We have, indeed, so little right to complain of punishment, when it does not exceed the measure of the offence, that to bear it patiently hardly deserves the name of virtue; but impatience under it is, in a high degree, foolish and criminal.
It is well known how partial every man is in his own cause, and therefore it is necessary to meditate much upon the justice of God, lest we be tempted to think our punishments too great for our faults; and, in the midst of our anguish and distress, "charge God foolishly."
But we shall receive yet further satisfaction from a frequent reflection on the mercy of God. We shall learn to consider him, not only as the Governour, but as the Father, of the universe; as a Being infinitely gracious, whose punishments are not inflicted to gratify any passion of anger, or revenge, but to awaken us from the lethargy of sin, and to recall us from the paths of destruction.
Every man has observed, that the greatest part of those who enjoy the pleasures of this life, without interruption or restraint, are either entirely forgetful of any other state, or at least very little solicitous about it. Men are easily intoxicated with pleasure, dazzled with magnificence, or elated with power. The most pathetick or rational discourse upon eternity has seldom any lasting effect upon the gay, the young, the wealthy, and the prosperous. Even the gospel itself was first received by the poor.
The reason of this is not, because religion is best adapted to a gloomy and melancholy state of mind. For the truths of religion are attested by evidence, which must be yielded to as soon as it is considered; and confirmed by proofs, which nothing but inattention can resist. But to consider, and weigh this evidence seriously and impartially, the mind must be abstracted, in some measure, from the objects that surround us; objects that strike us strongly, not because they are great, but because they are near; while the views of futurity affect us but faintly, not because they are unimportant, but because they are distant.
A constant conviction of the mercy of God, firmly im-
