Meekness and Quietness of Spirit, Chapter 2

Meekness and Quietness of Spirit · Chapter 2

p. 41CHAP. II. The Excellency of Meekness and Quietness of Spirit.

THE very opening of this Cause, one would think, were enough to carry it, and the explaining of the Nature of Meekness and Quietness, should suffice to recommend it to us: Such an amiable Sweetness doth there appear in it, upon the very first View; if we look upon this Beauty, we cannot but be enamour'd with it. But because of the Opposition that there is in our corrupt Hearts to this, as to other the Graces of the Holy Spirit, I shall endeavour more particularly to shew the Excellency of it, that we may be brought, if possible, to be in love with it, and to submit our Souls to the charming Power of it.

It is said, Pro. 17. 27. That a Man of understanding is of an excellent Spirit.—He is foreign (so the Chetib, though the Keri, which our Translation follows, reads it foreign frigidus Spiritu, so Tremellius, he is of a cool Spirit; put them together, and it teacheth us, That a cool Spirit is an excellent Spirit, and he is a Man of understanding that is acted and govern'd by such a Spirit. The Text tells us (what need we more?) p. 42that it in the sight of God of great price, and we may be sure that's precious indeed which is so in God's sight; that's good, very good which he pronounceth so, for his Judgment is according to Truth, and sooner or later he will bring all the World to be of his Mind; for as he hath decided it, so shall our Doom be, and he will be justified when he speaketh, and clear when he judgeth.

The excellency of a meek and quiet Spirit, will appear, if we consider the Credit of it, and the Comfort of it, the present Profit there is by it, and the Preparedness there is in it, for something further.

[1.] Consider how Creditable a meek and quiet Spirit is. Credit and Reputation is a thing which most People are very sensibly touch'd with the Ambition of, tho' few consider aright either what it is, or what is the right way of obtaining it, and particularly it is little believed what a great deal of true honour there is in the Grace of Meekness, and what a sure and ready way, mild and quiet Souls take to gain the good word of their Master, and of all their Fellow-Servants that love our Master, and are like him.

Let us see what Credit there is in Meekness.

1. There is in it the credit of a Victory. What a great Figure do the Names of high and mighty Conquerors make in the Records of Fame? How is their Conduct, their Valor, and their Success more than either cry'd up and celebrated? But if we will believe the Word of Truth, and pass a Judgment upon things according to the Rules of that, He that is slow to anger is better than p. 43the Mighty, and he that ruleth his Spirit, than he that taketh a City, Pro. 16. 32. Behold a greater than Alexander or Caesar is here: The former of which some think lost more true Honour by yielding to his own ungovern'd Anger, than he got by all his Conquests. No triumphant Chariot so easie, so safe, so truly glorious, as that in which the meek and quiet Soul rides over all the Provocations of an injurious World, with a gracious unconcernedness: No train so splendid, so noble, as that train of Comforts and Graces, which attend this Chariot. The Conquest of an unruly Passion is more honourable, than the Conquest of an unruly People, for it requires more true Conduct: It is easier to kill an Enemy without us, which may be done at a Blow, than to Chain up and govern an Enemy within us which requires a constant even steddy Hand, and a long and regular Management. It was more the Honour of David to yield himself conquer'd by Abigail's Perswasions, than to have made himself a Conqueror over Nabal and all his House. A rational Victory must needs be allowed more honourable to a rational Creature than a brutal one. This is a cheap, safe and unbloody Conquest that doth no Body any harm, no Lives, no Treasures sacrificed to it, the Glory of these Triumphs, not stain'd as others use to be with Funerals: Every Battle of the Warrior (saith the Prophet, Isa. 9. 5.) is with confused noise, and Garments roll'd in Blood, but this shall be with burning, even by the Spirit of the Lord of Hosts; as a Spirit of Iudgment, and a Spirit of Burning. Nay, in meek and quiet suffering, we are more than Conquerors, thro' Christ that loved us, Rom. 8. 37. Conquerors with little loss; we p. 44lose nothing but the gratifying of a base Lust, Conquerors with great gain, the Spoils we divide are very rich, the Favour of God, the Comforts of the Spirit, the Foretasts of everlasting Pleasures, these are more glorious and excellent than the Mountains of Prey. We are more than Conquerors; that is, Triumphers, we live a Life of Victory, every day a day of Triumph in the meek and quiet Soul.

Meekness is a Victory over our Selves, and the Rebellious Lusts in our own Bosoms; 'tis the quieting of intestine Broils, the stilling of an Insurrection at Home, which is oftentimes more hard to do, than to resist a foreign Invasion. It is an effectual Victory over those that injure us, and make themselves Enemies to us, and is often a means of winning their Hearts. The Law of Meekness is, If thine Enemy hung…, feed him, if he thirst foreign, Propina illi, not only give him drink, (which is an Act of Charity) but drink to him, in token of Friendship, and true Love, and Reconciliation, and in so doing thou shalt heap Coals of Fire upon his Head, not to consume him, but to melt and mollifie him, that he may be cast into a new mould; and thus while the angry and revengeful Man, that will bear down all before him with a high hand is overcome of evil, the patient and forgiving overcome evil with good, Rom. 12. 20, 21. and forasmuch as their ways please the Lord, he maketh even their Enemies to be at Peace with them, Pro. 16. 7. Nay, Meekness is a Victory over Satan the greatest Enemy of all: What Conquest can sound more great than that? It is written for Caution to us all, and it reflects honour upon those who through Grace overcome, that we wrestle not p. 45against Flesh and Blood, but against Principalities and Powers, and the Rulers of the darkness of this World, Eph. 6. 12. The magnifying of the Adversary magnifies the Victory over him; such as these are the meek Man's vanquish'd Enemies, the spoils of these are the Trophies of his Victory.foreign Chrysost. Hom. 19. It is the design of the Devil, that great Deceiver and Destroyer of Souls, that is baffled, 'tis his attempt that is defeated, his assault that is repuls'd by our Meekness and Quietness. Our Lord Jesus was more admired for his controuling and commanding the unclean Spirits, than for any other of the Cures he wrought: Unruly Passions are unclean Spirits, Legions of which some Souls are possess'd with, and desperate outragious work they make: The Soul becomes like that miserable Creature, (Mark 5. 3, 4, 5. that cry'd and cut himself, or that, Mark 9. 22. who was so often cast into the Fire, and into the Waters. The meek and quiet Soul is through Grace a Conqueror over these Enemies, their fiery darts are quenched by the shield of Faith, Satan is in some measure trodden under his Feet, and the Victory will be compleat shortly, when he that overcometh shall sit down with Christ upon his Throne, even as he overcame and is set down with the Father upon his Throne; where he still appears in the Emblem of his Meekness, a Lamb as it had been slain, Rev. 5. 6. And upon Mount Zion, at the Head of his Heavenly Hosts, he appears also as a Lamb, Rev. 14. 1. Such is the Honour that Meekness hath in those higher Regions.

