AN Effectual Prescription Against the ANGUISH of all DISEASES, And Against ALL OTHER AFFLICTIONS To which the Nature of Man is Subject.  
Penned, and Published, and Approved, from the AUTHOR's Experience of it: But more especially from the Experience of very many much Greater and Better Men, the Latchet of whose Shoes He is not worthy to untie.  PSAL. XCIV. v. 12. Blessed is the Man whom Thou Chastenest, O Lord, and Teachest him in thy Law. PSAL. XXX. v. 12, 13. 
Thou hast turned my Heaviness into joy: Thou hast put off my Sackcloth, and girded me with Gladness.  
O my God, I will give thanks unto thee for ever.  
OXFORD, Printed by Leon. Lichfield, for Samuel Clark, Bookseller. An. Dom. 1691.   

AN Effectual Prescription AGAINST The Anguish of all Diseases, etc.  

SECT. I.  
AFTER my Threefold Exhortation, grounded upon the Exhortations as well of our Saviour, 
Luke 18. 1.  as of St. Paul, that Men will Pray Always, 
1 Thess. 5. 17.  and without Ceasing; I cannot better proceed in mine own poor Opinion, than to this other Exhortation of St. Paul to the Thessalonians, that they who pray without ceasing, 
Ver. 16.  will Rejoice evermore: 
Ver. 18.  And not only so, but will in every thing give Thanks too. For very close is the Connexion between these Paradoxes, and Duties, as I shall meet with an Occasion to show anon. But at present 'tis my desire, to consider and insist on the strangest Exhortative of our Apostle, Rejoice evermore; and to take it in such a manner for my Text at this time of my being Bedrid, and in pain, as not utterly to exclude its due Relations unto the Context: Namely Pray without ceasing, and in every thing give thanks.   

§. II.  
And if These last are hard Sayings, (as Carnal Professors may here object,) How much harder is the Exhortative, that we Rejoice evermore? How can a Christian so wholly learn as to put in practice this Lesson, in a Fit of the Strangury, or of the Stone? in a most tormenting Paroxysin of an Iliaca passio, or of the Gout? Can Men Rejoice evermore, when Hell upon Earth is broken loose in the times of such Barbarians as Antiochus Epiphanes was to the jews, or Dioclesian and Maximinus, and Maxentius to the Christians, and other Tyrants of equal Cruelty too foul and many to be here named? Can they Rejoice evermore, whilst they are suffering under the Tortures of their being Sawn asunder, and tormented with an 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Excoriation of the Skin, as some of the Martyrs we read have been? Yet such more especially were the Times, to which our Apostle doth here allude, in his Scriptural Exhortation, that as Followers and Disciples of our Lord JESUS CHRIST, we will Rejoice evermore, and in all Conditions.   

§. III.  
Now whether these words, Rejoice evermore, which are confessedly Apostolical, contain a Precept, or an Advice; they prove it possible and lawful, for a Follower of CHRIST to be still Rejoicing. For were it impossible to be done, St. Paul would be so far from commanding the practice of it, that he would not so much as commend it to us: and were the practice of it unlawful, he would neither commend nor recommend it, but severely stigmatize, and forbid it rather. It follows then that we can, and that we may Rejoice always in all Conditions; that is, with such a true joy as St. Paul alludes to, which is not Carnal, but Spiritual; not an Outward, and Superficial, but an Internal and solid Joy: Not the Joy of a Worldling, or of Riotous Debauchee, which stands in temporary Fits of sport and laughter; (For a vicious Man may laugh with an heavy Heart;) But the neverfailing joy of a sincerely pious Man, which ariseth from a clean and a quiet Conscience. 
Sen. Ep. 13.  Crede mihi (saith Seneca) res severa est verum Gaudium. Permanent Joy, which alone is real, is nothing else but the serenity and satisfaction of a Man's mind; ever at peace within itself, because it does nil conscire sibi, hath no false dealing, or Unsincerity to disturb it, 
Acts 24. 16.  as being void of all offence towards God and Man. This alone is True joy; Joy which will be True to us; on all occasion stick by us; and dwell inseparably with us, when other Joys vanish away, like the Morning Dew.   

