
this duly attended to, and confidered, it would
not fail to produce the befl: Effeds, refped:-
ing both Parents and Children.

First, it would excite in Parents a ten-
der Care and Watchfulnefs over their Chil-
dren's Lives, They have not Prudence and

Expe-

confidered and improved. 59

ExpCF^ence to direct their Ways, to regulate Sirmok
their Appetites, and make their Choice. Re- ^^^.J^^
member therefore, your Children are mortal
— yea, remember how frail they are, and
that God has appointed you their natural
Guardians.

Again, this one Thought, if any Thing,
will excite and preferve in you the moft early
and ferious Concern to train them up in the
Nurture and Admonition of the Lord. This
is the great End, I have had in View through
this Difcourfe. «* My Child is mortal j what
** I do, I muft do quickly — my Child may
** die young '— may die foon : Whatever
•* therefore my Hand findeth me to do, I
<* muft do it with all my Might j for there
" is no doing it in the Grave, whither we
" are both haftening."

Thirdly, our Children are mortal ; let
us then not confine their Education to what
may fit them for this Life and World, and
for lerving their Generation here upon Earth,
but let us mix with this what may fit them
for Death and Heaven ; that whilft young,
fome good Thing may be found in them towards
God — that for them to live may be Chrijl,
and to die gain. Your Children are fooner ca-
pable of this Education for God and Hea-
ven,

CO The Mortality of Children

Sermon vcn, than for a long Life here upon Earth,
,_ -^',_f -— and the Odds is, that they are born and
intended, not for an Inheritance here upon
Earth, in a State of Manhood j but only to
prepare for Death and Heaven. You ought
indeed, to provide for them, and train them
up to a Capacity to provide for themfelves,
and for a Family of their own : But if thefe
Things ought to be done, furely the other
ihould not be left undone. You will fee
this, whenever you confider their Frailty
and Mortality, Befides, whatever is done
this Way, will be of more Advantage to
them in this World, if Life be fpared, than
any Thing you can either do or provide for
them befides. Yea, without the Culture of
Virtue and Piety, you are only providing for
the Flefh, to enable them to fulfil the Lufts
thereof.

FouRHTL Y, As this will prepare them for
being took from you ; fo it will be the beft
Preparative for your parting with them, and
fupport under it. This appears to have
been the Ground-Work of 'Job^ Patience,
and pious Compofure upon the Death of his
Children. He had lived and behaved to
them, under a conilant Senfe of their Mor-
tality 5

confidered and improved, 6 1

tality ; from whence the fudden and fad Sermom
Tidings did , not give him that ftarth'ng and ^^ i,
confounding Surprize, they otherwife muft
have done. The Thhig^ fays he, which I Jobiij.
greatly feared is come upon me^ and that which ^* * *
/ was afraid of is come unto me, I was not in
Safety y neither had 1 Refiy tieither was I quiet,
yet Troubk came. The Concern for his Chil-
dren's Virtue and Piety, that this Senfe of
their Mortahty produced, you may judge of,
from what you will find Chap. i. 5. when
they had heen feafting and pleafuring them-
felves together, Job fent for them, and fane-
tified them, atid rofe up early in the Morning,
and offered Burnt-Offe7'i?2gs according to the
Number oj them all 5 for Job faid, It may
be, that my Sons havefnned. — This did Job
conti?2ualfy. ^

Allow me here to borrow a Citation
from a pofthumous Sermon of my dear de-
parted Difciple and Friend, who was took
from this World in the Morning of Life,
and the Dawn of his Ufefuhiefs, and being
dead yet fpeaketh (compofed probably for
the Support of his furviving Parents, appre-
henfive of what might and did happen) ** It
** is undoubtedly fome Abatement to a Pa^

** rent's

The Mortality of Children
** rent's Joy, that he cannot but be fenfiblc
" of the Mortality of his Children. Yea,
** the better they are, the more he loves
** them ; and confequently, the heavier muft
" be his Sorrow for their Deaths j and the
** greater his Concern, w^hen he only con-
«* fiders it as a poflible Cafe, that he may
** live to lament them. Shall he then ftudy
«* to banifli the Thought of their Mortality ?
'* This vi^ould be a very dangerous Expedi-
" ent 5 for, if fuch an Event (hould befall
** him unexpected, the Surprize might ren-
**der his Sorrow infupportable. A Wife
•' Man therefore will rejoice in his Children
** as mortal Creatures, and retain it amongft
** his inmoft Thoughts, that they arc every
" Day obnoxious to Death. Nor do I fee,
•* why this Apprehenfion fhould greatly
'• damp the Parent's Pleafure and Joy. For
'* though when he is deprived of his inno-
** cent, or of his good and pious Children,
" his own Lofs is confiderable, yet his Chil-
" dren's Gain is much greater. They have
*' efcaped early beyond the Reach of human
" Miferies, and are become, what they ne-
•* ver could have been in this World, as hap-
•* py as he can wi(h them. His Joy therefore

" on

conjidered and improved, 63

'^ on their Account, (hould balance the Sor- Shrmom
** row, he may conceive upon his own *.'* ^ i^

As a farther Illuftration of the Point un-
der Confideration, I would give you the Ac-
count we have of Xenophon's Behaviour,
when Tidings were brought him of the Death
of his young Son Gryllus j and what he de-
clared was the Reafon of his Compofure and
virtuous Patience. Xenophon was a Difciple
of Socrates, and has left us an Account of his
Matter's Difcipline, and a Treatife of his
own, on the Education of Youth, according
to which, he had trained and formed his Son
Gryllus, Take the Account as given by Se-
neca, together with his Remarks, in his
Treatife on Confolation, wrote purpofely to
compofe and comfort a mourning Friend.
«* -f- How juft was the Behaviour of Xeno-

^^phon,

* Hollanis Sermons, Vol. I. P. 23 z.

t Quanto ille juftior, qui, nuntiata Filii morte, dignam
magno Viro vocem emifit ? Ego am genui, turn moriturum
fcmi Non accepit tanquam Novum-Nuntium Filii mor-
tem ; quid eft enim No-vi, Hominem mori, cujus tota Vita
nihil aliud, quam ad IVIortem Iter eft ? Ego cum genui, tarn
moriturum fci'vi. Deinde adjecit Rem majoris Prudentias et
Animi; " Huic Rei sustuli." Omnes huic rei tollimur

Quifquis ad Vitam editur, ad Mortem deftinatur. Sen.

De Coiifol. ad PoJ/b, Cap. 30.

III.

64 7he Mortality of Children

Sermon ^' pbo?2, when the News was brought him
*' of his Son's Death ? And his Speech wor-
*' thy of a Great Man — *« ^/'^m 7 %^/ him,
*• i /^^« ^«^«> that he was mortal." *"— He did
*« not receive the Death of his Son, as New-
'* News — For what News is it to hear, that
** a Man is dead, whofe whole Life is no-
** thing but a Journey to Death ? *' When
*^ be was born, I knew he miifi die,'' He then
" added another Thing of ftill greater Pru-
** dence and Magnanimity of Mind, ^^ For
" this End 1 took him up.'' — As if he had
*Vfaid, I took him into my Arms, and in-
*' ftead of leaving him to peri(h, took upon
•* me to adl the Father j and train him for
** Death — for that very End, that has now
" happened. " We are all took and trained
" up for the fame End. — Whoever is born
" into Life, is deftlned to Death." As if
" he had faid, Whilft others ad: the Parent,
** and preferve and train up their Children
"for Life, I preferved and trained mine for
** Death, and now the Day is come. They
" think of nothing, but their Child's Life
" here upon Earth. — No Wonder when
**'thefe their Hopes are difappointed, they
" are diftreffed j but I thought of his Death,

" and

confidered and Improved, ^$

*' and prepared both him and myfelf for it, Sermom
« — my great End is anfwered, and I am ,_ ^-',._j
«* fatJsfied — I fliall go to him, but he ftiall
«' not return to me." This Condua: of an
Heathen Moralift, is enough to (liame many
a Chriftian. Not but that Chriftians may,
and ought, to go much farther. Jefus by
his Death has aboliflied Death, and by his
Refurredion has brought Life and Immor-
tality to Light; and dehvered them,- who
through Fear of Death, were, or would have
been, all their Life-Time, fubjed: to Bon-
dage. He has confecrated for us a new and
living Way into Heaven itfelf. We need
not therefore forrow as thofe who have no
Hope — but praife the Dead, who are al-
ready dead, more than the Living, that are
yet alive. Let mourning Parents, who la-
ment the Death of their good Children, firft
look around upon this World of Sin, this
Vale of Tears, and Shadow of Death — and
then look up to Heaven, and wifli their Chil-
dren into this World again, if they can.

Secondly, whilft confidering the Morta-
lity of our Children, let us not forget our own
Mortality. This again will furnifli another
Incitement, to lofe no Time in the Educa-
F tion

66 The Mortality of Children

Sermon tion and Care of our Children ; but what wc
,_, -^-■_^ do, do it quickly. Seneca^ following Thoughts
deferve our Attention. He goes on, " We
*' are born, and live to die. Let us there-
** fore rejoice in Life, whilft it is given us,
** and refign it, whenever we are called for.
** Death feizes upon all j but it paffes by
«' none. Therefore let the Mind ftand girta-
*' bout — fo prepared, that what is certain, we
** may not fear — and what is uncertain, (as
** the Time when) this let us be always wait-
" ing for. All do not die at the fame Age
'* — Life leaves fome at the very Entrance
** — others it deferts in the Middle of their
** Courfe — and others it with difficulty lets
" go in extreme old Age, though wearied
*• out, and defirous to be gone. Thus fome
" die at one Age, and fome at another • —
** here is a Difference \ but all are ftretching
"to the fame Place*." — the Grave, the
H.oiife appointed Jor all living.

Besides,

* Gaudeamus ergo omnes eo quod datur, reddamufque
id, cum repofcemur. Alium alio tempore fata comprehen-
dent, neminem praeteribunt. In procinftu ftet animus ; et
id, quod necefle eft, nunquam timeat : Quod incertum eft,
Temper exfpeflet. Omnes, imo Omnia, in ultimum diem
fpeftant. Non idem univerfis finis eft : Alium in medio

curfu,

confidered and improved.
Besides, every Inftance of Mortality a-
round us — every Funeral we attend — eve-
ry mournful Proceffion we fee go along the
Streets — every forrowful Family we vifit,
where Death has entered, fhould excite us
to prepare for our own Death. Have we
followed fo many of our Friends to the Grave,
fure it cannot be long, but our furviving
Friends will be called to do this laft kind Of-
fice for us. God only knows, whofe Funeral
will be next — As for us, we none of us
know, in which World we (hall be To-
Morrow. The youngeft, the ftrongefl, the
moft healthful, may as foon be dead, as the
oldeft, and moft infirm. If the Young die^
the Jged muft, and that foon. As one Ge-
neration comes, another goes. Our Fathers^
where are they ? And we their Children muft
not live for ever. — O Parent 1 Set thine
Houfe in Order y jor thou mufl die and tiot live

— not always — not long. Prepare thyfelf

— prepare thy Children — live prepared,
and then Life will be eafy — Death fafe —

F 2 and

curfu vita deferit Alium in ipfo aditu relinquit Ah-
um in extrema feneftute, faligatum jam et exire cupientem,
vix emittit ; alio quidem, atque alio tempore, omnes tamen
it) eundem locum tendimus. Sen. Ibid.

M:

68 The Mortality oj Children

Sermon and Heaven fecure. Dare not to live one
^^^^__^ Day more, unbecoming a Mortal, dying Crea-
ture : But labour for the Spirit of the great
and good Apoftle, when Bonds, Imprifon-
ment and Death, awaited him, A^owf, fays he,
^Sc^ XX. oJ thefc Things move me, nor do I account Life
23* =4- ^ear to myfelf\ fo that I may finijh my Courfe
with Joy,

Thirdly, I now conclude with a (hort,
but ferious Addrefs to you Children and
Young Perfons, who are here alive. Ye dear
precious, young Souls ! — I told you before,
that you had an Intereft in this Sermon —
a deep and particular Intereft. Death has
lately entered into this Society, of which
you are Members, and feized upon firft One,
and then Another of your Age, and of your
Acquaintance. You, who are now num-
bered amongft the Living, might have been
now numbered free amongft the Dead. This
is the Lord's Doing, that They are dead, and
Tou alive. But you have no Security, that
his Hand will flop here. I mention this,
not to terrify you, but as my beloved Chil-
dren, I warn you. To a good Child there
is nothing terrible in Death ; but every Thing
comfortable. Suffer little Children to come

unto

confidered and improved, 69

unto me, and forbid them not, for of fuch is Sermon
the Kingdom of Heaven, faid our dear Savi- , — ^
our, when he took fuch as you into his Arms, '^^'^\^'^'
and blefied them. Every one, even the
youngeft of you, that Is of Age and Capa-
city to hear and underftand, v^hat I fay ; and
to be moved and afFeded with the Thoughts
of God, of Chrift, of Death, and of Hea-
ven J I fay, all, and every one of you, are
capable of Religion — of being horn from
above — offetting your JffeBiom on Things
above — of loving God — of praying to him,
and praifing him. You are capable of hear-
ing, and many of you, of reading God's
Word — of cherilhing pure and pious Af-
feftions, and rifing to a Meetnefs for Friend-
{hip and Communion with God here, and
for the everlafting Enjoyment of him in
Heaven. It is poffible for your Souls at
five or fix Years old, or perhaps fooner, to
be as full of pious Sentiments, and pure Af-
fedions, as the Souls of many, yea, of moil,
at///v or fixty. Out of the Mouth oj Babes
and Sucklings, God has perfeBed Praife. This
is the Covenant God has made with us in
thefe Days, faying, I will put my Laws into
their Mind, afid write them in their Heart,
F 3 and

70 The Mortality of Children

Sermon and I Will be their Father, and they Jhall he
K.^..^.,^ my Sons and Daughters, and they Jhall all
Heb.viii. ^^^^ me, from the leaji to the great eft. If
you are not capable of all that Rational
Knowledge, that Men are, who are of full
Age, yet you are free from many of their
Prejudices, Stains, and Anxieties ; and God
€xpe(fls and requires from you, only ac-
cording to what you are, and what you
have, and not according to what you have
not.

O THEN ! Remember your Creator in the
Days of your Childhood and Youth. Chufe
God for your God — let his fear be before
your Eyes — attend to his Law wrote in your
Hearts ; and may his Love be (bed abroad
in your inward Parts, that you may never
depart from him. Say to him, Thcu art my
God, and I will praife thee \ my Fathers God,
and I will exalt thee.
Eph. vi. Children, obey your Parents in the

Lord — fubmit to their Authority — heark-
en to their Inftru6lions and Advice — labour
to improve in all true Wifdom and Good-
nefs ; you will then ftand prepared for either
World — for both Worlds — for Life or for
Death ; and for you to live will be Chrift, and

to

8,2, 3.

/

confidered and impnved, 7^

to die gain -^(o that living 6r dying » yhwwill Sermon
he the Lord's, My Heart's pefire and Pray- ^.^^
er to God for you, is, ^^a^ your Lives may
be fpared, asaComfo^to your Parents, a
Bleffing to the World^a Credit and Support
to ReUgion, and to God, for a Name and
Praife. — But my chief Defire and Prayer
unto God, is, that you, and all of us, may
ftand prepared for the whole Will of God.
^That neither Death nor Life — neither
Things prefenty nor Things to come, may he
able tofeparateusfrom the Love of God, which
is in Cbriji Jefus our Lord,

F 4 S E R-

72

SERMON IV.

The Possibility of the Young
Man prefer ving his Virtue.

Psalm cxix. 9.

Whereivith Jl:all a Toiing Man cleanfe his
Way ? By taking Heed thereto^ according
to thy Word.

Sermon ^^^^^ H O E V E R confiders how much
u-^.^ ^ ^ S the Welfare and Happinefs of
)eC^ ^ M every Man, both for Time and
Mxkx^^s Eternity, depends upon the Man-
ner in which he fpends the firft tii^eniy Tears
of his Life, will fee the Importance of this
Subjed, and Inquiry. And whoever looks
upon the prefent Rifing Generation^ will fee
with the deepeft Concern, that fomething is
wanting — and widi from the Bottom of
his Heart, that fomething could be farther

done,

The Fojfibility of the young Man, &c.
done, to awaken and affift thefe dear, young,
precious Souls. If ferious and pious Parents
have done their Duty — given their ChiU
dren the beft Education, and trained them
up in the Nurture and Admonition of me
Lord, yet, how do therr Hearts tremble for
them, when the Time comes, that they mufi:
be removed from under their Parents Eye,
~ go forth into a foolilh vicious World -— .
and mix in Company with fo many young
Perfons, whofe Education has been neglecfl-
ed, and whofe foolifh Minds are corrupted.
If the virtuous and pious Youth now become
enfnared, a good Education is looked upon
as ufelefs, and even God and Nature are blaf-
phemed. Whereas, trace this to its true
Original, and it will be found, that it arifes
from ih^ JVant of a good Education: And
thofe Parents — Thofe many Parents, mull
bear the firft and chief Blame, who have
negledled their Offspring, and turned them
out into the World, as the infcdtious Pefts,
and Corrupters of Youth.

Here fome Antidote is needful — fome-
thing to be put into the Heads and Hands
of virtuous and pious Minds, to be the Com-
pnion of their Youth, and Man of their

Counfel,

74 ^h^ Pojtbility of the young Man

Sermon Counfel, which may help to preferve them
_3^ . from the Paths of the Deftroyer, and fug-
geft to them fuch Rules of Prudence, and
Principles of Piety, as may contribute to the
Prefervation of their Purity and Virtue. My
prefent Subjed: leads me to inquire into the
Method here propofed by the Pfalmift, and
points to that Way, and thofe Means, which
I judge preferable to all others.
My Text confifls of two Parts.
I ft. A SERIOUS and moft important Que-
ftion — Wherewith fiall a Toung Man cleanfe
his Way ?

2dly. A SHORT but plain and full An-
fwer? By taking Heed thereto according to
God's Word. As if he had faid, *« The Thing
•' is pofftble — and the Way is plain — a few
*' Words comprife the whole Art — the One
«* Thing needful for him. He muft take
«* Heed to his Way — and he mu ft do it ac-
** cording to God's Word — more than fo,
<* This is the only Way — there is no other

« fhe good Old Way — and Travellers,

** though young and unexperienced, (hall not
« err therein. This is the Way, walk in
<' it."
Kow in ftating the Queftion before us,

I. Let

preferring his Virtue, y$

I. Let us fettle the y^^^ of the Perfon Sermom

under Confideration. — The Tbung ^^* .
Man, or Youth.

II. The Purport of the Queftion — How
he fliall cleanfe his Way,

III. Shew, that the Thing required is
not impoffible, but practicable.

IV. The Manner and Means here direct-
ed to, contained in the Anfwer to the
Queftion before us — By taking Heed
thereto^ according to thy Word,

I. Let us fettle the Age of the Perfon
under Confideration. — The Toung
Man, or Toutb,

The Life of Man, as one obferves, is di-
vided into Jive different Periods, Infancy —
Childhood — Youth — Manhood — and
Old Age. It is the third of thefe, that now
comes under our Confideration, viz. Youth
— which begins about twelve, and ends a-
bout twenty, or thirty ; according as the
Young Man fooner or later becomes fixed
and fettled in the World in a manly State.

At the Begining of this Period, about
twelve Years of Age, the Youth is fuppofed

to

76 The Foffibility of the young Man

SER;.ioN to have received confiderable Inftrudion, and
^^^^.^^^ begins to think, enquire, and adt for him-
felf. At this Age our Saviour was found in
the Temple, fitting in the midft of the
Teachers, hearing them and afking them
Queftions j and gives this Reafon for it, Wift
Luke ii. ye not that I mufl be about my Father s Buji-
^^' '^^' nefs f As if he had faid, I am now of Age
for it. At this Age, the well educated Youth
has gained fome good Knowledge of God
and Religion — and knows fomething of
the Nature and Tendency of Things ; what
is right, and what is wrong -^ what is odi-
ous and fhameful -, and what is honourable
and of good Report.

The Youth is of himfelf a Rational Be-
ing of fome Maturity, capable in Part of
chufmg for himfelf, and direding his own
A(Sions ; and confequently is become an ac^
countable Being. The Touth now both W//,
and mujiy in a confiderable Degree, be left
to himfelf; though not wholly. But to be
trained, and tended, and corrected, as in Child-
hood, is what he would be impatient of;
though he ftill needs it more than ever ; if
he have not the Prudence and .Self-Govern-
ment to take Heed to his Ways according to

God's

IV.

preferring bis Virtue. yy

God's Word, But, be this as it will, the Sermom
7l3Uth, as I faid before, both w«/^, and will^
be left to himfelf, in a confiderable Degree.
At this Age mod young Perfons are fent out
into the World, from under the Eye of their
Parents and Tutors. And though it is in-
cumbent on the Heads of fuch Families,
where they are placed out, to infped: and be
concerned for their Condud, yet every one
muft fee, that at this Age, whether at Home
or Abroad^ the Conduct and Manners of the
Touth muft in a great Meafure depend upon
himfelf. Infomuch, that now little farther
can be done for him, unlefs he is principal-
ly concerned for his own Safety, Improve-
ment, and Happinefs. In Childhood^ the
Parent or Tutor leads and trains 5 whilft the
Child learns and follows. But now, if any
Thing great and good be farther fecured,
the Youth muft take the lead; principally
concerned for his own Innocence, Honour,
and Happinefs — defirous of the farther Aid
of his Friends, who can now only come in
as Affiftants at Second-Hand. This is fup-
pofed in my Text, when it is afked. Where-
with Jh all a Young Man cleanfe his Way ? Not

where-

IV.

7 8 7 he Poflibilify of the young Man

Sermon whcrewith (hall his Parents and Friends do

it for him ■— But, how (hall he do it him-

felf.

II. I GO on to confider^the Purport, or Sub-
jedt Matter of this Inquiry, which is of greater
Importance to every 27?«/Z?, than all the World
befides, whether Riches^ Honours, or Plea-'
jiires — yea, of greater Importance to him-
felf, than even Life itfelf. How /hall a Toung
Man cleanfe his TJ^ay f'-Thiit is, " How (hall
«* he prcferve his Innocence — maintain his
** Virtue — efcape the Corruption which there
<* is in the If orld through Luft, which drowns
^* fo manyTouthi in Ruin and Perdition? Or,
** How (hall he keep clear amidft fo many
" evil Examples and Temptations, as he is
«* fure to meet with ? And whilft the Kinds
«' of defiling Sin in our World, are fo many
" and various, How (hall he keep clear of
•» them all ? At the fame Time (Readily pur-
" fuing a Life of Virtue and Piety, in the due
" Obfervance of all thofe Duties, that become
** his Age and Station in Life." Nothing lefs
than this, is the Inquiry propofed in my
Text. — Or in other Words, " How fliall
« he pafs thefe the Days of his Youth, till

«« he

prefer'uing hts Virtue, 79

** he arrive at full Manhood, with a pure Sehmon

** Heart — a peaceful Confcience — and an ^ ^ '

•* unpolluted Mind ? And in Confequence

»* with a Soul enriched, and a Character a-

** domed with all the Amiablenefs and Dig-

" nity that muft refult from fuch a Conver-

*' fation in the World 1 "

Now the Queftion before us is, How
fhall the Toung Man efFefl: this ? The Toutb
who knov/s (o litde of this our foolifli
finful World, at his firft Entrance upon it ?
The Youth, in whom Reafon is fo weak,
and the Tajjiom fo ftrong ? — Whofe adtive
Powers are fo brifk, and whofe ReliQi for
animal, and earthly Pleafures, is fo lively ?

These Thoughts, with many more, that
offer themfelves, (hew this to be an Attempt
of the higheft Importance — to accomplifh
which, great Care and Circumfpedion is
doubtlefs required — together with the beft
Purpofes and Principles conftantly pre-
vailing in the Heart, and exciting to a con-
ftant Obfervance of thofe Rules of Prudence,
Virtue and Piety, which will afterwards be
confidered. Without this it is vain to hope
or exped, the Young Man Piould cleanfe his
Way,

Ac

8o The Pojpbility of the young Man

Sermon ACCORDINGLY if we look into the Woild,
^^ ^J; , we fliall find too many, even of thofe Youths,
who in Childhood have had a good Educa-
tion, yet when they come to enter upon the
Ifaiah xl. World, foon faint and grow weary, and the
^°' Toung Men utterly fall. Their youthful Glo-

ry is at once turned into Shame — the Crown
fallen from their Heads — themfelves robbed
of their Innocence — and their diftrefled Pa-
rents of their pleafing Hopes, and promifed
Comforts — And they themfelves become
a Scandal and Curfe to the World, who
were on the Point of becoming fome of its
choiceft Bleffings, had they but perfevered
and watched a few Years longer.

It is well known, that youthful Lufts
war againft both Soul and Body — have flain
their thoufands, yea, their ten thoufands —
Whilft thefe carelefs Youths hzvQ fallen into
temptation and a Snare, and into many foclijh
and hurtful Lufts, which drown them in De-
JiruBion and Perdition. This makes it ne-
ceffary to confider, Wherewith the Young
Man (hall cleanfe his Way j who is deter-
mined to refolve upon it, if the Thing be
pradicable. But let me firft (hew,

III. That

prefervitig his Virtue, % %

111. That the Thing hers propofeJ and Sermom
recomaiended to the Young Man, is both ^^^^
pojjibk and pradiicable. He has it in his
Power to cleanfe his Way, ij he will take
Heed to it according to God's Word. If he
has, whilft under the Care and Tuition of his
Parents, paffed through Childhood and arrived
at Touthy without committing any grofs or
defiHng Sins — he may now pafs through
Toutby and arrive at Manhood in the fame
State of undefiled Purity ; and that with a
very large encreafe of Knowledge, Virtue
and Piety. I add farther, that in cafe any
of you have been negleded or feduced, in
the Years of Childhood, into any of thofe
Sins, which too many Children commit, yet
as God has now fpared you to the Age of
Youth, and your Capacities are now en-
creafed, you ftill have it in your Power to
cleanfe your Way — to correct what havS
been wrong and finful in Childhood^ and to
pafs through Youth with Purity and Inno-
cence. You indeed, cannot undo what is
paft, but you may repent, reform, and find
Mercy. And if you are not wanting to your-
felves, you may yet cleanfe your Way, and
G arrive

8^' ne Foffibility of the young Man

arrive at Manhood (if Life be fpared) holy,
harmlefs, and undefiled.

You will not imagine, that I am here
pleading for a finlefs Purity and PerfeBion,
v/hich no Man is capable of, at any Age ;
much lefs the young and unexperienced.
Innumerable Frailties and imperfecftions muft
necefl4rily cleave to fuch imperfed Creatures
as we are. But then let it be well confider-
ed, that Ihefe are not the Things that defile a
Man. Nor ought any Thing that defiles
the Mind, and offends the Confcience, be
looked upon as a mere Weaknefs, and excu-
sable Frailty. Frailties and ImperfeSlions are
eflentially different from grofs Immoralities^
andfliameful Vices ; — and whild the latter
are exprefsly condemned, the other are rea-
dily excufed and forgiven, both by God, and
by our Fellow-Creatures ; knowing, that we
are all compafled about by the like Infir-
mities. — The latter call for Repentance and
Converfion. Do not confound Things fo
widely different, and then you can neither
miftake my Defign, nor deceive yourfelves.

What I plead for, is the Poffibility of
paffing through Youth — and confequently
through Life, not only without contrading

fettled

preferving his Virtue, ^^^

fettled Habits ; but without the Commifiion
of One Aul of known, groi's, and defiling Immo-
rality, fuch as Intemperance or Debauchery
— Profanenefs or Impiety — Lying or De-
ceit— Fraud and Injuftice. All which Things
defile the Man— offend the natural Conlci-
ence — and are exprefsly prohibited, and
condemned, by the Word of God. Now
in Support of this, let it be confidered,

I ft) That this is the great End for which
the Son of God came into our World, and
the principal Defign of his Religion, to pre-
ferve the Rifing and following Generations,
pure and uncorrupt. As for the Men of that
wicked Generation, who had paft the Days
of Youth, and defiled themfelves, before his
Appearance ; thefe are called upon to repent,
and turn to God — to put off, as concerniitg
tkeir former Converfation, the Old Man — to
repent^ and turn to God, and do Works meet
Jor Repentance. But the Children of Chrifii-
an Parents, it is expeded, ihould be an holy Phii. h.
Seed, an holy Generation, blame tefs and harm- '^'
lefs, the Children of God without Rebuke,
Hence the Gofpel is ftiled the Grace of God Tit.ii. n.
that bringeth Salvation to all Men. i^- (rursoio^
-rxa-iv. Under the Go/pel-DiJpenJation are
G 2 gvven

7he Pojibillty of the young Man

given to m all Takings that pertain unto Life
and Godllnefi (or to a Godly Life' through
the Knowledge of hlm^ that hath called tis to
Glory and Virtue, Whereby are given to us,
exceeding great and precious Promifes, that by
thefe, we may be Partakers of the Dlvwe Na-
ture, having ejcaped (not repented of, but
having efcaped) the Corruption ^ that is in the
Worlds through Lufi.

And let us not look upon grown People
only, as the Subjects of Chrift's Kingdom.
He faid. Suffer even little Children to come
to me, and forbid them not^ for of f'uch is the
Kingdom of Heaven. They, as he obferves,
are both able and willing to learn his Reli-
gion, if fuitably educated. Now as this is
the primary and chief Defign of Chrift and
his Religion, refpeding After-Ages, to pre-
ferve Chriftians pure and uncorrupted from
their Youth up, and to introduce a new
Creation 5 the Kingdom of God here on
Earth — So likewife,

2dly,) We have Inftances, many InHan-
ces upon Record, o^ young Perfons who have
thus cleanjed their Way, by taking Heed there-
to according to God's IVord, And here per-
mit me to inftance j^^^, in the Character of

our

40.

•49-

preferring his Virtue. 85

our Saviour himfelf, the Leader and Per-
feder of our Faith ; who has left us an Ex-
ample that we (hould follow his Steps. We
are exprefsly told, that whilfl be was a
Chil D, be grew and waxed Jirong in Spirit ^ I-uke ii.

— was filed with WifdoWy and the Grace of
God was upon bim. This whilft a Child.

— And in what follows, we are told, that
from the Time he was twelve Tears old ^ Ver. 46,
he began to be about his Father's Bufmefs —
made a more publick Enquiry after God and
Religion — being found in the Temple in the
midft of the DoBors, or Teachers ^ not as
yet taking upon him to teach them, but vei
hearing them^ and afking them ^ejlions.-^ 52.
That he continued fill fubjeB to his Parejits,
and hereby increafed in Wifdom as in Age^ or
Stature^ and in Favour both with God and
Man, Read to the End of the Chapter at
your Leifure. And let us not think, that
whilft in this State, He was an Objedl too
high for our Imitation. Great as his Glory,
and high as his fupreme Exaltation fince, yet
in his State of Humiliation here upon Earth,
He was made and tempted in all Things like
as we are — and pafled through the feveral
Stages of Infancy^ Childhood^ and Touth, be-

G 3 fore

86 The Poffibility of the young Man

fore he arrived at Manhood, or entered upon
his Mefliahfhip, and this on Purpofe, that
he might leave us an Example that we may
be direded and encouraged to follow his
youthful Steps. His private Life and Con-
duct claims our Regard, as well as his pub-
lick Charader and Miniftry ; though too
little confidered. Unlefs we admit and at-
tend to this, we lofe one chief Benefit and
Defign of his coming into our World. In
him, We Chriftians, and our Children, have
received the Adoption of God's Children, toge-
ther with Affarances, that if we receive the
Son of God as our Guide, and tread in his
Steps, the fame Favour and Grace of God
will be with us, that was alfo with him, to
the Purpofes of fpiritual Wifdom and Holi-
nefs, and that in Childhood, Touth, and riper
Tears-, for the Promife, 5cc. is to our Children,

and the fame God wih he our God, and

we (hall be unto him for Sons and for
Daughters ; and at laft, we (hall be made
Heirs of God, and Joint-Heirs with Chrift.

But this Inftance of our Saviour in this
his State of Humiliation here upon Earth,
is not the only one upon Record. We have

another.

preferving bis Virtue* 87

another, allowed of by our Saviour hlmfelf ; Sermon

, .IV.

I mean the Toiing Man, who came running (_^«,^<...^

to him, kneeled down and afked him, Good
Mafter, what (hall 1 do, that I may inherit ^arkx.
eternal Life. Jefus faid to him, Thou know-
eft the Commandments^ Do ?:ot commit aduU
tery — do not kill — do not jieal — do not
bear falfe Witnefs — defraud not — honour
thy Father a?2d thy Mother. — And the Young
Man anfwered and faid to him, Mafler, all
thefe Things have I kept from my Touth up.
Did our Saviour treat this as an impoflble Cafe^
or as a vain delufive Boaft ? No — but as
a probable and real FaBy as appears from the
Confequence — J^fa^ beholdijig him, loved
himy and invited him into the Number of
his Tpecial Follov^ ers and Favourites, as a
thirteenth Apoftle; which though he de-
clined on Account of his great Pofieffions,
yet it no Ways invalidates the former Tefli-
mony, that he had cleanfed his Way, by
taking Heed thereto, according to God's
Word. A Youth, doubtlefs, may be very
virtuous, pious, and good, who yet, like this
lovely Youth, does not choofe to quit a fe-
cular Life, with great PofTeflions, and take .
G 4 upon

83 Tbe PoffibiUty of the young Man

Sermon upon him the Minifterial Character and Pro-

^^Vl^ fefTion.

Nor is this a fingular Inftance. Paul

aTim.iii. tells young timothy, from a Child thou haft
htown the Holy Scriptures^ which are able to
make thee wife unto Salvation^ through Faith
which is in Chri/l Jefus — Upon which he
adds, ^il Scripture given hy In/pi rat ion of
God, is profitable for DoBrine, J or CorreSli-
on, for InftruSiion in Righteoufnefs ; that the
Ala?! of God may be perfeB^ throughly fur^
nifhed unto all good Works. From whence
it appears, that Paul looked upon this as
nothing but the proper and natural Effect of
true Religion, and of a good Education.

We may count upon this as the general
Charader of young Chriftians, when Chri-
ftianity is preached up and pradifed in all
its Purity and Power ; and received, as it
was in this firlt Age^ by Young Perfons with

iPgt.ii.2. the Spirit of new born Babes, defring the fin-
cere Milk of the Word, that they may grow
thereby. Yea, from the Manner in which
St. fohn in his general Epiftle, addreffes him-
felf to the Toung Chrijiians of that Age, one
would conclude, he looked upon them in
general^ as Young Perfons, who had cleanfed

their

preferring hh Virtue. S9

their Way thus far in Life. My little ChiU Sermon
dren thefe Things I write unto yon ^ that ye fin v__^Lj
not. I write to you little Children, beCGUje ' J°^" "•
your Sins are forgiven you, for his Name*s Ver, 1 x.
Sake. i. e. The very Mercy and Compaffi-
on of your Heavenly Father, afcertains the
free Forgivenefs of the little Failures and In-
firmities of your Childhood. It follows,
Ver. 13./ write unto you Toung Men, becaufe
ye have overcome the wicked One. And in the
next Verfe, 7 have written unto you Toung
Men, becaufe ye are ftrong, and the Word of
God abideth in you^ and ye have overcome the
wicked One.

Nor was this peculiar to the Apoftolick
Age — There have been many fuch Young
Perfons of both Sexes, I doubt not in every
Age fince, and are now in this our Day. It is
no uncommon Thing for Perfons to be cut
off in the Days of their Youth, betwixt the
Age oitivelve and twenty. — And I doubt not,
many of you have both heard of, and known
fuch lovely Youths, when folemnly reflect-
ing on their pad Lives, under the near Prof-
pedt of Death and Eternity. — A Seafon,
when we have all Reafon to expert either
Silence or Sincerity — I doubt not, you have

heard

90 ^'he Poffibility of the youftg Man

Sermon heard and known of fuch, as well as of Aged

IV.

^ -^-' ■ Servants of God, (and both prove the Point
before us) who had the Teflimony of a pure
and good Confcience, that in Simplicity and
godly Sincerity y they had had their Conver-
fation in the World. Upon the whole, I
comfortably hope, that feveral of You, both
Men and Women, Old and Young, have a
Witnefs in your own Breafts to this Truth,
That it is both pofjible and pra&icable^ for a
Young Perfon to cleanfe his Way, by taking
Heed thereto, according to God's Word.

Nor fhould this be thought ftrange — It
is far more flrange, that Inftances of foolifh,
corrupt, debauched Youths, Ihould be fo
frequent; when we confider, how contrary
all grofs and fhameful Immoralities are to
the Natural Principles and Modefty of young
Minds; infomuch that it is nothing but the
abounding of Iniquity, together with the
Force and Enticements of evil Examples and
Companions, that can prevail upon the vir-
tuous and pious Youth to break through the
Rcftraints of his native Modefty, and Natu-
ral Confcience, and fell his Innocence for ever.
This is the worft and hardefl: kt\ of his
whole Life.

3-) I

preferring his Virtue. 9 J

3.) I ADD, That if it be poflible for Man Sermon
at any Age to cleanle bis fVay, it muit be fo v— yl—j
in his Touth, before his Nature be corrupted,
and vicious Habits contraded by Ufe and
Pradice.

Certainly it is much eafier to refrain,
than to relorm^ — and confequently much ea-
fier for the innocent Youth, than for the Old
Inveterate Sinner. The Youth has more Pow-
er and Command of himfelf, and of his na-
tural Appetites and Paffions. — He is not en-
Jlaved, but free, — And has far more Rea-
fon to exped the Bleffing and Affiftance of
God, who to the Pure will jhew himfelf pure j Pfal. xviii.
but to theFrcwardmllfiew himfelf froward.
— And with God — with the BleiTing and
AfTiftance of God, all things are pos-
sible. Up and be doing, and God will be
with you.

Reserving the Diredions, given in my
Text,to beconfidered afterwards,! fliall con-
clude at prefent with mixing fome Extracfts
" from Mr. Hales golden Remains, In his Ser-
mon upon Pfalm xxxix. 1. 1 [aid {01 refolved)
I will take Heed to my Ways, having put the
Queflion, " But are we able to take up this
*» Refolution ?" He anfwers, " Here 1 mufl

" confefs

26.

IV.

92 I'he Pojfibility of the young Man

Sermon *' confefs I am in a ftrait — if I fliould fay,
" we are able — and the Thing is poffible,
" whether 1 Jhould offend the Truth ^ I can-
" not fo eafily pronounce — but fure I am,
" I Jhould offend the Times. For many can
*' deh'ght themfelves in difcourfing of the
«* Wcaknefs of Man's Nature — of the Diffi-
" cultj — yea, Impoffibil'tty of keeping the
" Laws of God. And again, (hould 1 fay,.
** that we are bound and commanded to take
" up this Refolution, I will take Heed to, and
" cleanfe my Way ; but to do it with Refer-
** vationy that in this Life we can never be
** able to make it good. I do not fee, what
" I could do more to difhearten and deter
" Men from this LefTon of Chrijiian Refo-
** hition^ which above all LefTons in the
•* World I would have recommended to
** them. For what wife Man will attempt,
** what he knows before-hand, or verily be-
" lieves to be impoffible''

However, in this Cafe, you have not
only the Command of God, but you have
Encouragement enough ferioufly to fet about
this greateft and be(t Work. I call upqn
you as the Angel in the Revelations, come
AND SEE — come and try — and let Expe-

rience

prefer ving bis Virtue, 93

rience determine -, For many Things have Sermon

been thought impofjible, till Experience has , ^^

proved them pojjihle,

" It is obferved by thofe, who have wrote
** the ^dJs of Alexander the Great, that he
" enlerprized many Things with Succefs,
" which no other Man would have attempt-
" ed, doubting the Poffibility of the Enter-
•' prize." Do you like Young Alexander^
attempt Impoffibilities in fo great and good
a Caufe. — Experience will difcover that to
htpoffible, which Indolence and Fear repre-
fent as impradlicable.

*' PossuNT quia pofTe videntur. They
<* are poor DifcovererSy who think there is
** no Land, where they can fee nothing but
*' Sea." How many venture their Lives
and Fortunes, yea, their all, amidfi: the
Dangers of Rocks, Storms, and Tempefts,
and compafs Sea and Land in Queft of Gain,
where they have no AfTurance of Succefs.
But how much better, eafier, and furer Ad-
venture is this, whereof I now treat — in
which if we fucceed, the Profit is Infinite,
and the Honour Immortal. — And fhould
we fail in leffer Articles, the very miffing

of

94 ^he FolJibiltty of the young Man

Sermon of it cannot be without a great and rich

" We read of a Father, who on his
*' Death-Bed, commanded his Sons to dig
'< in his Vineyard, where they might find
" much Gold. They did To. — Gold they
*^* found none. — But by digging and mov-
" ing the Earth about the Roots of the
«* Vines, they became richly fruitful, and
<* produced Gold. Now, what if God do
«' fo by us ?" Commanding us to dig for
hidde?2 Treafare — for the Pearl of great
Price' — the one T^hing needful — by taking
Heed to our Ways, according to his Word j
though he knows we iliall commit many ex-
cufable Errors and Mliiakes, like the young
Scholar, whilll attempting to imitate the fair-
eft Copy 5 yet the Labour and Watch fulnefs
itfelf, cannot but prove of infinite Benefit.
Our very Endeavours of this Kind, are high-
]y acceptable with God, and beneficial to
ourfelves. He that by driving to avoid All
Sin, has avoided moft, and all the greateft j
— and by endeavouring to keep All the
Commandments of God, has kept the firft
and great Commandments of all, from his
Touih i«/).— This Man has gained an infinite

Prize.

prefer ving his Virtue. 95

Prize. He has cleanfed himfelf from all Sermon
Filthinefs of Flefh and Spirit, and is in the ^ .^1,^
Way to perfe(ft Holincfs in the Fear of God,
and grow up to be 2iperfeB Man — unto the
Meafure of the Stature of the Fulnefs ofChriJl.
Go then, and work in God's Vineyard^ and
whatever is right he will give you. — There
every Man (loall receive his own Reward, ac-
cording to his own Labour j for God never
faid to any of the Seed of "Jacobs feek ye me in
vain. I love them that love me, fays God
and Wifdom, and he that feeketh me early
f mil find me.

It is nothing but the Want of Trial and
Experience, that leaves this Point of Foffi-
bility doubtful, which is not to be determin-
ed to any good Purpofe without a fair Trial.
— ■ For what does it fignify to know the
FoJJibitity afore-hand, unlefs we are willing,
defirous, and determined to aft upon it ?
Here let it be considered, that to make this
Trial, requires all your Power — all yoiw
Will — 2iV\d' all yoViV Heart. Some perhaps
do their be/i in fofjie Inftances j but in others
they are utterly carelefs and deJeBive. —
But (hew me the Man who has made Trial
of the utmoft of his Strength^, in the Service •

of

IV.

9 6 I'he PoJJibility of the young Man

Sermon of God — And who Can tell, what the Iflue
might be, if that were done, which as yet
was never done F There is no knowing this
without Trial. But certainly we have Evi-
dence and Encouragement enough at pre-
fent, to make the Attempt — far more in
this Cafe, than in any other. Yea, I will
venture to fay, that if Men were but willing
properly to fet about it, they have more
AfTurance of Succefs Here, than in any one
Thing they undertake befides. " A great
** Part of our Life and Time is took up in
"attempting Impoffibilitieiy — And in other
Cafes we act upon no abfolute Certainty.
— " We would want nothing — we would
** never be troubled, nor be fick, nor die
*' — this all defire; — But this is impofjibk,
«f Why do not we much more defire not
*' to fm — which is the chief Caufe of all
<* our Want, Trouble, Sicknefs, and Death,
" Amidft therefore fo many 'Difficulties^ and
" fo many Impojjibilities^ that we undertake
**■ for our own Fancy/' let us undertake this,
to cleanfe our Way, which if enter prized with
Sincerity, by taking Heed to our Ways accord-
ing to Gods Word, will be found to have
the leafl: Difficulty in it, and the greateft

Reward.

■;/ik:-

preferring hh Vtrtue\
Reward. Would you Toung Men be at hal£
the Pains to prejerve your Virtue, that fool-
i(h Youths are at to lofe it, to deftroy their
native Modefiy^ and make Provifion for the
Gratification of their Lufts, you would fe-
cure your End. Suppofing it as difficult for
the debauched habitual Sinner to cleanfe his
Way, as it is for the Ethiopia?! to change his
Skin, or the Leopard his Spots, it is not fo
with you, who have not yet beeii accuflomed
to do Evil, And may God mercifully grant,
that this never come to be your unhappy
Cafe. — But all Prayer for you will be to no
Purpofe, and all Prayers, Wifhes, and De-
fires of your own, unlefs you attend to the
Means and Method directed to in my Texte
But this muft be the Subjed: of my next
Difcourfe, wherein I fhall commend you, as I
do at prefent, to God, and to the Word of his
Grace, which is able to build you up, and to
give you an Inheritance among all them^ which
are fandiifed.

H SEK^

98

SERMON V.

The Young Man liiufl: take Heed
to his Ways.

Psalm cxix. 9.

TPherewith Jhall a Toung Man cleanfe his
Way? By taking Heed thereto, according
to thy Word,

«MM"^ N a former Difcourfe, I have
Q 1 0 confidered the ferious and impor-
>k '^ tant Queftion propofed in my

k-^MMjH{ 'j'ext ; Wherewith Jhall a Toung
Man cleanfe his Way f I now proceed to the
plain and full Anfwer which is here given to
it ', being the next Thing which I propofed.

IV, If a young Man would cleanfe his

Way, He mitjl take Heed to his Way^
according to God's Word,

This

'^^^Mkk;^

'the youfig Man, Bcc,"

This I think, is the plaineft Diredtory,
and beft Advice, that can poflibly be given
in (o few Words. We cannot e^pedt that
this great and good End can hs obtained,
without the careful Ufe of proper Means,
He that ftriveth for this Maftery^ loid not be
crowned, unlefs he Jirive lawjully. And if
any Thing can claim and deferve your pru-
dent Care and diligent Endeavours, doubt-
lefs it is this^ to keep yourfelves unfpotted,
and efcape the Pollutions which are in the
World through Luft and Sin. Now the
Advice here given to the Toung Man, con-
lifts of thefe two Parts, which are very di-
ftindt in their Nature, but of equal Import-
ance and Neceflity.

I. He muft take Heed to his Way, And

II. He muft do this according to Godi
Word,

I. He muft take Heed to his Way. This
evidently implies, that the Youth has it in
his Power to do fomething towards cleanfing
his own Way 5 and this is exped:ed, and re-
quired from him. He muft be cautious and
careful — he muft be fober-minded and fe-
H 2 rious

loo The young Man

Sermon rlous — he muft lIvc circumfpedlly, and take
^^....^^ Heed. — Without this, all that can be faid
to him, and done for him, will be to no
Purpofe. Without this, the Grace of God,
and the Advice of his Friends, will be all
in vain. If he have it not in his Power, ifi
and of himfelf, to diredt and cleanfe his
own Way, yet he has it in his own Power,
to take Heed to it ; and if he do this, all
needful Afliftance will be granted. The
Young Man,- who thus walketh uprightly,
walketh furely j for whilft God refifteth the
Proud and Prefumptuous, he giveth Grace
unto the Humble.

The Neceflity of this Advice, arifes from
thefe two Things ; the Dangers and Temp-
tations, that conftantly lye in his Way —
And the general Raflinefs, and fearlefs Pre-
cipitancy of Youth. This latter is too well
known to be his Natural Temper, and the
former his Slate and Condition ; though he
knows little of it himfelf. His Friends are
often in Fear and Pain for him, when he is
in none for himielf. Having experienced
fo few of the Dangers of Life, he fears none j
neither thofe incident to his Soul^ nor to his
Body, And if a timely Caution cannot be

awakened

':tMm,.

H— 3^

mujl take Heed to his Ways, i o I

awakened by prudent Advice, fad Experi- Sermon
ence will convince him of his Danger, when ,^^.^^^1.^
it is too late ; when he eats the Fruit of his
own Ways, and is filled 'with his own Devi-
ces — When his Fear cometh as Defolation, Prov. i.
and his DefiruSiion cometh as a Whirlwind —
when Dijlrefs and Anguijh cometh upon him j
then Jhall he call, hut Wifdom will not an-
fwer — he Jhall feek her early, hut Jhall not
find her ; jor that he hated Knowledge, and
would none of her Counfel^ but dejpijed all her
Reproof.

But if nothing but Experience can con-
vince you of your Danger, and make you
cautious and prudent, be prevailed with to
learn this from others, and not from your-
felves. This doubtlefs is the cheapeft Way
of buying Experience. Would to God,
there were no fuch Examples fet before you i
but j alas ! our Neighbourhood abounds with
them 3 exhibiting before the Eyes of Young
Perfons, Numbers of fuch fad Spedtacles, as
one would think could not fail to awake
their Fears, to roufe their Caution, and con-
firm their good Refolutions, more than all
the Precepts and Inftrudtions in the World.
H 3 This

iMidskia^::

^102 'The young Man

Sermoh This is the only good Ufe that can be made
^^...^^l.^ of fuch Monuments of youthful Folly.

But how monftrous is it to fet before
yourlelves fuch Examples for your Imita-
tion, and choofe fuch for your Friends and
Companions, whom you behold defiled with
Sin — infeded with Vice — enilaved by Luft?
^ — covered over with Shame — plunged in
Ruin and Perdition — loft to the World,
and to every good Work reprobate. Thefe^
but a few Years fince, were pleafmg Youths;
but through V7ant of that Caution, which
I am recommending, are now loft — and
without bitter and timely Repentance, are
/o/? for ever.

This Senfe of your Danger, produdlve
of its proper Fear and Caution, is the firft
Principle of Wifdom and Safety, without
which, the Youth goeth to his own De-
Prov.vii. ftrudlion, as an Ox goeth to the Slaughter y or
%h ^^ a Fool to the Corrediioti of the Stocks j or
as the filly Bird hafteneth to the Snare, and
^noweih not that it is for his Life, Know
then, that youthful Ways are flippery Ways
. — know that fearlefs Prefumption has flain
its thoufandsj yea, its ten thoufands. But he

that

M 0 :'

V.

33-

mujl take Heed to his Ways. 103

that hearkeneth to tVifdom floall dwell fajely, Ser
andjhall be quiet from Fear of EviL

This ferious Apprehenfion of his own Prov. i
Danger, is the firfl: Principle pre-requifite
to a Young Man's taking Heed to his Ways.
But wherein this Heedfulnefs itfelf confifts,
flill remains, and comes now to be confi-
dered. And let me tell you it lies in two
Things.

