though given by emperors and princes, in the most public and folemn manner, both which are the avowed doctrines of their general councils, and have frequently been put in practice to the deftruction of many millions of Chriftians, better and more righteous than themfelves. But we have not fo learned Chrift, who have heard him, and been taught by him as the truth is in Jefus. They who are rightly inAructed in the Chriftian religion, are fo far fron thinking it lawful to do any thing that is evil, to bring others under fuffering, that they do not allow it in any cafe whatfoever, no, not for the caufe of God and religion, and to free themselves from the greateft fufferings that can be inflicted upon them. 3. Provided alfo, that we do truft the providence of God, and do indeed commit ourselves to it; rely ing upon his wifdom and goodness, and entirely fubmitting and refigning up ourfelves to his will and difpofal, both as to the degree and the duration of our fufferings; believing that he will do that for us, which, upon the whole matter, and in the final iffue and refult of things, will be beft for us. That bleffing, wherewith Mofes the man of God bleffed the people of Ifrael before his death, doth belong to good men in all ages: He loveth his people, and all his faints are in his hand, Deut. xxxiii. 3. Innumerable are the promifes in fcripture, concerning the merciful providence and goodnefs of God, towards thofe who truft in him, and hope in his mercy. Pfal. xxxii. 10. Many forrows fhall be to the wicked: but he that trufleth in the Lord, mercy shall compafs him about. Pfal. xxxiii. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. Behold the eye of the Lordi is upon them that fear him; upon them that hope in his mercy to deliver their foul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our foul waiteth for the Lord be is our help and our fhield. For our heart Shall rejoce in him because we have trufted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us, according as we hope in thee. Pfal. xxxiv. 22. The Lord redeemeth the foul of his fervants: and none of them that trust in him shall be defolate. Pfal. xxxvii. : 39. 40. But the falvation of the righteous is of the Lord, he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord fhall help them and deliver them: he fhall deliver them from the wicked, and fave them because they truft in him. Pfal. xxxi. 19. O how great is thy goodness, which thou haft laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that truft in thee before the fons of men! Pfal. Iv. 22. Caft thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall fuftain thee: he Shall never fuffer the righteous to be moved. Pfal. CXXV. 1. They that truft in the Lord fhall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever. Ifa. xxvi. 3. 4. Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whofe mind is ftaid on thee, because he truflctb in thee. Truft ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord Jeho• vah is everlafting firength. 4. Provided yet further, that we pray earnestly to God for his gracious help and affiftance, for his merciful comfort and fupport under fufferings; that he would be pleafed to ftrengthen our faith, and to increafe and lengthen out our patience, in proportion to the degree and duration of our fufferings. All the promises which God hath made to us are upon this condition, that we earneftly feek and fue to him for the benefit and bleffing of them, Pfal. 1. 15. Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me. Ezek. xxxvi. 37. after a great deliverance, and many bleffings promised to them, this condition is at laft added, Thus faith the Lord God, I will yet for this be inquired of by the houfe of Ifrael, to do it for them. And this likewife is the tenor of the promises of the New Teftament, Matth. vii. 7. Afk, and it fhall be given you; feck, and ye shall find; knock, and it Jhall be opened unto you. And in this very case that I am fpeaking of, God expects that we fhould apply ourfelves to him for fpiritual wifdom and grace to behave ourfelves under fufferings as we ought, James i. 2. 3. 4. where fpeaking of the manifold temptations that Chriftians would be exercised withal, he directs them to pray to God for wisdom to demean themselves under perfecutions, with patience, and conftancy, and chearfulness, chearfulness: My brethren, account it all joy, when ye fall into divers temptations, (meaning the temptations and trials of fuffering in feveral kinds); knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have its perfect work, And becaufe this is a very difficult duty, and requires a great deal of spiritual skill, to demean ourfelves under fufferings as we ought, therefore he adds in the next words, If a ny of you lack wifdem, let him afk of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. And this earneft application we are to make to God, for his grace and feafonable help in time of need; not to put him in mind of his promife, but to testify our dependence upon him, and expectation of all good from him. And we must likewife ufe great importunity in our prayers to God, to affift us and ftand by us in the day of trial, and the hour of temptation. And therefore our Saviour heaps up. feveral words, to denote the