THE PREFACE. r-r HE Firft Man by RebeUion iiJ,ainft his Ma(et, loft bii Innocence and Felicity, and con"i!eyed a fad lnherztance of Sm and Mz{ery to IJIS. Uniwrfal Progwy: B"i!er (ince it has been efieemed a przncipal part of Wi{d•m toprepare the Minds of' Men to encounter wzth mnumerabie B"Vils that Jurround them, and !o prefer1Je a well-ordtr'd contented ftat e of' Soul, when afJually under tbe greatest AffiirJions. .d/1 the famous Sophies of the World, the mojl celebral<d Proje.fJOrs of Patience, could not attam t~ thzs Sk._z/1. Tlmr corzfola" tory Difcourfes compojed lVtth Wzt and Eloquence, are lzke artr{iczal Fruus ofWax, that feem to jurpajs theprodufJion< of Nature, but can only pleafe the fight, and af ford no real refrefbment to the Tafte. Or, lik..e Rings ofSteel that are joined by the aitrafJi1Je "Virtue oftbe Loadfto3e, tbat '"ake a Cbam faiT to the B)'e, but of no jlrengtb and ufe. It was inexcufable Ignorance, their ~ot re{ol"Ving Temporal Ewls to tbm proper Original; the righteous Pro"Vidence of God. They erefJed a blmd and foolijh Power under tbe Title of FortwJe, to prrfule in this Sphere ofmutability: Tbey always boajl of theit playing a Priz:..e with Fortu>Je, and triumph o1Jtr a Phantome of their own Pli•.t. ' · '· 1 • Fi61ion. Tbis Conceit was botb tmpzous and UNComfortable ; tmpwus, to take tbe s.d ""'"m S.epter of G~11ernment from. God's ~and, and attribute to tbe foolifh Pleafure of Fo~- f:~;!~:~~i~;i tune, what ts ordered by !Jzs Pro"Vtdence : .dnd uncomfortable, for tbey fan(ied tbetr mo~.,,;, Deity to be bli11d, without difcerning betwun the wortby and unworth)·; and inexora- ~;':'.:;e~~:~ ble to tbe Complaints of the Injured, and the Prae;'1's of tbe Miferable. The corn- '· 3· ra011 Topickf from whence tlie1 hardned themfei"Ves are' That 110ne are exempted in :his open jlateJYom aJfizfling Accidents, the common tribute of Mankjnd : That 'tts in 1Jatn to flrug,gle with what iJ irrejijlible : That Deatb is tbe balm and clofe of ali B"Vils. And tbe beft of their moral Arguments for Patience under Sujjerings,.Jucb as the Dignity of tbe reafonable Soul; and thdt nothing inferior to tt jhould ha1Je Power, or zs worthy to put it into confujion; That Vertue is tbe noblejl PerfeDion, and is in~reas"d b! the moft difficult Bxercife; That 'tis _beft to yzeld up our fdw to the Dt1Jtne difpofal. Tbefe Arguments are wtth mjinzte more Advantage propounded in the Smed Scriptum : .dnd for Cbrijlian:r to attend to tbe lnjlruEiions of natural Reafon, and neglefJ the Dz1Jine Re"Velations of the Gofpel; is a Follv like tbat uf the filly Indians of Mexico, who ba"Ving plenty ofWax, the natural Work of tbi Bees, yet made uje of Firebrands to liJ.bt them in the Night , that a{f"ded a litrle Li~bt mix'd with a great deal of Sm,a/.;, lJritjly, Tbey bad but wa"Vering con" jeflures of the future State; and tbe Recompences tbereof; from whence are deriwd the mojl powerful Moti't>es of a8i1Je and pafF1Je Obedience to tbe commanding and difpo/ing WiU of God: But in tbe Scripture are laid dotvn tn the cleareft manner, and ll>tth infal".b/e .dj]urance, Jucb Prmciples as ar<_ effiDual to compofe the Mind to pattent Suj{ertnb and to meet wttb 1Jalzant Refolutton all tbe terrzble Contramtiei 111 tbe way to Hea1Jen. It declares; That Sin opened an entrance unto all the current -!dwrjitzes in the World, wbicb are the e1Jident Signs of God's Difpleafure againft zt. In anguz{h we are apt to difpute witb ProlJidence~s a11d an ima_ginazion of lnnoenci N n ki;lii/ii
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