First, in making it your fettled Purpofe
and Refolution to labour for the Prefervation
of your ow.n Innocence^ by keeping your-
felves unfpotted from the Worlds and living
a fober, righteous, and godly Life. Thisyoii
muft propofe as your high Endy efteeming
it at once your Duty and Happinefs. And
then, secondly: You muft purfue this by
the careful and conftant Obfervance of all
proper Means. This is to take Heed to your
Ways — it is to live circumfpeSily^ not as Fools^
but as Wife, redeeming the T^ime^ becaufe the
Days are evil.

The Cafe with too many Young Perfons,
and what lays ihc firfl Foundation of their
Ruin, is this, They aim at Nothing — They
have no fettled Principles or Defigns, nor any
one grand or governing End in view — mere
H 4 Vanity

^J*^■

104 ^'^^ young Man

Sermon Vanity IS bound up in their Hearts — They
i,,...,^,!,^ fwim with every Stream — haftily follow
every vain Thought that ftarts up in their
Minds J and fall in with every idle Compa-
nion, that Accident throws in their Way.
It is not Reafon, nor Judgment, nor Con-
fcience, the Manly and diftinguiniing Pow-
ers of their Nature, that they attend to, as
their Guide and Director j but merely fuch
Animal Appetites and Senfes, as they have
in common with inferior Creatures. ThiS"
Ecclef.xl, is the Cafe, when ihc Toung Man rejoices
'° himlelf in the Davs of his Touth. walking in

the Ways of his own Hearty and i?i the Sight
cf hisowti Eyes-, not knowing that for all this
God will call him into 'Judgment. From
whence it follows, as in the next Verfe,
Childhood and Touth are both Vanity. They
feldom, if ever, look up to God, arid think.
What is it that I was made for ? Wherefore
js my Life fpared ? Or what doth the Lord
God require of me ? Much Jefs do th^y form
any Purpofes at all of governing themfehes
according to God's Word. They never feri-
oufly look forward to Death and Judgment,
and alk themfelves, What Preparation they
ere making againft theft awful Events, that

V.

mufl take Heed to his Ways, lo^

are moft certainly awaiting them ? They Sermon
efteem themfelves too young to think on
thefe Things ; and the Events at too great a
Diftance s though they fee and know, that
fuch Youths as they^ die daily as well as o-
thers. Their Thoughts are took up about
the prefent Life and World : But then they
negled to look forward, even to this Life-,
and afk themfelves, What Preparation they
are making for Comfort and Ufefulnefs,
when they come to be Men ? As they hope
to be in a few Years. In {hort, they have
no End in view at all, relating either to this
World or another. It is as little their Con-
cern, How they may enter upon approach-
ing Manhood with Credit and Reputation,
— fill the Manly Station with Dignity and
Ufefulnefs, and pafs through this Life with
Comfort" "aiiid Happinefs -, I fay, this is as
little their Concern, as How they may be-
come meet for the future Life and World.
For in Truth, this Life and the next are fo
nearly connected — the prefent being our
State of Preparation for the future^ that the
felf-fame Method of Life in the Days of
Youth, is equally preparitory for both
Worlds, - •

But

io6 The young Man

Sermon But alas ! Too many Youths have no
^,- '-._j future Profpeds or Deligns at all. All their
Concern is, to pleafe their Fancy — gratify
their Vanity — and indulge their prefent Ap-
petites j regardlefs of the deftrudive Confe--
quences,that muft follow, both in this Life,
and the next. Such vain young Minds, fail
through the Storms and Dangers of Life,
like a Ship in the Sea without Pilot or Bal-
laft, liable to be carried about with every
Wind of Temptation.

This thoughtlefs, undefigning Folly is the
Forerunner of ftill greater Evil and Wick-
ednefs. This lays them conftantly open to
the full Force of every Teuxptation, and
leaves them an eafy Prey to every wicked
Companion. Hence it loon follows, that their
Minds become feduced by evil Thoughts ;
their Imaginations defiled ; their Wills en-
llaved, and their Affedions entangled. From
this Time the Youth may date his Ruin 5
James i. ^^r Lufi when it hath conceded ^ bringeth forth
H- 5/«; and ^in when it is Jinijhed^ bringeth

Jorth Death.

From this Time it can no longer be faid,
the Youth has formed to himfelf no Put-
pofes or Defigns. Now he has his main

ar4d

muji take Heed to his Ways, 107

and governing Thoughts and Contrivances :
not hovv' to cleaiife his Way^ but how to de-
file it. From this Time, the Innocence of
his Mind is loft, and his Soul become guilty
before God. Whilft thus inwardly longing,
and contriving hov;^ to commit Sin, he has
committed the Sin already in his Heart, He
privately feeks, and impatiently longs for
Opportunities to gratify his (hameful and ir-
regular Appetites. His inward Struggles
are, how to break through the natural Re-
flraints of Touthful Modefty — how to evade
the Knowledge of the World — how to caft
off the Force of Parental Authority, and
friendly Inftrudion — and how to overcome
the inward Remonftrances of his own Con-
fcience. This is hard Work-, whilft the
Youth is laying violent Hands upon himfelf,
and deliberately murthering his own Soul,
and all his beft Comforts. Speaking of this
very Cafe, the firft Sedudion of fuch fimple
Youths, it is faid, Their Feet run to Evil, ^1°"^-}'
and make hafte to jhed Blood 5 They lay is^ait
for their own Blood, and lurk privily for their
OWN Lives,

No Wonder fuch Youths as thefe are o-
yercome, who inftead of taking Heed to their

Ways,

16,18.

lo8 ^e young Man

Jermon Ways, how to avoid Sin, and withftand
-*j Temptations — inftead of purfuing Wifdom
and Goodnefs as their chief Happinefs j on
the contrary, their whole Aim and Purfuit
is, how to facrifice their Innocence to fin-
ful Gratifications. I fay, no Wonder fuck
are overcome — Their Cafe no Ways dif-
proves the Poffibility of fuch Youths cleanf-
ing their Way, who take Heed thereto ac^
cording to God's Word. On the contrary,
it is hard Work for the modefl: Youth to
lofe his Innocence. And I am fatisfied, there
are few Inftances of fuch being betrayed in-
to any grofs defiling Immoralities, who have
not long before been privately meditating
and contriving fuch finful Gratifications.
And if fo, the Young Man is always fafe,
fo long as he takes Heed to his Way according
to God's Word'j making it his principal Aim

— and looking upon it as his chief Duty and
Happinefs, to preferve his Innocence, and
order his Converfation aright. This he muft
regard as the One Thing needful — the Pearl
of Great Price — his Honour — his Crown

— his Glory — yea, his Life. Whilfl this
is the inward Frame andTurpofe of his Soul,

his

mujl take Heed to bis Ways, 1 09

his Heart is right with Gody out oj which are sermom
the If lies of Lfe. ._ ^V^

Accordingly this is the Advice the Prov. iv.
Wife Man gives to his Son. My Son, if l]'^^-^:,^
thou wilt receive my PVordSi and hide my Com- begin.
mandments with thee, fo that thou incline thy
Ear unto Wifdom, and apply thine Heart to
Under (landing — If thou Je eke fi her as Silver^
and fear cheji jor her as for hid T^reafures ;
^hen JJjalt thou underjland the Fear of the
Lord, and find the Knowledge of God — Then
Jhalt thou under/land Righteoufnefs and Judg-
ment, and Equity, yea, every good Path. And
farther to (hew both the Neceffity and Safe-
ty of this good Heart and Intention, he adds,
Ver. 10. My Son, when Wifdom enter eth into
thine Heart, and Knowledge is pleafant to thy
Soul, Difcretion fiall preferve thee, Under^
/landing Jhall keep thee, that thou mayefl efcape
every Tempter, walk in the Way of good Men,
and keep the Paths of the Righteous. And
to heighten his Childrens Regard for Good-
nefs, he tells them, how his Father advifed
him when a Youth — He taught me, and faid p^^^ jy
to me. Let thy Heart retain my Words — keep 4— ^ ' •
my Commandments and live — Get Wifdom ^
get Uuderfianding, forget it not^ neither de-

clifie

V.

no The young Man

Sermon cUne from the Words of my Mouth -^forfake
her noty and Jhe Jhall preferve thee, love her
andjhe fiall keep thee. — My Son ; Wifdom is
the principal Thing ; therefore get Wifdom,
and with all thy Getting get Underflanding —
exalt her and fie fiall promote thee, [he fiall
bring thee to Honour when thou doji embrace
her — fie fiall give to thine Head an Orna-
ment of Grace, a Crown of Glory fiall fie
deliver unto thee. When thou goejl, thy Steps
fiall not be firaitened-, and when thou runnejl,
thou (loalt not Jlumble. — Take faji Hold of
LiJiruSiion, let her not go — keep her -, for fie
is thy Life.

Here the Promifes of Safety are made
to the Young Man, in Cafe he thus take
Heed to his Way, by propofing this as his
main End to fecure his Innocence, and live
a fiber, righteous, and godly Life. But then
he muft purfue this End in the Ufe of pro-
per Means, and Obfervance of the beft Helps
and Advantages, that God affords him.
Accordingly,

Secondly, my next Budnefs is to ob-
ferve to you. What thefe Means and Helps
are. Here I know, feme would be for fend-
ing the Youth to confult the Didates of his

own

muji take Heed to his Ways. 1 1 1

own Reafon — to meditate the Beauties of Sermom
Virtue, and the Deformity of Vice. — And ^'
in drder to this, to fludy thofe MoraHfts,
that have painted thefe Images in the moft
lively Colours ; in Hopes thus to footh, and
charm the Youth into a Love of Virtue.

Others would dired: him ftill to follow
the Guidance of his Parents or Friends, with-
out thinking for himfelf. Now I am not
for fetting afide thefe, and fuch Methods,
when I freely declare, that I look upon them
all, as weak and ineffedual of themfelves,
without a due Regard to the Authority, and
Word of Godj which enjoyns and com-
prehends them all. This is what my Text
dire(5ts to, Wherewith fhall a Young Man
cleanfe his Way ? By taking Heed thereto^ ac-
cording to God's Word.

But not having Time at prefent to en-
large upon this Branch pf Advice, I (hall
referve it to another Opportunity. And con-
clude at prefent, by putting you upon re-
coUeding the Defign of wh^n has been al-
ready offered — which is this, and this only,
to {hew the young Man, What it is to take
Heed to his Way ; and the Neceffity that lies
upon him to do this 5 if he would fecure

the

112 The young Man

the Favour of God — preferve his Innocence
through the Days of his Youth — and ar-
rive at Manhood with Dignity and Happi-
nefs, he muft propofe this to himfelf, as his
main End^ and refolve to purfue it as his
Duty and Happinefs — behaving with all
Care and Circumfpedion. This is the /r/?
Begining of Wifdom, and the fir /i Principle
of the Divine Lije. The Youth that has
no fixed deliberate Defign, has no Principle"
in him at all. The Youth that has once
conceived an Inclination to, and Hankering
after Sin and Wickednefs, is in the dire6"t
Road to Ruin. It cannot be faid of him,
that he fakes Heed to his Way ; but the con-
trary. His Heart \s already defiled, and no-
thing can be expeded, but \\\s Life andCha-
raBer will be defiled Toon. This Youth is
carnally-mindedy which is Death, But the
Youth who has in him 2. fettled Purpofe to
cleanfe his Way, and actually behaves him-
felf with Religious Care and Circumfpedi-
on, this Youth is fpiritually-mi?ided^ which
is Life and Peace. In him the Divine Lije
is begun. In him, there \% found Jome good
Thing towards God. In him there is the fir/i
Principle of Wifdom and Goodnefs ; namely,

a due

muji take Heed to his Wayu
a due Care and Concern to preferve his In-
nocence and Virtue, and grow in Favour both
with God and Man. And whilft the Youth
is thus concerned to do his Part, in working
out his own Salvation with Fear and Trem-
bling, God will work in him both to willy and
to do, of his own good Pleafure, He that has
begun this good Work in him, will doubtlefs
perfect it to the Day of his compleat Re-
demption, whilft this Spirit is cherifhed in
his Soul.

BE not deceived, God is not mocked, for
what a Toung Man foweth, that Jhall he alfo
reap. — He that foweth to the Flejh, Jhall of
the Flejh reap Corruption 5 but he that foweth
to the Spirit, Jhall of the Spirit reap Life
everlafling^

M*^c^^.^M

SER-

..i^T.:..

114

SERMON VI.

Perfonal Care without a Principle
of Piety infufficient.

Psalm cxijt. 9.

Wherewith fiall a Toiing Man cleanfe his
Way f By taking Heed thereto, according
to thy Word.

Sbrmon )S(M)§C)^)€C N Anfwer to this important Que-

u-rXi S I S ^^°"* Wherewith fjall a Toung

3eC M Man cleanfe his Way ? My Text

I. That He mufi take Heed to his Way.

And,

II. He mujl do this according to God's
Word.

The Former of thefe I have already
confidered, and now proceed to the Se-
cond ',

Perfonal Care -without^ &:c. lij

coND ; which obvioufly contains thefe two Sermoj
Things 5 J!^

I.) That the Young Man mud culti-
vate and preferve in his Mind, an early and
conftant Regard for God -y making this the
governing Principle of his Heart and Life. '

2.) He muft fet before himfelf the Word
OF God, as his Rule and Guide — con-
flantly endeavouring to form his Temper^ and
regulate all his Jldiions, according to the
Rules and DireBions therein contained.

I ft. ) Th e Young Man, who would cleanfe
bis Way^ muft cultivate and preferve in his
Mind an early and conftant Regard for God,
making this the governing Principle of his
Heart and Life. Remember now thy Creator Ecdef.xli:
in the Days of thy Touth^ is the Advice of *•
the Wife Man — and good Advice it is.
Without this, as in the preceding Verfes, the
Toung Man walks in the Ways of his own
Hearty and in the Sight of his own Eyes. A
moft dangerous State this, when the rafh
and unexperienced Youth, hath neither the
Law of God in his Hearty nor the Fear of God
before his Eyes, See Ecclef. xi. 9.

Solomon tells his Son, The Fear of the Vrov. uri
Lord is the Begintng of Wijdom. — And
I 2 doubtlefs

VI.

1 1 6 Perfonal Care without

SERMON doubtlefs it is fo. Then only we begin to be
wife, when we begin to know and Fear
God. This Principle of Piety — this due
Regard for God, that caufes us to Hand in
Awe of God and not fin, is the fir ft and grand
Principle of Wifdom and Goodnefs. There
is no other that has Authority fufficient to
give Law' to the Human Mind, and com-
rnand Obedience in ^//Circum (lances of Tri-
al and Temptation. But this Regard J or
Godj is that Faitb that purifies the Heart, and
gives lis the Vidtory over the World. You may
fee both its Nature and Power in Jofepts
Genefis reply to his tempting Miftrefs, How then can
1 do this great Wtckednefsy and fm againft
God?

This Principle of Piety fettled in the Soul,
leprefents God as always prefent, and ac-
quainted with all our moft fecret Thoughts
and hidden Adions — not as an unconcern-
ed Spectator, but o/ purer Eyes than to be-
hold the leafi Sin with Approbation — who is
the Lord and Governor of the World, that
will caufe every one to find according to bis
Ways. Since the compoling and preaching
of this Sermon, has been publifhed by Biftiop
Hoadly^ the following Remark, dired to the

Purpofe

;{xxix. 9.

a Principle of Piety infufficient, i V'j

Purpofe of my Argument. * In fuch a Sermon

* World as ours, with fuch a Nature as i_,^^-' _

* Man, Airrounded with fo many and great

* Temptations, who would not wifh to be

* under the Influence of a Motive^ which

* may preferve the Dignity of his Nature, at

* the Tame Time that it guards his Innocence,

* and increafes his Virtue ? In every Age and

* Circumflance of Life, as we pafs forward

* we more and more want the friendly Af-
« fiflance of fuch a Motive. The Innocence

* of Childhood quickly vanifhes, and is fuc--

* ceeded by the Voluptuoufnefs of Youth —

* In this Age a Torrent of ungoverned Paf-

* fions often threatens to carry all before it.
' In more advanced Years, the Purfuits of

* Ambition — the Luft of Power and Ad-

* vancement take Place, not without Dan-

* ger of the Man's changing Truth, Sinceri-

* ty and Honeily for Art, Diflimulation and

* Deceit. — And even in Old Age, the Pow-
' er of Avarice often {hews itfelf in a Man-

* ner too abfurd to be defcribed.' — This is
the general State of Man in our World j
upon which the Young Man is now-entering,
and how can he hope to cleanfe-his Way,
but by cherifhing an early, conftant, and

I 3 lively

II 8 Ferfonal Care without

lively Principle of Piety, and due Regard
to God ? This is equal to it j but nothing
belides.

The Authority of Men can reach and re-
flrain no farther than the outward and open
Adions. It cannot take Cognizance of the
fecret Works of Darknefs, much lefs of the
Purpofes, Defires, and Contrivances of the
Heart; which if not timely fuppre fled, will
become too powerful to be reftrained by any
Terrors whatever.

A YOui^G Man therefore may be cor-
rupted before the Authority of Parent or
Friend can interpofe. But the Prefence of
God is every where — He fearchei the Heart,
and tries the Reins of the Children of Men, —
There is ?20 Darknefs nor Shadow of Death,
where the Workers of Iniquity may hide them-
f elves. There is no Authority but that of
God, that can extend its Prefence into all
Places, and reach forth its Influence at alj.
Times, fuflicient to fecure the Innocence of
the Life, and the Purity of the Heart. But
true Fiety in its Purity and Perfedion will
efi'edually reflrain from all Appearance of
Evil, as well in Private as in Publick. —
For as Darknefs a?2d Li^ht are both alike to

God',

a Principle of Piety Infuffictent . 1 19

God\ fo are they to the pious Mind. T^he Sermon

Fear of the Lord is clean ^ enduring j or ever, . ^,U^

But, though Human Authority appears ^^al.xix.
thus infufficient, yet pofTibly the Youth or
Young Man may think and be encouraged
by fome to think, that his own Powers are
ofthemfehes, abundantly fujicient — that his
own Reafon and Confcience is a Guide fuf-
ficient to direct him, how he ought to adl
— and his own Will, and private Refoluti-
on will fupply him with fufficient Ability
and Strength^ without the Aids of Divine
Piety — efpecially if he do but take Heed to
his Way — that is enough. If I wanted to
ruin Youth, this is the very Diredion I
would give them.

The Wife Man was of my Opinion, when
he gives his Son that pious and good Ad-
vice, My Son y^Tru/l in the Lord with all Prov. iii.
thijie 'Hearty and lean not unto thine own U?t- • *
derfianding. — In all thy Ways acknowledge
HIM, and Yi^ ft J all direB thy Paths. — Be
not wife in thine own Eyes j fear the Lord,
and depart from Evil.

I KNOW it is the Foible of young and

unexperienced Minds, to fancy themfelves

f elf -fufficient. This was the Cafe of om fir/l

I 4 Parents

VI.

I20 Perfonai Care without

Sermon Parents in the Days of their Youth — and has
been fo with all their Defcendents, in their
iirft Entrance upon Life. They affeded to
be as Gods, knowing Good and Evil. This
vain Temper firft introduced Sin and Ruin;
and never fails to produce the like pernici-
ous EfFeds. Whereas it is the Prerogative
of God to be felf-fufficient ; capable of di-
reding and determining himfelf, always to
do that which is right j without paying Re-
gard to any fuperior Will or Authority, and
being uninfluenced either by Hopes or Fears :
But this cannot be the Cafe with any imper-
je6i dependent Creature, The Angels that excel
in Strength, we are told_, do God's Command-
ments, hearkening to the Voice of his H^ord.
Yea, the Son of God, when here upon
Earth, made in the Likenefs of Man, and
tempted as we are, He clean fed his Way,
and maintained his Purity by Means of this
Sacred Principle — bearing and cheriiliing in
his Mind a perpetual Regard to the Will
and Authority of God his Father. This ap-
pears from the whole of his Hiftory — from
his Prayers and Devotion — and from ex-
prefs Declarations, too many to be menti-
oned, T!bou Jhalt isoorjhip the Lord thy God,

and

SfMtL]

a Principle of Piety infufficienf, I2I

and him only (halt thouferve. T^he Spirit in- Sermon
deed is 'willing^ but the Fleflo is weak — hp I . 1|
I come, to do thy Will, O God, thy Law is in
my Heart, How foolilh and prefumptuous
then that Man, whether Toung or Old, who
vainly imagines, he can cleanfe his Way with-
out a pious Regard to the Will and Authority
of God.

But there is no Need of rational Argu-
ments to prove, that Mankind will not be
governed without Anthority, The Expe-
rience of the whole World proves it, and
has provided accordingly. What would the
State of Things be, if no Laws or Authority
were eftablifhed j but every Man was left
to do what he pleafed ? Though in this Cafe,
Men would occafionally do what was right,
when under no Temptation to the contrary,
yet would they be fure to ad: jufl: as prefent
Humour — private Inclination — fenfual Ap-
petite— or worldly Paffion happened to fway
or didate. Yea, when Fancy, Appetite,
or Paffion, grows Head-ftrong, How little
do the wifeft Reafons — the moft prudent
Counfels — and the moft afFedionate Ex-
hortations, fignify without Authority to re-
llrain, and enforce Obedience? As one fays,
* Try the Experiment where you pleafe^

* in

J 2 2 Perfonal Care without

Sermon * in Kingdoms — in Armies — or in private
y,^,^,,^^ * Families, refpeding Children and Servants,

* and you will find, it is a due Regard to

* Authority, and not mere unarmed Reafon,

* that governs, reflrains, and determines.

* An Authority that can punifli Difobedience,

* may command Submiffion j and an Au-

* thority that can reward Virtue, may conci-

* liate Love and Obedience.' — But whatever
Authority mere Reafon has over virtuous and
ingenuous Minds, which at beft is found
but precarious, and no more than every
Man's own occafional Humour and private
Opinions will allow it; yet the Authority
of both Reafon and Confcience is defpifed
by Luft, and trampled upon by Paffion. —
And confequently thofe Moralifts, that have
wrote purpofely to recommend the Power
and Guidance of our Reafon, are forced to
confefs it Weaknefs and Infufficiency, to re-
form the vicious — to rertrain the giddy —
and to fecure the Virtue of \}c\^ young and un-
experienced. Here they grant, the Authority
of God mud be called in, as Lord and Judge
of the whole World j and the Profpedls of
an awful future Judgment muft be kept up
in the Mind.

I HAVE

a Principle of Piety hifuffictent, 123

I H iVVE dwelt the longer upon this Point, Sermom
as I judge it of the higheft Importance. _ ^^^
Would a YOUNG Man fecure his Virtue,
and cleanje his Way^ he mud not only take
Heed to his Way^ exerting all the Prudence
and Power that he is naturally poffeffed of ^
but he muft cherifli and cultivate in his
Mind an early and conftant Regard for God ;
and the true Spirit of Piety muft be the go-
verning Principle of his Heart and Life.
Without this, his Virtue and Innocence will
always be left defencelefs — in a precarious
and uncertain State — liable to be wrefted
from him by fuch Temptations, as often and
eafily befet him. If he have not the Fear of
God before his Eyes, and the Love of God in
his Hearty like Sampfon, when he had loft
his great Strength^ he will be weak and like
other Men — like thofe many Youths, whom
we daily fee feduced and led Captive by Sin
and Folly. But the Spirit of true genuine
Piety is the Seed of Regeneration 5 whereby
a Man is born from above -, and whilft this
Seed remaineth in him, he cannot — he will
not — he dare not, commit any grofs or
known Sin, becaufe he is born of God, Thus i john iii.
St. John, We know^ that whofoever is born 9*

124 Ferfonal Care without

Sermon of God ftnneth not 5 but keepeth himfelf, and

_, -^- __t the Wicked One toucheth him not. And again,

[ Johnv. Whofoever is born of God, overcometh the

\^ »8. i^orld ; and this is the ViBory that overcome

eth the World, even our Faith. Thus in

Eph, vi. 1 1, &c. in order to withfland in the

Day of Temptation, we are bid to be Jlrong

in the Lord, and in the Power of his Might

— putting on the whole Armour of God j de-
fcribed as confifting in an upright Heart and
honeft Intention — But above (or over) all
thefe take the Shield of Faith — the Helmet of
Salvation — and the Sword of the Spirit^
which is the Word of God — praying always
with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spi^
rii — and watching thereunto with all Perfe^
verance. By which Faith, Hope and Prayer,
is intended this lively Spirit of fincere Piety
which I am recommending. — A Principle
of more Importance and Ufe in the Divine
Life ' — to inftru(fl — reftrain — and excite,
than the be ft natural Parts and Powers —
The largeft Stock of acquired Knowledge —
The beft Inftrudtions of Parents or Miniflers

— Or even the beft Intentions and Purpo-
fes of a Man's own Mind j without this true
Spirit of Piety and Regard for God.

From

a Principle of Piety infufficient.

From thefe Paflages, and hundreds that
might be mentioned, it is evident, that in
the Holy Scriptures, the Prevention of Vice,
and the Prefervation of our Virtue and Pu-
rity, is always afcribed to the Power of this
Divine Principle and Spirit of Piety; fup-
pofing that no other Power is fufficient for
this Purpofe — directing us to cleanfe our- 2Cor vii
Jelve^ from ail Filthinejs of the FlefJi and Spi- «•
r/V, by perfeBing Holinefs in^ the Fear of
God — Commending us to God, and to the Afts xx.
Word of his Grace y which is able to build us ^^'
up, and to give us an Inheritance among them
that are fan5lified, I fay, the Holy Scrip-
tures recommend this pious Regard to God,
fuppofing no other Principle or Power is a
fufficient Prefervative without it.

Some perhaps, may be ready to fufpedt.
No, Nor with it — aiking in Proof of this,
*' If we have not frequent Inftances of Per-
'* fons of renowned Piety and Regard for
" God, who have been feduced into very
** grofs Sins ? " To which I anfwer, This
fad Truth is Undeniable. But ftill I deny
the- Concluiion, that fuch Perfons would
draw from fuch melancholy Inftances. —
For they do not prove the Weaknefs of this

Divine

VI.

126 PerfonalCare without

Sermon Dhine Principle j But the Weaknefs of the

I Perfons who Teemed pofTefled of it. Were

fuch Cafes fully known, I doubt not it would

be found, that thefe Perfons loft or abated

of their Piety and Regard to God, if ever

they were poffeffed of it, before their Piety

and their God deferted them. And, if this

be the Cafe, inftead of (hewing the Weaknefs

of true Piety ^ it fhews its abfolute Neccfli-

. ty ; and the Weaknefs of Man without it.

Whereas, true Piety, whilft it continues, and

is duly cherifhed, never faileth, but is able

to fupport the pure and pious Soul under all

Sufferings, and all Temptations. Whenever

it has been duly cherifhed, it has fet Men

above all the Terrors and Allurements of

the World. — Has flopped the Mouths of U-

vns — quenched the Violence of Fire — out of

Weaknefs has made ftrong — fome have been

tortured i not accepting Deliverance — others

have endured Trials of cruel Mockings and

Scour gings — of Bonds and Imprifonments-y been

defiitute, affliSied, tormented. In one Word,

difficult as it is, yet with God all Things are

pofjible. Where you are weak in yourfelves^

you are ftrong in the Lord, and in the Power

ef hii Might, His Grace is fufficient for you,

and

a Principle of Piety infufficient, 127

a?2d his Strength will be made ferfetl in your Sermom
JVeaknefs. v.— v^-^

I SCARCE know how to leave this Point,
which is of fuch vaft Importance, and which
young Minds are fo little acquainted with.
Though I have faid fo much to recommend
the Purfuit of true Piety, yet this is but a
fmall Share of what might be farther offer-
ed. However what has been faid is fuffici-
cnt to ground the following Addrefs upon,
with which I (hall conclude.

My young dear Friends — my fingle
Defign this Day, has been to put you upon ^
cultivating early, and preferving conftantly,
a ferious and pious Frame of Spirit, arifing
from a due Regard to Godj and making this
the governing Principle of your Heart and
Life. In my lafl Difcourfe I endeavoured
to roufe up all your own Powers and Cau-
tion — To this I have now, agreeably to my
Text, and to the whole Tenor of Scripture,
been exhorting you to call in the fuperadded
Aids of Piety and Religion. — Without
which, all your Powers will be found Weak-
nefs — and all your Purpofes unftable as Wa-
ter 5 and mutable as the Will, Temper, and
Paffions of Man. It is not a trifling Matter

that

128 "Per final Care without

Sermon that I have been recommending to you this
,_,_ ' _■ Day — No — It is your Life — The Life of
your Souls depends upon it — The Security of
your Innocence — The Maintenance of your
Charader — Yea, your Eafe — your Ho-
nour and your Happinefs j both for Time
and Eternity.

You are now going to enter, or are newly
entered, upon Life, under your own Con-
dudl and Guidance. Hitherto you have been
under the Eye and Care of your Parents, or
under Governors and Tutors: But now Bu-
finefs calls you out into the World from
under their Care — And your Age begins to
emancipate and difcharge you from their
former Authority and Controll. The Fa-
culties God has how blefled you with, dif-
charge your Parents from a great Part of the
Care and Truft, that was vefted in them 5
which now devolves upon Yourfelves. Hi-
therto your Parents and Tutors have, or ought
to have took Heed to your Ways — But now
you muft take Heed for yourfelves. They
cannot indeed be unconcerned for you —
yea, their Concern is doubled and encreafed.
Nor ought their Authority to be wholly caft
pfF, nor their Advice defpifed. — But you

are

m.

a Principle of Piety infuffictent. 129

are not willing they (hould, nor are they Sermon
able to attend and care for you, as in your '

Infant and Former State. You muft, and
will undertake for yourfelves — The Time
is at Hand, that you have long been wifh-
ing for.

But what, Will you — dare you, go
forth, and rufli into this World of Snares,
of Sins, and FollitiS, without any Guide and
Diredor — without any Head or Authority
over you ? If you do, it muft be a Wonder
indeed — yea, the greateft of Wonders, if
you efcape Sin and Folly.

It is an awful Scene for a Youth to leave
his Father's Houfe, and go forth into a new,
flrange, unknown World. Few can bear
this Parting without afFeding Tears. But
how much more affeding would it be to the
Youth, did he know and confider, what a
Truft is devolved upon him, in being left
to take Heed to Himfelfy and to his own
Ways,

To fuch, to all fuch Young Perfons, God
fpeaks in the awful and endearing Language
of the Prophet, Wilt thou not from this Time jer. iii. 4 •
cry unto me^ my Father , Thou art the Guide
of my Touth, God is willing to be fo. —
K The

Peffonal Care without
I'he Father of the Fatherlefs — The Guide of
the Touth, Draw nigh to him, and he will
draw nigh to you. When Father or Mother
Jorfake you, or you leave them, God is wil-
ling and ready to take you up — to be a Fa^
ther to you, and you Jhall be unto him for Sons
and for Daughters. They that fee k him early
fhall find him. Be it known to you, my
Young Friends, you ftand in fpecial Need
of the Authority of God ; to fway in your
Minds ; and of the Spirit of Piety to keep
your Hearts.

I HAVE obferved to you before, that Man-
kind will not be governed without Authority.
And if the Authority of God your Heavenly
Father do not fucceed, and take place in
your Minds, in Proportion as the Authority
of your Earthly Parents is relaxed or with-
drawn, you are dcferted and left to your-
felves, in a State the mod forlorn and dan-
gerous, wretched, and miferable, and poor,
and blind, and naked. I therefore repeat
it again, Wilt thou not from this Time cry
unto God, MY FATHER, Thou art the Guide
of my Touth. Without this, all your Pa-
rents Hopes are defeated — their former In-
ftrudions vain — and their whole Labour

loft

VI.

a Principie of Piety Infufficienf. 131

loft J if you do not now conceive a greater Sermo»
Regard to the Eye and Authority of your
Heavenly Father, in the Days of your Youthj
than you did for thein in the Days of your
Childhood. O fay to him, T^hou art my God^
and I will praife thee, my Father's God ^ and
I will exalt thee. Whom have I in Heaven
but thee, and there is none upon Earth to be
defired be/ides thee. Lo, they that are far
from thee, /hall perijh j but it is good for me
to draw near to God.

O THAT I could prevail with you this
Day, to choofe God for your God ^-^ for the
Guide of your Tout hy and the Guardian of
your Life. From hence ioT\ffzvdi^ fanBify
the Lord God in your Hearts — Let his Fear
be before your Eyes continually — Remember
your Creator in thefe the Days of your Touth,
Learn to Jland in Awe of God, and not
Sin. Let him be the Objecft of your fre-
quent and mod: ferious Thoughts both by
Night and by Day — when you lye down^
and when you rife up — when you go out,
and when you come in : At Home and A-
broad, learn and accuftom yourfelves to pray
to him and praife him. In all your Ways aC"
knowledge hiwy and he Jhall dire5l your Paths,

K 2 * I C0N«

1^2 Perfonal Care without^ 6cc.

Sermon I CONCLUDE this Addrefs With the Words
u_^^' J of Davidt to the Grandeur and Propriety of
which, nothing can be added, but the Con-
fideration of the Time and Manner of their
DeHvery. They are addrefTed to his own
Son, in the Prefence of all his Princes and
People, affembled on Purpofe to receive his
laft Benedidion and Advice, under the Prof-
ped:s of his approaching D^th. In this au-
guft AfTembly, the infirm old King flands
up — and having firft addrelTed to his Peo-
ple, he turns to his young Son, placed
at his Right-Hand, and befpeaks him thus
I Chron. — -^^^ thou Solomon^ my Son^ know thou the
xxviii. 9. Qq^ qJ- ffjy Pather — and /erve him ivith a
perfeSl Heart and 'with a willing Mind. —
For the Lorifearcheth all Hearts — and un-
der jlandeth all the Imaginations of the Thoughts
— ]f thou feek him, he will be found of thee
' — But if thou forfake him^ he will cajl thee
off for ever.

SER-

SERMON VII.

The Word of God the Young
Man's Guide.

Psalm cxix. 9.

Wherewith Jhall a Toung Man cleanfe his
Way^ By taking Heed, thereto y according
to thy Word.

F"^)9C)8j"^ O Inquiry can be of greater Im- Sermon
§ N § portance than this before us, y— y-L«»
)§( )§( Wherewith Jloall a Toung M^

k)^MMj«( cleanfe his Way? Nor can an
Anfwer, or Dired:ion be more proper than
this. By takitig Heed thereto ^* according to
God's Word, If he duly attend to this Rule
and Guide, the Young Man may keep clear
of all the Defilements, which there are in
the World, through Luft and Sin, and ar-
rive at Manhood pure and uncorrupt. This
K 3 ihort.

134 ^^^ Word of God

Sermon {hoft, but comprehenfive Diredory, con-
^/J^ tains in it two Parts.

I. The Young Man mud cultivate and

preferve in his Mind a conftant Re-
gard to God, and make this the go-
verning Principle of his Heart and
Life. This I confidered in my lad
Difcourfe j and now proceed to (hew,

II, That he muft fet before bimfelf the
Word of God, as his Rule and
Guide ; and conftantly endeavour to
form his Temper, and regulate his
whole Condudt, according to the Di-
re(ftions and Precepts therein con^
tained.

Under the former Head, I endeavoured
to (hew, That no Authority but that of God,
nor any Principle but fmcere Piety, is fufB-
cient to preferve the Innocence, and fecure
the Virtue of the Touth, This muft be his
quickening Motive to Duty, his Reftraint
from Sin, and Defence againft the Power of
every Temptation. But ftill the Youth wants
a fafe Monitor and Guide 5 a fafe and plain
llule of Condu(5t, to be the Man of his

the young Man's Guide, \

Counfel, and Guide of his Youth, efpecially Ser
now he is leaving the Eye of his Parents and ^
firft Guardians, and entering upon the World
Himfelf. Now, Where fliall this fafe and
univerfal Guide be found ? I profefs I know
of none, but the Word of God, All, that
choofe and make this their Guide and Rule,
are fure to cleanfe their Way j but not one
befides.

The JVay of Man is not in himfelf ^^
much lefs of the Young Man, or Youth.
In moft Cafes Experience he has none, upon
his firft fetting out in Life ; and Knowledge,
Prudence, and Penetration, whatever he
may vainly imagine, he can have but little ;
for it is by Ufe, that we come to have our
Senfes exercifed, to difcern both Good and jB- Heb.
W/. If therefore the Young Man cannot ^'^'
be prevailed with to take the Word of God
for his Rule and Guide, he will be defiled,
and involved before he is aware. His very
Innocence, fearing and fufpeding no Evil,
will betray him. If thus left to himfelf with-
out Rule or Guide, his Progrefs in Wifdom
is fure to be flow : And whence muft itarife,
but from fad and dear-bought Experience ?
Wherewith then (hall a Young Man cleanfe
K 4 his

VII.

136 7he Word of God

Sermon hls Way ? — Wherewith indeed ; but by tak-
ing Heed thereto according to God's Word.
But here a previous Qtieftion arifes,
What does the Pfalmift mean by the Word
OF God ? Some of you perhaps will be fur-
prifed, that I (hould make a Queftion of
this ; imagining, without Thought, that he
means the Written Word, our Bible, and all
that is contained in it, from the Begining of
the Book of Genefis, to the End of the Reve-
lations. But it is eafy to fee, that this could
not pofTibly be the Thing, thtPfalmiJi intend-
ed. Think not, that 1 am intimating, as if
the Word of God was not contained in thefe
Writings. — Wait a little, and I will fhew
and prove the contrary. But at prefent, allow
me to obferve, that thefe Writings are not,
nor could poffibly be, what the Pfalmift in-
tended ; for this plain and obvious Reafon j
becaufe the greater Part of thefe Books were
wrote -by Perfons, who w^ere not born till
long after. — - Many of them were not born
till many Ages after. For Inftance, the Au-
thors of the whole New Teftament, and of
all the Books of the Prophets, were not born
till long after David's Time 5 not to men-
tion the Authors of rnany other Books of

the

the young Man's Guide. 137

the Old Teftament, and particularly of this Sermom
Book of Pfalms. All this needs no Proof, _ -^1 _j
but only the Confideration, When the feve-
ral Authors lived.

You will perhaps think. Then the Pfalmift
muft mean by the Word of God, the Books
of Mofes. I anfwer, nor can that be his
principal Intention j for many Reafons ready
to be offered. But it is Time to mention,
what the Pfalmift did mean by the ff^ord of
Godj to v/hich the Young Man, and indeed
every Man, muft take Heed, if he would
cleanfe his Way. And doubtlefs he meant
what Mofes mentions, Detif.xKX. 11 — 14.
And the Apoftle Paul cites from him, Rom,
X. 6 — 8. The Words of Mofes are thefe.
For this Commandmetit which I command thee
this Day, is 72ot hidden jrom thee, neither is
it far off. It is not in Heaven, that thou
fmddeft fay. Who Jhall go up for us to Hea-
ven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear
it and do it ^ Neither is it beyond the Sea,
that thou fmddeji fay. Who (hall go over the
Sea for us, and bring it unto us, that we may
hear it and do it f But the Word is very nigh
unto thee, in thy Mouth, and in thy Heart,
that thou mayeft do it. The Apoftle Paul

referring

VII.

138 The Word of God

Sermon referring to this PalTage of Mofes^ and View-
ing, that the Cafe was the fame ftill, under
the Chriftian Difpenfation, fays, Ihe Righ-
teoufnefsy which is of Faithy fpeaketh on this
wife^ Say not in thine Heart, who fJjall of-
cend into Heaven, to bring Chrift down from
above f Or whofhall defcend into the Deep, to
bring up Chrifi again from the Dead ? For
what faith it f The Word is nigh thee, even
in thy Mouth, and in thy Heart , that is the
Word of Faith, which we preach. This doubt-
lefs is the Word of God principally intended
through the whole of this long Pfalm ; and
through the whole Book of Pfalms, when-
ever the Word of God is mentioned ; name-
ly. The inward Manifeftation of his Will,
which God makes to every Rational Being,
who attends to it. Thus in the Verfes fol-
lowing my Text. With my whole Heart have
I fought thee, 0 let me not wander from thy
Commandments. Thy Word have I hid in my
Heart, that 1 might not fin againji thee. — /
will meditate in thy Precepts, and have Re-
fpeB unto thy Ways. 1 will delight myfelf in
thy Statutes, I will not forget thy Word. —
Thy Teflimonies are my Delight and my Coun-
fellors, — Thy Word is a Lamp to my Feet,

and

the young Mans Guide. 139

and a Light to my Path. — Thy Tejiimomes Sermon
have I taken as an Heritage for ever ^j or they ^,^...,^^
are the rejoicing of my Heart, In (hort, the
whole of this long Pfalm, is chiefly intended
to awaken the Attention of every one, and
particularly of the Young Man, to this Word
of God, as the Rule and Guide of Condud: 5
and fo indeed is a great Part of this Collec-
tion of Pfalms. Thus in the firft Pfalm,
Blejfed is the Man, whofe Delight is in the
Law of the Lordy and in his Law doth be
meditate Day and Night. He /ball be like a
Tree planted by the Rivers of Water, that
bringeth forth his Fruit in his Seafon — His
Leaf alfo [hall not wither ^ and whatfoever he
doeth fiall profper.

This my Friends, is the firft and con-
{lant Voice and Word of God to Man, in all
Ages and in all Nations. — Prior to any Ex-
ternal Revelation or Teaching : Which no
MefTenger, no Law-giver, no Prophet, nor
any written Word, has fuperfeded or filenced.
Thus God fpake to Man, before he fpake in
Times paft, by Prophets, or Preachers of
Righteoufnefs j and thus he fpeaks ftill, and
ever will fpeak. This Word and Law of
bis, was wrote lon^ before the two Tables of

Stone

I40 The Word of God

Sermon Stone wcrc hcwen ; and written not with Inky
^__^_' . but ivith the Spirit of the Living God — not
in Tables of Stone ^ but in fefjly Tables of the
Heart. Thefe original Oracles of God, re-
main flill ; though the two firft of Mofes\
Tablets were broke, and the two fecond
are long fince perifhed and loft; but the
Word oj God, of which we now fpeak, liveth
Matt V ^^^ abidethfor ever. Not one Jot or Tittle
»8. of this is paiTed, nor ever will pafs away,

whilft the Earth endures, and Man exifts
upon it. Mofes is dead, and the Prophets
are dead, and Chrift is dead, and his Apo-
ftles are dead ; but though they are all dead,
this Word of God ftill lives and fpeaks — His
Voice is gone out through all the Earthy and
his Words to the End of the World-, even
that Word of God, of which we now fpeak.
Call it by what Name you pleafe, the Thing
is the fame, whether the Spirit, which God
the Father of our Spirits, has breathed into
Man, that Natural Infpiration of the Almigh-
tyy which giveth him Under flanding. — Or
Confcience, the Vicegerent of God — or
God himfelf, in the Soul of Man — or the
Spirit of God, witneffing with our Spirits
* — or the Natural Light within — or moral

Senfe

the young Man's Guide, 141

Senfe — or the Law of God upon the Hu- Shrmon

VII.
man Heart, whereby they who have no ■_ ^ ' j

written LaWy do by Nature the Things con-
tained in the bed written Laws, and hereby
fhew the Work of God's Law written in
their Hearts, whilft their Confciences accufe
or excufe them, according as they adl, Right
or Wrong. The Thing intended under all
thefe Phrafes, I fay, is the fame, it is the
Voice and Word of God within us, and to us,
to which we fhall all do well to take Heed ;
and particularly, the Toung Man, who would
clean fe his Way, This is the Divinity that
fpeaks within us. — It is God himfelf that
points us forward, and with a fecret Voice
unheard by any, but the Man himfelf, fays
to all, This is the Way, walk in it — This
is Right, that is Wrong — This leads to
Life } that to Deftrudion and Death ; —
And this, whether ye will hear, or whether
ye will forbear.

This Word of God is that Divine Voice,
which Socrates declared when he came to
die ; had always attended him from his
Childhood, and retrained him in leffer as
well as greater Things, whenever he was

going

VII.

14^ The Word of God

Sermon going to a(£V Wrong *. Nor was this pecu-
liar io Socrates — he did not pretend it —-
but as he fpent his Time chiefly in the In-
ftrucftion of Youth, he fuppofed this fame
Divine Voice and Word of God, to be in
every one of them, and adapted his Inftruc-
tions to it, by afking his young Difciples
familiar and important Quedions : Hereby
opening the Eyes of their Minds, and lead-
ing them to fee and think for themfelves,
and hearken to the Word oj God within
them. If they were averfe to this, and
would not follow this Word of God^ he gave
them up as no Sheep or Difciples of his.
Had any of his Difciples afked him as in my
Text, Wherewith Jhall a Toung Men cleanfe
his Way ? His anfwer would have been, By
Ming Heed thereto according to Gods Word.
If we examine, I doubt not (judging of

others

* vyLtii £^.a r/roKhdaii cty.HKooiTZ 'jtoKKctyiy. Xiyovroe, on

{AOi Biiov rt Kat J^oitfJioviov yiyvsrai (puvfi «^o' J^i T«Ta

t^Tiv $>c 'TfdnS'Qc, uf^aiJiivov, tpa>vn T/? ytyvoixkvr), tt orav yimTOtit
«eJ etTOTpfeTf* fi£ Tim o av iAXKuTrfo-jluvy y.ai 'Tta.yx.a.Kui

M yctf ecSvia. fxoi iv [Aiv rrZ Tp&e&fv X?°^V "Travri •jrdvu Tvxvii
ail ht i(tti vocvu ET/ (T/JitKfoii iVAVTiaiJiivti, h 11 ^iXhan/J f/.ti
epflftjf Ttfa^av I I x«/ TO/ iv X'oyon toAA«%« /« //f sts^s
Myona /wtra^u. Plat. Apol. Soc. Cap. 1 3. et 21 .

VII.

the young Man's Guide, 143

others from myfelf) we fhall all find, that Sermon
this Voice and Word of God, has attended
us from our Youth up, whether we obeyed
it or not. Enoch and Noah walked with
God, by obeying this Divine Word, and
fo did Abrabaniy and others.

Permit me to fubjoin here, a Remark
of Mr. Hales, " The Love and Favour, fays
*• he, which it pleafed God to bear to the
" Fathers before the Law, fo far prevailed,
" that without any Books and Writings, he
" communicated himfelf unto them by fa-
**" miliar and friendly converling with them,
" and made them receive and underftand
** his Laws. Their inward Conceptions and
" Intelleduals being, as St. Bafil exprefles it,
'* as it were figured and charaSlered by his
'* Spirit, fo that they could not but fee, con-
** fent unto, and confefs the Truth of them.
'* This Way of God's manifefting his Will,
" befides many other gracious Privileges a-
" hove that which in After-Ages came in
" the Place of it, had this added, that it
'' brought with it unto the Man, to whom
*' it was made, a Prefervation againft all
** Doubt and Hefitation j both a full Aflu-
«' ranee who the Author was, and how far

** his

144 "^ke Word of God

Sermon ** his Intent and Meanins; reached. We

vir
^^..^J^, *' that are their Offspring, ought, as St. Chry-

^^ foftome fays, fo to have demeaned ourfelves,

" that it might have been with us, as it was

" with them, that we might have had no

** Need of Writing — no other Teacher but

" the Spirit — no other Books but our Hearts

'* — no other Means to be taught theThings

" of God, but the Internal and fweeter Doc-

*' trine of Divine Infpiration, whereby with-

'' out the Sounds of Words, and without

" the Elements of Letters, Truth fpeaks

*^ the more fweetly, as it fpeaks the more

" fecretly -f-. When the unhappy Pofterity

** were degenerated from the antient Purity

" of their Fore-fathers ; and when God him-

** felf refufed to fpeak unto our Hearts,

" he then began to put his Laws in Writ-

" ing :" Or rather, when Men negleded to

look inward, and attend to this Internal

Voice and Word of God: For God fiill fpeaks

to every Man, if Men would but hear and

attend. The Laws of all Nations fuppofe

this — the Juftice of every Judicial Sentence

depends

t Nifi Infpirationis divinae internam fuaviotemque Doc
trinam ubi line fonis Sermonum et fine Eleraentis Literarum
eo dulcius quo fecretius Veritas loquitur. L, 3. Epift, 106.

VII.

the yOung Man's Guide. 14^

depends upon it, and the Prophets of Old, Sermon
our Saviour, and his Apoftles all aflert it •—
all agreeing in this, God hath Jhewed thee, O
Man J what h Good, and what the Lord thy
God requireth oj thee — affuring us, that the
Meek God will guide in Judgment, the Meek
he will teach his Way — to the Pure he will
Jhew himfelf pure — yea, blejj'ed are the Pure
in Heart, J or they /hall fee God^, and the
Path oftbejujl is as the fhining Lights which
Jlnneth more and more unto the perfeB Day.

I HAVE dwelt the longer upon this firft
and Original Senfe of the Word of God, in-
tended in my Text, in as much as fince we
have the Word of God committed to Writing,
this former is too little thought on ; and
though God is continually fpeaking to us,
yet this Word of God is fcarce in all our
Thoughts. We hear the Sound thereof but
confider not whence it cometb, or fure we durft
not difobey its Voice.

