Trouble of the Mind and the Disease of Melancholy, Discourse · Part 1 · Chapter 5
CHAP. V.
Shewing the unreaſonableneſs of long-continued angers among good People; as alſo, that the temporary effects of God's diſpleaſure, are more elegible than the wrath of Men. Of the Excellency of Religion; and that the Enemies of the Church have no cauſe to inſult over it, becauſe of its certain deliverance, and the diſmal Concluſion of their own Wickedneſs; upon which account Chriſtians have no Reaſon to envy their Proſperity.
Inf. 2. SEeing God is angry but for a moment, How unreaſonable are long-continued Angers among good People? Let not the ſun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place to the devil, Eph. 4.26, 27. i. e. he that has injured or provoked another, muſt come to a Temper, and ſue for a Reconciliation ſpeedily, or elſe before the time of ſolemn praying to God, which was conſtantly at Evening, and ſo the Exhortation bears proportion with that, Matth. 5.23, 24. If thou bringeſt thy gift unto the altar, and there remembreſt that thy brother hath ought againſt thee, leave there thy gift, and firſt be reconciled to thy brother. See Dr. Hammond in loc. It is a ſtrange thing that any good people ſhould be ſo paſſionate and haſty, as ſome are; they are quickly enraged, and hard to be reconcil'd; and there are many that will keep their Anger for ſeveral months, and it may be years together. Oh! how unlike is this to that God whom they call their Father in Heaven, who is ſlow to Wrath, and whoſe Anger towards them is but for a moment! And what an Honour, and a Priviledge would it be to reſemble him? If he were not more patient with his Creatures, and his Children, than they are with one another, What Confuſions, what woful Puniſhments would the World be filled withal? Anger reſts in the boſom of fools, Eccleſ. 7.9. Your haſty paſſionate people are commonly the weaker ſort of Chriſtians; and tho the ſtrong muſt pity their weakneſs, and bear with them, yet they muſt not bear with themſelves, but pray and ſtrive againſt it, and not coin Excuſes to defend that which is inexcuſable, which is a reproach to Religion, and in it ſelf a great Sin. A good Man may be ſurpriz'd on a ſudden, and put into a fret; but to be always fretting, and uneaſy, and diſpleaſed with thoſe that have injured you, is a thing very unſuitable to the Example of your bleſſed and your meek Saviour; what pleaſure can ſuch take in hearing that their Enemies abroad loſe the day, when they have a worſe Enemy in their own breaſts, that leads them Captive, and takes them at the firſt aſſault? The worſt Enemies in this ſenſe, are thoſe of a Man's own houſe. And it is a wonder that thoſe perſons who appear to be very Conſcientious in other things, yet indulge themſelves in this; they give place to the Devil, and he caſts a miſt before their Eyes; and tho he cannot keep them from fearing other Sins, yet he ſo cheats them with falſe pretences, that they do not believe raſh Anger to be a Sin, or are eaſily drawn to the Commiſſion of it. What differences have been kept up in Churches, in Families, among Acquaintance and Friends, for a long ſpace together, whoſe Anger ſhould have been like that of God, but for a moment? They conſider not aright their own duty, nor the infirmity of Mankind, and how moſt of their Errors are to be cured in a loving, and and a gentle manner. We are unwilling to pardon our Enemies, or the Injuries of our Friends, and God is moſt ready to forgive us all. Eph. 4.32. Be ye kind one to another, tender hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Chriſt's ſake hath forgiven you. There are, it may be, ſome Angers that have laſted ten or twelve years, and what Eſtrangement, what Diſtance, what Shineſs is there among ſuch? It may be ſpoken to their ſhame. How hardly will Men that have received an Injury, ſpeak well of the Perſons that have given them, perhaps but a ſlight provocation? They'll have no Commerce, nor Familiarity with them; but, is this a bleſſing of thoſe that curſe us, and a praying for thoſe that diſpightfully uſe us? Is this an Imitation of our Gracious God, that has forgiven us all, innumerable