SERM. They charge confcientious men with timorousness, LXVII. faintheartedness.

It is timorousness or blameable fear to dread things without reason, things nowife formidable, which cannot hurt us; fuch a timorous man is he, that out of fear of men, (of difpleafing them, of fuffering by them, of their reproach,) &c. tranfgreffeth his duty.

But to fear God is wisdom, foberness, duty, virtue; it is handsome and honourable, becoming our nature, our condition; the paffion of fear was chiefly put in us for this purpose, as its beft ufe.

Is it courage, and not rather madness to provoke, to refist, to challenge, to cope with the Almighty? is it courage to throw one's felf down a precipice, to leap into the infernal lake? is it gallantry to dare tranfgrefs all reason and fobriety? is it brave to be wild and fenfelefs, &c.?

It is true courage to refift and repel fin affaulting a man with whatever advantages; to dare to do well, although vain men deride, and spiteful men hate us for it.

It is a kind of martyrdom to be ill used by the world for adhering to his duty; and he hath a share in that, Bleffed are they, who fuffer for righteousness.

Matt. x. 39. In fine, it is a vain prudence to be thus politic with Oh God; whereby we shall lofe the whole, or that part which εὑρὼν τὴν r, wolére is invaluable, out of presumption to save a small inconfiαὐτήν. derable part.

Gal. v. 11. Matt. x.38. xvi. 24.

Phil. iii. 8.

If this be prudence, then, as St. Paul faith, is the offence of the cross ceafed.

Then our Lord prescribed a foolish condition.

Then were the Apostles very imprudent, who deserted all, and fuffered fo much for their confcience; being content to fecure their spiritual interest, and to obtain the Luke x. 42. eternal rewards of piety; choofing the better part, which could not be taken from them.

Jam. iii. 13.

What the true wisdom is in fuch cases St. James hath told us: Who is a wife man, and endued with knowledge among you? let him fhew out of a good conversation his works with meekness of wisdom.

SERMON LXVIII.

OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD.

PSALM CXlV. 9.

The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.

THE goodness of God is a frequented theme; to many SERM. perhaps it may feem vulgar and trite; fo that discourse LXVIII. thereon, like a story often told, may be nauseous to their ears but in truth neither can we speak too much upon this moft excellent fubject, nor ought we ever to be weary in hearing about it; for it is a fign that the palate of our mind is distempered, if we do not with delight and affection relish any mention of divine goodness. Yea, the obfervation of men's common practice would induce us to think, that either this point is not fo well known, or but little believed, or at least not well confidered and applied. For how could we be fo void of love to God, of gratitude toward him, of faith and hope in him, were we thoroughly perfuaded, did we seriously confider, that he is fo exceedingly good toward us? How can we be fo infenfible of the benefits we enjoy, so distrustful of finding fuccours and supplies in our need, fo diffatisfied and difcontented with what befalls us, if we conceive and weigh, that all things do proceed from, are guided and governed by immenfe goodness? How also, if men have such an opinion of God impreffed on their minds, comes it to pafs, that they are so little careful to resemble and imitate him

SERM, in kindness, bounty, and mercy to one another? How is LXVIII. it, in fine, that the most powerful argument to all manner

of good practice, and the mightieft aggravation of fin, if well known and pondered, hath fo little force and efficacy upon us? From experience therefore this argument may seem scarce fufficiently inculcated. We may add, that discourse upon this attributea (which above all other attributes doth render God peculiarly admirable and amiable) hath this special advantage beyond other discourses, that it doth, if our hearts confpire therewith, approach moft nearly to the formal exercise of the most high and heavenly parts of devotion, praise and thanksgiving; that it more immediately conduces to the breeding, the nourishing, the augmenting in us the best and nobleft of pious affections, love and reverence to God; trust and hope in him; willing refolutions to please and serve him; whence it is confequent, that we cannot too much employ our thoughts, our words, or our attention upon this point. Befides fo much reafon, we have alfo good example to countenance us in fo doing: we have the precedent of the holy Pfalmift refolving to make it his conftant and Pf. lxxxix. continual employment: I will fing, faith he, of the mercies of the Lord; with my mouth will I make known thy Pfal. cxlv. faithfulness to all generations. And, Every day will I bless thee, and I will praife thy name for ever and ever;

1.

2.

1, 2.

