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with the fword: they wandered about in fheep-fkins, and goatfkins; being deftitute, afflicted, tormented; (of whom the world was not worthy :) they wandered in defarts, and in mountains, and in dens, and in caves of the earth. And thefe all have obtained a good report through faith.

Friendly. O how fweet is the grace of contentment! it is not only the life of life, but life in death; and extracts mercies and comforts from the keeneft trials and fharpeft afflictions in life! how may I come to the enjoyment of this bleffing?

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Truth. By prayer, reflection, faith, and thankfulness. First, By prayer, It is our duty, when fenfible of any want, to afk of GOD a fupply in every time of need; but more particularly fo, when we view that our happiness immediately depends upon the enjoyment of fuch a mercy, for these things faith God, I will be fought of the house of Ifrael to do it. Afk, faith our dear LORD, and it shall be given you. What rich encouragement is this for a foul to plead with GOD for divine. contentment! his promife is binding to him, for he stands engaged to fulfil every one which he has made; therefore the Chriftian may thus plead with the LORD in the deepest strait, and most weighty affliction, "O LORD, my foul is over"whelmed with trouble; all thy waves and thy billows pafs over me; I have waited long for the beams of mercy, but "thou, in infinite wifdom, withholds delivering mercy from "me; every way is dark, and no door of hope appears; my "foul watches for thee more than they which watch for the morn ing, because thou haft faid, in the valley of Achor there fhall "be a door of hope; my foul waiteth for the LORD, in thy "word do I hope; and if thou seeft meet to afflict me, thus to "enlarge my forrows, O give me refignation to thy will, and "fweet compofure in thyfelf. Under all the viciffitudes and "mutations of Providence, let my mind be at reft in thee my "GOD, in thee my all. Then, fhall I be more happy in "thee, the life of every joy, than I fhould be in the enjoy"ment of the mercy which I fo earnestly defire. O grant, "that I may take up my whole comfort in thee, then shall I "not be unhappy any more; for if thou art all in all, nothing ❝can disappoint; no ftorm or tempeft can difquiet my foul, "whilft I view that I am only happy whilft fwallowed up in "thy will; O grant me grace to fay, I have learned in what"Joever ftate I am in to be content."

Secondly, The Chriftian may obtain contentment (at least it is the most likely way) by confidering his ftate and condition; he is not fo poor as fome are, nor in fuch great trials as others

are exercifed with; though his afflictions may be sharp, and of acorroding nature, yet he may justly reflect, it is a great mercy they are not worfe; and that there are others in more wants, and under greater neceffities, though greater Chriftians and favourites of Heaven. But fuppofing the Chriftian can obferve no one afflicted in Providence fo much as he is, let him remember, it is a mercy he is out of Hell, and that as before he knew the grace of GoD in truth, he was contented with the world and what it afforded, without the grace of GoD in his foul; how much greater reason now has he to be content, in enjoying the favour of GoD in all his mercies? And if it be his good pleasure to caufe the ftreams of his providential mercies to run through the path of affiction, it becomes the Chrif tian to fay with good Eli, it is the Lord, let him do what feemeth him good. For confider, all our affictions come from the hand of GoD, though, from a fondness of eafe, we can fee no occafion for fuch trials as we meet with, yet our Heavenly Father fees them needful, Lam. iii. 32, 33. But though he caufe grief, yet will be have compafion, according to the multitude of his mercies; for he doth not afflict willingly (or as it is in the margin, from his heart) nor grieve the children of men; but his counfels, promifes and purposes must be fulfilled concerning them. As a tender parent is not moved to correct his child, by cruel and tyrannical motives, but out of love, and with an intent to promote his future happiness; in like mannner, we have the tendernefs, fympathy, and commiferation of our dear Redeemer, who in all our afflictions is afflicted, touched with a feeling of our forrows; from whence we fhould learn in whatfoever ftate we are therewith to be content.

Thirdly, The happiness of contentment calls for the conftant exercife of faith, to believe that every difappointment is right, every trouble, ftrait, and pain, with all the variety and continuation of my afflictions, is directly and perfectly right, and juft as GOD would have it. Such an idea and acting of faith as this, quiets the mind, fo that nothing moves it from peace and comfort. I have heard of a man that whatever he met with, faid, it was well; one day as he was at work in a quarry, a dog ran away with his meat; his companions then upbraided him, and asked him if it was well then? yes, fays he, it is; but however I will fee if the dog has eaten it all or not; upon his return he found the quarry was fell in upon his companions, and by which accident they were all kilied; thus it was well for him. And remarkable is the anfwer of the Shunamite, when the prophet Elifba faid unto his fervant Gehazi, behold,

yonder is that Shunamite; run now, I pray thee, and fay unto her, is it well with thee? is it well with thine husband? and fhe anfwered, it is well. This was pure faith, to believe it was well when her chiefeft joy was dead, and her foul full of trouble. Some men talk bravely of living by faith, whilst they enjoy every outward comfort; but let the hand of providence ftrip them of all, and deprive them of their neareft and dearest joy on earth, and if in fuch circumftances they then say it is well, this is the charactereftic of a pure faith, without any fenfible prop, but the bare promife of GOD, that all things fhall work together for good to them that love God, to them which are the called according to his purpose.

Friendly. My dear Truth, it is furprising how you, or any other Chriftian, can be happy under fuch circumstances, and fay, all is well.

