LEst the sharpness and severity of our late af­fliction, which is not confined within the bounds of these Kingdoms, but sheds its influ­ence over the greatest part of Christendom, and takes them in for our Fellow-mourners;) Lest this (I say) should tempt us to murmur and re­pine, to exceed the just bounds of moderation and prudence, and to quarrel at the unsearchable dispensations of an all-good and all-wise Provi­dence; I have therefore chosen to entertain you at the present, with some such seasonable and use­ful meditations, as may direct us to be easie under the most grievous circumstances; and by a happy kind of Christian Alchymy, to turn Judgments them­selves into Blessings. And indeed, there is nothing in [Page 2]which men are more generally mistaken, than in the wrong Notions they usually entertain, con­cerning the various dispensations of Providence in this world: because Prosperity carries with it present Satisfaction, and is set off with a little Tinsel bravery, they are apt to magnifie and admire it; and are as prone to decry and vilifie Adversity, because it is accompanied with some sensible un­easinesses, and has no gay Pageantry to recom­mend it. Whilst men will thus take up with outsides and appearances, and suffer their Judg­ments only to play upon the surface of things, it will be hard to perswade them, That the for­mer of these is commonly a snare, being follow­ed by a train of most dangerous consequences; and that the latter is frequently a Blessing, being happily attended with considerable Advantages: Yet to him that examines things calmly and imparti­ally, this seeming Paradox will be evidently made out; and the Apostle will appear to have very good grounds, for exhorting all Christians to rejoyce and triumph, when they find themselves encompassed with manifold afflictions; not only to undergo them with such a stedfast firmness and serenity of mind, as some of the Heathen [Page 3]Philosophers applauded and attained to; but to carry their Resignation to a pitch much higher, to which nothing but Christianity could ever yet arrive, by finding just matter of Joy and Con­solation, in those misconstrued occasions of Sor­row and uneasiness: My Brethren, says he, count it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations.

The words afford us this single proposition, which I design for the subject of my following Discourse, namely, That whatsoever afflictions may at any time befall us, if we consider them duly as Christians should do, they afford just matter of Joy and Consolation.

The truth of this assertion will undeniably ap­pear, from these three following considerations.

First, From the Nature of our Temptations or Afflictions.

Secondly, From Gods design in Exposing us to them.

Thirdly, From the Consequences which attend them.

First Then, from the Nature of our Tempta­tions or Afflictions it will evidently appear, that whensoever they befall us, if we consider them [Page 4]duly, as Christians should do, they afford just matter of Joy and Consolation.

Indeed, if we are unassisted by Grace and Re­ligion, if we are left to our selves to wrestle with afflictions, the Natural Man is unable of himself to extract Honey out of Wormwood, or to make such Bitter Potions become sweet and palatable; but if we bring them to the Bar of Religion, and try them by the Laws and Maxims of Christiani­ty, we shall find all their uneasiness to drop off and fall away, and to be happily succeeded by comfort and satisfaction. All those troubles and afflictions which touch men most sensibly, and are the most likely means to disturb and discom­pose them, may be reduced under these six heads; The Loss of Reputation, the Loss of Riches, the Loss of Liberty, the Loss of Friends or of Relations, the Loss of Health, and the Loss of Life: Under these may be comprehended all manner of Temptations; and if we examin them severally and distinctly, we shall see this Doctrine verified in each particular of them, that they afford us just matter of Joy and Consolation.