§. IV.  
To this it is St. Paul exhorteth his Philippians, and that with an earnest, and most affectionate ingemination. Rejoice in the Lord, (c. 3. v. 1.) yea Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, Rejoice, (c. 4. v. 4.) which Excitation to rejoice, and to rejoice without ceasing, and to rejoice in the Lord, cannot possibly be meant of a common Joy, which like the Wisdom of this world, is ever earthy and sensual, and sometimes Devilish, such as of which our Saviour says, 
Luke 6. 25.  Woe be to you that laugh now, for ye shall weep. But 'tis necessarily meant of a Ghostly joy, 
Rome 14. 17.  or a joy in the Holy-Ghost; a Joy incessant, and without End or Interruption, especially at a time of the greatest secular Distresses, when Carnal Professors of no Integrity know not which way to turn, unless from the suffering to the persecuting side. For than it was that St. Paul exhorted his Converts to Rejoice, and to rejoice evermore, when they were under the Persecutions of jews and Gnostics. Then it was when he exhorted them to Rejoice in the Lord. Not in things of this World, wherein he saw there was no true Rejoicing. So said he touching himself, in the 10. Verse of that Chapter, But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly. He rejoiced in the Lord with a Christian Joy; with a Joy, whereof the Lord CHRIST was the only Author, and so he rejoiced through the Lord, as well as for the Lord's sake: which lessens any Man's wonder to find him rejoicing in his sufferings, there being nothing more rational, than that he should fill up what was 
* 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Coloss. 1. 24.  behind of the sufferings of Christ with exceeding joy, because he could not but rejoice in his being made perfect, who was to be perfected through sufferings, 
Hebr. 2. 10.  as the Captain of his Salvation had been before him.   

§. V.  
'Tis the Perfection of a True Christian, and 'tis his Reward in this World, (as well as Duty,) thus to be able (with St. Paul) to Rejoice evermore in the worst of times; 
Phil. 4. 11.  in whatsoever state he is, therewith to be content: to be as free from perturbation in the midst of all hardships and tribulations, as the Prophet jonah was in a time of shipwreck; never fuller of tranquillity, than in the most stormy wind and tempest; nor at any time safer, than in the Belly of the Leviathan. And tho' there are who have written Books, whereby to teach Men the Art of Rejoicing always, the Art of attaining to this Perfection, not only in CHRIST's, but in the Stoics School also; yet 'tis no where attainable by human Means, without the Cooperation of the Assisting Grace of God, where the Grace of God Preventing hath gone before it. Epictetus, and Arrian, Plato, and Plotinus, Hierocles, and Seneea, are no contemptible Instructors, even in this Divine Art of Framing an Heaven upon Earth. And St. Paul might have profited in that sort of Learning by some of them, having been conversant in the Writings of Epimenides, and Menander, and in all probability of Plato also; of whose 
* Sub Phaedonis initium apud Aug. Mascard. Diss. 2. p. 22, 23, 24. Et in suo Charidemo Prolusio Ethic. 3. p. 4. 6.  Apologue I am minded, by the subject I am upon. For when Volupia and Angerona, those Heathen Goddesses of joy and Sorrow which he derided, were still at odds, and impatient of an Agreement, God (says the Mythologist) tied them together by the Necks; that if they would not be friends, they might be forced to be Companions. A Fable I should not here mention, but for the Pertinent Moral of it; That God is able to reconcile the greatest Opposites in Nature; Pain and Pleasure, Joy and Sorrow, Prosperity and Affliction, in the Soul of any Prudent and Pious Man. And accordingly, when 'twas said by the Royal Prophet, 
Psal. 94. 19  That in the multitude of the sorrows which he had in his heart, the comforts of God did refresh his soul; he spoke and acted as Inspired by the Holy Ghost the Comforter. Comforts he had in the midst a multitude of sorrows; and in the midst of those sorrows which he had in his Heart too: wherein the Comforter from above did not only Refresh, but Delight his Soul, (for so our New Translation hath it.) And even the Carnal Man will grant, that the Pleasure of the Soul is the Soul of Pleasure. I say, St. Paul might have profited by some of those Heathen Writers whom he professeth to have perused: But 'twas by Christ, 
Phil. 4. 11, 12.  and Christ alone, by whom he grew perfect in his Lesson, to be content in all Cases. A Lesson he had learned (he tells us plainly) and been throughly Instructed in; It was not got without Study, nor yet without going to School to his Master Christ; who did not only enrich him with Light and Knowledge of all his Duties, but (which no other Master could do) gave him Ability to perform them. For having told us what he had learned, and how far he had been instructed, every where, and in all things both to be full, and to be hungry, both to abound, and to suffer need; He immediately added, that all his sufficiencies were of Christ; not of Pythagoras, or of Zeno, or of any other Teacher, or of himself: But, saith he, 
Phil. 4. 13.  I can do all things through Christ that strengtheneth me. As our Rejoicing must be in him, so by him and his strength, showing itself in our Weakness; through him and his wisdom, showing itself in our Folly; with his Power and All-sufficience, showing itself in our Wants and Imperfections; we can rejoice evermore, and in all conditions.   