(that bleffing and praifing God, the context fhews to have confifted especially in the declaration of God's great goodPfal. xcii. nefs:) and, It is a good thing, faith he again, to give thanks unto the Lord, and to fing praifes unto thy name, O thou moft High: to fhew forth thy lovingkindness in the morning, and thy faithfulness every night. Such were his intentions, and fuch his judgment about this practice; and we find him in effect true and anfwerable to them; every fong of his, every meditation, every exercise of devotion chiefly harping upon this ftring; and he earnestly wishes that others would confent and confort with him

-Θεὸς, οὗ πολλῶν ὄντων, ἐφ ̓ οἷς θαυμάζεται, ἐδὲν ὅπως ὡς τὸ πάντας εὐεργέτειν ἰδιωτατον, Naz. Orat. 26.

therein; he earnestly exhorts and excites them thereto : O SERM. that men would praife the Lord for his goodness, and for LXVIII. his wonderful works to the children of men! Praife the Pfal. cvii. Lord, O give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good, for his 8. cvi. 1. mercy endureth for ever. That one example might sufficiently authorize this practice; but we have innumerable others, and thofe the highest that can be, to encourage and engage us thereto; even the whole choir of heaven, whose perpetual bufinefs and happy entertainment it is to contemplate with their minds, to celebrate with their voices, the immenfe goodness of God; They have, as Rev. iv. 8. it is in the Revelation, no rest day or night, from performing this office. Such is the fubject of our difcourfe; the which our text most plainly and fully expreffes; afferting not only the goodnefs of God, but the univerfal and boundless extent thereof; The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies (or his bowels of affection and pity) are over all his works. And that God indeed is fuch, we shall first endeavour to declare, then shall briefly apply the confideration thereof to practice.

That God the Lord, and Maker of all things, is of himfelf, in regard to all his creatures, especially to us men, fuperlatively good, that is, difpofed never without just or neceffary cause to harm us, and inclinable to do us all poffible and befitting good, the universal frame of nature and the conftant courfe of Providence do afford us fufficient reason to conceive, and moft frequent, moft exprefs teftimonies of holy Scripture do more fully demonstrate. There is no argument from natural effects difcernible by us, which proveth God's existence, (and innumerable such there are, every fort of things well ftudied may afford fome,) the which doth not together perfuade God to be very kind and benign; careful to impart to us all befiting good, fuitable to our natural capacity and condition; and unwilling that any confiderable harm, any extreme want or pain fhould befall us. (I interpose such limitations, for that an abfolute, or univerfal and perpetual exemption from all kinds or all degrees of inconvenience, an accumulation of all forts of appearing good upon us,

SERM. doth not become or fuit our natural state of being, or our LXVIII. rank in perfection among creatures; neither, all things

being duly ftated and computed, will it turn to best account for us.) The best (no lefs convincing than obvious) arguments, afferting the existence of a Deity, are deduced from the manifold and manifest footsteps of admirable wisdom, skill, and defign apparent in the general order, and in the particular frame of creatures; the beautiful harmony of the whole, and the artificial contrivance of each part of the world; the which it is hardly poffible that any unprejudiced and undiftempered mind should conceive to proceed from blind chance, or as blind neceffity. But with this wisdom are always complicated no less evident marks of goodness. We cannot in all that vaft bulk of the creation, and numberlefs variety of things, discover any piece of mere pomp, or dry curiofity; every thing seems to have some beneficial tendency; according to which it confers fomewhat to the need, convenience, or comfort of those principal creatures, which are endued with sense and capacity to enjoy them. Moft of them have a palpable relation to the benefit (to the subsistence or delight) of living creatures; and especially in an ultimate relation to the benefit of man; and the rest, although their immediate use be not to our dim fight fo difcernible, may therefore be reasonably prefumed in their natural defignation to regard the fame end. Wherefore as upon confideration of that ample provifion, which is made in nature for the neceffary fuftenance, defence, and relief, for the convenience, delight, and fatisfaction of every creature, any man, who is not careless or ftupid, may be induced to cry out with the Pfalmift, O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wifdom haft thou made them all: fo may he with no lefs reafon and ground after him proPf. xxxiii. nounce and acknowledge; The earth is full of the goodnefs of the Lord: The earth, O Lord, is full of thy mercy : Thy mercy is great unto the heavens: Thy mercy is great above the heavens. It is indeed because divine goodness is freely diffufive and communicative of itself; because effential love is active and fruitful in beneficence; because

Pfal. civ.

24.

5. cxix. 64. lvii. 10.

cviii. 4.

civ. 10, &c. lxv. 11.

ciii. 4.