I NOW proceed to confider, the Word of
God that has been preached and puhlifhed to
the World ; and is fince written for our Ad-
monition, upon whom the Ends of the Ages are
come. What I am now intending, is thus
fummed up in the Introduction of the Epi-

L m

^6 The Ward of God

ftle tQ the Hebrews, God, who at fatidry Times,
and in divers Manners, /pake in Time pafl
to the Fathers by the Frophets, hath in tbefe
laft Daysfpoken unto us by his Son. And the
next Chapter begius, Therefore we ought to
give the more earneji Heed to the Things^ which
we have heard, left, at any Time we JJjould let
them flip j for if th^ Word fpolien by Angels,
or Meffengers, wasfledfafl, and every Tranf
greffion and Difobedience, received a juft Re~
compence of Reward, How foall we efcape, if
we negleSi fo great Salvation, which at the
fir ft began to be fpoken by the Lord, and was
confirmed unto us by them that heard him :
God alfo bearing them Wituefs, both with Signs
and JFonders, and divers Miracles, and Gifts
of the Holy Gboft, according to his own Will^
St, John with a peculiar Emphafis expreffes
johrii. 14, the fame Thought thus, Jnd the Word was
made Flefi, a?2d dwelt among us, and we be^
held his Glory, the Glory as of the Only Be-
gotten, or of the beft Beloved, of the Father,
full of Grace and Truth. — And of his Ful-
7iefs, have all we received, and Grace for Grace.
Na Man hath feen God at any Time ; the
Only Begotten Son, which is in the Bofom of
the Father, he hath declared him* The Word

of

i6, 18.

the young Mans Guide ^ 147

of God was made Flep, and God fpake to Sermon
Men, by his Beloved Son, who taught the ,^^^,^^1^
Way of God fully and perfedlly ^ fo that
now we are complete in himy having a per-
fed Rule and Diredory refpeding the whole
Will of God. This Word of God is now
written by the Difciples of Jefus^ that we j^jj^ ^xi
may believe that Jefus is the anointed Son of %^'
Godi and that believing we may have Life
through his Name,

Do you afk. How we may know this.
That the Dodrine of Jefus and his Apoftles,
or of the Prophets of Old, is the Word of
God^ as it now ftands written in our Bible ?
I anfwer, that though I have not Time to
enter upon other Arguments, and particu-
larly thofe which atteft the fpecial Miflion
of Chrift, we have One now before us a-
bundantly fufficient to give full Satisfadlion.
A Proof, that lies open to all, and which
Young Minds may fee and comprehend. If
the Defenders of our Holy Religion would
fix their Foot, and ftand here ; and lay out
their Time and Thoughts in fcarching the
Scriptures, and illuftrating them to this ufe-
ful Purpofe, they would not only promote
the beft Intereft of well-difpofed Believers j
L 2 but

148 The Word of God

Sermon but they would put to Siktice the Ignorance
J^^^ of Foolifi Men, It is the Defenders of the
written Word of God, not knowing, or not
confidering its Nature and Defign, that have
raifed up and multiplied the Number of its
Opponents, and furnifhed them with their
Objedions j but what God and Chrift have
joined together, let no Man put afunder.
The Word of God, whether Written or
Preached, as a Rule of Life and Condu(5t,
intended to teach us to cleanfe our Way, and
make us Wife to Salvation, is Self-evident, — .
It (hines with its own Native Light, and is,
or may be known by every Man, who will
compare it with the Law of God in his own
Mind, and the Word of God ijoithin him.
If any Man fpeak, let him fpeak, as this
Internal Oracle of God ; if he fpeak not ac-
cording to this, he has no Light in him.
Think not that I am here fetting up H«-
man Reajon above Revelation, or as the 7efi
of it. No. I know the Ignorance and Va-
nity of Human Wrangling, which generally
paffes for Reajoning. But what 1 propofe
is the Word and Secret Voice of God with-
Ij2 us. — Not Enthufiaftick Fancy, nor any
private Imagination J but that Word of God,

which

the young Mans Guide,
which is common to Man — common to
All^ as before defcribed. We Chriftians,
are bid to try or prove All T^hingSy and hold
to that which is Good — We are bid to try
the Spirits^ whether they be oj God. Now
if we bring them to the Teft of Confcience,
of Moral Senfe, and of the If^'ord of God with-
in uSj telling us uniformly and conftantly,
this is Right, and that Wrong ; by this Means
we may affuredly know, whether the Rules
of Condudl laid down in any Writing, are
agreeable to, and how far they are agreeable
to the Will of God^ concerning us, or not.

No Impofture can ftand this Teft : But
it is the Glory of our Holy Religion, and of
the Author andFinifher of our Faith, that he
fiibmitted his Dodrine to this Teft ; and as
he did it, let us do fo ftill — it will ftand this
Teft, and eftablifti itfelf on this Bottom, com-
mending iifelf to every Man's Confcience in
the Sight of God ; but we weaken its Credit,
if we decline this Trial.

It is obfervable, that a great Part of our
Saviour's Inftruftions was delivered in Para-
bles, and in Proverbial Aliufive and Figu-
rative Phrafes and Comparifons. Now what
can interpret and perceive the Meaning and
Jntent of thefe, but the Light and Word of
L 3 God

X50 The Word of God

Sermon God within us ? If we attend to this, his Iili-
t^..,^^^ ftrudions will appear plain and familiar ;
but without it. How can we underfiand All
Parablest or even any One of them. With-
out this, ^y Hearing we fiall hear, but not
Matt.xiii. underfiand ■■, and feeing we Jl:all fee^ but not
'^■~* * percei've — Bat blejjed are your Eyes when they
Jeey and your Ears when they hear. Tea, and
Luke xii. why eveti of yourfehsi judge ye not^ what is
^^' right ? To omit a thoufand other f llufti-ati-

ons and Proofs, allow me to fet before you
two or three Paflages of our Divine Teach-
er, v/herein he appeals to the fame Evidence
as Proof, that what he taught in Perfon,
was the fFord of God, that I am now ap-
pealing to as Proof, that the Written Aq-
count we now have of his Dodrlne, is the
John V. Word of God. He fays, If I bear Witnefs of
3'"~39* myfelfy ray Witnefs is not /r^^ — (were this
all, I fliould deferve no Credit or Regard)
Nor' do I receive Teftinwny from Man, (and
reft my Credentials here) But I have a greater
Witnefs, than that of John, or of any Man,
For the Works which the Father hath given
me to perfeB, the fanie Works that I do, bear
Witnefs of me, that the Father hath ferit me.
And the Father himfelf which hath fent me^

hath

the young Man's Guide, 15I

hath hrn V/itnefi of me. But ye have nei^ Sermon
tber heard his Voice at any Time, norjeen his .__',.
Shape -^ and ye have not his Word abiding in
you f J or whom he hath fent^ him ye believe
not. He adds, Search the Scriptures^ thofe
Writings of your Law-giver and Prophets,
in them you think^ that you have the Way to
Eterndl Life ; now fearCh them, and you
will find them likewife to be my Witneffes ^
as I preach the fame Doctrine thefein con-
tained, and that in the greateft Pufity and
Perfedlion. From tliis Arg-tirtifent, any pure,
pious, and well-difpofed Mind, upbh read-
ing the Written Dodrine of Chrirt, may
know it to be ihc Word of Gody by comparing-
it \vith the Word and Law of God in his own
Heart and Mind. Here is the Force of that
Expreffion, I am the good Shepherd y and know
rny Sheep y and am known o^f mine. -^ My Sheep John xiv.
hear my Voice ^ and 1 kimw them^ and they
folhw me — But others believe not becaufe they
are not of my Sheep, not having the Word of
God the Father abiding in them. This ex-
plains John vi. '37—- 45. All that the Father
hath given me^ fiall come to me^ and he that
Cometh to me, 1 will in no wife caji out. — ^
Murmur not among yourfelves j no Man can
L 4 come

ii5? The Word of God

JsRMON come to me, except the Father which hath ftnt
^...^j^ me draw him. — As if he had faid, '* There
*' is Nothing in me, nor in my Dodrine,
*' to induce any Man to follow me, unlefs
'* his own well-difpofed Mind, and the Word
*^ of God within him, tell him that my
** Words.^re the Word of God,'* Accordingly
he adds Ver. 45. It is written in the Pro-
phets, and they fiall be all taught of God :
Every Man therefore, that hath heard and
learned of the Father, cometh unto Me, Read
and compare Heb. viii. 8^-u.

Mv Mind is full of the Argument and
Illuftration before us, fliewing, that we car-
ry in our Breads the fuUeft Witnefs, even
the Word and Teftimony of the God and
Father of All, that the Religion of Jefus is
tl^e Word of God, to which we fliall do well
tq fake Heed, as to the mo ft fure Word of
Prophecy, as unto a Light that fhineth in a
dark Place, until the Day dawn, and the
Day-Star arife in pur Hearts. God never
left hinifelf without Witnefs — He is the
Father of Lights, without Variablenefs, or
Shadow of turning — : The true Light which
lighteth every Man, that cometh into the
World. But here was the Sin and Wretchr

ednefs

VII.

iraiah
xxxr. 8.

the you77g Man's Guide. 1 53

ednefs of mod Men, and is fo ftill, Tbey Sbrmoh
loved Darknefs rather than Light — their
Eyes they hadclo/ed', and when this is the
Cafe, the Light Jhineth in Darknefs^ and the
Darknefs comprehendcth it not. The Son of
God came to of en Mens Eyes, to turn them
from Darknefs to Lights to awake, them to
attend to the Word of God, and the Reli-
gion of Man. Open your Eyes and behold
the Way taught by Jefus is the good old
Way : Abraham faw it, yea, it was before
Abrahams Time, It is an Highway, the Way
of Holinefsy the Unclean cannot pafs over it^
but way-faring Men, though Foolsy /hall not
err therein.

The Sum of my Argument is this ; fearch
the Scriptures, compare the Written Word
with the Word of God within, and if they
appear to be One and the Same, then receive
it, not as the Word of Man, but as it is in*
deed the Word of God, which is able to fave
your Souls, How is our Apoftle charmed
with this Thought, when obferving how the
Jews in reading the Ritual Law, unable to
find any Word of God, any Counter-part or
Original, within themfelves, anfwering to
thefe beggarly Elemenf^^ or to the Traditions

of

154 Tee Word of God

Sermon of their Elders, he fays, Even unto this Day

i.^.....^^^ when Mofes is read, a Vail is upon their Hearts

z Cor. iii. ^^^ ^^^^ f^gy fif^^ fQ fjjg Lord, and attend

15* &C. "^

to the true Word of God, the Vail will be
taken away. Then we all with open Face,
beholding as in a Glafi the Glory cf the Lord,
are changed into- the fame Image, from Glory
to Glory by the Spirit of the Lord. He goes
on, Therefore feeing we have this Miniflry,
as we have received fo merciful a Difpenfafi^
on, we faint not 5 but have renounced the hid-
den Things cf T)ifhonefly, not walking in Craf- -
tinefs^ nor handling the Word of God de-
ceitfully, but by Manifefiation of the Truth,
commending ourf elves to every Man's Confci-
ence, in the Sight of God. -^ But if cur Gof-
pel is hid, it is hid to them that are lofl. In
whom, feme Gad of this World hath blinded
the Minds of them which believe not^ left the
Light of the glorious Gofpel of Chrijl fjjould
fhine unto them. For we preach not ourfelveSy
but Chrijl Jefus the Lord, and Ourfelves your
Servants y for Jefus Sake* Far God who
commanded the Light to fldine out of Darknefs^
hath fhined into our Hearts, to give us the'
Light of the Knowledge of the Glory of God
in the Face of Jefus Chrifl, But we have

this

VII.

the young. Afaffs Guide, 1 55

thii Treafure in Earthen Veffeh, that the Ex- Sermom

cellency tf the Power may be of God, and not

of Us. We may fee upon the whole, Why

the common People could underftand and

feel our Saviour's Preaching, and whence

its Authority upon their Minds arofe.

I SHALL now conclude with a particular
Addrefs to Young Perfons. I have, my Young
Friends, been fetting before you a Rule of
Condudt, how to efcap© the Pollutions of
the World, and cleanfe your Way — and
how to lay a Foundation for paffing through
the whole of thi: Life and World, with a
Pure Heart, an undefiled Confcience, an un-
blemifhed Charader ; and for being at laft
prefented faultlefs before the Prefence of
God*s Glory, with exceeding Joy. U yoii
would cleanfe your Way^ you muft take. Heed
thereto according to God's Word. This the
IVord of God in your Hearts, and this the
Written Word of Gody which is fet before
your Eyes, jointly teach. I have no Doubt^
and 1 imagine you have none, of the Redti-
tude and Sufficiency of thefe Means, and of
this Method, to fecure the defircd End.
My only Fear is, left any of you fiiould go
away, and count yourfelves unconcerned a-

bout

VII.

156 The Word of God

Sermon bout fo great and fo defirable an Happlnefs ;
and put from you the Word of God, Let
not this be done through a miftaken Apprcr
henfion, as if the Choice and Courfe of Life
now prefcribed, would deprive you of the
true Pleafures of Youth. No — my Young
Friends, this will deliver you from thofc
youthful Lufts and Follies, which drown fo
many in Ruin and Perdition ; but not de-
prive you of ONE fincere and true Pleafure.
All thefe may be enjoyed in Conjandion
with Virtue and Piety, pure and unmixed.
Wifdom's Ways are Ways of Pleafantnefs^
and all her Paths are Paths of Peace, 'There
is no Peace J faith my God, nor any true Plea-
fure to the Wicked: But great Peace ^ and
Manly Pleafure, have all they that love God^s
Law^ and nothing can offend them. Forbid-
den Pleafures are no Pleafures j they are
mixed with Gall and Wormwood. There
is no Pleafure in Nature peculiar to Sin ;
none, but what may be enjoyed, and that
in the higheft Perfedlion, with Innocence
and Virtue. A virtuous and pious Youth
will yield the moft fincere Pleafure and Sa-
tisfaction upon Review, through the whole
Remainder of Life 5 yea, a§ long as the Soul

is

the young Man's Guide, 157

b capable of looking back to its Original, Sermon
through the diftant Ages of Eternity. And t— v—
think, what pleafing Satisfaction at prefent
to feel and know, that your Hearts and Ways
are right with God — that your Innocence
is ftill fafe — that every Month and every
Year ftrengthens your Virtue, confirms your
Refolutions, and encreafes your Joy. — To
think, that like your Young Saviour, you
grow in Wifdom as in Stature, and in Fa-
vour with Gfld and Man, When you feel
the early Workings of Faith, Hope, and
Joy in God, O with what unutterable Ex-
tafy muft your Hearts lift up themfelves to
him, and fay. Hitherto the Lord hath helped
me, — And knowing at the fame Time, that
you are the Joy of your Parents, the De-
light of your Friends, and the Admiration
and Hope of the Riling Age — What Plea-
fure ! What Satisfaction is this ?

Look forward and behold j A few, a very
few Years will advance you to Manhood, and
fetde you out of the Reach of thofe Strug-
gles and Temptations, which attend the Voy-
age of Touth, And what, cannot you watch
one Hour ? O, watch and pray, that you enter
not into Temptation, Do this, and you will

foon

rhemrdofGod
foon reach the glorious Liberty of the Chil-
dren of God. Do this, and you will efcape
the Worft of all Evils, and be incapable of
ever feeling the bitter Anguifh, and con-
founding Shame of a guilty Confeience — •
Jefus will look down upon you, and love
you. You will hear your Heavenly Father
lay to you. Son, thou art ever with me, ajid
all that I have is thine.

To this End, take Heed to your Ways ac-
cording to God*s IFord. Be Heedful, be Pru-
dent, be Circumfped ; and take your Mea-
fures and Diredtions from the IFord of God,
Attend to the Foice and PFord of God within
you, ^ench not his Holy Spirit. Dread the
Thought of refifting God. Hearken con-
ftantly to that friendly and fecret Voice of
his, which follows you, and fays, This ii
the Way, walk in it. Trufi in the Lord with
all thy Heart, and lean not to thine own Un-
der/landing : In all thy Ways acknowledge him,
and he Jhall diredl thy Paths. Be not wife in
thine own Eyes ; fear the Lord, and depart
from Evil,

Again, attend ferioufly to the Reading
and Preaching of the Word of God. Read
and ftudy the Bilfle, not as trifling Criticks,

but

theyGung Maris Guide, t§g

but as ferious Chriftians. Select and trea- Sermon
fure up the Rules and Principles of Prudence, ^.^J,^
Virtue, and Piety, therein contained. The
Word of God abounds with them. You will
find it a Fund of Divine Knowledge. Our
Bible, and particularly, our Chrtftian New
^eftament, is the beft Edition of that Word
of God, which is written in our Hearts. I
fpeak the Sentiments of my Soul, after read-
ing it fo often^ and after reading fo many
other Books. If I knew of a better Book,
or of any to be compared with it, I would
recommend it ; but in Truth I do not. Be-
fides, it abounds with peculiar exceedi?2g great
and precious Promifes, and juftly comes upon
the Mind with a Divine Authority and Pow-
er, not as the Word of Man^ but as the Word
9fGod. Read it. Jrequently — meditate upon it
— it will awaken prudent and wifeThoughts,
which otherwife had never arifen in the
Mind ; but when awakened, will be con-
firmed by the Word of God within you.

Finally, my Young Brethren, Bejirong Eph. vi.
in the Lord, and in the Power of his Might,
Put on the whole Armour of God, that ye may
be able to (land — and having done all to jland\
Stand therefore y having your l,oyns girt about

with

10— 18»

i6o HeWordoJGod

Sermon with Truth, and having on the Breafi-Plate
^^^ of Righteoufnefsy and your Feet fiod with the
Preparation of the Gofpel of Peace — over all,
taking the Shield of Faith^ and the Hehhet of
Salvation^ and the Sword of the Spirit y which
is the Word of God. — Praying always
with all Prayer and Supplication in the Spi-
rit, and watching thereunto with all Perfe^
verance.
I Their. V. And now may the very God of Peace fane-
*3» *4' fify you wholly, and 1 pray God, that your
whole Spirit, and Soul, and Body, be preferv^
ed blamelefs unto the coming of our Lord Jefus
Chri/l. Do your Part, and then know af-
furedly, Jaithful is he that calleth you, who
. alfo will do it.

j^ND now. Brethren, I commend you to
God, and to the Word of his Grace, which is
able to build you up, and to give you an Inhe-
ritance among all them which are fandiified.

HOW

e he young Man's Guide, 26X

HO W (hall the Young fecure their
Hearts,
And guard their Lives from Sin ?
Thy Word the choiceft Rules imparts.
To keep the Confcience clean.

When once it enters to the Mind,

It fpreads fuch Light abroad,
The meaneft Souls Inftrudlions find.

And raife their Thoughts to God.

*Tis like the Sun, an heav'niy Light,

That guides us all the Day ;
And through the Dangers of the Night,

A Lamp to lead our Way.

Thy Word is everlafting Truth ;

How pure is ev'ry Page !
That holy Book (hall guide our Youth,

And well fupport our Age.

M SER.

i-tja

S E R fil O N VIll

Creation, or our Obligations
to God our Maker.

Psalm Ixxi. 5, 6.

For thou art my Hope, O Lord God. — Tbou
art my Trujl Jrom my Touth —-By thee
have I been h^din tip frofn the Womb —
^ki art he Waftook me out of my Mothers
Bowels — My Praife flmll be continually of
thee.

Sermon )r^^)^lS( H AT Hvmn of Divine Praife,

VllI "c^ "Wi

»'—'/---' § T §! which does the greateft Honour
)SC )SC to our Engliih Language, is a

li«.)9C)GC)eCjfi( Verfion of this Pfalm. Our Poet
appears to have been ftruck with the Senti-
ments contained in it, and to have indulged
to Meditation, *till he catched the Fire, and
then wrote undgf the Influence of the fame

Spirit,

Creation^ or our Obligations^ &c.

Spirit, that firft infpired the Hebrew Au-
thor. As I intend to conclude my two Dif- .
courfes on this Subject, wi^h the Hymn it-
felf, fo I (hall introduce^ tfiis with Part of
the Author's own Preface. " There is hot,
*' as he obferves, a more pleafing Exercife
'* of the Mind, than Gratitude, It is ac-
*' companied with fuch an inward Satisfac-
*' tion, that the Duty is fufiiciently reward-
" ed by the Performance. It is not like the
** Pradice of many other Virtues, diffi-
** cult and painful, but attended with (d
** much Pleafure, that were there no pofi-
'^ live Command, that enjoined it, nor any
*' Recompcnce laid up for it hereafter, a ge-
** nerous Mind would indulge to it, for the
" natural Gratification that accompanies it.

" If Gratitude is due from Man to Man,
" How much more from Man to his Ma-
" ker ? The Supreme Being does not only
** confer upon us thofe Bounties which pro-
" ceed more immediately from his Hand^i
** but even thofe Benefits which are convey-
** ed to us by others. Every Bleffing we
" enjoy, by what Means foever it may be de-
** rived upon us, is the Gift of him who is
M 2 " thg

1 64 Creation, or our Obligations

JERMON '« the great Author of Good, and Father of

^.^^^ '' Mercies.

*' If Gratitude, when exerted towards
*' one another, naturally produces a very
" pleafing Senfation in the Mind of a grate-
'' ful Man ; it exalts the Soul into Rapture,
'' when it is employed on this great Objedt
** of Gratitude — on this Beneficent Being,
" who has given us every Thing we already
" poflefs, and from whom we exped every
** Thing we yet hope for.

" The Jews, who before the Times of
*' Chriftianity had the Knowledge of the
" True God, have fet the Chriftian World
'' an Example, how they ought to employ
** the Divine Talent of Poetry. As that Na-
** tion produced Men of great Genius, with-
** out confidering them as infpired Writers,
*' they have tranfmitted to us many Hymns
^* and Divine Odes, which excel thofe that
" are delivered down to us, by the Ancient
** Greeks and Romans^ in the Poetry, as
" much as in the Subjeft to which it was
'' confecrated. This I think might eafily be
** fiiewn, if there were Occafion for it."

We have many and various Inftances in
this Book, or Colledion of Pfalms, but none

Ujc.t

to God our Maker.
that exceeds it, or affords better Afliftance and
greater Pleafure to a devout Mind, than the
P/alm before us. Antiquity informs us, that
either it was compofed in Babylon^ as a Com-
fort to the Jews in their Captivity, or rather
fingled out for their Ufe in that difconfolate
State. It now ftands in our Verfion with-
out a Title j but the Contents make it highly
probable, and the Commentators feem to
confirm it, that as Grotius expreffes it, the
preceding Pfalm has ufurped its Title, A
Pfalm of David to bring to Remembrance,
Read it through, and you will find, it is one
of the nobleft Compofitions of this Kind.
It difcovers itfelf to be the Product of a calm,
ferious, and pious Mind, retired into itfelf
— big with Thoughts and Meditations upon
God — and infpired with pious Gratitude,
refulting from a View of the whole Series
of Divine Goodnefs, which had attended
the Author, from the firft Moment of his
coming into Life, to that Day.

The Pfalm id was now old and gray-head-
ed\his Strength failed him 't he was furrounded
with Enemies, viho fpoke againft him, took
Counfel together, and lay in wait for his Life,
At this advanced Age, and under thefe Cir-
M 3 cumftances.

Creation^ or our Obligatiens
cumftances, he renews his Strength, and
takes fredi Encouragement, from this Re-
view of God's former Mercies. — In thee,
O Lord, do 1 put my Trujl, for thou art, or
rather, thou haft been, my Hope, 0 Lord
God, thou hafi been my Truji from my Touth,
By thee have I been holden up from the Womb j
thou art he that took me out of my Mother's
Bowels — my Praife Jhall be continually of thee.
It follows, I am as a Wonder unto many, but'
thou art my ftrong Refuge, Let my Mouth
be filled with thy Fraife, and with thy Honour
all the Day. Caft me not off in the, time of
Old- Age ; forfake me not, when my Strength
faileth. I will hope continually, and will yet
praife thee more and more. My Mouth Jhall
fiew forth thy Righteoufnefs and thy Salvation
all the Day ; for I know not the Numbers
thereof. — O God, thou haji taught me from
my Touth j and hitherto have I declared thy
wondrous Works : Now alfo, when I am Old
and gray-headed, O God, forlake me not j a»-
til I have (hewed thy Srtengtb to this Genera^
tion, and thy Power to every one^ that is to
come.

You will here obferve the Workings of
a pious and devout Mind y one whil-e looking

back^

to God our Maker. 1 67

hack, and tracing the whole Series of former Sermom
Mercies up to their firft: Original, and to ,_ '
their Author, God. — Then looking around
upon its prefent Situation, and furrounding
Circumftances — and from thence looking
forward into Futurity ; and in the lively Ex-
ercife of Faith, Hope, and Confidence in
God, breaking forth into Adoration, Prayer,
and Praile.

The two Verfes which I have chofe for
my prefent Subjedt, confine our Thoughts
to the FIRST of thele Views ; where the
Pfalmid is looking back to the Time of his
Birth, calling to Remembrance, and grate-
fully acknowledging the Care which God
had took of him, from the Moment, when
he firft entered into Being, to the Time when
he compofed this Pfalm ; ^hou haft been my
Hope, 0 Lord Gfid-:- fhou hafi been tny Truji
from my Touth — by thee have 1 been holden
up from, the Womb, thou art he that took me
out of my, Mother's Bowels,

Some perhaps can fee little in this Subject,

or in the Works of Creation, and Common

Providence, that dpferves fuch Notice, or

that has a Tendency to awaken fuch pious

M 4 Gratitude,

VIII.

1 68 Creation J or our Obligations

Sermon Gratitude and Devotion, or to lay a Foun-
, dation for fuch Hope and Truft in God.
In my farther Difcourle therefore from
this Paflage,

I. I SHALL endeavour to remove fuch un-
worthy Sentiments of God, and his^
Providence j and then proceed,

II. To a more particular Confideration of
our Obligations to God, for the Ori-
ginal Gift of Being, and for the fub-
fequent Care he has took of us, from
the Begining of our Natural Lives to
this Day.

Some may be ready to afk, " What was
** there in my Conception and Birth j or what
** in the Time of helplefs Infancy, worth call-
*' ing to Remembrance in this pious and de-
** vout Manner ?" I anfwer, if any of you have
never confidered this, it is high Time you
fhould. The Preacher dircds. Remember
NOW thy Creator in the Days of thy Touth :
And certainly, we fhould not forget him,
when we are old ; nor indeed, in any Part
of Life. This is not lefs, but more tb^
Duty of the Man^ than of the Touth^ or Child,

This

VIII.

th God our Maker. 16*9

This will fully appear afterwards ; at prefent Sermou
1 only remark, that the Pfalmift appears to
have made this the Subjedt of his jrequent
Thoughts, and pious Meditations. My Text
is not the only PafTage to this Purpofe. You
have the fame Thought in Ffalm xxii. 9, 10.
Thou art he, that took me out of the Womb ;
tkou didft make me hope, when I was upon my
Mother s Breajis, I was cafi upon thee jrom
the Womb, thou art my God, from my Mo-
ther s Belly, Thus again, FJalm cxxxix. 13 —
18. T^hou haft pojjefjed my Reins-, thou haft
covered me in my Mother's Womb. I will
praife thee, for I am fearfully and wonder^
fully made j marvellous are thy Works, and
that my Soul knoweth right well. My Sub^
fiance was not hid from thee^ when I was tnade
in fecret, and curioufly wrought in the loweji
Parts of the Earth. (As much in fecret,
and out of the Reach of all-created Sight
and Aid, as if I had been formed in the
Center of the Earth) Thi7te Eyes did fee nfy
Sub (lance, and in thy Book all my Members
were written, which in Continuance were fa-
Jhioned, when as yet there was none of them*
How precious alfo are thy Thoughts unto me,
O Godj bow great is the Sum of them ? If 1

fmld

viiirv

L^ Creation^ or aur Obligaiiom

Sermom^ JJoould count themy they are more in Number
than the Sand : When I awake ^ 1 am (iill with
thee. And to ftir up others to the like Me-
ditations, he fays. Know ye ^ that the Lord Ije
is God, it is he that made us, and not we our-
felves, we are his People, and the Sheep of his
Failure. Let us learn then to make a con-
tinued Pradice of calling to Remembrance
the Original Grant of Being, together with
the early and c.>n{lant Care, which our Cre-
ator has took of us from the very Begining,
and through the wi\ple of Life.

And here let it not be faid or thought,
that th.efe Things are old and pall ; and there-
^re unworthy of our prefent Notice. This
my Friends, would be cancelling all the Ob-
ligations of Friend(hip, and Gratitude. To
prevent this, the Pfalm before us was com-
pofed, A Pfalm to call to Remembrance j and
to dire(5t and aflift us in this Duty. Mer-
cies do not ceafe to be Mercies j nor do Ads
of Kindnefs and Friendihip lofe their Nature
or Obligation with Age. Yea, it is the chief
Part of Gratitude, to commemorate pajl Gifts
and Benefits ; efpecially, if we have not been
able to make an adequate Return fince ;
this we never did, nor ever can make to God

for

to God our Maker.
for the Blefiings of Creation and Providence.
We miift thefefore for ever remain bound
to remember, and renew our Acknowledg-
ments for all bis former Mercies — This is
both ou-r Duty and our Happinefs. And, as . .

we were infenlible of God's Goodnefs, when
he firft brought us into Being, and incapa-
ble of returning to him fo much as one grate-
ful Thought or Affedion, it remains for us
to do it, now we are capable.

Besides, it is the Property of a little, a
narrow, and thoughtle-fs Mind, to be affefted
with nothing, but prefent Benefits. Had we
none but thefi to feaft upon, we (hould be
fed like the pooreft and moll indigent of
our Fellow-Creatures, from Hand to Mouth
— or rather, like irrational Brutes, which
have no Senfe of any Thing, but prefent En-
joyments ; being infenlible both of paft and
future Happinefs : Though indeed fome of
them feem to have more Gratitude, and
Senfe of Obligation, to the Hand that feeds
and provides for them, than ungrateful Men
have to their earthly Friends, or to their
God. Hear^ O Heavens, and give Ear, O Ifai.i.2,3,
Earthy Jor the Lord hath fpoken ; I have nou--
rijked and brought up Children^ and they have

rebelled

1/2 Creation, or our Obligations

Se R M ON rebelled ag-ainfl me. The Ox kno-mth his Owner.

vin
s„„...^^ and the Afs his Mafier's Crib : But Ifrael dotb

not know, my People doth not confider^ Ttiis

ftupid Ingratitude, is both the Sin and Mi-

fery of Man. To live unmindful of God's

Former Mercies, and forget all his Benefits,

is to rob ourfelves of our chief Treafurej or

rather to fquander away all our Income, as

faft as we receive it.

On the other Hand, to take due Notice

of God's Mercies, to treafure them up in our

Minds, and make a Pradice of calling to

Remembrance his Loving Kindnefs of Old, and

flirring up all that is within us to blefs his

Name j — This — This, my Friends, is tHc

Way, the only Way, to grow rich towards

God ; rich in true, fpiritual. Divine Happi-

nefs. Paft Mercies, yield a prefent, a frefh,

and moft grateful Senfation, when thus re-

colleded by a grateful Mind j and the Hap-

pinefs ariling upon this Review, far exceeds

what attended the ^r/i Enjoyment. The

Former was pleafing to the bodily Senfes ; the

Second is pleafing to the Mind ; and whilft

the Heart glows with pious Gratitude, it

conceives the raofl: lively Hope and Joy in

God.

V Besides.

to God our Maker,
Besides, the Remembrance olpaft Mer-
cies, fweetens the ReliQi of our prefent En-
joyments. And, when Sorrows and Afflic-
tions come upon us — when the evil Days
come, and the Years draw nigh, that have
no Pleafure in them — when Old-Age is
come, and the Outward Man decays, Day
by Day ; if we have not taught and inured
ourfelves to feaft upon former Mercies, what
is to be done for us ? How fliall we be left
deftitute of all Support, and of all Comfort !
Not fo, the pious and grateful Mind, that
has learned to look back, and has treafured up
in itfelf a due Scnfe and Remembrance of
"Former Mercies. Such a Soul can looky^T-
ward with Hope and Confidence in the fame
God, his old and beft Friend, and Heavenly
Father. We have an Inftance of this in the
Pfalmift J and Evidence of it in the Com-
pofure before us.

' Again, let us not think diminutively of
the Bleflings of Creation and Providence, be-
caufe thefe are common BleJJings ; beftowed
upon Others, as well as Ourjehes-, and grant-
ed to them, and us, in a conftant, Uniform,
and regular Manner ; as our Natures require,
and our Wants call for them. It is not any

peculiar

Creaim, or mr Obligations
peculiar, fpecial, or extraordinary Mercies of
his awn, that the Pfah«ift is here calling to
Remembrance ; but luch as God kindly and
gracioufly affords to every Msin, — By thee
have I been holden vp from the V/omb ; thou
iirt he that took me out of my Mothers Bow-
els. Now, this is nothing but what is <:om-
mon to Man. God has done the fame for
you, and me, and every one of us. *' O my
*' Soul, thou art bound to acknowledge this
«< with the fame Spirit of pious Gratitude and
*^ Devotion 1"

But fure neither T^hefe^ nor any of God's
Gifts and Mercies are the lefs valuable, be-
caufe they are common and conjlant : — Cer-
tainly the contrary. None, but the mean-
eft, the moft contraded, or the moft envi-
ous, and felfifh Soul, can think otherwife.
Is it not lawful for God to do what he will
with his own ? Or is thine Eye evil, becaufe
bis is good^ If fo, thou art a moft unworthy
Member of Human Society, and unworthy
of a Being in God's Creation.

The real and intrinfick Worth of every
Gift and Benefit arifes, not from its Rarity,
but its life and Nece£ity. The Value of
Food and Raiment depends, not upon its

Scarcity

to God our Maker, 4^ j

Scarcity and High-Pricey but upon its Adapt- SBiiMott
cdnefs to the Health and Welfare of the Bo- ,,^-y^
dy. None but a Fop, or a Fool can chink
otherwife. The Sun is not a lefs, but a far
greater Bleffing, becaufe it rifes regularly e-
very Morning, and is made to know the
Time of its Return j nor, becaufe it rifes up-
on the Evil and upon the Good, and all in
common enjoy the Benefit of its Light and
-Heat. Nor is the Air lefs pure, becaufe o-
thers breath in it. Accordingly, Life, and
Being, and the common Care and Protection
of Divine Providence, are not lefs^ but far
greater and more adorable Bleffings, becaufe
fo many others enjoy them in common with
ourfelves. God is good to all, and his tender
Mercies are over all his Works. He giveth
to all. Life, and Breath, and all Things, Look
around, and behold. His Hand has made all
thefe Things. He holds every Soul in Life,
-and his Vijitation preferves every Spirit. All
Greatures wait upon him, and he giveth them
their Food in due Secf i j he openeth his Hand,
and they are fatisfied -^ith Good. Yea, fuch
ishis'difinterefted Goodnefs, and diffufive
Benevolence, that thofe Gifts and Bleffings,
that are the mod necefary, are granted in

common

176 Creation, cr our Obligations

Sermon common to ALL ; and that in fuch rich A-
i_,-^-'._- bundance, that they cannot be engrofled,
monopolized, or exhaufted.

Farther, The Gifts and Bleffings re-
ferred to in my Text, are what the World
calls Natural 'j but let us not overlook, or
undervalue them on that Account. I mean
they are fuch Gifts as conftitute our Nature
and EJfence, and are abfolutely neceflary to
our Prefervation and Support : Such as the
Original Grant of Life and Being ; together
with all our perfonal Powers and Capacities,
both of Mind and Body, and all the necef-
fary Supports of Life. Our Natural Powers
are the firjl Gifts of God to Man, and fun-
damental to all the reft. Whatever in us
is natural, is the Gift and Work of God -—
the God of Nature j for what have we that
we have not received ? He made us, and not
we ourfelves ; his Hand formed and faflmned
us altogether. Our Nature, and the Grace
of God towards us, commenced together j
and have been uniformly continued from the
firft Moment of our Exiftence, to this Day 3
and therefore it is, that we are now the //v-
ing, the living to praife him. To think or
fpeak diminutively of our Nature, or of the

common

VIII.

CXXXIX,

to God our Maker, 1 77

common Gifts and Care of his Providence, is Sermom
to think and fpeak diminutively of the Grace
of God, and of God himfelf. U there is
any Thing unnatural in us, this is not from
God, but fuperinduced, or acquired fince —
But whatever is natural^ is from God, and
demands our Gratitude and Praife. So
thought the Pfalmift, when adoring his Ma-
ker, he fays, I wilt praife thee^ for lam fear- Pfalm
fully and wonderfully made ; marvellous are thy ^^^
Works, and that my Soul knoweth right well.
Thou hafi been my Hope, O Lord God ; thou
baft been my Trufl from my Touth, By thee
have I been holden up from the Womb ; thou
art he that took me out of my Mother's Bowels^
my Praife foall be continually of thee,

I HAVE now gone through what I firft
propofed, endeavouring to remove unworthy
Sentiments from fuch Minds, as can fee lit-
tle or nothing in the Works of Creation, and
Common Providence, deferving fuch Notice,
or exciting to fuch Devotion, as the Pfal-
mift difcovers in my Text. I now proceed,

II. To a more particular Confideration of

our Obligations to God for the Ori»

ginalGih of Being — And for the7«^-

N fequent

jyS Creation, or our Obligations

Sermon fequent Care he has took of us, from

VJII. . . .

,^^„„.^.^ the Begining of our natural Lives to

this Day. And here,

First, Let our Thoughts go back to the
Original of our Being, that firfi and great
Adl of God, in bringing us into Exigence,
and giving us a Being ainorigft his Creatures.
This is a Bleffing that we have all received ;
the firft and Foundation of all our BlefTings.
Out of abfolute 'Non-entity, to be brought
into Exifience -^ owl of Nothing, to be made
Something — What can we fay to this, but
admire and adore ! It is the Lord's Doiitg,
and it is marvellous in our Sight. To raife
the Dead to Life again, is aftonifhing; but
not equal to ihc firft Gift of Life and Being.
This difcovers the mofi: abfolute Power and
Perfedlion of God. Now this is what we
have all experienced , the Benefit of it we all
enjoy, and the Evidence of it we carry along
with us every Moment. There is no Differ-
ence here betwixt Man and Man — High
and Low — Rich and Poor — Mailer and
Servant. Speaking of his Servant, fays Job,
Did not he that made me in the Womb make

Tod XXXI

11. him ^ And did not onefajhion us in the JVomb ?

To

VIII.

to God our Maker, if(^

To this Origifial Gift, our Thoughts fhould Sermon
often be going back ; and as often as they
do fo, they lead us to God.

This Original Grant fhould never be for-
gotten, nor one Day fuffered to pafs with-
out a devout Remembrance. To forget thisj
is to forget both Ourfelves, and our God — i
to forget that we are Creatures — dependent
Creatures, whofe Original fprang from No-
thing, but the Creating Hand, which con-
ftantly holds our Souls in Life, andjrom that
God, whofe Vijitation preferves our SpiritSi
Sure in the mofl: diftant Ages of Eternity, it
will become every happy and celeftial Spirit,
frequently to look back to the Original of its
Being, and adore its Author. This will far-
ther appear to be the firft and great Duty of
Man, as we go on.

Secondly, To confider the Rank we hold
in the Scale and Order of Beings j and the
Powers and Capacities of Mind and Body,
which our Creator has given us. We are each
of us living, rational Spirits ; made in the
Likenefs of God — capable of knowingi
imitating, enjoying, and holding Commu-
nion with him. —-To this End we are en-
dowed with Reafon, Underftanding, Judg-
N 2 ment.

i8o Creation, or our 06 ligations

Sermon mcnt, Memory, Moral Senfe, and Freedom
^^^^' of Agency. At prefent, we are clothed up-
on with earthly Bodies, of an ereS: Form,
with Parts, Limbs, and Senfes, all fearfully
and wonderfully made ; adapted to this Part
of God's Creation, where we are placed.
Tob xxxii. All this is our Birth-Right — There is a Spi-
8- rit in Man^ and the natural Infpiration of the

Ch. XXXV. Almighty giveth him Under Jianding — God
* ' ' has taught us more than the Beafts of the Field ;

and made us wifer than the Fowls of Heaven,
— And what infinitely enhances the Value
of our Being, above that of Brutes that pe-
rifli, is this j our Souls are an immortal Seed*,
the Principle and Root of an eternal Exi/i~
encey growing up under the Divine Culture,
to unlimited Perfedlion in Wifdom, Holinels,
and Happinefs. Such a Prize is put into our
Poffeffion, if we have but Hearts to ufe and
improve it.

Indeed, if we negleB to retain God in our
Knowledge — if we negledl the Gifts that
are in us — if we debafe our Natures, and
proftitute our Powers to Impiety and Wick-
ed nefs, we lofe our Souls, and it had been
better for us that we had not been born — or
that we had been carried from the Womb to

the

to God our Maker.

the Grave, before the Knees prevented us, and
the Brea/is that we jhould fuck. Better to
have been any Thing in this World, than
Men^ unlefs we be Good Men. But this does
not diminiOi the Worth of our Natural Be-
ings which is capable of it, and intended for
growing up to unlimited, and never-ending
Felicity.

It is true, thefe earthly Bodies will cor-
rupt, decay, and die ; the Duft will return Ecclef.xii.
to Duft agaiUy but the Spirit will return to '^'
God who gave it — and this we know, that if 2 Cor. v.
this earthly Houfe of our Tabernacle be dijolv- **
edy we have a Building of God, an Houfe not
made with Hands^ eternal in the Heavens.

Thirdly, Let us confider the Nature and
Form of the prefent World into which we are
born, and our Situation in it. This the Pfal-
mift frequently makes the Subjedt of his Me-
ditations. It would be endlefs to cite the
feveral PalTages. I only mention the viiith
Pfalm : Where looking around him, he
breaks out, 0 Lord, how excellent is thy Name
in all the Earth! Who haft fet thy Glory above
the Heavens — When 1 confider the Heavens,,
the Work of thy Fingers ; the Moon, and Stars,
which thou bajl ordained; What is Man that
N 3 tboti

VIII.

1^2 Creation^ or our Obligations

Sermon thou art mindful of him ; and the Son of Man.,
that thou vi fit eft him ! For thou haft made him
a little lower than the Angels^ and hajl crown-
ed him with Glqry atid Honour. Tihou made ft
him to have Dominion oxer the Works of thy
Ha77ds — 'Thou haft put all Things under his
Feet — All Sheep and Oxen — yea^ and the
Beafts of the Field— ^ The Fowl of the Air,
and the Fijh of the Sea, and the Ships that
pajs through the Paths of the Sms, — O Lord^
our Lord, How excellent is thy Nafne in all
the Earth !

Were a Being from fome diftant Part of
God's immenfe Creation, to make a Vifit to
this Earth, which God has given to Chil-
dren of Men : Or were fome Man Hke the
firft Parent of our Race, to be brought into
Being, not in a State of Infancy, but with
bodily Senfes, and mental Faculties in the
perfection of Manhood. — Think, with
what Amazement, this Globe with all its
Inhabitants, all its Apparatus, and all its fur-
rounding Glories muft ftrike him, upon the
lirft View. — And when he difcovered the
Subferviency of each Part, to the good of the
Whole— and attended to the Provifion made
for ALL, and efpecially for Man, how would

he

to God our Maker » 183

he break forth with Adoration and Pralfe : Sermok

VJII
And would not he fay concerning Man, Truly ■_--^-',

the Lines are fallen to him in pleafant Places,
he has a goodly Heritage ? Yea, when this
fuppofed Being was to depart, is it unnatural
to imagine, that he would take his Leave,
with a Spirit expreffed in the Language of £-
piBeius, which is the true Spirit and Lan-
guage of every departing Soul, that has gain-
ed a proper Difpofition towards God. " Is
*^ it thy Pleafure, that I (hould depart out of
** this great Theatre, I am ready to depart
*« at thy Command — and I do it, returning
** thee all poffible Thanks, that thou haft
** admitted me to behold this amazing Spec-
" tacle — to behold thy Works, and the Ad-
" miniftration of thy Providence, in this Part
** of thy Creation."

The Reafon why we are not all thus af-
feded and thus pleafed, is this, We came
into this World in the State of Infancy ; grew
up gradually, and in a Sort infenfibly ; and
have now been fo long Spectators, and feeing
nothing new u?ider the Sun, we are become
unattentive to the Glory of God's Works,
and defpife our Birth-Right. Yea, too ma-
ny fpeak diminutively, and blafpheme the
N 4 Works

Creaiioiiy or our Obligations
Works of God, which Men behold. And yet
They cannot avoid difcovering the fecret
Fondnefs they have conceived for this Life
and World. Skin for Skin; yea, ail that a
Man has, will he give for Lis Life. They are
loath to depart, when the Time comes.
Such are the Bleffings and Endearments of
the prefent State, that with all its Pains,
Sorrows, and Imperfedions, we can fcarce
thoroughly prevail with ourfelves toexchange
it, for any other State in God's Creation ;
though a far better is fet before us, prepared
from the Foundation of the World, for fuch
as (hall be found meet for fpiritual and eter-
nal Happinefs.

I HAVE not Time to proceed to the other
Particulars, which my Text leads us to call to
Remembrance, I fhall therefore conclude at
prefent with this general Remark j that all
thefe THREE, which I have mentioned, are
included in this one Thought and refult from
it, Thou art he that took me out of my Mother s
Bowels — And all three belong to each one
of us, and to every Man upon the Face of
the Earth. — We are all brought into Lije
and Being, by one and the fame Hand —
We are all Partakers of the fame common Na^

tiire

to God our Maker. 185

ture — We are all of the fame Species — the Sermon
fame Rank and Order of Beings — And we ^,._ "^
are all brought into the fame World. — All
thefe are the Effects of God's fpecial Grace
and Favour ; I call them by the Title of
fpecial Grace ^ becaufe they are granted to the
Human Species, as our peculiar and diftin-
guifliing Prerogative above the Brutes. We
have all Bodies caft in the fame Mould, and
formed by the fame Hand — We have all
Souls endowed with the fame Sort of Facul-
ties ; and principled with the fame Defires
and Affe<^ions — We are all Partakers of
Life; and our Lives are equally delirable,
and our Souls equally precious to us all.
All thefe were enwrapped in our Infant-Na-
ture, when God took us out of our Mother* i
Bowels, and have unfolded and difcovered
themfelves fince. We all enjoy, and are enti-
tled to the Benefit of the fame Light — We
breath in the fame Air — are fupported by the
fame Earth — behold the Glory of the fame
World — are preferved in Life by the fame
Hand — and are maintained by the Care and
Providence of the fame God, who has made
of one Bloody all Nations of Men upon the Face AasxvU.
oj the Earth. We are all his Offspring ; be- "~ '

in

%

1 86 Creation, or our Obligations, &c.

Sermon jng the Children of the One God and Father
«.^^^ of all, who is above all, and through all, and
in you all. It follows upon this, that as God
has a RefpeSl to all the Works of his Hands^
and we have the Honour and Happinefs to
be of the Number of his Rational Crea-
tures J fo we may Siuire ourfelves of his equal
Regards, if we do nothing to forfeit them.
In all thefe Refpeds, there is no Difference
^ betwixt Man and Man ^ — Rich or Poor — •
High or Low — Bond or Free. I'he Poor
Prov.xxii. ^nd the Rich meet together, and God is the
~* Maker of them all. They all meet together

in the fame World — live under the Care
and Condud of the fame God -— and are ca-
pable of rifing to aFitnefs for meeting toge-
ther again in the fame World ; for God would
I Tim. ii. have all Men to be Jdved; and i/t every Na-
^' tion, they that fear him and work Right eoufnefs

Afts X. jj.^ii ^11 Ij^ accepted. \i our Hearts are right
with God, we may, any, or all of us, adopt
my Text, and fay with the Palmift, ^hou art
my Hope^ O Lord God, Thou art my "Tru/i from
my Touth. By thee have I bee7i hoi den up from
the Womb ; Thou art he, that took me out of
my Mother s Bowels, my Fraife fl^all be conti-
nually of thee,

SER-

34'

187
SERMON IX.

Providence, or our Obligations
to God our Preserver and Be-
nefactor.

Psalm Ixxi. 5, 6.

Tbou art my Hope^ O Lord God, Thou art
my Truji from my Touth, By thee have I
been holden up Jrom the Womb ; Thou art
he\ that took me out of my Mother's Bow-
els : My Praife Jhall be continually of thee.

FMMM"^ HE Pfalmift is he-e inftruaing, Sermon
§ T S ^^^ leading us by his Example, ^ --'._/
M )^ to look back to the Original of

XMMAjui Q^j. Being, and from thence trace
and commemorate the Care and Goodnefs
of God, which we have feverally experien-
ced from the Begining of our Natural Lives
to this Day.

In a Former Difcourfe I have,

I. En-

1 88 Providence^ or our Obligations

Sermon
IX.

I. Endeavoured to remove fuch unwor-

thy Sentiments, as carelefs and per-
verfe Minds may have conceived con-
cerning God and his common Provi-
dence. And then proceeded,

II. To a more particular Confideration of
our Obligations to God, arifing from
the Original Gift of Being - — and
the fubfequent Care of his good Pro-
vidence, through the Whole of Life.

Here I led back your Thoughts and
Meditations.

Fi RST, to the Original Grant of Being —
ihzt Jirji and great A&. of God upon us, when
out of Nothing — out of Non-entity ^ he
brought us into Being and Exiftence.

Secondly, I have confidered the Rank
we hold in the Scale and Order of Beings in
God's Creation ; and the Powers and Capa-
cities both of Mind and Body which our
Creator has given us.

Thirdly, the Nature and Form of this
prefent World, or Part of God's immenfe
Creation, into which we are born j and our

Situation

to God our Preferver and BenefaBor, 1 89

Situation in it. I now go on td put you Sermon
upon confidering, ._ ' ^

Fourthly, The conftant Care and good
Providence of God, that has been exercifed
towards all, and every one of us, from the
Begining of our Natural Lives to this Day.
Here we may adopt the Language, and
ought to adopt the Spirit of the Pfalmift in
my Text, Thou haft been my Hope, O Lord
God — Thou haft been my Trujlfrom my Touth
— By thee have I been holden up Jrom the
Womb, Thou art he that took me out of my Mo-
thers Bowels J my Praife Jhall be continually
of thee. Or as he exprefles the fame Thought,
Pfalm xxii. 9, 10. Thou art he that took me
out of the Womb — Thou didft make me Hope,
when I was upon my Mother's Breafts — Lwas
caft upon thee, from the Womb — Thou hafl
been my God from my Mother's Belly. This
was the Cafe with every one of us. Let us
afk ourfelves in the Language of Job^ but
with a different Spirit, Why died 1 not from
the Womb ? Why did I not give up the Ghofi,
when 1 came out of the Belly ? Why did the
Knees prevent me ? Or why the Breafts that I
Jhould fuck ^ Why was 1 not carried from the
Womb to the Grave f The Anfwer is plain —

Ail

#

Providence^ or cur Obligaiioni
All this was the Lord's doing, and it is mar-
vellous in our Eyes. If it is thought, that
this was owing to the Care and Tendernefs
of our Parents ; let us think again. Who in-
fpired them with thrs Spirit of Parental Af-
feBion f Certainly God, their Father, and
our Father ; their God, and our God. And
let it not be faid, that this Parental Care is
owing to the Laws of the State. There have
been civilized States, where no fuch Laws
were enatSted, but the Prefervation of their
Infants was left to the free Will of the Pa-
rents, as their Education is now with us^
whether they would at firft take up * their
Children, or fuffer them to perifh. Nor was
this Want of a Civil Law owing to the Bar-
barity of thofe States ; but to the Experi-
ence they had, that the God of Nature had
made better Provifion, than any pofitive Law
could do; and the Event proved it, fince
perhaps as few Infants perifhed there by be-
ing negleded or expofed, as in our Nation
at prefent, where the Murther of an Infant
is juftly puniflied with the Death of the un-
natural Parent or Murtherer.

Nor let this peculiar Parental AfFedtion
be afcribed to Cufiom^ fince we fee it is TJni-

•verfaly

* Tollere Liberos.

nn.

to God our Preferver and Benefadlor, ' 191
verfal like all the Laws of God and Nature, Sermom
prevailing through all the Species of An;- : -,-.^
mals, whofe Offspring ftand in need of fuch
Aid. Rven the Sea-MonJiej-s draw out the
Breajii they give Suck to their Toung Ones ;
as the Prophet obferves, when lamenting the
unnatural Temper of fome Parents in his
Day. How^ fays he, is the fine Gold become Lam. iv.
dim — Think what he intends by this — It
is this Parental AffeBion under Confiderati-
on, the nobleft Principle in God's Creation
— the planting or his own Right-Hand, to
which it is owing, that we died not from the
Womb. HoijD is the Gold become dim I How
is the moji fine Gold changed — Even the Sea-
Monflers draw out the Breaft, and give Suck
to their Toung Ones : But the Daughter of my
People is become cruely like thd Oftrich in the
Wildernefs ; whilfl the Tongue of the fucking
Child cleaveth to the Roof of its Mouth for
Thirft, The Oftrich leaveth her Eggs in the Jobxxxk.
Earth, and war met h them in the Duft j for^
getting that the Foot may crufh them, or that
the wild Beafi may break them. She is bar^
dened againfl her Toung Ones, as though they
were not hers : Becaufe God hath deprived her
of Wifiom, neither hath he imparted to her

Xlnder-

14—17.

