That is, How wilt thou bear it, when they fhall caft thee into a Prifon, nay, thrust thee into a nafty Dungeon, when thou shalt fink in the Dirt and Mire ?

It is certain, that if we complain fo heavily now, we shall not know what to do with ourfelves hereafter, when we may be worfe; as we have reafon to think we fhall be, if we cannot forbear our present Complaints.

But there is fomething beyond this to be confidered, which is,

Thirdly, That it is a moft finful and damnable Condition, which not only brings upon us temporal Evils and Calamities, and raifes great Troubles in our own Spirits; but renders us very obnoxious to the Displeasure of the eternal God. For,

1. It difhonours him very much, and reprefents him as tho' he was not good and kind to his Creatures. It disparages his Providence, as if he was not wife, or careful, or concerned for us. And it difparages his Promifes, as if they were not juft, faithful and true. Nay,

2. It hath been the very Mother or Nurfe of Atheifin and Irreligion in fome Tempers; it hath made many doubt of the Being and Providence of the Almighty, when they have been denied those Things, which they fet their Hearts very much upon, or when they fuffered the Lofs of them, tho' they took themselves to have deserved better, Thus fome of the Roman People cryed out, when they faw fuch a bafe Fellow as Licinus honoured with a Marble Monument, and Cato have but a poor one, and Pompey the Great, none at all,

Quis putet effe Deos? Who can believe there are any Gods? Other fuch Mutterings we find in their Books, when they faw Things carried very unequally, as they fancied, and those who had the greatest Care of publick Good, oppreffed; and the like Vice they are ftill in Danger of, who have high Thoughts of themfelves, but are bereaved of thofe Things on which they dote, or disappointed of thofe Hopes, for whofe Accomplishment they have been earneft Sollicitors. This tempts them to fall out with their own Thoughts fo far, as to queftion that which before they facredly believed. And therefore,

3. This muft needs be the Cause of many other Sins; the Rife and Original of this difcontented Spirit, is Sin, yea, a great many Sins ; and therefore the Streames that iffue from it, can be nothing else but muddy, filthy and impure. It arifes from grofs Ignorance, or careless Unbelief; from a great Vanity and Lightness of Mind, which makes a Man weary of every thing that he hath, and fometime from Pride and haughtiness, which makes him think he deferves every thing that he hath not; and therefore what can follow from it, but fundry Sins of Omiffion, as Neglect of Prayer, Thankfgiving, Charitableness and fhowing of Mercy to the Poor, or great Distraction in thofe holy Duties, and want of Chearfulness in doing good to the Neceffitous? With many Sins of Commiflion, fuch as are Evil-fpeaking, envious Detractions, Injuftice, Oppreflion, Extortion, and what not?

We

We will make ufe of one Example only to reprefent this, which is that of Abab.

He took a Pett, you know, and grew fullen, because Naboth would not part with his Vineyard to him. This Difcontent he betrayed by the Dejection of his Spirit, by the Sadness of his Countenance, by forfaking his Business, and his Stomach's forfaking him. And the Original of it, at first, was nothing more than an inordinate Defire, without any Purpose, that we can find, to wreft this Land from him by violent Means: He offered to buy it of him, either with Money, or with other Land as good, yea better, in exchange for it, but did not make any Attempt to force it out of his Poffeffion; and yet abundance of other Sins iffued from this one Defire of his, not being ftopt up and damm'd from running any further: Letters are writ against an innocent Perfon, falfe Accufations are forged, witneffes are fuborned and bribed; the Judges are over-awed; an unjust Sentence pronounced; Naboth murdered, nay, Godliness is made the Pretence of all, the Name of the most High drawn in to ferve their vile Defigns, and much Hypocrify added to the great Heap of other Sins..

To all which Abab gave his Confent, at least afterward, by going to take Poffeffion of his Vineyard, who was in fo ungodly a manner caft out of it, and out of the World. This difcovered how that unquiet Defire had wrought his Heart over, and difpofed it to embrace any, the basest Means, to compafs his End, which at the

first,

firft, perhaps, he would have abhorred the Thoughts of.

Be affrighted, I beseech you, at this Inftance, and confider what a Gulph of Wickedness, Difcontentedness, indulged and harboured may plunge you into. You know not into what a Sea of Sin and Mischief you are cafting your felves, while you go on repining and murmuring at your Condition. You may make no Bones (as we fay) of falfe Accufation, falfe Swearing, injurious Dealing, griping Exactions, Bribery, Flattery, Lying, Perfidioufnefs, falfe Weights and Measures, and more Sins of the like dangerous Nature than I can reckon. At leaft, Neglect of God, and Religion, Uncharitableness, and all thofe Sins which are an Omiffion of your Duty, are like to be easily swallowed and digefted by you, This is too clearly intimated in the Counsel of St. John Baptift, to the Soldiery, who came to ask him what he would have then do? Luke 3. 14. Do no Violence, faith he, accufe no Man fallly, and be content with your Wages. This laft affirmative Precept, he opposes to the other two negative Precedents, fhewing that they who were not content with their Pay, would be inclined, having Power fo to do, to plunder and pillage openly, or elfe by falfe Accufations, upon pretended Crimes, fqueeze the poor People, and drain their Money from them; that is, do any Cruelty, or Injuftice, to fatisfy their greedy Lufts. And you fhall always obferve, that the more Power and Strength any Perion hath to do Mifchief, the greater will his Crimes be, if he

be

XV. be not contented: For whom may not they op prefs fecurely? Against whom may not they be believed, tho' they speak never fo falfly? And how many Colours are they able to devife, to give a fair Countenance to their injurious Actions? This, Afop hath wittily reprefented, in the Fable of the Wolf and the Lamb, who both came to drink at the fame River, but the Wolf was nearer the Spring Head, and the Lamb further off, below him. To whom the Wolf, having a mind to pick a quarrel, faid, how dare you dirty and trouble the Water in this Fashion, making it unfit for me to drink? That is impoffible, replyed the innocent Creature very mildly, for the Stream comes not from me to you, but from you to me; fo that if it be muddy where you drink, I cannot be the Caufe of it. What do What do you fay, answered the Beast of Prey, not at all confounded with this juft Defence, do you not remember what malitious Words you fpake against me fix Months ago? Alas! faid the Lamb again, I was born long after that Time: Then it was your Father, faid the Wolf, and fell upon him furioufly, and rent him in Pieces.

Sic nocet in nocuo nocuus, caufamq; nocendi
Invenit. Heu! regnant qualibet arte lupi.

Saith an old Manufcript, reciting this Fable as Phædrus doth, Thus the innocent are oppressed by the Guilty, and they never want a Caufe for their Injuries. Alas! there are fuch Wolves that will live by every Art, or reign in every Trade.

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