§. VI  
But now however the glorious Grace of our Lord JESUS CHRIST is very sufficient of itself to make us perfect in St. Paul's Lesson, to be abased, and to abound, and in all stations to be content; and will never be wanting unto us, but when we are wanting unto it, and when we are wanting unto ourselves; Yet he expects and requires, that we negociate with the Talents entrusted to us, the Talon of Reason, as well as Grace. He expects that we work out our own Salvation; 
Phil. 2. 12, 13.  he expects that we stir up his Grace within us; 
2 Tim. 1. 6.  that we labour and cooperate, 
2 Cor. 6. 1.  and work together with him, (whilst he worketh in us both to will and to do,) that we receive not his Grace in vain. The Art of Contentment and Rejoicing doth not cease to be an Art, by being a Divine and a Christian Art. Nor are the Rules of it the worse, for being taught in the School of Reason. And so 'tis pertinent to consider, how far the Rule of Epictetus may conduce to our Proficiency, whilst we con St. Paul's Lesson. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Our troubles do not arise from things themselves, but from our opinions of them. Let us rectify our opinions, concerning those things which are within our own Power, and those other things which are quite without it; and then instead of labour in vain to bring our condition to our minds, (which most Men do, though 'tis impossible to be done) we shall employ ourselves entirely in bringing our minds to our condition. At which pitch if we arrive, we are qualified with our Apostle to Rejoice evermore. Whereas for want of this Attainment, no such thing as True joy is to be had, or so much as hoped for, whilst we are in this uncertain and fickle World.   

§. VII.  
The very Basis and Foundation of all our Contentments upon Earth, is either the Clearness of our Knowledge, or rather the Rectitude of our Faith, as 'tis the Ratio formalis, the Soul and Life of our Religion. A firm Belief that God is, and that he is a Rewarder of them that diligently seek him: 
Heb. 11. 6.  A firm Belief without wavering, that God who was the Creator, is still the Preserver of all the World; and as the Preserver, so the Governor, the Director, the Methodizer, and Disposer, of all things in it. A firm Belief without doubting, that nothing does or can happen without his Will; his Will to effect, or his Will to suffer it; his Will to do, or not to hinder its being done: and that in all the Will of God there is perfect Wisdom: whether his Will is Absolute, or only Respective, and Conditional; 
Rom. 7. 12.  still 'tis infinitely Holy, Just and Good. All which imports an Infinite, and Perfect Wisdom.   

§. VIII.  
This Belief being settled and fixed within us, makes us wait on God's Providence; Acquiesce in his Will, and Adore his Wisdom. So as in all Events to say, (and that from the Heart, and not only from the Teeth outward,) God's Will be done. The worth of this Acquiescence in the Good Will of God, was clearly seen by blind Homer, in comparison with whom Titular Christians are in the Dark, who think that God cannot see, or at least that he will not punish their Dissatisfactions in his Oeconomie. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, was Homer's saying, and 'twas a good one. God's Will was done in this, or that which is come to pass. But they said better, who said in their Submission to God's Appointment touching Saint Paul and his sufferings, foretell by the Prophet Agabus, 
Acts. 21. 14.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, The Will of the Lord be done. But much better yet said the Man Christ jesus, who said in the Agony of his Soul, when it was sorrowful even to death, 
Mat. 26. 38.  〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Not as I, but as thou wilt; or not my Will, but thy Will be done. He had prayed as a Man, the Bitter Cup might pass from him; but when he considered that he must drink it, and for the Health of Mankind too, he deprecated his Prayer, not at all his Persecution; He prayed his Prayer might not be heard; and that he might not have his own Will, according to his Humane Nature: But (said he to God the Father, v. 42.) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. Thy Will be done. Now he who can say with Good old Eli in all afflictions, It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good; 
1 Sam. 3. 11. 18.  and with King Hezekiah, when Death itself is denounced to him, Good is the word of the Lord, 
2 Kings 20. 19  which thou hast spoken; and with job embracing a Dunghill, when reduced from all his Riches unto his Pot-sherd and his Boyles by God's Permission, Tho' he kill me, 
Job 13. 15.  yet will I trust in him, tho' he deprive me of all I have, I will bless his Name. Lastly, he who can say with Christ Himself in sincerity, when as brimful of pain as his heart can hold, Father, not my Will, but thy will be done; he who thus is enabled not only to embrace, but to choose the Will of God, and even then whenit crosseth His, he, I may say in some sense, is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Mortal God, (as the old Pythagoreans were wont to phrase it,) that is a mere Man, with the Image and Superscription of God upon him; a Man in God's Likeness, wherein his first Parents were first created. To sum up all in a word, He who wills what God wills, (be it taken by the right handle, and understood with a grain of Salt,) does make God's Will become his own. He carves an happiness to himself, by that conformity of his Will to the Will of God. And his Conversation being incessantly in Heaven, (as St. Paul speaks to his Philippians,) he does in truth and without a figure, enjoy an Heaven upon Earth too, in antecessum. And this I think, in proper speaking, is to Rejoice evermore.   