IX.

192 Providence^ or our Obllgatiom

Sermok Under/landing. The Reafon is this, Provi-
fion is made by the God of Nature for the
Prefervatlon of their Species, without any
Care or Concern in the Old Ones for their
Offspring. But where this is wanting, the
Natural AfFedtion is univerfally implanted.

No Creature is brought into Being, in a
more naked, tender, and helplefs Condition
than Man : And the natural Provifion, made
for the Prefervation of the Human Species,
is not only the common Principle of Hu^
manity, but this peculiar InJiinB of Parental
A^eciion, This is implanted deeper in Man-
kind, and continues much longer, than in
any other Kind of Creatures ; as our Off-
fpring remain fo much longer in a depen-
dent, indigent State. God has proportioned
the Degrees of his providential Care and Af-
fiftance to the Weaknefs and Exigency of
all his Creatures ; fo that we are in the leaft
Danger of perifhing through Want, when
we are the leaft able to provide for our-
felves. In fuch Circumftances we may fay,
as Abraham did to Ifaac^ My Sony God will
PROVIDE. God did provide for us, before
we were born ; and has done fo ever fince,
of which we are this Day the living Monu-
ments.

to God our Preferver and Benefadfor. 193

ments. The fame provident Divine Hand, Sermou
that infufed Milk into our Mother's Breafts, ^_,„i^^
infufed the Parental Inftind: into their Hearts.
Hence the Sorrow and Pain is forgot, for Joy
that a Child is born into the World — And
hence the Prophet's Expoftulation,Ctf« a Wo- Ifa. xlix.
man forget her fucking Child, that fie fhould '^*
not have Compaffion on the Son of her Womb f
None but a Monfter in Nature can do this
— Our's did not j ** They made fuitable Pro-
** vifion for us againft the Time of our Birth,
** and were the Means of bringing us into
<* Life, to fee the Light of this World, and
** enjoy thofe Bleflings, which God has be-
** flowed on Man — He delivered us into
" their Hands feeble, naked, and defence-
*' lefs J needing many Things ; not know-
** ing what we needed, and incapable of do-
" ing any Thing for ourfelves. Had they
" negleded us in thefe Circumftances, we
" had periflied immediately, through Want
*' and Inability. But they voluntarily took
** upon themfelves the Burden of cherifhing
*' and defending us, which nothing but their
" vehement Love and natural AfFedion for
*^' us, could have rendered tolerable. Upon
'' our Account they abridged themfelves of
O *< many

IX.

194 Providence, or our Obligations

Sermon '^ many Enjoyments -— To us they facrificed
" in many Inftances their own Eafe and Plea-
^' fures — For us they endured much La-
*' hour, and felt many an anxious Thought
« — For us they have gone through endlefs
«' Hardfliips, by Day and by Night, with no
'' Httle Hazard of their Health, and even of
" their Lives. In Infancy they nurfed us —
*' In Sicknefs they attended us — In Sorrows
" they comforted us — and always furnifli-
" ^d us with Food and Raiment fuitable to
*' our Condition. All this they did ■^- and
" did it chearfuUy, for our Sakes, when we
** had done Nothing for them — when we
«' knew not as yet our Guardians and Bene-
" fadlors — when we did not fo much as
" afk, or thank them for their Favours j and
*« this, when they had no AfTurance they
'* (hould ever receive any Recompence for
*' their Pains" * -— yea, defiring nothing but
our Prefervation and Welfare. Now to what
Original Caufe can all this be afcribed, but
to God, to whom the Pfalmift afcribes it; in
whofe devout Language, all that I have faid
is briefly contained. By thee have I been
holden up from the Womb -, Thou art he that

took

* Holland's Sermons.

to God our Preferver and EemfaBor, ig§

took me out of my Mother' i Bowels — Thou didjl Sermon
make me hope, when I was upon my Mother s ,.^^.^^1^
Breafls,

And let us not think, that the Gare of
Providence ended with our Infancy, or Child'^
hood; and that we have been our own Pre-
fervers ever fince. The Pfalmift thought
otherwife, when he not only fays, Thou art
he that took me out of my Mothers Bowels,
and caufedji me to hope^ when I was upon my
Mother s Breajis : But he adds. By thee have
1 been holden up finee — Thou haft been, and
fiill art my Hope, O Lord God-, Thou hafi
been my Truji from my Touth. Did we grow
in Stature, and our Powers and Abilities
both of Body and Mind, increafe with our
Years — This again was the Lord's doing
— for which of us ever did, or can add one
Cubit to our Stature, or one Power either to
our Minds or Bodies? It is God, that givetb Ifa.xi.295
Wifdom to the Wife, and to them that have no
Might, he increafeth Strength, In (hort, we
are, and have Nothing, but what we have
received — Nothing, but what we have re-
ceived from God.

Again, let us not think, that vve are

now become Independent, and Self-fufficient,

O 2 None

IX.

9 6 Providence, or our Obligations

Sermon None are more apt to fancy this, than Young
Perlbns ; though few of them maintain
themfelves, or get any Thing to this Pur-
pofe, for the firft twenty Tears of Life. Let
us confider, if that was not, and is now, our
own Cafe j and adore that Hand of Provi-
dence, to which we owe our Education and
Maintenance, for fo many Years, before we
contributed any Thing to our own Support.

Nor let us think, we are become lefs de-
pendent on the Care of God and his Provi-
dence fince. As our Powers and Poffeffions
have increafed, our Wants have increafed,
and our Dangers multiplied. In the midft
of Life we are in Death — One is dying on
the Right-Hand, and another on the Left j
and we as Mortal as any one of them. Think
how many are dead, and gone out of this
World, who came into it fince you and I
did J and then we (liall need none to tell
us, to whole Care we owe our Prefervation.

0 let us think again. How many Dangers
we have efcaped, and how many Supplies
and Bleffings we have received from God
in the Courfe of our Lives ? How many^ did

1 fay ? Impoffible to tell — If I fliould at-
tempt to count them, they are more in Num-
ber

to God our Preferver and BeneJaBor. 197

ber than the Sands. The Moments that Sermom
have palTed lince I was born, no Ways equal . ■-' _
the Bleffings that 1 have received from God,
in whom we all live, and move, and have
our Being. O my Soul, what Tribute is
due to God, for all this Care and Goodnefs
of his, which has conflantly attended me
from the Begining of my Natural Life to
this Day! My Mouth f mil fiew forth thy Pfal.lxxL
Righteoufnefs and thy Salvation all the Day j ^^*
for I know not the Numbers thereof.

Hitherto I have called to Remem-
brance the Bleffings, which all of us in
common have received from God.

Let us now proceed to take proper No-
tice of the Special and Extraordinary Mer-
cies, which we have received. Here then
let us briefly confider, Wherein we differ
— and IVho maketh us to differ. Though
my Text does not fo directly lead to this,
yet in other Places, we often find the Pfal-
mift making thefe the Subject of his devout
Meditations. If we forget our Extraordi-
nary Mercies, we fliall be apt to forget or
overlook our Ordinary Ones.

First then, Are we favoured with any

Natural Advantages of Body, or Endowments

O 3 of

19^ Providence, or our Obligations

Sermon of Mind, above many of our Fellow-Men ?
t,,.,.^^^ Let us be thankful to God for them, faying,
by the Gift and Grace of God^ I am, what I
am. Many we behold born with a weak
and tender Conftitution — Others Imperfed:
and Infirm — Some are born deaf and dumb;
others blind. But not to enlarge upon fuch
unhappy Defedts, as in fome Refpedls di-
rninifh the Happinefs of this Life, when
fpringing from fuch a Root — Had we the
Happinefs to be born into Life, with all the
Limbs and Senfes perfed ? — And has this
Infant Body grown up to Maturity of Strength
and Stature, fit for Labour, and capable of
ufeful Service ? Are we in this Refpedl Vef-
fels of Honour filled for our Creator's Ufe ?
Oh, what Reafon have we to be thankful !
and to fay with the Pfalmift, Iwillpraife thee,
Pfalm fi^ 1 am J ear j idly made — marvellous are thy
pxxix. Works, and that my Soul knoweth right well.
' ' ' * — I'hine Eyes did fee my Subftance, yet being
imperjeB ; and in thy Book all my Members
were written, which in Continuance werejajlii^
oned, when as yet there was none of them.

But, What is a perfeft and well formed
Human Body deprived of Reafon ? What,
but the mqft piteous Objed upon Earth ? If

then

to God our Prefiruef- and Benefadior. i 99

then our Intelledual Faculties are found and Sermon

IX
perfe61, in a Degree common to Man j and ^ -,-,_>

efpecially if we are bleffed with any Superior
Degrees of Genius, fuch as a clear Percep-
tion — a tenacious Memory — a folid Judg-
ment— a fedate Temper — and a ftedfaft
Mind. — Thefe are the Gifts of God refult-
ing from the Mould, in which we were
formed, by his All-creating Hand. If we
have made any additional Improvement, as
doubtlefs is expelled in Proportion to the
Talents we are entrufted with, yet the Ori'
^m^/ Talents are all from God, whether one^
ov JivCy or te?2i and claim proportionable
Gratitude and Praife.

Secondly, Have thefe Original Gifts been
preferved to us for fo many Years ? Has God
redeemed us Jrcm DeJiruBioft, and crowned
us with loving Kindnefs . and tender Mercy ^
Has our Food been given us, and our RaimeJit
fare ? Though perpetually furrounded with
Difeafes and Death ; and befet with Dangers
which we could neither forefee nor prevent

— Is Life ftill fpared ? — Health continued ?

— Our Bones kept, and not one of them
broken ? — Our Reafon and Senfes preferv-
ed to us ? — and does our Bow ftill abide in

O 4 Strength ?

200 Providence^ or our Obligations

Sermon Strength ? O the wonderful ! O the adorable
^„^,i^^ Care and Goodnefs of God !

Thirdly, The fpecial Advantages arifing
to us from our Parents, and Natural Rela-
tions, (hould ever be remembered with all
due Gratitude and Praife to God j who or-
dered our Defcent, and gave us, and not
others, to be their Children, and Heirs to
all the Privileges and Advantages of fuch
Relation fhip. Our Birth-right is the Gift
of God — Towards this, we ourfelves con-
tributed Nothing. Had we then the Hap-
pinefs to be defcended from honeft, credita-
ble, and good Parents ? and were we born
Heirs to the Fruit of their Labours, or to
any Family-Title, or Eftate ? Here is parti-
cular Reafon for Gratitude ; but none for
Pride or Difdain. In this Cafe, What haft
thoUf that thou ka/i not received'^ Or why
boafteft thou thyfelf\ as if thou hadft not re-
€eii)ed it ? And who was it that made thee to
differ ? Are we defcended from Chriftian
Parents, who gave cs a pious Education,
and took Care to train and fit us for farther
Improvement and Ufefulnefs in Life ? All
thefe, and fuch like, are Circumftances con-
ne(5led with our Birth, which ought to be

frequently

to God our Preferver and BenefaBor, 201

frequently and thankfully reaiembered. And Sermom
fuch Remembrance will diredly leau us io ^,.,.^^1.^
fee our Obligations to God, Who hath made A£U xvii.
of one Blood all Nations of Men, who dwell on
the Face of the Earth — and hath fettled the
Bounds of their Habitat ion. — And is mine
agreeable, and preferable to that of many
others ? I will fay with the devout Pfalmift,
The Lord is the Portion of mine Inheritance ; pfai. xvi.
thou maintainefi my Lot. The Lines are fal- 5» ^'
ten unto me in pkafant Places -, yea, I have a
goodly Heritage.

Fourthly, Have AcceJJions been made
in the Courfe of Providence, to thefe Ori-
ginal Bleffings ? Has God profpered our La-
bours, and bleffed our Endeavours ? Has he
raifed us up from our low Eftate, and done
great and unexpected Things for us, where^
of we are glad ? Though here we may have
bore fome Part ourfelves, yet upon ^ fair
Computation, we (hall fee Reafon to give
God the Glory of all — to whom we have
been indebted for the con (1 ant Prefervation
of all our Powers ; and the Bleffings of his
Providence, attendant upon our Labours. It
is recorded to God's Praife, He chcfe David P^alm..

1 XX villa

bis Servafit, and took him from the Sheep- 70,71.

Folds

xxxn.
9,10.

202 Providence^ or our Obligatiom

Sermon Folds — He brought him to feed 'Jacob his
,^^^_A^ Peopky and IJrael his Inheritance, And have
we been favoured with any Additions to our
Original Stock of Divine Bleffings ? Inftead
of being afhamed of our Original, let us
cultivate the Spirit of Father Jacob, when
he thus addreffes himfelf to God, 0 God of
Genefis wj Father Abraham, and God of my Father
Ifaac ! The Lord which Jaid unto fjie^ return
unto thy Country, and to thy Kindred, and I
will deal well with thee — I am not worthy of
the leajl of all the Mercies, and of all the
Truth which thou haft fkewed unto thy Ser-
vant! For with my Staff [with nothing but
my Staff) I paffed over this Jordan, and now
I am become two^Bands. O let us but con-
iider what we are now, and what we were,
and I think it impoffible for mofl: of us to
flop the Overflowings of Gratitude and A-
doration : — Efpecially if we call to mind,

Fifthly, The D^/zg-^rj through which
we have pafled, and the Difficulties we have
met with in our PafTage through Life, It
is a Miracle of Mercy, and the clearefl Proof
of Divine Providence, that we are ftill the
Living to praife God. How often have You,
and I, been brought lov^, and God has raifed

us

to God our Preferver and Benefa&or. 2^'^,

us up ? Let each of us recoiled our own De- S£r h

jiverances, and we (hall fay with the Pfalmift, , ^ .^

7 lo'oe the Lord^ becaufe he hath heard my Voice Prai. acvi.
and my Supplicatiom — becaufe he hath in- "~
clined his Ear unto me ; therefore will I call
upon him as long as I live. The Sorrows of
Death compafjed me^ and the Tains of Death
gat hold upon me — 1 found Trouble and Sor-
row — Then called I upon the Name of the
Lord; O Lord^ I befeech thee, deliver my
SouL Gracious is the Lord, and righteous ;
yea 3 our God is merciful — I was brought low,
and he helped me - — Return unto thy Rejl, O
■my Soul \ for the Lord hath dealt bountifully
with thee. For thou haft delivered my Soul
from Deathy mine Eyes from Tears, and my
Feet from falling — What JIj all I render unto
the Lord, for all his Benefits towards me ? O
Lord truly I am thy Servant — I am thy Ser^
vant — thou hall Idofed my Bonds.

Permit me to add, That this is not only
the Duty of the Rich, and Healthful, who
ftand in Need of Nothing 5 but likewife of
the Poor and Infirm. The Care and Pro-
vidence of God is particularly apparent in
the Prefervation of the Poor and Needy,
You, who are unknown^ and yet well known

to

IX.

204 Providence^ or cur Obligations

Sermon to God — as dyings and behold ye live — as
chaftenedy and not killed — as forrowjul, yet
always rejoicing — as having Nothing — and
yet pojfeffing all 'Things. — O ye dear Souls,
My Mouth is open unto youy my Heart is en-
larged. 1 /peak as unto my Children , be ye
alfo enlarged. God has been your Hope and
your Truft from your Youth up — By him
you have been holden up from the Womb
— He has been your God from your Mo-
ther's Belly. Say then, Why art thou caft
down O my Soul, Why art thou di [quieted within
me ? T^riLJl in God^ Jor 1 jhall yet praife him^
who is the Health of my Countenance, and my
God, He choofes the Poor of this World,
who are rich in Faith, to be Heirs of his
Kingdom. Your Heavenly Father knoweth
what you ftand in Need of; and if you feek
his Kingdom and the Righteoufnefs thereof,
thefe Things fhall be added unto you.

I HAVE thus put you upon calling to Re-
membrance the Experience you have had
of the conftant Care and Goodnefs of God,
from the firft Moment of your coming into
Being to this Day. In doing this, I hope I
have been contributing to the befl: Interefts
of your Souls ; and I trufl:, that you have felt

the

IX.

to God our Preferver and BeneJaBor, 205

the Workings of true Piety in your own Sermon
Hearts. Speaking from Experience I fay it,
there is Nothing gives fuch Evidence of the
Bei?ig and Providence of God, as a Survey
of this Kind. At other Times, we hear of
God with the Hearing of the Ear ; but here
the Eye fees ^ and the Soul Jeels him. He is
not far from every One of us j fi)r we are his
Offspring j and in him we all live, and move^
and have our Being, Nor does any Thing
fink my Soul to that Depth of true Humili-
ty — or raife my Mind to that Height of
true Devotion, like afcending up to God, in
fuch commemorative Meditations; and from
thence looking down upon myfelf from on
high — and looking back, and tracing the
Footfteps and Series of Divine Providence,
to the firft Original of my Exiftence — I
then behold myfelf the Offspring of God,
and the conftant Care of my Heavenly Fa-
ther — though lefs than the leafi: of all his
Mercies.

The Ufes proper to be made of all that
has been faid, are two.

First, This former Experience of the
Hand and Care of God, is improvable by the
Servants of God, as a Ground oi future Hope-,

even

2o6 Providence, or our Ohligatiom

even under the Infirmities of Age. I fliall
not enlarge upon this at prefent, as I intend
to confider it in my next DifGourfe to you,
from Verfes 17, 18. of this Pfalm, O God^
thou baft taught me from my Touth -, and hi-
therto have I declared thy wondrous Works — ^
Now alfo, when I am Old, and gray-headed,
O God, forfake me not.

Secondly, All that has been faid fliould
be converted into the Sacrifice of Praife to
God — being the chief Return that we arc
capable of rendering to him for all his Mer-
cies. Thus concludes my Text, My Praife
fiall be continually of thee. Here again I fliall
not enlarge, for this Reafon — Praife and
Adoration is the proper Part, not of the Ser-
mon, but of the other Parts of our Publick
Devotion, to which, my Sermon, I hope,
has been a Preparative. Nor fhould our
Praife be confined to our Publick Worfhip
— nor to the Sabbath-Day. We (hould
praife God every Day, and every Night — -
every Morning, and every Evening — when
we lye down, and when we rife up. — We
{hould praife him in our Out-going, and In-
coming — yea, in the Night- Watches, our
Thoughts and our Hearts (hould be up to

God.

to God our Preferver and Benefadior. 207-

God. — My Prat fe fhall be continually Sirmqm
of thee. We fliould Praife him with our '\^

Hearts — and with our Lips — Speaking to Eph. v.
ourfehes in Pfalms and Hymns, and Spiritual '9*
SoJigs — finging and makifjg Melody in our
Hearts to the Lord. — Giving Thanks always
for all Things unto God and the Father, in the
Name of our Lord Jefus Chrifi. ^

With this Spirit let us now fet forth
God's Praife, finging the following Hymn,
fuggefted by the Pfalm, from which I have
been difcourfing.

WHEN all thy Mercies, O my God, .
My rifing Soul furveys ;
Tranfported with the View I am loft
In Wonder, Love, and Praife.

O how fhall Words with equal Warmth,

The Gratitude declare,
That glows within my ravifli'd Heart !

But thou canft read it there.

Thy Providence my Life fuftain'd,

And all my Wants redreft.
When in the filent Womb I lay,

And hung upon the Breaft.

To

2o8 Providence, or our Obligations

Sermon 'Yq all my weak Complaints and Cries
^-^v— ^ Thy Mercy lent an Ear,

E'er yet my feeble Tho'jghts had learnt
To form themfelves in Prayer.

Unnumber'd Comforts to my Soul,

Thy tender Care beflow'd,
Before my Infant-Heart conceiv'd,

From whom thofe Comforts flow'd.

When in the flipp'ry Paths of Youth,

With heedlefs Steps I ran.
Thine Arm unfeen convey 'd me fafe,

And led me up to Man.

Thro' hidden Dangers, Toils, and Death,

It gently clear'd my Way,
And thro' the pleafing Snares of Vice,

More to be fear'd than they.

When worn with Sicknefs oft haft thou
With Health renew'd my Face,

And when in Sin and Sorrows funk
Reviv'd my Soul with Grace.

Ten thoufand thoufand precious Gifts,
My Daily Thanks employ.

Nor

to God our Preferver and Benefadfor,

Nor is the leaft a chearful Heart,
That taftes thofe Gifts with Joy,

Through ev'ry Period of my Life,

Thy Goodnefs I'll purfue,
And after Death in diftant Worlds

The glorious Theme renew.

When Nature fails, and Day and Night
Divide thy Works no more,

My ever grateful Heart, O Lord,
Thy Mercy (hall adore.

Through all Eternity to thee

A joyful Song I'll raife.
For Oh ! Eternity's too (hort

To utter all thy Praife.

)9(

SER.

210

SERMON X.

The Goodnefs of God in Former
Life, a Ground of Encourage-
ment in Old-Age.

Psalm Ixxi. 17, 18.

O God J thou haji taught me from my Touth,
and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous
Works — Now alfii when I am Old and
gray-headed^ O God, for fake me not ; until
I have P^ewed thy Strength to this Genera-
tion^ and thy Power to every one, that is
to come.

Sermon ?«r)^MM"^ H E Mercics of God, which are
^— ~.r^^ § T H conftantly bellowed upon us,
^ )k through the Courfe of our Lives,

k.MMMjr!i claim, not only our prefent No-
tice, but likewife our After-Remembrance,
and grateful Acknowledgments. Such Gra-
titude

X.

I'he Goodnefs of God in Former Life^ Sec, 21 1

titude is no lefs our Intereft, than our Duty. Sermon
This is what pious and devout Minds have
pradtifed and took Pleafure in, in all Ages.
Such Praife and Gratitude is a natural and
moft reafonable Service, due to the never-
failing Goodnefs and Faithfulnefs of God^
our Maker, Preferver, and conftant Bene-
fador.

The Tendency of my laft Difcourfe, from
the fifth and fixth Verfes of this Pfalm, was
to aflift and excite you and myfelf, in com*
memorating the numberlefs Bleffings and
Mercies, which we have all and feverally
received from God, fince the Begining of
our Natural Lives to this Day. In the Clofe
of it, I obferved, that the Ufe and Improve-
ment which the Pfalmift here diredls us to
make of fuch Meditations, is Fir/i^ To pfaife
and blefs God for all his Mercies. — And
Secondly^ To take Encouragement from the
Experience which we have had of the Care
and Faithfulnefs of God, to hope in him_,
and rely upon him for the future — and
that in Circumftances the mod gloomy and
difcouraging — when labouring under the
heavieft Afflidtions — under the preffing In-
P 2 firmities

X.

212 The Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon firmities of Old-Age — and in the near and
certain Profpedls of approaching Death.

To this SECOND I now proceed — which
I cannot but look upon as one of the mofl
interefting, important, and ufeful Subjedls,
that can pofTibly be took under Confidera-
tion — a Subjedl, that claims the Regard of
All, whether Old or Toungy as will appear
in the Procefs of my Difcourfe ; the Subje(5t
of which, will help to guide our prefent
Thoughts — O Gcd thou haft taught mejrom
my Touth — and hitherto have I declared thy
wojidrous Works — Now alfo, when I am Old
and gray-headed J O God ^ for fake me not ; un-
til 1 have fiewed thy Strength to this Genera-
tion, and thy Power to every One that is to
come.

In meditating upon this Subjetfl, obferve
with me,

I. The Age, and Circumjiances of the
Pfalmift, when he indulged to thefe ferious
Thoughts. He was then Old and gray -head-
ed, as he mentions in my Text. Now alfo,
when I am Old and gray-headed, O
God, for fake me not. And again, Ver. 8.
Cajl me not off in time of Old~Jge ; forfake

me

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 2 1 3

me noty uhen my Strength faileth. How old Sermon

he was, is not faid — Nor is it material. — ^^^^

But the Spnpfoms of Old- Age are fpecified,
particularly a Decay cj Strengthy and Gray-
Hairs. Thefe are the natural Indications of
Old-Age. — The Mementos and Meflen-
gers, which God has fent to reaiind us of
approaching Death. They are Companions
that always attend the Aged and Infirm,
who cannot look themfelves in the Face,
but they look Death in the Face too — In-
fomuch that it is mentioned as an Argument
.of Stupidity, when Gray-Hairs appears here Hof.vii.9.
and there y and we perceive them not.

Now as God has appointed thefe Symp-
toms of Old-Age, as the Forerunners of ap-
proaching Death, fo it is evidently his Will
and Intention, that they fhould remind us
to look forward to Death — to think of leav-
ing this World, and prepare for another.

We are never far from Death. The
whole Life of Man is fliort — it is but as a
Vapour: But when Childhood^ Touthy and
Manhoody are all fpent out, and gone — when
Strength fails — the Head is grown Gray —
and the Man old — then Death can beat
no great Diftance. Nor is this the oniy
P 3 awful

2 14 The Goodnefi of God in Former Life,

awful Thought, that claims our Notice;
but, when this is the Cafe, what little of
Life flill remains, we may reafonably con-
clude, will yield us little, very little, fenfual
and worldly Pleafure. The Days of our Tears
Pfal. xc. are Threefcore Tears and ten : and if h Rea-

|0. ' J ^

Jon of Strength they he Fourfcore Teari, yet is
their Strength Labour and Sorrow. When
Strength decays, generally the Senfes, Ap-
petites, Relifhes, and even the Defires of
Life fail. Hence the Wife Man's Advice,
Ecdef. xii. Remember now thy Creator in the Days of thy
•'' Toitth^ while the Evil Days come not, nor the

Tears draw nigh, when thou fialt fay, I have
no Pleafure in them. We have thus obferv-
ed the Age and Circumftances of the PfalmiO-,
when he indulged to thefe ferious Thoughts.
Let us now confider,

IT. The Two Things, which the Pfalmifl
was principally concerned about. First,
To fecure the Prefence of God, and the
Supports of true Piety and Religion, under
thefe Decays of Nature, and the Infirmities
of Age — Now alfo when I am Old and gray-
headed, O God, forfake me not. His next
Concern appears to be this — To exhibit

fuch

X.

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age.

fuch a Pattern of aged Piety, as might give Sermon
Glory to God — derive Credit upon Religi-
on — and both encourage and excite fuch as
fucceeded him in the World, to choofe God
and Religion for their chief Portion, O God^
forfake me not — until I have Jhewed thy
Strength to this Generation^ and thy Power to
every one that is to come. Thefe, my Bre-
thren, are the two great Concernments of
every one — they ought to be fo — and e-
fpecially of the Aged and Infirm,

First, To fecure the Prefence of God, and
the Supports of true Piety and Religion, efpe-
cially under the Decays of Nature, and the
Infirmities of Age. Now alfo, when lam Old,
and gray-headed^ forfake me not — Cafi me
not off in Time of Old- Age ^ forfake me not
when my Strength faileth. The true genu-
ine Supports of Religion, and Confolations
of Piety, refulting from a pure, lively, fted-
faft, well-grounded Hope in God, are at all
Times, and in all Seafons of Life, greatly
defirable. — But they are efpecially defirable
in Time of Old- Age — under the Decays of
Nature, and the Prefages of approaching
Death — For this obvious Reafon — Becaufe
in thefe Circumflances, the Old Man hath
P 4 little.

2 1 6 I'he Gcodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon little, or Nothing left btfides, for the Sup-
s.^.^^^..^^ port and Comfort of his Mind. His Capacity
and Relifli for earthly Joys is gone — his
old Friends and Acquaintance are mod or all
of them, gone to the Grave before him j or
are difperfed at a Diftance — A new Gene-
ration is rifen up, who have little Knowledge
of him, or Acquaintance with him. Per-
haps his Relations are grown weary of him,
and think it long before he free them from
the Trouble of his Infirmities, and leave
them in full Pofleflion of his Subftance. Or
if his former Ufefulnefs, and prefent ami-
able Qualities, ftill endear him to his Rela-
tions and Friends, and fecure their tendered
and kindefl Offices, (as indeed they ought)
yet alas, they are but miferable and helplefs
Comforters. They cannot redeem from
Death — they cannot repair the Decays of
Nature, nor bear him up under the tedi-
ous Infirmities of Age. It is, my Friends,
the true genuine Spirit of Piety and ReHgion
— It is this, and this only, that can be the
Staff and Support of the Aged Saint. The
daily and inward Language of his pious Soul
Pfal.lxxiii. IS this. Whom, 0 God^ have I in Heaven but
^S> 20. ^^^^^ ^fj^ ^jjgj.^ 1^ j2one upon Earth to be de^

fred

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 2 1 7

fired bejides thee: My Flefh and my Heart Skrmom
failetby but God is the Strength of my Hearty -C— •
and my Portion for ever. Or as in my Tejit,
Now I am Old and gray-headed, O God, for-
fake me not. Cajl me fiot off in the Time of
Old-Age, forjake me not, now my Strength
faileth.

To his ancient Servants in a peculiar and
immediate Senfe, God is All in All. He is
io indeed to all his Servants, as all their Sup-
plies and Bleffings are derived from him. —
But the Aged and Infirm, who are incapa-
eitated for relifliing worldly Comforts, and
the Sources of fecond Caufes are flopped,
all their chief Supports and Confolations are
derived immediately from God himfelf — His
Hand holds their Souls in Life, and his Vifi-
tation preferves their Spirits — He is the im~
mediate Strength of their Souls — In his Fa^
vour confifts their Lije, and his Loving Kind-
nefs is Better than Life, The Light of his
Countenance, and the Confolations of his
free Spirit fupport their Souls — give them
Joy in believing, and enable their Spirits to
bear all their bodily Infirmities. They re-
fie(5l with Gratitude upon the former Gifts
of God's Goodnefs, and Pledges of his Love -,

and

2 1 8 Tbe Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon and in the lively Exercife of chearful Hope

j^^-,j and ftedfaft Faith, they rejoice in View of

the Glory of God ready to be revealed. And

with Regard to the Pains and Infirmities of

Age, all v^itneffing, that the Time of their

Departure is near, this is their Language,

None of thefe Things move me^ neither do 1

count this Lije dear to myfelf\ fo that I may

fnifJd my Courfe with Joy. I am paffing thro*

the Valley of Deaths but my God is with me

— his Rod and his Staff fupport and comfort

me.

Thus iht firjl and great Concern of the
Aged Saint is to fecure the Prekiice of God,
and the Supports of true Piety and Religion,
under the Decays of Nature and Infirmities
of Age. The Pfalmift's next and great Con-
cern was this.

Secondly, To exhibit fuch a Pattern of
Aged Piety, as might give Glory to God —
derive Credit upon Religion — and both en-
courage and excite Succeflbrs, to choofe God
and Religion for their chief Portion. — O Gody
forfake me not, till I have fiewed thy Strength
to this Generation^ and thy Power to every one
that is to come. Here, i fay, you will eafily
obferve, that the Pfalmift's great Concern

appears

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age,
appears to be this — to fecure the Prefence
and Affiilance of God in this laft Stage of
Life J and this, not only for his own Sake,
but likewife out of Regard to the Glory of
God — the Credit of Religion — and the
Benefit of Pofterity. His Fear was, left un-
der the Infirmities of Age, and the Profpeds
of approaching Death, he fhould fink into
Peeviflinefs, or Difcontent ; or any Way
flievv a Diftatisfadion with the Appointments
of Providence in the concluding Part of
Life. On the contrary, his Concern was,
that his laft Days might be his beft Days —
that when incapacitated for ferving God and
his Generation in a more aSiive Capacity,
he might ftill glorify God, and benefit the
World, by exhibiting an eminent Pattern of
Pqffive Virtues, and Suffering Piety ; by pof-
feffing his Soul in Patience, and difcovering
the peculiar Powers and Confolations of Pi-
ety and Religion, even in the moft awful
and trying Seafon, when Flefh and Heart
other wife fail. And let me tell you, we
never behold fo much of the true Power,
and Perfed:ion of Religion, nor does the
Man of God ever appear with fo much true
Dignity and Advantage, as in this laft Scene

of

220 The Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

of Life, when Faith and Patience have their

perfed Work, and fhine forth in all their

proper Fruits and EfFedts. When the Aged

Saint, labouring under the Decays of Nature,

is ftiU chearftd, eafy, meek, patient, refgned\

— pleafed with this Life and World — re-

iieding with Gratitude upon what God has

formerly beftowed on him, and done for

him — and ftill better pleafed with what lies

before him — rejoicing in Hope of the Glo-

ry of God, ready to be revealed.

To omit many other Inftances, let me
point you to the Cafe of the Apoftle Paul,
The moft affeding Scene in the Hiftory of
his Life, where he ads his Part with the
greatefl Dignity, and draws forth the Admi-
ration and Tears of his attending Audience,
you have A^s xx. 17— end. When at Mi-
letus, he fent for the Elders of Epbefus, in
order to take his laft Farewel of them' —
Where having firft reminded them of his
pa^ Life and Manners, he adds, And now I
go bound in the Spirit to Jerufalem, 77ot know-
ing the Tubings that fiall befal me there : Save
that the Holy Ghoft witnejjeth in every City,
faying, that Bonds and Affliaions abide me :
But none of thefe "Things move me, neither

count

a Ground of Encouragement in OH- Age. 221

count I my Life dear unto myfelf, fo that 1 may Sermon
finifJj my Courfe with joy, and the Minijlry _ _,_/
which I ha've received of the Lord J ejus, to
ieflijy the Gofpel oj the Grace of God, And
now behold y I know that ye all^ among whom
1 have gone preaching the Kingdom of God^
fljall fee my Face no more. Wherefore I take
you to Record this Day^ that I am pure from
the Blood of all Men. For I have not Jhun-
ned to declare unto you all the Counjel of God.
— And flow Brethren, I commend you to God,
and to the Word of his Grace, which is able
to build you up^ and to give you an Inheritance
among all them which are JanSiiJied. — And
when he had thus fpoken, he kneeled down, and
prayed with them all ; and they all wept fore,
and Jell on Paul'j Neck, and kiffed him -, for-
rowing mofl of ally for the Words which he
jpake, that they Jhould fee his Face no more.
Read from Verfe ij, to the End.

How moving likewife is the Story of Fa-
ther Jacobs when bleffing his Children, and
taking his laft Farewel — particularly when
he laid his Hand, on the Heads of his Grand-
Children, and faid, 7he God before whom my Genefis
Fathers Abraham and Ifaac did walk — The '''^"i-^S.
God, which has fed me all my Life long unto

this

222 ^be Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon this Day, The Angel, which redeemed me
\ v' _ /^g«g all Evil ^ BLESS THE Lads. Such a
friendly Reprefentation of God and Religi-
on, in thefe Circumftances, is Jhewing God's
Strength to this Generation, and his Power
to fuch as are to come.

When an Aged Minifter or Parent, be-
haves thus in the decline of Life, what Pow-
er and Influence is here ! to infpire his De-
fcendants with religious Purpofes and Re-
folves, faying. Thou art my God, and I will
praife thee, my Father s God, and I will exalt
thee. In this the real Sovereignty and Worth
of true Religion appears, that it is a Con re-
lation and Support, even in Old-Age, when
all other Confolations vaniQi j and when in-
ward Supports are moft wanted. Let us
now further Remark,

IIL From Whence the Aged Pfalmift de-
rived the Grounds of his Encouragement,
that God would thus grant him his Prefence
and Supports in the Clofe of Life. And
here again the Grounds of his Encourage-
ment are two.

First, The pleafing Remembrance of
his early and perfevering Piety and Virtue.

And

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 223

And Secondly^ The Remembrance of the Sermom
conftant Care and Faithfulnefs of God, ._ -^'-.,_f
which he had all along experienced, from
the Begining of his Natural Life to that
Day. Both thefe he jointly pleads with
God in my Text, in the moft affedionate
Manner ; in Order ftill further to ftrengthen
his Heart, and cherifh his lively Hope and
Truft in God. O God^ thou haft taught me
from my Touth, and hitherto have 1 declared thy
wondrous Works — from whence he pleads.
Now alfo when lam old and gray -headed, O
God forfake me not. The fir ft: Ground of
Encouragement is this,

I ft;. The pleafing Remembrance of his
early and perfevering Piety and Virtue. O
Gody thou hajl taught me from my Touth —
and hitherto have I declared thy wondrous
Works, As if he had faid, " O God, I was
« early brought to the Knowledge of thy
" Name, and to the Knowledge of thy
" Will — Early principled with the Fear of
" God, which is the Begining of Wifdom.
*' — I have ever fince made it my Pradice
*' to keep thy Commands, and praife thy
*' Name. Though amidfl: many Imperfec-
" tions, yet I have all my Life long, made

" thv

X.

224 ^^^ Goodnefs of God in Former Life^

Sermon ** thy Will and Service my chief Concern.
** — Tbou haft taught me frotn my Touth^ and
" hitherto have I declared thy wondrous Works.
<* — And now when I am Old and gray-head-
** ed^ 0 God, for fake me not — I know thou
** wilt not." O my Friends, Nothing yields;
Nothing can yield, fuch Satisfadlion in Time
of Old-Age, as the Remembrance of a well
improved, and well fpent Life : — Nor can
any Thing yield fuch DifTaiisfadion, as the
Confcioufnefs of a mif- fpent Life. The
fooner we are brought to the Knowledge
and Fear of God — and the longer, and more
carefully we have lived in the Pradice of
Virtue and Piety — I fay, the fooner this
was begun — and the longer it has been per-
fifted in, the better. The Fruit of RightC"
oufnefs is Peace^ and the EffeSl of it is S>uiet'
nefs and Affurance for ever.

Youth is the proper Seed-Time — Man'-
hood the Seafon for growing to Maturity —
and Old- Age the Time of Harveft. Such
Servants of God as thefe, fiall coine to their
Graves in a full Age^ as a Shock of Corn
Cometh in, in its Seajon. Hence the Preacher
advifes, in order to be prepared for meeting
Old-Age with Comfort, Remember now thy

Creator

X.

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age,
Creator in the Days of thy Tbutb. And this Sermon
the Apoftle Paul tells us was the Ground of
his Support and Comfort under the near
Profped: of approaching Death, The Tejiimony
of a good Confcience^ that in Simplicity and 2 Cor. h
godly Sincerity y he had had his Converfation
in the World. This he tells young Timothy
for his Encouragement, / am now ready to z Tim. ivi
be offered^ and the Time of my Departure is ^' ^* ^* ^-
at hand — / have fought a good Fight ^ 1 have
fni/hed my Courfe — / have kept the Faith — js
henceforth there is laid up for me a Crown of
Righteoufnefst which the Lord^ the righteous
Judge, /hall give me at that Day 5 and not to
me only, but unto all them aljo^ that love his
appearing. If in the Clofe of Life, our Hearts
condemn us not, but bear a fair Teftimony
to a weli-fpent Life, then fhall we have Re-
joicing in Ourfelves, and have Confidence
towards God ; who is not w faithful to forget Heb. vi>
our Work or Labour of Love. In one Word,
God never forgets, he never forfakes his
faithful Servants, when they are Old. This
is the firft Ground of Hope.

2dly, The second Ground of the Aged

Pfalmift's Encouragement, was the pleafing

Remembrance of the conftant Care and

Q^ I^aith^

10.

The Goodnefs of God in Former Lifey
Faithfulnefs of God, which he had all along
experienced, from the Begining of his Na-
tural Life to that Day. O God, thou haft
taught me from my Touth ; and hitherto have
I declared thy wondrous Works — Now alfo,
when J am Old and gray-headed^ O God, for-
fake me not. Thus again, Ver. 5. Thou art
my Hope, O Lord God ; thou art my Trujl
from my Touth. — By thee have I been holden
up from the Womb — thou art he that took me
out of my Mother's Bowels — my Praife /hall
b£ continually of thee ; — I am a Wonder unto
many — but thou art my flrong Refuge -, let
my Mouth be filled with thy Praife, and with
thy Honour all the Day, It follows, Caft me
not off in Time of Old-Jge, forfake me noty
when my Strength faileth. And thus in the
Verfe after my Text, Thy Righteoufnefs, O
God, is very high, who haft done great Things
— O God, who is like unto thee — Thou which
bajl fldewed me great and fore Troubles, (and
fupported me under them) fhalt quicken me
again, and bring me up again, from the
Depths of the Earth,

It would be endlefs to turn you to all the
Paffages in Scripture, where the Servants
of God plead God's former Mercies, as a

Ground

a Ground of Encourdgemeni in Old- Age,

Ground of future Hope ; and particularly
under the Infirmities of Age^ and the Prof-
peds of Death.

And how juft and feafdnable a Ground
of Encouragement is this ? Is not this the
Natural Foundation of our Hope and Truft
in all Cafes of Want and Danger ? Is not this
the Reafon, why we repair with chearful
Hope to our old Friends and kind Benefac-
tors ? Is not this the Encouragement with
Children to repair to their Earthly Parents^
whofe Care and Faithfulnefs they have con-
ftantly experienced through the whole of
Life ? And tell me^ if all the Children and
Servants of God have not far better Reafon
of this Sort to repair to God, their Heavenly
Father ? Sure 1 am, we have the cleared
Evidence of his All-fufficiency and Good-
nefs, and have had the largeft Experience
of his Care and Faithfulnefs. You who are
now Old and gray-headedy have had the
longeft and largeft Experience of all. The
Day would fail me, if I fhould attempt a
Detail. Permit me however to remind you,
the aged Servants of God, that you ftand in
the nearefi and moft inter efting Relation to
God, both by Nature, and by Grace — He
Q^ 2 made

228 The Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon made you at firft, and has had a conftant
^^^,..,^1,^ Refpedt to the Work of his own Hand. —
His Hand has conftantly held your Souls in
Life — His Mercies are, and have been, new
every Morning, great is his Faithfulnefs,
wihch you have fo long experienced. Do
but think What Stages and States of Life you
have paiTed through — What Supplies and
Affidances you have wanted, from the Time
of Infancy to Old- Age, all which have been
feafonably imparted j of which you are this
Day, the living Monuments — I fay, confider
this, and then tell me, If you have the lead
Reafon to doubt of God's providingfor you,
the Support of your Age, and carrying you
fafe through the fhort Remainder of Life r
What could God have done more for you,
than what he has done ? If Sixty , Seventy y or
Flighty Years Experience of his Care and
Faithfulnefs, in Conjundion with all his Pro-
mifes, and the Gift of his own Son, will not
convince you. What will ? Hitherto, as your
Day, fuch has your Strength been j and doubt
not, you will find it fo to the End. You do
not need more Supplies from God, to fup-
port you under the Infirmities of Age, than
you did in the Weaknefs of Infancy, the

Care-

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 229

CareleiTnefs of Youth, or the Toils and Eu- Sermon

X.
finefs of Manhood. But, if you did, in this ■_ / _j

Cafe there is no Difference j for with God all

pojjible Things are equally poftble. The Truth

is, you have heretofore flood in need of

many more Supphes, in the former Part of

Life, than you will nt^ed in the Decline. In

Proportion to the Decay of your Abilities,

God gives you a Quietus and Difmiflion from

ABive Services j and abates the Force of

thofe animal Propenfuies and Powers, which

it has coft you fo much Care and Pains to

keep under due Subjection, and Regulation.

Your immediate Concerns now are lefs

with the World, and more with God and

your own Souls. Your chief Bufinefs is to

poflefs your Souls with Patience ; that your

Spirits miy bear all your Infirmities — And

to chear your Hearts with the Thoughts of

what God has done for you through Life ;

and what better Things he has refc;rved for

you, ready to be revealed. Let me tell you,

you have no Reafon to repine at your prefent

Lot ; as if your beft Days were paft, and the

worft come on — if it be not your own Fault,

your beji Days are now — your Lot being the

beft adapted to reconcile you to the Law of

0^3 your

X.

2.30 The Goodnefs of God in Former Life^

^ERMON your Nature — to render you thoroughly wil-
ling to part Vv'ith this Life and World — to
teach you to live with God here, and thus
ftand prepared for living with him hereafter.
Thefe Infirmities of Age, if rightly improv-
ed, are light Afflictions, but for a Moment,
which are working out for you a Prepar'ation
for leaving this World, and entering upon a
better. A due Confideration of what God has
lione for you through Life, has a Tendency
to teach you all this, and much more.

I HAVE thus confidered thefe two Sources,
from whence the Aged Servants of God arc
directed in my Text, to derive their Hope
and Truft in God — affuring their Hearts
before him, that he will not forfake them
jiow they are Old. (i.) The Remembrance
of their own former Piety and well-fpent
I^ife. (2.) The Remembrance of God's
former Mercies and Faithfulnefs.

Let me only add, That if Time would
Jiave allowed, I might have {hewn the far-
ther Affurances which Aged Chriftians have
tiQW^ iwfalting from God's exceeding great
and precious Promifes, in Conjundtion with
^he }liches of his Grace in Chrift Jefus, by
whom Life ancj Immortality is now fo folly

brought

a Ground of Encouragement in Old^Age,
brought to Light. But this is what my pre-
fent Subjed: does not lead to, nor will my
Time permit.

Now to draw towards a Conclufion. — ■
Behold here the Excellency and Perfedion
of true Religion ! which fecures to us the
Favour and Affiftance of God in every Time
of Need — This will ftand us in (lead, when
every Thing elfe fails — This will be a Staff
and Support in Old-Age ; and when Flefli
and Heart fails, this will be the Strength of
our Souls. This (hews that Religion is the
One Thing Needful — the true Riches j —
yea, this (hews its Importance and Ali-fuf-
ficiency.

This methinks (liould recommend Reli-
gion to the Choice of the Youngs who (hould
make it their early and perfevering Care,
would they reap the happy Fruits of it, when
they come to be Old — Or in the 13ecline
of Life, if fummoned to meet Death fooner.

And as for you, who are now Old and
gray-headed, be not anxious, be not dif-
couraged j but lift up the Hands that hang
down, and the feeble Knees. The God whom
you ferve, is a faithful, and AIl-fufFicient
God. Remember how he proclaimed him-
0^4 ielf

The Goodnefs of God in Former Life^
felf of old by the Prophet, Hearken unto me^

0 Houfe of Jacob, and all the Remnant of the
|fa.3flvi.3. Houfe of Ifrael, which are born by me from

the Belly i which are carried from the Womb :
J^ven to Old- Age., lam He^ and even to Hoar-
Hairs will I carry you — / have made, and I
will bear — even 1 will carry, and will deli-
*ver you. Fear not, thou Worm Jacob, be not
dijmayed, I am thy God, I will keep thee, yea^

1 will keep thee. The xlth Chapter of the
fame Prophecy begins, Comfort ye ^ comfort
yCt my People, faith your God. — And it con-
cludes, Haji thou not known ? Ha/l thou no.t
heard F that the Everlafling God, the Lord,
the Creator of the Ends of the Earth, fainteth
not, neither is he weary ? He giveth Power
to the Faint, and to them that have no Might ,
be increafeth Strength. — Even the Touths

Jhall faint and be weary ^ and the Tcung Men

Jljall utterly fall : But they that wait upon the

Lord, foall renew their Strength : They fhall

mount up with Wings as Eagles, t key fhall run

and not be weary, and they JJoall walk and not

faint. Attend again to the Pfalmift's Con-

'fal. xcii. folations, The Righteous /hall four ifi like the

?— 15- Palm-Tree : He /hall grow like a Cedar in

Lebanon, — Thofi that be planted in the Houfe

X.

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 233

of the Lordy fljall four}f}:> in the Courts of our Sermok
God, They fiall bring forth Fruit in Old-
Age ; They Jhall be fat and four ifii?ig : To
/hew that the Lord is upright : He is my Rock,
and there is no Unrighteoufnefs in him.

Permit me in the Conclufion, to refer
your Thoughts to the Cafe and Condudl of
our bleffed Saviour, under the Approach of
his laft Sufferings and painful Death — And
do not think it betrays any unbecoming
Weaknefs, any Dread of Death itfelf, or
iJnwillingnefs to leave this World, when he
fays, John xii. 27. Now is my Soul troubled,
Confider but the Torture and Agony, that
muft attend the Kind, and Manner of his
Death, and you will fee enough to account
for the Agony of his Body, and this Trouble
of his Soul. He had not been Man, nor
could his Death have afforded that Support
and Encouragement, which at prefent may
be drawn from it, if he had been unmoved
and unconcerned. In truth, he was made
like unto us, a Man of Sorrows, and ac-
quainted with Grief. Ver. 23. he fays, The
Hour is come, that the Son of Man fhould be
glorified — adding, Ver. 27, Now is my Soul
troubled. In ihQ former Words, he difco-

vers

234 The Goodnefs of God in Former Life,

Sermon vers himfelf pleafed with the Thou^^ht, that

i.— ^ ^he Time of his Departure was at Hand.

In the latter, he (hewsajuft and natural
Horror at the Thoughts, not of Death, but
of the Previous Torture 3 adding, What fh all
I fay ? Shall I fay. Father fave me from this
Hour f No J for this Caufe came I to this
Hour ^hni this I fay, Father glorify thy
Name. Then came there a Voic. from Hea^
veny faying, 1 have both glorified if, and will
glorify it again. — Now mark what follows,
Ver. 30. Jefus a?ifwered and faid, this Voice
came, not hecaufe of Me, but for your Bakes.
— And it is now recorded for th;; Sake of
all, that (hould believe in him. Our dear
Saviour was heard in that he feared-^ A
. Meffenger was fent from Heaven to ftrengthen
him'—UQ committed himfelf to him that
judgeth righteoufly. The laft Words that
he fpoke, were thefe, it is finished —
Father into thy Hands I commend
MY Spirit; and having f aid this, he bowed
his Head, and gave up the Ghoji. All this
de did and fufFered for our Bakes, that by
Death he might deliver them, who through
Fear of Death, were all their Life -Time fub-
jeSl to Bondage. In Death itfelf there is now

Nothing,

'3.

a Ground of Encouragement in Old- Age. 235

•Nothing, that needs be terrible to the Faith- Sermow
ful and good Chriftian. More terrible Cir- ._ ^' _^
cumftances cannot poffibly attend any one
of us, than what our dear Saviour was ena-
bled to endure; and what were made to work
together for his good. Nor have we Rea-
fon to expedt any Thing near fo dreadful. —
Be that as it will, God is faithful, who will » Cor, x.
not fuffer any one of his Servants to be tried
above his Ability ; but with every Trial will
find a Way for his Efcape, that he may be able
to bear it. If we do not feparate ourfelves
from jhe Love of God during Life, Death,
inftead of feparating us, will unite us to God
for ever. Thefe Pains of Death, which are
but for a Moment , pall work out for us afar
more exceeding and eternal Weight of Glory.
That God, who has glorified his Name up-
on us, through Life, will glorify it again.
The fame Heavenly Father, who fupported
and comforted his Son Jefus, will fupport
and comfort all his Children, when they
come to die. So that we may now boldly
fay, 0 Death, where is thy Sting ? O Grave,
where is thy ViSlory ^ Thanks be to God, who
giveth us the ViSiory^ through our Lord Jefus
Chrifl. Therefore ?ny beloved Brethren J be ye

ftedfafi.

