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Father's House are thy Longings and Delight; and as the Hart panteth after the Water Springs, fo doth thy Soul pant and thirst after me.

But

Pfal. xlii. as yet thou art not ripe for thefe Joys; that happy Hour is not come; for this Life is the Time of Warfare, and Action, and Trial, and not of Reft, and Joy, and Triumph; and thou must be content to wait with Patience, till the Kingdom of God fhall come in Perfection. The Condition of Mortals upon Earth, is that Exercife and Discipline; the Joys they feel are Comforts and Supports, not full and perfect Happiness; they are given not to fatisfy, but only to fuftain them. And therefore receive them as they are, and use them to their proper Purposes; that by them thy Conftancy and Patience may be preferv'd from finking under the weight of any Difficulties, which either the doing or fuffering Things, to which Frail and Corrupt Nature is averfe, may at any time expofe thee. For the Change of a Man's felf is a very laborious Undertaking, and yet this must be done. The Flesh with its Lufts must be crucified, a New Heart and a New Spirit introduced, many Things done, which offer Violence to a Man's Inclinations, many forgone and let alone, to which he is ftrongly difpofed. Others thou fhalt often obferve crown'd with Succefs, when thy own no lefs painful Endeavours are defeated and difappointed: Others look'd upon as Oracles, when thy better and wifer Advice is difregarded and defpifed! Others will fuffer long, and at last obtain their Defire; Thou, perhaps, tho' equally patient, equally fervent and zealous in thy Application, difmift with a Repulfe; Others be great in Fame or general Efteem, while thy more deferving Virtues are pafs'd over in Silence; Others caressed, preferr'd, trusted in Matters of Confequence, and looked upon as useful and neceffary, while thou art reputed a useless and infignificant Perfon. Thefe mitaken or partial Judgments of Men, will grate hard

upon

upon Human Nature; but even thele will turn to. good account, if born with Meeknefs, and Modefty, and Silence. For thefe are the very Methods by which God brings the Fidelity of his Servants to the Touch; tis thus that he discovers, whether they have · gained a Conqueft over Nature and themfelves. And no Sort of Mortification is of happier Confequence, than that.which expofes Men to the Sight and Suffering of. Things, to which their own Minds are most violently averfe. Efpecially, when what they cannot ; but conceive moft unfit, moft abfurd and odd, conftrains them to go against their own Senfe, and fubmitto a higher Power, without any referve to the private Judgment of their own Reafon in, the Cafe, This is indeed hard, and a Perfection of Submiffion not eafy to be compafs'd; but, did Men well confider, how vaft the Advantages of a Temper fo refigned are at prefent, how glorious the Reward of it hereafter, and how quickly the Troubles it exposes them to will end in that Reward; the Comforts of fuch Difcipline would be fenfible and great, and they would even enjoy their Afflictions and Temptations, fuftained with fo pure, fo bright a Profpect, of the mighty, the approaching Recompence.

For this fort empty Pleafure, which now thou chufeft for my Sake to decline, fhall be compenfated with folid and everlasting Joy in Heaven: And there thy largest Wishes fhall be gratified. There fhall be Plenty of every Thing that is good. Fruition perfect and fecure, free from the leaft Allay of Fear, or Poffibility of future Loffes. Between thy Will and mine fhall then be perfect Harmony; no Oppofition there,noObftruction; but every thing (hall confpire to fulfil all thy Heart's Defire, and render thy Happiness as exquifice, as a Finite Nature is capable of. Thy prefent Ignominy, born with Patience, fhall there be paid with brighter Glory; thy Mourning Weeds exchanged for Rades

of Light and Joy; and he who fets here in the lowest Place, fhall there be feated on an Eternal Throne. Let it not then be grievous to thee, to humble and fubmit thy felf to the capricious Humours of Men, with whom thou converfeft in this World; but rather fo compofe thy Mind, and order all thy Actions, as readily and meekly to comply with the Commands of thy Superiours, the Defires of thy Equals, the Requefts of thy Inferiours, to do for all what lawfully thou mayeft, and to endure patiently whatever they fhall, but ought not, to do to thee. Let Vain Men purfue Vanity, leave them to their own Methods. Let them place their Glory and Happiness in fuch Qbjects, as their own miftaken Judgments fhall determine them to. Let them admire, and above all Things covet celebrated Name, and popular Applaufe: But do thou place thy Excellence and Honour in the Contempt of thy felf, thy Diligence in difcharging my Commands, thy Zeal in seeking and advancing my Honour and Kingdom; and let this be firft and chief in thy Defires, That whether thou live, thou may't live unto the Lord; or whether thou die, thou mayeft die unto the Lord; fa that whether by Life or Death, the Lord JePfal. i. 20. fus may be magnified in thy Body.

