Ver. 5,6. tending to Humble us. 2, Confider that in this frail condition, we have all great!, finned againfl God. So did lob. chap. 7. 20. Ihave finned, what (hall I do unto thee, O thou preferver of men ? 1f this contidcra- tion will not fiatisfie thy mind, yet it wi;l affuredly flop the mouths of all the Sons of men. Though all the Curfcs of the Law thould be executed upon gs,yet every mouth muff be flopped, becaufe all the world-is become guilty before God, Rom. 3. 19. And why _Mould a living man complain, faith the Prophet, Lamen 3.39. Why, it may be, it is b:caufe that his trouble is great and ìnexprefíible, and fuch as feldom or never b ell any before him; but what then, faith he, (hall a man complain againft the punifhment of his fins ? If this living man be a finful man, as there is none that liveth and finneth not, whatever his (late and condition be, he hathno ground of murmuring or complaint. For a fnful mán to complain, efpecially whileft he is yet diving man, is moll unreafonable. For, t. Whatever hath befallen us, It is jùí1 on the account that we are finners before God ; and to repine againtl thejudgements of God that are rendred evidently righteous upon the account of fin, is to anticipate the Condition of the damned in bell, a great part of whofe mifery it is, that they alwayes repine againft that fentence and punithment which they know to be moll righteous and holy. If this were now a place, if that were nowmy defign to treat of the fins of all profeffrrs, how eafiewere it to flop the mouths of all men about their trou- bles. But that is not my prefent bufinefs, I (peak unto parti- cular perfons, and that not with an efpecial defign to convince them of their fins, but to humble their fouls. Another feafon may be taken to press that Confideration, directly and pro- feffedly allo. At prefent, let us only, when our fouls are ready tobe entangled with the thoughts of any fevere difpenfation of God, and our own particular preffures, troubles, rzaileries occa- fioned thereby, turn into our (elves and take a view every one of his own perfonal provocations. And when we have done fo, fee what we have to fay to God,what we have to Complainof: let the man hold his tongue and let the finner fpeak. ,,-Is not God holy, righteous, wife in what he hath done ? and°'if hebe, why do we not fubfcribc unto his wayes, and Cubmit quietly unto his Will i? 2. But 393 4
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