§. IX.  
Thus I take myself to have proved St. Paul's Exhortative to be Rational, which some sensual Apolausticks would gladly have to be Ridiculous. 'Tis an Exhortative to nothing but what is possible, and lawful, and highly laudable in its Attainment. A Christian Duty recommended, if not commanded to be done, and in the Doing of which there is great Reward.   

§. X.  
In the scope of this Text being thus explained, our Apostle's three Generals may be particularly applied to our Rejoicing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, always, or evermore, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every thing, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, without cessation, or intermission. This is to Rejoice with joy unspeakable, 1 Pet. 1. 8. which is there also said to be full of glory; because the Joy of a sedate and a quiet Conscience, if it be in us, is not only unexpressible by ourselves, but also unvaluable by others, as the most Learned Dr. Hammond does well explain it. So that here we may apply that Epiphonema of St. 
2 Cor. 9 15.  Paul, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable Gift. However spoken by St. Paul in another Case, namely that of almsgiving, which is indeed the Gift of God, however expressed by and conveyed by the Hands of Men. And with a greater force of Reason may we apply it to ourselves, in case we are blessed with the Charisma of Rejoicing evermore, in all conditions and events, which either do or shall befall us whilst we are Sojourners here on Earth. For an Ability to rejoice evermore in this Sense, must needs be one of those good and perfect Gifts, which are said by St. james to be of a most Divine Extraction: 
James. 1. 17.  It is a Gift from above, and cometh down from the Father of Lights. And he may very well say, who hath arrived at this Ability, to Rejoice evermore, in all conditions and events, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 always, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in every thing, and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, without cessation, or interruption; Thanks be to God for his unspeakable Gift.   

§. XI.  
Saint james in his first Chapter to the jewish Christians of the Dispersion, has several Instances of Inducement to our Rejoicing evermore, and that especially in our afflictions: My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations, (v. 2.) of which the best of Annotators does make this Paraphrase, Look upon it as the most blessed of all conditions that can befall you, (as the joyfullest thing imaginable,) that ye meet with afflictions, and those of many sorts and kinds, in your Christian course. So the ninth and tenth Verses (saith the most Learned Dr. Hammond) cannot be better interpreted according to the sense, than thus: As glad as a poor man would be of being made rich, so glad let the rich man be of his being brought low. Let him be as well pleased, and thank God as heartily, for his being reduced to this low estate, as any poor creature is apt to be of any great Dignity or Preferment. Let the rich man look with joy on all the injuries and crosses that can befall him. All which is imported by St. james in these words, Let the rich man rejoice in his being made low; still 'tis rejoicing in afflictions, (not at all in prosperity,) to which St. james does well excite us in all that passage of his first Chapter, from the second to the tenth Verse. (See Dr. Hammond's Note on Matth. 9 d.   