Rom. xiv.

CHAR. LV.

An Act of Refignation to God, in Time of
Adverfity.

'B'

Difciple.]D Leffed be that Wisdom and Goodness, O holy Father, which performs all thy Will; for what thy Will decrees, cannot be otherwife than good and wie. Give me Grace, I befeech

thee,

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thee, to rejoice, not in my felf, or any other, but in Thee alone; for thou art my only Hope and Crown, my Joy and Glory. All I have is received at thy bountiful Hand; bountiful to a moft worthy Creature, who neither could procure, nor deserve the least of all thy Mercies: And thou, by giving and compleating, haft not loft thy Property and Right in all, which by thy means I enjoy or do. For what am I, alas! but a weak helpless Wretch? acquainted with Mifery from my very Cradle, and wafted with Trouble and Vexation; my Face is grown old with Tears, and my Heart perplexed and broken with Doubts, and Sorrows and vehement Paffions. I beg and long most earneftly for the Bleffing of Peace, that Peace and inward Confolation, which thy Children feed and feaft upon. If thou fhalt fill my Soul with this, it will overflow with Joy and Praife, and continually breathe out holy Hymns to the Honour of thy Name. But if thou turn away thy Face, as fometimes thou feeft fit to do, I find my self unable to run in the Way of thy Commandments; and, proftrating my felf in the Anguish of my Soul, I beat my Breaft, and wring my Hands, for the Lofs of that Light and Comfort, that Strength and Protection, which I enjoyed, while under the Shadow of thy Wings, and defended from the Affaults of Sorrow and Adversity.

Righteous Father, (then fay I) the Time is come when thou art pleafed to try me, but even at this Time, and at all others, praised be thy Name. Deareft Father, it is very meet, that now thou call'ft me to it, I should suffer in Obedience to thy Will. Moft Honoured Father, this is thy Hour, even that important Hour, which thou from all Eternity haft ordain ed, to be the Seafon of my outward Oppreffion and Discomfort becoming the Inftrument of endlefs Life and Joy to me: But tho' this: Heaviness may chdure for a Night, yet Light and Glory will return

in the Morning. This, holy Father, is thy own. Appointment, and what thou willeft thou never willest in vain. For even this Suffering in the prefent Life is a Mark of thy Favour and Friendship; the Returns, the Inftruments, the Manner, the Continuance of my Afflictions, are all of thy permitting, for nothing is or can be done, without thy Providence and Direction, without fome wife and excellent Design. Even I myself am fenfible, how good is it for me Pfal.cxix. to have been afflicted, that I might learn thy ftatutes, and utterly discard all Pride and Carnal Confidences. The Shame and Self reproach I laboured under, hath taught me to expect Relief from God, and not from Man. And all my Afflictions put me upon contemplating the unfearchable Depths of thy Providence, which, with a wonderful Temper of Justice and Equity, layeth thefe Burdens upon Bad and Good, without any nice or difcriminating Marks of Love or Hatred in this prefent World..

I will therefore render the moft unfeigned Thanksgiving to my God, for that in marvellous Kindness he hath not fpared the Rod, when it was convenient for me: I acknowledge his Mercy, even in the Pains and Croffes, and Sorrows I have endured, whether of Mind, or Body, or Eftate; and yet much more, for thofe Refreshments, and Remedies, which thou alone hast afforded me. For vain is all the Help of Man; but thou art the true, the powerful Phyfician of Souls, thou woundest and healeft thou bringest down to the Gates of Hell, and raifeft up again. Thy Chaftifement fhall teach me Wildomg thou fhalt beat me with the Rod, and I fhall not die. Behold me, Lord, maft willingly fubmitting to thy Difcipline; O ftrike, and spare not, foothou bend my ftubborn Heart, and bring down my high Spirit, and make me tractable and obedient. I Lord, and Mine are at thy Difpofal, put forth thy Hand and touch them as thou pleasest.

Deut. xxxii.

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