2. There is in it, the Credit of a Beauty. The Beauty of a thing consists in the Symmetry, Harmony and Agreeableness of all the Parts: p. 46Now what is Meekness, but the Souls Agreement with it self? 'Tis the joynt Concurrence of all the Affections to the universal Peace and Quiet of the Soul, every one regularly acting in its own Place and Order, and so contributing to the common good. Next to the Beauty of Holiness, which is the Souls Agreement with God, is the Beauty of Meekness, which is the Soul's Agreement with it Self. Behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is, for the Powers of the Soul thus to dwell together in Unity, the Reason knowing how to Rule, and the Affections at the same time knowing how to Obey. Exorbitant Passion is a Discord in the Soul: It is like a Tumor in the Face, which spoils the Beauty of it: Meekness scatters the Humor, binds down the swelling, and so prevents the Deformity, and preserves the Beauty. This is one instance of the comliness of Grace, thro' my comliness (saith God to Israel, Ezek. 16. 14.) which I had put upon thee. It puts a charming Loveliness and Amiableness upon the Soul, which renders it acceptable to all that know what true Worth and Beauty is. He that in Righteousness, and Peace, and Ioy in the Holy Ghost: that is, in Christian Meekness and Quietness of Spirit, serveth Christ, is acceptable to God and approved of Men, Rom. 14. 17, 18. and to whom else can we wish to recommend our selves?

Solomon (a very competent Judge of Beauty) hath determined, That it is a Man's Wisdom that makes his Face to shine, Eccl. 8. 1. and doubtless the Meekness of Wisdom, contributes as much as any one Branch of it to this Luster. We read in Scripture of three, whose Faces p. 47shone remarkably, and they were all three eminent for Meekness. The Face of Moses shone, Exod. 34. 30. and he was the meekest of all the Men on Earth. The Face of Stephen shone, Acts 6. 15. and he it was, who in the midst of a shower of Stones, so meekly submitted, and prayed for his Persecutors. The Face of our Lord Iesus shone in his Transfiguration, and he was the great Pattern of Meekness. It is a sweet and pleasing Air, which this Grace puts npon the Countenance, while it keeps the Soul in tune, and frees it from those jarring illfavoured Discords, which are the certain effect of an ungovern'd Passion.

3. There is in it the Credit of an Ornament. The Text speaks of it, as an Adorning, much more excellent and valuable than Gold, or Pearls, or the most costly Array, much more recommending than all the Bravery of the Daughters of Zion. It is an adorning to the Soul, the principal, the immortal part of the Man. That outward adorning doth but deck, and beautifie the Body, which at the best, is but a Sister to the Worms, and will ere long be a Feast for them, but this is the Ornament of the Soul, by which we are ally'd to the invisible World. 'Tis an adorning which recommends us to God, which is in his sight of great price; so the Text saith, and in that saith enough to its praise. Ornaments go by Estimation: now we may be sure, that the Judgment of God is right and unerring. Every thing is indeed, as it is with God: Those are righteous indeed,Luke 1. 6.Luke 1:6, that are righteous before God; and that is an Ornament indeed, which he calls and counts so. It is an Ornament of God's own p. 48making; Is the Soul thus deck'd? 'Tis he that hath deck'd it: By his Spirit he hath garnished the Heavens, Job 26. 13. and by the same Spirit hath he garnished the meek and quiet Soul. It is an Ornament of his accepting, (it must needs be so, if it be of his own working) for to him that hath this Ornament, more adorning shall be given. He hath promised, Psal. 149. 4. that he will beautifie the meek with Salvation; and if the Garaments of Salvation will not beautifie, what will? The Robes of Glory will be the everlasting Ornament of the meek and quiet Spirits. This Meekness is an Ornament which (like the Israelites Cloths in the Wilderness) never waxeth old, nor will ever go out of fashion, while right Reason and Religion have any place in the World: All wise and good People will reckon those best drest, that put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and walk with him in the white of Meekness and Innocence. Solomon in all his Glory was not arrayed like one of these Lillies of the Vallies, tho' Lillies among Thorns.

The same Ornament, which in the Text is recommended to Wives, is by the same Apostle recommended to us all, 1 Pet. 5. 5. Yea all of you be subject one to another, that explains what Meekness is; it is that mutual yielding which we owe one to another, for edification, and in the fear of God, (Eph 5. 21.) This seems to be a hard Saying, how shall we digest it? an impracticable Duty, how shall we conquer it? why, it follows, be cloathed with Humility. The word is foreign, innodate, from foreign,Vobis infixam …abete. Erasm., a Knot: Which notes, (1.) The fixedness of this Grace. We must gird it fast to p. 49us, and not leave it to hang loose so as to be snatch'd away by every Temptation; Carelesness is no commendation of the Souls adorning; Watchfulness and Resolution in the strength of Christ must tye the Knot upon our Graces, and make them as the Girdle that cleaves to a Man's Loins. (2.) The comliness and Ornament of it; Put it on as a Knot of Ribbands, as an Ornament to the Soul; such is the Meekness of Wisdom, it gives to the Head an Ornament of Grace, and (which is more) a Crown of Glory, Pro. 1. 9. and 4. 9.

4. There is in it the Credit of true Courage. Meekness is commonly despised and run down by the Grandees of the Age,Magni animi est proprium, placidumesse & injurias superne despicere. Sen., as a piece of Cowardise and Mean-spiritedness, and the evidence of a little Soul, and is posted accordingly, while the most furious and angry Revenges are celebrated and applauded under the pompous Names of Valor, and Honour, and Greatness of Spirit, which ariseth from a mistaken Notion of Courage, the true Nature whereof, is thus stated by a very ingenuous Pen**Norris, Miscell. p. 167, 168., That it is a Resolution never to decline any evil of pain, when the chusing of it, and the exposing of our selves to it, is the only Remedy against a greater evil; And therefore he that accepts a challenge, and so runs himself upon the evil of sin, which is the greater evil, only for fear of shame and reproach, which is the less evil, he is the Coward, while he that refuseth the challenge, and so exposeth himself to reproach, for fear of sin, he is the valiant Man. True Courage is such a presence of Mind, as enableth a Man rather to suffer than to sin, to chuse Affliction rather than Iniquity, to pass by an Affront, tho' he lose by p. 50it, and be hiss'd at for a Fool and a Sneak, rather than to engage in a sinful Quarrel. He that can deny the brutual Lust of Anger and Revenge, rather than violate the Royal Law of Love and Charity (however contrary the Sentiments of the World may be) he is truly Resolute and Couragious.Paul shew'd more true Valor when he said, I can do nothing against the Truth, than Goliah did when he desyed all the Hosts of Israel. Ward. The Lord is with thee, thou mighty Man of Valor. Fretting and Vexing is the fruit of the Weakness of Women and Children, but much below the strength of a Man, especially of the New Man, that is born from above. When our Lord Jesus is described in his Majesty, riding prosperously, the Glory he appears in, is Truth, and Meekness, and Righteousness, Psal. 45. 4. The Courage of those who overcome this great red Dragon of Wrath and Revenge, by meek and patient suffering, and by not loving their Lives unto the Death, Rev. 12. 11. will turn to the best and most honourable account on 'tother side the Grave, and will be crowned with Glory, and Honour, and Immortality, when those that caused their terror in the Land of the Living, fall ingloriously, and bear their shame with them that go down to the Pit, Ezek. 32. 24.

