J86 In what things rasuat the ufe Moderation, Serm. 16, fo will I dp & fay,Sorzl,thoot haft goods laid up for many ye,trs,tal a thine eafe,eat, drink,anei be merry : He is nor only ftigmatized for afoot, but this nigI r fhall thy fowl be required of thee follows, Luk. z.1 g,zo. Nay, if t he wicked fervant begin to eat and drinktvith the drunken, his Lord will come unexpeddedly, & cut him of under,and appoint his porti n with the hypocrites, ltlatth.z4.49,5 t. How great then this fin ìs,Gods judg. merits being always.qual& proportioned to our off nces, what flight thoughts foever we may have of ir,you cannot but by ih.fe Examples perceive Nay rather what a big bellyd montier is it? Full of many dead- ly fins,full of Acheifn,unbelief,idolarry carnal fecurity,prefering thefe things before God,Chrifi,heaven and happines.Take h ed and beware therefore herein, left: while they fpeak th.e fair, they wound thy heart. 2. Towards the evils of this life ; 1. We musi moderate our fears of thefe befalling us, according to the good they threaten to deprive :mot. Ai we muff not fear thefe groundleffy,fo when there is jufìcaufc, and ap: parent danger,wefhould not bef_nfelefs,and fecure, nor fear all alike, or over- fear any.Scurity is the fore runner to del}ruc`ion,iThef.S3 which thefe fhould awake us out òf,but notfo affeii us, or affright us, as to put us pall our (elves and our duty ; when the form threatens us, we muff nor, with Jonah, be afl p, but praying and endeavouring, as the poor Marriners, for prefervat ion ; Or as the Difciples, L rd, fate su, we perilh, though they were too fearful!, in regard of Chrifis being with them, who was fufficient fecuriry for their fafety. There is a provident fear, that opens cur eves to forefee dangers and qu ckens us in the ufe of lawful! means for their prevention; fuch was the good Patriarch yacobs, of Elam hisdearoying him and his company; that makes him pray, fend prefents to his brother, divide his bands, and ufe all prudent means of prefervation, Gen, 3 z. This we mu'f have, for fe- curity and putting far away the evil day, when God threatens us even with temporal judgments,ìs a gréat fin,and h ath a woe pronounced up. on it, Ames 6. whereas this makes us wifely ferve the providence of God. But then there is a diffident fear that diftrad}s us, and cuts all the nerves and finews of lawfull care and endeavours, that brings a fnare with it, (Prov.29.25 ) and often drives us upon unwarrantable means, or makes us 6c down in defpair. This we mull beware of, by a due moderating oeir fears according to the impendent evil, which muff be judged by its oppofite good. Not fearing all evils alike, tht lofs of fume wealth like the lofs of our health , becaufe health is the better good ; no nor all evils of the fame kind alike, not a Tertian Ague like the Stone, his by its exquifite pain, depriving us more of the natural comfort
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