On HE B R E w s XII. 5. tmiit tor Labour. In this Motion the Apoille in the 12th. Verfe exiJOrts them to lift up tbe J-J,mds that hang, down , and flrengthtn the feeble . Knees : !hat is! to en~?ll:~ge. and ftrengthen their Souls by a real be!Jef of the Prorrufes made to affitcted Chn!hans. 2 • Ir may refpec1 the lmking, and falling away of Ehe Soul like W:ater, being hope- · !cfS of overcoming Troubles. When Water ts frozen mto hard Ice, tt wtll bear a great Burden, b1.1t when 'tis di!folved and.melted, nothing is_weaker. So the Spirit of a Man , confirmed by religious Principles, tJ able to fuflain all hM lnfrmities. Si Jraflus illabitur Prov. ' '· <4' orbiJ if the Weight of the heavie£1: Affiic1ions fall upon lum, yet his Mind remains erect and unbroken, and bears them all with Courage and Con!1:ancy : But if through Impatience under Tribulation, and Diffidence in the Divioe Promifes, we fl1rink from our Duty, or rejec1 the Comforts of God m if they were fma/1, and not proportionable to the Evils that oppre!S us; thts ts to famt when we are rebuked by lum. The Caufes of this Defpondency are ufually; (r.) Either the kind of the Affiic1ion: when there is a Singularity in the i:afe, it in.: creafeth the Apprehcnfion of God's Difpleafure; becau[e it may fignify an extraordinary Guilt, and fingular Unworthinefs in the Per[on that fuffers; and upon that account, that Sorrow [wells fo high as to overwhelm him. ( 2.) The number and cfcgrees of Affiic1ions; when like thole black Clouds which in Winter·Days join together, and quite intercept the Beams of the Sun: So many Troubles meet at once, and deprive us of all prefent Comfort. Job lo£1: his Children by a fudden unnatural Death; and was tormented in all the Parts of his Body, and reduced from h)s rich Abundance to the Dunghil, and a Podherd to fcrape his Boils. Indeed his Heroical Spirit was fupportcd under thofe. numerous and grievous Troubles, but fuch a Weight were enough to [mk the mo!). ( 3.) The continuance of Affiictions. When the Clouds return afrer Rain, and the Life is a con!1:ant Scene of Sorrows, we are apt ro be utterly dejcc1cd, and hopelcfs .of Good. The Ffalmifl tells tts, All the Day long l bave been plagued, and cbaflened e-very pf,l. 73 · <4. Morning; and from thence was llrongly tempted to Defpair. (4-) Comparing their great Sufferings with the Profperity of thofe who are extreaf11~ lyvicious, inclines fome to Defpair. For not only .their prefent Evils are heightened, and more fenftbly felt by the Comparifon, but the profperous lmpiery of others tempts them to think there is no ju£1: and powerful Prov>dence that di!1:ributes things below ; and looking no higher than to Second Caufes, that are obvious to Senfe, they judge their State pa£1: Recovery. . The next tbing is to prove, that 'tis the Duty and Wifdom of the Affiic1ed not to Ill: Defpife the Cha!1:enings of the Lord, nor to faint under them. . Firjl, 'Tis their Duty carefully to avoid thofe E.xtreams, becaufe they are very di!ho' nourable to God. . , Faci;e;r;;d~~~:~i~~~f.;~a?~~~~:tna_~~l?:;\~fgsn~!~n.~f.Gz~;s Z,~ill~;; ~;;u~~~: Fur.thermore, we Jurue had Fathers of our Flejh which correEled us, and we g,a11e them Re11e: Heb. u. ,. ~e::;~~~f;~~:d"t~ ~;t;:u~~~e{;;;~~:o:;~:;~:~:; t:~~~~~a~~~;N~~o~n:a~:k~;:;~~ violable, to cxprefS the rca!le£1: Refpect to our Parents, · from whom we derive our Life and by who[c tender Care we have been preferved, and educated, altho' their Difciplin~ ~i;~~os:~~~t~~: ~ri~~~ft~:te,~h::'t~~~~~~:g~h~~~~~~,i~1~:. '":sn~~~1,r:;:r,~niti~~~= tal Spirit excels the infirm corruptible Flcfl1, proportionably !hould our Reverence to God, when he mo£1: !harply rebukes us, exceed our Refpec1s to our Earthly Fathers \~hen they correct us. The manner ~f the Apo!1:le's Exprellion is very fignificant, Shalt 1ve not much rather! If there be any Vital fpark of Confcience remaining in our Breafl:s if reafon be not wholly declined to Bruti!hnefS, we cannot do otherwife. ' 2. Fainting under Cha!1:enings reflects di!honourably upon God. 'Tis true in fome refpec1, thofe who are extreamly dejec1ed, are not .fo guilty as the De[pifers ; for ufually they acknowledg the Order and Ju!1:ice of his Providence. But that falfe Conception of the Father ofMercies, either that he willingly affiic1s the Children of Men, or that he hates them bccaufe he affitc1s them here, ts [o contrary to hts holy Nature, and injurious to his GoodnefS, the fpecial Charac1er of his Nature, that 'tis an equal Provoca- , Job. •· 9• tion, with the flightiog his Soveraignty. Yyyy
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