5. The Credit of a Conformity to the best Patterns. The Resemblance of those that are confessedly Excellent and Glorious, hath in it an Excellency and Glory. To be meek, is to be like the greatest Saints; the Elders that obtained a good Report, and were of Renown in their Generation. 'Tis to be like the greatest Angels, whose Meekness in their Converse with, and Ministration to the Saints, is very observable in the Scriptures; nay, it is to be like the Great God himself, whose Goodness is his Glory, (who p. 51is Deus Optimus, and therefore Maximus) who is slow to Anger, and in whom Fury is not, Isa. 27. 4. We are then followers of God, as dear Children, when we walk in Love, and are kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, Eph. 5. 1, 2. compare chap. 4. l. The more quiet and sedate we are, the more like we are to that God, who tho' he be nearly concerned in all the Affairs of this lower World, is yet far from being moved by its most violent Convulsions and Revolutions;The Hebrew Criticks observe, that in the name foreign All the Letters are quiescent. But as he was from Eternity, so he is and will be to Eternity, infinitely happy in the enjoyment of himself. It is spoken to his Praise and Glory, Psal. 29. 10. The Lord sits upon the Floods, even then, when the Floods have lifted up their voice, have lifted up their Waves, Psal. 93. 3, 4. Such is the Rest of the eternal Mind, that he sits as firm and undisturbed upon the moveable Flood,Quad disideras magnum & summum est, Deoque vicinum, non concuti. Sen. as upon the immoveable Rock, the same Yesterday, to Day, and for Ever; And the meek and quiet Soul that preserves its Peace and Evenness against all the ruffling Insults of Passion and Provocation, doth thereby somewhat participate of a Divine Nature, 2 Pet. 1. 4.—Diis proximus ille est. Quem ratio non ira movet. Claud.

Let the true Honour that attends this Grace of Meekness, recommend it to us: It is one of those things that are Honest, and Pure, and Lovely, and of good Report; A Vertue that hath a Praise attending it, Phil. 4. 8. A Praise, perhaps not of the most of Men, but of God, Rom. 2. 29. It is the certain way to get and keep, if not a great Name, yet a good Name. Such as is better than precious Ointment. Though there be those that trample upon the meek of the Earth, and look upon them as Michal upon p. 52David despising them in their Hearts, yet if this is to be vile, let us be yet more vile, and base in our own sight, and we shall find (as David argues there) that there are those of whom we shall be had in honour, sooner or later, 2 Sam. 6. 22. for the Word of Christ shall not fall to the Ground, that those who humble themselves shall be exalted.

[2.] Consider how comfortable a meek and quiet Spirit is. Inward Comfort is a desirable good, which hath more in it of reality, and depends less upon Opinion, than that of Credit: And this is that which Meekness and Quietness of Spirit, hath such a direct tendency to, nay which it carries along with it. What is true Comfort and Pleasure, but a Quietness in our own Bosom? Those are most easie to themselves, that are so to all about them, while they that are a burthen and a Terror to others, will not be much otherwise to themselves. He that would lead a quiet, must lead a peaceable Life, 1 Tim. 2. 2. The surest way to find Rest to our Souls, is to learn of him who is meek and lowly in heart, Mat. 11. 29. Let but our moderation be known unto all Men; And the Peace of God which passeth all understanding, will keep our Hearts and Minds, Phil. 4. 5, 7. Quietness is the thing which even the busie, noisie part of the World pretend to desire and pursue; They will be quiet, yea, that they will, or they'l know why, they will not endure the least disturbance of their Quietness. But verily they go a mad way to work, in pursuit of quietness; greatly to disquiet themselves inwardly, and put their Souls into a continual hurry, only to prevent or remedy some small outward Disquietment from p. 53others. But he that is meek, finds a sweeter, safer Quietness, and much greater Comfort than that which they in vain pursue. Great Peace have they that love this Law of Love, for nothing shall offend them, (Psal. 119. 165.) Whatever Offence is intended, it is not so interpreted, and by that means the Peace is preserved. If there be a Heaven any where upon Earth, it is in the meek and quiet Soul, that Acts, and Breaths above that lower Region, which is infested with Storms and Tempests, the Harmony of whose Faculties, is like the Musick of the Spheres they talk of, a perpetual Melody. Mercy and Truth are met together, Righteousness and Peace have kissed each other.

A meek and quiet Christian must needs live very comfortably, for he enjoys Himself, he enjoys his Friends, he enjoys his God, and he puts it out of the reach of his Enemies to disturb him in these Enjoyments.

1. He enjoys Himself. Meekness is very nearly ally'd to that Patience which our Lord Jesus prescribes to us, as necessary to the keeping of the Possession of our own Souls, Luke 21. 19. How Calm are the Thoughts, how Serene are the Affections, how Rational the Prospects, and how even and composed are all the Resolves of the Meek and Quiet Soul? How free from the Pains and Tortures of the angry Man,Opinion is the rate of Things, From which our Peace doth flow, I have a better fate than Kings, Because I think it so. Mrs. Phillips who is disseiz'd and dispossessed of himself; and while he toils and vexes to make other things his own, makes his own Soul not so: His Reason is in a mist, confounded and bewildred, cannot argue, infer, or foresee with p. 54any certainty. His Affections are upon the fullspeed, hurry'd on with an impetus, which is as uneasie as it is hazzardous. Who is that good Man that is satisfied from himself? —Ne te quaesiverius extra.Pro. 14. 14. Who but the quiet Man that needs not go abroad for satisfaction, but having Christ dwelling in his Heart by Faith, hath in him that Peace, which the World can neither give, nor take away: While those that are fretful and passionate, rise up early, and sit up late, and eat the Bread of Sorrow, in pursuit of revengeful Projects, the God of Peace giveth to his belov'd (Iedidijah's, one of Solomon's Names, who was a Man of Peace) sleep, Psal. 127. 2.) The sleep of the Meek is quiet, and sweet, and undisturbed: Those that by Innocency and Mildness, make themselves the Sheep of Christ, shall be made to lye down in the green Pastures, Psal. 23. 2. That which would break an angry Man's Heart, will not break a meek Man's Sleep. It is promised, Psal. 22. 26. That the meek shall eat and be satisfied. He hath what sweetness is to be had in his Common-Comforts, whilst the angry Man either cannot eat, his Stomach's too full, and too high, as Ahab, 1 Kings 21. 4. or eats and is not satisfied, unless he can be revenged, as Haman, Esth. 5. 12, 13. All this avails me nothing, (tho' it was a Banquet of Wine with the King and Queen) as long as Mordecai is unhang'd.