236 rhe Goodnefs of God in Former Life, &c.

Ser^mon Jiedfaft, unmoveabk, always abounding in the
u-v^ Work of the Lord, forafmuch as ye know, that
your Labour is not in vain in the Lord.

I.

MY Father, my Almighty Friend,
When I begin thy Praife,
Where will the growing Numbers' end,
The Numbers of thy Grace.
II.
My Flefli was fafliion'd by thy PowV,

With all thefe Limbs of mine j
And from my Mother's painful Hour,
IVe been intirely thine.

III.

Still has my Life new Wonders fecn

Repeated every Year :
Behold my Days that yet remain,

I truft them to thy Care.

IV.

Caft me not off, when Strength declines,

When Hoary Hairs arife 5
And round me let thy Glory (hine.

Whene'er thy Servant dies.

S E R.

237

SERMON XI.

The Returns due to God for all
his Benefits.

Psalm cxvi. 12.

What /hall I render unto the Lor d^ for all his
Benefits towards me f

>^)^^^^HO the Author of this Pfalm Sermoh

il W ic ^^^' °^ "P°" ^^^^^ Occafion it ^ ^•^' ^^
;^ )k was compofed, is left uncertain.

AMMMM jf ^e underftand it as containing
the Hiftory of fome particular Perfon, it
then (hews, that the Author had newly, e-
fcaped fome eminent Danger, or recovered
from fome Affliction, that had brought him
to the Gates of Death ; and compofed this
Pfalm, whilft his pious Soul was full of de-
vout Amazement and Gratitude j and at a
Lofs, What to render to the Lord for all his

Benefits,

^3^ 7he Returns due to God

SERMON Eenefis. But as Inftances of fuch awaken-
Wv-L^ ing Providences are fo frequent, I think it
is more proper to interpret this Pfalm, as
purpofely intended to dired: and affift \he
Servants of God in their Improvement of
all thofe Difpenfations, which are of an af-
fedling and awakening Nature.

When the Words of our Text are con-
fidered in Connedion with what precedes,
we are led to obferve. That near efcapes
from impending Dangers, or extraordinary
Recoveries from threatening Diforders, ought
to be looked upon as great Benefits received
from God, and call for a proper and grate-
ful Return. But then, thefe are not all ;
nor the chief Benefits, that we have to be
thankful for. Prefervation from Dangers
and Difeafes, is certainly a more defirable
Mercy and Bleffing, than Deliverance and
Recovery from them.

i^SK yourfelves, Which of the two you
would rather choofe, and you will need no
other Proof, but the Anfwer of your own
Hearts. But the Cafe is, we ftupid ungrate-
ful Mortals, feldom know the Worth of our
Mercies, till we feel the Want of them :
When they are reftored, it is like Life from

the

for all his Benefits.
the Dead. Then we not only feel the Be-
nefit of recovering Mercies ; but are led to
fee the Blefling of former Health and Safety.
As in my Tixt, it is not faid, What (hall I
render unto the Lord for this lafe Recovery
and Prefervation ? But, IVbat /half I render
unto the Lord J or all his Benefits^ This is
the Language of a pious Soul, filled with a
due Senfe of the Goodnefs of God j over-
whelmed with Gratitude j and at a Lofs,
what worthy and fuitable Returns to make,
for fo many, fo great, and fo gracious Blef-
fings received from God.

When all thy Mercies, O my God,

My rifing Soul furveys,
Tranfported with the View I'm loft:

In Wonder, Love, and Praife.

The devout ^ejlion of the Pfalmijl now
before us. What Jhall I render unto the Lord
Jor all his Benefits^ is made up of thefe three
Ingredients.

I. A LIVELY, afFedionate, and grateful
Senfe of the Goodnefs of God towards
him.

IL A

The 'Returns due to Ood
II. A Readiness and Difpofition of
Mind to make all poiTible Returns to
God for all his Benefits jefteeming no-
thing too dear or great to part with,
and every Thing in his Power due to
God. But then,
III. It fhews the Pfalmiji at a Lofs
what Returns he (hould fix upon^
that were nioft reafonable and fit in
themfelves, and at the fame Time, in
fome Meafure anfwerable to all the
Benefits he had fo freely and graci--
oully received from God.

All thefe (Lew the proper Difpofition
of a grateful Heart, in like Circumftances.
And no Wonder he (liould thus find himfelf
at a Lofs : For though this Temper is Natu-
ral, is Reafonable, and due to God, yet alas !
we have it not in our Power to be ferviceable
to God, as a Man ntay be to his Friend-, and
as God is to us. All acceptable Gifts, fup-
pofe the Indigency and Want of the Perfon
to whom they are given. Whereas God
ftands in no Need of our Gifts 5 nor can we
ofl^er to him any Thing that he wants, or
that can be of the leaft Benefit to him.

Nay,

for all his Benejits, ^41

Nay, we have nothing but what we havfc Ssrwoh
received from him ; what he lends to us fof i^J.A^
our Ufe, and has a Right to refume wheii
he pleafes. This one Thought deteds the
Vanity and Su perdition of all thofe Sacrifi^
ces and Gifts that were offered, both by Jews
and Heathens, under a Notion of pleafin^
God, by compenfatlng for the Benefits they
had received, or commuting with him for
the Sins they had committed. The Prin"
ciple thefe Free-will Offerings flowed from^
was often gc^d^ but this Manner of expreff-
ing their Gratitude, was always eiiipt^ and
'uain. In fuch Cafes, as St. Fatil beatrs theni
Witnefs, the Jews had a Zeal for God, but
not according to Knowledge. This, as Afaph
obferves, proceeded from their thinking God
was, in this Refpe(5t, fuch an one as themfehjes%
an indigent Being, that partook with theni
of their Gifts and Sacrifices, and was hereby
pacified and pleafed : And accordingly in-
troduces God as teftifying againfl fuch Offer-
ings, I will take no Bullock out of thy Houfe, pfafm I^
nor He-Goats out of thy Folds. For every 9— '3'
Beaft of the For eft is mine^ and the Cattle upon
a tboiifand Hills. I know all the Fowls of the
Mountains : And the wild Beafls of the Field

I'he Returns due to God

are tnine. If I were hungry y I would not tell
thee^ for the World is mine^ and the Tiilnefs
thereof. Will I eat the Flejh of Bulls, or
drink the Blood of Goats ? And hence, fays
David in the next Pfalm, Ver. i6. I'hou de-
fireft not Sacrifice , elfe would I give it. '' I
" would grudge no Coft or ^arge, if here-
<^ by I could benefit or pleafe God." But
the Perfedion of God's Nature, fets him
infinitely above all fiich Wants, and makes
the Thought unworthy of him. With this
one unanfwerable Argument, Faul filenced
the Philofophers at Athens^ and expofed the
Vanity of all Idolatry and Ritual Sacrifices^
declaring to them^ the true, but u n k nown
God, whom they ignorantly worjhipped. God
that made the World^ and all things therein^
feeing that he is Lord of Heaven and Earthy
dwelleth not in 'Temples made with Hands , as
though he needed any Thing; feeing he
giveth to ALL, Life^ and Breath, and all
Things.

The Queftion therefore ftill remains.
What Jhall I render unto the Lordjor all his
Benefits 1 I anfwer again in the Negative,
We have Nothing to offer that God ftands
in Need of, or that can be profitable to

him:

for all his Benefits, 24 j

him i Nor (hould we ever entertain the lead Sermom
Thought of any fuch Worth or Merit in ^_f!lj
our heft and mort: reafonable Service. For
what, Ca?i a Man be profitable to God, as be Job xxiU
that is wife^ may be profitable to himfelf f Is ^' ^*
it profit to the Almighty ^ that thou art righte-
ous ? Or is it Gain to him, that thou makeft
thy Way perfeB f If thou be righteous, what Job xxxv*
giveft thou him ? — Or if thou finnefi, what
doefl thou to him ? Our Saviour teaches us
the fame Leflbn, When ye fijall have done all Lukexvij,
tbofe Things that are commanded you, fay. We '^'
are unprofitable Servants ; we have done that
which was our Duty to do. From which laft
Words, you will do well to obferve. That
our Saviour here, whilft labouring to fup-
prefs a very wrong Spirit and pernicious No-
tion, is not at all weakening our Obligations
to God, but the contrary. Do, fays he, All
thofe Things that God has commanded you j
and do them, becaufe they are your reafon-
able and indifpenlible Duty : But then, do
not think that you have repaid God for his
Benefits, and difcharged your Obligations foi*
the future ; but fay, We have done that which
was our Duty to do, and will continue to do
R 2 fo.

^44 ^^^ 'Returns due to God

SsRMON fo. What that is, comes now to be cort-»
.J^ fidered.

Now, here let it be obferved in General y
That every Benefit freely received, leaves a
double Obligation — One in Point of Jujlice
-^ the Other of Gratitude. In natural Juf-
iice we are bound to return like fit like, or
fome Equivalent Benelitj if in our Power^
and our Benefador needs it, or is willing to
accept it. K freely ye have received^ freely
give. But if the generous Kindnefs of our
Eenefadtor, exempts us from fuch equivalent
Returns J or if our Indigency, or his Fulnefs,
niake this impoffible, (as is the Cafe betwixt
God and his Creatures) yet our Obligations
in Point of Gratitude^ are not relaxed, but
much flrengthened and increafed. Only here
is the Difficulty, to know 'what to return,
Vv^hen we can make none that our Benefac-
tor ftands in Need of. But let us not think
we are hereby exempt frorii all Obligation
to pious Gratitude. This ought /r// to take
Place in the Hearty and from thence proceed
ill all the Expreffions of Gratitude, that Na-
ture dicStates, and rhe, Will of our Benefac-
tor requires j provided his Will exceeds nor
th6 Merit of his Benefits. Now, as our all

proceeds

for all his Benefits. 245

proceeds from God, he can alk Nothing in Sermon
our Power beyond his due. Upon Enquiry,
we fliall eafily difcover, what Gratitude to
God requires and obliges us to, 'viz. Things
natural, fit, and good, antecedent to ail Con-
fideration of AdvaJitage, either to God or
to Ourfelves.

And (hould I find a Perfon, who thought
himfelf under no Obligations to pious Gra-^
titude^ becaufe he cannot hereby be fermce-
able to God -, I (hould not wonder, if fuch a
Perfon thought himfelf under no Religious
Reftraints from Vice and Sin ; becaufe thefe
Things cannot hurt God. He that can fee
no natural Beauty in the One^ I fhould not
wonder, if he can fee no Deformity in the
Other. But as I faid before, our Obligati-
ons to Gratitude are increafed, in Proportion
as our Benefactor expeds no beneficial Re-
turns to himfelf 3 and become due, prior to
all Confideration of Benefit, either to God^
or to Ourfelves.

What then froall I render unto the Lord

JQr all his Benefits ? What is my Duty ; and

What my reafonable Service ? For though /

cannot be profitable to God, it does not follow

th^t 1 am under no Obligations -^ far from

R3 it,

^4^ ^h^ Returns due to God

Sermon it. Every Benefit in the Nature of Things,
,^__^,..,^^^ leaves behind it an Obligation j for to whom^
Lukexii, fi^^ijer much is given , oj him Jlmll be much re-
45' quired : 'Even as to lohom Men have commit'-

ted much, oj him will they ajk the more.

Now, in difcovering, What it is that the
Lord our God requires of us, in Return for
all his Benefits 3 the Pfalm before us will af-
ford good Diredions. And though he feems
at a Lofs, yet the Condudt of the Pfalmift,
will be an inftruftive Precedent. For as the
^ejiion is put in my Text, fo fhall we find
the Anfwer to it in this Pfalm, To Inftance
in particulars,

I.) In Return j or all God's Benefits, we
ihould iove God-, fhould cherifli in our Souls
the beil Sentiments of God, and the beft
AfFedions towards him ; regarding him for
the future, as our All-fufficient and beft:
Friend, to whom we are indebted for the
Original Gift, and for the conftant Preferva-
tion of our Life and Being. Yea, we fhould
coniider him as the Being from whom every
good and every perJeB Gift dejcends, who is
able and willing to do for us exceeding abun-
dantly above all that we can oflz or think.
Thus the Pfalmift begins^ / will love the

Lord

XI.

for all his Benefits, 247

Lord becaufe he hath heard my Voice and my Sermo-n
Supplication. We have all Reafon for this,
from our own Experience, as well as the
Pfal mift had . For God is good to all^ and his
tender Mercies are over all his Works^

Who can his Love exprefs I
His Mercy ne'er decays :
What can my Soul do lefs.
Than love him all my Days ?

Blefs God my Soul,

Ev'n unto Death ;

And oifer Praife

With ev'ry Breath.

2.) In Return jor former Benefits, We
fhould take Encouragement to hope in God 5
and in the Exercife of lively Hope and fled-
faft Faith, Should offer up our Prayers and
Supplications to him, for his Grace to help
in every future Time of Need. Thus the
Pfalmift goes on, Ver. i, 2. I love the Lord
becaufe he hath heard my Voice and my Sup-
plication (in the Original, it is, becaufe he
WILL hear my Voice and my Supplication)
He has done fo before, and from hence
I take Encouragement to hope, he will
R 4 do

^4^ ^he Returns due to God

gERivfoij (do fo again. I have found him both able
.^^,31l^ ^nd willing — My Rejuge and my Strength,
f very prefent Help in l^rouble. And be-
Caufe he has inclined his Ear unto me, there-
fore will I call upon him as long as I live.

It is for Our Benefit, not his Own, that God
has enjoined upon us this Duty of Prayer.
And when we psrforoi it from this Princi-
ple of Love and Obedience, we glorify God^
and bpbave towards him as what he is. 0
pr|l. Ixv. fjjQj^ fjj^f hearejl Prayer, unto thee jhall all
' Plefi come. As for God, his Ryes are always
pver the Righteous, and his Ears are open to
their Cry. He never faid to any of the Seed
cfjacoh^jeekye me in vain. He bids us not
Phil Jv. to be anxious in any Circumfances^ but in
^* every Thing by Prayer and Supplication with

'Thank/giving, let your Requejis be made known
unto God. He bids us to ca/l all our Cares
tipon him^ for he careth for us. The Expe-
rience we have had of this, in Conjundior^
with his Promifes, is the Ground and Rea-
fon of our Prayers, as well as our Praifes.
And fuch is the free Grace of God^ that one
of the moft acceptable Returns we can make
to him for pafl Benefits^ is to truft in him
for the future -r- to draw nigh to him with

holy

XL

for all his Benefits 249

holy Reverence and Confidence, as Children Sermon
to a Father^ believing that he is both able
and willing to do for us exceeding abundant-
ly above all that we can ajk or think. This
is to pray to him, as God : And to pray to
him, as his indigent helplefs Creatures. — Not
as One that wants, or waits for any Benefits
from us ; but as One that always waits to
be gracious, and delights in doing good to
us. And for any Being to reftrain Prayer
before God^ argues a Difbelief, or Difregard
of God ; together with a Mind void of al|
Senfe of Duty and Gratitude.

3.) A FIRM Reliance upon God, and a
chearful Refignation to his Will and Difpo-
fal, is a farther Return due to him, for all
his Benefits. When our Minds are over-
powered with a grateful Senfe of all the
great and good Things, that God has done
for us, what can we do lefs than wholly re-
fign to him, and rely upon him for the Fu-
ture. Thus the Pfalmift, Ver. 7. Return
unto thy Reft, 0 my Soul, for the Lord hath
dealt bountifully with thee. Reliance upon
God, and Refignation to his Will, is the
on]y Refl for the Mind and Soul of Man.
f* O my Soul, what Experience, what large

'' and

The Returns due to God

" and long Experience have I had of the
*' Care and Faithfulnefs of my God. — And
" though I am in this Vale of Tears, and
" Valley of Death, my God is with me,
*' and I need fear no Evil. Return there-
*' fore unto thy Reft, O my Soul." This is
a mod reafonable Return for all the Good-
nefs of God, and though it is no Ways fer-
viceable to him, yet it is more acceptable^
than all the mod coftly Burnt-Offerings and
Sacrifices.

4.) Devout Praife and Thankfgiving,
both Publick and Privatej is a farther Re-
turn due to God. Not that God delights
in the vain Applaufes of his Creatures : A
Thought fo mean and unworthy, fhould
never enter our Flearts. But the Duty is
both reafonable and Natural: And from
what is fo Reafonable, God himfelf cannot
exempt us. And for him to ftifle thefe
Natural Workings of a grateful Soul, by-
forbidding us to difburden the Gratitude of
our Hearts by the Joy and Praife of our Lips,
would be a moft cruel and unnatural Prohi-
bition. But fWlj it is Our Benefit, not HiSy
that is hereby promoted : And whilfl: we.
fpread the Glory of his Goodnefs in the Con-
gregations

for all his Benefits.
gregatlons of his People, |we contribute to
die Good and Happinefs of the World.

Gratitude is a Debt naturally due for
Benefits received. It is in EfFedl, the only
Return we can make to God, or he receive
from us. Every Ad of generous Kindnefs,
leaves a double Obligation — One of Juf-
tice — another of Gratitude. — Of Juftice,
to return like for like, or fomething equiva-
lent, if in our Power 5 and the proper and
devout Expreflions of it are naturally fit, and
decent in themfelves, as well as pleafant and
delightful to our own Souls. Here the Pfal-
mift founds this Duty, Praife ye the Lord ; P^^J^^
for it is GOOD to fmg Praifes unto our God begin!

for it is PLEASANT — and Praife is

COMELY. Says Mr. Grove, " While I me-
« ditate the Mercies of God, and thankfully
" acknowledge them, methinks the Day-
" fpring from on high, vifits my benighted
" Soul. I no longer fit in Darknefs, and in
'' the Shadow of Death. My Confidence,
** that the tender Mercies of God, will not
" utterly abandon me, increafes ; and by
♦' Degrees, my Tears dry up, and Sorrow
«' and Sighing flee away.'* Things of po-
fitive Appointment are fuperfeded by the'

Gofpel

^52 The Returns due to God

Gofpel of Chriftj and all coftly ritual Sa-.
crifices are done away. But this Natural
Sacrifice of Praife and Gratitude mud for
ever remain ; which both Poor and Rich, are
equally capable of offering up to God. Ac-
qordingly it is injoined by the Author to the
Hebrewi, in that Epiflle, intended to put an
End to the Pradice of all Ritual Sacrifices,
by Chriji therefore, under this new and bet-
Heb. xiii. ter Covenant, let us offer the Sacrifice of Praife
'^- to God continually, that is the Fruit of our

Lips, givifig Thanks to his Name. Thus the
Pfalmiil in this Compofure before us, as well
as in other Places, too many to be mention-
ed, aiks. What fi: nil I render unto the Lord,

for all his Benefit s^^ He anfwers, Ver. 17. /
will offer the Sacrifice of Thankfgivirg, and
will call upon the Name of the Lord. I will

pay my Vows unto the Lord, now in the Pre-

fence of all his People, in the Courts of the
Lord's Houfe, in the Midft oj thee, O Jeru-.

Jalem — Praife ye the Lord.

5.) Is it ftill afked, What fia'll 1 render
tinto the Lord for all his Benefits^, The Pfal-
mift anfwers, Myfelf My Whole-felj. My
Soul and Body — my Heart and my Life.
♦* Has Qod niade me \ Does h? conftantly

" prefffrvQ

for ail his Benefits.
*' preferve me? Has he redeemed my Life
*^Jrom De/lruBion, a?2d crowned me with Lov-
** ing-Kindnefs and tender Mercy ? I will de-
" vote to him myfelf j my whole-felf j de-
** termined to fabmit intirely to his Will **
" and refign to his Difpofal — I will choofe
*' him for my God, my Guide, and my Por-
*' tion — and that for Ever— I will yield
" up myfelf to him, as one that is alive from
" the Dead — 1 will ratify this Dedication
*^ of myfelf — by embracing every return-
*' ing Opportunity of recognizing this folemn-
<' Dedication, taking the Chri/iian Cup of Sal-
*• vat ion J a fid callmg upon the Name of th
*' Lord," This one Sacrifice and Dedicati-
on of ourfelves, is more than all Burnt-Offer-
ings and Sacrifices, I bejeech you therefore^ Rom
Brethren^ by the Mercies of God^ that ye pre- ''^*
fentyour Bodies (not your Cattle or Subftance)
but yourfelves a living Sacrifice (not the dead
Body of a Beaft) but your own Bodies y a liv-
ing Sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which
is your reafonable Service, And be not con-
formed to this World, but be ye transformed by-
the renewing of your Minds — that ye may
prove, what is that good, and acceptable^ and
perfetl mil of God. Thus in the Pfalm be-
fore

A.

The Returns due to God

fore us, 7 love the Lordj becaufe he hath heard
my Voice and my SuppHcatio?is ; therefore will
I call upon him as long as I live, The Sor-
rows of Death compafed me^ and the Fains of
^ell gat hold upon me : 1 found Trouble and
Sorrow, Then called I upon the Name of the
Lord', O Lord J Ibefeech thee^ deliver my Soul.
f*! ' He delivered my Soul from Death, mine Eyes

from Tears, and my Feet Jrom falling. Now,
What Jhall I render for all his Benefits. It
follows, 1 will take the Cup of Salvation, and
call upon the Name oj the Lord. I will pay
my Vows unto the Lord, now in the Frefence
of all his People. O Lord, truly I am thy Ser^
vant, yea, I am thy Servant, thou haft loojed
my Bonds.

How happy all thy Servants are,
How great thy Grace to me 1

My Life, which thou haft made thy Carc^
Lord, I devote to thee.

Now I am thine, for ever thine.
Nor (hall my Purpofe move j

Thy Hand has loos'd my Bonds of Pain,
And bound me with thy Love.

Here

for all his Benefits.

Here in thy Courts I leave my Vow,

And thy rich Grace record,
Witnefs ye Saints, who hear me now.

If 1 for fake the Lord,

This leads to the laft Thing, I have yet
to mention.

6.) The fincere^ con ft ant ^ and perfevering
Obedience of our Lives, compleats the Return
which God expedts and requires for all his
Benefits. Ver. i6. O Lord, truly 1 am thy
Servant^ I am thy Servant — I will ferve
thee as long as I live. My Friends, Obedi*
ence is better than Sacrifice, Yea, Praife to
God, without Righteoufnefs and Good-WiU
to Men, will not be accepted j together with
the feveral Virtues of a fiber, righteous, and
good Lfe. Accordingly in that forecited
Place, Heb. xiii. 15. having injoined, Let
us offer the Sacnfice of Praife to God continu-
ally^ that is the Fruit of our Lips, giving
Thanks to his Name : It follows. But to do
good, and to communicate, forget not.Jor with,
fuch Sacrifices, God is well pleafed. To do
good, and to communicate, forget not — live
in the Pradtice of all Good 3 and particularly

let

\

The Returns due to God

let the Benefits you receive fo Jrceiy and
gracioujly from God, infpire you with the
fame Kind and compaffionate Difpofition to-
wards the Objeds of your Mercy. Freely
'fyou have received^ freely give ; that you may
be the Children of your Heavenly Father,

If any of you ftill afk. But what farther
Jhall I render unto the Lord for all his Mer-
cies ? I anfwer, I know dot. All that God
either expefts or requires from you^ I think,
is comprehended in thefe Six Particulars
mentioned. And if thefe Returns are fuit-
ably made, your Pcrfons and your Offerings
will be accepted.

A GRATEFUL Heart would be glad to
know, what farther Returns can be made
to God 5 being willing to do, or fubmit to
any Thing : But for my Part, I can conceive
of nothing more, that God either requires,
or will accept. Superftition indeed, has in-
vented many, far more fhowy and expenfive;
but then they are all empty and vain, beg-
garly Elements^ grounded upon falfe and un-
worthy Apprehenfions of God. See Mich,
vi. 6, 7, 8. and Ffalm 50. Such are all thd
Vows, Gifts, and Deodands, that difgrace

ih&

for all his Benefits, ^^f

the Heathen and Popi(h Temples. See ASfi Sermom
xvii. 24, 25. \_ '- d

I HAVE thus returned the plaineft and
beft Anfwer in my Power^ to the ^ueflion
before us. What now remains, is to inforce
the Obfervance of thefe Six Diredtions. I
have but Httle Time left for this Purpofe :
And if I had more, I (hould ftill be at a
Lofs, M^hat particular Arguments to pitch
upon. Arguments and Motives in Abun-
dance, arife and offer themfelves : But no
Arguments of mine, can add to the Force
of this one Motive, which God himfelf fets
before each of your Minds; even thofe P^r-
fonal Benefits^ which each of you have re-
ceived, and are daily receiving from God.
And, if what I have faid has not put you up-
on calling to Mind the Benefits of God to^
wards you^ it is in vain for me to add any
Enforcements. And if the Remembrance
of God's Benefits do not affed your Hearts,
nothing that I can fay, will do it. If any
of you defpife God's Benefits, and your own
Mercies, you will defpife my Words. If you
can refifl God, you will certainly refifl Man.
But 1 hope better Tubings of you, though 1 thus
S fpeak.

The Returns due to God

/peak. I truft, that the Love oj God is al-
ready Jhed abroad in your Hearts^ whereunto
you are called i and that you are devoutly
thankful to God, and difpofed to hearken to
a Repetition of the Six Returns, that you
fhould make to him /or all his Benefits — to
treafure them up in your Hearts, and reduce
them into Pradtice in your Lives.

Do you afk, " What Jhall I render unto
'^ the Lord for all his Benefits V (i.) You
fhould love God with all your Hearts t with
all your Souls, and with all your Strength*
(2.) Take Encouragement from former
Mercies, to hope in God for the future; and
in the Exercife of this Hope, pray to him
for Grace to help in every Time of Need.
(3.) Rely upon God, and yield a chearful
Refignation to his whole Will, and to all
his Difpofals. (4.) Glorify God, by offer-
ing up your fincere Praife, and cordial
Thanks, for all his Benefits. (5.) Prefent
yourfelves, your whole felves, a living Sa-
crifice to God, which is your reajonable Ser-
vice. (6.) Lastly, render to him the
fincere, conftant, and perfevering Obedience
of your Lives. And when you have done all.

for alt his Benefits, 259

fayy we are unprofitable Servants ', we haz'e Sermon
done Nothing, hut what it was our Duty, ,_ J- ^
and our own Intereft and Advantage, to do.
However, if you do all This^ fuch is the
difinterefted Goodnefs, and free, rich, Grace
of God, that he bids you welcome to all
his Benefits. Since you know thefe Things^
happy are ye, ij ye do them.

M^^^c^^c^M

S 2 S E R-

26o

SERMON XII.

The Fear of Death conquer-
able.

Psalm xxiii. 4.

Tea, though I walk through the Valley of the
Shadow of Deaths I will fear no Evil :
For thou art with me — thy Rod and thy
Staff they comfort me.

Sermon FM)eC)^7^ H I S Scripture-PafTagc leads our
^_J^^^ S T ^ Thoughts to the moft ferious and
)3C _ ^ ^ M Interefting Subjed, and fets it
»L^XAjs \^^{q^q us in the moft agreeable
and amiable Point of Light. The Subje6l
of our prefent Meditations is Death ; an E-
vent that awaits us all, at no great Diftance.
^he liming know that they mufl die ; that it is
appointed to all Men once to die. Though
this is what we never did, or experienced,

yet

The Fear of Death conquerable, 261

yet we know it is what we muft fubmit to
e'er long. An Event this, in its Nature the
mod ferious and awful j and in its Confe-
quences, the moft important. The Art of
Dyings if I may fo call it, the Art of Dy-
ing fafely, comfortably, and happily, is not
to be learned at once ; nor like other Arts^
by repeated Experiments ; lince we muft
die h\ii once. It follows upon this, that it is
our great Wifdom and Duty, to be prepared
for this awful Event, by dired and previous
Meditations. It is therefore purpofely v. ith
a View to aflift you in this grand Affair,
that I have made Choice of this Subje<aj
where the Pfalmift fays, Tea^ though I walky
or am now walking, through the Valley of
the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil

What is meant by Death , needs no Ex-
planation ; but what is meant by the Valley
of the Shadow i or by this fhady Valley, of
Death, requires fome Thought. Death it-
felf is inflantaneous — an Article in which
we are purely pajjive -, but in walking
through this Valley of the Shadow of Death,
we are aSiive ; and the Journey itfelf we
fliall find of fome confiderable Length. Per-
haps you imagine, that you fhall only enter
S 3 this

262 The Fear of Death conquerable.

Sermon this Valley, when you come to diej and that
y,^,.^^-^^ it lies on the other Side Death. If fo, your
Imagination deceives you. This Valley of
Deathf and your Journey through it, endsy
where you were fancying it begun. All be-
yond Death, is the boundlefs Plain of Eter-
nity, where Mortality is /wallowed up of
Life,

This Valley of the Shadow of Death, men-
tioned in my Text, we fhall find on this
Side Death and the Grave. We enter upon
it the Moment we are born, and we get out
of it the Moment we die. It is this Mortal
Life itfelf, which we fpend here upon Earth
— It has been the, Valley of the Shadow of
Rom. V. Death ever fince that Day, when Sin fir ft en-
*^' . tered into the World, and Death by Sin. The

Penalty threatened againft Sin, is in our
Gen. ii. Tranllation, In that Day thou fmlt fiirely
^^* die. But in the Hebrew, according to the

Reading in the Margin, it is, dying thou (Imlt
die. This has literally been the Cafe with
Mankind ever fince, and is fo Itill. A
more proper Defcription cannot be given of
this Life and World, than this ; It is the
Valley of the Shadow of Death, Death un-
feen, is conftantly befetting us on every Side,

like

7he Fear of Death conquerable, 263

like the Pefiiletice that walketh in Darkmfs, Sermon
and the De/iruBion that wafteth at Noon- ^^"v
Day, In this Life we have not one Mo-
ment, and in this World we have not one
Place of Refuge, exempt from Death ;
whilft Inftances of Mortality furround us on
every Side ; all telling us, that in the Midfl
of Life we are in Death. Surely every Man P^a\"»

, xxxix* 6.

walketh in a vain Shew, Man is like to Va- piaim
nity J his Days are as a Shadow^ that pajjetb *^^^'^' '^'
away. All the Days of his vain Life he jpend- Ecclef. vi
eth as a Shadow, Whilft Man walks here * 1
upon Earth, he is conftantly walking through
the Valley of the Shadow of Death.

We need only to read and confider this
Pfalm to be convinced, that this is the very
Thing David intended b/ this Phrafe. He
was not Dead, nor Dying j nor was he Sick
or Weak, or Aged and Infirm, as appears
plainly from the Contents ; but ftill he was
then walking through the Valley of the Sha-
dow of Death j in the Vigour of Life ; with
an healthful Body, and a chearful, though
ferious, and pious Mind — chearing him-
felf, and rejoicing in God, T^he Lord is my Pfal.xxiil
Shepherdy IJlmllmtwant, He maketh me to '' 2* 3»
lie down in green Failures : He leadeth tne be-
S 4 Jde

264 75&^ Fear of Death conquerable.

Sermon Jlde the fiill Waters — He rejioreth my Soul
^ ' _f — He leadeth me in the Paths of Right eouf-^
nefs for his Names-Sake, It follows, Tea,
though I walk through the Valley oj the Sha-
dow of Death, I will Jear no Evil ; for thou
art with me — thy Rod and thy Staff, they
comfort me. He goes on, Thou frepareji a
^able before me in the Prefence of mine Ene-
inies — ^hou anointeji my Head with Oil, my
Cup runneth over^ furely Goodnefs and Mercy
jhall follow me all the Days of my hife\ and
« J. will dwell in the Houfe of the Lord for ever.

In the midft of thefe pleafing Sentiments,
and in this chearful Temper, and happy
State, the Pfalmifl: freely indulges to the
Thoughts of Death, and beholds himfelf in
the Region of the Shadow of Death,

How many Subjeds of Meditation, and
how many L^ffons of ufeful Inftrudion, does
this PalTage fuggeft to our Thoughts, when
ponfidered in its proper Connedion ?

First, It teacheth u?, that it becomes
every wife and good Man, to condder him-
felf as conftantly walking through the Valley
of the Shadow of Death — to meditate his
Mortality — frequently to look forward to
his laft and great Change by Death j and ta

do

^be Fear of Death conquerable. 265

60 this when in Circumftanccs of Health and sermon
Profperity. Here the Pfalmift is our Pre- ,^™'
cedent.

Secondly, Thefe Confiderations, together
with the moft direct and ferious Thoughts
of Death, do not at all unfit a pure and pi-
ous Mind for relifhing the true Pleafures and
Enjoyments of Life. The Pfalmift never
appeared better pleafed with his Condition,
more delighted with his Lot, nor more
thankful for it, than in this Pfalm, where
his Thoughts at the fame Time, are turned
Dpon his Mortality. And no Wonder ; for
a Man can never enjoy Lifey till he has fur-
mounted the Dread of Death, Then he
begins to livey but not before. Till this,
through Fear of Deaths he is all his Life-
Time fiihjeB to Bondage,

Thirdly, A pious and good Man doe»
not look upon his Safety and Happinefs as
confined to this Life, and the Things of it ;
nor does he look upon Death with the ghaft-
ly Apprehenfion of the Men of this Worlds
whofe Portion is in this Lije ; but, whilft
paffing through this Valley of the Shadow of
Deaths he fears no Evil.

Fourthly,

The Fear of Death cdnquerahle.

Fourthly^ The fame God, who fuf-
tains and comforts his Servants in this Life,
will fuftain and comfort them in Death,
This was the Pfalmift's Encouragement, The
Lord is my Shepherd^ Ifiall not want — Sure-
ly Goodf2efs and Mercy JJjall follow me all the
Days of my Lije — Tea^ though I walk thro'
the Valley of the Shadow of Death, 1 will fear
no Evil,

Fifthly, We may farther learn, that if
whilft we are pafling through this State of
Mortality, and when we come to die, we
would fear no Evil, we muft provide and
prepare our Minds in the Time of Health
and Profperity. Thus adted the Pfalmi/l, as
this Compofure difcovers ; when eafy and
happy, like the Flocks that lie down in
green Paftures, and feed beiide the ftill Wa-
ters — When free from all Want and Sor-
row, and rejoicing in the Strength and Vi-
gour of Life, he had fo confidered his Mor-
tality, and fo acquainted himfelf with the
Shady Falley, that the Dangers, the Bitter-
nefs, and the Terrors of Death were paft,
before it came. Though he had not expe-
rienced Death itfelf, yet he had fo long lived
in View and Expedation of it, and fo far

prepared

7be Fear of Death conquerable, 267

prepared and reconciled his Mind to it, that Sermon
he fays with a facred Boldnefs and Confidence ^..-^-^
in God, Tea, though I walk through the Val-
ley of the Shadow of Death, I will fear no
Evil.

Sixthly, We may here learn, What is
the Support of fuch a pious Mind, under the
Views and Profpedts of Death ; and that is,
God Himfeh'. Iwillfear no Eviljor THOU
art with me, thy Rod, and thy Staffs they com-
fort me. Or as Afaph, I am continually with P^alm
thee ; thou haft holden me by thy Right-Hand, 2^—26,
Thou /halt guide me with thy Counfel, and af-
terwards receive me to Glory. Whom have I
in Heaven but thee ? And there is none upon
Earth, that I defire be fides thee. My Ftejh
and my Heart fat leth ; but God is the Strength
of my Heart, and my Portion for ever.

Each of thefe well deferve particular
Confideration ; but my Time will not allow
me to enter upon them -, what therefore I
propofe, is this,

I. To {hew. That the dreadful Fears and

Apprehenfions of Death are capable of
being conquered and overcome. And,

II. How this is to be accompliflied.

I. I SHALL

268 T^he Fear of Death conquerable.

Sermon I. I SHALL Undertake to fhew. That the
^^..^ dreadful Fears and Apprehenfions of Death
are capable of being conquered and over-
come. Death itfelf cannot be avoided ; but
the flavifh Fear of it may be fuppreffed, and
our Minds reconciled to the Thoughts of it.
Now as we all know that we mud die, and
are liable to Death every Moment, fure we
cannot but defire to live the Life, and die
the Death of the Righteous, and have our lat-
ter End like his. The Pfalmifl: appears to
have attained to this defirable Frame and
Fortitude of Mind. And let us not think,
that his was a fingular Cafe. It ought to be
the Cafe with every Man living, and much
more with every Chriftian. It is our Duty,
becaufe it is our Happinefs. We meet with
many like Inftances upon Record, both in
the Old Teftament, and in the Writings of
the Heathens, which I could eafily produce.
For the Mortality of Many is not an Article
of Revelation ; and every Wife Man will
choofe to be provided for what he knows is
unavoidably coming upon him. Now, if
Jews and Heathens could attain to this Sa-
tisfadion and Calmncfs of Mind, how much
more may fincere and good Cbrifiians ; if

they

The Fear of Death conquerable. 26^

they would improve their Privileges, and not Sermom
by Negligence, or a falfe Humility^ count , -'- ^
themfelves unwrorthy of this mod defirable
Happinefs.

Th e great End of our Saviour's Life and
Preaching, was to teach us our Duty, but
one of the great Ends of his Death, was to
make Way for his Rejurre^ion, whereby he
has abolified Death, and brought Life and 2Tim.k
Immortality to Light. He took not on him the
Nature of Angels, or Meffengers, who de-
livered their Meflage, and then difappeared,
without dying and rifing again ; but he had
an Human, Mortal Body prepared him, that
by Death, followed by his RefurreBion, he
might dellroy the Power and Terror of Death -, Heb. iJ.
and deliver them, who through Fear of Death '^''^**
were all their Life-Time fubjeSi to Bondage,
Hence the Apoftle introduces Mortal Man,
deftitute of our Chriftian Advantages, as
crying out in Diftrefs, O wretched Man that Rom. vi?,
/ am, who jhall deliver me from this Body of
Death — or from this Mortal Body ! He im-
mediately comforts himfelf, and (hews us how
to comfort ourfelves. Thanks be to God, who
giveth us the ViSiory by our Lord Jefus Chrijl,
And in the Clofe of the next Chapter, he

fums

270 I'he Fear of Death conquerable ,

Sermon fums Up his Argument thus. For I am per*
' fwadedj that neither Life, nor Death — nei^
ther things prefent^ nor T^hings to come^ Jhali
be able to feparate us from the hove of God,
manijefledi7i Chrijl Jefus our Lord, In i Cor.
15,. 26. it is faid in our Tranllation^ The laji
Enemy that fhall be defiroyed, is Death ; bu.t
in the Original it is, The laji Enemy, Death,
is dejiroyed', ^ Now Chrifi is r if en from the
Dead, and become the jirfi Fruits of them that
Jlept. Upon this the Chapter concludes in
Triumph, O Death, Where is thy Sting ? O
Grave, Where is thy ViSlory ? — Thanks be to
God, who giveth us the Victory by our Lord
Jefus Chrifi.

Know my Brethren, We are the privi-
leged Difciples of the Son of God, who
lived, and died, and rofe again, that he might
■ aboUfi Death, bring Life and Immortality to
Light, deliver us from the Fear of Death,
and infpire us with new and living Hope,

Our

* E(7p^c/.Toj S^Spoj -KATOi^yurai 0 ^avctro;. KmnLfysa Ne-
ver fignifieth to i/ep-oy, fo as to put an End to the Being, or
Exiftence of the Thing itfelf; but to deprive it of its natural
and ufual Power, or its intended and proper EfFefls : Then
the Thing is ap>o?, vain, and inefFedual. — When naturally
gooj, it becomes ufelefs : When naturally terrii^U, it ceafeth
to be fo.

^e Fear of Death conquerable, 271

Our Fears fufpeded that this Life had ter- Sermom

• XII

minated in Death ; but our Rifen Saviour, ^ L^
has (hewed us, that it terminates in Immor-
tal Life ; and has confecrated for us into the
Holieft, even into Heaven itfelf, a 7iew and
living Wayy through this Vail of Flefli. He
himfelf met Death, asfiich^ without Terror,
and without Amazement. Perhaps you have
been led to think the contrary. But let me
fay, fuch Apprehenfions are not only ground-
lefs and unreafonable, but they are highly
injurious to our Saviour's Chara(5ler, and pre-
judicial to that Strength and Comfort of Soul,
which would otherwife arife in us, and is
intended to arife from the Confideration of
the Frame of Mind, with which the Cap-
tain of our Salvation met, and conquered
Death. We read indeed, of his Agony ^ and
of his repeated Prayer, that, if pojjibky the
bitter Cup might pafi from him. But was
Death itfelf this bitter Cupf Or did he thus
defire to live, or fear to die ? No, fure. He
had met with Nothing in this World, to
make him (0 defirous to ftay in it, after he
had finijhed the Work^ is^hich God gave him
to do ; and fure his pure, pious, and divine
Mind, had Nothing to fear, but every Thing

tCD

I'jz I'he Fear of Death conquer ahk.

SERMON to hope for, after Death. It was the Man^

XII

^...^ ner of his Death, not Death itfelf j the
lingring and agonizing Tortures of Cruci-
fixion, that were the bitter Cup he depreca-
ted J the very Thoughts of which at this
Day, are enough to ftrike us with Trem-
bHng and Horror. Had he been unmoved
and unafFeded at this Thought, he had not
been Man ; nor could he from Experience
have had Compaffion on his Difciples under
the Pains which fome of them indure, both
in Life and at Death. But now we are di-
Seb. xii. redted to look unto Jefus, the Author and Per*
'' ^* feSier of our Faith ^ who for the Joy fet be-
fore him^ endured the Crofs, defpifing the
Shame; and confider hiniy who endured fuch
Contradi5iio7i of Sinners againjl himfelf^ left
we be weary and faint in our Minds, To
fee whether this be a juft Account or not,
which I have now given, read and weigh
every Expreffion, which proceeded from our
dear Saviour's Lips, from the Time when
he firft predicted his Death, to the Time of
his Departure, and you will find, he never
fpeaks to his Difciples of Death itfelf, with
the lead feeming Terror, nor with any E-
motion, but that of Pleafure and Joy. He

wenfr

The Fear of Death conquerable, 273

went up tojerufalem to attend the Paflbver, Sermom
knowing the Things that fiould befal him there : ^^ ,
And when he found the deadly Spirit was
gone forth, his firft Words are thefe, The
Hour is come, that the Son of Man muji be john xii.
GLORIFIED. Not the Hour that the Son of ^3»
Man muft die, but the Hour that the Son of
Man muft be glorified, Inftead of being dif-
couraged, he goes on to encourage his At-
tendents, and infpire them with a FearleiT-
nefs of Death, He that lovetb his Lije Jhall
lofe it ', and he that hateth his Life in this
World, jhall keep it unto Life Eternal, If any
Man ferve me, let him follow me, and where
I am, there Jhall alfo my Servant be : If any
Man ferve me, him will my Father honour.
Are thefe the Words of one that is afraid of
Death, or in love with a Life in this World?
Let the next Expreflion then be underftood
and explained, confiftent with what prece-
deth it. Now is my Soul troubled ; now is a
trying Time indeed, and What Jhall Ifay f
Shall I fay, Father fave me from this Hour ?
No — for this Caufe came I to this Hour,
But this I fay, Father glorify thy Name. Read
on, through Chapters xiii, xiv, xv, xvi, and
xvii. where you will find him keeping the
Paflbver 3 inftituting the Memorial of his
T own

The Fear of Death conquerable.

own Death ; converfing with his Difciples 5
praying to God for them, to keep them,
and comfort them, after his Death ; and all
this with a Spirit perfedly compofed, ferious,
and pious. — And in the Begining of the
xviith Chapter, praying for himfelf with all
Truft and Confidence in God, Jhefe Words
fpake Jefus, and lift up his Eyes to Heaven,
and faidy Father y the Hour is come^ glorify
thy Son, that thy Son alfo may glorify Thee.
Ver. 4. / have glorified thee on the Earth. 1
have finifhed the Work, which thou gaveji
me to do. And no^}, O Father, glorify thou
me with thine own Self, with the Glory which
I had with thee, hejore the World was. Had
I Time to confider the whole Conduct of
our Saviour through Life, to the laft Mo-
iTient, when he faid, Father into thy Hands
I commend my Spirit — bowed the Head, and
gave up the Gho/l, though we fhall find him
fen;>ble of Pain, yet we (hall always find him
fearlefs of Death.

Let us now go on and confider the Spi-
rk of his Difciples, in this Refpecft, Before
the Death and Refurredion of Jefus, whilfl:
they thought of Nothing, but his Kingdom
here upon Earth, they were timorous and

weak

The Fear of Death conquerable,

weak like other Men ; and through Fear of

Death, they allforfook him and fled : But after

his Refurredlion, they received the promifed

Spirit, the Comforter ; and from this Time

forward, we find them fearlefs of Deaths

Whilft paffing through this Valley of the

Shadow of Death, the Apoftle Paul fpeaks

for himfelf, and for the reft of his BrethreOj

and let his Account fuffice, 2 Cor. iv. 8. to

Chap. V. 9. We are troubled on every Sidei

yet not diftrejfed-, perplexed y but not in De^^

fpair ; perfecutedy but notforfaken ; caji down^

hut not dejlroyed — always bearing about in

the Body, the dying of the Lord Jefus, that the

Life alfo ofjefus might be made manifefi in

our Body. — Knowing that he which raifed up

the Lord Jefus, jhallraife up us alfo by Je--

fus^ and (hall prefent us with you — For which

Caufe we faint not, but though the outward

Man, the Body, perifh, yet the inward Man^

the Mind and Soul, is renewed Day by Day,

' — While we look, not at the things which are

feen^ but at the Things^ which are not feen ;

for feen Things are temporal, but Things not

feen are eternal. For we know, that if our

Earthly Houfe of this Tabernacle be diffohed,

we have a Building of God, an Houfe not

T 2 made

276 ^he Fear of Death conquerable.

Sermon made With Hands, Eternal in the Heavens. —
^^^;^ For we that are in this Tabernacle, do groan,
being burdened, 'not that we would be unclothed,
but clothed upon, that Mortality might bejwal-
lowed up of Life. Now he that hath wrought
us for this felf Jame Thing, is God j who alfo
hath given unto us the Earneft of the Spirit,
Therefore we are always confident, and willing
(we are bold and well-pleafed) * rather to
be abfent from the Body, and to be prefent with
the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that whether
prefent, or abfent, we may be accepted of him.
Permit me to add two Paffages more, con-
cerning our Apoftle. He tells the Chrifti-
ans of Ephefus, when taking his laft Fare-
Afts XX. wel, j4?2d now behold 1 go bound in the Spirit
22,^3,24. untojerufalem, not knowing the Things that
fhall befal me there : Save that the Holy Ghojl
witnejfeth in every City, that -Bonds and Affile-
iions abide me : But none of theje Things move
me, neither count 1 my Lije dear unto my felf,
fo that Imay finipa my Courje with Joy. And
he tells Timothy towards the Clofe of his fe-
cond, and probably his laft Letter to him,
2Tim.iv. -^^^ ^^'^ ^^^^y ^^ ^^ offered, (as a Sacrifice
^>7.8. upon the Service of your Faith) -f and the

Time

The Fear of Death conquerable.
Time of tny Departure is at hand — I have
fought a good Fight, I havefnifh^d my Courfe^
I have kept the Faith, Henceforth there is
laid up for me a Crown of Right eoiifnefs, which
the Lord, the Righteous Judge, fjall give me
at that Day ; and not to me only^ but unto all
them, that love his appearing.

This, my Brethren, is the fearlefs, joy-
ful, heavenly Frame of Spirit, that the Gof-
pel of Jefus is intended to promote in every
Chriftian. It is calculated for this high, this
happy, and moft defirable Purpofe j and is
abundantly fufficient to anfwer this great and
moft exalted End — and will do it, if cor-
dially embraced, and faithfully improved.
Multitudes of Chriftians, I doubt not, in every
Age, have reached this noble Fortitude and
Elevation of Soul 3 and the fame Spirit awaits
us All. It is not the Intention of Jefus, that
his Difciples and Followers (hould fLrink
back, and fhudder at the Thoughts of Death,
but live, looking jor the blejfed Hope, that is
Jet before them. He fubmitted to the moft
cruel and torturing Death, purpofely to de-
liver us jrom this Fear of Death, And if
this is not fufficient, What is it that you
would have ? Shall Jefus live, and preach,
T 3 and

^7^ *The Fear of Death conquerable.

Sermon and die in vain ? O ye profefTed Chriftians;,
^^_^_^ Our Mouth is open unto you, our Heart is en-
larged—ye are not Jlraitened in us, nor in
your God — / /peak as unto my Children^ be
ye alfo enlarged* Say to your timorous Heart,
Wh^ art thou caft down, O my Soul ? pyhy
art thou di [quieted within me ? ^ruft in God,
for thou Jhalt yet praife him j Tea though I
walk through the Valley of the Shadow of
Death, I will fear no Evil j for thou art with
me — thy Rod and thy Staff they comfort me.

What I propofed in this Difcourfe was,
to (hew, That the dreadful Fears and Appre^
henfions of Death, are capable of being con--
quered and overcome. This, I hope, I have
evinced fufficiently ; yea, have proved more
than I propofed, even that the Fear of Death
may, and ought to be converted into lively
Hope, and Heavenly Joy — Joy imfpeakable
md full of Glory ,

And fure I need not fay One Word to
prove, that this is a moft de fir able Attain-
ment. In fome Manner, and with fome
Frame of Spirit, we mud all walk through
this Valley of the Shadow of Death : And it
cannot be a Thing indifferent, whether we
%\:alli through calm and ferene, with a cbear-

ful

7he Fear of Death conquerable, 279

ful and ftedfaft Heart ; or live under gloomy Sermom
and dreadful Apprehenfions ; and are at laft ^ _\^
dragged to meet Death as the King of Ter-
rors. The Difference is lo great, that no
one can deHberate a Moment, which is pre-
ferable. And one would think no Motives
need to be urged, in order to awaken your
Attention to fuch Directions, as I am pre-
pared to lay before you. But my Time at
prefent will not allow me to enter upon them,
I conclude, as Paul concludes his Diflerta-
tion on the fame Subjed. O Death, where is. 1 Cor. xv;
thy Sting ^ O Grave ^ where is thy ViBoryf ^^""^ •
Thanks be to God, who giveth us the ViBory^
by our Lord J ejus Chriji. Therefore my be-*
loved Brethren^ be ye fiedfaft, unmoveable, al-
ways abounding in the Work of the Lord, for^
a/much as ye know, that your Labour is not in
vain in the Lord*

T 4 MY

28o ^e Fear of Death conquer able.