provocations? I mention not here your brave Fellows, that upon every ſmall Affront, are for challenging another to give them Satisfaction, that are ſo weak, that they cannot agree without a Duel; whom a falſe notion of Honour puſhes forward to thoſe raſh enterpriſes, that are condemned both by the Laws of God, and the Laws of Men. And is not he a ſtout man who has the courage to trample upon the authority of his Maker, and his Rulers too; who dares venture his damnation, to preſerve his Reputation; and hazards the ſending of his own Soul, or that of his friend, to Hell, to keep him from the name of Cowardiſe on Earth? What a low value have theſe perſons of their lives, that throw them away meerly to ſatisfy their own paſſion? And in what poſture or preparation is that man for dying, that dyes to ſatisfy his own Revenge? It would be more honourable to forgive a fault, than to purſue it after ſuch a bloody manner; but you have not ſo learned Chriſt, Jam. 1.19. Wherefore my beloved brethren, let every man be ſwift to hear, ſlow to ſpeak ſlow to wrath; for the wrath of man worketh not the righteouſneſs of God
Inf. 3. Seeing the anger of God is but for a moment, then 'tis better as to the temporal effects of it, to fall into the hands of God, than into the hands of Men. We may ſay of all wicked men, what Jacob ſays of Simeon and Levi, Gen. 49.5. Inſtruments of cruelty are in their habitations. O my ſoul, come not thou into their ſecret: unto their aſſembly mine honour be not thou united: Curſed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it was cruel; their tender mercies are cruelty, Prov. 12.10. Wicked men are ſoon tranſported into violent paſſions; and when they are armed with a power ſuitable to their Rage, what horrible effects does it then produce? they are inſpired with barbarous Principles and Deſigns, by an evil ſpirit, that delights in miſcheif: And he communicates to them of his own Fury; And what is it that they then ſcruple? Nothing ſoftens or makes impreſſions on their cruel hearts: Of theſe the ſeveral Maſſacres there have been in Ireland, and Predmont, and France have been ſad inſtances; they ſpared not the aged, the feeble, the ſick, the young; no Age or Sex but felt the woful effects of their wrath and rage; they have torn poor harmleſs Infants from their Mothers Breaſts, others they have killed in the Womb; ſome they have cut in pieces, others they have put to long Tortures and Lingring Deaths; and were nor moved at all with the hideous cries of Parents, that dyed ſeveral deaths in beholding their Children dye; and then when their eyes had beheld the ſad Spectacle, had their own Blood ſhed. Oh what a vaſt difference is there between the temporary Anger of God, as to outward evils, and that of men? He no ſooner ſees us at his feet, but his bowels earn over us, and he raiſes us up with his hand, and bids us be of good cheer; but theſe cruel mend…light to trample on the poor and the deſolate: He hears our cries when we pray, but they are deaf to all the entreaties and ſupplications of afflicted and miſerable People; they ſet themſelves to invent methods of Torture, to make thoſe that are within their power to dye with greater pain and ſorrow; but God does not willingly grieve, nor afflict the children of men. Their wrath is unruly, does aſſign it ſelf no bounds; they know no moderation; they forbear nothing that tends to gratify their Luſts; but it is a comfort that our God is of Great power, and his mercies are infinite; men go about that work, which God ſometimes permits them to do, with cruel intentions to ruin and deſtroy; but God with a deſign in all his Corrections to purify and reform, and to do us good in the latter end, 2 Sam: 24.13, 14. God came to David, and told him, Shall ſeven years of famine come unto thee in thy Land? Or wilt thou flee three Months before thine enemies, while they purſue thee? or that there be three days peſtilence in thy land? Now adviſe, and ſee what anſwer I ſhall return to him that ſent me. And David ſaid unto Gad, I am in a great ſtrait: let us fall now into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great; and let me not fall into the hand of man.
