have gone on from bad to worse. But losses are gains, and the heaviest trials are mercies, when sanctified to bring us to our right minds, and to guide our feet into the paths of peace. If therefore, my dear reader, you wish to avoid trouble, and to pass through life as smooth as possible, take heed and beware of covetousness. If the Lord loves you, he will not lose you; and therefore he will beat you, as it were, in a mortar, if necessary, rather than permit that to remain in you which his soul abhors, and which, if it were to remain, would exclude you from his kingdom. He has said, and daily expe. rience and observation confirm his aphorism, "A man's life (the real comforts of it)" consisteth not in the "abundance of the things which he possesseth." Gold cannot communicate peace of mind, nor compensate for the want of it. Surely they who are satisfied with a little of this world's goods, must be more happy than they who are not satisfied with a great deal. Remember likewise, that where much is given, much will be required; and seriously consider, what will it profit a man, if he should gain the whole world, and lose his own soul! October 2, 1795. OMICRON. ON THE COMFORTS AND SNARES ALAS! how difficult do we find it to observe a due medium between overvaluing and undervaluing our creature comforts; especially those of social and relative life. The mutual affection which does, or should subsist, between husband and wife, parents and children, and proportionably between other family connections, or our intimate and tried friends, constitute our chief temporal pleasures. These are almost the only pleasures this earth can afford, which are very interesting to an intelligent and serious mind. For these the voluptuary has little relish ; sensuality has blunted his feelings, and his gratifications are scarcely superior to those of the brutes. Such persons are not at present concerned in the subject of this paper, nor can they well understand it. I write for those who possess and value the comforts of domestic life, acknowledge the goodness of the Lord in bestowing and preserving them, who wish to make them additional motives for gratitude and praise, but are often apprehensive that their attachments to his gifts withdraw their thoughts from the great Giver, and encroach upon that supreme regard which is is only due to himself. A disposition to love the creature more than the Creator, is undoubtedly a part and a proof of our natural depravity. This evil principle, described by the apostle under the names of the Flesh, the Old Man, and Indwelling Sin, however weakened and mortified in a true believer, is not extirpated. The opposition between nature and grace, flesh and spirit, renders the Christian life a state of constant warfare. They are opposite, contrary, contradictory one to the other; no peace or truce can subsist between them. The effects of this conflict extend to every faculty: when grace is in exercise, the motions of sin are noticed, checked, and lamented; but they are always sufficiently strong to render our best intentions and best actions defective and polluted; and particularly to depreciate and adulterate the finest feelings of humanity, and to turn our glory into shame. Thus our comforts often become our snares, and that which should be for our health proves an occasion of falling. prayer. We cannot be too watchful against this propensity: it should prompt us to daily humiliation and much But the Lord is not a hard master; he gives us all things richly to enjoy ; not to raise, and then disappoint our expectations, but, within the limits his wisdom prescribes, to gratify them. Ignorance and superstition misrepresent him. Under their influence multitudes think to please him by self-invented austerities and mortifications, and, suppose they shall be acceptable to him, in proportion as they make themselves miserable. But, on the contrary, we are assured that he delights in our prosperity, so far as it is consistent with our safety; and that he does not willingly afflict the children of men, and especially his own children, who love and serve him. He has placed us in a world, in which (considered as his world) every thing is beautiful in its season, proper use, and due subordination, to our chief good; though, considered as man's world, our apostacy has filled it with confusion and misery. Contemplate his goodness in a rural situation. Light, colours, and prospects, are suited to please the eye. The singing of birds, the lowing of the cattle, the bleating of the sheep, and, in general, the inarticulate tones of all the animal tribes, are soothing and grateful to the ear. During a great part of the year, the scent of blossoms and flowers perfumes the air, and regales the sense of smelling. Food is a necessary mean for the preservation of life, and would be so if it were no less unpalatable than the most nauseous drugs. But we are furnished with a profusion and variety of articles, which, while they satisfy our hunger, and recruit our strength, are likewise grateful to the palate, and accommodated to the different tastes of different persons: nay, he has not only given us food but fruits. These are certainly not needful for the support of life, nor are they interdicted like the fruit of the tree of knowledge, but are freely presented for our use. Things might have been so constituted, that all our sensations from external objects would have been disagreeable and painful. But God is good. We should live in the midst of continual enjoyments if we obeyed his precepts, and observed his regulations; which, however contrary to the evil dispositions of our fallen nature, amount to no more than the kind admonition, Do thyself no harm; for there is not a single restriction enjoined by the Scripture, with which it would not be our interest to comply, if the authority of God was wholly out of the question. But sin, where it prevails, dishonours God, abuses his gifts, and throws all into confusion. Intemperance, riot, and disorderly passions, have filled the earth with woe. Thus, as we are creatures formed for society, and cannot live, either with safety or comfort, in a solitary state, it has pleased God of his goodness to make us susceptive of social affections, which sweeten our intercourse with each other, and combine duty with pleasure. Parents are certainly bound by the law of nature to take care of their own children, and to provide for them; especially in the helpless state of infancy, when they are utterly unable to take care of themselves. This would often be an irksome task, if they did not feel an instinctive tenderness for their infant offspring at first sight, which makes that delightful which might otherwise be troublesome. It is likewise the appointment of God, that the successive generations of mankind should be perpetuated by marriage. As this is the nearest of all natural relations, so when the union is properly form. ed and conducted, it is the most interesting and endeared. This union, by the will of God, is in itself indissoluble till death makes a separation, ex cepting in the single case of unfaithfulness. But the marriage state, when entered into without a regard to God, to the rules of his word, and a dependence upon his blessing, is seldom productive of an abiding union of hearts: and if this be wanting, the case of either party may be compared to that of a dislocated limb, which is indeed still united to the body, but, not being in its proper place and connexion, is useless and painful itself, and the cause of pain and uneasiness to the whole body. Even the marriages of those who come together, and live together, in the fear of the Lord, are subject to heavy taxes: doubled in wedlock, and frequently multiplied in children, they have a larger share of cares, duties, and anxieties, than those who live single; yet they are comparatively happy. And I think, all things considered, they have the most favoured lot. They love the Lord, they seek his presence and blessing, and they do not seek in vain. They love each other, they have one faith, one aim, one hope. Their mutual affection, intimacy, and perfect confidence, greatly enhance the value and relish of the comforts in which they participate, and alleviate the weight of their burthens and trials. Love sweetens labour, and blunts the sting of sorrow. The vicissitudes of life give energy to prayer; and repeated supports and deliverances, in answer to prayer, afford new motives and causes for praise and thanksgiving. But still they are jealous of themselves, lest those affectionate feelings, which greatly assist them in discharging their social and relative duties with attention and cheerfulness, should become excessive and idolatrous. And, as I have already observed, they have reason to be always upon their guard, lest that which is lawful and right in itself, should, by being indulged in an immoderate degree, become Vol. II. R |