his own command and disposal in this matter. We cannot resign it, and subject it to the will of God whenever we desire so to do. The duty indeed is ours, but the power by which alone we perform it is God's. We act as we are acted on by the Spirit. "Without Christ we can do nothing." He does not say, Without me ye can do but little; or, Without me ye can do nothing but with great difficulty; or, Without me ye can do nothing perfectly; but, Without me ye can do nothing at all. And every Christian has a witness in his own breast to attest this truth; for there are cases frequently occurring in the methods of Providence, in which notwithstanding all their prayers and desires, all their reasonings and strivings, they cannot quiet their hearts fully in the disposal and will of God; but, on the contrary, find all their endeavours in this matter, to be but as the rolling of a returning stone against a hill. Till God say to the heart, Be still, and to the will, Give up, nothing can be done.

Let us next consider what this case does suppose and include in it, and we shall find, that it supposes the people of God

to have a foresight of troubles and distresses drawing near to them.. I confess it is not always so, for many of our afflictions, as well as comforts, come by surprise upon us. But oftentimes we have fore-warnings of troubles, both public and personal, before we feel them. And these fore-warnings are given by the Lord to awaken us to our duties, by which they may either be prevented, Zeph. ii, 1, 2, or sanctified and sweetened to us when they come. These signs and notices of approaching troubles are gathered, partly from the observation and collation of scripture-cases and examples, God generally holding one tenor and steady course in the administration of his providences in all ages; and partly from the reflections Christians make upon the frames and tempers of their own hearts, which greatly need awakening and humbling providences. For let a Christian be but a few years or months without a rod, and how formal, earthly, dead, and vain will his heart grow! And such a temper presages affliction to them that are beloved of the Lord, as really as the giving or sweating of the stones doth rain.

The case before us supposes also, that these premonitions and forerunners of affliction, do usually very much disturb the order, and break the peace of our souls that they put the mind under great discomposure, the thoughts under much distraction, and the affections into tumults and rebellion. Ah, how unwilling are we to surrender to the Lord the loan which he lent us! to be disquieted by troubles when at ease in our enjoyments! How unwelcome are the messengers of affliction to the best of men! And this arises partly from the remains of corruption in the best souls; and partly from the advantage Satan makes at the season to irritate and assist our corruptions. He knows that that which is already in motion is the more easily moved. In this confusion and hurry of thoughts he undiscernedly shuffles in his temptations; sometimes aggravating the evils which we fear, with all the sinking and overwhelming circumstances imaginable; sometimes divining and fore-casting such events and evils, as never fall out; sometimes repining at the disposals of God as more severe to us than to others; and sometimes reflecting, with

very unbelieving and unworthy thoughts, upon the promises of God, and his faithfulness in them; by all which the affliction is made to sink deep into the soul before it actually comes. The thoughts are so disordered, that duty cannot be duly performed, and the soul is really weakened and disabled to bear its trial when it comes; just as if a man should be kept waking and restless all the night with the thoughts of his hard journey, which he must travel tomorrow, and so, when tomorrow is come, he faints for want of rest, in his journey.

It is here supposed also to be the Christian's great duty, under the apprehensions of approaching troubles, to resign his will to God's, and quietly commit the events and issues of all to him, whatever they may prove. O lovely and truly Christian temper! And till our hearts come to this, we can have no peace within. But this resignation is the difficulty; and therefore I shall here subjoin such helps and directions as may, through God's blessing in the faithful use of them, assist and facilitate this great and difficult work.-Labor to work into your hearts a deep and fixed

sense of the infinite wisdom of God, and your own folly and ignorance. This will make resignation easy to you: Whatsoever the Lord does is by counsel, Eph. i. 11; his understanding is infinite, Psal. cxlvii. 5; his thoughts are very deep, Psal. xcii. 5. But as for man, yea, the wisest among men, how little does his understanding penetrate the works and designs of Providence! And how oft are we forced to retract our rash opinions, and confess our mistakes, acknowledging that if Providence had not seen with better eyes than ours, and looked farther than we did, we should have precipitated ourselves into a thousand mischiefs, which by its wisdom and care we have escaped! It is nothing but pride and arrogance overruling our understandings, that makes resignation so hard. The more humility, the more resignation.-Deeply consider the sinfulness and vanity of torturing your own thoughts about the issues of doubtful providences.-There is much sin in so doing, for what are all our anxious and solicitous emotions, but the immediate issues and fruits of pride and unbelief? There is not a greater discovery of pride in the