§. XII.  
But to anticipate and frustrate such Objections of the Flesh, as will be naturally made by the Carnal-minded, we must still carry in mind, (what I have already hinted in the beginning of my Discourse,) that the Joy we take in suffering for having done any thing well, or in a cheerful submission to God's Oeconomy, in his Government of the World as he sees fit, is not to be a merely humane, but Christian Joy; It must be a joy in the holy Ghost, 
Rom. 14. 17.  (as St. Paul fitly calls it,) or to express it with St. Peter, a joy unspeakable, and full of glory. For 'tis a poor Expression of Merriment which only flows from the Spleen and Midriff; and only makes a Man look, as if he were bitten with a Tarantula; and many times is no more than Sardonick Laughter, which being no deeper than the Face, is consistent with a weeping or heavy Heart: whereas the Rejoicing of a Christian which hath its warrant from Christ himself, and its Festival from the Inside of Soul of Man, is a solid, and a severe, and a serious thing; a thing that is permanent and fixed. It keeps a Man Company in his solitude; and yields him Comfort in his Afflictions; and reconciles his very pain with a secret Pleasure. The Prophet jeremy enjoyed it in Ionathan's Dungeon; and Daniel in the Lions Den. It stuck to St. Peter upon his Cross; and forsook not St. Paul in all his Sufferings, whereof he gives a kind of Inventory, in the Eleventh Chapter of his Second Epistle to the Corinthians. In his labours more abundant, in his stripes above measure, in his very frequent Prisons, in Deaths oft, in perils of Waters, in perils of Robbers, in perils by his own Countrymen, in perils by the Heathen, in perils in the City, in perils in the Wilderness, in perils by Sea, in perils among false Brethren, (which were the worse perils of all) in Weariness and painfulness, in Watchings often, in Hunger and Thirst, in Fast often, in Cold and Nakedness: In these and all other distresses, of every kind, and in all degrees, his Inward Joy did not forsake him; his Peace of Conscience stuck closer to him, than his Skin to his Flesh, or his Flesh to his Bones; for these his several Lictors had the power to take from him. Five times was he scourged by the Lictors of the jews, and that without Mercy, or Mitigation; and with a Rod of three branches, whereof each was of twisted whipcord, (as Maimonides has informed us,) and so inflicted three stripes at every stroke. He was thrice beaten with Rods, that is, with switches or wands, by the Lictors of the Gentiles; once he was stone without a Process, by a tumultuous Rabble of Zealots; and though not unto Death, yet (which is worse) he was left for dead. (Acts 14. 19) Three times at least he suffered Shipwreck. A night and a day he was in the Deep, that is, in a Prison of the Propontis, which was a most noisome and filthy pit, which for its depth under ground was called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that is, the bottom of the Sea: like that at Athens, called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, or that at Syracuse called The Mineral. In every one of these cases the Joy of St. Paul never forsook him; but he prayed without ceasing, he rejoiced evermore, and in every thing gave thanks. Nor is it a wonder that he rejoiced in the things, wherein he said he took pleasure: For that he did so is plain, 2 Cor. 12. 10. where when he said that he took pleasure in Infirmities, he explained what he meant in the very next words, by Reproaches, by Necessities, by Persecutions, by Distresses, for Christ's sake. These expressly were the things in which he said he took pleasure; yea, these were the things in which he boasted, and in which he gloried, (v. 9) most gladly (saith he) will I glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 'Twas his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and delight, to bear about in his body the dying of the Lord jesus. In comparison with whom, 
Phil. 3. 8.  he reckoned all things but Dung, and rejoiced to be reckoned himself as Dung, as the Off-scowrings of the Earth, for the sake of CHRIST. He was glad to be thought worthy to suffer Shame for CHRIST'S sake.   

