533' SAFETY IN THE GRAVE, CHISC. XI. keep thee in safety from the dreadful trials which perhaps. would overwhelm thy spirit. Sometimes in the course. of his providence '.he may' find it necessary, that Some, spreading calamity should overtake the place where thou dwellest, or some distressing stroke fall upon thy family, or' thy friends, buthe will hide thee under ground before it comes, and thus disappoint all thy fears, and lay every . perplexing thought into rest and silence. Reflection II. Let it be ever remembered, that the grave is God's hiding-place and not our own : We are- to venture into it without.terror when he calls us; but he does not -suffer us to break into it our own way without his call. Death "and.life are in the hands of- God, and be never gave the keys of them to mortal men to let themselves out of this world when they please, nor to enter into his hiding-place without his leave. " Bear up-then, 0-my soul, under all thy sorrows and. trials of this - present state till Godhimself shall say, It is. finished ;" John xix. 30. - till our blessed Jesus, who has the keys put into his hands, shall open the door of death, and give thee an entrance into that dark and peaceful retreat. It is a safe and silent refuge from the bustle and the noise, the labours and the troubles of life; but he that forces it open with his own hands, how will ho dare to appear before God in the world of spirits ? What will he answer, when with a dreadful frown the great God shall demand of him, " Friend, how earnest thou in. hither ?" Mat. xxii. 12. Who sent for thee, or gave thee leave to come ? Such a wretch must venture upon so- rash an action at the peril of the wrath of God, and his own eternal destruction. Our blessed Jesus, who has all the vast scheme of divine counsels before his eyes, byhaving the books of his Father's decrees put into his hands, he knows how long it is proper for thee, O christian, to fight and labour, to wrestle and strive with, sins, temptations and difficulties in the present life : He knows best in what moment to puta period to them, and to pronounce thee conqueror; Fly not from the field of battle for want of holy fortitude; though thy enemies and thydangers be ever so many, nor dare to dismiss thyself from thy appointed post, till the Lord oflife pronounce the word of thydismission. " Sometimes I have been ready to say withinmyself,. 2
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