It is spoken of as the Happiness of the Meek, that they delight themselves in the abundance of Peace, Psal. 37. 11. others may delight themselves in the abundance of Wea…th; a poor delight that is interwoven with so much Trouble and Disquietment; but the meek, tho' they have but a p. 55little Wealth, have Peace, abundance of Peace, Peace like a River, and this such as they have a Heart to delight themselves in, sat lucis intus, as Oecolumpadius said, their Souls are a Goshen in the midst of the Aegypt of this World, they have Light in their Dwelling, when Clouds and Darkness are round about them: This is the joy which a stranger doth not intermeddle with. We may certainly have (and we would do well to consider it) less inward disturbance, and more true ease and satisfaction in forgiving twenty injuries, than in avenging one. No doubt Abigail intended more than she express'd, when to qualifie David, and to perswade him to pass by the Affront which Nabal had given him, she prudently suggested, that hereafter this shall be no grief unto thee, 1 Sam. 25▪ ver. 31.1 Sam 25:31nor offence of Heart.—Not only so, but it would be very sweet, and easie, and comfortable in the reflection. Such a rejoycing is it, especially in a Suffering-day, to have the Testimony of Conscience that in simplicity, and godly sincerity, 2 Cor: 1. 12.not with fleshly Wisdom, but by the Grace of God, particularly the Grace of Meekness, we have had our Conversation in the World, and so have pleased God, and done our Duty. He did not speak the Sense, no not of the sober Heathen, that said, Est vindicta bonum, vitâ jucundius ipsâ: Revenge is sweeter than Life, for it often proves more bitter than Death.

2. He enjoys his Friends:—And that's a thing in which lies much of the Comfort of humane Life. Man was intended to be a sociable Creature, and a Christian much more. But the angry Man is unfit to be so, that takes Fire at every Provocation; fitter to be abandoned p. 56to the Lions Dens, and the Mountains of the Leopards, than to go forth by the footsteps of the Flock. He that hath his hand against every Man, cannot but have (with Ishmael's Character, Ishmael's Fate) every Man's hand against him, (Gen. 16. 12.) and so he lives in a State of War; But Meekness is the Cement of Society, the Bond of Christian-Communion; it plaineth and polisheth the Materials of that Beautiful Fabrick, and makes them lye close and tight, and the living Stones which are built up a Spiritual House, to be like the Stones of the Temple that Herod built, all as one Stone, whereas, Hard upon hard (as the Spaniards Proverb is) will never make a Wall. Meekness preserves among Brethren that Unity, which is like the Ointment upon the Holy Head, and the Dew upon the Holy Hill, Psal. 133. 1, 2. In our present state of Imperfection there can be no Friendship, Correspondence or Conversation maintain'd without mutual Allowances; we do not yet dwell with Angels or Spirits of just Men made perfect, but with Men subject to like Passions. Now Meekness teaches us to consider this, and to allow accordingly, and so Distances and Strangeness, Fewds and Quarrels are happily prevented, and the beginnings of them crushed by a timely care. How necessary to true Friendship it is to surrender our Passions, and to subject them all to the Laws of it, was (perhaps) intimated by Ionathan's delivering to David his Sword, and his Bow, and his Girdle, all his Military Habiliments, when he entred into a Covenant of Friendship with him, 1 Sam. 18. 3. 4.

3. He enjoys his God; and that's most comfortable of all. 'Tis the Quintessence of all p. 57Happiness, and that without which all our other Enjoyments are sapless, and insipid: For this, none are better qualified than those that are arrayed with the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. 'Twas when the Psalmist had newly conquer'd an unruly Passion, and compos'd himself, that he lift up his Soul to God, in that pious and pathetical Breathing, Whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is none upon Earth, that I desire in comparison of thee? Psal. 73. 25. We enjoy God when we have the Evidences and Assurances of his F… vor, the Tasts and Tokens of his Love, when we experience in our selves the Communications of his Grace, and the continued instances of his Image stamped upon us: And this those that are most meek and quiet have usually the greatest degrees of. In our Wrath and Passion, we give place to the Devil, and so provoke God to withdraw from us: Nothing grieves the Holy Spirit of God (by whom we have Fellowship with the Father) more than bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, Eph. 4. 30, 31. But to this Man doth the God of Heaven look with a peculiar Regard, even to him that is poor, poor in Spirit, (Isa. 66. 2.) foreign—to him that is quiet, so the Syriack; to him that is meek, so the Caldee. The great God over-looks Heaven and Earth to give a favourable look to the Meek and Quiet Soul. Nay, he not only looks at such, but, Isa. 57. 15. He dwells with them; noting a constant Intercourse and Communion between God and humble Souls. His Secret is with them; he gives them more Grace, and they that thus dwell in Love, dwell in God, and God in Them. The Waters were dark indeed, but they were p. 58quiet, when the Spirit of God moved upon them, and out of them produced a beautiful World.

This calm and sedate Frame, doth very much qualifie and dispose us for the Reception and Entertainment of Divine Visits, and sets bounds to the Mountain, (Exod. 19. 12.) on which God is to descend, that no Interruption may break in, and chargeth the Daughters of Ierusalem, by the Roes and the Hinds of the Field (those sweet, and gentle, and peaceable Creatures) not to stir up or awake our Love until he please, Cant. 2. 7. Some think it was for the quieting and composing of his Spirit (which seems to have been a little ruffled) that Elisha call'd for the Minstrel, 2 Kings 3. 15. and then the hand of the Lord came upon him. Never was God more intimate with any meer Man, than he was with Moses, the meekest of all the Men on the Earth, and it was requir'd as a needful Qualification of the High-Priest, who was to draw near to Minister, that he should have Compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way, Heb. 5. 1, 2. The meek will be guide in Iudgment, with a still small Voice which cannot be heard, when the Passions are loud and tumultuous. The angry Man when he awakes, is still with the Devil, contriving some malicious Project; The meek and quiet Man, when he awakes is still with God, solacing himself in his favour. Return unto thy Rest, O my Soul, saith David, Psal. 116. 7. when v. 6. he had reckon'd himself among the simple, i. e. the mild, innocent, and inoffensive People. Return to thy Noah, so the word is, (for Noah had his Name from Rest) perhaps alluding to the Rest which the Dove found with Noah in p. 59the Ark, when she could find none any where else. Those that are harmless, and galless, and simple as Doves, can with comfort return to God as to their Rest. It is excellently paraphras'd by Mr. Patrick, God and thy Self (my Soul) enjoy; in quiet Rest, free'd from thy Fears. It is said, Psalm 147. 6. That the Lord lifteth up the meek; As far as their Meekness Reigns, they are lifted up above the stormy Region, and fixt in a Sphere perpetually calm and serene. They are advanced indeed that are at home in God, and live a Life of Communion with him, not only in Solemn Ordinances, but even in the Common Accidents and Occurences of the World. Every Day is a Sabbath-day, a Day of Holy Rest with the meek and quiet Soul, that is, one of the Days of Heaven. As this Grace gets ground, the Comforts of the Holy Ghost grow stronger and stronger, according to that precious Promise, Isa. 29. 19. The Meek also shall increase their Ioy in the Lord, and the Poor among Men, shall rejoyce in the Holy One of Israel.