§. XIII.  
This is called with great Fitness The Rejoicing of a Man's hope, (Heb. 3. 6.) because the Hope we have in God, and our Reliance upon Him for the performance of his Promises in the most unlikely Times, when all things round about us are most improsperous and adverse, is the Ground and Foundation of all a Christian Man's Rejoicing; and that as at all times so above all in Times of Trial. To which St. Paul does give witness in the fifth Chap. to the Romans, from the second to the sixth Verse. We rejoice (saith he) in Hope of the Glory of God; (v. 2.) and not only so, But we glory in Tribulations; (v. 3.) we are infinitely pleased with our present sufferings; tho' not reduplicative for sufferings sake; but as knowing that Tribulation worketh Patience, and Patience Experience, and Experience Hope, (v. 4.) and Hope maketh not ashamed (v. 5.) But on the contrary, thus hoping for the glory of God to be revealed, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 we boast, we glory, we rejoice with exceeding joy, and that because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts, by the same Holy Ghost which is given unto us, (v. 5.) Which is as if he should have said, That however our afflictions are in their own nature tedious, yet they exercise many Virtues, as Faith, and Patience, and Perseverance, which are all required of us, and are deservedly to be shown in the Cause of CHRIST. Besides that Patience under Afflictions is absolutely necessary for the Trial of our Sincerity, of which we cannot well judge without a Trial, nor can we by Consequence, without it, have a safe Ground of Hope; which being rightly grounded upon a Trial and Proof of our Sincerity, (in our adherence to JESUS CHRIST,) and rightly objected on his Promises revealed to us in the Gospel, can never prove a false or deceitful Hope; nor can we possibly miscarry, in our Dependence upon CHRIST for a full Performance. For 'tis not without sufficient Reason, that God is called The God of Hope; and that he is said to fill the Hearts of True Believers, with all joy and peace in their Believing; and that by the power of God the Holy Ghost, Rom. 15. 13.   

§. XIV.  
This I take to be the meaning of that seeming Paradox, (as 'tis a Paradox more than seeming to the Natural Man as Man) 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, we boast, we glory, we exceedingly rejoice in our Tribulations, and are wonderfully pleased with our present Sufferings, (as Dr. Hammond words it expressly,) and that for the Reason before recited in the Fifth to the Romans, at the third, fourth and fifth Verses.   

§. XV.  
There is a parallel place in the 12th. Chapter to the Romans, at the 12th. Verse, both with That I now cited, and with This of my Text to the Thessalonians; where Rejoicing in hope is immediately followed with being Patient in Tribulation, and continuing instant in Prayer. Implying, that That Religious Hope which makes us purify ourselves, (as St. john describes it,) and is the Second of the Third Theological Graces, 
1 John 3. 3.  which is inseparably connected with Faith, and Charity; is not only the Ground of Patience, and Prayer to God with Perseverance, but even of joy, and Exultation, in all the Crosses and Afflictions which can befall us; and so is a Proof of our Ability, (whilst this Divine Hope is in us,) to obey the Exhortation, and to perform the Christian Duty incumbent on us in my Text, which is to Rejoice evermore, and in every thing to be thankful.   

§. XVI.  
This is briefly That joy, which takes up its Residence in a Man's Heart, and there is established by his Conscience, a Conscience as quiet, as it is clean; a Conscience void of Offence towards God and Man. And this is that Peace of Conscience, which Solomon calls A continual Feast. Vicious Men may abound in a transient jollity, but are capable of no true joy: their Laughing and Quaffing is in good earnest but their Disease, which has a sting in the tail, when there is Honey in the Mouth. They may have Intervals and Truces, but no true Peace. They may indeed have a Callousness, or a Searedness of Conscience, but Peace of Conscience they have not, they cannot have. There is no Peace, saith my God, to the wicked. Esaiah 57 20.   

§. XVII.  
He who is blessed with this Ability to Rejoice evermore, will by consequence obey the two Exhortatives annexed; He will pray without ceasing, and will in every thing give thanks. He will not only give thanks for his State of Grace, and his being God's Servant, or the Servant of Righteousness; but also for his having been the Servant of Sin. For so he is taught by St. Paul to say, as he said unto the Christians who dwelled at Rome; God be thanked, that ye were the Servants of Sin; (Rom. 6. 17.) Where it is to be noted, in prevention of a Mistake in the weaker sort, (who may be bold to sin the more, that Grace may abound, and that he may have the more occasion to give God thanks, and may love him the more, the more he hath to be forgiven him,) St. Paul did not say, God be thanked that ye are, but that ye 
* Rom. 6. 17.  were the Servants of Sin: which is as if he should have said, God be thanked that ye are not the Servants of Sin, tho' once ye were: For it follows in the next words, But ye have obeyed, and obeyed from the heart, (not above board, and in open Show only,) that form of Doctrine which was delivered unto you; and for that, God be thanked.   

