God, and Prayer for the Aid of his Holy Spi-
rit, through the Mediation of Jesus Christ :
for his Grace shall be sufficient for us, and his
Strength made perfect in our Weakness ". With-
out -him we can do nothing ® : every wrong In-
clination, Dissatisfaction amongst others with
every Thing within and without, in their
Turns, will prevail over us : but through Christ
who strengtheneth us, we can do all Things'. To
him we owe our Deliverance from the Wrath
to come 8: and well may we be easy with an
inferior Share of worldly Advantages ; for the
best of us deserve none. From him proceeds
all the Good, that we think or do: and surely
we have no Title to greater Abilities in any
Respect, than he bestows on us. On him de-
pend our Hopes of future Happiness : and the
lowest Place in it is too high for us.
know not how far we may advance in spiritual
Attainments by modest Perseverance. We
may be enabled in Time to out-do both our-
selves and others, and be rewarded according-
ly. · But however that proves,

it
may

abundantly suffice us all, that we shall make our Calling and Election fure", and enter into some

Yet we

e

f Phil. iv. 13•

d 2 Cor. xii. g. & Matth. iii. 7:

John xv. 5
2
Pet, i, 10.

Degree Degree of the Joy of our Lord', in Return for our faithful Improvement of the Talents committed to us, be they more or fewer, if in an honest and good Heart, having heard the Word, we keep it, and bring forth Fruit with Pas tience", though it be in very different Proportions, fome an hundred fold, fome fixty, some thirty',

S E R M O N XI.

PSALM Xxxix. 10.

I became dumb, and opened not my Mouth : for

it was tby doing.

forced

T would be our Wisdom and our Duty,

though we had no Knowledge of Religion, to bear the Sufferings of Life with Patience, and submit to the Inequalities of it with Contentment. I have therefore hitherto inupon you

the Practice of these two Vir tues chiefly from prudential and moral Confiderations, though I could not altogether forbear adding fome Inducements of Piety also. But these last are both so superior to the former, and fo necessary in human Circumftances, that I must now dwell upon them distinctly. Pains of the Body, and Uneasiness of the

3

Mind,

are in

Mind, may sometimes be so grievous, that, had we no invisible Sovereign to obey, and Nothing to hope or fear after Death, it would be hard to persuade ourselves to continue in Life. At least we should undergo in it a great deal of Misery, with few and poor Consolations. Those indeed, which I have mentioned to you,

many

Cases of confiderable Use by themselves : in all Cases they may be of Service, when combined with Reflections of a higher Nature. And our groveling Minds are often more affected with feeble Reasons, that are level to them; than with strong ones, that seem above them : or however may best be quieted a while by a previous Use of the former, till they can be raised to an Ability of applying the latter. And Humanity requires, that even the weakest Aid be called in: but at the same Time, that the principal Stress be laid on the firmest Support: else what will be the Consequence? Only indeed what most of us in our Turns have probably experienced. We have been told that Grieving would not help us, without being told what would ; and so have been left to grieve on. We have been told, that sooner or later our Sufferings would abate,