Inf. 4. What a good Maſter is God, whoſe anger is but for a moment? other Maſters may be haſty, and froward, and hard to pleaſe; but he is patient and ſlow to wrath; he is never angry till we diſobey his voice, and by our Lazineſs in his work, force him to it; and even then his nature enclines him to moderate our ſtripes; and he adds no more, than what are neceſſary to promote our good; he treats us not as ſlaves, but exerciſes toward us a mild and a favourable Government; He threatens a long while, before he puniſhes; the clouds gather blackneſs, to give us notice of a coming Storm; and the Thunder of his wrath, as well as that of nature, doth roar before it falls: he threatens, and adviſes, and perſwades, and uſes ſeveral affectionate expoſtulations with us, before we feel the Rod; and when in vindicating his own right, he ſeems to be very Juſt, he ceaſes not at the ſame time, to be very Good; we frequently provoke him, and he is moſt ready to forgive; he ſeeks not advantages againſt us, nor waits for our halting; it grieves him when we ſin, and he is only angry that we may repent; he delights in peace, and not in war; in the manifeſtations of his Mercy and Love, more than in the terrible diſcoveries of his wrath: He whets his Sword before he ſtrikes, that in the preparations of his Judgments, we may ſee what we may expect, and ſeek to prevent them: He ſummons us to ſurrender our ſelves, before he begins to make us, by ſharper methods, to be ſenſible of our follies; and whilſt his Rod is in his hand, he ſtays to ſee if we will even then return; and he is unwilling to puniſh, even when he is forced to do it; as a tender Judge does with ſorrow and regret, pronounce Sentence upon a Malefactor, Hoſ. 11.8. How ſhall I give thee up, O Ephraim? how ſhall I deliver thee, Iſrael? Pſal. 78.38. Many a time he turned his anger away. He recall'd, or order'd his anger to return, (as one expreſſes it) as if he were unreſolved what to do; he recalled it, as a man does his Servant ſeveral times, when he is ſending him upon an unwelcome Meſſage; or as a tender-hearted Prince trembles, when he is to ſign a Writ for the death of a Rebel, that had been before his Favourite; he blots out his name again, and flings away the Pen: He ſingles out here and there ſome of his Servants, when he might puniſh all for their ſins; he makes one ſmart, to be a warning to the reſt; and according to the Doctrine of the Schoolmen, He recompences good works far above their merit; but he puniſhes Crimes far below their demerit. He makes his Mercy to triumph over Judgment; he puniſhes with regret, and he retains a great deal of his wrath when he corrects, but he keeps no meaſure when he rewards; and the miſeries of the miſerable are not greater, than the joy and happineſs of the bleſſed. Oh! who would not ſerve ſo gracious and ſo good a Maſter as God is? and who is long before he is angry, and who is ſoon appeaſed again? Are the cruel commands of Satan, the ſlavery of the World, the defilement of Sin, to be preferred to the gentle and the pure Commands of God? How many Curſe their folly in adhearing to theſe! but none repent that they have been employed in his ſervice. His moſt Aged Servants find the greateſt Honour and delight in having ſerved him very long, and would not quit their experienced and kind Maſter for all the World: They know that his Corrections are ſhort, but his Love is Everlaſting; his wrath is for a moment, but their Heaven will be for ever.