§. XVIII.  
This Rejoicing evermore, and giving of Thanks in all Conditions, especially in the most Adverse, (whether Appointed, or Permitted, by the good Providence of God,) A world of Confessors and Martyrs have been convinced of being possible, 
Compare Heb. xi. with Acts. 9 31.  by plain experience; and Experience is the Great Mistress, which will instruct the most stupid, and convince the most stubborn of her Disciples. The Experience I speak of is plainly this; that by the perpetual Blessing of God whereby the worst of all Evenements work together for good to them that love God. 
Rom. 8. 28.  There is nothing adds more to a Man's Happiness upon Earth, than to be injured for this Welldoing; and Envied for his being Blameless; and bitterly hated by such as God hates; and for receiving much evil, for his Good offices, or his Good will. For to suffer such things, as those with Faith, 
1 Pet. 2. 19, 20.  and Patience, and Thanksgiving, is said by St. Peter to be Thankworthy, and a thing Acceptable with God. Whereas to suffer for Evil-doing, or to be commended for doing well, can never be said to be Thankworthy, and much less to be Meritorious.   

§. XIX.  
If Transitory Comforters could make us happy, it would be then a kind of Happiness to abound with Flatterers and Parasites, the greatest Comforters for a time this World can yield us; who yet are worthily esteemed the greatest Plagues too, because they are Comforters but for a time. And for this very reason, the goodliest possessions upon Earth, considered simply in themselves, are but glittering Plagues; because they are Flatterers and Parasites, which comfort us only for a time; and by ceasing at last to comfort, must needs torment us. But now the Holy Spirit of God, who is called The Comforter in the Gospel, is quite a contrary Comforter to all the Comforters I speak of. For when the Secular Comforters forsake us, He takes us up. His Comforts commonly begin, when all the rest are perished with us. He is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, that Friendly Comforter indeed, who will abide with us for ever, if we will but afford him an Entertainment, and not resist him at his Coming, nor Grieve him away when he is entered.   

§. XX.  
Consider the Promise our Saviour made to his First Disciples, that He would pray the Father who would give them another Comforter, 
Joh. 14. 16.  even the Spirit of Truth, who should abide with them for ever. And mark how well he performed his Promise: For when they were Persecuted and Beaten for having preached up CHRIST, they were so Inwardly strengthened by the Holy Ghost the Comforter, that what was cruelly intended to make them sorry, was miraculously made to increase their joys: And their Rejoicing was even in This, that they were counted worthy to suffer; and to suffer the public Shame, as well as the Torments of being Beaten, 
Acts. 5. 40, 41.  for their adhaerence unto the Name of the Lord JESUS CHRIST. Vicious Pretenders to Religion, who are a Disgrace to Christianity, are not worthy to suffer for it. But those persecuted Apostles were of such wonderful great Worth, that the Comforter from Heaven was not only with them, but within their Hearts also. The nearest to them that was possible, when all the Comforts of the World stood farthest off; and who was able to make them able, not only to support, but even to smile on their Afflictions: Not only to endure, but over and above to enjoy their Sufferings. So we read of the Thessalonians, that they had received the Word of God in much Affliction and joy of the Holy Ghost: 
1 Thess. 1. 6.  The Holy Ghost being their Comforter, reconciled their Joy with their Afflictions. 
1 Pet. 1. 8.  It was by the Holy Spirit of God that they Rejoiced with joy unspeakable: And therefore joy is worthily reckoned among the Fruits of the Spirit in special manner. 
Gal. 5.  The Fruits of the Spirit are very many; but Love and joy are the two First, because he is eminently the Spirit of Love, and Comfort.   

§. XXI.  
And now I have Answered the whole Objection of the most Sensual Apolausticks: proved it the possible, and the lawful, and laudable Practice of a true Christian, in the most terrible Cross of CHRIST, to be still Rejoicing. I have showed that God Alone is the Paraclete, or Comforter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉. That He is the Wonderful Reconciler of joy and Sorrow. That joy is one of those Fruits of the Blessed Spirit, deeply Rooted in the Heart of a True Believer, that nothing can be more Orthodox than this Paradox of the Worldling; that 'tis the Duty, and the Reward, and the high Privilege of a True Christian, (when all the rest of Mankind are Swallowed up in the Deepest Mourning,) to rejoice evermore, and in all Conditions.  
Which God the Father of his Goodness give us 
* 1 Cor. 10. 13.  Ability to perform, for the Merits of God the Son, and by the Powerful Operation of God the Holy Ghost, Unto which Blessed and Glorious Trinity, One Individual, Invisible, and Indivisible Lord God, be All Honour and Adoration, both now, and for ever.  
FINIS.