powers and affections which were formerly bestowed here and there, to employ them all about itself in a time of fore affliction. And we are apt to think ourselves excufable too in fo doing: fo that if God himself fhould ask a diftreffed foul as he did Jonah, Doft thou well to be careful, fearful, forrowful, querulous, because of these afflictions, loffes, diftrefies that are upon thee? It would go nigh to give him the fame answer, I do well to be forrowful, yea, and to refufe to be comforted. There seems to be allowed us fome natural affections in cafe of extream affliction; which, how far they are lawful, I will not now difpute. But fure I am, that if fuch be allowed us, they must not be wild extravagants, wandering without the bounds of religion, and confcience, as if God had laid the reins upon the neck of the foul, and given it leave to indulge itself in what paffions it would for a certain time, as the daughter of Jeptha was allowed to go whither she would, wailing upon the mountains for two months. We are never allowed any paffions or affections fure, that do not comply with the will of God, and confift with our fubmiffion thereunto. But whatever they are, I find, that under pretence of those, some men are apt to be carried unto ftrange inordinancies, and commit many paffionate outrages; and indeed the best of men, are too prone to fufpend and interrupt that lively and feeling converfe with God, which they ought to maintain even when they smart most.

3. Because then is a time when there is more ef pecial use for, and need of fuch converse with God. And that,

1. To give reft to the foul. In profperity men forget God, and yet make a fhift to find fome kind of reft in their pleasures, friends, employments, fome take comfort in their cups and companions; and indeed all are apt to fancy a contentment in creature-enjoyments. But in a time of great affiction, all these are gone, or at least have no savour in them; and where fhall the weary foul find reft then? Then there's no fhew of reit but in God alone. When all other props fail, then either catch hold of God or fall. There is now nothing left to give any fettlement or contentment to the foul but God alone: and in him there is ease to the fick, reft to the weary, fettlement to the fhaking, contentment to the troubled Chriftian. Therefore converse with God in the day of greatest affliction: which is the fame counfel in effect with that of our Saviour, Matt. xi. 28. Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy-laden, and I will give you reft.

2. There is need of it, to give relief to the body alfo.

And fo converfing with God in a right manner, is the best policy; the fureft way to recovery, and relief. See what a speedy cure there is in it, Pfal. xxxiv. 5, 6. They looked unto him and were lightned, and their faces were not ashamed; this poor man cried, and the Lord heard him, and faved him out of all his troubles. In vain is converfing with friends, phyficians, counsellors: in vain is all creatureconverfe without this: no reft to the foul, no cafe to the body in time of affiction, with converfe with God: fo that a man`in affliction eftranged from God, ftragling off from God, is altogether

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altogether miferable. In a word, feparate a foul from God; and in profperity his enjoyments are low, and in adverfity the want of them is very bitter: fo that there is good reafon why a Chriftian fhould ftudy to converfe with God in the way of his judgments. But the great art is to know how. This therefore I now come to in the

Fourth place, to fhew particularly, how we are to converfe with God in afflictions. Now there are two ways of explaining this.

1. By fhewing with what attributes of God we

are to converfe.

2. By what acts of the foul. But I shall bring both these into one.

1. We ought to converse with the abfolute and unlimitted fovereignity of God whereby he, as a free and fupreme agent, doth what he will, and none can fay unto him, What doft thou? Dan. iv. 35. This Fob often eyes and owns: particularly, Job ix. 12. He taketh away, none can hinder him, and who can fay unto him, What doft thou? This we muft alfo eye often, and own heartily. This we may well argue from God's creating of us: he that made us thus without any conftraint, can he not, may he not make us otherwise, and alter us without refraint? So Job argues, chap. i. 21. We may also argue it from the fubordinate fovereignity, and inferior fupremacy of men; even a monarch among men doth whatfoever he pleaseth, and who may fay unto him, What doft thou? Ecclef. viii. 3, 4. Yea, a very Centurion hath a kind of fovereignty in this sphere, over as many as are under him, he faith unto one man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Do this, and he doth it, Matt. viii. 9. And

fhall

fhall we not then acknowledge a fovereign power, and independent abfolute authority in the great and bleffed God, over the whole creation, the workmanship of his own hands? So the good centurion argues, and infers, in the place last quoted. Nay, as the apostle faith in one place, We have fathers of our own flesh who ufe us at their pleafure, and we do not gainfay their authority, we do not fay to our father, What begetteft thou? Nor to our mother, What haft thou brought forth? Ifa. xlv. 10. Nay if these fimilitudes will not teach you, I will' fay to you, as God to the prophet, arife go down to the Potter's boufe, there I will cause you to learn this leffon: he maketh or marreth his veffels of clay, as often as he pleafeth; and, are not ye in the hand of the Lord, as the clay is in the hand' of the potter? Jer. xviii. 6. I fpeak the more to this, in as much as I find, that however men give God good words, and confefs his dominion over them and theirs, yet. when it comes to it, that he touches them in any of their darling comforts,. they are ready to clamour against him in their hearts, as if he did them fome wrong; if not to curfe him. to his face.. Certainly there is fome atheistical opinion of propriety, that in fome degree or other is apt tofteal into the most devout minds: and fure I am, we do not only barely offend, but we do ourselves much hurt; we wound our own. peace; we shake the fettledness of our own hearts; we put ourselves into briars in a word, we both leffen our creature-com forts, and multiply our griefs, and aggravate our forrows, by calling things our own: if we had not taken them to be

our own, it would not have troubled us to part

with them.

Be sure therefore to eye and own the abfolute and unlimited fovereignty of God: but that is not. all; it is not enough to believe it: we must converfe with it otherwife than by thinking of it, or affenting to it. Then do we converfe with the fovereignty of God.

1. When the powerful fenfe of it doth filence quarrelling, yea murmurings, yea even difputings in the foul. We may indeed modeftly contend with men concerning their dealings with us; the Potfberd may ftrive with the Potfherd of the earth; but it must not fay to the potter, why haft thou made me thus? A pacate and quiet frame of heart, is a real converfing with the fovereignty of God. So did Aaron when he held his peace, Lev. x. 3and Job, when he attributed nothing unseemly to God, Job 1. ult.

2. When the fenfe of it doth fupprefs felf-will. This is an unruly luft in the foul, a giant-like fpirit warring againft heaven, and breeding bate continually. This is that which maintains a Meum and Tuum even with God himself, that sets up interefts, as the Jews fet up princes, Hofea viii. 4. but not by God, yea indeed in oppofition to him. This is the feditious party in the foul, that is always crying out, we will not have this man to rule over us: and when that darling intereft which this proud rival hath fet up, is touched of God, and fmitten and blafted from heaven, it is ready to fret and storm, yea, and to think it hath reafon to be angry. If this fon of the bond-woman were caft out, Abraham's family would be all

of