Inf. 5. The Enemies of the Church of God have no Reaſon to inſult over ſuch as are afflicted in it; for tho God for their ſins is angry, yet his anger is but for a moment. Thus they treated David, Pſal. 41.1. All that hate me whiſper againſt me; an evil diſeaſe, ſay they, cleaveth to him; and now that he lieth, he ſhall riſe up no more. And Pſal. 42.3. My tears have been my meat day and night, while they ſay continually unto me, Where is thy God? They thought him entirely forſaken, and abandon'd for ever; putting theſe Queſtions to him, What is now become of thy God, in whom thou waſt wont to boaſt? Where is he now whom thou didſt once call thy refuge and thy hiding-place? Where is his power and his goodneſs, that he leaves thee to ſuch a deep and violent affliction? In alluſion to that of Shimei, 2 Sam. 16.6, 7, 8, Thus ſaid Shimei when he curſed, Come out thou bloody man, and thou man of Belial: The Lord hath returned upon thee all the blood of the houſe of Saul, in whoſe ſtead thou haſt reigned; and the Lord hath delivered the Kingdom into the hand of Abſalom thy Son: Behold, thou art taken in thy miſchiefs, becauſe thou art a bloody man. This bold Man put a wicked interpretation on the Providence of God; and becauſe David met with ſo many troubles, and ſuch interruption in his Affairs, ere the Kingdom was well ſetled in his hand, he thought that God was againſt him; but he lived to ſit with proſperity on the Throne for many years together; and Shimei had leiſure enough wherein to repent of his fooliſh and extravagant reproaches of ſo good a King. Thus the Barbarians thought that Paul had been a Murderer, becauſe a Viper fixed upon his hand, and that vengeance had purſued him for ſome great offence; till he ſhook it off, and taught them to ſee how ill-grounded their opinion was, and that the God they thought his Enemy, did aſſiſt him to work Miracles. When you ſee any greatly afflicted, and groaning under a ſenſe of the wrath of God, you ought rather to tremble than to rejoyce; to weep than to laugh; to conſider how holy and how juſt God is, ſeeing he will not ſpare even his own, for all his Elect ſhall at one time or other taſte the bitterneſs of ſin. You that were never ſerious, have reaſon to humble your ſelves, and to think what may you expect, when his Children are Corrected after ſo ſevere a manner; If his own Family ſuffer ſuch afflictions, what has he then in ſtore for his open Enemies? If the righteous ſcarcely be ſaved, where ſhall the ungodly and the ſinner appear? Prov. 24. 17, 18. Rejoyce not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he ſtumbleth, leſt the Lord ſee it, and it diſpleaſe him, and he turn away his wrath from him. Entertain not a ſecret pleaſure in the downfall and diſtreſs of any Man whatſoever; for theſe inhuman affections are ſo diſpleaſing to God, that they may provoke him to tranſlate the Calamity from thy Enemy unto thee, and thereby damp thy ſinful joy with a double ſorrow; firſt to ſee him delivered from his trouble, and then to find thy ſelf involved in it: See Patr. Paraph. in loc. Do not triumph over any in affliction, leſt the Cup be taken out of their hand, and put into yours. Do not with the Friends of Job, cenſure them for greater ſinners than any in the World, becauſe of their ſorer Tryals; as if you were acquainted with the ſecrets of the Decrees of God, and could pierce, with your ſhallow Reaſon, into the bottom of his unfathomable Judgments. Thoſe that are under an apprehenſion of the Divine diſpleaſure, know that it is for ſin; it is that which troubles and afflicts them more than any thing beſides; but you ought not to conclude that they are ſinners beyond the reſt of Men; but rather wonder at the Goodneſs of God, that he is gracious and more favourable to any, when they all deſerve to dye. Do not, by reproachful Language, add affliction to thoſe that are afflicted. Zech. 1.15. I am very fore diſpleaſed with the heathen that are at eaſe, for I was but a little diſpleaſed; and they helped forward the affliction. It was the cruel inſulting of wicked Men over her miſeries, of which the Church was ſenſible, when ſhe ſays, Mic. 7.8. Rejoyce not againſt we, O my enemy; when I fall, I ſhall ariſe; when I ſet in darkneſs, the Lord ſhall he a light unto me.
