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at all that the wicked fhould die? faith the Lord God; and not that he fhould return from his ways and live?" God is the fountain of all goodnefs to be found in man or angel, and fo is himfelf a boundless occan of goodnefs. He loves to have poor finners entertaining thefe kindly thoughts of him. And well may they do fo, even under hard preffures, for God lays not on man more than is meet or right, Job. xxxiv. 23.; and even this he does with a kind of holy reluctance, for "he doth not afflict willingly, nor grieve the children 'of men," Lam. iii. 33.

2. A hope of mercy to all their unrighteousness, through Chrift This is the great hope, called the hope of the gofpel, Col. i. 23. For it is the main hope purchafed by Chrift to loft fons of Adam, and held forth to them in the gofpel, Heb. viii. 12. "I will be merciful to their unrighteoufnefs, and their fins and their iniquities will I remember no more." To caft To caft away this hope, is at once to throw difhonour on the mercy of the Father, and the blood of the Son, and the efficacy of his Spirit; to caft it away, is to please Satan, and : to ruin our own fouls.

3. A hope of good by their afflictions, trials, and troubles: Rom. viii. 28. " And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." It is the Lord's ordinary way to bring his people nearer him by afflictions: "Before I was afflicted, I went aftray, but now have I kept: thy word," Pfal cxix. 67.; yea, by this way, alfo, does he bring in those that are strangers to him, Hofea, v. 15. "I will go and return to my place, till they acknowledge their offence and feek my face; in their afflictions they will feek me early.' When the Lord will not ufe a rod upon a perfon,

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that is a terrible fign; but there is always hope when the Lord is at pains with a rod; and to hope for this good, is the way to advance it.

4. A hope of fupport and protection under their afflictions: Heb. xiii. 5. 6. " He hath faid, I will never leave thee nor forfake thee; fo that we may boldly fay, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me." The Lord can carry persons through deep waters, and yet keep them from finking, for he is the lifter up of the head. However high the waters fwell, they are still under the check of him whom the winds and the feas obey. The everlafting arms underneath, though not seen in the time, fecure the finner from finking to the ground, and bring him safe afhore. Now, faith and hope is the way to bring in that fupport.

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5. A hope of feasonable relief, or having fuch deliverance in due time, as fhall be best for God's honour and their good: Pfal. xlii. 5. "Why art thou caft down, O my foul! and why art thou difquieted in me? Hope thou in God, for I fhall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." Lord has many ways of giving relief from trouble. Sometimes he makes the ftorm blow off, and reftores a calm; fometimes he hides them in the grave, and gives them a bleffed exchange, for an afflicted life in this world, a joyful happy life in another world. It becomes us to hope for his mercy, in whatever way he may fend it: Heb.x. 35. "Caft not away your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward."

6. A hope of eternal life in a better world: 1 Pet. i. 13. "Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be fober, and hope to the end, (for what?), for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jefus Chrift." Thofe hopes will ne

ver please God that are confined to the things of this world. He has provided and offers better things to poor finners; there is a hope laid up for us in heaven, Col. i. 5. While that hope remains firm and well grounded, happy is the foul, whatever be its cafe; and fince he offers it, and makes it over to whofoever will embrace Chrift, that hope fhould never be caft away while we are here.

7. A waiting for the mercy needed and defired: Pfal. xxvii. 14. "Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he fhall ftrengthen thine heart: wait, I fay, on the Lord." The hoping foul will wait for God, and bear till his time come, however long it may seem to be. He hath the times and feafons in his own hand. He knows what is the fitteft time for giving a mercy, and we must leave it in his own hand, and wait on him: "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord Behold the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience, till he receive the former and the latter rain; be ye alfo patient, stablish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

Laftly, All this hope is to be grounded only on the free grace of God through Jefus Chrift, and the precious promifes of the word, held forth to us in him, 1 Pet. i. 13. quoted already. Therefore it is called hope for his mercy: "Remember thy word unto thy fervant, upon which thou haft caufed me to hope," Pfal. cxix. 49. If hope be founded on any work or merit in ourselves, or be not bounded by the promise, that is to fay, if we hope for what God has not promifed, then it cannot be pleafing to him; fo that this hope follows faith's embracing Chrift in the gofpel, and refigning the foul to the Lord; which being done, hope goes and ftands upon the watch-tower, to behold and wait

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for all promifed good things coming with Christ from God in due time to the foul. We now proceed,

III. To fhew the neceflity of keeping up this holy fear and kindly hope together in all cafes. They are neceffary to keep an even balance in the foul at all times, ready to fall either to the one hand or the other. God's voice to us is, Ifa. xxx. 21. "This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left." But, O! how apt are we to go off the road, especially if we are obliged to traverse the mountains of darkness and affliction, of desertion, and temptation. But this fear and hope will hedge us on every hand, that we turn not to the right hand or to the left; whereas, if either be wanting, there is a wide gape, at which we will readily fall into the mire.But more particularly,

1. They keep the foul from splitting on rocks on both hands. We are in this world as on a sea, therefore had need to take care. The way we pass is befet with two dangerous rocks; one on the left, despair, where thousands split; another on the right, prefumption, where ten thousands have been fhipwrecked; fome fall on them in a dead calm, they are fearless and careless, and ere they are aware they dash on the rock of prefumption, and go to the bottom: Job, xxi. 13. "They spend their days in wealth, and in a moment go down to the grave." To others a ftorm arifes, they are toffed, grow hopeless, and then split on the rock of despair. Whereas holy fear would carry us fafe by the one, and kindly hope by the other, whatever ftorms blow: "Which hope," fays Paul, "we have as an anchor of the foul, both fure and

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ftedfaft, and which entereth into that within the vail," Heb. vi. 19.

2. They keep the heart in a due mean between carnal fecurity and torturing anxiety. Holy fear keeps men awake, while fearlefs fouls are fleeping within the fea-mark of wrath, not knowing when a wave may come and fweep them away. They may be faying, like the rich man, Soul, thou haft much goods laid up for many years, take thine reft; eat, drink, and be merry. But God may then fay, “Thou fool, this night thy foul thall be required of thee," Luke, xii. 19. 20. Kindly hope composes the heart, and caims the disturbed spirit, while others deftitute of it are tormenting themfelves. Fear keeps from foaring too high, hope from finking too low.

3. They keep notably to the duty of praying, which is neceffary in all cafes, and is a meffenger often to be fent to heaven, especially in times of trouble : Pfal. 1. 15. "And call upon me in the day of trouble, I will deliver thee, and thou fhalt glorify me." Fear ftirs up to the duty, hope draws to it. Fear fills the foul with reverence for God, and makes it to be in deep earneft in its addreffes; hope guards it against terror and confufion in its applications to the throne. Fear carries off prefumptuous confidence; but hope makes it hang upon mercy and grace.

4. They help on patience and refignation to the will of God, without which no man is master of himfelf: Luke, xxi. 19. " In your patience poffefs your fouls." Hope looks for better things, a calm after a ftorm; fear tells us, fuch a ftroke, ill carried, may bring on a worfe. Thus the foul is in a holy manner both flattered and frighted into contentment with its lot. Thus it is kept from defpifing the chaftening of the Lord, which many do, with

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