I. Then as to the Loss of Reputation; This indeed is looked upon by the Natural Man, as a [Page 5]very sharp and grievous misfortune; it makes him mean and contemptible in the eyes of the World, to which he chiefly desires to recom­mend and approve himself; it exposes him to slights and disrespects; all men shun and avoid his society, as if his Infamy were infectious, and think it base and scandalous to be seen to converse with him: he is the common theme of abusive Tongues, the mark of malicious Eyes, and the putting forth of the finger; and the best that he can hope for, is to be so far despised, as at length to be forgotten and disregarded: This is a con­dition which seems so deplorable, that we have reason to call Christianity to our aid, to enable us to support it with any tolerable satisfaction; but how soon will that plain all the roughness and unevenness, and make this rugged prospect appear smooth and level! That will represent to us, That Credit and Reputation in this world, are generally the portion of the children of it; That if we were of this world, the world would love us, and speak well of us; That all the malicious Reflections it can cast upon us, are but so many proofs of our estrangement from it; and shall we then be sor­ry, that the lot is fallen to us in a fairer ground, [Page 6]and that we are entitled to a more goodly heritage? For this very reason it is, that our Saviour com­mands us to rejoyce and be exceeding glad, when men revile us and persecute us with their Tongues, and speak all manner of evil against us, because this was the condition of good men in all ages, so dealt they with the Prophets which were before us; a Christian will consider when he is thus afflict­ed, that he either suffers by his own fault, or by that of others; if by his own, he may be sorry for his fault, but ought to rejoyce and tri­umph in his sufferings; since these are his at­tonements to God for his offences, and the means of removing his anger from him; if his Credit is impaired by the fault of others, he will pity and forgive his malicious Enemies, and rejoyce in the opportunity of exercising his Cha­rity: were he too much wedded to worldly ap­plause, it might engage him to conform himself to the fashions of this world, to make Fame and Reputation the end of his actions, and to termi­nate his desires and expectations there; and there­fore he has all imaginable reason to rejoyce, that the world does not use him well enough to make him grow fond of it; he will satisfie himself [Page 7]with the sense of his own Innocency, till God shall think fit to vindicate his Reputation; and shall establish his Credit with his own Euge, with a well done good and faithful Servant, before the whole Theatre of Heaven and Earth. Thus will the good Christian comfort himself under the Loss of Reputation, rejoycing in the mean time that he is made like unto his Saviour, who was despised and rejected, slander'd and reviled; yet chearfully committed himself to God, who judges Righteously. But

Secondly, As to the Loss of Riches: These are much dearer to most men than their Repu­tation, and therefore the loss of them is more tedious and insupportable. To these the Natu­ral man is indebted for all the pleasures and con­veniencies of Life; for the gratifying of his Sences, and the pleasing of his Lusts; and for such a man to be deprived of his wealth, is to lose that upon which he has his only reliance, for making his Life comfortable and delightful; this is the purchaser of all his Enjoyments, the grand purveyor that makes provision for the flesh; neither can feast his appetites, nor keep up his grandeur, nor preserve his esteem, [Page 8]if this great support of them all be once remo­ved: The Epicure must fast from his delightful Entertainments, and the profuse Indulging of his sensual appetites; the Ambitious must be stripped of his numerous Train, and the expect­ing croud of bare-headed Clients; the Vain glo­rious must part with his darling Applause, and that Incense of Praise which was offered daily: All these were the inseparable Companions of their Riches, and therefore will not fail to drop off with them: and how miserable must the condition of that man be, who has no taste of any pleasures but what this world affords, and is at once dispossessed of all the Enjoyments of it! But if we turn the Perspective, and look upon Riches with the Eye of a Christian, how little will these magnified objects then appear, and how truly will they shrink to their own narrow dimen­sions! He puts not his trust in uncertain Riches, and therefore loses not his dependance when they make themselves wings to fly away from him; he considers that they are nothing but a little Earth, which the Sun has put a price upon by giving it a colour; that they are clogs and in­cumbrances to the aspiring Soul, which cannot [Page 9]so easily take its flight, and raise it self to Hea­ven, with so much dross about it: he is glad that he is freed from those grand incentives to carnal pleasures, those harbingers of Sin, and in­struments of Destruction; That the snare is re­moved which is so usually an occasion of falling; and that wealth placed out of his reach, which is oftentimes laid out to buy Repentance: If his Table is adorned less plentifully or artificially, he is thereby less liable to intemperance and ex­cess; if the croud of visitants is not so great as formerly, he is thereby less exposed to Vanity and Pride; if he finds less respect paid him now than before, he thereby learns how slight a foundation the worldling builds upon, and is taught to en­deavour at more durable advantages: Thus does he make his loss beneficial to him, by improving in Godliness, which is the greatest gain; he has learned (with the Apostle) in whatsoever state he is, therewith to be content; and therefore knows how to be abased, as well as how to abound; how to suffer need, as well as how to be full: In a word, he can bless the Lord with Job, for reducing him to that state, in which he came into the world, and in which he must go out of it; and who by withdrawing [Page 10]the conveniencies and advantages of this Life, has happily obliged him to contend for a better. But