4. It is not in the Power of his Enemies to disturb and interrupt him in these Enjoyments. His Peace is not only sweet, but safe and secure: As far as he acts under the Law of Meekness, it is above the reach of the assaults of those that wish ill to it. He that abides quietly under the shadow of the Almighty, shall surely be delivered from the Snare of the Fowler, Psal. 91. 1, 3. The greatest Provocations that Men can give would not hurt us,Nemo laeditur nisi à seipso. Dict. Diogen. if we did not, by our inordinate and foolish concern, come too near them, and within reach of their Canon; we may therefore thank our selves, if we be damaged; He that hath learned, with Meekness and Quietness, p. 60to forgive Injuries, and pass them by, hath found the best and surest way of baffling and defeating them,Idcirco quis te laedit ut doleas, quia fructus laedentis in dolore laesi est, ergo, cum fructumejus everteris non dolendo, ipse doleat necesse est amissione fructûs sui Improbum caedis sustinendo. Tertull. de patientiâ cap. 8. nay, it is a kind of innocent Revenge. It was an evidence that Saul was acted by another Spirit, in that when the Children of Belial despis'd him, and brought him no Presents, hoping by that Contempt to give a shock to his Infant-Government, he held his peace, and so neither his Soul, nor his Crown received any disturbance, 1 Sam. 10. 27. Shimei, when he cursed David, intended thereby to pour Vinegar into his Wounds, and to add affliction to the afflicted: but David, by his Meekness, preserv'd his Peace, and Shimei's design was frustrated, So let him curse; (2 Sam. 16. 10.) Alas poor Creature! he hurts himself more than David, who, while he keeps his Heart from being Tinder to those Sparks, is no more prejudiced by them, than the Moon is by the foolish Curr that barks at it. The meek Man's Prayer is that of David, Psal. 61. 2. Lead me to the Rock that is higher than I: And there I can (as Mr. Norris expresses it,)

—smile to see,

The Shafts of Fortune all drop short of me.

The meek Man is like a Ship that rides at Anchor, movetur sed non amovetur; the Storm moves it, (the meek Man is not a Stock or Stone under Provocation,) but doth not remove it from its Port. It is a Grace that in reference to the Temptations of Affront and Injury, as Faith in reference to Temptation in general,Meekness is the greatest Affront to all Injuries in the World, for it returns them upon the injurious, and makes them Useless, Ineffective and Innocent. Taylor, Great Exempl. p. 304. quencheth the siery Darts of the Wicked; it is Armor of p. 61Proof against the spiteful and envenom'd Arrows of Provocation, and is an impregnable Wall to secure the Peace of the Soul there, where Thief cannot break thro' to steal, while the angry Man lays all his Comforts at the Mercy of every Wasp that will strike at him.

So that, upon the whole Matter, it appears, That the Ornament of a meek and quiet Spirit, is as easie as it is comely.

[3.] Consider how profitable a meek and quiet Spirit is. All People are for what they can get; 'tis that which the busie World is set upon, Every one for his Gain from his Quarter, Isa. 56. 11. 'Tis for this that they break their Sleep, and spend their Spirits, and raise so great a Dust: Now it will be hard to convince such, that really there is more to be gotten by Meekness and Quietness of Spirit, than by all this Hurry and Adoe. They readily believe, that in all Labour, there is Profit; but let God himself tell them, In Returning and rest shall ye be saved, in Quietness and in Confidence shall be your strength, they will not take his Word for it, but they say, (as it follows there) No, for we will flee upon Horses, and we will ride upon the Swift, Isa. 30. 15, 16. He that came from Heaven to bless us, hath entail'd a special Blessing upon the Grace of Meekness, Mat. 5. 5. Blessed are the Meek; and his saying, they are blessed, makes them so, for those whom he blesseth, are blessed indeed; blessed, and they shall be blessed.

Meekness is gainful and profitable.

1. As it is the Condition of the Promise: The Meek are therefore blessed, for they shall inherit the Earth. 'Tis quoted from Psal. 37. 11. and is almost the only express Promise of temporal p. 62good things in all the new Testament.As Heaven is taken by Violence, so is Earth by Meekness. Trap. in loc. Not that the Meek shall be put off with the Earth only, then they would not be truly blessed, but they shall have that as an Earnest of something more. Some read it, They shall inherit the Land; i. e. the Land of Canaan, which was not only a Type and Figure, but to them that believed, a Token and Pledge of the Heavenly Inheritance. So that, A double Canaan (as Dr. Hammond observes) is thought little enough for the meek Man.Pract. Cat. p. (mihi) 117 The same Felicity, in a manner, attending him, which we believe of Adam, if he had not fallen, a Life in Paradise, and from thence a Transplantation to Heaven.— But besides this, Meekness is a branch of Godliness, which hath more than other Branches of it, the promise of the Life that now is, 1 Tim. 4. 8. They shall inherit the Earth; the sweetest and surest Tenure is that by Inheritance, which is founded in Sonship: That which comes by Descent to the Heir, the Law attributes to the Act of God, who hath a special Hand in providing for the Meek. They are his Children, and if Children, then Heirs. It is not always the largest Proportion of this World's Goods, that falls to the meek Man's share, but whether he hath more less, he hath it by the best Title; not by a Common, but a Covenant-Right: He holds in Capite, Terram inhabitant quam sibi divinitus concessam esse norunt, & securè agunt sub Dei tutelâ, et hoc illis satis est donec mundi haereditatem ulti…o die adeant. Feroces vero omnia possidendo nihil possident. Calv. in Mat. 5. 5.Matt 5:5in Christ our Head, an honourable Tenure.