Sermon l^/l ^ Shepherd is the living Lord -,
J"^ iVXNow fhall my Wants be well fupply'd ;
His Providence and holy Word
Become my Safety and my Guide.

In Paftures where Salvation grows
He makes me feed, he makes me refl,
There living Water gently flows.
And all the Food divinely bleft.

Tho* I walk thro* the gloomy Vale,
Where Death and all its Terrors are.
My Heart and Hope fhall never fail ;
For God my Shepherd's with me there.

Amidft the Darknefs and the Deep,
Thou art my Comfort, thou my Stay 5
Thy Staff fupports my feeble Steps,
Thy Rod direds my doubtful Way.

Surely the Mercies of the Lord,
Attend his Houfhold all their Days ; '
There will I dwell to hear thy Word,
To feek thy Face, and fing thy Praife*

SER.

28 1

SERMON XIII.

How to conquer the Fear of

Death.

Psalm xxiii. 4.*

Tea, though I walk through the Valley of the
Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil :
For thou art with me, thy Rod and thy Staff
they comfort me,

)e()8CM)§C)9C N a former Difcourfe upon this sermoh
ic I S S"^j^<^> ^ undertook to (hew, ^^"^;_^

^MXMA j^ That the dreadful Fears
and Apprehenfions of Death, are ca-
pable of being conquered and over-
come. I now proceed,
II. To confider. How this is to be ac-
complifhed.

Hr,

How to conquer the Fear of Death.

He, that Jlriveth for this Maftery, will
not he crowned^ unlefi hejlrive lawfully. Not
only guilty Sinners, but frequently fincere
Penitents, and truly virtuous, and pious Per-
fons, through Fear of Death are all their
Life-'Time fubjeSl to Bondage ; and this, not-
withftanding all that Chrift has done and
fufFered, to deliver them from this unhappy
State. They are in this Refped, like Chil'
dren that tremble in the Dark, and fear
where no Fear is. If therefore I can dired:
you to fuch Methods as will help to remove
this vain and enflaving Dread, and to ftrength-
en your Faith and Hope in God, I fhall con-
tribute more to the Comfort and Happinefs
of your Lives, than any Increafe of fenfual
Pleafures, or of worldly Subftance.

Let me previoufly obferve, that I am
not attempting to direct Wicked and Impi-
ous Sinners, how to conquer or evade the
Fears of Death : This would be to undertake
an Impoflibility. It would be as eafy to
teach them, how to avoid Death itfelf j for
the Stingt or Spear of Deaths is Sin. If there
had been no Sin, there might have been a
Tranflation, but there had been no Death,
And now, there is Nothing terrible in Death,

nothing

How to conquer the Fear of Death 283

nothing that needs to be efteemed terrible, Sermok
but what arifes from Sin, Bodily Pains and ^ ]._'_,
Afflidtions, I grant, are not joyous y hut grie'u-
ous, and fometiires terrible ; but, take No-
tice, thefe are not Deaths nor peculiar At-
tendants upon it, but upon this Life, When
Death comes, bodily Pain is over. And if
the prefent Life be continued for a Num-
ber of Years, we have Reafon to exped: and
fear far more bodily Pain^ than if we (hould
die this Moment. But it is not thefe bodily,
fenftive Pains, but the Fears and Terrors of
the Mind, arifing from the Thought and Prof
pe6i of Death, that is now under Confiderati-
on ; which the pure and pious Mind may,
and ought to conquer and overcome.

As for the Wicked, he has neither Lot nor
Portion in this Matter^ unlefs he repent and
reform ; become dead to Sin, and alive unto
God. For him to put from him the
Thoughts of Death is Stupidity -, and to
think of diverting its Terrors by Pleafure and
Amufement, or to drown them in Sottifli-
liefs and Debauchery, is only to encreafe
them. To attempt to footh fuch guilty
Souls with the Confolations of Piety and Re-
ligion, is only to make them Hypocrites, and

deceive

2.j:^^..

284 How to conquer the Fear of Death.

Sermon deceive their Souls. Whilft thefe impeni-
XIII
> ^ '_j tent Sinners fancy they arp. treafuring up

Strength and Comfort, and hardening them-

felves againft the Fear of Death, they arc

only treafuring up to themjehes Wrath againft

the Day of Wrath, and Revelation of the righ^

teous Judgment of God. Imaginary, fpiritu-

al Strength and Courage, with a guilty Con-

fcience, is the Eflence of Hypocrify. Knoweft

ob XX. thou not this oj old^fince Man was placed upon

Earth ; That the Triumphing of the Wicked

ii fiort, and the Joy of the Hypocrite but for

obxxvli. a Moment^ For, What is the Hope of the

'• Hypocrite, when God taketh away his Soul^

ob viii . The Hypocrites Hope fiall perifh — it fhall be

^' ''^* he cut off, and his Truft Jhall be a Spider's

Web.

I SHALL therefore at prefent leave the Hy-
pocrite and Sinner to the Terrors of the Lord,
as the Provifion made to awaken them to Re-
pentance J and proceed in my Endeavours to
adminifter Strength and Comfort to truly
pious and well-difpofed Minds. To you,
and you only, I now addrefs myfelf, who
are fincerely defirous to approve yourfelves
to God, by a perfevering Continuance in well-
doing J but at prefent live under difcourag-

ing

How to conquer the Fear of Death, 285

ing Fears and Apprchenfions of Death ; or SERMbw
at leaft are apprehenfive this will be the Cafe, u— ^^
when the Time comes that you muft die ;
and as you are every Moment liable to this,
fo through Fear of Death you are more or lefs,
'all your Life-Time fubjeSi to Bondage. This
is a moft unhappy, but fure not an helplefs
Cafe. To you, dear Souls, my Advice is
this ;

First, If you would gain this moft de-
firable Fortitude and Tranquility of Mind, Tou
mujl direSily aim at this happy Attainment ;
and labour to keep it through the whole
Courfe of Life j whilft you are daily walk-
ing through the Valley of the Shadow of Death,
You muft ftrivefor this Majlery, and ftrive 2 Cor. x;
lawfully — • Bo run, not as uncertainly — fo
fight y not as one that beateth the Air ; but keep
under the Body ; its Appetites, and its Fears,
and bring them into SubjeSlion, Take up the
Pfalmift's Refolution, and take to yourfelves
the Spirit he difcovers in our Text, and fay,
with him, " Though I walk, or am now
** walking, through the Valley of the Shadow
'* of Deaths I will fear no Evil — If it be
" poffible, I will gain this Maftery. I know
" it is appointed for me once to die, and

•' that

2^6 How to conquer the Fear of Deat%*

*' that I am ia my Death-State every Mo-
'* ment, I will therefore endeavour to be aU
** ways ready, and always willing to depart
" hence. Somehow I mud die j and a com-
*' fortable Life, and happy Death, free from
" all Fears of Evil, and full of lively and
** glorious Hopes, is fo defirable; and the
" Contrary is fo dreadful, that if poffible, I
" will fecure a peaceful Journey through
" this Life, and an happy Exit — fuch as
" {hall do Credit to Religion, give Glory to
<^ the God of my Life, and terminate in
" Joy unfpeakable and full of Glory. To
*' this End I will carefully avoid whatever
** would occafion terrifying Apprehenfions
" in the Hour of Death, or under its pre-
" fent Profpedls : And will leave Nothing
** undone, that may contribute to my pre-
** fent Hope, and future Joy 5 that when I
** come to die, I may have nothing to do,
** but die, and fay like my Saviour, Father
" into thy Hands I commend my Spirit"

It is, my Brethren, for Want of this AiiA
and Purpofe^ that fo many good Chriftians,
who have nothing to fear, but every Thing to
hope for, yet fear, where no Fear is ; and
muft do fo all their Life-Time, if they will

not

How to conquer the Fear of Death, 287

not hearken to this friendly Advice. As Sermon

xur
yo?jah thought he did well to be angry, fo ^,.,,,.^^

fome think, they do well to be dejeSled-, and
even look upon their Complaints and Fears,
as an Expreffion of Chriftian Humility :
Whereas, God is as much the God of Com-
fort, as the God of Holinefsi and has made
as full Provifion for the One as for the Other,
We have not only his Holy Commands, for
the Rule of our Condud j but vi^e have his
exceeding great and precious Promifes, for
the Ground of our Faith, and Hope, and
Joy. Rejoice evermore y pray without ceafingi » Theff.r
in every Thing give Thanks 'j Jor this is the * *'7>» <
Will of God in Chriji JefuSy concerning you.
When real Holinefs is actually obtained, and
carefully preferved, fure it could be no fuch
hard Matter to gain this Freedom from thq
Fear of Death j if fuch holy Souls would
think of it, and intend it. What I have faid
under this Particular, is purely to put you
upon thinking for yourfelves, and excite you
to make this Attempt. The Diredions re-
fpeding the Manner, how you are to do
this, drawn chiefly from the Pfalmift's Con-
dud, come now to be confidered.

Secondly,

XIII.

288 How to conquer the Fear oj Death.

Sermon SECONDLY, Settle in your Minds, and
imprefs upon your Hearts, the lame Senti-
ments of God and his Providence^ that the
Author difcovers through the whole of this
Pfalm. ^he Lord is my Shepherd, I fhall not
want. He maketh me to lie down in green
Pa/iures', be leadeth me bejide the fiill Waters.
He prepareth a T^ able for me — my Cup run-
neth wer. From this Experience of the Care
and Proted-ion of Divine Providence, and
from the Sort of Paftoral Relation between
him and God, he derives his Encouragement
to hope in God, for the Remainder of
Life i concluding. Surely Goodnefs and Mer-
cy fiall follow me all the Days of my Life.
Nor do his Thoughts and Hopes flop here,
but with equal Reafon he carries them for-
ward in View and Profped of Death 5 and
fays, Tea, though I walk through the Valley of
the Shadow of Death, I will fear no Evil -,
Jor thou art with me — thy Rod and thy Staff
they comfort me. As if he had faid, *' The
*' fame Providence, the fame protecting
" Hand, the fame Guardian God, that has
' hitherto been my Preferver through Life,
" will be my Preferver through the Re-
♦* mainder of it, and my Support, and Com-

" fort

How 'to conqiier the Fear of Death, 289)

** fort when 1 come to die 3 I will therefore Sermont
*' fear no Evil. He is able to do for me ex- t.™!^
" ceeding abundantly above all that I can
" aik or think ; and he is willing and faith-
" ful, who alfo will do it. Of this he has
" given me all the Proof, all the Experience^
*' and all the Evidence I can wi(h for, or
** defire. O my Soul ! do not forget all hisf
" Benefits. My God brought me into Be-
" ing at firft, intending my everlafting Gon-
" tinuance in it. He breathed into me the
" Breath of Life^ and I became a living
*' Soul ; and infpired me with the Defires of
" Life and Immortality, This Defire of Life
«* he has made the flrongeft and moft un-
'* alterable Principle of my Nature. He
'' has implanted in me this Principle with
" an Intent to gratify it. Nor is this all -
" but he has infpired me with the Natural
" Hopes and Expecflations of Immortality-y
*' and has confirmed thefe by the Gift, the
** Doftrine, the Promifes, the Death, the
*' Refurredion, and Glorification of his Be-
** loved Son, the Man Chriftjefus. Nor is this
" all the Evidence and Experience I have
'' had of the Care and All-fufficiency of my
" God : He has already brought me out of
U '' one

XIII.

290 How to conquer the Fear of Death,

Sermon *< one World, and State of Exiftence into
** another. He formed, preferved, and fa-
" fliioned me in the "Belly j firft fitted me for
*' this World, and then brought me into it.
*' In the Morning of this Life, I was as weak
'* and helplefs, as I cad be in the Evening :
«* And does that God want either Power or
*' Will to fuftain me in Death, who has fuf-
•' tained me through the Whole of this Mor-
^' tal Life ? Or to introduce me into another
** State of Exiftence, who brought me into
** this ?" From this Topick, we often find
the Pfalmijl fetching his Hopes and Confo-
lations, not only in Profperity, as in the
Pfalm before us, but even in the deepeft Ad-
verfity. Thus in the Pfalm immediately
foregoing, he prays, Ver. 11, Be not far
from me y for Trouble is Jiear^ and there is none
to help — / am poured out like Water — My
Heart is like Wax^ it is melted in the Midjl
of my Bowels — My Strength is dried up, and
thou haft brought me into the Duji of the Earth.
But here is his Encouragement, Thou art he
that took me out of the Womb j thou didjl make
me hope, whe?i I was upon my Mother sBreafis:
I was cajl upon thee from the Womb — Thou
an my God from my Mother's Belly — Be not

thou

XIII.

How to conquer fhe Pear of Death, 291

thou far from me^ O Lord j O my Strength, Sermon
hajle thee to help me. Verfes 9, 10, 19. You
may read to the fame Purpofe, Pfalni Ixxio
^ — 20.

We have all of us had the hke Experi-
ence of the Care and Providence of God^
from the Begining of our Lives to this Day.
But the Ground of all our Unhappinefs is
this, though little perceived, Thofe manifold
Bleffings of God, which fhould endear God
to our Souls, and encourage our Truft iti
him, ferve only to endear this World to usj
and make us fo unwilling, and fo afraid to
leave it. Strange Perverfenefs 1 What can be
done for us to make us happy, if the Blef-
fings of God thus alienate our Hearts front
him ! O let us learn to prefer the Thought
of God, and his Providence, to all the World 5
yea, to this Life itfelf, and then we fhall
fear no Evil. T^he Lord reigns, let the Earth
rejoice, and the Multitude of its Inhabitants
he glad. True Faith in God, and his Pro-
vidence, will give us the Vidory over the
World, and over all the Terrors of Deaths
Affure your Hearts before him in this Re-
fped:, and then fear Death, if you can.

U 2 Thirdly,-

XIIL

292 How to conquer the Fear of Death,

Sermon Thirdly, Having Conceived and fettled
juft Sentiments of God and his Providence,
let me farther recommend it to you, fre-
quently to confider, and inculcate upon your
Minds, a due Senfe of the Power and Dif-
pofition of God, the Former and Father of
our Spirits, to fii/lain, fupport, and comfort
the Soul of Man. Thou rejiorefl my Soul, fays
the Pfah?iift, in the Verfe before my Text j
upon which he adds, Tea^ though I walk
through the Valley of the Shadow of Death I
will fear no Evil -, for thou art with me —
thy Rod and thy Staffs they comfort me. The
Common Providence of God orders the
Things around \is : The fpecial Favour and
fpiritual Aid of God reaches to the Heart
and Soul. The Outward Man, the Body,
is liable to Infirmities, Afflidions, Decays,
and Death ; but God the Father of our Spi-
rits, can fuftain and comfort the SouI-^-Hq
can perfeifl his Strength in our Weaknefs,
and enable our Spirits to bear all our Infirmi-
ties. Indeed if we had no Hope but in Our^
felvesy then the Soul would be as helplefs as
the Body, undhle to fuftain Itfelf, in the Day
of Trouble, and at the Hour of Death ; but
if we refign into the Hands of God, and

ftay

How to conquer the Fear of Death. 293

flay ourfelves upon him, then, as the outward Sermon
Ma7t perifjeth, the inward Man will be re- _ ' _t
newed Day by Day ; for this Caufe we faint 2 Cor. iv.
not. See how Jfaph improves this Thought,
and how his defponding Soul is reftored and
revived with it, when his Heart was grieved
and pierced within him. Neverthelefs 1 am Pfal.lxxiii.
continually with thee ; thou haft holden me by ^^'~' '
thy Right-Hand. Thou fialt guide me with
thy Counfely and afterward receive me to Glo^
ry. — For whom have I in Heaven but thee ?
And there is none upon Earth that I defire be-
fides thee. My Flejh and my Heart fai let h^
but God is the Strength oj my Heart , and my
Portion for ever. In this, Thought the pure
and pious Soul triumphs, God is our Refuge Pfal. xlvi.
and Strength^ a very prefent Help in Trou- ^' ^'^'
ble ', therefore will we not fear, though the
Earth be removed, and the Mountains carried
into the Midft of the Sea. ^he Lord is my
Light and my Salvation^ whom ftjall I fear F
The Lord is the Stre?2gth of my Life, of whom
/Jjall I he afraid ? Wait on the Lord^ he of
good Courage t and he fmll ftrengthen thine
Heart — wait 1 fay on the Lord. " Nov/,
" think, O my Soul, think how often I
^* have been brought low, and the Lord hath
U 3 « helped

294 ■^^''^ i(> conquer the Fear of Death.

Sermon *' helped me. How often have I been rea-

XIII
..^^^^ " dy to fay, There is no Hope, I ihall go

** down to the Grave mourning ! Under

^* what Weaknefs and Pains of Body, and

^* Sorrows of Mind, has my God fuftained

« me J and comforted me again, after the

** Days in which I have feen Adverfity ! And

f * am I yet to learn, that God is he that bind-

" eth up the Broken-hearted, and comfort-

*^ eth thofe that mourn ? Has not Tribiilati-

?' on wrought in me Patience ; and Patience

*' Experience ; and Experience Hope ? Let

5* Patience then have her perfed Work, that

*' I may be perfedt and entire, lacking No-

f* thing. Hitherto nothing has befallen me,

** but what is common to Man ; and O AU-

f« fupporting Thought ! My God is Jaithful,

f* who will not fuffer me to be tried above my

" Ability^ but will with every Trial Jind a

*' Way J or my EJcape, that I may be able to

f bear it. So that I will boldly fay^ the Lord

?' is my Helper^ and J will not fear. Why

*' then art thou cafi down^ O my Soul? Why

f art thou dijquleted within me? Truji in

** God^ J or Ijhall yet praife him, who is the

["■ Health of my Countenance y and my God.''

O im

How to conquer the Fear of Death, 295

O MV Friends, God v/ill be with us. Sermon

XIII
whilft we are with him, he will never leave ^ -,-'_

us ; he will never forfake us ; much lefs
when we ftand in the greateft Need of his
Prefence and Aid. This was our dear Sa-
viour's Support and Confolation, when he
came to die. Behold the Hour cometh, yea, Mn xvi,
is now come, that ye fljall be Jcattered every
one to his own, and jhall leave me alone ; and
yet I am not alone, hecauje the Father is with
me. If you afk, What is intended by this ?
We have the Anfwer and Explanation in my
Text, from whence the Phrafe feems to be
borrowed, T^hou art with me^ thy Rod and
thy Staff they comfort me. As the Rod and
Staff in the Hands of the Shepherd are the
Inftruments of Protection to the helplefs
Sheep ; fo are the All-fufficient Perfedlions
of God, to the pious Soul, which can fay,

Tho' in the Paths of Death I tread,
With gloomy Horrors overfpread ;
My ftedfaft Heart iLall fear no 111 :
For thou, O Lord, art with me ftill.
Thy friendly Crook (hall give me Aid,
And guide me thro' the awful Shade.

U 4. This

XIII.

296 How to conquer the Fear of Deaib,

Sermon . This Scripture-Phrafe, God is with me,
and all thofe which exprefs the Prefence of
God with his faithful Servants, have a plain,
mofl: delightful, and comprehenfive Mean-
ing, denoting not his eflential Prefence com-
mon to all, nor his Prefence as an uncon-
icerned Spedator, but his real Agency, and
adual Exertion of his fpiritual divine Powr
er, and fatherly Goodnefs. Faithful is he
that bath promifed, who alfo will do it. If
left to ourfelves, Death is an Enemy top
hard for us to encounter without Fear. If
left to Sorrow without Flope, the Death and
Lofs of our dear Friends, and Relatives,
would overfet our Minds with Grief and Sorr
row : And the parting with this World,
pur Friends, and all our Enjoyments here,
and being diflodged from thefe Bodies, the
Medium of fo many grateful Senfation?,
would be ftill more intollerable, if we had
no Hope of the Aid and Prefence of God.
The Strength of our Souls, when Flefli and
Heart fails ; the Prefervation of the precious
Soul, when this earthly Body perifhes j our
ln|rpdu6tiori into a new and better State 3
the invefting us with our Houfe which is
from Heaven, thefe are Things beyond our

own

How to conquer the Pear oj Death. 297

own Power, thou2;h efl'ential to our Safety Sermon
in Death, and our Happinel's after it. Now, ,_^*_j
to all thefe, and to every needful Purpofe,
God will be with me. '' He that brought
*^ me into this World, will introduce me
" into another. — The Tame fatherly Being,
^' atid the fame Power, which attended up-
" on my Birth^ will watch over my Death.
^' — The fame God, that has been my
*' Guardian through the Whole Length of
*' this Valley of Death, will not leave me
•' when I come to the End of it." JVhat
Jhall we then fay to thefe Things f The An- Rom. vUi.
fwer follows. If God he for us, who can be a~ ^*~"2^'
gainji us ? Or^ what fl^all jepar ate us from the
Love of God? Shall Tribulation, or Diftrefs,
or Perfecution, or Famine, or Nakednefs, or
Peril, or Sword? — Nay, in all thefe Things
we are more than Conquerors, through him that
loved us : For 1 am perfwaded, that neither
Death nor Life, tior Things prefent, nor Thiiigs
to come, fmll be able to feparate us from the
Love of God, in Chrift Jefus our Lord.

One Thought more under this Head —
If this Life be continued for any confidera-
ble Time, the Servants of God have a thou-
fand Times more to fear and apprehend from

Life,

298 How to conquer the Fear of Death.

Sermon Life, than from Death, During this Life,

XIII. •

^ -^^_} we are called out to Services, Sorrows, and

Temptations — here we may count upon
much to do, and much to lufFer — here we
have a Part to adt : But when Death comes,
our Work is over, as our Saviour's was, the
Evening before the Day of his Death. /
John xvii. have jinijhed^ fays he, the Work which thou
^' gave/i me to do. Our Part in Death is pure-

ly pajjive ; w^e have then Nothing to do ;
we ought to have Nothing to do ; for No-
thing can be done by us, hxxlfubmit — yield-
ing up ourfelves to God, and hope and wait
for his Salvation — committing ourfelves to
God, as to a faithful Creator, who is able to
keep that which is committed to him. Now,
the Work is God's, and not ours ; and when
it comes to be his, and his only, it cannot
mifcarry. To every one of his Servants he
Hcb. xiii. has faid, / wi/l never leave thee, Jior forfake
^' * thee ; Jo that we may boldly fay. The Lord is

my Helper and I will not jear. This leads on
to another Direction.

Fourthly, Look daily beyond Death
itfelf, in the lively Exercife of that Faith,
which is the ^uhflance of Things hoped for, and
the Fvidence of Things not feen, \i you look

only

How to conquer the Fear of Death,

only around yoyix^'^on this Valley of the Shadow
of Deaths or look no farther than the End
of it J if your Views terminate here, no Won-
der if all be dreadful : But look forward
into the future and better State, to that Life
and Immortality which is brought to Light,
and the Dread will vanifh. What the Men
of this World look upon as the Endoi Life,
to the good Man, is the Begining of Life i
And what they call the Gate of Death, is
really the Door of Entrance into Immortal
Life. Let your Faith and Hope then ftretch
forward beyond the Vail, and then you can-
not Fear. For this Caufe^ fays the Apoftle,
'We faint not^ hut though the Outward Man zConivr.
perifi, the inward Man is renewed Day by
Day — while we look at the Things which are
720t feen j for Things which are feen are tern-
poraly but Things not feen are eternal.

To guilty Minds, Death is the King of
Terrors 'y and to the pureft Minds, there
could be no chearing Hope, if no Profped:
after Death. Yea, in that Cafe, Annihifa-*
tion would be far more tolerable to the Wick'
edy than to the Righteous and Holy : for Vir-
tue and Piety endear Life and Being j but
Vice renders it a Burden. The Thought of

^God

i6, i8.

300 How to conquer the Fear of Death,

Sermon a God could no longer yield Comfort to a
v__.-^^ departing Soul, if that God had made no
farther Provifion for its Being and Happi-
nefs. But adored be God, there is a King-
Mat. XXV. dom prepared Jor the RighteouSy jrom the Foun-
'^^' dationof the World-, The Door into it is now

open, and Life and Immortality brought to
Light. We know enough of Heaven, if
we will be at Pains to imprefs the Know-
ledge of it upon our Hearts, to give us the
Vidory over the Love of this Life and
World, and over the Dread of Death. There
wefiall be for ever with the Lord Jefus, and
be like him in Holinefs and Happinefs. There
is no Pain, nor Sorrow, nor Death, nor
Fear of it. There we (hall exift: for ever,
free from all difturbing Company — Parta-
kers of focial, fpiritual Happinefs — fup-
ported in Exiftence with a conftant Fulnefs
of Supplies, adapted to our Nature — there
we ihall be fatisfied — there is Fulnefs of
Joy and Happinefs for ever, in Kind and
Degree far exceeding our prefent Apprehen-
iions ; for Eye has not feen, nor Ear hcardy
tior has it entered into the Heart of Man to
conceive y what God has prepared Jor them that
love him, Befides, our Title to the future^

is

xm.

How to conquer the Fear of Death. 301

is infinitely more fecure, than our Title to Sermon
the prefent Life. To this Life we have no
Title at all, but prefent Pojfejfion j liable to
be turned out any Moment, without a Mo-
ment's Warning : But the good Man's Title
to Eternal Life, is fecured by the Word and
Faithfulnefs of God j and what can we wifh
for more ? " Have I then fo much Know-
" ledge and AlTurance of Heaven and Eter-
*^ nal Life, How willing (hould I be to leave
" this World, and meet Death to go thi-
" ther ? How unworthy my Chriftian Pro-
« feffion, and High-Calling of God, if I
*' cannot from what I feel within, fay, /
** loath ity I would not live here always! I de-
^' fire to depart y and to be with Chrift, which
" is Jar better ? O my Soul ! look forward
*' from the Mount of Gofpel Promifes, and
** take a fair View of that good Land, the
*' Heavenly Canaan, provided for my Eter-
** nal Setdement, after my Journey through
** this Fale of Death, and the Profped: will
" allay my Fears, and deprive Death of all
*' its Terrors ; and enable me to fay. Tea,
" though I walk through the Valley of the Sha-
" dow of Death, I will fear no Evil.'' I
only add.

Lastly,

XIII.

3 oil How to conquer the Pear of Death.

Sermon Lastly, To be always fearlefs, and al-
ways ready, we muft live in a careful Ab-
ftinence from Sin, and a conftant, regular,
uniform Difcharge of every incumbent Du-
ty, both as Men, and as Chriftians ; living
in all the Ordinances and Commands oj God
blamelefs. Blejjed is that Servant, whoin bis
Lord when he cometh poall find thus watching,
— Come at what Watch he will, ftill bleffed
is that Servant. This is entering into Hea-
ven, and having our Converfation there,
whilft here upon Earth j or as in the Clofe
of the Pfalm before us, it is dwelling in the
Houfe of God for ever*

I HAVE thus laid before you the Diredi-
ons fuggefted in my ^ext and Context^ in or-
der to your living the Life, and dying the
Death of the Righteous, and having your
latter End like his.

I SHALL now conclude with an Addrefs
and Exhortation to all of you, to prepare for
Death ; and to pious and good Perfons, not
to put from them that Comfort they have a
Right to. If when we come to die, we
would fear no Evil, we muft be prepared
and provided aforehand. All the Wife Vir-
*^gins can do, when Death comes, is to trim

their

How to conquer the Fear of Death. 303

their Lamps, by roufing up their pious Sen- Sermom
timents, and divine AfFedlions ; their Faith .J^J^l'^
and Hope, and Truft in God, which they
have cultivated and treafured up in their
Souls before. The Time of Death is no Sea-
fon for purchafing this Oil of Joy. Should
negligent Fools nov;^ attempt it, the Door
will be fiuty before any Thing cs-n be done
to the Purpofe ; and the Things that belong
to their Peace ^ for ever hid from their Eyes.
What is this Life given us for, but to pre-
pare for Death and Heaven ? And none of
us have one Day to fpare or trifle away.

And you who have pafled the Time of
your fojourning here, in a Courfe of Virtue
and Piety, and are at Peace with God, to
whom Death mud hefafe, do not flop here ;
but as yoli have conquered and overcome
the Power of Sin, labour to vanquifh the
unreafonable and troublefome Fears of Death,
The Credit of Religion, and the Glory of
God, demand it from you. The Intereft,
Con^fort, and Encouragement of all around
you, call for it. And to come nearer Home,
the Peace and Comfort of your own Souls
require it. Do not reft, do not flop fhort
of the higheft Attainments of Holinefs and

Flappinefs -,

304 How to conquer the Fear of Death,

Sermon Happincfs ; but reckon every Degree^ aS

\_^^~,^ well as every Kifid of fpiritual Felicity, as
due to your own Souls y which have not
what is their juft Portion whilft they want
any Thing of that holy Fortitude and Com-
fort, which God has provided for them that
love him.

And do not think your Life here of too
great Importance to your Family^ or to the
World. Poffibly it may be expedient both for
you and them, that you fliould go away*
Our Saviour exprefsly tells his Difciples fo >

John xvl. Never thelefs I tell you the Truths it is expedi-
ent for you that I go away ; and this at a
Time, when the Intereft of his Difciples^
and of his Religion, then in its Infancy,
feemed in human Probability, to call for his
longer Continuance here upon Earth. God
only knows, When is the fitteft Time, and
whether our Life or Death will be of mod
Service ; that God who has faid, leave your

Jer. xliff. father lefs Children, and I will prefer ve them
alive ^ and let your Widows truji in me. If
therefore God fhould callj fland prepared for
taking leave of Your's, as your Saviour took

Johnxvii. leave of his Difciples. And now I am n9
more in the Worlds but thefe are in the World,

and

II.

<i.

XIII.

How to conqii'-r the Fear joj Death. 30J;

and I come to Thee, Holy Father, keep through Sermoh
thi72e own Name^ thofe whom thou ha/i given
me. I pray not that thou fhouldefi take them
out of the World, but keep them from the Evil.
— San&ify them by thy Truth, thy Word is
Truth. God can make the Memory of a
pious Parent deceafed, of more Authority antj
Influence, than when alive.

But, why (o anxious, O pious Soul,
purely on thy own Account ? Why unwil-
lingly content to leave this World, and ex-
change it for Heaven and Eternal Life, when
unwelcome Death will fufFer thee to flay no
longer ? Why fo uneafy and afraid to die ?
O Chrirtian, where is thy Faith ? How con-
trary this Frame, to the natural Bias and
Workings, of the Heaven-born Soul 1 How
inconfiftent with the defirable Peace and For-
titude of Mind ! How vain ! — How fruit-
lefs ! — How unbecoming even a iWan, who
has had fo many Years to prepare, knowing
himfelf every Moment liable to Death ! For
Shame lift up the Hands that hang down — >
lift them up to the God of your Life, who
has redeemed you jrom all your Enemies, and
particularly from Death, that you may ferve
him without Fear, in Holinefs and Righteouf-
X nefs

How to conquer the Fear of Death,

nefs before him all the Days of your Lives. —
Do this, and then you may boldly fay, Tea
though I pafs through the Valley of the Shadow
of Death y 1 will Jear no Evil -, for thou art
with me, thy Rod and thy Staff, they comfort
me.

NOW unto him that is able to keep you
from fallijtg, and to prefent you faultlefs be-
fore the Prefence of his Glory with exceeding
Joy ; to the o?ily wife God and our Saviour, be
Glory and Majeliy, Dominion and Power, both
now and ever. Amen.

t

^-^e^-^c^M

SER-

3of

SERMON XIV.

The great Duty of drawing near
TO God, confidered and explained.

Psalm Ixxiii. 28.
— // is good jor me to draw near to God,

W^XK^ N the Clofe of the preceding t^mm

g J g PJ'alm it is faid, The Prayers of
M ^ David the Son of Jejfe are ended*

kMM^jB( i^his Pfalm, and the ten follow-
ing, are afcribed to Afaph. We find in the
Jewi(h Hiftory, that Afaph was called a
Seer; which Title is explained, i Sam. ix. 9.
He that was afterwards called a Prophet,
was beforetime called a Seer 5 that is, a Wife
Good Man j who was renowned for his
Knowledge of God, and Acquaintance with
the Nature and Tendency of moral Adions :
Who from hfence could difcern the Signs of
X 2 tb^

XIV.

3o8 T^he great Duty of

Sermon the Times, and predidl when Plappinefs or
^ • , Mifery, was coming upon a Perfon or Peo-
ple. The Want of fuch Wife and Good
Men in his Day, Jfaph laments in the next
Pfalm, Ver. 9. We fee not our Signs \ there
is no more any Prophet , neither is there among
Its any that knoweth how long. Jfaph was a
Poet, a Divine Poet, as well as a Seer ; and
His, as well as David's Compofures, were
introduced into the Publick Worfhip of the
Jews, and made Ufe of to aflift their Devo-
tion, after the Authors of them were dead.
Thus we read, that in the Days, when He-
i Chron. zekiah was King, He, and the Princes y com-
xx'x. 30. jjj^jj^g^ ffjg Levites to Jing Praife unto the
Lordy with the Words of David, and of Afaph
the Seer.

If we judge of Afaph from thefe feveral
Compofures, which arc come down to us
in his Name, we may fee wherein his chief
Talent, his Spirit of Wifdom and Difcern-r
ment lay : Namely, in an Acquaintance with
God — with the Will of God — with the
Laws and Meafures of his Government over
Men } and with the Natural Tendency of
Moral A6tions — of Virtue and Vice — of
Piety and Impiety. He faw, that Irrcligion

1

XIV.

drawing near to God. * 309

and WIckednefs, whatever Pomp and Prof. Sermon
perity may attend it for a while, yet it never
fails to terminate in Mifery and Deftrudlion :
And, on the other Hand, Righteoufnefs and
Piety, whatever Hardfliips and Difficulties
it may meet and ftruggle with for a Time,
yet it always ends in Satisfadion and Hap-
pinefs.

If we confider this Pfalm in the commorj
Method of Interpretation, as containing a par-
ticular Hiftory o{ Afaph\ own Cafe, we (hould
be led to conclude, that he was but newly
come to this Knowledge ; that he had long
lived a virtuous and pious Life, in Expeda-
tion, that on this Account, God would blefs
him with temporal Profperity^ but finding
himfelf difappointed, he was upon the Point
of renouncing his Religion, and finking into
Infidelity and Defpair. But this I think, is
a wrong Method of interpreting This, and
many other Pfalms. It is not to be under-
flood as an Hi/lory of the Author's particu-
lar Cafe ; but as a Reprefentation, in the
Perfon of the Author, of what is a common
Cafe J and this in order to introduce, in the
moft inoffenfive and interefting Manner,
fqch Thoughts and Arguments, as are moft
X 3 proper

XIV.

310 The great Duty of

Sermon proper to (hame fuch imperfed: Servants of
God, out of their falfe Principles, and
groundlefs Expedtations, and lead them to
better Sentiments, and better Hopes. This
View and Method of Interpretation, will
heighten our Apprehenfions, both of the
Author, and of this Pfalm itfelf. When we
deliberate, Can we think Afaph intends hin^-
felf ? But rather is perfonating the many,
whofe inward Language he fpeaks, when
he fays, Ver. 2. But as for me, my Feet were
^Imojl gone j my Steps had well nighflipt \ for
1 was envious at the Foolijh, when Ifaw the
Frofperify of the Wicked. Having at large
^efcribed their Wickednefs and Profperity,
he adds, Ver. 13. Verily I have cleanfed my
Heart in vain, and wajloed my Hands in In-
nocency ; for all the Day long have 1 been
plagued, and chaflened every Morning. This
is not the Hijlory of Afaph's own Heart ; but
pf too many Others, whom he wants to re-
form, as appears from the next Verfe. If 1
fay 3 I will fpeak thus. Behold I Jhould offend
againjl the Generation of thy Children. The
Intention of what follows to the End, is this 5
viz. Though from the prefent Face and Ap-
pearance of Things, the Frofperity of the

Wicked^

XIV.

drawing near to God, 3 1 1

Wicked, and the Adverfity of the Righte- Sermom
ous, has been a Difficulty with many, yet
we need only go into the San£iuary of God,
retire into our Hearts where God refides ;
confider the inward Mifery of the Wicke,d,
and the inward Happinefs of the Righteous :
And then look forward to the End of Both,
and the whole Difficulty is folved. Tben un-
derjiood I their End : Surely thou didft fet them
(the Wicked) injlippery Places j thou cajiedjl
them down into DeJiruSiion. How are they
brought into Defolation, as in a Moment f They
are utterly confumed with Terrors, As a
Dream when one awaketh, fo^ O Lord, when
thou awakeft, thou /halt dejpife their Image,
But as for Me, may every truly good Man
fay, Ver. 2^.1 am continually with thee, Thou
hafl holden me by thy Right-Hand. Thou ftsalt
guide me with thy Cowifel, and ajterwards re*
ceive me to Glory. Whom have I in Heaven
but thee ? And there is none upon Earth, that
I defire befides thee. My Flefo and my Heart
failetb j hut God is the Strength of my Heart,
ajid my Portion for ever. For lo, they that
are far from thee, Jhall perifh : — But it is
good for me to draw near to God,

X 4 I HAVE

5 IZ The great Duty of

Se^*»on I HAVE thus given you a general View
^J_^ of this pious and moft excellent Pfalm. The
Fart which the Author fuftains, through the
whole of it, is, that of a Wife and Good
Man, who is fo far from envying the vain
and fliort-lived Profperity of the Wicked,
that he pities them, and all that envy them.
As for himfelf, he (hews an entire Satisfac-
tion and Confidence in God, under all his
Adverlities ; and endeavours to teach all pi-
ous and well-difpofed Minds the fame Lef-
lon. The Language of his Soul is this, ' My
« Virtue and Piety is not vain ; and inftead

* of fainting or drawing back from God, un-

* der any PrefTares^of Adverfity, / will draw
' nearer and ?iearer to him^ confide in him,
» and both hope, and patiently wait for his

* Salvation : For they, that are far from God
^Jhall perifh — hut it is good for me to draw

* near to God.' In difcourfing from this lait
Claufe I (hall,

J. Consider the Meaning of this Scrip-
ture-Phrafe,and (liew what is intended
by drawing near to God-, and wherein
this Duty and Happinefs conlills.

II. I WOULI?

ERMON

XIV.

dra'wing near to GcJ. 3 1 5

11. [ WOULD enforce this Duty by (hew- S
ing, that it is good for me, and for ^
E'very One, to do Jo,

I. Let us confider the Meaning of this
Scripture-Phrafe, and (hew what is
intended by drawing near to God",
and wherein this Duty and Happinefs
confifts.
Now in Order to underftand this, and a
Multitude of Scripture-Phrafes, let it be well
confidered in general, That whilft we ta-
bernacle in thefe Animal Bodies, and are
hereby confined to this Earthly State, and
converfc with our Fellow-Creatures with
bodily Organs of Speech, we have no Words
or Language, by which we can converfe,
and convey our inward Sentiments and Af-
fedions, but the Language of this World-,
and the particular Language of that Age and
Nation, that we are acquainted with. Now
the Words of every Nation, in their original
Ufe, and literal proper Senfe, are given to,
or drawn from. Things or Beings, which
are of a Material or Animal Nature. Whilft
in this World, and in thefe Bodies, we have
fio Language, that is^ the Language of the

Future

314 'Tf^s ^f^^t Duty of

Sermon Future State, or of pure Spirits : None, but
_^^-i_t what is borrowed from the Language of this
World, and when applied to Spiritual Be-
ings ^ and to Spiritual SubjeBs^ is always to
be underftood, not in a literal^ but in a fi-
gurative and allujive Senfe j fuch as Com-
mon Senfe, when attended to, will eafily
explain. The Want of Attention to this ob-
vious Remark, has been the firft Inlet to all
the Idolatry, Superftition, and Enthufiafm,
that has entered into the Imaginations and
Pradlices of Men, in all Ages and Nations.
Confequently a due Attention to this Re-
mark, would help tobaniOi them again. For
in'ftance, when the Tieity was fpoke of as a
Person, Men were led to image him both
to their Eyes and Minds, under the Refem-
blance of a Man. Hence Idolatry and 1-
mage Worfiip. When they heard or read of
ckanfing and purifying themfelves, and the
like, taking thefe Words in a literal Senfe^
they made ufe of the fame ?naterial Elements
for the Purification of their Souls^ that they
did for cleanfing and purifying of their Bo-^
dies, or Garmentf. Hence the Rife of Su-
perftitioue Modes and Forms, Rites and Ce-
remonies. And now when weak Minds

hear

drawing near to God. 315

hear or read the fame Words ufed to exprefs ^^^^J""
the fpiritual Adions, Motions, Senfations, » — ^-Ju
and AfFedions of the Mind, which are ufed
to exprefs the animal Adlions, Motions, Sen-
fations, and Affedions of the Body, taking
thefe in a literal Senfe, they are led into all
the Wilds of an Enthufiaftick Imagination.
This is bad enough j and yet this not the worft
of it. For many feeing the Abfurdity of this
Enthufiafm ; and thinking of no Senfe, but
the full and literal Senfe, to be put on fuch
Words and Phrafes, they immediately turn
them into Ridicule, and banifli from their
Hearts all pious Affedions ; and give up all
fpiritual Pevotion, as they can find no other
Language in which to exprefs the Sentiments
and Affedions of a pious Soul, but what is
borrowed from the fame Fountain, and lia-
ble to the fame Treatment, if underftood in
its primary and literal Senfe,

These Remarks perhaps appear a Di-
greflion ; but they will be found otherwife,
when applied to my Text^ which will help
farther to explain the Remark itfelf, and
fhew its Ufefulnefs and Application, It is
^ood Jor me to draw near to God. We are
ppw propofing to inquire into the Meaning

of

3'^ The great Duty of

Sermon of this Phrafe, which can never be under-
L , L ^ood, nor reconciled to the firft Principles of
Religion, without underftanding the Lan-
guage in iht Jigurathe Senfe and Manner,
intended in the above Remark. Lo, they
that are far from thee fhall perifh — - But it
is good for me to draw luar to God. This
Phrafe in its original and literal Senfe, is
eviderttly ufed to exprefs the Motion of
two material Bodies, or animal Beings^ when
they quit their State of diftant Separation in
refpedt of Place, and draw near to each o-
ther. Now this cannot be faid with Truth
or Propriety, in a literal Senfe^ concerning
God, and you, or Me, or any Being in the
Univerfe. For God, we all know, is ejjen-
tially, and equally prefent every where, and
with every Being, in an uniform Manner :
So that in this literal Senfe, no good Man
can draw near to God, nor any wicked Man
Afts xvii. he far from him. He is not far from every
'* ' one of us ; for in him we live^ and move, and
. have our Bei?7g, In Proof of this I need not
enlarge.

Having mentioned this to prevent any
Enthufiaftick Conceptions, or vain Attempts
to draw near to God^ in this literal Senfe j I

/ now

XIV.

drawing near to God. 317

now proceed to (hew tfie Import of this Sermon
Phrafe, when ufcd in a fpiritual or tnoral
Senfe ; as denoting a pious and good Man's
Accefs to God in the Exercife of his Spiri-
tual, Rational, Moral Powers, and Divine
AfFedions. The Beings here fpoken of, as
far from each other, or drawing near, are
purely Spiritual, viz. Our own Spirits, and
God the Father of our Spirits ; and confe-
quently the Accefs muft be underftood pure-
ly in 2i fpiritual Manner and Senfe : And this
not refpeding the metaphyfcal Nature, or
Efence of the Deity, or of our own Spirits,
of which we have no Idea or Conception at
all 5 and concerning which, the Holy Scrip-
tures, are perfedly filent. This laft Thought
would have prevented the Rife of the moft
perplexing Controverfies, that have inflamed
the Chriftian Church j and if attended to,
would remove and iilencc them for ever.
But, as I fa id. We draw nigh to God, in the
Exercife of thofe Spiritual, Rational Powers,
and Divine Affedions, with which God has
endowed the Mind and Soul of Man. And
God draws nigh to us in the friendly Exer-
cife of his Powers in our Favour, and the

adual

3 1 8 ^be great Duty of

Sermon adtual Communication of his fpiritual Blef-
c— -^^^ iings.

Experience proves, that the Mind, of
Soul of Man, made in the Ukenefs of God^
is capable by the Exercife of Thought and
Meditation, of expanding itfelf as far and
wide as the Creation, and traverfing by de-
vout Contemplation, through the Univerfe j
yea, it can extend its Thoughts beyond the
moft diftant Limits of the Creation, into the
Immenfity of boundlefs Space ; and upon
the firft Attention to the Order of God's vi-
fible Creation, may every where difcover the
fulleft and moft adorable Evidences of the
Being and Perfedions of God. Though to
the Eye of the Body, God himfelf, as well
as every pure Spirit, is by Nature invifible j
yet to the Eye of the Mind, the invijible
lorn. i. Things of God jrom the Creation of the World
^' ^°' are clearly feen ; even his eternal Power ^ and
never-ceafing Government, This Evidence
of the Deity depends not upon a Chain of
learned and fpeculative Arguments ; but a-
rifes from Mental Intuition j being Self-evi'
dent', whilft every Man has conftantly (qI
before him, as clear and full Evidence of
the Being and Exiftence of God^ the Creator

and

XIV.

drawing near to God. 319

and Preferver of all, as he has of his own Sermom
Being, or of the Exiftence of any Thing
around him in the World. Now, by the
Exercife of fuch pious Thoughts, ferious
Reflexions, and devout Meditations, the
Mind and Heart of Man draws near to God,

As for the Ungodly and Wicked, they are
faid to be Jar from God, as in the Introduc-
tion of our Text ; becaufe God is not in all
their Thoughts : Or if they know God^ they
glorijy him not as Godj neither are they thank-
Jul } but their foolijh Hearts are darkened.
They and their Thoughts, are fo took up
with this World, and the Objedts of Senfe,
that they have no Time to think upon God,
and worlhip him as God: And their Lives
often become fo vicious, that they fay in their
Hearts^ O that there were no God. Hence
it is faid, there is in them an evil Heart of
Unbelief, in departing from the living God---
that they live without God in the World — not
liking to retain God in their Knowledge^ they
fay to him, depart Jrom us, for we defire not
the Knowledge of thy Ways. They indulge
to no truly pious Thoughts, and are defti-
tute of all pious Difpofitions and Affed-ions.
In one Word, Thefe are the Ungodly, who

are

I Cor,v,3.

320 The great Duty of

are far from God : And God is far from
them. — They have no Intereft in his fpecial
Favour, nor any Share of his fpecial Blcf-
lings and Confolations.

On the other Hand, The pious and good
Man draws jiigh to God. As Paul when at
Rome, writes to the Chriftian Churches in
Greece, Though I be abfent in the Body, yet
Col. ii. 5. I am with you in the Spirit, joying and behold-
ing your Order, and the Stedfaftnefs of your
Faith. As if he had faid, *' My Thoughts are
*' with you, and my Heart is with you." Thus
the pious and good Man draws nigh to God.
- — His Thoughts and his Heart are with him,
and the Defires and Out-goings of his Soul
are towards God. In a governing Manner he
fets God always before him ; and lives as feeing
Him^^ who is invifble. His Meditations upon
God are Jweet, and frequent. His Devoti-
on is cordial and fincere. His inward Af-
fedions correfpond with the Perfections of
God. He /lands in Awe, and finneth not —
offers the Sacrifice of Right eoufnefs, and then
puts his.Truji in the Lord. Thus by Divine
Sentiments and AffeBions, God becomes pre-
fent with the pious Soul, whilfl the Heart,

and

drawing near to God. ^it

and Soul is up to God, and prefent with Sermon

V. XIV,

him. ^ _,.j

1 HAVE thus given you a general Account
what is intended by thefe Phrafes^ being far
from Gcd — and what by our drawing nigh
to him. They that are Jar from thee JJjall pe-
rijh, — But it is good for me to draw near
to God, But to be more particular.

I. Faith in God 3 Or a Belief of his
Being, and Acquaintance with his Perfedti-
cns and moral Government, is ihtfrft Prin-
ciple of the Soul's Accefs to God. Of this^
inferior Brute-Creatures are naturally inca^
pable } and fo are the Children of Men in
their Infant-State, Confequently, the firft
Step in our drawing near to God, is madCi
when we firft think upon God; and are
brought to the Knowledge and Remem-
brance of our Creator : And in Proportion
as we go on advancing in this Belief and
Knowledge of God — of his Being, Perfec-
tions, and Will, we draw nearer and nearer
to him. Without fomething of this Faith, it
is impoffible to pleafe God, or draw near to him Heb. xi.6y
at all i for he that comet h to God, muji believe
that he is ; and that he is a Re warder of them
that diligently feek him. All do not begin
Y to

>ERMON

XIV.

322 ^he great t)uty of

to thinky much lefs to thiiik upon God^ at the
fame Age 5 which is chiefly owing to theif
Parents, and fuch as are about them in their
firft Years. Nor do all enlarge and improve
their Divine Faith and Knowledge j and con-
fequently get nearer and nearer to God in
this Refped:, with the fame Speed, and in
the fame Degree. And fo imperfedi is our
knowledge and Comprehenfion of God, that
there is, and always will be. Room left for
very large Improvement — for drawing near-
er and nearer to God 5 by exalting our Con-
ceptionSi and enlarging our Acquaintance
with the Perfedions of God, and the Laws
and Meafures of his all-wife and righteous
Government.

This is evidently the firft Principle of the
Soul's Accefs to God j and they, who arc
deftitute of this Dhwe Faith and Knowledge^
are Jar from God, and mtifl perifii They
are no more capable of that Happinefs,
which refults from the Enjoyment of God in
this, or in any future State, than the Brutes ;
feeing they both live 'without God in the World

— the One, through Neceffity of Nature

— the Other, through impious Thoughtleff-
nefs, and finful Choice. Whilft in this

World

XIV.

drawing near to God, 323

World they cannot live in Subjedlon to the Sermon
Will and Authority of God, fince God is
not in all their Thoughts : Nor can they en-
joy any of thofc Confolations and Supports,
Which strife from ftedfaft Faith and lively
Hope in God. However, this is not all,
though the firft and Foundation Principle :
There is a large SuperftrudUre to be raifed
Upon it, before our Souls w^ill afcend up to
God and Heaven*

2. Im drawing near to God, we muft che-
ri(h in our Hearts and Souls, pure arid fpi-
ritual AfFedions, correfponding to the Know-
ledge and Conceptions we have of God. A
Man may be educated and trained up, fo as
to conceive very clear and large Apprehen-
fions of God, in ^fpecuktive Wayj and both
talk of Godj and perforrii the Formalities of
Devotion in a corredl Manner, and yet re-
main alienated from God^ being deftitiite of
correfpondent AfFe«flions, and his Heaft far
from him. Speaking upon this Subje(fl of
drawing nigh to God by Faith in him^ fays
Dr. Clarke^ id his firft Sermon, *' There are
" few who confider thefe firft Principles of
" Religion, fo ferioujly and fo frequently as
** they ought to do, and in Jiich a Manner,
Y 2 " 29

XIV.

