Page images
PDF
EPUB

come; yet, if his fortune be confiderable, it may be fome time before any great inconvenience may appear; and his neighbours, for a long time, may see no difficulties arife in his family. The mifchief, however, is inevitably drawing on his income becomes fcanty, debts increase, his creditors make demands, and, in the end, his imprudence becomes his ruin.

It would be easy to fhew the particular mifchief that attends every other kind of vice.

With the fame ease it might be fhewn, how much the practice of every particular virtue is fuited to make us happy, and how little fuch happiness is liable to be disturbed.When, therefore, we see the wicked man in prosperityfortunate in his fchemes, and bleffed with every thing his foul can defire-what then? To ftop here, without making any farther inquiry, would be to stop too foon, and to form a judgment before we have all the circumftances of the cafe. His profperity may, all this while, be a delufion;and the man may, in fact, be heaping up a flowpaced mifery to himself, inftead of happinefs.-David was convinced of this great truth, and gives us a very expreffive defcription of it:"I was grieved," fays he," at the wicked, I

"fee

66

[ocr errors]

fee them in fuch profperity: for they are in

no peril of death; but are lufty and strong.

They come in no misfortune, like other folk; "neither are they plagued like other men. And

[ocr errors]

this is the caufe that they are so holden with

pride and overwhelmed with cruelty. Lo! thefe are the ungodly-thefe profper in the "world, and thefe. have riches in poffeflion. "And I faid, then have I cleanfed my heart in "vain, and washed my hands in innocency: yea, I had almost faid even as they.-Then

[ocr errors]

thought I to understand this; but it was too "hard for me, until I went into the fanctuary "of God: then understood I the end of thefe

[ocr errors]

66

[ocr errors]

men. Namely, how thou doft fet them in

flippery places, and cafteft them down, and deftroyeft them. O! how fuddenly do they

confume, perifh, and come to a fearful end !" But though we may not always fee that conclufion which David here faw, yet we may be affured that the truth is undoubted; and that either from circumftances without, or diftrefs within, wickednefs will always, in fome fhape, meet its defert. What a man foweth, he shall certainly reap.

Then

1

Then again, when we fee good men fuffering affliction in this world-oppreffed with fickness or reduced to poverty-it is too hafty to conclude immediately, that goodnefs will not meet its reward. What we foolishly imagine to be misfortunes to good men, are many times the fecret workings of Providence to draw good upon them always fpiritual, but often even temporal good. We have all perhaps, in more inftances than one, obferved that accidents, from which we feared great diftrefs, have in the end been the means even of temporal advantage. When Jofeph, for inftance, was taken from his father's houfe and fold to the Ifhmaelites, what a misfortune, it might be faid, have we here! and afterwards, when his virtue expofed him to the calamities of a dungeon, what mifery, might people cry, had now befallen a poor, unhappy, though virtuous young man! And indeed, if we ftop at this part of the hiftory, we might be apt to exclaim, that in one inftance, at leaft, virtue had been the cause of mifery. But let us proceed a little farther; and we fhall find that all these misfortunes were, in the hands of a gracious God, the steps the natural and eafy fteps, by which Jofeph rofe to the higheft of all earthly honours

VOL. IV.

M

-that

that of preferving a whole people." And "now (as he tells his brethren) be not angry that ye fold me hither, for God did send me "before you to preferve life." And though in every inftance the whole proceeding of God Almighty may not be made out fo plainly as it is in the cafe of Jofeph, yet we may be affured that in every inftance God works in the fame way; and that, if good men make a right use of their afflictions, they will always, in fome way, find their happiness in them.

Even fuppofe the good man fhould not meet with his compenfation in this world, and the bad man should carry his profperity to the end of it, what then? Does this prove any thing in favour of wickedness? By no means, certainly. While we believe in a future ftate, we must believe alfo, that as the period of our existence is not yet complete, there is ample room hereafter to fet all things right. During his paffage through this world, the good man may have many faults which may want correction; and the bad man may have fome virtues, which God may be pleased to reward. Hereafter, however, all things will be duly weighed, and adjusted with great exactnefs; for the Almighty's plans with regard to mankind

hankind begin indeed in this world, but are completed in the next.

LET us now see, as was propofed, fecondly, what particular conclufions arife from what hath been faid.

In the first place, let us convince ourselves of the folly of envying the condition of others; or, of being diffatisfied with our own. Unless we knew

all the circumftances of every cafe, which we never can know, we may fometimes envy what would prove a mischief; and fometimes deplore, what is in fact a blessing.

Again, though virtue and vice have a tendency to produce happiness or mifery in this world, yet we fee they fometimes change this natural order, and vice laughs, while virtue is in tears. This fhould teach us not to truft our happiness on thefe uncertain things; but to repose ourselves on the hopes of a better life, where our virtue is fure of reward, whatever measure it meets with here.

Thirdly, the events of this world fhew us, that it could never have been meant for a place either of full reward, or of complete punishment. This fuggeftion, therefore, greatly strengthens the ar

[blocks in formation]
« PreviousContinue »