Inf. 6. How much happier is the condition of a good Man, than of one that ſhall remain impenitent In his wickedneſs? He is angry with the one for a moment; but with the other he will be ſo for ever. The Servants of God have never ſo much cauſe to mourn under the ſenſe of the heinouſneſs and aggravation of their Sins, as they have cauſe to rejoyce in the riches and the freeneſs of his Grace; They have never ſo much cauſe to be troubled at their own diſtreſs, as to ſing at the remembrance of his holineſs; They have cauſe to weep indeed, becauſe they have provok'd ſo good a God to wrath; and to be glad that his anger is but for a moment. They have cauſe to be concerned that they have made him to frown; but cauſe to rejoyce that he will ſmile on them for ever. The Righteous have a bitter Cup; but as 'tis here mingled with love, ſo it prepares them for a ſweeter taſt of heavenly pleaſure. In the hand of the Lord there is a cup, and the wine is red: it is full of mixture, and he poureth out of the ſame: but the dregs thereof all the wicked of the earth ſhall wring them out, and drink them, Pſal. 75.8. God does correct his own here with meaſure; but his puniſhments of the wicked will know no bounds; wrath ſhall come upon them to the utmoſt, and how low muſt they ſink, and what a load muſt they bear who have a God to puniſh them, whoſe Being is Eternal, and whoſe Power is Omnipotent? On his own he frowns for a ſeaſon, and he does it to bring them to their Duty; but on his obſtinate, unrelenting enemies, he will frown for ever. He will abhor them, he will caſt them out of his preſence, trample upon them in his fury, and leave them to be the Brands of Hell, and the Prey of Devils. Now indeed, we cannot with all the Terrors of the Lord, which are terrible beyond expreſſion, perſwade Men to repent, tho' we tell them death and deſtruction is at hand, tho' we ſhew them the threats of the Scripture, the Examples of their evil predeceſſors that are gone to their own place; they ſlumber on, tho' we tell them of the danger, and of a Pit that is opening its mouth to ſwallow them up, tho we ſee wrath gathering, and the Clouds ready to burſt, and bid them make haſte to get a ſhelter before the Storm come; tho we bid them flye for their Lives, out of Sodom, they ſtill linger and delay: But after death, they cannot, if they would, he ſecure; they will then have no pillows whereon to reſt their heads, no water to quench their thirſt, no friend to help them, no God to hear their Cries; they cannot then ſtop their ears at the roaring Wrath of God; they cannot then ſtupifie their Conſciences, nor put the evil day far off: Now they make a ſhift to ſtifle the checks of their own conſciences, they mock at the Threats of God, and deride his Meſſage; but, Sinners, you ſhall ſadly know, what a dreadful and a terrible God you provoke to wrath; all your Entertainments and Diverſions, all your Mirth and Laughter, all your carnal Comforts, and your jolly Company will be gone, and be gone for ever: And what will then remain? nothing but Conſternation, Amazement, and Woe; nothing but Anguiſh and Tribulation. Who ſhall ſpeak comfortably to you? who ſhall deliver when you are fallen into the hands of the Living God? when you ſhall find that God, that is a gracious Father to the Saints, to be a ſevere Judge to you; when he who is the Joy of their Hearts, ſhall depart from you; and he who refreſhes them with the Smiles of his Face, ſhall kill you with his Frowns: What will you do, when the full Wrath of God ſhall be poured on your guilty Souls? Where will you turn, when it ſhall ſcorch and burn you, and ſet you all on Fire? How will it overwhelm you, when you find that all your hideous Cries, all your Lamentations and your Groans, are to no purpoſe? When you are in the power of cruel Devils, and meet with no pity from God, none from his Angels or his Saints? We think it long to be in pain for a month or two, or for a year; but how long will they think it to be, who are to be in pain throughout all the durations of a ſad Eternity? We think it long when we ſleep not in the night, and wiſh for the light of day: But Oil what a long night will that be, and how uncomfortable, that will have no morning; that will not be ſucceeded with a a Beam of Day for ever! Men do now think an hour or two in attendance upon God, to be a great while; they think Faſt-days and Sabbaths to be long; but if they come to that miſery, Oh how long and how tedious will they find Hell to be! How inſupportable it is, and how unavoidable! Hear therefore, all you that live in ſin; hear and live; oh do not throw your ſelves down that Precipice, under which there is a Sea of Wrath, and a Lake