ful and ready compliance with the will of God, and not in a froward preference of our own will or choice. It was part of our Saviour's excellent prayer, for his disciples, I pray notthat thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil1.' The business therefore of these is to let you papers see what are the helps to attain patience and Contentation in this world, that our paffage through it may be safe and comfortable, and agreeable to the will of God, and to remedy that impatience and difcontent which is ordinarily found among men; to teach men how to amend their lives, inftead of being weary of them; and to make the worst conditions in the world eafy and comfortable, by making the mind quiet, patient, and thankful. For 'tis the discontented and impatient mind that truly makes the world much more uneafy than it is in itself."

OF

AFFLICTIONS;

THE BEST PREPARATION FOR THEM,

AND IMPROVEMENT OF THEM,

AND OF

OUR DELIVERY OUT OF THEM.

JOB V. 6, 7.

ALTHOUGH AFFLICTION COMETH NOT FORTH OF THE DUST, NEITHER DOTH TROUBLE SPRING OUT OF THE GROUND:

YET MAN IS BORN UNTO TROUBLE, AS THE SPARKS FLY UPWARD.

JOB's friends, though in the particular cafe of Job they were mistaken, yet they were certainly very wife, godly, and obferving men; and many of their fentences were full of excellent and useful truths, and particularly this fpeech of Eliphaz, which importeth thefe two useful propofitions:

1. That the general state of Man in this World, is a State of trouble and Affliction; and it is fo common to him, fo incident to all degrees and conditions of mankind, that it feems almoft as univerfal, as that natural propenfion in the fparks to fly upwards; no perfon of whatfoever age, fex, condition, degree, quality, profeffion, but hath a part of this common ftate of mankind; and although some seem to have a greater portion of it than others, fome feem to have greater and longer viciffitudes and intermiffions and allays thereof than others, yet none are totally exempt from it; yea, it is rare to find any man, that hath had the ordinary extent of the age of man, but his troubles, croffes, calamities, afflictions, have overweighed and exceeded the measure of his comforts and contentments in this life.

2. That

2. That yet those Afflictions and troubles do neither grow up by a certain regular and conftant course of nature, as plants and vegetables do out of the ground; neither are they mere accidental and cafual, but they are fent, difpofed, directed, and managed by the conduct. and guidance of the most wife Providence of Almighty God: and this he proveth in the fequel of the chapter. And as in all things in nature, the most wife God doth nothing at random, or at a venture, fo in this part of his providential difpenfation towards mankind, he doth exercise the fame, with excellent wisdom, and for excellent ends; even for the very good and advantage of mankind in general, and particularly of those very perfons that feem moft to fuffer and be afflicted by them; fometimes to punish, fometimes to correct, fometimes to prevent, fometimes to heal, fometimes to prepare, fometimes to humble, always to inftruct, and teach, and better the children of men.

And indeed, if there were no other end but thefe that follow, this feeming Sharp Providence of Almighty God would be highly justified: namely, first, To keep men humble and difciplinable. Man is a proud, vain creature; and were that humour conftantly fed with profperity and fuccefs, it would ftrangely puff up this vain humour: Afflictions and troubles are the excellent and neceffary correctives of it, and prick this fwelling impoftumation of pride and haughtiness, which would otherwife render men intolerable in themselves and one to another. Secondly, To bring mankind to recognife Almighty God, to feek unto him, to depend upon him; this is the moft natural and fpecial effect of Aflictions, In their Afflictions they will feek me early!! The rough and stubborn mariners in a storm, will cry every one to his God". Thirdly, To tutor and difcipline the children of men in this great leffon, that their happinefs lies not in this world, but in a better; and by this means, even by the croffes and vexations and troubles of this world,

and by these plain and fenfible documents, to carry mankind up to the end of their beings. God knows thofe few and little comforts of this life, notwithstanding all the troubles and croffes with which they are interlarded, are apt to keep the hearts, even of good men, in too great love of this world. What would become of us, if our whole lives here fhould be altogether profperous and contenting, without the intermixture of croffes and Afflictions? But of these things more hereafter.

Now fince the state of mankind in this world is for the most part thus cloudy and ftormy, and that ordinarily we can expect it to be no otherwise, there are these confiderations which become every wife and good mind to acquaint himself with:

1. What preparation is fit to be made by every man before they come.

2. How they are to be received, and entertained, and improved, when they come, and while they are incumbent.

3. What is the best and safeft temper of mind when any of them are removed.

1. Touching the first of these, namely, preparation before they come; and the best preparatives seem to be these :

1. A right and found conviction, and confideration of this most certain experimental truth; namely, That no man whatsoever, how good, juft, pious, wife foever, can by any means expect to be exempt from them, but must be more or less fubject to Affliction, of one kind or other, at one time or another, in one measure or another; for man is certainly born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward. And this certain truth will be evident, if we confider the feveral kinds of Affliction that are common to mankind: And herein I fhall forbear the inftances which concern our childhood and youth as fuch, which yet notwithstanding are subject to Afflictions, that though they feem not fuch to men of

riper years, yet are as real and pungent, and deeply and fenfibly grievous to them, as thofe that feem of greater moment to men of riper years: But I fhall apply myself to those instances which are more evident, and of which those that have the exercise of their reafon may be more capable.

Afflictions feem to be of two kinds: 1. Such as are common calamities, befalling a nation, city, or fociety, of men: 2. Or more perfonal, that concern a man in his particular.

1. Touching the former of thefe, namely, common calamities, fuch as wars, devaftations, famines, peftilences, fpreading contagions, epidemical difeafes, great conflagrations: experience tells us, and daily lets us fee, that they involve in their extent the generality of men, good and bad, just and unjust, pious and prophane; and although the gracious God is fometimes pleased, for ends best known to himself, ftrangely to preferve and rescue, as it were, fome out of a common calamity, yet it is that which I do not know how any man can promise himself, though otherwise never fo pious and just, because I find not that any where under the Evangelical difpenfation God Almighty hath promised to any perfon any fuch immunity; and common experience fhews us, that good and bad are oftentimes. involved in the effects and extremities of the fame common calamity. And indeed it would be little lefs than a miracle, and fomewhat above the ordinary course of the Almighty's regiment of things, to give particular exception in fuch cafes. If a man receive any fuch bleffing from God, he is bound eminently to acknowledge it as a fignal, if not miraculous intervention of the Divine Mercy, but it is not that which a man can reasonably expect; because, although upon great and momentous occafions Almighty God is pleafed not only to give out miracles, but even to promise them alfo, as in the justifying of the truth of the Gofpel in the first publication thereof, yet it is not equal for any particular perfon to fuppofe, that for the prefervation of a

particular