That is a Fifth Work of Patience.

vi. Another work of patience is, TO OBSTRUCT ALL DISHONOUR→

ABLE OR UNLAWFUL WAYS OF DELIVERANCE FROM THOSE SUFFERINGS UNDER WHICH WE LIE.

Patience will not suffer a man to accept of deliverance, if he cannot free the honour of God and the purity of his own conscience from stain, as well as his outward man from trouble: he will not make such an unworthy commutation, as to leave his God or his conscience to suffer in his stead: no; rather let bonds, reproach, afflictions, and death do their worst upon him, than that he should hazard his soul, to save his skin if he cannot break through a sad and entangling providence but by breaking a command, let the worst come that can come, he keeps his station; and will not move one foot without the compass of the word, though he might thereby escape all his sorows and sufferings: he is resolved that the Devil shall never bail him; nor will he, by any unlawful arts and methods, wrest himself out of God's hands, to put himself into Satan's. This patience it was, that made the holy martyrs, spoken of Heb. xi. generously scorn to accept of deliverance, when it was tendered to them upon unworthy and unwarrantable terms: they were not so stupid, nor so profuse and lavish of their lives, as to cast them away, could they have saved both them and their religion too; but, when the condition of their temporal safety was their eternal destruction, when they could no longer live here unless they consented to die for ever, welcome then death and torments, the rack and the fire, welcome the prison or the stake, to which the laws of God fastened them more straitly than even their fetters and their chains. But impatience puts a man upon any base and wicked means, to free himself from his present sufferings: thus Saul's impatience in waiting for Samuel forceth him, first, to offer sacrifice, whereby he forfeited his kingdom; and, afterwards, his impatience to know the success of his affairs drives him to consult with a witch, whereby he lost his life. And, how many forlorn wretches are there, who, through impatience under the temporal evils which they suffer, desperately cut off their own lives, and thereby plunge themselves into eternal torments!

And thus, in these Six particulars, you see what is the proper Work of Patience. It is: to quiet and compose the spirits of

the afflicted to put a stop to all immoderate and murmuring complaints to make men willingly resign up themselves unto the sovereign will and disposal of God: to sweeten and endear afflictions to them: to render them placable and reconcilable to the instruments of their sufferings: and, lastly, to obstruct all dishonourable and unlawful ways of deliverance.

And that is the Second General propounded.

III. The Third General is, to shew, WHEN IT IS, that Patience hath its Perfect Work.

To this I answer:

i. Patience hath then its perfect work, WHEN IT IS PROPORTI

ONABLE TO THE SUFFERINGS AND AFFLICTIONS UNDER WHICH WE LIE; and that, both in Duration and Fortitude.

And therefore,

1. If thy afflictions and sorrows be of long continuance, thy patience, that it may be perfect, must be prolonged.

It must be lengthened out according to the affliction; nor must we faint, till it shall please God to put a period to his chastisements and our sufferings. If thy patience wear off one day before thy trouble doth, it hath not its perfect work. Sometimes, God doth bring such afflictions and trials upon his people, as shall hold them work all their days, and scarce afford them any intermission and breathing-time: and, if it prove so with thee, know, that thy patience ought to run parallel with thy trouble. If God will not take thy burden off, but make thee travel with it till the evening, till thou liest down to take thy rest in the grave, thy patience must hold out till then, if thou wouldst have it perfect. And, though the Apostle speaks of our light afflictions, which are but for a moment: yet remember, that, as they are light only in comparison with the intolerable torments of hell; so, likewise, they are many time short, only in comparison with eternity: they are short, only because they are not endless; but, yet, this short moment may hold out as long as thy whole life. Now, then, O Christian! look upon thyself as a traveller; and make account, that whatsoever burden God is pleased to lay upon thee, he may perhaps not take it off till thou comest to thy inn, to take up thy lodging in the grave. If he discharge thee of it sooner, acknowledge his mercy; but be sure thou discharge not thy patience, before God dischargeth thy burden.

2. Sometimes our sorrows and sufferings are very deep, our burdens very heavy and pressing: and God brings upon us not only long, but sharp and severe sufferings; such as he threatened, Deut. xxviii. 59. Great plagues, and of long continuance; and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance. He may give thee a deep draught of the bitter cup, and squeeze into it the very spirit and quintessence of gall and wormwood. Now, in this case, that thy patience may be perfect, it must be strong, as well as lasting it must have nerves and sinews in it, to bear weighty burdens. When thou canst take up the heaviest load and go away roundly with it, when thou canst endure the sharpest methods of cauters and incisions with a manly spirit, then is thy patience perfect. But, If thou faint in the day of adversity, thy

strength is but small; Prov. xxiv. 10.

ii. That our patience may be perfect, IT MUST BE PROPORTIONABLE, ALSO, TO THE NEED OF THE SUFferer.