Thirdly, As to the Loss of Liberty: Reputati­on and Riches are things independent of us, and for which we must be beholding to something without us; but Liberty is the Birthright of eve­ry man, we bring our title to it into the world with us, and the loss of it is a most sensible af­fliction, to him that considers it as a Natural Man. To be shut up from all delightful society, and to converse with nothing but Walls and Grates; to forego all our pleasing Assignations, our divertive Journeys and entertaining Walks; to be wholly confin'd to the narrow prospect which a Prison window can afford us, and to be blind in a manner to all the world besides; to see no grateful vicissitude of Seasons, no chear­ful variety of the works of Nature: Nay, per­haps to be Fetter'd and Chain'd down to the ground, as if we were one piece with the Earth we lie upon, and were growing again to our ori­ginal Clod. These are considerations sufficient to distract any one, that is not furnished with the assistances of Grace and Religion; but let us reflect upon them according to their Dictates, [Page 11]and we shall find the case to be very different: Those Walls and Bars which shut in the Christian, shut out the temptations and allurements of the World, and are rather his defences than impe­diments; to him, his Prison is his bulwark, that secures him from those enemies, which would else press in upon him; his mind, whose freedom he only values, enjoys by this a greater liberty; it has nothing to obstruct, or to divert its flight, but can range in contemplation, without the least disturbance; his Body indeed is shackled and confined, but does not that it self fetter and tye up his Soul? and therefore he that has put that under restraint, has only made a prisoner of his Goaler. How well may he rejoyce, that his time is all his own, that he is freed from the necessity of imper­tinent visits, from the dangerous temptations of idle Company, and has leisure to take himself to task without any interruption, and to try and examine the very bottom of his Heart! how in­timate a communion may he keep up with God, who is secured against all things that may with­draw him from it! and how happily may he con­vert a Dungeon into a Temple, by making it the house of Prayer and of Praises, and having it con­stantly [Page 12]Illuminated with the light of Gods coun­tenance! Thus will the Christian turn this afflicti­on into matter of Joy; since the confinement of his Body is the enfranchisement of his Soul, and gives that opportunity to act with greater free­dom. But

