SSCTION XXII. 49$ theheaviest burdens oflife ; but howunspeakably heavy and páin+ ful will these burdens lie upon a spirit wounded with a sense ofsin. .5. Let not your thoughts dwell continually upon your dis- tresses and afflictions. Suffer not thechambers of your soul to be ever hung round withdark and dismal ideas i Chew not always the worm -wood and thegall ; but remember the many temporal mercies you enjoy, and the rich treasures of grace in the gospel.. Survey the immortal blessings of pardon of sin, and eternal life ; the love of God, and the hope of heaven. Look sometimes on these brighter scenes; suffer not your sorrow to bury all your past and present comforts in darkness and oblivion. Thankful- ness is one way to joy. 6. Remember, ifyouare achristian indeed, the springs ofyour griefcannot flow long ; the hour of death will dry them all up, The last moment of this mortal life is a certain and final period to sorrow. Converse much among the mansions and joys of the invisible world, and your hope which is laid up there : The very gleamings of that glory which brighten the darkest providences, and relieve the soul under its sharpest pains. 7. Compare your miseries with your sins, and then you will think them lighter. You will learn then to bear your burdens with a more serene and peaceful mind, and turnyour sorrows into repentance for sin. But, alas ! we aggravateour sufferings, and extenuate and excuse our sins : Whereas sufferings would appear lighter, if we did but consider how much heavier evils we have deserved from,the hands of a holy andoffended God. 8. Compare your own afflictions with the afflictions of many others in former and latter times. The passion ofsorrow so un- reasonably magnifies your own sufferings, as though there Was never any case like it before : Whereas, perhaps, you suffer nothing but what is the common lot of human nature and shall thisoverwhelm you when there are many who have been loaded with uncommon distresses, and yet have sustained them with holy courage and patience. 9. Consider that sorrow is indeed an evil, that is, a natural evil, for it is the pain of the mind, and it is never desirable for itself, but only as it is a thing appointed for sinful creatures in this world, in order to teach us some lessons of righteousness, to wean us from the love ofcreatures, to embitter to us our sinful follies, and to drive us to someduty towards God or man : And if these ends be attained, sorrow should be dismissed, God doth not a flict willingly, nor grieve the children ofmen; Lam. iii. 33. 13'y the sorrowof heart and countenance, the heart itself is to be made better ; Eccles. vii. 3. If this be done, bless God, and rejoice. 10. Think on the many dreadful effects and consequences of excessive sorrow, where it is indulged beyond all reasonable grounds.-1. It takes away the sweetness and relish of all pre-
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=