for all the benefits he hath don unto me? Pfa. 116. 12. Let them count how many valuable or rather ineftimable things, they have received from his mercy, and then confront them with thofe corrections they have found from his justice; and if they do this impartially, I doubt not they will find wherewithall to check their highest mutinies; and will join with me in confeffing, that their good things abundantly out-weigh their ill.

18. IF now we carry on the comparifon to the last circumftance, and confider the conftancy, we shall find as wide a difference. Let us take the Pfalmifts teftimony, and there will appear a very distant date of his mercies and punishments. His mercies endure for ever, Pfal. 146. whereas his wrath endures but the twinkling of an eie, Pfal. 30. 5. And accordingly God owns his acts of severity as his ftrange work, Ifa. 28.21. that which he reforts to only upon special emergencies; but his mercies are renewed every morning, Lam. 3. 25. and doubtless we may all upon trial affirm the fame. There are many of the most neceffary comforts of life which do not only fomtimes vifit us as guests, but dwell with us as inmates and domeftics. How

many

many are there who have lived in a perpetual affluence from their cradles to their graves, have never known what it is to want? And tho the goods of fortune are perhaps less constant to fome, yet the refreshments of nature are ufually fo to us all. We eat and drink, we fleep, we recreate, we converse in a continued circle, and go our round almost as conftantly as the fun do's his. Or if God do's fomtimes a little interrupt us in it, put fome fhort restraint upon our refreshments, yet that comparatively to the time we enjoy them, is but proportionable to the stop he has fomtimes made of the Sun, Jof. 10. 13. 2 Kings 20.8. or of the sea, Exod. 14. 21. which as they were no fubverfions of the course of nature, so neither are those short pauses he somtimes makes, a repeal of those fixt and customary benefits his providence ufually allots us. But who is there can say that any one of his afflictions has bin of equal continuance, or has preft him with fo few intermiffions? Perhaps he may have mist some few nights fleep: but what is that to a twelve-months, or perhaps a whole lives enjoying it? 'Tis poffible his ftomach and his meat have not alwaies bin ready to

gether; but how much oftner have they met to his delight? and generally those things that are most useful, are but rarely interrupted. Nay to a great many even the delicacies of life are no less constant, and their luxuries are as quotidian as their bread: whereas unless their vices or their fancies create uneafineffes to them, those that come immediately from Gods hand, make long intermiffions and short staies. Yet for all this they that should mesure by the unceffantnefs of mens complaints, would judg that the scene was quite reverft, and that our good things are as Job Speaks, Swifter then a weavers fhuttle, Job. 7. 6. whilft our ill, like Gehazies Leprofy, cleave infeparably to us, 2 King.

5. 10.

19. THE truth is we will not let our felves enjoy those intervals God allowes us, but when a calamity do's retire we will still keep it in fiction and imagination; revolve it in our minds, and be cause it is poffible it may return, look upon it as not gon. Like Aguifh patients we count our felves fick on our well-day, because we expect a fit the next. A strange ftupid folly thus to court vexation, and be miferable in Chimera. Do's any man

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or

or indeed any beast defire to keep a distaftful relish still in his mouth, to chew the cud upon gall and wormwood? yet certainly there are a multitude of people whose lives are imbitter'd to them merely by these fantastic imaginary fufferings. Nor do we only fright our felves with images and Ideas of paft calamities, but we dress up new bugbears and mormoes, are Poetic and aerial in our inventions, and lay Romantic scenes of distresses. This is a thing very incident to jealous natures, who are alwaies raising alarms to themselves. A fufpicious man looks on every body with dread. One man he fears has defigns upon his fortune, another on his reputation, perhaps a third upon his life: whilft in the mean time, the only ill defign against him is managed by himself; his own causeless fears and jealoufies which put him in a state of hoftility with all the world; and do often betray him to the very things he groundlefly fufpected. For it is not feldom feen that men have incurr'd real mischiefs by a fond folicitude of avoiding imaginary ones. I do not queftion but this is a ftate calamitous enough, and shall acknowledg it very

likely that fuch perfons fhall have little or no truce from their troubles, who have fuch an exhausted spring within themselves; yet we may fay to them as the Prophet did to the houfe of Jacob, Is the fpirit of the Lord ftraitned? are thefe his doings? Mich. 2.7. Such men must not cry out that Gods hand lies heavy upon them, but their own; and fo can be no impeachment to the truth of our obfervation, that Gods bleffings are of a longer duration, keep a more fixt fteddy courfe then his punishments. The refult of all is, that the generality of mankind have good things (even as to temporals) which do in the three refpects fore-mention'd exceed the ill. I mean the true and real ills which God fends, tho not those fanciful ones they raise to themselves.

20. AND now why fhould it not appear a reasonable propofition that men hould entertain themfelves with the plefanter parts of Gods difpenfations to them, and not alwaies pore upon the harfher: especially fince the former are fo much a fairer object and perpetually in their eie, why fhould we look on

the