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to recover the favour of God, and the peace of our own confciences, and to fecure us against all apprehenfion of danger from the divine juftice; though not abfolutely from all fear of punishment in this world, yet from that which is the greatest danger of all, the condemnation and torment of the world to come. And by this means a man's mind is fettled in perfect peace, religion freeing him from thofe tormenting fears of the divine difplea fure, which he can upon no other terms rid himself of; whereas the finner is always fowing the feeds of trouble in his own mind, and laying a foundation of continual difcontent to himself.

II. As religion removes the chief grounds of trouble and difquiet, fo it minifters to us all the true causes of peace and tranquillity of mind. Whoever lives according to the rules of religion, lays these three great foundations of peace and comfort to himself.

1. He is fatisfied, that in being religious he doth that which is moft reasonable.

2. That he fecures himself against the greatest mifchiefs and dangers, by making God his friend.

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3. That, upon the whole matter, he does in all refpects most effectually confult and promote his own intereft and happiness.

1. He is fatisfied that he does that which is moft reafonable. And it is no fmall pleasure to be justified to ourfelves; to be fatisfied that we are what we ought to be, and do what in reason we ought to do; that which best becomes us, and which, according to the primitive intention of our being, is moft natural; for whatever is natural is pleafant. Now, the practice of piety towards God, and of every other grace and virtue which religion teaches us, are things reasonable in themselves, and what God, when he made us, intended we should do. And a man is then pleased with himself, and his own actions, when he doth what he is convinced he ought to do; and is then offended with himself, when he goes against the light of his own mind, by neglecting his duty, or doing contrary to it: for then his confcience checks him; and there is fomething within him that is uneafy, and puts him into disorder; as when a man eats or drinks any thing that is unwholefome, it offends his

ftomach

ftomach, and puts his body into an unnatural and a restlefs state.

For every thing is then at reft and peace, when it is in that ftate in which nature intended it to be; and, being violently forced out of it, it is never quiet till it recover again. Now religion, and the practice of its virtues, is the natural ftate of the foul, the condition to which God defigned it. As God made man a reasonable creature, fo all the acts of religion are reafonable, and fuitable to our nature; and our fouls are then in health, when we are what the laws of religion require us to be, and do what they command us to do. And as we find an inexpreffible ease and pleasure when our body is in its perfect ftate of health, and on the contrary every diftemper caufeth pain and uneafinefs; fo it is with the foul. When religion governs all our inclinations and actions, and the temper of our minds, and the course of our lives, is conformable to the precepts of it, all is at peace. But when we are otherwife, and live in any vitious practice, how can there be peace, fo long as we act unreasonably, and do thofe things whereby we ne eeffarily create trouble and difturbance to ourselves? How can we hope to be at eafe fo long as we are in a fick and diseased condition? Till the corruption that is in us be wrought out, our fpirits will be in a perpetual tumult and fermentation: and it is as impoffible for us to enjoy the peace and ferenity of our minds, as it is for a fick man to be at eafe. The man may ufe what arts of diverfion he will, and change from one place and pofture to another; but ftill he is reftlefs, because there is that within him which gives him pain and disturbance. There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked. Such men may diffemble their condition, and put on the face and appearance of pleafantnefs and contentment; but God, who fees all the fecrets of mens hearts, knows it is far otherwife with them: There is no peace, faith my God, to the wicked.

2. Another ground of peace which the religious man hath, is, that he hath made God his friend. Now, friendfhip is peace and pleasure both. It is mutual love, and that is a double pleasure and it is hard to say which is the greateft, the pleasure of loving God, or of knowing that he loves us. Now, whoever fincerely endeavours to

pleafe

please God, may reft perfectly affured that God hath no difpleasure against him: for the righteous Lord loveth righteoufnefs, and his countenance fhall behold the upright; that is, he will be favourable to fuch perfons. As he hates the workers of iniquity, fo he takes pleasure in them that fear him, in fuch as keep his covenant, and remember his commandments to do them.

And, being affured of his favour, we are fecured against the greatest dangers and the greatest fears; and may fay with David, Return then unto thy reft, O my foul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. The Lord is my light and my falvation, whom fhall I fear? the Lord is the ftrength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? What can reasonably trouble or difcontent that man who hath made his peace with God, and is restored to his favour, who is the best and most powerful friend, and can be the foreft and most dangerous enemy in the whole world?