324 The great Duty of

Sermon *' as to caufe them.to produce their proper

" Effed", by influencing their whole Lives

*' and Converfations. For Kfiowkdge is but

" a dormant Habit, if not excited by con-

«' ftant Meditation : And Powers are of no

** Ufe, if not produced into Ad:. Right

'' Notions of the Being and Attributes of

*' God, every one knows are the Foundati-

" on of all Religion : But then, this Know-

" ledge muft not be a bare Speculation ; but

*' a ferious, pradical, afFeding Impreffion,

*' and deep Senfe upon the Mind j of a Su-

** prenie ^eing, who created the World by

" his Power, preferves and governs it by his

" Goodn&fs and Wifdom, and will judge it

" with Juftice, Mercy, and Truth : Oifuch

** a Supreme Being, whole Glory no Eye

*^ can behold — whofe Majefty, no Thought

*« can comprehend — whofe Power, no

** Strength can reiift — from whofe Prefence,

'^ no Swiftnefs can flee — from whofe Know-

'^ ledge, no Secret can be concealed — whofe

^' Juftice, no Art can evade — v/hofe Good-

*' nefs, every Creature partakes of." This

is that Faith, without which, it is impojjible

to pleafe God, or to draw near to him. And

certainly, this Faith cannot enter into the

Heart

XIV.

drawing near to God, 325

Heart and Soul, but it mull awake thofe fpu Sermon
ritual Affedions, which God has implanted
in us. For the Soul of Man has not only
an Eye of its own, as well as the Body :
But it has AffeSltom of its own, as well as
the Body — Spiritual Affections, fuch as
Awe, Reverence, Love, Fear, Hope, Joy,
and the like, which yj^/W/zW Objtds can a-
wake in as perceptible a Manner, and to as
high a Degree, not to fay much higher, as
\}(\t Animal Affe 51 ipm are capable of being
raifed to by Animal Objeds, or by material
Impreffions. And fhall not our Faith in God,
and our Conceptions of his Attributes and
Government, ftrike upon our Hearts, and
awaken thefe fpiritual AfFedlions of the Soul-,
and attrad the pure and pious Soul to God,
^ whilft it drives the Impious and Wicked
from him ? For the Devils alfo believe and
tremble.

We draw iiigh to God, and find ourfelves
near to hitn^ when our i'erious Thoughts are
employed in pious and devout Meditations
upon God, furveying the Excellencies of his
Nature, and the Goodnefs of his Works —
his Works of Creation, Providence, and Re-
demption : — When his tranfcendent ExceU
Y 3 lencies

J 26 The great Duty of

Sepmon lencies raife our Adoration ; and his Father-?
,^:.l^ ly Goodnefs awakes our Reverence -— When
Mai. i. 6. ii;e honour him^ as a Son honour eth his Father,
and a Servant his Ma,ier — When we be-»
come Imitators of him as dear Children — •
When his moral and amiable Perfedions are
fet before the Eyes of our Minds, and have
a due Impreflion upon our Hearts and Af-
fedions — When by holy Meditations upon
his unipotted Purity, and pccledt Righteouf-
nefs, we find ourfelvcs transforming into his
Likenefs — « When his Fatherly Goodnefs
awakens our Gratitude j and his Divine Mer-
cy and Compafiion draws forth our lively
Hope, Truft, and Joy. Thefe are AffeSfi-.
ons of the Soul, correfponding to the Per'-
feBions of God; and when thefe are felt in
lively Exercife, then it is that we draw nigh
to God, To borrow the Language of 'Job^
at other Times, We hear of him by the Hear-
ing of the Ear j but now the Eye of the Soul
feeth him. Or as Paul exprefles it, in (pe-
qulative Faith and Knowledge, we fee but as
through a Glafs darkly ; but now Face to Face
— Yea, with open Face beholding the Glory
of the Lord, we are changed into the fame I-
mage J as from Glory to Glory, This, my

Friends,

drawing near to God, 3 27

Friends, is pleafing, profitable Devotion -^ Sermon
This is the Life and Spirit of Devotion — vijllj
This is coming into God's Prefence ; (landing
before him ; and worpnpiyig the Father 0/ our
Spirits in Spirit and in Truth. But as we
cannot always be thus happily employed, in
getting, and keeping near to God, whilft in
this World, it is required,

3. That in our whole Condu(5t we fub-
jed ourfelves to the Authority of God, and
live in conftant Obedience to his Will and
Commands; Soberly, Right eou/ly, and God-
ly ; denying all Ungodlinefs and worldly Lujis,
If thou prepare thine Hearty and jiretch out job xi. 1 3,
thine Hands towards him ; If Iniquity be in H> »s«
thine Hand, put it far away ^ and let not
Wickednefs dwell in thy Tabernacles. For then
floalt thou lift up thy Face without Spot -, yea^
thou /halt be /led/a/l, and fialt not fear. But
to the Wicked God faith, To what Furpofe jfaiahi.
is the Multitude of pur Sacrifices unto me — » i— ^8.
When ye come to appear bejore ?ne, who bath
required this at your Hand to tread my Courts ?
Bring no more 'uain Oblations — your Sab-
baths, and the Calling of Affemblies 1 cannot
away with j // is Iniquity, even your folemn
Meeting. — And when ye /pre ad your Hands,
Y4 I will

T^he great Duty of

I will hide mine Eyes from you ; yea, when ye

make many Prayers, I will not hear. Tour

Hands are full of Blood. PVajh ye, make you

clean, put away the Evil of your Doings from

before mine Eyes, ceafe to do Evil, learn to do

^)pII — Come now and let us reafon together,

Prov. XV. faith the Lord. The Sacrifice of the Hoicked

is an Ahominatioji to the Lord j but the Pray^

Mic. vi. er of the Upright is his Delight » Wherewith

' ■" ' JJjall I come before the Lord, and boiv myfelf

before the High God f — He hath fie wed thee,

O Man, what is Good; and what doth the

Lord require of thee, but to dojuftly, and to

love Mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God ?

When Sinners attempt to draw nrgh to God,

you may read what feparates, and the only

Thing that can feparate, betwixt God and

Tr- u r. the human Soul, Behold, the Lord's Hand is

J> 2. not fhortened, that it cannot fave j neither his

Ear heavy, that it cannot hear : But your

Iniquities have jeparated between you and your

God; and your Stns have hid his Face from

you, that he will not hear. Accordingly the

Apoftle fames paraphrafes our Text thus.

Tames iv. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to

h io» you ; but then, cleanfe your Hands ye Sinners,

and purify your Hearts, ye double-minded.

Then

drawing near to God. 329

Then Humble your/elves in the Sight oj the
Lord, and he fiall lift you up. We Chrifti-
ans have a new and living Way confecrated
for us into the Holy oj Holies^ into the more
immediate Prefence of God himfelf, and are
encouraged to draw nigh to him, as Children
to a Father — In Chrifi Jefus we have Bold- Eph.ii.i8.
nefs and Accefs with Confidence, by 07ie Spirit
unto the Father : But then, We mufl draw near Heb. x.
with a true Heart, if we would do it in full '9"~^'^*
AJjurance of Faith ; having our Hearts fpr ink-
led from an evil Confcience — holding fafi the
Profeffion of our Faith, without w aver i fig —
and confider one another to provoke unto Love^
and to good Works. To attempt to draw near
to God, to hold Communion, and claim Ac-
quaintance with him, by Prayers and Devo-
tion, either in publick or private, and then
go out from him, and live in the Pradice of
Sin and Wickednefs, is the moft contradic-
tory, vain, and abfurd Pradice in the World.
To fupprefs this Pracfiice, which was rifen
up in St. John'i Time, he fays, God is
Light, God is perfed: Purity, and in him is
no Darknefs at all. If we fay that we have ^ r^j^^ •
Communion with him^ and walk in Darknefs, 4-
or WickednefSj we lie, and do not the Truth :

But

33© ^^^ great Duty of

Sermon But if ive Walk in the Light, as he is in the

^J_j Light, then we have Communion one with a-

\ John ii. nother <— My little Children, thefe Thijtgs write
'" I unto you, that ye fm not — and that your

Joy may be - full, Subjedion of Will to the
Authority of God, and uniform Obedience
to his Laws and Commands, is the fulled:
Proof and cleared Evidence of our Nearnefs
to him, and Interefl in him. I conclude
this Particular with our Saviour's Diredion
and Promife. One of his Difciples, not un-
derflanding what he had faid before, afks
fohn xiv. him. How is it that thou wilt manifefl thyfelf
'^~"^^' unto us, and not unto the Worlds Jefus an^
fwered and faid unto him, If a Man love me^
he will keep mj Words, and if he keep my
Words, my Father will love him ; and we will
come unto him^ and make our Abode with him.
As if he had faid, " Do but live in Obedi-
** ence to my Commands, and your own
** happy Experience will explain and con-
** firm this my Promife. The Holy Spirit,
'^ the Comforter, the Spirit oj Truth, which
'' the World cannot receive, (hall come up-
" on you, and ye (hall know it ; becaufe it
** dwelleth with you, and fiall be in you" To
do Adions materially good, and live a Ibber,

and

XIV.

drawing near to God, 331

and righteous Life, from private, prudential, Sermow
and worldly Principles and Motives, will
not produce this fpiritual, divine Satisfadi-
on : But a Life of Virtue and Piety, pro-
ceeding from a good Heart, and true Faith
in God, vvili be produdive of itj as fure as
there is a God, who to the Pure, will fiew
himlelj pure ; but to the Froward, will fhew
bimjelf froward : For the Juft fiall live by
Faith : But if any Man draw back, God has
faid it under all Difpenfations, My Spirit
Jhall have no Pleafure in him, 'See Jer. vi. 8.
Hab, ii. 3, 4. and Heb. x. 38. There is
but one Thing now remains^ to compleat
our Accefs to God, and place us in the near-
eft and happieft State and Relation to him,
viz.

4. That in Confequence of the three
Steps, before mentioned, We proceed to re-
fign up ourfelves to the Difpofal of God, and
place an entire Truft and Confidence in him.
— When we have^r/? gained juft and wor-
thy Apprehenfions of God fixed in our Souls j
of his Being, Perfedions, and Will. — And
Jecondly, We have awakened in us AfFedlions,
and Difpofitions of Heart and Mind, corre-
fponding to thefe Apprehenfions. — And

thirdlw

332 The great Duty of

Sermon thirdly. Under the Influence of thefe divine

XIV •

^ *^ Sentiments, and pious Affedions, we fub-
mit ourfelves to the Authority of God, and
live in conflant, regular Obedience to his
Will and Commands ; Then, lajily, it is both
our Duty, and the Completion of our Hap-
pinefs, to refign up ourfelves to the Difpo-
fal of God for Time and Eternity; and to
place an entire Truft and Confidence in God.
This is draiving nigh to God with a pure
Heart, in jiill Ajfurance of Faith. This con-
ftitutes the prefent Perfection and Happinefs
of Man. This Hope is an Anchor to the
Sotd, fare and fiedfaji, entering within the

Heb.vii. Vail '^ by which Hope v^e draw nigh to God.

'9- This is the Nexus^ the Tie that unites us to

God, in the firmed Bonds of Refignation,
Faith, Hope, Truft, and Confidence : And
in the Stedfaftnefs of this well-grounded
Faith, and Hope, confifts our neareft Accefs
to God, and our chief Felicity in this World.
This is the ultimate Thing that Afaph in-
tended in our Subjed, as he explains him-
felf in the Context. Through the whole
Pfalm, he difcovers, that he had gained wor-
thy Apprehenfions of God, and correfpon-
dent Affections towards him — had clean fed

his

XIV.

dra-iknng near to God. 333

hh Heart, and wafied his Hands in Innocen-' Sermon

a: And now fays he, It is good for me to

draw near to God^ adding, 1 have put my

Trujl in the Lord God. Though he faw the

{laort-lived Profperity of the Wicked ; and

he himfelf laboured under many Affli<flions.

Neverthelefs^ fays he, / am continually with

thee : Thou haft holden me by my Right-Hand :

Thou fl^alt guide me with thy Counjel^ and af-^

terward receive me to Glory, Whom have

I in Heaven but thee f And there is none upon

Earth that I defire befides thee. My Fieftj and

my Heart faileth -, but God is the Siretigth of

my Hearty and my Portion for ever. For lo^

they that are far jrom thee fiall perifh — but

it is good for me to draw near to God : I have

put my Truft in the Lord God, that I may de-

dare all thy Works. As if he had faid, «' I

** have a divine Right to trufi: in God — I

" am allowed and encouraged to do fo : Re-

^^ turn therefore unto thy Reft ^ O my Soul -^

'* and reft net till thou can fay. My Heart is

^' fixed, my Heart is fixed, trujiing in God''

By this Trud and Confidence, the pure and

pious Soul finds a Sanctuary in God, and in

every one of his Perfedions. — His Omni-

prefence renders him a very prefcnt Flelp —

His

*334 ^^^ ^r^/?/ Duty of

Sermon His Omnipotence, is a ftrong Tower, to
^ '._^ which we may continually refort — His
Omnifcience, makes him our fare Guide and
Guardian — His Goodnefs, is an undraina-
ble Fountain of Supplies — His Mercy com-
paffionates our Wants, Weaknefs^ and Un-
worthinefs — His Juitice will vindicate out
Injuries, and bring forth our Righteoufnefs
as the Light, and our Judgment as the Noon-
Day. —His unchangeable Faithfulnefs, is
our Security againft all change in his Tem-
per — And his univerfal and eternal Govern-
ment, is our Security in Life and Death, fof
Time and Eternity. Thus we fee, that by
drawing nigh to God, the pure and pious
Soul lofes all its Wants and Weaknefles in
the Fulnefs and All-fufEciency of God ; and
can fay, The Lord is my Shepherd, Ifiall not
want — Tea, though I walk through the Valley
of the Shadow of Death, 1 will fear no Evih
Jor God is with me 3 his Rod and his Staff
they comfort me.

It now remains that I (hould {hew, se-
condly, That // is good for Me, and for e-
very One, to draw near to God, But this I
fhall make the Subjecft of another Difcourfc.
Not that the Thing itfelf needs any Proofs

for

dramng near to God. 335

for it is felf-evident. But the Subje^l will Sermon
afford agreeable Entertainment. Here we ^.^^.^^
behold the real Kingdom of God ^ and of Hea-
ven ; where God rules ow^v fpiritual Beings,
and Moral Agents^ and imparts to them his
divine and fpiritual Eleffings, whilft they
voluntarily fubmit to him, and confide in
him. They have Bread to eat^ which the
World knows not oj. Here is Heaven upon
Earth — Heaven adually begun and enjoy-
ed. The Tabernacle of God is with thefe Men,
He dwells with them^ and they are his People^
and God himfelf is their God, For what is
Heaven, but the Enjoyment of God, in fuch
Nearnefs to him as we have been confider-
ing ? And, what is the Happinefs of Hea-
venly Spirits, but what refults from the fpi-
ritual Sight and Knowledge of God ; the
Contemplation of his difplayed Perfedions ;
and the Enjoyment of thok fpiritual BM-
fings, which refult from the Exercife of di-
vine Love, Truft, and Joy. Wheii freed
from this Vail of Flefh, which calls for fo
much of our Time and Thoughts, and con-
fines us to this Earth, we hope to be more
at Libefty to draw nigh to Gody to behold

ftill

XIV.

336 ^he great Duty of\ ^Q,

Sermon ftill mofe glorious Difplays of his Powers
Wifdom, and Goodnefs 5 and to be eftabi-
liflied for ever in his eternal and everlafting
Kingdom 5 in whofe Prefence there is Fulnefs
of Joy, and at whoje Right- Hand there are
Pleafures for evermore. As jor me, may
every one fay, who keeps near to God, I
Jhall behold thy Face in Righteoufnefs j 1 Jhall
befatisjied, when I awake with thy Likenejs.

SER-

337

SERMON XV.

The Happiness of DRAWING near
to God.

Psalm Ixxiii. 28,
— It is good for me to draw near to God^

5e()S()^)^)8C N a former Difcourfe from this Sermow
§ I S Subjed, I have, , iJ^^

XmamA j^ Considered the Meaning
of this Scripture-Phrafey and (hewed
wherein this great Duty of drawing
near to God confifts. I now proceed,
II. To (hew the Happinefs of it j That
it is good for Me, and for Every Qne^
to draw near to God,

My View and Dellgn in difcourfing to

you from this Subject, is, to recommend a

Z Life

XV.

338 The Happinefs of

Sermon Life of fincere Piety, and to lead you and
myfelf into a State of rational and delightful
Communion with God. This is the very
Thing which Man appears made and intend-
ed for ; and in which the chief Happinefs
of Man confifts. So the Pfalmift efteemed
it, when he pronounced my Text — It is
good for me to draw near to God ; and fo it
muft appear to every one, who fairly attends
to the Nature of this Duty.

The Term good, is indeed often ufed to
lignify Right or Fit, And in this Senfe it
is moft true, that it is good for Man to draw
near to God. — It is good, it is right and fit
for every Man to do this : It is what Man was
made for, and what God experts from him^
as his Duty, But I (hall not enlarge on this
Senfe of the Term, as the Pfalmift appears
to have ufed it here in its more general Senfe,
as denoting Advantage and Happinefs, See
its Connediion with what preceeds, Lo^ they
that are far from thee /hall perijh -, thou
(halt deftroy them — But it is good for me
to draw near to God. Yea, this is the Con-
clufion of Afaph'% mature Thoughts. In
the former Part of the Pfalm he perfonates
one, whofc' Feet were almoji gone^ and hit

Steps

drawing near to God, 339

Steps had well nighjlipty being envious at the Sermon
Foolilh, when he faw the Profperity of the ^.^^^j
Wicked', whilft he himfelf laboured under
great Adverfity j though he had fincerely
endeavoured to ferve and pleafe God. In
his Diflrefs he was firft ready to conclude,
that he had cleanfed his Heart in vain, and
wafied his Hands in Innocency, and confe-
quehtly, that Piety and Religion was a vain
and ufelefs Thing. But in this latter Part,
he tells us, that he is now fully convinced
of the contrary 5 that Religion is Man's high-
eft Wifdom, Piety his chief Happinefs ; and
a State of Friendfhip and Communion with
God, a State of the moft defirable Felicity, on
this fide Heaven. It is good for me to draw
near to God, ** My pious Labours are far
" from being in vain 5 and though Accefs
** to God will not exempt his Servants from
*' all temporal Evils and Sorrows, yet verily
*< there is a prefent peculiar Happinefs and
" Satisfadion, attending this State, which
*^ claims my Preference, as it is the greateft
« attainable Good:' This, my Brethren, is
what I (hall now attempt to illuftrate ; in
order to put you and myfelf upon drawing
Z 2 and

340 ^he Happinefi of

Sermon and keeping near to God. In Proof of this^

,3y-,._j let it be confiiered,

First, That if we refle6l upon the Na^
ture of this State of Nearnefs to God, confi-
dering wherein it confifts, according to the
Defcription before given of it, we muft needs
fee intuitively ^ that it is good for us to draw
hear to God. The Nearnefs or Accefs of a
Reafonable Creature to God, as we have con-
fidered it, is founded in an Acquaintance
with God — his Being, Perfedlions, and
Will — improved into AfFedtions and Dif-
pofitions of Mind, correfponding to fuch Ap-
prehenlions — productive of Subjedion of
Heart and Obedience of Life to the Will
and Authority of God ; and in Confequence
of this, our Union to God is perfe(fled, when
our Souls are refigned, and place an entire
Truft and Confidence in himj in his Divine
Power and Fatherly Goodnefs. Now, who
does not fee, that the chief and diftinguifh-
ing Happinefs of Man does, and needs muft,
confift in this ? And that pious Perfons muft
needs fpeak the Truth, when they tell us,
that // is good for them to draw near to Godf
No Knowledge fo good for Man, as the
Knowledge of God *— No Wifdom fo ne-

ceffary

XV.

drawing near to God. 34 1

ceflary and defirable as this — No Affedi- Sermon
ons and Difpofitions fo pleafant and delight-
ful, as thofe that have God for their Objed,
and arife from the Contemplation of God^s
Excellencies and Perfedions — No Subjec-
tion fo rational and happy, as that which
confifts in Refignation and Obedience to
God's Will ; arifing from a full Perfwafion
of the Equity of his Difpenfations, and the
Goodnefs of his Commands. And fure No-
thing can befpeak fuch Compofure of Soul,
fuch internal Satisfadion, fuch Eafe and*
Quiet ; yea, fuch holy Fortitude and Joy,
as when the Heart isjixed trujling in God.

To be further convinced of this, let us
only confider, What Man is confidered in
himfelf ; and what the prefent State of Man,
abftraded from the Confideration of the
Prefence and Care of God. What is he in
himfelf, but a Being perfedly helplefs ? Per-
petually liable to innumerable Calamities,
which he can neither forefee nor prevent ;
fecure of nothing that he enjoys, and liable
to be difappointed in every Thing he hopes
for — Frequently labouring under Afflidi-
ons, he can neither redrefs himfelf j nor can
he look out for any Relief, but from God
Z 3 himfelf:

XV.

34^ ^he Happinefs of

Sermon hlmfelf: And without Relief, his Life and
Being, muO: either become extindt, or re-
main an infupportable Burden. This is what
we are all of us liable to every Moment ;
having no Defence in ourfelves. Now, how
forlorn, precarious, and wretched, the State
of every Man, who is alienated from God?
Who knows not God, or however pays no
proper Regard to him ; who is deftitute of
all pious AfFedions and Difpofitions j and
who by the Courfe of his impious and wick-
ed Life, makes God his Enemy, and the
Thoughts of him even terrible to his Soul
— Who has no Hope toward God — No
Reliance upon his Protedion and Care j nor
any Expedlations from him ? I fay how for-
lorn, precarious, and wretched, the State of
every fuch Man j fo helplefs in himfelf, and
liable to fo much Mifery ? Whereas, How
good is it to draw nigh to God? How happy
to live under a firm Perfwafion of Mind,
that whilft we are fo helplefs in ourfelves,
and liable to fo many Occurrences, yet we
are perpetually under the Care, and intereft-
ed in the Love of an Almighty Friend, who
is immediately prefent with us, and has in
his Hands the Diredion of all Contingen-
cies :

XV.

drawing near to God, 343

cies ; fo that not an Hair falls Jrom our Sermon
Heads without his Notice, who has an abfo-
lute Controll over every Thing that can
hurt us ; who is able and willing to fupport
us under every Burden, and provide timely
Deliverance for us : Who is able to beftow
every Bleffing we want, and who will make
all things to work together for our good?

The Homage we naturally owe to fuch a
Being, is a firm and chearful Reliance upon
him ; together with every Means and Me-
thod, that has a Tendency to raife and fix
our Truft in him. And certainly it follows
upon this, that for us to draw near to God^
in this Manner, muft be our chief Happi-
nefs : Infomuch that I will leave it to any
one to think and fay, which is the mod de-
iirable State; To live without God in the
Worlds ignorant and regardlefs of him -, with
Hearts alienated from his Love, and defti-
tute of all Hope in God, and Expedation
from him j walking alone in this State of
Darknefs and Uncertainty j ftruggling fingly
with the Sorrows and Difficulties of human
Life : Or to live a Life of Faith, Hope,
Truft, Friendfhip and Communion with
God ; reaping the Benefits of every Divine
Z 4 Attribute,

344 1'he Happinefs of

Attribute, and loofing our own Infufficien-
cy in the Fulnefs of infinite Perfedion — I
fay, I will leave it to any one to think and
fay, which is the moft defirable State ; to be
far from God, or to be 72ear to him. Whe-
ther we confider Nearnefs to God, as an
uniform State, confiding in an habitual, con-
ftant. Complacency in God, and Reliance
upon him : Or as regarding thofe inftrumental
Exercifes and Seafons of Devotion, whereby
we feed and cherifli this Frame of Mind,
and in which Seafons, pious Minds feel the
aflre(5lionate Workings of divine Love, Hope,
Trufl: and Joy; doubtlefs it muft be confef-
fed, // ii good for us to draw near to God,

Secondly, It may eafily be (hewn, that
the good arifing from drawing near to God,
is the proper and peculiar Happinefs of Man :
His Prerogative and Portion above the Brutes.
They, and even inanimate Creatures, are
efjentially as near to God, as any Beings are,
or can be. But fpiritual Accefs they are
naturally incapable off having neither Know-
ledge nor JffeSiiom, capable of being at all
direded to God. Could we fuppofe rational
Powers, moral Difpofitions, and fpiritual
divine AiFedions, fuperadded to the Nature

of

XV.

drawing near to God. 34.5

of Brutes, fuch as we fee, and know to be Sermom
in Man ; this could not be without produ-
cing a vifible Change in their Manner, and
a fenfible Change in their State and Capacity
of Happinefs. They would not perpetually
look downward, as the Poef defcribes them,
but they would lift up their Eyes, their
Thoughts, and their Hearts to God, with-
out whofe Notice not a Sparrow fal/s to the
Ground: At leaft all the thinking and wife
Part of th'^Ti wouia do this. We fhould
then difcover the various Kinds of Brutes at
their private Devotion, and herding together
for the publick Worfliip of God 5 and when
lying down in green Pajiures, or feeding be-
fide the Jlill Waters, their Meditations upon
God would be fweet. In this Cafe, a Source
of new and fuperior Happinefs would fpring
up in them ; and lead them from the Know-
ledge of God, and the Forefight of Death,
to the Defires and Expectations of a Future
State.

But alas ! Inferior Creatures are natu-
rally incapacitated for any fuch Happinefs.
They difcover no Faculties for rifing, and
drawing near to God. This is the Preroga-
tive of Man. In other Refpeds, in Point

of

346 T^he Happinefs of

Sermon of animal Pleafures, Man has no Preroga-
^ _^^J* J tive above the Brutes. Were it not for our
divine Powers, whereby we are capable of
drawing nigh to God, and the facred fublime
Felicity refulting from it, the Life of the
Brute, in my Appreheniion, is at leaft as
eligible as the Life of Man. And as for
thofe of our Species^ who are capable of
drawing nigh to Gody but do not, 1 cannot
but judge the Life of a Brute far more eli-
gible than theirs. The Thoughts of God^
and Profpects of Eternity^ if they give not
Pleafure, they muft give Pain and Dread.
And if our divine Powers do not lead us in-
to a State of Friendfliip and Communion
with God, they lead us into a Wildernefs of
Confufion and Diflatisfadlion. But here, my
Brethren, is the proper, peculiar, Happinefs
of Man. It arifes from Nearnefs to God —
from an Acquaintance with him — Refig-
nation to his Hand and Will — Subjedion
to his Authority — Reliance on his Care —
Hope in his Mercy, and a firm joyful Truft
in his AU-fuffering and Love. ConfequenJ-
ly, our wifeft and happieft Employment
confifts, in drawing nigh to God, in devoti-
onal Exercifes, and worfhiping him in Spirit

. and

drawing near to God. 347

and Truth* This is an Happinefs the Brutes Sermok
are Strangers to 5 and the brutiih Part of the ,_J^^^
World knows not of. This is the proper
Work, and peculiar Happinefs of Man ; the
Bufinefs and Happinefs of rational moral Spi-
rits. This is the Work of Heaven, and the
Happinefs of Heaven j the Effence and Com-
prehenfion of v^^hich confifts in fplritual
Nearnefs to God. This converts the prefent
State into Heaven begun^ and is the Pledge
and Foretafte of Eternal Life. Every fuch
truly pious, and righteous Perfon is a Child
of God, and has Eternal Life abiding in him :
Or as our Saviour exprefTes it. He has in him
a Well of Water fpringing up unto Eternal
Life.

Thirdly, It muft be good and happy
to draw near to God, fince to be alienated,
and far from him, argues a State of the
greateft Wretchednefs and Meannefs at pre-
fent ; and leads on to future Mifery and De-
flrudion. What State can be more abjecfl
and forlorn in this World, than for a human
Creature to live unacquainted with God;
not knowing, or not regarding his Exiftence :
Or if he be apprehenfive of his Being, yet
when he thinks on God, be is troubled, having

alienated

.xJ4^ 7he Happinefs of

^ERMON alienated himfelf by evil Works ; made God
5_^1,_^ his Enemy, and the Thoughts of him dread-
ful. How mean and wretched his State,
who has not Hope towards God? No Love
for him, but rather an Averfion and Dread ?
Who reftrains Prayer and Praife, and all the
Exercifes of Piety before him ? In one Word,
who lives without God in the World -^ defti-
tute of all pious Principles, AfFedions, and
Comforts ? This is the negative Unhappinefs
of Brutes 5 but it is the Sin of Ungodly Men
at prefent ; and leads down to the Punifli-
ment and Mifery of fallen Angels, and un-
done Spirits. The firft Part of that Sentence
of everlafting Doom, that fhall be paffed up-
Mat. xxv. on the Wicked is this, Depart from me ye
^^* Curfedy Depart from God ye Cur fed ^ into ever-

lafling Fire, prepared for the Devil and his
Angels» Then what ungodly Sinners have
made their Choice and their St ate ^ will be the
Reafon^ Foundation, zndi frji Part of their
Punifhment. And Wo to them, fays God by
Hof. ix. his Prophet, Wo alfo to them, when I depart,
2Thefr.i. ^f^^^ the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from
7» 8, 9. Heaven with his mighty Angels^ in flaming
Fire, taking Vengeance on them that know not
God, and that obev not the Gofpel of our Lord

drawing near to God.
Jefus Chrift : Who Jljall be punified with ever-
lafting DeftruBion, from the Prefence of the
Lord, and from the Glory of his Power, Then
they (hall be fhut out from all the glorious
external Manifeftations of God and his Per-
fedions, which they have fo long difregard-
ed J cut oflf from all the Communications of
his Goodnefs, which they have abufed j and
(hut up in Blacknefi and Darknefs Jor ever,
^here Jhall be wailing and gnajhing of Teeth:
When the Righteous Jhall Jlnne forth as the Su?i
in the Kingdom of the Father,

And let it not be thought a fevere or ar-
bitrary Thing, when fuch impious, alienated
Spirits, meet with this Doom, fince it is their
own Choice, The Enjoyment of God, and
the Happinefs that refults from it, they have
put from them, and rendered themfelves not
only unworthy, but incapable of it. It is both
unfit, and in vain to indulge to them for e-
ver the external Manifeflations of God's Ex-
cellencies and Goodnefs, when they negledt
and abufe thefe Bleffings, and refufe to rife
up to the Enjoyment oi God himfelf And
good God ! what Havock and Defolation
muft there be, when God is known by the
Judgments that he executes ? When all the

Wicked

35© T'/^^ Happinefs of

Sermon Wicked are fnared in the Work of their own

. ^^: ^ Hands ! — When the PVicked /hall be turned

Pfalm ix. jnto HelL and all the Nations that forget God,

Or as in the Verfe before my Text, Lo ! they

that are far from thee poall perifh \ Thou jhalt

dejiroy all them that go a whoring from thee,

— But it is good for me to draw near to Godf

It follows upon this,

Fourthly, That to draw near to God,
whilft in this State of Difcipline, here upon
Earth, is our neceflary and chief Preparati-
on for the fuU and everlafting Enjoynaent of
God in Heaven. And if fo, certainly it is
good for me to draw nigh to God, And, who
can expedt to go to the happy and everlaft-
ing Enjoyment of God in Heaven, who has
been alienated from him, all his Life long
here^upon Earth ? We muft be perfect Stran-
gers to the Nature of God, and to the Na-
ture of Heaven ; — Strangers to all Divine,
Spiritual, and Heavenly Happinefs, to ima-
gine this either fit ox pojjible. Social Affec-
tions and Difpofitions may render a Man an
agreeable Member of human Society here
upon Earth : But as a Man can enjoy no
Divine Happinefs and Confolations here
without pious Affedtions, and fpiritual Ex-

ercifes ;

XV.

drawing near to God, 3^1

ercifes ; fo ke appears utterly difquallfied for Sermon
any Lot or Portion in the Heavenly State.
But if I draw nigh to God now — If I walk with
him here upon Earth — If my chief Happi-
nefs here arifes from the Enjoyment of God,
and my Reliance upon him j then the hea-
venly Life is actually begun. God is with
me^ and I with him. The Happinefs of Hea-
ven hereafter will not differ from this in
Kind^ fo much as in Degree. If this be my
happy Cafe at prefent, 1 have the Earne/i of
the Heavenly Inheritance^ and taile the Fruits
of the Celeftial Canaan, 1 add.

Fifthly, The Good and Happinefs a-
rifing from this Nearnefs fo God^ is fuch as
will abide and fupport the pious divine Mind,
under all worldly Sorrows and Afflidions 5
yea, when all other Supports and Comforts
fail — Under the Troubles of Life, and at
the Hour of Death. We may all count up-
on it, that fuch Seafons will come, when
Lover and Friend pall be put far from us,
and our Acquaintance into Darknefs — when
Deftres Jhall Jail, and Life itfelf become a
Burden — When the impious Mind ftiall not
have one Drop of Water to cool his Tongue,
Yea, fuch Seafons may come foon, return

often.

352 Ihe Happinefs of

Sermon often, and continue long. Hence the Wife
.,_^_^^^ Man's Advice, Remember now thy Creator in
JEcclef.xii. the Days of thy Touth, while the evil Days
come noty nor the Tears draw nigh, when thou
Jhaltfayy I have no Pleafure in them. Draw
nigh to God then, whilft Young, and feek
him early. Hence Eliphaz reminds Job^ and
let me remind you of the fame, l^hat Man
Job V. 7. is born unto Trouble as the Sparks fly upward.
And what is moft prudent to be done in this
Cafe ? He adds, I would feek unto God^ unto
God would I commit my Caufe. It is the a-
miable Charadter and Prerogative of God,
that he is a very prefent Help in Trouble, A
Spirit of pious Refignation to him, will al-
leviate every Burden, and a firm, chearful
Reliance of Mind upon his All-(ufficiency
and Care, is what gives Strength to the Soul,
and enables the Spirit of a Man to fuflain his
Infirmities. Hence fays our Saviour to his
Johnxvi. Difciples, Behold the Hour cometh^ yea^ is
^** now come^ when ye Jhall be fcattered every one

to his own, and pall leave me alone ^ and yet
I am not alofie, for the Father is with me.
And if God be with us, who can be againfl
us ? Or, what can feparate us from the Love
of God? This doubtlefs is a recommending

Quality,

drawing mar to God. 3 53

Quality, and enhances the Value of this Sermon
Happinefs above all other j that it is a Cor- ^ 'j
dial in Diftrefs, a chief Good, that remains
with us_, when all other Good is fled and
gone J and when we mod ftand in Need of
Relief and Comfort. It fweetens every Com-
fort, in Time of Profperity — alleviates eve-
ry Burden in Times of Adverfity, and ena-
bles us to bear the heavieft that can befal
us. I only fubjoin, that it is on this very
Account, that Jfaph in my Text, pronoun-
ces it good to draw near to God, In this
Pfalm, he is meditating his Afflidions, and
looking forward upon Deaths and from this
View, declares the Advantages of Piety, and
the Happinefs refulting from Friendfliip and
Communion with God. Thus in the Verfes
before my Text, he fays, Ne-verthekfs, not-
withftanding my Sorrows and Afflidions,
O my God, 1 am continually with thee : Thou
hafi holden me by my Right-Hand. — Thou
Jhalt guide me by thy Counfel, and afterward
receive me to Glory. — Whom have I in Hea-
ven but thee ? And there is none upon Earth
that I defire bejides thee. — My Flejh and my
Heart failethy but God is the Strength oj my
Hearty and my Fort ion for ever : For lo, they
A a that

T^be- Happinefs of
that are Jar from thee jhall perifi — they
fhall fink down under their Burdens, and
have no Comfort, no Helper : But it is good
for me to draw near to God.

Sixthly, It muft zp^c2ir good for me to
draw near to God^ fince the greateft Difplea-
fure that God could (hew to Man, would be
either to incapacitate him from this Accefs ;
or to baniQi him from his Prefence, and for-
bid his direding any Thoughts towards him,
or placing any Dependance upon him.
Were this the Difpofition of God, all fpiri-
tual Happinefs would be gone for ever, and
we of all Creatures the moft miferable, '* Shall
" I then any longer queftion, Whether it be
" good for me to draw near to God F Shall I
«' afk for more Arguments, or farther Proof?
** Or fhall I need Motives to apprize me of
** the Worth of my Religious, Spiritual,
** Divine Privileges, or to excite me to the
** Improvement of them, when God in his
*' Divine Fatherly Goodnefs has -endowed
** me with Natural Capacities for it, and in-
" vites me near to himfelf. — And to make
** the prefent Life eafy, and train me up for
** an Eftablilhment in his Eternal Prefence
*♦ and Happinefs, has commanded • me to

" draw

drawing near to God, 2§5

" draw near to him; to feek bis Face, iria Sermoi*

. . . XV

*' put my Truft in him — In every State h^ ^_— ,Aj

** Prayer and Supplication^ with Tbank/giv- ^^^^- ^^•

" ing, making my Requejls known unto God :

" Making fuch Accefs to and Reliance up-

** on him, my Duty, which is in itfelf my

" chief and only fufficient Happinefs ; when

" I muft have been forlorn and miferable

" had this been forbidden, and my Aeceft

" to God prohibited.'*

And now, tny Brethren, What fliall we
fay to thefe Things ? And what Effeft (hall
this Sermon have upon us ? Will any of yoa
adl like thofe, to whom Paul and Barnabas
preached, Who^ when they heard the Word of ^^^ ^"^'-
Godi put it from them, and judged themfekes
unworthy of and unconcerned about Eternal
Life ? It is but too evident, that a great Part
of Mankind are utterly eftranged, and aliena-
ted from God. They indulge to no pious and
devotional Methods, neceffary to their Accefs
to him, and afTuring of their Hearts before
him : They even fay to the Almighty^ depart
from us ; for we defire not the Knowledge of
thy Ways, What is the Almighty, that we
fhould ferve him f And what Profit foall we
have, if we pray unto him f It is to be feared,
A a 2 that

^^ii,.

XV.

35^ ^he Happinefs of

Sermon that this IS the prefent Cafe with fome of
you J and if fo, let me tell you, that if you
continue in this State, you are undone for
ever. If you in Effed make Diftance and
Alienation from God, your Choice^ What
can remain for you, but to be bamfied for
ever frojn the Prefence of the Lordy and from
the Glory of his Power. Though this is a
Pradice you ftupidly follow, yet it is a
Thought no Man can bear. O ! Seek ye the
Lord theriy whiljl he may be founds call ye up-
on him whiljl he is near. Refolve upon a
Courfe of Piety and Virtue, and daily pur-
fue it with Conftancy and Perfeverance.
Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to
you.

And let none of us think, that we have
already attained the neareft and moft perfedl
Accefs to God. There is ftill, and will e-
ver be Room to draw nearer and nearer^
whilft on this Side Heaven : Yea, and in
Heaven too, I make no Doubt; and that
through eternal Ages. We have not by
fear chin g found out God ; we have not found
out the Almighty unto PerfeBion, We may, by
pious Meditations on the Excellencies of the

Divine

XV.

drawing near to God, 357

Divine Nature, and by devoutly worfhip- Sermon
ing before him in Spirit and in Truths not
only retain God in our Knowledge j but we
may be conftantly improving our Concep-
tions, heightening our pleafing Apprehen-
iions, encreafing our delightful AfFedi-
ons, ftrengthening our Truft, and enlarg-
ing our Divine Joy. " O my Soul ! Wait
*' then upon God, for my ExpeSiatiom are
"from him. With my whole Heart will I
" feek him — I will labour to draw nearer
** and nearer. — In every Accefs, and devo-
** tional Duty, I will ftir up all that is within
*' me, I would enure myfelf to walk with
" God, fleadily, uniformly, circumfpedtly,
«* acknowledging him in all tny Ways, ^he
" Life I live, floall be a Lije oj Faith in God ;
" ferving him faithfully, and confiding in
" him entirely — having my Heart fxedy
" irufiing in God, It is good for me to draw
*' near to God, with a pure Hearty in full
" Affurance of Faith \ the nearer the better-^
'' and it will be beft of all, when I get near-
" eft of all — to fee him as he isfeen, to know
*' him as he is known, and to enjoy him
*• as he is enjoyed, by the moft pure, pious,
A a 3 *' and

XV.

15^ ^he Happinefi of, &c.

SsRMON " and perfedled Spirits. In his Prefence there
** is Fulnefs of Joy, and at his Right-Hand
5' are Pieafures for ever. O my God, thou
" Jhall guide me by thy Counfel^ and ajterwards
f ? receive me to Glory. Whom have I in Hea-
** ven but thee ? And there is none upon Earthy
?* that I defire befides thee : My Flejh aitd my
** Heart faileth \ but God is the Strength of
f* m'j Soulf and my Portion for ever.'-

SER-

359

SERMON XVI.

The GRADUAL Workings and
Product of Afflictions.

Rom. v. 3, 4, 5.

And not only foy but we glory in Tribulations
alfit knowing that Tribulation worketh Pa*
iience — and Patience Experience — and
BiXperience Hope : And Hope maketh not
ajhamed\ becaufe the Love of God ts Jhed
abroad in our Hearts by the Holy Ghojly
which is given unto us.

F)^)^)^"^ N my Text and Context the Apo- Sermon
2 J 8 ^^^ -f*^^^ recommends the Chri- ^]^
)§( ^ ftian Religion, on Account of

*laa)§(j^^ fijj.^^ gj.g^j 3j^^ j^Q^I- important

Advantages.

1. It afcertains to us a free and full Par-
don of all pafl Sins j brings us into a State
A a 4 of

7'he gj-adual Workwgs
of Peace and Reconciliation with God ; and
makes us eafy and happy in our own Minds.
Ver. I. Therefore being ju/iijled by Faith, we
have Peace with God by our Lord Jefus
Chrifti

II. It raifes us to the lively Hope of a
future and better State ; and enables us at
prefent in View of it, to rejoice with Joy un-
fpeakahle and full of Glory. Ver. 2. By whom

alfo we have Accefi by Faith into this Grace ^
wherein we Jland, and rejoice in Hope of the
Glory of God. Nor is this all j but as our
Apoftle adds, in the PafTage I now fingle out
for the Subjedl of our prefent Thoughts,

III. AND not only fo, but we glory in
Tribulation alfo^ knowing that Tribulation
worketh Patience — and Patience Fxperience
^— and Experience Hope : And Hope maketh
not afhamed'y hecaufe the Love of God is fhed
abroad in our Hearts, by the Holy Spirit
which is given unto us.

These are three of the great Advantages
of our holy Religion. It is the third only
that I fhall confider at prefent. The Gof-
pel of Chrift is not intended to exempt us
from the Sorrows and Afflidions common to

Man

XVI.

and Produdl of AffiiBions . 361

Man In the prefent Life j but it does more Sermon
for us than this; it teaches and enables us
to bear them with Fortitude and Patience ;
to improve them to our beft Advantage, and
make them all work together for our good.
And though in fome Cafes, our fteady Ad-
herence to Truth and Righteoufnefs, may
draw upon us Abufe and Perfecution, yet
inftead of being difcouraged or dejeded, it
enables us to glory in TribulationSy knowing
the Train of thofe happy Confequences that
follow upon them, which are numbered up
in our Text, The Wifdom and Redtitade
of Divine Providence, and the Advantages
of temporal Afflidtions, may be argued from
other Topicks; but at prefent, let us con-
fine our Thoughts to what the Apoftle here
fets before us ; and confider the feveral Par-
ticulars in the natural Order, in which he
has placed them.

ift. Tribulation is xh^ firji natural
Produd of Afflictions. AffliBions and Tri-
biilations^ though in near Conne(5tion, as
Cauje and EffeSi, yet they are no more the
fame Thing, than the outward Inftrument
that occafioneth Pain, and the inward Pain
itfelf. Tribulation is that inward Senfation

of

XVI.

362 The gradual Workings

Sermon of the Mind, that is occafioned by outward
Afflictions, when the Heart or Mind is af-
fected with deep Concern. AffiiBion is the
Impreffion, or Striking, of external Things,
the Effed: of which produced in the Body,
we call Pain : But when it reaches to the
Mind, it is properly called Tribulation *.
When Tribulation arifes from the Afflidi-
ons of Others, it is that Sympathy and affec-
tionate Tendernefs, and Sorrow of Mind,
whereby we feel for our Fellow-Creatures
and Friends ; fhare with them under their
Troubles, and lament the Lofs of them,
when they are dead. And Tribulation, when
felt on our own Account, is that Impreflion,
which OUT own bodily Pains and Afflidions
make upon our own Minds. It is a Tem-
per the dired reverfe to Hard-heartednefs^
and to that unnatural Infenfibility, which
the Stoick Philofophers in vain attempted^
and proudly beaded of, but always failed
them under fevere Trials. No AffiSiion in
its own Nature is indifferent ; much lefs is
it joyous, te ^r/V'z;cz/i for the prefent, what-
ever good Effed:s it may afterwards produce.
This our Religion juftly allows, Heb. xii. 1 1.

No

and Produ^ of Api^iom. 363

No Afflidion therefore is defirable for its Sermow
own Sake ; but fhould patiently be fubaiit- ^^'^
ted to, on Account of its advantageous Ten-
dency and Confequences. We imperfed:
Creatures, ftand in Need of Sorrows and
Afflidion j the fole Reafon why the God of
Goodnefs and Mercy has introduced them,
and made them a Part of his providential
Difcipline ; For he doth not affliB willingly^ nor Lam. iii,
grieve the Children of Men: But though he 32>33-
caufe Grief yet will he have Compafjion^ ac-
cording to the Multitude of his Mercies, Thus
Tribulation is mental Concern. But whether
it be virtuous or vicious, pious or impious,
depends upon the Caufes from which it pro-
ceeds, and the Effeds it produceth. In it-
felf, it is neither the one nor the other.

2dly, Patience is the proper Effed and
Firft-fruit of Tribulation. Tribulation work-
eth Patience. Not that Patience is its con-
dant and necejfary Produd ; but what it
ought, and is intended to produce ; though
too often it produceth Impatience. Afflidi-
ons, if not attended to, and ferioufly regard-
ed, ftand for Nothing j but only (hew an
unnatural, ilupid, infenfible, or hardened
Frame of Spirit j which is too common in

our

364 The gradual Workings

Bermcn our World. Speaking of fuch fays the Pro-
J^^^ phet in the Name of God, In vain have I
er.ii. 30. Jmitten your Children', they receive no CorreC'
Hon. Others, inftead of being fuitably hum-
bled and afiedled under Afflidtions, are ex-
afperated with Rage and Paffion. The fame
er.iii.30. Prophet compares thefe io a Bidlock mac-
ciijiomed to the Yoke.

Some poffibly may think, that the Way
to Patience is, to cafi; off all Concern about
our own, or other Perfons Afflidions, and
ftifle the natural Paflions and AfFedions ; but
this is both unnatural, and impoflible. This
is not enuring themfelves to bear the Bur-
dens of Life ; but endeavouring to bear No-
thing at all. The Confequence of which
is this, that when heavy Afflidions come
upon them, and touch them in fome ten-
der Part, they grow furious and defperate.
They, who have fludied this unnatural Art
in a philofophical Manner, and boafted of
their high Attainments, (afhamed to coifefs
and difcover their Weabiejs^ as they call it)
They have often either laid violent Hands
upon themfelves j or they have funk down
into abfolute Diflrcfs. But Tribulation^ when

allowed

and FroduB of AffiiBiom, 365

allowed to produce its proper Fruit, worh Sermon
„ . ^ ^ ^ XVI.

Patience. v— ,.^-»^

Patience, pious Patience, imports that
Strength and Conftancy of Mind, which
enables the Spirit of a Man to fuftain under
the Weight of Sorrows, and the Preflure of
thofe Afflidtions, which the Providence of
God lays upon him -, and this without link-
ing into Defpondency, deferting his Duty, or
murmuring againd God.

The firfi Province of Patience is to keep
and preferve the Mind firm and compofed.
On this our Saviour's Diredion is grounded.
In your Patience poffefs ye your Souls. Its Lukexxi.
next happy Effed: is to prevent Defponden- *^'
cy, and Diftruft of God and his Providence;
as if he were either unable, or unwilling, to
appear for our Help and Deliverance. You
may read the firft Workings of Impatience,
Will the Lord ca/l of for ever f Will he be Pfalm
favourable no more ? Is his Mercy clean gone y^l^q.
for ever F Doth his Promife jail for ever-
more ? Hath he in Anger fhut up his tender
Mercies^ Pious Patience checks the firffc
Workings of this unhappy Spirit ; as in the
Words following, And I faid^ this is ?ny In-
firmity \ but 1 will remember the Tears of the

mofi

366 The gradual Workings

Sermon tftoft High. I will remember the JVorh of th^
• . Lord', furely I will remember thy Wonders of
old t I will meditate alfo of all thy Worksy and
talk of thy Doijigs. This is the Spirit and
Language of pious Patience, *' What^ fiall
" 1 receive Good at the Hand of the Lord,
" and fldall not I alfo receive Evil ? It is the
" Lordy let him do what feemeth him good.
*^ Why art thou ca/l down, O my Soulf Why
*' art thou difquietcd within me f Trujl in God^
^^ for Ifiallyet praife him j who will not f offer
" me to be tried above my Ability^ but in this^
" and every Trial will find a Way for my
" Efcape, that I may be able to bear it'^

Consequent upon this, Patience and
Conftancy of Mind prevents our yielding to
the Power of any Temptation, in order to
get free from prefent Troubles; and renders
us fteady and perfevering in our Adherence
to God and our Duty. The trying of your
James 1. p^itjj^ fays the Apoftle, worketh Patience — ^
And let Patience have her perfe5i Work, that
ye may be perfeB and entire ^ wanting nO'
thing. Such is the Nature and Province of
Patience.

It farther remains here, that we confider,
H o w Tribulation worketh Patience ; or the

Connedion

and ProduSi of AffitSiiom,

Connexion between thefe two Tempers, as
Caufi and EffeSi. My T:ext fays. We know
it '^ Knowing that Tribulation worketb Pati-
ence. Paul knew it from Experience ; and
fo do all thofe, who have come out of great
Tribulationy and have been found faithful.
tribulation is the Difcipline and Preparation
of the Mind for the Reception of Patience.
The Man, who has met with few Afflicti-
ons and Trials, muft as yet, be a Stranger
to this Virtue. It is poffible, he may be
eafy and good humoured, whilft he has No-
thing to ruffle or difcompofe his Temper j
but when Troubles and Provocations come
upon him, they will find him unprepared
for bearing them with Patience and Submif-
fion to the Will of God. His Mind at firft
will be found as weak, and perhaps as pee-
vifh, fretful, and dejeded, as the Mind of
a Child^ who knows little or Nothing, what
Patience means. A long Series of uninter-
rupted Eafe, and Indulgence, foftens the
Mind, enervates the Spirit, and leaves it an
eafy Prey to approaching Diftrefs. Sooner or
later Sorrows and Sufferings v/ill come, and
Death iifelf j and the longer any Man has
been exempt from the Difcipline of Afflic-
tions,

368 ^he gradual Workings

Sermon tions, the Icfs able will he be found to bear
^^._^^_^ them, when they come.

