Serra. CLXI. the troubles of life. 401- of ftupidity, fo that bìa heart died within him, and he became as a ffone; and in in a few days he died of that grief 2. We are not to be troubled for prefent afflictions and fufferings to the degree of impatience and difcontent , fo as to fret and murmur in our hearts againft God, and to charge him foolifhly, as if he dealt hardly with us, and had not a due regard for us, and an equal confideration of our cafe. For we are all (inners, and always deferve to fuffer, and therefore whatever temporal evils befal the belt Men in this world, they are always lefs than their iniquities have deferved: and yet Men are very prone to cenfure and find fault withGod, for the Evils and Ca- lamities which they draw downupon themfelves. So Solomon obferves, Prov. 59. z. The fbolifinfs of man perverteth his way; andhisheart fretteth againfl the Lord. We fuffer for our own fins and follies, and then are angry with God becaufe we fuller. God is angry with us for our fins, and when he is angry with us, and lifts up his hand agai7ji us, it becomes us to humble our (elves under his mighty hand ; for who canfland before himwhen once he is angry? But we have no caufe to fret againít him, for the evils which we bring upon our felves: befides, that fretting is not the way to relieve and cafe us, but to vex and gall us the more. g. As to the fear and apprehenfion of futureevils, tho' we ought to have a juil fenfe of them, yet we ought not to be dejected and troubled for them to the de- gree of defpondeney, fo as to conclude our felves miferabie and forfrken, utterly loft and undone, and that our cafe is pall all help and remedy : we fhould not be fo deje&ed, as if we were deftitute of all comfort; and utterly without hope. Hope lies at the bottom of the worft condition ; for while we are not without God, we can never be without hope; fo long as the Government of the World is in fo good hands, our cafe can never be defperate; and therefore we ought to rebuke the de- fpondency ofour fpirits, as David did, Pfal. 43. 5. Why art thou fo call down, 0 my foul ? and why art thou difquieted within me ? Hope in God. And we fhould fupport our felves in our greateft dangers and fears, as he did, Pfal. 3. r, 2, g. Lord, how are they increafed that trouble me? how many are they that rife up againfl me? Many there be which fay of my foul, There is no help for him in God. But thou, 0Lord, art a fbbield for me, my glory, and the lifter up of my &ad. And this caufe of trouble upon the fear and apprehenfion of future evils, was the cafe of the Difciples; who were mightilydejected and difturbed, upon the ap- prehenfion of the deflitute condition they fhould be in upon our Saviour's depar. turc from them ; that they fhould be expofed to a malicious World; without all manner of proteltion from thofe innumerable evils and dangers which threatned them. And this I ¡ball have molt particular refped to inmy following Difcourfe, as being more particularly intended by our Saviour, and being one of the molt common caufes of trouble in this World. I proceed therefore in the Second place to confider, what force there is in the Remedy here prefcribed by our Saviour, to mitigate and allay our troubles, both in refped of our prefent e- vils and.fufferings, and the danger and apprehenfion of future evils, and to fup- port and comfort our minds under them. Let not your heart be troubled; ye be- lieve in God, believe alfo in me. In which words our Saviour prefcribes a double Remedy againft Trouble. Firfl, Faith in God, the great Creator and wife Governour of theWorld. Te believe in God, or, Believeye in God, to which he adds, in the Second place, Faith likewife in himfelf, the Son of God, and the Saviour of l 1em Te believe inGod, believe alfo in me. Not as if Faith in God were not a fuffrcient groundof confolation and fupport to our minds ; but to acquaint us, that a firm Faith in him who is the Son of God, and Saviour of the World, would very much tend to confirm and ftrengthen our troll and confidence in God ; as will clearly appear;. when I come to thew, what peculiar confederations of comfort and fupport the Chriftian Religion offers to us, beyond what the common light and reafon of Ivlánkind, from the confideration of theDivine Nature and Perfefli- ons,.does fuggefF to us. And to explain the full ftrength and force of thefe tire Confiderations, Idhall do thefe two things. F ff 2 Fir/l,
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=