his own fecurity gave place to thofe of love: in a word, he made use of their greatest crime to purchase their greatest good, and reconciled them to his Father by his death, in fpite of their endeavours to render the breach eternal, and all reconciliation impoffible.

And fhall Chriftians despise his command and his example, from whofe mouth they must once hear either that dreadful, Depart ye curfed, or that thrice comfortable, Come ye bleffed of my Father!

Good God! To captivate the heart of a wretched creature, what affiduity! what courtship! what bafenefs! We study her nature, pry into her inclination, espouse her averfions; we proclaim her virtues, and conceal her vices; in fine, we rack ourselves, and displease a hundred, to please her caprice. And for what? For a fhameful paffion, that is our executioner here, and will be our hell hereafter and yet for Chrift no man will move a finger; his commands are flighted, as if he either were too tender-hearted to avenge our difobedience, or too impotent to punish it. Neither his love is able to allure us, nor his threats to fright us into our duty.

O my Redeemer! let me fear nothing but to of fend thee, nor love any thing but thee, and all creatures in thee, and for thee: let me look on my neighbour as thy image, and love him as my brother, whom thou haft bought at the price of thy blood, and raised to the highest pitch of glory, by thy own abasement,

GOSPEL

GOSPEL of St. Matthew, Chap. viii. Verfe

23. And when he was entred into a ship, his dif ciples followed him.

24. And behold, there arofe a great tempeft in the fea, infomuch that the ship was covered with the waves; but he was afleep.

25. And his difciples came to him, and awoke him, faying, Lord, fave us: we perish.

26. And be faith unto them, why are ye fearful, Oye of little faith? Then be arofe and rebuked the winds and the fea, and there was a great calm.

27. But the men marvelled, faying, what manner of man is this, that even the winds and the fea obey bim ?

The MORAL REFLECTION.

TH

HIS paffage of St. Matthew's gofpel opens a scene of an inraged fea, of a bark almost overfet, of the apoftles trembling with fear of a fhipwreck, and of our Saviour sleeping in the face of danger: But he was afleep. This sudden tempeft, our Saviour's fleep, and the miraculous calm, contain great myfteries, fay the Fathers. Firft, They demonftrate Chrift's divinity for who can ftop the fury of those ungovernable elements, and controul the fixed laws of nature, but he who made it? What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the fea obey him?

Secondly, They reveal the mysterious conduct of providence over thofe, who bid adieu to the corrupt principles of the world, to fquare their lives by thofe of Jefus Chrift. For no fooner do they fall off from vice, to enter into the intereft of virtue, but all things feem to confpire their ruin temptations crowd in upon them; croffes overwhelm them

disappointment follows all their undertakings; raillery strikes at their wit, calumny at their reputation; Behold there arose a great tempeft in the fea. Hurricanes blow down their houfes; difeafes carry off their cattle; and, to copy Job's life in all its circumftances, they are often ftruck with incurable difeafes, and fo die to all fatisfaction, to live a prey to pain and mifery. Whilft they fided with the world, they fail'd down the stream; every one adored their fortune, and envied their happiness: in fine, profperity feemed the reward of their debauchery, and adverfity the recompence of their virtue. This conduct of divine providence startled David. And thousands of apoftate Chriftians, for this very reafon, have charged God's adorable effence with either impotency or tyranny; impotency, if he was not able to protect his fervants, and, if he was able, tyranny, for tormenting them like criminals, who were guilty (fay they) of no other crime, but of ferving him with fidelity and exactness. But those people neither live, nor reafon like Chriftians. He, who permits the tempeft, to try his disciples virtue, can with one word allay it, and render this calm as wonderful as the ftorm, and proportion their reward to the danger.

To wipe off the accufations libertines charge on providence, I fuppofe (what we all believe) that man survives the grave, and was made to labour here, and to enjoy God eternally hereafter. This being fo, the greatest favour God can fhew us in this world, is, to furnish us with those means, and to put us in the way that conveys us most furely to the happy region of the bleffed. Now God himself, by the mouths of his prophets, declares, that afflictions are the most proper means to draw people to their duty. In their affliction they will feek me early, Hofea v. 15. And for this reafon God proclaimed he would fcourge his people into repen

tance,

tance, seeing his favours had only ferved to inflame their rebellion; I will put my fear in their hearts, Jerem. xxxii. 40. I will punish their faults here, that I may not be forced to torment them hereafter, and teach them the rigour of my juftice, by the feverity of my mercy. And why? That they may not depart from me; from the eternal pleasures I have prepared for my friends, to plunge themfelves into the everlasting flames I have kindled for my

enemies.

Befides, they cut those bonds that tie us to earth, and impede our flight to heaven. The inordinate love of the world is the fource and origin of all our misfortunes. This inchanting Syren runs away with our fenfes and reason too. We facrifice to this imaginary deity (not our children) as the idolatrous Jews did to Moloch, but our ease, our bodies, and (what paffes the height of frenzy and madness) our fouls alfo. Now while our thoughts crawl upon earth, how can our defires foar up to heaven? Whilft we court God's mortal enemy, how can we pretend to his friendship? There is only one way to take off the charm, the fool's paradife, that cheats our eyes, and fascinates our hearts, must be broken: In a word, we must be convinced to demonstration and evidence, that this world is not the feat of happiness, and that the best we can expect here are gilded miferies, or glittering nothings.

But here is the difficulty; we dote on our chains, and are enamour'd with our flavery, and fear nothing more than to be fet at liberty. Let God cry out never fo loud, by the mouth of the wifeft of men, That the world is nothing but pomp and fhew, a piece of pageantry, and a scene of vanity and vexation of fpirit? This declaration moves us not; nothing but experience will restore us to our

wits.

Hence

Hence God in his mercy ftrikes us fometimes with sickness: then we begin to confefs, that we may mourn in the midft of pleasure, hunger in plenty, and feel the greatest effects of poverty in abundance. A fevere fickness takes down a high stomach, and clears the brain of thofe intoxicating vapours continual health has raised: then we begin to confefs, all the goods of nature and fortune are infignificant without health. Then follows a fuit of law: bribes overfway juftice; we are caft, and difpoffefs'd of our eftate; and tho' we fancied ourselves feated above the clouds, above the reach of viciffitude, and the ftroke of misfortune, we find ourselves on the dunghill with Job, and perchance furrounded by a troop of lefs comforting comforters.

Then we confefs this great truth, we refused to learn at a cheaper rate; Man born of a woman is great in nothing, but in his capacity of Juffering. All the charms of worldly magnificence difappear; we raise up our eyes to heaven, and implore his fuccour, who alone is able to affift us. Like frighted children, we fly for fafety to our heavenly Father's arms, who has taught us this leffon, that affliction is our fchool-mistress. Profperity is too airy and giddy; our brains are too weak to bear it; Therefore it was necessary that temptation should try us: nothing but fuch a corrofive was able to reitore us to our fenfes.

Turn over the fcripture, and you will find the Jews (when they enjoyed plenty under the fhade of their vines) rather drunk with pleasure, than mindful of their Benefactor. But when they felt their enemies fword, and groan'd under the chain of fervitude, they cryed to the Lord, and found the effects of their prayers by a speedy deliverance. And for three hundred years idolatry waited on profperity, and repentance on affliction; fo true it is, that tribulation is our beft inftructor. The raven re

turned