Fourthly, as to the Loss of Friends and Re­lations. This is a Calamity extremely piercing, and which seems to justifie a sensible concern; because it appears to act generously on the ac­count of others, and does not openly discover that Principle of Self-Love, to which however it truly owes its beginning: When this affliction surprizes the Natural Man, he judges himself without Comfort, because without Remedy; lost Reputation may be re-established, lost Riches may be Recovered, lost Liberty may be Regained, but the loss of a Friend or Dear Relation, is be­yond all possibility of being Retrieved. Must he never more enjoy that delightful conversation, that agreeable commerce and familiarity with his Friend? Shall he never more be blessed with the tender caresses of his careful and indulgent Parents? Must he for ever be banished from the charming society of his Wife, and the pretty dal­liances [Page 13]of his hopeful Children? are they passed into the Land from whence they never must re­turn? and has the inexecrable Grave shut its Mouth upon them for ever? thus will he com­plain in the anguish of his Soul, who has no o­ther Antidotes against so great a misery, but what bare humane reason is capable of administring; he sees nothing beyond the Grave; Death and the Pit terminate his prospect; and therefore make up an object all black and melancholly. But the Christian, whose Eye can pierce much farther, who can look through this Darkness into the land of Light, considers his departed Friends with joy and satisfaction: He knows they have got the better of the exchange by being taken out of a miserable World, to be admitted into a state of Happiness and Perfection; he prefers their ad­vantage before his own enjoyments, and rejoyces at their removal into bliss, tho he pays dearly for it by his own want of them; he looks upon them as so many Harbingers which are gone before him to prepare his way; he longs to be dissolved, and to go to Christ and them, but cannot be so selfish or uncharitable, as to wish them back a­gain with him; he is glad that his Companion [Page 14]is in a better Society, and that his Friend is pre­ferr'd into an Angel; he considers that they are got out of the prison of the Flesh, and cannot repine at their Releasement, tho he is still forced to drag the Chain, and bear about him his earth­ly Fetters; he has nothing so Dear, which he can­not resign to God, or which he can desire to be better disposed of; he reflects upon the mortality of their condition, and by daily meditating that they must once dye, he is enabled to acquiesce in it whensoever it happens: And since he is certain that God orders every thing for the best, he chear­fully submits to his dispensations, and joyfully concurs with the workings of his Providence. Thus will the Christian comfort himself, for the loss of his Friends or his dear Relations, by con­sidering that they are in the hands of a merciful Creator, and letting his own loss be swallowed up in the just consideration of their advantage. But

Fifthly, as to the Loss of Health. This is an Affliction of such extraordinary sharpness, that it was reserved by the Tempter, as his last Engine, to batter down the constancy of righteous Job; when he had stood the loss of his Substance, and Relations with an unshaken patience, yet this he [Page 15]supposed would shock his Resolution: Skin for skin, says he, yea all that a man hath will he give for his Life; but put forth thy Hand now, and touch his Bone and his Flesh, and he will curse thee to thy Face. And indeed this maxime (tho uttered by the Father of lies,) carries too much truth with it in Relation to the natural man; for, can any object be more lamentable, than to see such a one confined to his sick Bed? to see all outward Comforts withdrawn from him, and nothing within to support or sustain him? when his very Bed becomes a Rack, and he lies there, as if stretcht upon the Engine of his Torture; when an Ague chills his Blood, and turns it into Isicles, or a Fever makes it glow like Liquid Fire; when his Body is covered over with Rottenness and Putrefaction, and Coruption has taken possession of it on this side the Grave! how will he then roar for the disquietness of his Soul, and knows not whether to apply himself for Ease and Re­freshment! Comfort is as much a stranger to his heart, as sleep is to his eves; and the words of consolation are as tasteless and insipid, as Musick to his Ears, or rich Wines to his Palate: But to him who has the art of sanctifying afflictions, and [Page 16]of breaking their force by a Christian Resignati­on, all things will put on another semblance: Sickness, to such a man, is but a different way of mortifying the flesh, which must otherwise have been done by humiliation, abstinence, and such other methods of self-denial; a means to make us weary and out of conceit with this world, to which we are wont to be too fondly devoted: It is a mark of Gods care and paternal love, the correction of a tender and indulgent Father; a sign that he has not utterly cast us off, but is willing to draw us to him by one way or other. Here it is that the Christian disengages himself wholly, from the blandishments and allurements of this present Life; that he gets loose from eve­ry thing that stands between him and heaven, and shakes off all the hinderances of his Union with God; his vigorous Soul is just upon the wing, and waits impatiently for death to give it its general discharge; and while he is thus pant­ing and longing after God, God cannot be sup­posed to absent himself from him; he makes his bed in all his sickness, supplies with his own pre­sence all other advantages, and by the comforta­ble Refreshings of his Spirit, he causes him to hear [Page 17]of joy and gladness, and makes the bones which he hath broken to rejoice. These Considerations will support the Christian under the great temptation of sickness and infirmity: Since he is then but treading a rougher path to happiness, and is still upon his way towards God and Heaven, though the circumstances of the Road may be tiresome and uneasie. But,

