love; it does not at all induce us to kiss the rod, and bless the hand which gives the blow. To the perfect goodness of God we must have recourse, before we can be thoroughly reconciled to, and fatisfied with, our fufferings; we may fee the neceffity of them from his power, but are convinced of the usefulness and advantage of them by his goodness only. It is this attribute which gives us patience, refignation, and love, for it is this which teaches us that God cannot take delight in the miferies. of his creatures, that he does not grieve us willingly, but in mercy, and that his difpenfations, however fevere they may fall, are indeed the refult of an Almighty Power, but of an Almighty Power acting according to the dictates of perfect goodnefs, and under the direction of unerring wisdom. God is of infinite knowledge and wisdom, he perfectly understands the VOL. IV. L nature nature of all things, with their qualities, powers, and circumftances; he thoroughly comprehends the refpects and relations of things one to another, the fitnefs of fuch and fuch means, to produce fuch and fuch ends, and therefore, as his goodness always inclines and his power always enables him to act for the good of his creatures, fo his wisdom fecures him from any error and mifapplication. Thefe confiderations muft naturally tend to fupprefs our complaints and confirm our patience; for as God is of infinite wifdom, goodness, and power, nothing can cloud his understanding, nothing can pervert or refift his will; and therefore in this we may rest satisfied, that God always knows what is for our good, and is always willing and able to afford it to us; and therefore therefore we may with the greatest security repose ourselves in him. Another motive to fubmiffion arises from a confideration of ourselves. We are God's creatures, and ought to be very thankful, that we are at all, and not to murmur that we are in no better condition. Shall the lump of Clay fay to the Potter who fashioned it, why haft thon made me thus or thus? Our condition here was not defigned to be completely happy, but to be intermixed with trayals, and troubles; we are in a state of probation, not of felicity. Sufferings are the neceffary lot of our nature; Our Saviour was made perfect by them; and as we ought to follow him in other respects, fo muft we expect to follow him in this alfo. Why should we repine then at the com mon burthen of our nature, why murmur at the juft and falutary difpenfations of Providence? efpecially confidering that we are finners, and as fuch, the very least of God's mercies is more than we deferve, the very fevereft of his inflictions is milder than our crimes in ftrict juftice demand; why then doth a living man complain, a man for the punishment of his fins? Laftly, let us confider the nature of the fufferings themselves. Great part of thofe afflictions which we place to God's account, ought in good reafon to be placed to our own. How many are poor through extravagance or indolence, how many fick through debauchery and intemperance; and fo with many other afflictions, which being withdrawn from thofe miferies we fo much complain of, would would reduce them more than at first view we could believe; and for those which remained, they would not appear so terrible as at prefent, if we would place the good which we undeservedly enjoy, against the ills which we deservedly feel; if we would confider how many perfons were in a worse state, rather than caft up our eyes to those who are in a better; if we would reflect on the quick and fudden tranfitions which we fee from affliction to comfort, even in those who seem the fartheft gone in mifery; and that even in the midft of our fufferings we may have the Arong confolation of hope; we may bear the prefent in expectation of the future, and not unreasonably believe, that as we ebb with the one tide, we fhall flow with the other. But fuppofing that our fufferings were as constant as they are fevere, that they were as confiderable in number as degree, and that |