great earneftness and importunity which we ought to ufe in prayer, bidding And to fhew that he us to afk, and feek, and knock. lays more than ordinary weight upon this matter, and to encourage our importunity, he fpake two feveral parables to this purpose: The first, Luke xi. 5. of the man who, by mere importunity, prevailed with his friend to rife at midnight to do him a kindness, which our Saviour applies to encourage our importunity in prayer, ver. 9. And I fay unto you, afk, and it shall: be given you; feek, and ye shall find; knock, and it Shall be opened unto you: The other is the parable of the importunate widow and unjust judge, related by the fame evangelift, Luke xviii. t. with this preface to it; and he spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray and not to faint. And to fpeak the truth, they feem at firft fight two of the oddeft of all our Saviour's parables, as if the defigur of them were to infinuate to us, that God is to be prevailed upon by the mere importunity of our prayers · to grant our requests: But our bleffed Saviour,who beft knew his own meaning, tells us, that all that he defigned by it, was only to fignify, that we ought always to pray, and not to faint; that is, to continue inftant in prayer, and not to give over after once asking, as if we defpaired of prevailing. Not that mere importunity prevails with God to give us thofe things which he is otherwife unwilling to grant; but because it becomes us to be fervent, and earneft, to testify our faith and confidence in the goodnefs of God, and the deep fense we have of our own weakness, and wants, and unworthinefs; and likewife that we fet a true value upon the bleffings and favours of God, as worth all the earnestnefs and importunity we can ufe: And in this decent and fober fenfe, the fuccefs of our prayers may truly be faid to depend upon our importunity; not that it is neceffary to move God to grant our requests, but that it becomes us to be thus affected, that we may be the more fitly qualified for the grace and mercy which God is willing to confer up on us. I have been the longer upon this, to give us a right notion of this matter, and that we may the more diftinctly understand the true reafon why our Saviour does require fo much earneftness and importunity of prayer upon our part; not at all to work upon God, and to difpofe him to fhew mercy to us, (for that he is always inclinable to, whenever we are fit for it), but only to difpofe and qualify us to receive the grace and mercy of God with greater advantage to ourselves. 5. Provided, moreover, that we be not confident of ourselves, and of the force and ftrength of our own refolution. We know not ourselves, nor the frailty and weakness of our own refolution, till we are tried. It is wife advice which Solomon gives us, and never more feasonable than in the day of trial, Prov. iii. 5. 6. 7. Truft in the Lord with all thine beart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wife in thine own eyes. That is, be not conceited and confident of thine own wifdom and ftrength, or ability in any kind. There is a fecret providence of God, which mingles itself with the actions and and fpirits of men, and difpofeth of us unknown to ourselves; and what we think to be the effect of our own strength and refolution, of our own wifdom and contrivance, proceeds from an higher caufe, which unfeen to us does fteer and govern us. So the wife man obferves, Prov. xx. 24. Man's goings are of the Lord, how can a man then understand his own ways? And therefore we have reafon every one to say with the prophet, Jer. x. 23. O Lord, I know that the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his fteps. Our feet will foon Дip, if God do not uphold us by his hand. Remember how fhamefully the chief of our Lord's difciples mifcarried, by too much confidence in himself, I mean St Peter; in whofe fall we may all fee our own frailty. If God do but permit the devil to have the winnowing of us, there will be a great deal of chaff found in the best of us. What St Paul faid of himfelf, 2 Cor. xii. 10. When I am weak, then am I ftrong, we fhall all find true, when it comes to the trial; we are then ftrongeft, when, in a juft fenfe of our own weakness, we rely moft upon the ftrength and power of God. 6. Provided, furthermore, that according to our ability, we have been much in the exercife of alms and charity. For well-doing, or doing good, is fometimes taken in a narrower fenfe, not improper here to be mentioned, though perhaps not fo particularly intended here in the text, for works of charity and alms. As Heb. xiii. 16. But to do good, and to communicate, (that is, to the neceffities of the poor), forget not; for with fuch facrifices God is well pleafed. This kind of well-doing is a fpecial prefervative in times of evil. There is no kind of grace or virtue, to which there are in fcripture more fpecial promifes made of our protection and prefervation from evil and fuffering, of fupport and comfort under them, and deliverance out of them, than to this of a charitable and compaffionate confideration of thofe who labour under want or fuffering. Pfal. xxxvii. 3. Truft in the Lord, and do good, fo fhalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. And ver. 19. fpeaking of |