Cafh ifthi: Saint;, 5rat'e IV. ~ot according to meos opinions aho.utit. Howbeit, the faints can no more be altogether without hope, than they ca-n be altog-ether without faith. Their faith may be very weak_, bu t it fails not; and their llope very' low, yet they wil'l and do hope to the end. . Even wnile the godly feem to be carried away with the fire-am of doubts and fears; tlier~ remains fiiH as much hope as determines them to lay hold 'on the tree of life, that grows on the banks of the river; Jonah · ii. 4· Then ![aid., ' I am caji" ou.t of thj fight ': yet I wiil Joolt again iottuat; dJ thy holy Jemple. . ' Vs E. This fpeaksl comfort to the godly againR: the fear .oF death. A godlyman may be called a happy man before his .death j becaufe whatever befal him in life, .he fhall certain· ' ly be happy at death. You who ate in f;hr~li, who are . O:nu·e Chriftians, have hope in your end; and fuch a hope as rriay comfort you agaioft all tho{e ft:ars, which arife from tfie confideration of a dying hour. This I !hall branch out, in anfweriog foine cafes briefly. · CAsE I. 1he profpefl of death (will fome of the faints fay) iJ uneafy to me, not Rnorwing '"J)hat j/Ja/1 become Of ?nJ family ttvhen I am.gope. ANSW. The righteous hath hopo· , in his, death as to l.lis family as well as himfelf. Altho' yma have little for t~e prefent to Ii,ve. upon, ·which has be.t!n the cafe of many of God's chofen ones, r Cor. iv. t 1. We, namel'y the apofiles, ver. 9· both hunger. andthirfl, anJ are naked, tmd are buffeted, and have no certain d;wel/ing~ place; and tho' you_have nothing. to leave them, as was the cafe of that fon of t4e prophet's who didfear the Lord, and yet died in debt which he 'was unable to pay, as his pocr widow reprefents, 2 King I iv. r. yet you 'have agood friend to leave them to, a covenanted·God to whom you n! ay confidently commit them, Jer. xlix. N_. Leave thy father/eft children, I will preferve them qlive, , and let tk'f <Ividorws trufl in me. The world can bear witnefs of fignal · fett!erl)cnts made upon the children if providence ; fuch as by their pious pa-rents have been cafi upon God's providen* tial care. lt has beeQ often ' remarked, that they neither wanted. provi{ion nor education . Moju is an einihent in!lance "'f this. 1 He, albeit he was an outcafl: infant, {Exod. ii. 3-; ' yet was le-arned in all the rwi/dom ofthe Egyptiam, AClsvii . 2 2 . and became king in Jefourun, Deut. x-xxiii. 5• 0! may we
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