of Fire: O do not wound, nor deſtroy, nor torment your own Souls; do not carry fuel to that Fire which will never be quenched; do not run into the Furnace out of which there is no eſcape; for the Lord's ſake, and for your own ſake, and for the ſake of your friends that would fain ſee you to become Religious, awake and call every one of you upon your God; ſeek him while he may be found, hear his voice while it is called to day, leſt the God that alone can help you, laugh at your Calamity; leſt he that is now ſo merciful, hereafter take pleaſure in your Puniſhment; if you will forget your danger, and ſleep on, know when you are in Hell, you will be then forced to open your eyes, and they muſt never be cloſed again. Oh what a dreadful and amazing light will you then ſee; when you ſee the Great God to be your Enemy, the Devil to be your Tormentor, damned Souls to be your Companions, and Everlaſting Fire to be your own Portion! God will not then repent of the evil, he will not then ſend his Meſſengers with glad tidings any more: What will you do in the day of the Lord? Nahum 1.5, 6. The mountains quake at him, the hills melt, and the earth is burnt at his preſence; yea, the world and all that dwell therein; who can ſtand before his indignation? and who can abide in the fierceneſs of his anger? his fury is poured out like fire, and the rocks are thrown down by him. Have we not ſome repreſentation of the Terror of the great day, in ſome greater Thunders that make us tremble, that with their Noiſe and Lightning, make the Inhabitants of this Earth to be aſtoniſht? The voice of the Lord is powerful, and full of majeſty; the voice of the Lord rends the air, and ſends out flames of fire, Pſal. 29.4. But what a more terrible ſeaſon will that be, when we ſhall hear the Voice of the laſt Trumpet, ſaying, Ariſe ye dead, and come to judgment: When the Elements ſhall melt with fervent heat, when the Sun ſhall be turned into Darkneſs, and the Moon into Blood! When the Stars ſhall fall from Heaven, and this admired Earth ſhall be full of Convulſions and Violent Agitations! when the Seas ſhall roar, and the Graves open, and the Judge appear in the Clouds! when you ſhall hear the Cracks and the Groans of the diſſolving world! where will you ſinners hide your heads, what will you then think of the Wrath of God, in that great and that terrible day? You will then wiſh, that you had never been born. Oh how happy would you then reckon your ſelves, might you but go into the Grave again: Oh how happy, if you could but dye; but it will flye from you; this is that Hell where the wicked muſt live, and ever live, tho it be in miſery. Oh little do you think what you do when you ſin; you are like a man that ſhould be drinking at the edge of a Furnace, into which he were to be thrown when he had drank a few glaſſes off: Like a Malefactor that is jolly and merry over-night, and is to be executed the next day. Then you ſhall ſee that it ſhall be well with the Righteous, tho it go ill with you. Judge of things now, as they will appear to be at that day; join your ſelves to that Society among which you would then be found: Judge of Religion as it will then appear. Here it ſeems, through the many afflictions and ſorrows that attend it, not to be ſuch a lovely thing; but then it will appear in its true Luſtre and its fulleſt Beauty. Here you ſee many times a true Servant of God brought very low, complaining of his Iniquities; now you hear his Groans, but a moment hence you ſhall hear his Praiſes and his Hallelujahs. It is night with him now, but a Moment hence you ſhall ſee him Triumph in Eternal day. He is now in a ſtrange land; but ſhortly he will be with his God at reſt in Heaven; and happy is he that gets to ſuch a Bleſſedneſs; though he go out with a ſad Heart and weeping Eyes, and meet with broken Bones, and many a trembling diſpenſation in his way thither. What courſe will you take? Which pattern will you chuſe? Will you ſerve God or your own Luſts? Will you have your portion here, or in the World to come? Will you be content with the preſent Afflictions of Religion, in hope of Eternal Joy. Conſider that they are not to be judged the moſt happy men, who fare well for a moment, but thoſe that do ſo for ever. If you ſerve your Sin, you will have pleaſure it may be for a while, but Bitterneſs and Sorrows in the latter end; your farewell will be very terrible. Will you pleaſe your ſelves for a moment, and venture an eternal Wrath? or will you not rather yield your ſelves to a Gracious and a Loving God? and then you ſhall ſow in tears, but you ſhall reap in joy; you may feel his anger for a moment, but he will entertain you in his own Kingdom for ever.
