DISCOURSE 1V. 1Og voice of Christ to every saint in sorrow, What I do, thou know- at not now, but thou shalt know hereafter ; John xiii. 7. I saw not then, saith the christian, that my Lord was curing my pride by such a threatening and abasing providence, that he was wean- ing my heart from sensual delights, by such a sharp and painful wound ; but now I behold things in another light, and give thanks and praises to my divine physician. We shall look back upon the hours of our impatience, anti he ashamed, we shall chide the flesh for its old repinings, when we shall shall stand upon the eternal hills of paradise, and cast our eyes backward upon yonder transactions of time, those past ages of complaint and infirmity. We shall then, with pleasure and thankfulnesss confess, that the Captain of our salvation was 'much in the right to lead us through so many sufferings and -sor- rrows, and we were much in the wrong to complain of his ,conduct. -Bear up your spirits then, ye poor, afflicted, distressed souls, who are wrestling through difficult providences all in the -dark, bear up but a little longer, he that shall come, will cone, and will not tarry ; 33eb. x. 37. he will set all his conduct in `a /fair light, -and you shall say, " Blessed be the Lord and all his government." Sixthly, That heaven should be so well filled, out of such a hell of sin and misery, as this world is, shall be another delight- ful reflection, full of wonder and glory. Take a short survey of mankind, how all flesh has corrupted its ways before God, and "every imaginàtión of the thought of mare's heart is only evil, and that continually ; Gen. vi. 5. 12. There is none righteous, no not one ; Rom. iii. 10. Look round about you and see how ini- quity abounds, violence, oppression, pride, lust, sensualities of all kinds, how they reign among the children of men : Religion is lost, and God forgotten in the world ; and yet out of this wretched world, Christ has provided inhabitants for heaven, where nothing can enter that defileth; Rev. xxi.'27. Look into your own hearts, ye sinners, see what a hell lies there, and ye converts of 'the grace of Christ, look into your hearts too, and see how many of the seeds of wickedness,still lie hid there ; how much corruption, and how little holiness ; look inward, and wonder,' that Christ should ever fit you for heaven by his con- verting and his sanctifying grace'. Look found the World again and survey the miseries of this earth as many calamities as there' are creatures, and perhaps ten trines 'snore : Who is there on earth without his 'sorrows 2 And sometimes -a multitude of them meet in one single suf- ferer r See how toil, and weariness, and disappointment, poverty and sickness, pain' and anguish, and vexation are distributed through- this world,- that lies on the borders of hell ; see all
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