If he hath but a little, he hath it from God's Love, and with his Blessing, and behold all things p. 63are clean and comfortable to him. The wise Man hath determined it, Prov. 17. 1. Better is a dry Morsel and quietness therewith, than a Housefull of Sacrifices with strife: And chap. 15. 17. Better is a Dinner of Herbs where love is, than a stalled Ox and hatred therewith. Be the Commons never so short, he that hath Rule over his own Spirit, knows how to make the best of them; how to suck Honey out of the Rock, and Oil out of the f…inty Rock, Deut. 32. 13. Blessed are the meek, for they shall weild the Earth; so Old Wickleff's Translation reads it, (as I remember 'tis quoted in The Book of Martyrs) and very significantly. Good Management contributes more to our comfort, than great Possessions. Whatever a meek Man hath of this Earth, he knows how to weild it, to make a right and good use of it, and that's all in all. Quiet Souls so far inherit the Earth, that they are sure to have as much of it as is good for them; as much as will serve to bear their Charges thro' this World to a better, and who would cover more? Enough is as good as a Feast. The Promise of God without present Possession, is better than Possession of the World, without an interest in the Promise.

2. As it hath in its own Nature a direct tendency to our present Benefit and Advantage. He that is thus wise, is wise for himself, even in this World, and effectually Consults his own Interest.

1. Meekness hath a good influence upon our Health. If envy be the rottenness of the Bones, Pro. 14. 30. Meekness is the Preservation of them. As the indulging of inordinate Appetites towards those things that are pleasing to the Flesh, so the p. 64indulging of inordinate Passions against those things that are displeasing, do in the effect prejudice and injure the very Body which they contend so much for. The Excesses and Exorbitances of Anger, stir up those peccant Humors in the Body, which kindle and increase wasting and killing Diseases, but Meekness governs these Humors, and so contributes very much to the good Temper and Constitution of the Body. When Ahab was sick for Naboth's Vineyard, Meekness would soon have cured him. Moses, the meekest of Men, not only liv'd to be old, but was then free from the Infirmities of Age; His Eye was not dim, nor his Natural Force abated, Deut. 34. 7. which may be very much imputed to his Meekness, as a means. The days of old Age would not be such evil Days, if old People did not, by their own frowardness and unquietness, make them worse than otherwise they would be. Ungovern'd Anger enflames the Natural Heat, and so begets acute Diseases, drys up the Radical Moisture, and so hastens Chronical Decays. The Body is call'd, the Sheath or Scabbard of the Soul, Dan. 7. 15. Marg. How often doth an envious fretful Soul, like a Sharp Knife, cut its own Sheath, and, as they say of the Vipers Brood, eat its own way out: All which Meekness happily prevents.

The Quietness of the Spirit will help to cool distempering Heats, to suppress Melancholy Vapours; and this, as other of Wisdom's Precepts, will be Health to the Navel, and Marrow to the Bones; Length of Days, and long Life, and Peace shall they add unto thee, but Wrath kills the foolish Man, Job 5. 2.

p. 652. It hath a good influence upon our Wealth, the preservation and increase of it. As in Kingdoms, so in Families and Neighbourhoods; War begets Poverty. Many a one hath brought a fair Estate to ruine, by giving way to the Efforts of an ungovern'd Anger, that barbarous Idol to which even the Children's Portions, and the Families Maintenance are oftentimes sacrificed. Contention will as soon cloath a Man with Rags as Sloathfulness; that therefore which keeps the Peace doth not a little befriend the plenty. It was Abraham's meek Management of his Quarrel with Lot, that secured both his own and his Kinsman's Possessions, which otherwise would have been an easie Prey to the Canaanite and the Perizzite that dwelt then in the Land, Gen. 13. 7, 8. And Isaac, whom I have sometimes thought to be the most quiet and calm of all the Patriarchs, and that passed the days of his Pilgrimage most silently, raised the greatest Estate of any of them, Gen. 26. 13. he grew till he became very great: And his Son Iacob lost nothing at long run, by his meek and quiet Carriage towards his Uncle Laban. Revenge is costly; Haman bid largely for it, no less than ten thousand Talents of Silver, Esth. 3. 9. it's better to forgive, and save the Charges. Mr. Dod us'd to say, Love is better than Law, for Love is cheap, but Law is chargeable. Those Tradesmen are commonly observ'd to thrive most, that make the least noise, that with quietness Work, and mind their own Business, 2 Thes. 3. 12.

3. It hath a good influence upon our Safety. In the day of the Lord's Anger, the meek of the Earth are most likely to be secured. It may be you shall be hid, so runs the Promise, Zeph. 2. 3. p. 66If any be, you shall, you stand fairest for special Protections. Meekness approacheth to that Innocence which is commonly an effectual security against Wrongs and Injuries. However, some base and servile Spirits may insult over the Tame and Humble: Yet with all Persons of Honour, it is confessedly a piece of Cowardise to set upon an unarm'd unresisting Man, that resents not Provocation, and is ready to yield to every demand. Who is he that will harm you, if you be followers foreign, of him that is Good, in his Goodness, 1 Pet. 3. 13. Who draws his Swor… or cocks his Pistol at the harmless silent Lamb, while every one is ready to do it, at the furious barking Dog? thus doth the meek Man escape many of those perplexing Troubles, those Woes, and Sorrows, and Wounds without cause, which he that is Passionate, Provoking and Revengeful, pulls upon his own Head. Wise Men turn away Wrath, but a Fool's Lips enter into Contention, and his Mouth calleth for Strokes. It is an Honour to a Man to cease from strife, but every Fool will be meddling to his own hurt. An instance of this I remember Mr. Baxter gives in his Book of Obedient Patience, which was this, That once going along London-streets a Hectoring rude Fellow justled him; he went on his way and took no notice of it; but the same Man affronting the next he met in like manner, he drew his Sword and demanded Satisfaction, and Mischief was done. He that would sleep both in a whole Skin, and in a whole Conscience, must learn rather to forgive Injuries, than to revenge them. The two Goats that met upon the narrow Bridge (as it is in Luther's Fable) were both in danger, should they quarrel, p. 67but were both preserv'd by the Condescension of one that lay down and let the other go over him. It is the evil of Passion that it turns our Friends into Enemies, but it is the excellency of Meekness, that it turns our Enemies into Friends, which is an effectual way of conquering them. Saul, as inveterate an Enemy as could be, was more than once melted by David's Mildness and Meekness, Is this thy voice, my Son David? saith he, 1 Sam. 24. 16. I have sinned, return my Son David, 1 Sam. 26. 21. And after that, Saul persecuted him no more, Chap. 27. 4. The change that Iacob's Meekness made in Esau is no less o…servable, and (some think) is remark'd as very strange and surprizing, by an unusual Pointing in the Hebrew Text, upon Esau's kissing Iacob, Gen. 33. 4. foreign a prick over every Letter, to put the Reader in mind to take special notice of it. In the ordinary Dispensations of Providence, some tell us**Dr: Hammond, Pract. Cat. p. 117., they have found it remarkably true in times of Publick Trouble and Calamity, it hath commonly fared best with the meek and quiet; their Lot hath been safe and easie, especially if compared with the contrary Fate of the turbulent and seditious. Whoso is wise and observes these things will understand the loving kindness of the Lord to the quiet in the Land, against whom we read indeed of Plots laid, and deceitful matters devis'd, Psal. 35. 20.—37, 12, 14. But those by a kind and over-ruling Providence ordinarily baffled and made succesless. Thus doth this Grace of Meekness carry its own Recompence along with it, and in keeping of this Commandment, as well as after keeping it, there is a great Reward, Psalm 19. 11.