But AffliBiom, you will fay, and the
Profpeds of approaching Deaths are fo ter-
rible and difheartening, that they intimidate
the Soul, inftead of tending to beget Forti-
tude and Patience — You may as well ima-
gine, that the Sight of Battles and Blood-
(hed, and the Marks of former Wounds, in-
timidate the veteran Soldier, and infpire him
with Cowardice. Experience, you know,
proves the Contrary. The firft Adion, and
the firft Alarm, chill the Blood, and inti-
midate the Heart 5 but when it has recovered
from this^ it gains new Strength, unknown
before. This is the Spirit of Patience,
and of Fortitude — This gives the virtuous
Firmnefs to the Heart of Man, which is no
where to be learnt, no where to be purcha-
fed, but in the School of Afili6tion and Tri-
bulation.— It follows upon this, That God
in his Providence deals with his Righteouff
Servants, not more feverely, as we are ready
to think J but more kindly, and even more
tenderly, when he forms and difciplines
them with Afflidions, from their Touth up.
He hardens them with Duty and Service 9

with

and ProduB of JffiiBiom. 3 fig

"with Pains and Labours, as a good General Sermow
does his Soldiers ; that being thus trained and -^^^^
difciplincd for the Warfare of Life^ and in-
fpired with Vigour from above, they grow
firong in the Lord^ and in the Power of his
Mighty and endure Hardfiips^ as good Soldiers
of Jefus Chrift j neither intimidated with
Terrors, nor feduced with flattering or infi-
JDuating Temptations j but with pious Pati-
ence and divine Fortitude, they daily live irt
Expedlation of Death without Fear- meet
it when it comes, without Terror, and yield
to it without Reluctance. Happy Cafe !
when ^tribulation thus ivorketh Patience. A
prefent Pofleffion this, of more Worth than
fill the World befides. If you do not rea-
dily alTent to all this, you either never knew,
or you have forgotten the Exhortation which Heb. xit'
fpeaketh unto you as unto Children^ My Son^ ^
a'ejpife not thou the Chajining of the Lord, nor
faint when thou art rebuked of him ; for whom
the Lord loveth he chajieneth, and fcourgetb
eijery Son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
Chaflningy God dealetb with you as with Sons :
For what Son is he whom the Father cha/ien*
eth- not? — Furthermore, we have had Fa^
thers of our Flejh^ which correBed us, and we
B b gani

T!be gradual IVor kings

gave them Reverence : Shall we not much ra-
ther be in SubjeBion unto the Father of our
Spirits and live ? For they verily chajiened us
after their own Pleafure ; but be for our Pro-
fit, that we might be Partakers of bis Holt-
nefs^ Now no Chafiningfor the prefent feem-
eth to be joyous i but grievous : Nevertbelefs af"
terward it yieldeth the peaceable Fruit of Righ-
teoufnefs unto them, which are exercifed thereby.
Thus Tribulation worketh Patience.

3dly, Patience worketh Experience*
We glory in ^tribulation, knowing, that Tri-^
bulation worketh Patience — and Patience Ex-
perience. The Intention of this Phrafe, as
it appeared to our Tranflators, is in itfelf no
bad one 5 though, I apprehend, not the pre-
cifi Thought which the Apoftle had in his
Mind, as I fliall fliew prefently. But it may
be of Ufe to confider firji, the Senfe of this
Phrafe as it ftands in our Tranflation 5 And
Patience worketh Experience, It does fo. If
you afk, What Experience? I anfwer. It
works out for us, and in us, experimental
Evidence and Proof of the All-fufficiency
and Faithfulnefs of God ; and gives us Ex-
perience of the Supports and Confolations of
his Holy Spirit, the Comforter , Becaufe the

Love

XYL

and Produ^ of AffiiSiions: ^yj

Love of God is J/jed abroad in our Heart 5 , by Sermon
the Holy Spirit which is given unto us, as in
the Clofe of the Text. I tell you the Truth,
fays our Saviour to his Difciples, it is expe-
dient for you that I go azvay j for if I go not
away, the Comforter will not come unto you j
but if I depart y I will fend him unto you. So
may I fay, it is expedient for yoii to be af-
flicted, in order to learn Patience 5 and iri
Confequence, Experience-, for without this
you can never knov7,w^hat Supports and Con-
folations God has prepared for them that
love him — for them that fubmit patiently
under his mighty Hand, and hope, and
wait for his Salvation. You may hear of
this by the Hearing of the Ear -, but noix)
you will experience it ; And whilfl Patience
is thus working Experience, Experience in
Return will work Patience, and lay a Foun-
dation in the Soul for farther Patience under
future Trials. Be patient, therefore Bre- I*"^fi*-
ihren, unto the Coming of the Lord (wait pa-
tiently till God appear for your Help and
Deliverance) Behold the Hufbandman wait--
eth for the precious Fruit of the Earth, arid
hath long Patience Jor it, until he receive the
early and latter Rain, Be ye alfo patient,
B b 2 ftablifi

7 — Jci,

372 ^he gradual Workings

Sermon ftablijh your Hearts y for the Coming of the
^^_ _^ Lord draweth nigh. Take, my Brethren, the
Prophets, for an Example of Juffering Afflic-
tion, and of Patience. Behold, we count them
happy which endure. Te have heard oj the
Patience o/' Job, and have feen the End of the
Lord', that the Lord is very pitiful^ and of
tender Mercy, The Hiftory and Experience
of God's fufFering Servants, both in our own
and in former Days, tends to infpire us with
Hope under like Circumftances j but more
cfpecially the Experience, which We Our-
felves have had of the Mercy and All-fuffi-
ciency of God. Thus argues the Apoftle
2 Cor. i. Paul, We would not. Brethren, have you ig-
^* ^' '°* nor ant of our Trouble, which came to us in
Afia i that we were preffed out of Meafure,
above Strength, infomueh that we defpaired
tven of Life : But we had the Sentence of
Death in eurf elves, that we {hould not trnji in
• ourfelves, but in God which raifeth the Dead-,
who delivered us from fo great a Death, and
doth deliver ; in whom alfo we trufi, that he
will yet deliver. Thus Tribulation worketh
■ Patience — and Patience Experience — and
Experience Hope.

But

and FrodiiB of Agit5fmu 373

But as I intimated before, the Word Sirmom

XVI
Experience^ in ourTranllation, does not con^ ^ J^

vey to an EngliQi Reader the full and pre-
cife Meaning of the Original. The Greek
Word, which our Apoftle ufes, fignifies not
Experience y but Proof * — ^ and the Verb -j-
it is derived from, fignifies to prove, or try
the, Nature and Qualities of a Subjedt; as
when any Metal, fuch as Gold or Silver, is
tried in the Fire^ or by the Touch/ione, That
which bears the Teft: is Proof. I will bring Zech.xiij,
the third Pari through the Fire^ and will re- ^'
fine them as Silver is refined^ and will try-
them as Gold is tried. Thus fays Job under
his heavy Sufferings, When he hath tried me. Job xxUu
1 Jhall come forth as Gold, Thus the Apo- *°*
file James underflands, and paraphrafes my
Text, My Brethren^ count it all Joy, when James L
ye fall into divers Temptations j knowing thisy ^'^'^'
that the Trying of your Faith worketh Pati-
ence : But let Patience have her perfedl Worky
that ye may be perjeSi and entire, wanting
Nothing. Afflictions are the proper Tefl of
the real Virtue and Piety of Man. Tribu-
lation worketh Patience j and Patience Proof
B b 3 Twa

374 ^'^^ gradual Workings

Sermon Two Things are here implied. One \%^
^__^^21j *^^^ AfBidtions have a natural Tendency to
beget Virtue and Piety in the Minds of Men.
The Other is, that Affliaions are the Teji
of a Man's real Charadter 5 whether he is a
truly Good Man, or not- — and hkewife,
what are the Degrees of his Virtue and Pie-
ty. The World can come at no certain
Knowledge of a good Man's Chara(5ter and
principles any other Way j nor without fuch
T'rials can a good Man know himfelf. On
this Truth is built that Part of our Saviour's
|vfat. xni. Parable of the Sower ; Some hear the Word,
— ' ^'* and anon with Joy receive it -, but having no
Roof in themjehes, they endure only Jor a
While ; for when Tribulation or Perfecution
arijeth, becaufe of the Word^ by and by they
are offended.

The whole Book of Job is formed upon
^his Plan, that Affliclions are the Teft and
jPr«?^ of Virtue and Piety; and for this very
Reafon it is, that the befl and deareft Ser-
yants of God, are exercifed with the great-
eft and foreft Afflidions. That Charity in-
deed, which belt eve th all Things, and hopeth
all Things, will look upon fuch a Perfon, as
^ob approved himfelf in his Profperity, as a

perfeB

XVI.

10, II.

and ProduB of JffliBiom, 375

perfeSi and upright Man^ one who Jeareth Sermon
God, and efcheweth Evil, But devilifh Envy
and Cenfure will fufped:, and fay, Doth Job job
ferve God for nought ? Haft not thou made an 9'
Hedge about him, and about his Houfe, and
about all that he hath on every Side, Thou
haft blejfed the Work of his. Hands, and his
Sub/lance is increafed in the Earth : But put
forth thine Hand now, and touch all that he
hath, and he will curfe thee to thy Face. True,
upon Trial it proved otherwife with Job^
and he came forth as Gold. But this fhews,
that there is no knowing what any Man is^
till he is tried. It is Patience that produceth
Proof Pious SubmifTion of Heart and Soul
to the Hand and Will of God under fuch
Afflictions, attended with a perfevering Con^
tinuance in Well-doing, it is This, and This
only, that compleats the Evidence and Proof
of the good Man.

This deferves a more particular Confi-*
deration. The real Worth and Excellency
of a good Man, confifts in two Things — »
his Virtue and his Piety. Both thefe
are proved by his yiffliSHons^ and are found
to his Praife, and Honour, and Glory, when
Patience has its perjeSt Work.

B b 4 First,

XVI.

176 ^he gradual Workings

Sermon First, His ViRTUE. By whIch I mean
the Strength and Conftancy of his good Prin-
ciples, and of his good Heart : Or his ftea-»
dy and obftinate Adherence to his Duty, and
to what he knows to be True and Right.
When the prefent Pradice of Righteoufnefs
is confident with, and conducive to a Man's
worldly Interejly as it generally is in Profpe-
fity, then the Man has little or no Tempta-
tion to Unrighteoufnefs. In this State, it is
hard to know what Spirit we are of-, whe-
ther Self' Love ^ or the Love of the World,
fways us to ad right : Or whether it be a
fleady Principle of true Virtue ruling in the
Heart, and determining us to purfue Righ-
teoufnefs for its own Sake. But when Tri-
bulation and Sufferings come upon us, and
we can no longer adhere to Truth and Righ-
teoufnefs without Suffering for it ; when we
muft either renounce our Duty, or our
worldly Intereft -, or when we cannot get an
honeft Livelihood without fubmitting to
great Pains and fevere Hardfhips, then is our
Virtue tried indeed ; and if ftedfaftly adhe-
red to, and perfifted in, it not only gives
internal Satisfaction to the Virtuous Mind it-
felf, but it gains the Efteetn, Admiration,

and

and TroduSi of Affli6iiom. -^ ^j

and Applaufe of Others, Here is Virtue pre- Sermon
fented to our View, when we behold the ^.^—^
Man^ whom neither Poverty, nor Bonds,
nor Death can affright j nor Pieafure, Rich-
es, or Honours, feduce from Truth and
Right *. Thus is our Virtue^ proved and
difplayed by Patience and Conjlancy under
fevere Trials j and the Piety of our Hearts,
when we feel this proceeding from an /«-
ward, fettled Principle of Truft in God, and
Submiflion to his Will. Which leads me
to obferve.

Secondly, Our Piety, and Regard to
God is proved by the fame Method. It is
very poffible, and probably no uncommon
Cafe, for a Man to be regular and cordial
too, in his Devotions, both publick and pri-
vate ; and pafs for an eminently pious and
devout Man, in the Apprehenfion, both of
himfelf and of others ; who upon Trial is
found to have little or nothing of true Fi-
fty in his Heart and Mind j but is really that

very

* Qu.em neque Pajuperies, neque Mors, neque Vincula
terrent :

Refponfere Cupidinibus, contemnere Honores

Fortis.

Hot. Sat. L. 2. 1. 84, 85.

XVI.

37 S- The gradual IVor kings

Sermon very Man, Satan is reprefented as fufpefling
Joi to be. And indeed thefe Cafes upon Trial
are found fo common, that all human Piety
is brought under Sufpicion. Many Perfons
believing the Being and Providence of God,
prefiding over the World, and extending to
all human Affairs ; they make a Pradtice of
praying to God very devoutly, and very fin-
cerely, to preferve their Lives and their
Health — to guard them from unfeen Ac-
cidents and Dangers — to preferve them from
LolTes, Difeafes and Death — to blefs them
in their Bajket and in their Store — to fet an
Hedge about them^ and about all that they have
en every Side : and whilfi: all goes on, and
anfwers to their fFiJh and Prayer, they are
likewife fincerely devout in their Returns of
Fraife and Thanks to God. But, if the Pro-
vidence of God do not go on in the fame
Courfe, to favour them according to their
worldly Inclination and Wijh -, and fecure
to them thofe temporal Pleafures and Com-
forts which their Hearts are fet upon, — If,
as it is expreffed in the Book of ^ob^ G§d
put forth his Hand, and touch all that they
have 5 they will curfe him to his Face. If
they meet with worldly Loffes and Difap-

pointments

and Produdl of AffliBiom. 3 79

pointments — If their dear Relations are af- Sermon
Aided, or die — If their Circumftances are ^^^^^
reduced, or their Health impaired ; and e-
fpecially if God touch them in their Bone and
in their Flejh j and lay Afflidions upon their
Loins, and Sorrow upon their Hearts, then
they cry out againft God, as no God of
theirs ; faying, Depart from us, Jor we de- Job xxi.
Jire not the Knowledge of thy Ways: What is *'^'
the Almighty, that we Jhould ferve him? And
What Profit Jhould we have, if we pray unto
him ?

But if the good Man, like Jo^, ftill re-
tain his Integrity and Piety -, if he fubmit
himfelf and reft fatisfied with the Difpofals
of God, and the Difpenfations of his Provi-
dence, leaving to God the Government of
the World ; fully perfwaded both of his
Wifdom and Goodnefs, faying. It is. the Lord,
(et him do what feemeth him good — Tl^e
Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away, job i.
huffed be his Name — What, Jhall we receive ^'*
good at the Hand of the Lord? And fiall
we not alfo receive Evil? If he can refolve
his own Will into the Will of God, ftili
praying to him, and praifing him; faying
farther. Though he flay me I will truft in jobxiii.

him-, '^'

Tbe gradual Workings

him ; It Is This — it is This my Friends, that
(hews the Truth of our Religion, and the
Perfedion of our Piety : Not only that we
have conceived right Sentiments of God and
his Providence ; but that our Hearts are
right v^rith him. It was thus that the Faith
and Piety of Abraham^ of 'Job^ of Daniel^
was tried and difplayedj and of all the emi-
nently pious and worthy Perfons, that have
dwelt in this World. Such Trials as thefe,
leave no Doubt concerning the Purity and
Perfe(5tion of Virtue and Fiety. They dif-
cover the inward Dijpojition of the good
Man's Souk and the latent Prificiples of his
Heart ; how he ftands afFed:ed towards God
and Goodnefs j and confequently, what his
true Charader, and what the Man really is
-- Whether mere Humour^ or Hypocrify^ or
Self-Love, or the Love of the World-, or the
Love of Virtue^ and of God, have the Rule
and Government in his Heart. All this is
difcovered, whilft ^tribulation worketh Pati-
ence, and Patience Proof. This forced from
the Roman Officer, and them that were with
hirri, that Teftimony to our Saviour's Cha-
rader, when they beheld the Patience and
Piety t with which he endured the Crofs, de~

and ProduB of AffliBknu 381

fpijing the ShamCy ^ruly this Man was a Son Sermon
of God,

XVI.

I ONLY add, that as thefe Trials prove, M^^^

difplay, and perfect Virtue and Piety, where
it is J fo they help to form it, where it is not.
They help to fubdue, humble, and calm the
Soul — They abate our Fondnefs for earthly
Things — They contrad: the Sphere of our
Defires and Happinefs — and at laft enable
us to be happy in the fole Enjoyment of
God, and of our own Souls. They give that
Strength and Firmnefs to the Soul, that in
Time enables us to do and fufFer what be-
fore we could not 5 and inftead of repining
or fuccumbing under worldly LoiTes, Sor-
rows, and Difappointments, they raife up the
Soul to God and Heaven, and enable us
even to glory in Tribulation alfo^ Mowing that
Tribulation worketh Patience^ and Patience
worketh experitnental Proof, This one com-
prehenfive Virtue of approved pious Pati-
ence, is a prefent Poffeflion of more Impor-
tance to a Man*s Happinefs, than all the
Treafures in the World.

But all does not end here — It follows,
arkd Experience y or Proof worketh Hope-—
fuch Hope, as maketh not afiamed-, becaufe the

t,ove

xxvii. 54.

382 ^he gradual Workings

SiGRMON Love of God is Jhed abroad in our Heart s^ t^
^. _'_. the Holy Spirit^ which is given unto us. This
I muft referve as the Subject of another Dif-
courfe. What has been faid, I hope will
iabate your Dread, and Averfion to the
Thoughts of Afflldlionsj and help to recon-
cile you to the Providence and Government
of God — Yea, to wiake you even in love v?ith
ftlch Difcipline, as your Heavenly Father
fees good to appoint. In what farther re-
mains, I fhall hope to raife in you fome-
thing of that noble Spirit, which the Apoftle
yames recommends, in that Paffage which I
have before cited, and with which I (hall
James i. HOW conclude 5 My Brethren^ count it aliyoy,
^ 3> 4« inftead of being difmayed, cowtt it all Joy^
when ye fall into divers Trials; knowing that
the trying of your Faith worketh Patience —
But let Patience have her perfeB Work, that
ye may be perfeB and entire^ wanting nothing.

LORD,

L

4r'

and ProduSf of AjliStiom. 383

O R D, I have found 'tis good for me Sermon
To bear my Father's Rod : ^^

Afflidions make me learn thy Law,
And live upon my God.

This is the Comfort I enjoy.

When new Diftrefs begins,
I read thy Word, I run thy Way,

And hate my former Sins.

Had not thy Word been my Delight,
When earthly Joys were fled,

My Soul opprefl: with Sorrows Weight,
Had funk among the Dead.

I know thy Judgments, Lord, are right,
Tho' they may feem fevere ;

The fharpeft Suflferings I endure,
Flow from thy faithful Care.

SER.

384

SERMON XVII.

The GRADUAL Workings and
Product of Afflictions.

Rom. v. 3, 4, 5.

\And not only fo, hut we glory in ^rihulationi
alfo, knowing that tribulation worketb Pa-
tience— and Patience Experience — and
Experiefice Hope : And Hope maketh not
afiamed', becaufe the Love of God is fied
abroad in our Hearts by the Holy Ghoft
which is given unto us.

Sermon fU)^W^^^ Life of Man here upon
y^^!^^ Ic T S Earth, is made up of a Mixture of
)8C )§C Profperity and Adverfityj Health

k.)6C)eC^j«( andSicknefsj Pleafure and Pain j
Joy and Sorrow. This Conftitution is the
Work of God : It is he that hathfet the One
over againji the Other, The various Seafons

of

XVII.

T^he gradual Workings, dec, ^8^

Df the Year, and the Revolutions of Da>k- SEP.MbN
nefs and Light, are not more certain^ than
the Changes in the State and Life of Man;
To fome they return at one Time and in
one Proportion, and to others, in another ;
but all this purfuant to the Appointment, and
under the Cognizance and Diredion of God j
who knows v/hat Sort of Difcipline, and
what Difpenfatidns are fitteft and beft for
us, infinitely better than we know ourfelves.
Now, as fo great a Part of our Lives is made
up of Sorrow and Sufferings, it concerns each
of us to employ a proportionable Share of
our ferious Thoughts on this Subjedt j that
we may know both how to bear, and how
to improve thefe Difpenfations to our bed
Intereft, agreeably to the Will and Intenti-
on of God. This, I judge, makes it the Dti-
ty and Bufinefs of the Minifters of the Gof-
pel, to employ a large Share, if not the
greater Part, of their Time and Pains, in
labouring to promote in the Souls of Men
the pajftve Virtues of Meeknefs, Patience,
Fortitude, and Refignation ; contributing at
the fame Time to their fpiritual Comfortj
Faith, and Joy.

Cc Otrfe

XVII,

386 The gradual Workings

Se^rmon Our Virtue and Piety in the prefent State
is formed and tried two Ways, One is by en-
trufting with us the agreeable Talents of
Health and Strength, Riches and Station,
together with fuch like Abilities for ferving
our Generation according to the Will of
God, in an aBive Capacity. The Other is,
by exerciling us with Pains and Sorrows,
Wants and Afflidtions, which frequently ren-
der us incapable of any confiderable a&ive
Service. The Former is to us the more a-
greeable and more eligible Method of Trial
and Difcipline j but it does not follow, that
it is the more fafe and conducive to our bed
Intereil, Indeed, when Perfons who live in
Eafe and Affluence are truly virtuous and
pious, faithfully employing the Talents they
are entrufted with, and ferving God with
becoming Gratitude andHumility, this (hews
an excellent Charafter, and argues the truefl:
Virtufe and Piety j but not fuperior to that
which is learnt and exercifed in the School
of Afflidion. Witnefs the Cafe of Job^ who
in the Days of his Profperity v^2L%juJi, and
charitable, and compajjionate. See Chap,
xxix. II — 17. But ftill, in his Adverfity,
his Virtae and Piety were improved and dif-

played

and ProduB of Affli&ions, 387

played In a more cdnfpicuous and eminent sermoi*
knner. ^^

We often talk indeed of our aSiive Ser-^
njJce, and fpeak of our ferving God*, where-
as we are incapable of being ferviceable td
God, as a Man may he to his Friend. All
our Piety and Setvice in the Sight of God
is only our exhibiting fuch Tempers and
Adions, as are right in themfelves, becom-
ing our Condition, and confequently pleafing
to God. This is what we may do in Ad-
verfity, as well as in Profperity. Yea, the
Sorrows and Afflidtions, with which God is
pleafed to exercife us, have a moft friendly
Tendency to promote in us fuch Tempers,
and fuch Adtions, Frequent Thoughts there-
fore, and fuitable Difcourfes on this Subje(5t
of Afflidions, muft contribute to the Pro-
motion, both of our Holinefs, and of our
Comfort. I therefore beg Leave to go on
with this Subjed, from which I have dif-
courfed to you before 5 We glory in Tribula^
tions alfo — We are fo far from being de-
jeded under, or afhamed of the Sorrows
and Sufferings that are allotted to us, that
we even glory in 'Tribulations -, knowing that
Tribulation worketh Patience, and Patience
C e a Experience^

3S8 *The gradual Workings

Sermon Experience y and Experience Hope-, and Hope
K^^-^}'_f ^^l^^i^ ^of ajhamed ; becauje the Love of God
is Jhed abroad in our Hearts by the Holy Spi-
rit, which is given unto us.

The Jirjl natural Effedi o^ external Af-
§i(flior\s and Sufferings, is the begetting of
Tribulation ; which fignifies an inward Im-
prefiion and Concern of Mind. This Con-
cern has a Tendency to work Patiefjce ; or
a pious SubmifTion to the whole Will and
Providence of God ; or virtuous Fortitude
in bearing what he appoints, and Conflancy
in doing what he requires, not daunted by
Terrors, nor feduced by Temptations. And
fuch Patience produceth Experimental Proof,
This -forms his Charader, and fliews what
the Man is, to the Satisfadion of Himfelf,
and of the World around him.

5thfy, We come to confider the laji Ef-
fed mentioned in our Text, And Hope ma-
hth not ajhamed. The Reafon follows j Be-
caufe the Love of God is Jhed abroad in our
Hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is given un-
to us. Here,

First, Let us confider the AJJertion it-
felf J And Hope maketh not af^amed-^ mean-
ing the Hope before mentioned ; the Hope

that

XVIL

and ProduB of Affiidiions\ 389

that fprings from tried Virtue, and approved Sermon
Fidelity. In thisP/jr^/^,or Manner of Speech,
more is intended, than what is exprefled.
Hope is fo far from making us aJJoamed^ that
it prevents our being afhamed^ or dejedted un-
der our AiRidions : On the contrary, it in-
fpires us' with Courage and Comfort y be-
caufe the Love of God is Jhed abroad in our
Hearts. Thus it flands connedled with the .
lirft Claufe in my Text j Jnd not onk fo,
but we alfo glory in Tribulation — We are fo
far from being ajJ^amed of our Sorrows and
Sufferings, that we rather ghry in them 5
that God is pleafed to call us out to the mod
difficult Services ; even to fuffer for his
Caufe, in order to difplay his Glory, and fliew
forth the Power of true Religion.

The Paffage now under Confideration,
is grounded upon this, That the Men of this
Worlds who are Strangers to the true Spi-
rit of Piety and Religion, are frequently
dejeded, and afliamed of the Afflidtions and
Troubles they meet with. One Reafon of
which, is This ; becaufe Others are too apt to
be afliamed of them, and treat them with
Contempt. This is often the Cafe with Perr
fans, -who labour under bodily Weaknefs or
C c 5 Peformity,

39Q ' The gradual Worhingi

Sermon Deformity, Pains or Affli£lions ; who meet
y_'-^_f with great LofTes, or heavy Calamities —
who labour under Want and Poverty j a^
well as thofe who meet with Abufe and Per-
fecution, Scandal and Difgrace. Such Per-
fons are too apt to be ajhamed aftbemfehes |
and the World to be a(hamed of them.
They not o^\y think themfelves mean and
contemptible on this Accountj, but they are
ready to look upon themfelves as deferted of
God 5 and interpret thefe Afflidions as the
Tokens of God's Difpleafure; or at leaft as
the Proofs of his bearing lefs Regard for
them^ than for others. This was the Treat-
ment our Saviour himfelf met with, and this
Matt. the Interpretation the World put upon his
Sufferings and low Eftate. The Men of the
World concluded, that God had forfaken him^
or never had any Regard for him. The
like Treatment many a good Man has met
with. But, my Brethren, Hope maketh not
ajhamed — Such Hope as my Text fpeaks of,
arifing from tried Virtue, and approved Fi-
delity, fupported by the Power and Princi-
ples of true Religion. This fuftained the
Mind of our Saviour, the Captain of our Sal-
'vation, who was a Man of Sorrows, and ac-
quainted

XXVll.

39—43

xvn.

and ProduB of AffliSiiom, 391

quatnted with Grief: But being animated Se^mom
with this Patience and with this Hopey be
endured tbe Crofs and DES?iSED the shame.
It was this Hope like wife, that fuftained the
Soul of pious Joif, when ftript of all his
worldly Comforts — when covered over with
the moft painful and loathfome Difeafe -—
when on this Account he was cenfured by .
his Friends, and reprefented as a Man aban-
doned and curfcd of God -, his Hope in God
was his only Support. Though he Jlay me. Job xiii,
fays he, yet will Itrujl in him. I only refer *^*
you farther to the Pfalmift\ Cafe. Mine
Enemies, fays he, fpeak againji me, and they Pfal. Ij^xi.
that lay wait for my Soul take Counfel together ;
faying, God hath forfaken him ', perjecute, and
take him, for there is none to deliver. Ani-
mated with this Hope, he adds, 0 God, be Vcr. 14,
not far from me -, Omy God, make hajlfor my
Help. For I will hope continually, and will
yet praife thee more and more.

Indeed, if our Afflidlions are the natural
Fruit and Confequence of our own Sins and
Follies, we have no Reafon to glory in them ;
but great Reafon to take Shame and Sorrow
to ourfelves : But if they are brought upon
us in the Courfe of God's Providence, we
C c 4 need

3 9 2 ^he gradual Workifigs

Sermon need not, we ought not, to be afliamed,
XVII . .

^ - -'_f And if we faffer for Confcience and Righte-

(lufnefs Sake, we have ftill greater Reafon for
Comfort and Joy. In Proof of this, let n^e
refer you to two Paflages of Scripture j one
15, I Pet. ii. 19. For this is Thank-iiDorthy^
ij a Man for Confcience towards God^ endure
Grief , fuffering 'wi onyiillj . For what Glory
is it, if when ye be huff died for your Faults y
ye take it patiently 1 But, ij when ye do well,
and fuffer for it, ye take it patiently j this is
acceptable with God, The other is, Mat. y.
10. Blefjed are they which are perfecuted for
Righteoufnefs Sake, for theirs is the Kiiigdom
cf Heaven, Blejfed are ye^ when Men fall
revile you y and perfecute you, and jldall fay all
Manner of Evil againfl you falfly for my Sake :
H^joice and be exceeding glad; for great is
your Reward in Heaven ; for fo perfecuted they
the Prophets, which were before you.

There is not indeed the fame Reafon for
Joy and Glory, when we fuffer only the
comman j^ffiSiions of Life, as when we fuf-
fer P.erfecution for Righteoufnefs Sake : But
there is no more Reafon to . be ajhamed or
difcouragcjd in one Cafe, more than the other.
And whenever the common Afflidions of Life

produce

and ProduB of Jffli5tions. 393

produce in us their proper Fruits j and Pa- Sermom
tience has its perfeB Work ; when upon fuch ^,_.^^,^
Trials we are jound perjeSi and entire^ waiit-
ifig nothing ; then there is juft Ground for
Praife^ and Honour, and Glory ; and it will
be found fo, at the appearing of Jifus Chrifi, i Pet.i.7.
Now, as in all fuch Cafes, there is no juft
Reafon for Shame and DejeBion j fo, where-
ever there is that Hop^, which we are now
confidering, there will be a Freedom from
Shame and DejeBion ; and the Soul will be
animated with Comfort and Joy. When
the good Man has this Trial of himfelf of
his Virtue and Piety, his Fortitude and Con-
flancy — When he has this PTitnefi in him-
felf^ and feels the lively Workings of Hope
in God, as his Friend — his All-fufFering
Friend, whofe Dealings wil^h him are all in
very Mercy and Faithfulnefs ; when this is
the happy Cafe, it muft make him not a(ha-
med — it muft caufe him to rejoice in God,
and joy in him as his Salvation. Thus Hope
in God h the good Man's Prefervative againrt:
Shame, as well as Fear. Such is the Uncer-
tainty, and fuch the Mutability of Human
Life, that Happitiefs has much to fear, and Mi.
fery has much to hope for j whilft Virtue and

Piety

The gradual Workings

Piety has always a Refuge and Refource in
God and Providence, which not only im-
proves the Eleflings, but mitigates the Evils
of Human Life. All this will farther appear,
as we go on to confider.

Secondly, The Caufe and Reafoit of this,
affigned in our Text, Becaufe the Love of
God is Jhed abroad in our Hearts y by the Ho^
ly Spirit which is given unto us. This the
Apofile reprefents as the happy Cafe with all
perfeB and complete Chrijlians^ who are per^
fe5l and entire ^ wanting nothing : In whom
the Chriftian Religion has produced all its
proper and genuine Fruits and Effe(5ls. They
have the Love of God Jhed abroad in their
Hearts, Thus in the Verfes before my Text.
Therefore beitig juflified by Faith y we have
Teace with Gody through our Lord Jefus
Chrijl : By whom alfo we have Jccefs by Faith
into this Grace y wherein wejiand, and rejoice
in Hope of the Glory of God. This Hope e-
nables us to glory in Tribulation alfo\ and
prevents our being difmayed or afhamed j
becaufe the Love of God is Jhed abroad in our
Hearts, by the Holy Spirit which is given un-
to us. Hence the Apoftle's Prayer for the
Chriftians at Ephefus, For this Caufe I bow

my

and Produ5f of AffliSliom. 395

my Knees unto the Father of our Lord Jefus Sermon
Chri/i^ that he would grant you according to . -^^
the Riches of his Glory ^ to be firengthened with ^^^' "'•
Might by bis Spirit in the inner Man ; that
Chrift may dwell in your Hearts by Faith ;
that ye being rooted and grounded in Love,
may be able to comprehend with all Saints,
what is the Breadth, and Length, and Depth,
and Heighth ; and to. know the Love of Chrift,
which pa feth Knowledge y that ye might befiU
led with all the Fulnefs of God» O glorious
Privilege ! O happy State ! This is what our
bleifed Religion is intended to efFedl for us :
And till it has efFeded this, we are but im-
perfeSl Chriftians j but Babes in Chriji. The
Chriftian DIfpenfation, is a Difpenfation of
Grace and Love j of Faith and Hope -, of
yoy and Comfort, It reprefents God to us
under the amiable Character of the God of
Love^ and Father of Mercies, and God of all
Comfort and Confolation -, who is not only
difpofed freely to pardon and forgive all our
paft Sins, and to compaffionate all our
WeaknefTes and Imperfedions ; but it leads
us to fee, that all his Commands, as well as
Promifes, are given for our Advantage ; and
all his providential Dealings with us, even

the

3 9^ 7he gradual Workings

Sermon the mofl: painful and grievous, are in very
v^...^^^ Mercy and Faithfulnefs ; and {hall all be
made to work together for our good. This is
the Genius and Spirit of the Gofpel j which,
if it really enter into our Spirits^ and take
full PoiTeflion of our Hearts^ muft needs in-
fpire us with facred Courage and lively Hopes
under all our Tribulations,

But then, as my Text expreffes it, the
Love of God muft be Jhed abroad in our Hearts.
We muft not only have fome faint andj^^-
culative Notions of the Love of God, but
our Minds muft conceive the moft friendly
Sentiments of God, and his Providence ;
and our Hearts muft feel, and relilh ths full
Senfe of his Love and Care j rendering us
fubmiffive to his whole Will — refigned to
his Dlfpofal — fatisfied with his Appoint-
ments — chearfully willing to do, and fuf-
fer, whatever be afligns to us ; perfwaded
that God knows what is fitteft and heft
for us. Now, when the Love of God is
thus (iied abroad in our Hearts^ then is his
Holy Spirit imparted and given to us ; as the
Apoftle exprefles it, to fuch God has not given
2Tim.u the Spirit of Fear-, but of Power, and of
^' Lm^ cind of a found Mi?2d. He that thus

dwelktb

XVII.

mid TroduB of jiffliSitonf, 3 97

dwelleth in Love, dwelleth in God, and God Sermon
in him. Now when this is the happy Cafe,
the (uffering or forrowful Chriftian, mull: be
animated with Hope — with lively Hope —
with the be/i Hopes and the befl Comforts,
And let me tell you, there is nothing but
This, that can give us true Comfort under
our Tribulations. However the Men of this
World may amufe and pleafure themfelves,
in Time of Health and Profperity, yet in
Times of Sorrow and Afflidion, there is no-
thing that can be the Strength and Comfort
of our Souls ; nothing but Hope in God, ari-
fing from the Love of God p^ed abroad in our
Hearts, by his Holy Spirit imparted to ns» In
fuch Seafons of Tribulation, the Language
of every pious and happy Soul is this, Lord^
whom have I in Heaven but thee F And there
is none upon Earth that I defire befides thee ;
My Fleflo and my Heart fails 5 but thou art
the Strength of my Hearty and my Portion for
ever. Why art thou caft down, O my Soul?
And why art thou difquieted within mef Truji
in God, jor Ifhall yet praife hi?n.

I HAVE thus gone through this inftruftive
Subje(a. And not onlyfoy but we glory aJfo in
^tribulation, knowing that Tribulation worketh

Fatience,

39^ ^4^ gradual iP'or kings

Sf RMON 'Patience^ and Patience Experience, or expe-
v,.-^-/_j rimental Proof — and Experience , or Proof,
worketb Hope — and Hope maketh not ajha-
med', becaufe the Love of God is Jhed abroad
in our Hearts by the Holy Spirit, which is
given unto us.

It now remains^ that I point out the Ufa
and Improvement, that we (hould make of
thefe Inftruaions. And here my Text itfelf
may ferve for our further Guide ; Where
we are taught, what Apprehenfions good
Chriftians fliould form of fuch afHidive Pro-
vidences, as are from Time to Time feverally
allotted to them 5 and how they fhould ftand
afFedted towards them. It is well known,
that too many of us, are apt to be afhamed
and dejedted, to be peevifh and diflatisfied ;
and difpofed, if not to blame, yet to defpond
under the afflidive Providences of God. But
my Text teaches us, and it is the uniform
Defign of our holy Religion, to teach us a
nobler LeiTon ; and exalt our Minds to a far
happier, and more glorious State. Not only
foy fays the Apoftle, but we alfo Glory in Tri^
bulation — Not only I Faul^ but We Chrijii-
ans, ALL of us, who have a juft Notion of
the Nature and Defign of temporal Afflidi-

onSi

and VroduB of AffiiBlom, 3 99

ons, and have the Love of God J}2ed abroad in Sermom
our Hearts, My Brethren, how wide a Dif- ^- ' j
ference is there, betwixt the real Frame and
Sentiments of moft Minds, in this Refpedt ;
and that which ought to be found in us : at
leaft this is the Cafe with many, if not with
all of us. So that here is great Reafon for
Improvement and Admonition. This fame
Apoftle exhorts. Let your Connjerfation be as Phil.i.27.
becometh the Gofpel of Chrtft -, ft an d f aft in
one Spirt fy flriving together for the Faith of
the Gospel ; in nothing terrified by your Ad-
verfaries ; which is to you an evident Token of
Salvation, and that of God, For unto you ii
is given, in the Behalf of Chrifl, not only to
believe on him j but alfo tofufferfor his Sake.
Chriftians are here taught to look upon Suf-
ferings, as their Glory. Though this may
have a principal Reference to the Perfecuti^
ons, which the firft Chriftians met with for
their Religion ; yet the Reafon is proporti-
onably the fame, where the common Afflidi-
ons of Life are produclive of exemplary
Virtue, and difplay the Power of true Piety
and Religion. In fhort, what is there, but
This, that is Matter of Glory, or redounds to
a Man's real Honour, External Accomplifli-

ments.

400 The gradual JVorkingi

Sermon ments, and lecular Grandeur, are of therri-
^___^^^ felves, no juft Matter of Glory ♦ nor indeed
any of thok private and eajy Virtues, which
cofts us little or nothing, Thus faith the
Jer.ix.23. Ijordj let not the Wife Ma?: glory in bis JVif-
dm ; neither let the Mighty Man glory in his
Might } andlet not the Rich Man glory in his
Miches. Thefe Things are no juft Matter
. oi Glory I and (hould any Man be heard
boafting of thefe Things, he would only ap-
pear vain and contemptible. See the Sen-
timents of the Author of my Text, and how
ironically he treats fuch vain Boaftings. See^
». Cor. xi. if2g many glory after the Flejh, I will glory
alfo. Ver. 22. Are they Hebrews F So am L
Are they Jfraelites ? So am h Are they the
Seed of Abraha?n f So am L Are they Mi-
mjiers of Chrift ? I am more. He adds. But
in fpeaking thus^ if I did it ferioufly, IJhould
fpeak.as a Fool. — Should I glory in thefe
Things, as many do, I fhould only fhew
the Littlenefs and Vanity of my Mind. Ac-
cordingly he fays elfewhere, he looked on
Phil. iii. thefe Things, but as Lofs and Dung, com-
pared to his virtuous Sufferings in the Caufe
of God. W^hat then does he Account the
chief Matter of Glory f Read on, Ver 23.

i?t

4-i

and ProhB of JffliBions, 401

In Labours more abundant — in Stripes above
Meafure — ifi Prifons more frequent — in
Deaths oft — of the fews five Times received
1 forty Stripes, fave one — thrice was I beat^
en with Rods — once was I floned — thrice I
fuffered Shipwreck — a Night and a Day have
I been in the Deep — in Journeyings often —
in Perils of Waters — in Perils of Robbers —
in Perils of mine own Countrymen — by the
Heathens — in the City — in the Wildernefi
— in the Sea — among falfe Brethren — in
Wearinefs and Painfulnefs — in Watchings
often — in Hunger and Thirji — in Fa/iings
often — in Cold and Nake^nefs, — He adds,
Ver. 7^0, If I mufi needs glory, 1 will glory of
the Things which concern my Infirmities* He
repeats it again in the next Chapter, Ver. 5.
Of myfelf I will not glory ^ but in mine Infir^
mities. Adding, Ver. 7. Left Ifhould be ex-
alted above Meafure, through the Abundance
of Revelations granted to me, there was given
to me a Thorn in the Flefh ; for this Thing I
befbught the Lord thrice, that it might depart
from me ; but inftead of removing it, he faid.
My Grace is fufijcient for thee ^ for my Strength
is made perfect . in Weaknefs. Mofi gladly
therefore will I rather glory in my Infirmities^
D d that

402 ^he gradual Workings

that the Power of Chriji may reft upon me,
T^herefore I take Pleafure in hifirm'tties -, i?.
Reproaches^ in Neceffities^ in Perfecutiom, in
Dijirejj'es.for Chri/l Sake i for when 1 am
weak, then am Iftrong. — When encompaf-
fed with external or bodily Weakneffes, then
I experience internal and fpiritual Strength.
My Brethren, tell me, do you think, that
either you or I (hould ever arrive at any
Thing truly noble and excellent, if we were
lexempted from all Hardftiips ? * But my Af-
^ flidions, are fo many, you will perhaps fay,
f and of fo difagreeable a Kind j and my
* Sorrows fo bitter and fo great — my Life
^ is rendered fo burthenfome and ufelefs — •
^ I have loft fuch dear and valuable Friends
f — Thefe Afflidions and Sorrows are too
? heavy and too great — Nor can I fee the
' Fitnefs or Ufe of them.' O Man ! Thou
little knows what is beft for thee ; nor what
thou needeft in Order to the complete Puri*
ty and Perfedion of thy Nature. But be
aflured, thy Afflidions are not unfit j nor are
they too many, nor too great j for this one
olain Reafon, becaufe the God of Provi-
dence, the Allrwife God, thy Heavenly Fa-
jber^ fees fit to exercife thee with them.

Th^s

and FroduB of AffliBkm, 40 j

This one Confideration fully proves, and clears Sermon
the Point. When ! O when, (hall we be wife ^^\a
and dutiful enough to leave the World and
Oarfelves, to the Providence and Govern-
ment of God ! We find even Father Jacoh^
with all his Jged Wifdom and Piety, crying
out, Jofeph is not, and Simeon is not ; all thefe
Things are againfi me-, but a little Time
convinced him of the contrary 5 that they
were all working together for his good.

Read the Hiftory, and confider the Ex-
amples of the moft renowned Saints 5 and
fay, if they did not meet with the heavieft
Afflidions — and were made perfeB through
Sufferings, Thefe are they that came out of
great Tribulations, Take, my Brethren, the James n
Prophets for an Example of fuffering AffliBi^ *°*
onst and of Patience — Behold we count them
happy which endure, Te have heard of the
Patience of Job, and havefeen the End of the
Lord ; that the Lord is very pitiful and of
tender Mercy. My Brethren^ count it all Joy, Chz^ A. il
when ye fall into divers Trials— ^ knowings that
the trying of your Faith worketh Patience ;
but let Patience have her perjeSl Work, that
ye may be perfeB and entire^ wanting nothing,
Thefe light AffliBions^ which are but for a
D d 2 Moment i

404 T/j^ gradual fVorkingi

Sermon Moment^ work out a far more exceeding and
^^__.,'_j eternal Weight of Glory j and will be found
unto Praifey and Honour, and Glory, at the
J^ppearing of Jefus Chrijt.

Lastly, Confider how neceffary It is,
Xhzifome Men fhould be eminent Sufferers,
in Order to difplay the Suffering Virtues,
and (hew forth the peculiar Power of Vir-
tue and Piety. And if God call you or me,
to this honourable Poft, let us not be anxi-
ous, but endeavour to adt our Part with Dig-
nity and Advantage. The Apojiles of Chriff,
Aasv.41. rejoiced, that they were counted worthy to fuf-
fer Shame Jor his Name. * When the Fa-

* ther of All, intends to raifs up great and
' exemplary Charaders for the Benefit of

* the World, he makes them to appear glo-
' rious by their Sufferings. Paffing by there-

* fore the Weak and Worthlefs, who would

* fink uflder the Weight of Adverfity, and

* calling forth the noblcll Souls, we may

* imagine him thus revealing to them the

* Intention of his Providence. * 1 know, and

* love your fmcerc Righteoufnefs ; but it is
' rcquifite for the good of Mankind, which

* is not to you a Matter of Indifference, that
/ Jhcy {l:iould know it too — nor can they

' know

and Product of AffllSliom . 405

' know it, unlefs they obferve it tried with Sermon

* Afflidions, 1 will therefore produce you ^ _'_,

* upon a Theatre, where in View of the

* World, you (hall conflift, fome of you with

* Poverty, and others with Pain, and others

* with Death, in its moft frightful Forms.

* Come, and fhew the Vigour of your Minds
' — fet before them Examples of an Integri-

* ty, which they cannot but fee — and which
' they cannot fee without Admiration : And

* by a noble Sufferance, convince both your
« own, and fucceeding Ages, that Virtue —

* compleat and genuine Virtue and Fiety^ is

* quite invincible*/ Thus glorify God in the
Day of your Vifitation, and the Glory {hall re-
dound to your own immortal Happinefs and
Honour. I have thus endeavoured to fliew, in
the Application of this Subjed, what Appre-
henfions good Chriftians (liould form of all
fuch afflictive Providences as are allotted to
them, and how our Hearts fliould be affect-
ed with them. Inflead of being difmayed,
we (hould rather glory in Tribulation^ and re-
joice that we are (ingled out, and counted
worthy to fuffer in the Caule of God, and
in tjje Service of our Generation.

I SHALL

* Mr. Holland's, Sermons, Vol. I.Page 334.

40 6 ^he gradual Tforktngs, &c.

Sermon I SHALL now conclude wIth the Apoftle's
^^^^' f fervent and affedlionate Prayer for you all.
Eph. ilu For this Caufe 1 bow my K?2ees, unto the Fa"
*''■• ther of our Lord Jefm Chriji^ of whom the

whole Family in Heaven and Earth is named.
That he would grafit youy according to the
Riches of his Glory ^ to be Jirengthened with
Might by his Spirit^ in the inner Man -, that
Chrifi may dwell in your Hearts by Faith :
That ye, being rooted and grounded in Love,
may be able to comprehend with all Saints,
what is the Breadth, and Length, and Depth,
and Height ; and to know the Love ofChrifl,
which pajjeth Knowledge, that ye might he
filled with all the Fulnefs oj God. Now unto
him that is able to do exceeding abundantly,
above all that we can ajk or think, according
to the Power that worketh in us, unto him be
Glory in the Church, by Chrifi Jefus, through*
cat all Jges, World without End* Amen,

FINIS.

ADVERTISEMENT.

N, B. The Seven Firft Sermons in this
Volume, may be had feparate, under this
Title, viz. Advice and Encouragement to
Parents y Children^ and Toung Men. Price
Two Shillings,

BOOKS Printed and Sold by J. Waugh in
Lombard-Street.

SERMONS on various Subjeds. And Prayers fuited
to feveral Occafions. ^y the late Reverend Mr. John
Holland^ Author of two Sermons on Intemperance. Two
Volumes 8vo. Price bound los.

The Following by John Taylor, D. D.

I. The Hebrew Englifli Concordance, adapted to the
Englifli Bible J wherein all the Words in the Hebrew Bi-
ble, both Roots and Derivatives, declinable Words and
Particles, are ranged in proper grammatical Order, after
Buxtorf's Method: Together with all the Texts in the
Bible, where every declineable Hebrew Word is found,
quoted in the common Way, under that Word ; and alfo
all the various Renderings of it in the Englifh Tranflatiori.
Two Volumes Folio. Price bound 4I. 4s.

II. A Paraphrafe with Notes on the Epiftle to the Ro-
mans. To which is prefixed a Key to the apoftolic Wri-
tings, or an Effay to explain the Gofpel Scheme, and the
principal Words and Phrafes the Apoftles have ufed in defcrib-
ing it. Quartoj The Third Edition. Price bound los. 6d.

III. A Defence of the common Rights of Chriftians,
and of the Sufficiency and Perfedion of Scripture, without
the Aid of Human Schemes, Creeds, and Confeflions.
The Second Edition. Price is. 6d,

IV. The Scripture Doarine of Original Sin, propofed
%o free and candid Examination. In three Parts. The

Third

Books printed and fold, &c.

Third Edition, with large AdditFons. To which is ad-
ded, a Supplement, containing fome Remarks on two
Books, viz. The Vindication of the Scripture DoSirine of
Original Sin, and The Ruin and Recovery of Alankind.
Price bound 6s.

V. The Scripture Dodrine of Atonement, examined ;
firft, ill Relation to Jcwifh Sacrifices, and then, to the
Sacrifice of our blefled Lord and Saviour Jeius Chrift.
Price 2s.

VJ. The Lord's-Supper explained upon Scripture Prin-
ciples, and adapted to the U(e of common Chriftians.
Price IS,

Vli. The Covenant of Grace, aijd Baptifm the Token
of it,, explained upon Scripture Principles. Price is.

VIJI, An Examination of the Scheme of Morality, ad-
vanced by Dr. Hutchefon^ late ProfelTor of Morality in
the Uijiverfity of Glafcow. Price is.

IX. A Sketch of Moral Philofophy ; or an EfTay to de-
monttrate the Principles of Virtue and Religion, upon a
jjcw', natural, and eafy Plan. Price is. 6d.

X. The Scripture Account of Prayer, in an Addrefs to
the DifTenters in LancaJ}nre\ occafioned by a new Lituray
fome Miniikrs of that County, are compofing for the Ufe
of a Congregation at Liverpool. The Second Edition. To
which is added. An Appendix, containing Remarks on
the Chrifiian Common-Prayer-Book, or Univerfal Litur-
gy, and its Preface, lately publifhed. Price is. 6d.

XI. A Citcchifm, or Summary of the Chriltian Re-
ligion, with Proofs from Scripture. The Second Edition.
Price 4d. Without the Proofs. Price 2d.

XII. The Importance of Children, or Motives to the
good Education of Children. Price 6d.

The Hiftory of the Life of Jefus Chrift, taken from the
N€w Teftament; with Obfervations and Reflexions pro-
per to iiluftrate the Excellence of iiis Character, and the
Divinity of his Million and Religion. By the late Reve-
rend George Benfon, D. D. To vwhich is added, Me-
moirs of the Life, Character, and Writings of the Au-
thor. Quarto. Price bound 17s.

At the fame Place may be had all the Dodor's other
Works.

aMS'

m

if - 'd

\t%

'2f

1^5%

^'

id

W

cb

LTtn

-^ij^uf

(M

/ #g.^

'7

i

.'^^- ■v

* / - /