Sixthly and lastly, As to the Loss of Life. This is to the Natural Man the most distracting and confounding of all afflictions; it for ever puts an end to all his enjoyments; it divorces him from the world, to which he is fastened and rivetted by all the ties of Interest and Inclination; for all the beauteous entertainments of his Senses, it only presents him with a universal blank; it tears him from his Possessions, his Friends, and his Relations; he must now leave all the engaging en­tertainments, all the agreeable societies and diversi­ons, to which he has been accustomed and familiar from his Cradle; and has no prospect of any suitable compensation for them: To such a Man as this, Death comes arrayed in all his pomp of terror; if he looks upon this world, which he is about to take leave of, he finds that he is parting with [Page 18]his dearest Companion, the delight of all his sences, and the comfort of his soul; if he looks upon that world which he is about to go into, he has made no acquaintances there, secured no interests, engaged no friendships to make his future abode delightful and agreeable; if he is so stupid and inconsiderate, as to have no pros­pect of the misery that awaits him, yet at best he sees nothing before him, but darkness and con­fusion, a Land of Silence, where all things are for­gotten: But the dying Christian who examins things duly, finds sufficient cause of triumph and rejoycing; he has no such intimate engagements with the world, as may render it insupportable to him to part from it; he has nothing of Earth to hang heavy upon his Soul, or to weigh it downwards to this dull center of corruption; it is long since that the world and he took leave of one another, he has a long time been dead unto that, having mortified his members which were upon the earth; he can have no regret for parting with that, of which he never entertained any tolerable good opinion, all whose advantages he hath found to be but Vanity, and all its entertainments Vex­ation of Spirit: Nay, he reflects upon what he [Page 19]is to leave with comfort and satisfaction; he parts with nothing but an inveterate Enemy, which has all his Life long been endeavouring to destroy him, has still put stumbling Blocks in his way to Heaven and Happiness, and has been misleading him from the Paths of everlasting fe­licity; the warfare is accomplished, the difficul­ties overcome, with which he has always been obliged to encounter, and he is now going to receive the reward of his labours; he is lying down in Peace to take his rest, with assurance of waking to a Joyful Resurrection; and that King of Terrors appears no otherwise to him, than as a grim Messenger that comes upon a welcom Er­rand, or a rough gust of Wind, that blows him into the harbour. After this manner will the serious Christian disarm Death it self of its Sting and of its Terror, by reflecting on it, as the passage out of a troublesome World, and the en­trance into another of eternal felicity.

Thus have we viewed the different aspects, which the several most grevious Temptations put on, according to the various ways in which they may be considered; and we may from hence conclude, that however frightful they may ap­pear [Page 20]to the natural man, yet to the thoughtful Christian they are matter of Comfort; and if we seriously reflect upon the nature of afflictions, we have just reason to count it all Joy, when we fall into divers temptations. But

Secondly, from the consideration of Gods de­sign in exposing us to afflictions it will evidently appear, that whensoever they befal us, if we re­flect upon them duly as Christians should do, they afford just matter of Joy and Consolation.

Afflictions are often thus expressed by the name of Temptations, because they are tryals which God vouchsafes us with a gracious inten­tion of promoting our advantage: for either he sees something in us which ought to be corrected, and then God lays his heavy hand upon us, in order to make us reflect upon our errors, and consequently to qualifie our selves for pardon and forgiveness; or else he has a mind to exer­cise our faith and our patience, in order to fit us for the great recompence of reward; and both of these designs are so very beneficial, that they are abundantly sufficient to make us rejoyce, in the midst of our troubles and afflictions.

First then, God is sometimes pleased to chasten and correct us, in order to our amendment.