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Truth. To young Chriftians, it may appear furprizing, they hear of trials, but know little what it is to feel them; but through grace I feel, and am happy under the weight of them; I not only believe it is well, but it cannot be better than it is, because it it is the will of GoD it fhould be fo; though I am in want, in fuch a want that is of a very trying and preffing nature, yet I neither murmur or repine, but leave the measure of my comfort, and the time of it to the hands of Providence ; for I know by the promises of God, that I nor mine hall ever die for want, witnefs the Pfalmiit, I have been young, and now am old, yet have I not feen the righteous forfaken, nor his feed begging bread. I believe that promifed, and covenant mercy are ftill fure, they run under ground out of fight, they will break up for my fupport; and though all things in providence are now dark, yet I believe that the hand of God is as much concerned for me as though it was immediately raining down the bleffings of Heaven upon me; and all purely because he has faid, I will not leave thee until I have performed the things which I bave spoken to thee of. Thus you fee, that contentment calls for the daily exercife of faith, in the faithfulness of GOD, according to his promife, faithful is he that hath promised.

Fourthly, In order to obtain contentment it behoves us to be thankful for the mercies we enjoy, and likewise for every affiction; in the midst of judgment he remembers mercy; the night is not fo dark but it may be darker; neither are our troubles fo heavy, but they may be heavier; it becomes us to be thankful, especially when we confider the end that Providence has in bringing us through all our afflictions, to refine

and purify us, as gold is fever times purified, for faith God, Zech. xiii. 9. And I will bring the third part through the fire, and will refine them as filver is refined, and will try them as gold is tried; they shall call on my name, and I will hear them; I will fay, it is my people; and they shall fay, the Lord is my God; therefore let us be thankful for afflictions of every kind, and remember, that our sweetest mercies are bottled up in afflictions; when he brings us to fee the rod is laid up in the covenant, as well as the fure mercies of David; and that by the fprigs of the rod, he opens the treasures of his mercies, by which means the Christian finds the rod of the covenant is made to bud, bloffom, and bring forth fruit, even the peaceable fruit of righteousness to them which are exercised thereby.

Thus you fee, that the love of GoD, and the comforts of the HOLY GHOST, fhine with refulgent rays and communica tions, even in the dark and folitary path of afflictions; that our peace and fupport under trials do not confift in having our de fires fatisfied, but our wills melted into the will of GOD; by the grace of contentment the Chriftian makes over his will to the will of Gon; fo that there is but one will between them; and O what a fweet fatisfaction must fuch a foul enjoy! this is the excellency of grace, and the peculiar joy of a contented mind! to fee his confummate happiness in GOD, in the midst of adverfity; is turning his water into wine, to lay, if God be glorified, I am fatisfied; if he be magnified, I am honoured; if it be his will, it is and fhall be mine, 2 Sam. xv. 26. Here I am, let him do unto me as feemeth good unto him. Father not my will, but thine be done.

Thus our heavenly Father teaches, by his grace, and leads us by his Providence through all trials and troubles here, till we make our final exit with calmnefs and compofure of mind, faying, Father, into thine hands I commend my spirit. Then in climates of joy our GoD and KING will open in bright rays all the beauties of his love in his providential paths; then shall we gaze and fee, with infinite pleasure, that there was infinite love, tenderness, care, and kindness difplayed in every trouble, affliction and forrow. We fhall then fee, that we could enjoy the love of GOD, and the comforts of the HOLY GHOST in no other way than which a kind Providence led us; that all these steps were fubfervient to bring about the grand defigns of his grace in a more tranfcendant and glorious manner, to make us meet for the immediate enjoyment of himfelf, and to join in

infinite, unknown, eternal delight, and fongs of praise for ever new, to him that fitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb for ever and ever. Amen.

Friendly. My dear Truth, having finifhed our difcourfe on the former important fubjects, it now gives me the greatest fatisfaction to think we are going to converfe upon the Love of God in the application thereof to the mind by the Holy Ghost, in which confifteth the life and power of religion; but wherein does it appear in alarming the finner of his fpiritual and eternal danger?

Truth. In a fpiritual conviction of fin, by the fupernatural operations of the HOLY GHOST, the ground-work or foundation of all true religion, and is therefore neceffary to be often inculcated, and well understood, as the everlasting welfare of precious fouls, in fome fenfe, depends upon a right and thorough conviction; for a deficiency herein never fails to be attended with pernicious confequences, especially to thofe who take up with outward and common, instead of real and inward convictions; fuch are not likely to attain to any degree of faving knowledge, as they reft contented in the common conviction of reason, and a natural confcience, purely because they are fimilar to the work of the HOLY SPIRIT, but to fet this matter in a clear light (as there is fuch a near refemblance between natural and faving convictions) let us confider:

First, There may be conviction from the light of reason, by virtue of the law, in fome measure written upon the mind of every man, and especially on fuch who have been more or less inftructed in the principles of religion in their childhood; there are thousands who never arrive at a faving knowledge of themfelves, yet, by virtue of a religious education, obtain such a degree of religious light and knowledge, that they are confcious enough what is fin, and what is not; and many from no better principle, are brought from immoral practices.

Secondly, There is a conviction from the eternal word, read or preached, which fometimes hath great influence upon the unregenerate mind, fo that it frequently extorteth vows and refolutions of amendment, tears, forrow, and repentance; yea, fometimes amendment itfelf; Ahab was a remarkable instance of this; the word of the law, by the mouth of Elijah, had fuch an effect, that the haughty King was induced to walk humbly; he mourned becaufe of the judgments of the LORD, that he had brought upon himfelf, his kingdom and his family. Ma

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