3. By being religious we do most effectually confult our own intereft and happiness. A great part of religion confists in moderating our appetites and paffions; and this naturally tends to the compofure of our minds. He that lives pioufly and virtuously, acts according to reafon; and in doing fo maintains the prefent peace of his own mind; and not only fo, but he lays the foundation of his future happiness to all eternity. For religion gives a man the hopes of eternal life; and all pleafure does not confift in prefent enjoyment: there is a mighty pleasure alfo in the firm belief and expectation of a future good; and, if it be a great and lasting good, it will fupport a man under a great many prefent evils. If religion be certainly the way to avoid the greatest evils, and to bring us to happiness at last, we may contentedly bear a great many afflictions for its fake: for though all fufferings be grievous, yet it is pleasant to efcape great dangers, and to come to the poffeffion of a mighty good, though it be with great difficulty and inconvenience to ourselves. And when we come to heaven, if ever we be so happy as to get thither, it will be a new and greater pleasure to us to remember the pains and troubles whereby we were faved, and made happy.

So that all these put together are a firm foundation of

peace

peace and comfort to a good man. There is a great fatisfaction in the very doing of our duty, and acting reasonably, though there may happen to be fome prefent trouble and inconvenience in it. But when we do not only fatisfy ourselves in fo doing, but likewife please him whofe favour is better than life, and whose frowns are more terrible than death; when in doing our duty we directly promote our own happiness, and in serving God do most effectually ferve our own intereft; what can be imagined to minifter more peace and pleasure to the mind of man?

This is the fecond thing. Religion furnishes us with all the true caufes of peace and tranquillity of mind.

III. The reflexion upon a religious and virtuous course of life, doth afterwards yield a mighty pleasure and fatisfaction. And what can commend religion more to us, than that the remembrance of any pious and virtuous action gives so much contentment and delight? So that whatever difficulty and reluctancy we may find in the doing of it, to be fure there is peace and fatisfaction in the looking back upon it. No man ever reflected upon himself with regret for having done his duty to God or man; for having lived foberly, or righteously, or godly, in this prefent world. Nay, on the contrary, the confcience of any duty faithfully difcharged, the memory of any good we have done, does refresh the foul with a ftrange kind of pleasure and joy: Our rejoicing is this, (faith St Paul) the teftimony of our confciences, that in all fimplicity and godly fincerity we have had our converfation in the world.

But, on the other fide, the course of a vitious life; all acts of impiety to God, of malice and injustice to men, of intemperance and excefs in reference to ourfelves, do certainly leave a fting behind them. And whatever pleasure there may be in the prefent act of them, the memory of them is so tormenting, that men are glad to ufe all the arts of diverfion to fence off the thoughts of them. One of the greatest troubles in the world to a bad man, is to look into himfelf, and to remember how he hath lived. I appeal to the confciences of men, whether this be not true.

And is not here now a mighty difference between thefe two courfes of life; that when we do any thing

that

that is good, if there be any trouble in it, it is foon over, but the pleasure of it is perpetual; when we do a wicked action, the pleasure of it is fhort and tranfient, but the trouble and sting of it remains for ever? The reflexion upon the good we have done, gives a lafling fatisfaction to our minds; but the remembrance of any evil committed by us, leaves a perpetual discontent.

And, which is yet more confiderable, a religious and virtuous course of life does then yield moft peace and comfort, when we most stand in need of it; in times of affliction, and at the hour of death. When a man falls into any great calamity, there is no comfort in the world like to that of a good confcience. This makes all calm and ferenc within, when there is nothing but clouds and darkness about him. So David obferves of the good man, Pfal. cxii. 4. Unto the upright there arifeth light in darkness. All the pious and virtuous actions that we do, are fo many feeds of peace and comfort, fown in our confciences, which will fpring up and flourish most in times of outward trouble and diftrefs: Light is fown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart. And at the hour of death: The righteous hath hope in his death, faith Solomon. And what a feafonable refreshment is it to the mind of man, when the pangs of death are ready to take hold of him, and he is juft stepping into the other world, to be able to look back with fatisfaction upon a religious and well-fpent life? Then, if ever, the comforts of a good man do overflow, and a kind of heaven springs up in his mind, and he rejoiceth in the hopes of the glory of God. And that is a true and folid comfort indeed, which will stand by us in the day of adverfity, and stick clofe to us when we have most need of it.

But with the ungodly it is not fo. His guilt lies in wait for him, efpecially againft fuch times; and is never more fierce and raging than in the day of distress: so that according as his troubles without are multiplied, fo are his ftings within. And furely affliction is then grievous indeed, when it falls upon a galled and unealy mind. Were it not for this, outward afflictions might be tolerable: The Spirit of man might bear his infirmities; but a wounded Spirit who can bear? But, especially at the VOL. I.

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