Inf. 7. We have no cauſe to be offended with the proſperity of the Wicked. 'Tis true, the Righteous are now ſowing in tears, but they ſhall reap in joy: In a little while it ſhall be the portion of the Ungodly to Mourn and to be Sorrowful. Would you envy a Malefactor that is jovial and pleaſant over night? When you know he is to be led to Execution the next day? His approaching Puniſhment might juſtly ſpoil the reliſh of his own dainties; but however it gives the Spectators no occaſion of grudging him his Drunken joys, ſeeing they are the laſt that the poor man is ever like to have; and a little ſpace obſcures all the gaity of his looks, with an Everlaſting cloud. It is no juſt objection againſt the wiſdom of the Divine Providence, That the good are afflicted, whilſt the Rod of God is not upon the bad. For he gives to the one the Bleſſings of the right hand▪ the knowledge of Himſelf and their own Duty; whilſt to the other he only gives the Bleſſings of the left hand, Riches, and Honour, and the like goods, which being only outward and for this preſent World, they are not of ſo great a value as thoſe which are Spiritual, and relate to a life to come. We think it fares well with the Wicked, becauſe we do not for the preſent ſee them ſhed ſo many Tears, nor complain after ſo doleful a manner, as the good are often forced to do: But we ſee not in what chains they are held, nor with how many ſtinging thoughts their minds are haraſs'd, all the while they forget God: We ſee not the perplexities to which they are reduced by the contrary commands of divers Luſts. It we conſider, that God is angry with them every day, and that we know not but in a day or two, they may be cut off and periſh, we ſhall have no cauſe to murmur at their preſent undiſturbed Caſe, and their ſeeming welfare; for their happineſs is not real, but apparent, and all the goods that are beſtow'd upon them, are but mean and low in themſelves, though our erroneous and blinder Judgments, think them to be ſomewhat great, and conſiderable; Dr. Scots Chriſtian life, part 2. p. 255. For conſidering of what little moment the preſent goods and evils are, which good men ſuffer, and bad men enjoy; they ought rather to be lookt on as an argument of God's Wiſdom, than as an objection againſt his Providence; for he underſtands the juſt value of things, and knows that the beſt of theſe worldly goods, are bad enough to be thrown away, upon the worſt of men; and ſo expreſſes his juſt ſcorn of theſe admired vanities, by ſcattering them abroad with a careleſs hand; for why ſhould he partake of the error of vulgar opinion, and expreſs himſelf ſo very regardful of theſe trifles, as to put them in Gold Scales, and weigh them out to mankind by Grains and Scruples? When we ſee therefore bad men to rejoice, and the good to mourn, let us not cenſure, but adore that Providence that will aſſign to them both different portions in another world; thoſe that are healthful, are not more beloved for that; nor are the ſick and weak more hateful to God for thoſe outward troubles that they now ſuffer. there are many who have their paradiſe in this world, that ſhall have none hereafter; and there is many an one torn and mangled with the thorns and bryers of the Wilderneſs, to whom God does reſerve a Throne above: We ſee many a Veſſel on whom the Sun ſhines, and which ſails with a fair gale, that yet by ſplitting on a Rock or on the Sand, never reaches the Port: And others we ſee, that meet with nothing but high waves, and contrary winds, and tho' they have an unpleaſant voyage, yet it is, for all that, very ſafe, and attended with comfort in the latter end: The wicked do not always proſper in this life, God ſometimes makes them examples of his Juſtice; and if he do not uſually do ſo to thoſe that are very bad, it affords us a certain ground for the belief which we have of a Judgment that is to come; wherein puniſhments and rewards will be diſtributed after another manner than now they are. This maxim of our Chriſtian Divinity,*Fragmens de Serm. de Monſ. Morus, p. 74. That God ſometimes afflicts very ſeverely thoſe whom he tenderly loves, even then, when they well perform their duty, even then, when he is well pleaſed with them, was unknown to the ancient Iſralites. This was a Leſſon above their underſtanding: God did not afflict them, but when they had provoked him by ſome particular tranſgreſſion; but when they did not ſo, they always had a peaceable and happy life; it is not ſo with us; our afflictions are ſometimes indeed not the marks of his Anger, but of his Favour; as when he calls his own out to the enduring of things very bitter and unpleaſant, for the tryal of their patience and faith; there is none of the Prophets, that does reckon ſuffering among the gifts of God, but our Apoſtle does eſteem them to be ſo, Phil. 1. We hear none under the new Teſtament, which gives us a clearer diſcovery of another world, ſay as they did heretofore. Why doth the way of the Wicked proſper? but rather count it all joy when you fall into divers temptations.