with a defign of the greatest mercy in the world.

The state of the gofpel, therefore, is a state of suffering. This was foretold by all the ancient prophets; and was fulfilled and verified by the example of the great Captain of our falvation. And he made for us a covenant of fufferings. His doctrines were fuch, as, expressly, and by confequence, injoin and fuppofe fufferings, and a ftate of affliction. His very promises implied fufferings. His bleffings are pronounced for fufferings. His rewards, and his arguments to invite men to follow him, were only taken from fufferings in this life, and the reward of fufferings hereafter.

For if we fum up the commandments of Chrift, we fhall find humility, mortification, felf-denial, repentance, renouncing the world, mourning, taking up the crofs, dying for him, patience, and poverty, to ftand in the chiefeft rank of Christian precepts, and in the direct order to heaven: He that will be my difciple, must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. We must follow him, that

was

was crowned with thorns and forrows, him that was nailed upon the cross, that deferved all good, and fuffered all evil. That is the fum of the Christian religion, as diftinguished from all the other religions of the world.

And there are many and great reasons for all this. For, without the sufferings of the righteous, God would lose the glory of bringing good out of evil; of being with us in tribulation; of fuftaining our infirmities; and of triumphing over the malice of his enemies. Without the fufferings of the godly, where would be the exaltation of the cross, the conformity of the members to Chrift their head, and the crown of martyrs? Where would be the trial of our faith, or the exercise of longfuffering? Where would be the opportunities to give God the greatest love, which cannot be, but by dying and fuffering for him? How fhould that, which the world calls folly, prove the greateft wisdom; and God be glorified by events, contrary to the probability and expectation of their causes?

By

By the fufferings of the righteous, God chaftifes their follies and levities, and fuffers not their errors or infirmities to afcend into crimes.

And hereby God gives us a great argument of a future ftate; fince to his fervants and faints he affigns forrow for their prefent portion: Sorrow cannot be the reward of virtue; it may be its inftrument and handmaid, but not its reward; and therefore it may be intermediate to fome great purposes, but they must look for their por-. tion in the other life. For if in this life only we had hope, faith St. Paul, we should be of all men most miferable. And we may therefore learn, to estimate the state of the afflicted godly, to be a mercy, great in proportion to the greatnefs of that reward, which these afflictions come to fecure and to prove. It is a great matter, and infinite bleffing, to escape the pains of hell; and therefore that condition is also very bleffed, which God fends us, to create, and to confirm our hopes of that excellent mercy.

The fufferings of the faints are the fum of Christian philofophy. They are fent

to

to wean us from the vanities and affections of this world, and to create in us strong defires of heaven; whilft God caufeth us to be here treated rudely, that we my long to be in our country, where God shall be our portion, and angels our companions, and Christ our perpetual feast, and neverceafing joy fhall be our condition and entertainment. O death, fays the fon of Sirach, bow bitter is the remembrance of thee, to a man that is at ease, and at rest in his posSeffions! But he that is uneafy in his body, and unquiet in his poffeffions, vexed in his perfon, discompofed in his defigns, who finds no pleasure, no reft here, will be glad to fix his heart where only he shall have what he can defire, and what can make him happy.

In short, that man knows nothing of nature, or providence, or Christianity, or the rewards of virtue, or the nature of its conftitution, or the infirmities of man, or the mercies of God, or the arts and prudence of his loving-kindness, or the blesfings of heaven, or the glorification of Chrift, or the precepts of the gospel, who

is offended at the fufferings of God's deareft fervants, or declines the honour and the mercy of fuffering in the cause of righteousness, for the fecuring of a virtue, for the imitation of Chrift, and for the love of God, or the glories of immortality.

BUT there is another confideration in my text. If fuffering is the portion of the righteous, the cafe is not better with the wicked, but much worfe.- -If judgement first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God? And if the righteous fcarcely be faved, where Shall the ungodly and the finner appear?

Although the fervants of God fuffer many calamities from the tyranny and prevalency of evil men, that are permitted by the divine providence for a while to go on in their wickedness; yet ftill it remains as one of the fundamental truths of Chriftianity, that all the fair fortunes of the wicked are not enough to make them happy, nor the perfecutions of the godly to make a good man miferable, nor yet