Whilst all things go on successfully with us, and we meet with no rubs in the course of our affairs, we are apt to be careless and neglectful of our duty; but when it pleases God to awaken us by adversity, we then begin to reflect upon our ways, to examin wherein we have offended, what particular transgression God is visiting us for, and what method we should take to regain his favour: It is good for me (says David) that I have been afflicted, that I might learn thy statutes; pi­ous as he was, and cautious of his ways, yet want­ed he sometimes such a severe Remembrancer; Before I was afflicted (says he) I went astray, but now I have kept thy word: It is the natural effect of prosperity, to make us secure, to kick with Je­shurun, to be puffed up and proud, and to say in our hearts who is the Lord? But when we are ex­ercised with tryals and afflictions, then we are induced to call upon the Lord, and to get our selves unto our Lord right humbly; then we are for putting away the accursed thing, for parting with every thing that sets us at enmity with him; for devo­ting to the slaughter our darling Iniquities, for bringing forth his enemies, that would not have him [Page 22]reign over them, and slaying them openly before his face: And this is one of the great ends which God aims at by afflicting; he does not delight to grieve the sons of men, he takes no pleasure in the miseries of his Creatures; but inflicts a less pu­nishment to secure us from a greater, and chastises us in mercy, to lead us to Repentance. And how then should he rejoyce, that is under these cir­cumstances, when he contemplates upon the ten­derness which God expresses herein? how ought he to kiss the Rod that is laid on with so kind and fatherly an intention? how chearfully should he endeavour to answer the blessed end of his in­flictions, that so God may be entreated to withdraw his heavy hand, who notwithstanding that he seems to hide his face from him, yet has not forgotten to be gracious, nor has shut up his loving kindness in displeasure. But

Secondly, God sometimes is pleased to chasten and correct us, for the tryal of our Faith, and the exercise of our Patience. It is easie to pretend that we will rely upon God, that we will put our whole trust and confidence in him, when nothing more is required to prove that we are real, but our own bare affirming that we are so; it is easie to believe that God will seed and cloath us, when [Page 23]our Faith is supported by a plentiful Estate; it is easie to believe that God watches over us, when we enjoy the great advantages of health and pro­sperity; but when God shall strip us bare of all these comforts; when hunger and nakedness, and sickness and adversity beset us round, then to have a Faith that is stedfast and unmovable in all these changes, this is praise worthy, and accepta­ble with God: we may think we are willing to depend upon him, but our hearts which are deceit­ful above all things, may delude us; and we can­not be sure of our own Integrity, till we have gone through a Temptation of this nature; he that has passed this fiery Tryal, and has been thus refined in the furnace of adversity, has then been examined by the truest Touchstone, and has suffi­ciently demonstrated that his Faith is not counter­feit. But as afflictions are sent for the Tryals of our Faith, so also are they for the exercise of our Patience: This is a Grace which can never be practiced but in the rough Tempests of Adversi­ty; it rppears (like the Rain-bow) only in Storms; but is, like that, a sign of Mercy, and the happy fore-runner of a Calm. When we are possessed of an influence of all things desirable, and have nothing that pinches or contradicts our humour, [Page 24]it is easie for us to comply with the will of God, because we find it so conformable then with our own; it is easie to be contented with the Divine dispensations, because our affairs are then carried on, as if we our selves had the disposal of them; but to have our wills resigned to Gods good plea­sure, when that thwarts all our Interests and all our Desires; to submit chearfully to whatsoever he imposes, how contrary soever to our own In­clinations; this is such a patience as becomes a Christian, and which God will not fail abundant­ly to reward: for this is another of his designs in visiting us with afflictions, to wean us from our selves, to break our stubborn wills, and bend them to the yoak which he would put upon us; and then he will take care, when this end is ob­tained, to make his yoke easie and his burthen light, and the brightest Crown of Glory shall be then set apart, to reward this faith and patience of the Saints. These considerations of Gods gracious designs in all his Inflictions, either to work our amendment by a sense of our unworthiness, or to encrease our recompence for the exercise of fresh graces, should buoy up our Spirits under all our Tribulations, and should forcibly perswade us to count it all joy, when we fall into divers temptations. But,

Thirdly and lastly, From the consideration of those consequences which attend our afflictions, it will evidently appear, that whensoever they be­fall us, if we meditate upon them duly as Chri­stians should do, they afford us just matter of Joy and Consolation.

