priety or neceffity of fo doing, God only can decide. Were all mankind to renounce it, there would be nothing left to renounce. God defires the happiness of all men, our individual happiness therefore is not excepted ; and though we have over this more right than over that of others, yet wantonly to caft it away, is to refift his purposes, and despise his gifts. When the fit occafion arises, the call will not be wanting, which even then by human frailty cannot fully be answered, without the especial interpofition of divine affistance. Strong trials are fituations of danger; to rush into them voluntarily, whatever reason we may have to hope for the affiftance of God, is prefumptuous. It was the fuggestion of the devil to our Saviour, to caft himself from the pinnacle of the temple without occafion.

But though we are affured that God, in his tender love towards us, regards even our worldly happiness, and would not have us prodigally caft it from us, without obtaining more than an equivalent, yet muft our purfuit of it be regulated by feveral restrictions. Our perfuafion of his attention to it will not, on our parts, authorize an immoderate attachment, but ought only to fix within us a

firm affurance, that without fome higher purpose he will not take it from us. He, whose wisdom is unerring, confiders indeed our temporal interests, but infinitely more confiders thofe of eternal life: we, whofe best wisdom lies in imitating, whenever we are able, the perfections of his nature, should regulate our wishes by the fame just estimate; working out the one with cheerful diligence and thankful hearts, whenever the other does not interfere; but relinquishing without hefitation the inferior object the moment that a competition arifes. Whenever duty stands opposed to inclination, there is that competition; and happy they who, in all fuch circumstances, can form a right decifion!—to receive with thankfulness, and to relinquish without repining, is the golden rule respecting temporal advantages, the perfection of pious difcipline. Such are the confiderations on this fubject which chiefly regard ourselves.

With respect to others, we must confider God as the conftant guardian and promoter of their welfare, and even of their temporal happiness; which if we injuriously diminish or deftroy, we are accountable to him, as counteractors of his defigns, and aliens from

his benevolent fyftem. In promoting their advantages we co-operate with him ; moft gloriously, indeed, when by any means we are happily enabled to lead them on to fpiritual bleffings; but not unufefully, and in a manner which he will not fail to reward, when we minister to them even in worldly things. Under the former covenant fuch good acts were indeed enjoined, but it was with some restrictions: the good offices of the Ifraelites were directed chiefly towards each other: it was a brother, that is, an Ifraelite, that was to be affifted in all exigencies: "Thou shalt not fee thy brother's ox

or his fheep go aftray, and hide thyfelf "from them thou fhalt in any cafe bring "them again unto thy brother *." But the precept is now, by a glorious extenfion, made univerfal as the benevolence of him on whom we all depend; for he has declared to us that we all are brethren, all equally his children, equally entitled to his care. Without diftinction of perfons, therefore, he hath enjoined that we fhould extend our kindness to all; that we should "do good even to them "that hate us, blefs them that curfe us, and

* Deut. xxii. 1.

66 pray

66

pray for them that defpitefully ufe us, and "perfecute us*."

But why, it may be afked, if God be indeed fo mercifully difpofed towards mankind, that he works continually for their good, and would have all men labour with him to that end; why is it that, upon the face of the whole earth, evil fo much prevails? that fo many fuffer and mourn under afflictive difpenfations? whence the forrowful fighing of the prifoners, and the groaning anguish of them that have no hope on earth?

These evils are occafioned, in the first place, by fin. Men do not co-operate, as they ought, with God in diffufing happiness throughout the world; but rather employ their time and their powers in tormenting, than in doing good to each other: whence it happens, fince the Almighty has committed the ordinary conduct of this world, in fome measure, to the management of his imperfect creatures, that dreadful evils are daily occafioned, which could not, without miraculous interpofition, be prevented. It is true, that God is not an indifferent fpectator of these iniquities; that he will vifit for them hereafter, and bring

*Matt. v. 44.

evil then in heavy measure upon the head of those who now difpenfe affliction and mifery to their brethren: but in the mean time the evil prevails, and the earth is full of rapine, fraud, cruelty, and every evil work, the neceffary fruits of which are forrow and deftruction.

Another cause of the prevalence of suffering in the world is the neceffity for discipline. He who willeth only the good of all his creatures, frequently fees it beft to form their dispofitions to his will by the infliction of evil. The world in which he has placed us, the enjoyments which, on every fide, his bounty has lavished round us, have frequently too ftrong attraction: they bind us to them; they fix our minds to present objects, to the utter exclufion of future profpects; and, by confining our attention wholly to the state of things in this world, tend to disqualify us totally for In this cafe the mercy, other. any

and not the severity, of God interpofes; he takes from us thofe things in which we too fondly delight, that we may be constrained to think of higher objects. By falutary infliction he roufes us from our lethargic forgetfulnefs, and, like a wife physician, out of tranfient