p. 68[4.] Consider what a Preparative it is for something further. It is a very desirable thing to stand compleat in all the Will of God, Col. 4. 12. to be fitted and furnished for every good Work, to be made ready, a people prepared for the Lord: A living Principle of Grace is the best Preparation for the whole Will of God. Grace is establishing to the Heart, it is the Root of the Matter, and a good Foundation for the time to come. This Grace of Meekness is particularly a good Preparation, for what lies before us in this World.

1. It makes us fit for any Duty. It puts the Soul in Frame, and keeps it so for all Religious Exercises. There was no noise of Axes and Hammers in the building of the Temple: Those are most fit for Temple-service that are most quiet and compos'd. The Work of God is best done, when it is done without noise. Meekness qualities and disposes us to hear and receive the Word: When Malice and Envy are laid aside, and we are like new-born Babes, for Innocency and Inoffensiveness, then we are most fit to receive the sincere Milk of the Word, and are most likely to grow thereby, 1 Pet. 2. 1, 2. Meekness prepares the Soil of the Heart, for the Seed of the Word, as the Husbandman opens and breaks the Clods of his Ground, and makes plain the face thereof, and then casts in the principal Wheat, and the appointed Barley, Isa. 28. 24, 25. Christs Ministers are Fishers of Men, but we seldom fish successfully in these troubled Waters. The Voice Eliphaz heard was ushered in with a profound silence, Iob 4. 16. and in slumbrings upon the Bed, a quiet Place and Posture. God openeth the Ears of Men, and sealeth their Instructions, p. 69Job 33. 15, 16. Prayer is another Duty which Meekness doth dispose us for the right and acceptable Performance of. We do not lift up pure Hands in Prayer, if they be not without Wrath, 1 Tim. 2. 8. Prayers made in Wrath are written in Gall, and can never be pleasing to, or prevailing with the God of Love and Peace. Our Rule is, First go and be reconciled to thy Brother, and then come and offer thy Gift, Leave thy Gift: foreign. Chrysost. Hom.Mat. 5. 23, 24. And if we do not take this method, though we seek God in a due Ordinance we do not seek him in the due Order.

The Lord's Day is a day of Rest, and none are fit for it, but those that are in a quiet Frame, whose Souls are entred into that present Sabbatism, which the Gospel hath provided for the People of God, Heb. 4. 9. The Lord's Supper is a Gospel-Feast of Unleavened Bread, Quid est ad pacem Dei accedere sine pace? ad remissionem debitorum cum retentione? quomodo placabit patrem iratus in fratrem, cùm, omnis ir… ab i…itio interdicta sic nobis? Tertul. de Orat. c. 10.which must be kept not with the old Leaven of Wrath, and Malice, and Wickedness, but with the Unleavened Bread of Sincerity and Truth.

God made a gracious visit to Abraham, Gen. 13. 14. After that Lot was separated from him, viz. After the Strife betwixt him and Lot was over, in which he had discovered so much Mildness and Humility. The more carefully we preserve the Communion of Saints, the fitter we are for Communion with God. It is observable, that the Sacrifices which God appointed under the Law, were not ravenous Beasts, and Birds of p. 70Prey, but Calves, and Kids, and Lambs, and Turtle Doves, and young Pigeons, all of them Emblems of Meekness, and Gentleness, and Inoffensiveness, for with such Sacrifices God is well pleased. This quietness of Spirit contributes very much to the constant steddiness and regularity of a religious Conversation. Hot and eager Spirits that are ready to take Fire at every thing, are usually very inconstant in their Profession, and of great Inconsistency with themselves, like a Man in an Ague Fit, sometimes burning hot, and sometimes shivering for cold; or like those that Gallop in the beginning of their Journey, and tire before the end of it; whereas the meek and quiet Christian is still the same, and by keeping to a constant rate rids Ground. If you would have one Foot of the Compasses go even round the Circumference, you must be sure to keep the other fixt and quiet in the Centre, for your strength is to sit still.

2. It makes us fit for any Relation, which God in his Providence may call us into. Those that are quiet themselves, cannot but be easie to all that are about them, and the nearer any are to us in Relation and Converse, the more desirable it is that we should be easie to them. Relations are various, as Superiors, Inferiors and Equals; he that is of a meek and quiet Spirit, is cut out for any of them. Moses was forty Years a Courtier in Aegypt, forty Years a Servant in Midian, and forty Years a King in Ieshrun, and his Meekness qualified him for each of these Posts, and still he held fast his Integrity. There are various Duties requisite, according as the Relation is, and various Graces to be exercised, but this of Meekness is the Golden Thread that must run thro' p. 71all. If Man be a sociable Creature, the more he hath of Humanity, the more fit he is for Society. Meekness would greatly help to preserve the Wisdom and due Authority of Superiors, the Obedience and due Subjection of Inferiors, and the Love and mutual Kindness and Serviceableness of Equals. A calm and quiet Spirit receives the comfort of the Relation most thankfully, studies the Duty of the Relation most carefully, and bears the Inconvenience of the Relation (for there is no unmixed Comfort under the Sun) most chearfully and easily. I have heard of a Married Couple, who, tho' they were both naturally of a hot and hasty Temper, yet lived very comfortably in that Relation by observing an Agreement made between themselves, Never to be both angry together; an excellent law of Meekness it is, which if faithfully liv'd up to, would prevent many of those Breaches among Relations, which occasion so much Guilt and Grief, and are seldom heal'd without a Scar. 'Twas part of the good Advice given by a Pious and Ingenious Father, to his Children newly entred into the Conjugal Relation,

Doth one speak Fire? 'tother with Water come;

Is one provok'd? be 'tother soft or dumb.

And thus one wise, both happy. But where Wrath and Anger are indulged, all Relations are embittered, those that should be helps meet, become as Thorns in our Eyes, and Goads in our sides. Two indeed are better than one, and yet it is better to dwell alone in the Wilderness, than with a Contentious and Angry Relation, who is like a continual dropping in a very rainy day, Pro. p. 7221. 19.—27. 15. Some of the Hebrew Criticks have noted, that if you take away foreign the fear of the Lord, from foreign and foreign Husband and Wife; there remains nothing but foreign and foreign Fire, Fire.—It is so in other Relations.

