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they were in, in a more loose and unconnected way. The Words of my Text are taken from that Part of the Epistle which is not strictly argumentative, and fo do not demand of us any Inquiry into their Scope or Connexion, but may be confider'd apart by themfelves, as containing in them a very useful and important Inftruction. I fhall therefore without any further Preface inquire,

Firft, Into the Nature of Hope and Patience, and feeing they are joined together by the Apostle into the Relation they may bear to each other.

Secondly, Into the particular Hope we are here commanded to rejoice in. And Thirdly, I fhall exhort you to hold fast and cherish this Hope.

First then, I fhall inquire into the Nature of Hope and Patience.

Hope

Hope is a chearful Expectation of fome future or distant Good; and Patience a calm and composed enduring a prefent Evil. By obferving the Course of things, the Revolutions of Events, we get acquainted with natural and moral Powers, and by recollecting what is past, we can reafon on by Analogy to what is future; and lay out a probable Scene in Futurity either agreeable or disagreeable to us. 'Tis in this manner we furnish our felves with the Materials of Hope and Fear, which are so many happy Gueffes or Conjectures of what may be to come, from our Experience of paft Events. Was Memory a bare Recollection of things paft, yielding us no Rule or Reafon whereby to judge of things to come, it would be a very barren and useless Faculty. Did Darkness close in upon every prefent Moment, our Lives would differ but little from those of Infects; we fhould go on VOL. II. with

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without Choice, Counsel or Design. But by recollecting what is past, we judge of what may be to come; we lay out Schemes of our future Conduct, and hope and fear, upon fome tolerable degrees of Probability. As to Patience, had we not a Power of compofing our felves under a prefent Calamity, we must neceffarily be borne down and crush'd by the firft Evil that fhould befal us; 'tis Patience that gives us the Power of considering the Circumftances of our Misfortunes, that points out the Remedy, and fhews us the End of our Suffering, and kindles a Hope of better things. When we lofe Patience, we forego the Ufe of all our beft Powers, we deliver our felves up to the Evil that invades us, we cannot judge rightly of any thing prefent or to come, but lofe the Poffeffion of our Souls. St. Paul tells us, that Tribulation worketh Patience, and Patience Experience, and Experience

Hope.

Hope. This is a plain and natural Account of the Procefs of the Mind from one of thefe to the other. In another Place he joins Patience and Hope in yet a nearer Alliance, where he fpeaks of the Patience of Hope; these Twin Powers do evidently fpring from the fame Fountain, and must increase or decline together. What is Patience without Hope? And again, What room for Hope without Patience?

Our Lives seem to be almost wholly taken up in these two Exercifes. The Goods of this World are fo mix'd and alloy'd, and difproportion'd to our Appetites, that when we get them into our Poffeffion, and fit down to the Enjoyment of them, we find our felves cheated by our too warm Expectations; we must rise again and fet Hope to work, we must beat out for fomething future, finding always that we rejoice more in Hope than we do in Fruition. Again, the 4 M 2 Evils

-Evils and Calamities of Life are fo many and that the Exercise of great, Patience is continually neceffary; and if our Pleasures call in Hope to their Aid, how much more do our Miferies? fo that almost all our Time is spent in Hope and Patience, our Enjoyments giving us but very few if any Avocations.

Hope is perhaps the most active and indefatigable of all our Powers ; tho' it brings home little to our Enjoyment but what proves a Delufion, yet it is not to be discouraged by all its Difappointments, but will immediately enter upon some new Pursuit. Hope will interpofe in the most gloomy Thoughts, and get above our moft reasonable Fears; we think it worth our while to fufpend all our other Powers to attend to this fond Deluder, and hope even against Hope. We know not how to diveft our felves of this affiduous Companion; the Mo

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