A good Christian is always bettered by afflicti­ons, he is improved by sufferings, and made per­fect through tryals; he is purified (like Gold,) by passing through the fire, his dross is purged away, and his value made unquestionable: Pride, which was the destruction of our humane Nature, can find no place in the midst of Sufferings; and Hu­mility, which is the Ground work of all Christian Graces, is most successfully advanced and culti­vated by them; when the heart is made soft and tender by adversity, then is our Charity most likely to be enlarged, and we are never more apt to compassionate our Brethren, than when we our selves are objects of Pity: This gives us a fellow­feeling of the miseries of others, and convinces us how inhumane it is to be unaffected with them, by the sence which we have of the bitter­ness of our own: This withdraws our dependance from the things of this world, and makes us throw our selves for succour entirely upon God, [Page 26]because it gives us a sensible Experience, that he only is able to administer Relief; then is our hope most quick and lively, when it has so large a field to range in, and that we find our selves possessed of nothing but all things lye open to our expectations; then will the Flesh be most manageable and submissive, when all the De­lights and Entertainments of it are utterly with­drawn; then will the World be least able to se­duce us, when we are least involved in its be­witching vanities, and most fully estranged from its inviting allurements: Thus will afflictions re­frain our Souls, and keep them low, even as a Child that is weaned from its Mother; and a constant dis­position to Innocency and Purity, will be one happy consequence of these Temptations. But a greater consolation than any we have mentioned, is the blessed result of these Calamities, and of that devout temper which is produced by them; and that is the favour and protection of our God; if he takes away from us all other supports, it is that we may fly to him only for succour and af­fistance; and what can more fully recommend us to a merciful Creator, than a view of the mi­series which his Creatures lye under, and that submiss frame of mind to which those have re­duced [Page 27]them? they have had their evil things in this world, and therefore shall (like Lazarus) be com­forted in the other; whilst those who (with the Rich Glutton) had their good things here, have, unless they have used them with extraordinary care, the less to expect of happiness hereafter. Blessed then are those that mourn, for they shall be comforted; their heaviness may endure for a night, but joy shall come to them in the morning; they may sow in tears, but they shall reap in joy; and he that now goes on his way weeping, and bears forth good seed, shall doubtless come again with joy, and shall bring his sheaves with him. These Considerations therefore, of the happy consequences which attend our afflictions, that they make us better in this world, and prepare us to be happier in the next, should powerfully engage us to count it all joy, when we fall into divers temptations.

Let us all then, in the name of God, whenever it shall please him to try us with afflictions, and par­ticularly in that heavy one which he has laid upon us at present, submit to them with that willingness and chearfulness of Spirit, that becomes professors of our most holy Religion; let us never be distract­ed as the Natural man is, who being destitute of the helps of Grace and Religion, finds nothing in them but sorrow and distress; but let us con­sider [Page 28]that other things are expected from us, suita­ble to the advantages we stand possessed of: Let us reflect upon the nature of them, as Christians should, and that under all their several circum­stances, whether loss of Reputation, of Riches, or of Liberty, of our Friends, our Health, or Life it self, and we shall find them to be matter of Joy and Consolation: Let us examin the design of Gods inflicting them, and we shall find them di­rected to those comfortable ends, of our being ex­emplarily penitent in this world, and eminently happy in that which is to come: Let us reflect up­on the consequences which necessarily flow from them, and they will appear to be these great ad­vantages of Constancy and Perfection in all Chri­stian Duties, and a reward proportionable to such performances: So shall we learn to value afflictions as we ought to sanctifie and improve them to our comfort and advantage, and to place them amongst the instances of Gods favour and affection; so shall we be qualified to count it all joy, when we fall into divers Iemptations. Consider what hath been said, and the Lord give you a right Understand­ing; To him, the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, three persons but one God, be ascribed all Honor, Power, Might, Majesty and Dominion, henceforth and for evermore, Amen.