For then hath patience its perfect work, when a man bears whatsoever is necessary for him. We suffer, as a sick man takes physic: though the potion be bitter, yet he must take such a quantity as is prescribed for the cure of his disease. Truly, our afflictions are but medicines for our souls: it may be, a small quantity, or a few doses, is not sufficient to work out the malignity of our distemper; and, therefore, we must continue and submit, until our Great Physician hath perfected his cure upon us; and then is our patience perfect. Possibly, God sees thee proud and arrogant in thy prosperity; and, therefore, he brings some sharp affliction upon thee, that may lance the swelling tumor of thy mind, and let out thy corruption : perhaps, he sees thy disease is covetousness, and too much love of this world; and, therefore, to cure this dropsy in thee, he deals with thee as physicians do with hydropic patients; takes from thee that, which, though it please thy appetite, yet miserably increaseth thy distemper: perhaps, he sees thou art falling asleep in carnal security; and, therefore, to awaken and rouze thee out of this lethargy, he makes use of incisions and cauters. Now, both the cure and thy patience are then perfect, when, of a proud and high-minded person, he hath brought thee to an humble and meek spirit; when, of a worldly and self-seeking person, he hath made thee a public-spirited and self-denying, Christian; when, of a drowsy and secure, he hath made thee a vigilant, zealous, and active Christian.

iii. That thy patience may be perfect, IT MUST BE A JOYFUL

PATIENCE.

Thou must not suffer, and repine: this is only patience extorted, and by force: but suffer, and rejoice*; and bless and thank that God, taking from thee; whom thou didst bless, giving to thee. And, as we have the greatest cause of joy, so we should then, especially, shew it, if at any time we may suffer for the testimony of Jesus, and the sake of a good conscience. It is said, Acts v. 41. the Apostles rejoiced, that they were counted worthy to suffer....for his name.

And thus I have, in brief, shewed, when it is that patience hath her perfect work.

IV. That, which remains, is only to ENFORCE upon you this exhortation of the Apostle: that all, who name the name of Christ, the great Example of Patience, would strive to get; and, having got, to exercise; and, by exercise, to strengthen and perfect, this most excellent grace.

And, in prosecuting this, I shall observe the following method. Give several Motives and Inducements unto patience. Shew the several distempers of a man's spirit, which are great Hindrances of patience.

Give the Cure of these; and lay down some Means, that may be helpful to advance and strengthen patience in us.

i. For the MOTIVES to patience: they are many and powerful. And such, indeed, they had need be, to persuade our fretful and froppish natures to the exercise of so hard a grace. There are none of us, who at all reflect upon the working of our own spirits, but find it a difficult matter to keep down the estuations of our unruly passions. When a cross providence intervenes, either to frustrate our expectations or deprive us of our present enjoyments, they will mutiny and rebel: so that it is almost as easy an undertaking, to persuade the sea into a calm, when winds and storms beat boisterously upon it; as it is to compose the minds of men into a smooth and equal temper, when they are assaulted with any tempestuous providences. Yet grace can work those wonders, which nature cannot and

* Μεγάλες εςιν

alintu depaolas nai vinev. Ignat. Ep. ad Polycarp.

that God, to whom all things are possible, can make our hearts calm, when our outward condition is tempestuous; and, though he lets forth his winds upon us, can keep us from being discomposed and ruffled by them; and lay the same command upon our passions, as Christ did upon the waves; Peace, be still. And there be several Considerations, that will tend mightily to hush all the disturbances of our spirits, under all our sorrows and sufferings. As,

1. That there is nothing more necessary for a Christian, in the whole conduct of his life, than the work and exercise of patience,

What saith the Apostle, Heb. x. 36? Ye have need of patience; that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. It is a most necessary grace for a Christian: not only as all other graces are necessary to make him such, for so we have need of them all, at least, in the root and habit, and in the proper seasons for the exercise of them; but the Apostle speaks it signanter, and by way of special remark, Ye have Need of patience: need of the continual exercise, strength, and perfection of this grace.

And this especial necessity of patience will appear, if we consider,

(1) That our whole life is but a scene of sorrows and troubles. They spring up thick about us, and surround us in every condition: put thyself in what posture and state of life thou wilt, still thou shalt find something to molest and disquiet thee; for our rest is not here. Who can recount the personal, domestical, or more public sorrows, which he undergoes; as if breath were only given unto us, to spend it in sighs and groans? The truth is, we pass through the world, as men that run the gauntlet, and must receive a lash and stripe everp step we take, Man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward Job. v. 7: he is born to it: it is his inheritance and portion, that descends to him from his father Adam; entailed upon him by the curse of the Law annexed to our first transgression: and born unto it, as the sparks fly upward; that is, our troubles come upon us naturally and spontaneously, as is the ascending motion of sparks; and they are as thick and fiery, as those sons of the burning coal, as the original expression hath it. Now, if sorrow and sufferings do thus make up the greatest part of our lives, is it not absolutely necessary to fortify our hearts with patience, quietly and meekly to bear whatsoever it shall seem good to the all-wise providence of God to inflict upon us? Afflictions are