3. It makes us fit for any Condition, according as the wise God shall please to dispose of us. Those that through Grace are enabled to compose and quiet themselves, are fit to live in this World, where we meet with so much every day to discompose and disquiet us. In general, whether the outward Condition be prosperous or adverse, whether the World smile or frown upon us, a meek and quiet Spirit is neither lifted up with the one, nor cast down with the other, but still in the same poise: In Prosperity humble and condescending, the Estate rising, but the Mind not rising with it; in Adversity encourag'd and chear'd up, cast down, but not in despair; in both even, like a Dye, throw it which way you will it lights on a square side. St. Paul that had learn'd in every Estate to be content, foreign, satisfied within himself, knew how to be abased, and knew how to abound, every where, and in all things he was instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need, Phil. 4. 11, 12. Changes without, made none within. It is a Temper which, as far as it hath the Ascendant in the Soul, makes every Burthen sit light, by bringing the Mind to the Condition, when the Condition is not in every thing brought to the Mind. Prosperity and Adversity have each of them their particular Temptation to Peevishness and Frowardness, the former by making Men imperious, the latter by making Men impatient; against the Assaults of each p. 73of these Temptations, the Grace of Meekness will stand upon the Guard. Being to pass thro' this World by Honour and Dishonour, by evil Report, and good Report; that is, thro'a great variety of Conditions and Treatments, we have need of that long-suffering and kindness, and love unfeigned, which will be armour of Righteousness, on the right hand and on the left. I refer you to that Scripture, 2 Cor. 6. 6, 7, 8. Meekness and quietness will fortifie the Soul on each hand, and suit it to the several Entertainments which the World gives us, like a skilful Pilot, that which Point of the Compass soever the Wind blows from, will shift his Sails accordingly, and knows either how to get forward, and weather his Point with it, or however to lye by without damage.foreign Epict. c. 13. It is the continual easiness of a quiet Temper to make the best of that which is.

4. It makes us fit for a Day of Persecution. If Tribulation and Affliction arise because of the word (which is no foreign Supposition) the meek and quiet Spirit is arm'd for it, so as to preserve its Peace and Purity at such a time, which are our two great Concernments, that we may neither torment our selves with a base fear, nor pollute our selves with a base compliance. We use to say, We will give any thing for a quiet Life, I say, any thing but a quiet Conscience, which will be best secur'd under the Shield of a meek and quiet Spirit, which doth not render railing for railing, 1 Pet. 3. 9. nor aggravate the threatned Trouble, or respresent it to it self in p. 74its most formidable Colours, but has learn'd to put a but upon the power of the**most new enraged Enemies; they can but kill the Body, and to witness the most righteous Testimony with Meekness and Fear, 1 Pet. 3. 15. like our Master, who when he suffered, threatned not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously, 1 Pet. 2. 23. Suffering-Saints, (as the Suffering-Jesus) are compar'd to Sheep, Isa. 53. 7. Rom. 8. 36.) as Sheep dumb before the Shearer, nay, dumb before the Butcher. The meek and quiet Christian, if duly call'd do it, can tamely part, not only with the Wool, but with the Blood; not only with the Estate, but with the Life, and even then rejoyce with joy unspeakable and full of Glory. Angry froward. People in a day of Rebuke, are apt to pull Crosses upon themselves by needless Provocations, or to murmur, and complain, and fly in the face of Instruments, and give unbecoming Language, contrary to the Laws of our Holy Religion, and the Example of our Master, and so do more hurt than good by their suffering. Whenever we have the honour to be persecuted for righteousness-sake, our great care must be to glorifie God, and to adorn our Profession (which is done most effectually by Meekness and Mildness under the hardest Censures, and the most cruel Usage.) So manifesting that we are indeed under the power and influence of that Holy Religion, which we think it worth our while to suffer for.

5. It makes us fit for Death and Eternity. The Grave is a quiet place, there the wicked cease from troubling, Job 3. 17. Those that were most troublesom are there bound to the Peace; and their Hatred and Envy (those great make-bates) p. 75are there perished, Eccles. 9. 6. Whether we will or no, in the Grave we shall lye still and be quiet, Job 3. 13. What a great Change them must it needs be to unquiet, angry and litigious People, and what a mighty shock will that sudden forced Rest give them after such a violent rapid Motion! It is therefore our Wisdom to compose our selves for the Grave, to prepare our selves for it, by Adapting and Accommodating our selves to that which is likely to be our long Home; this is dying daily; quieting our selves, for Death will shortly quiet us.

The meek and quiet Soul is at Death let into that Rest, which it hath been so much labouring after, and how …welcome must that needs be?—Thoughts of Death and the Grave are very agreeable to those who love to be quiet, for then and there, they shall enter into Peace, and rest in their Beds, Isa. 57. 2.

After Death we expect the Judgment, than which, nothing is more dreadful to them that are Contentious, Rom. 2. 8. The coming of the Master brings terror along with it, to those that smite their Fellow-Servants, Luke 12. 45, 46. but those that are meek and quiet are likely to have their Plea ready, their Accounts stated, and whenever it comes, it will be no surprize to them: To those whose Moderation is known to all Men, it will be no ungrateful News, to hear that the Lord is at hand, Phil. 4. 5. It is therefore prescrib'd as that which ought to be our constant care, that whenever our Master comes, we may be found of him in Peace, 2 Pet. 3. 14. i. e. in a peaceable Temper. Blessed is that Servant, whom his Lord when he comes shall find in such a frame. A good Man (saith the late excellent A. B. Tillotson, p. 76in his Preface to his Book of Family Religion) would be loth to be taken out of the World reeking hot from a sharp Contention with a perverse Adversary; and not a little out of Countenance to find himself in this Temper translated into the calm and peaceable Regions of the Blessed, where nothing but perfect Charity and Good-will reigns for ever. Heaven for certain is a quiet Place, and none are fit for it but quiet People. The Heavenly Canaan, that Land of Peac…, would be no Heaven to those that delight in War; turbulent and unquiet People would be out of their Element, like a Fish upon Dry Ground, in those Calm Regions.

They are the Sheep of Christ, such as are patient and inoffensive, that are called to inherit the Kingdom; without are Dogs that bite and devour, Rev. 22. 15.

They are the Wings of a Dove, not those of a Hawk or Eagle that David would fly upon to his desired Rest, Psal. 55. 6.

Now lay all this together, and then consider, Whether there be not a real excellency in this Meekness and Quietness of Spirit, which doth highly recommend it to all that Love either God, or themselves, or have any sensible Regard to their own Comfort, either in this World, or in that to come.