SERMON XIII.

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JOB, XXXVI. 21.

Take heed; regard not iniquity; for this haft thou chofen rather than affliction.

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IESE words were addreffed to Job, who, from the height of profperity, was fundenly plunged into the deepest and most complicated distress. They are the words of Elihu, the youngeft, but by far the wifeft and most candid, of all Job's friends. The other three were indeed, as he himself had filed them, miferable comforters. It was their belief, that adversity was in all cafes a certain token of God's difpleasure; and, upon this principle, they endeavoured to perfuade this excellent fervant of God, that his whole religion was falfe and counterfeit, that divine juftice had now laid hold of him, and that he

was

was fuffering the punishment of his hypocrify and iniquity.

At length Elihu interpofes; and, moved with zeal for the honour of God, and with compaffion to his friend, he unfolds the mysteries of Divine Providence, afferts and proves that affliction is defigned for the trial of the good, as well as for the punishment of the bad, directs Job to the right improvement of his present diftrefs, and comforts him with the profpect of a happy deliverance from it, as foon as his heart fhould be thoroughly moulded into a meek and patient fubmiffion to the will of his God. At the fame time, he rebukes him with a becoming dignity for fome rash and unadvised speeches which the feverity of his other friends, and the sharpnefs of his own anguish, had drawn from him, and particularly cautions him in the paffage before us, "Take heed; regard not iniqui

ty; for this haft thou chofen rather than "affliction."

The latter part of the text contains an heavy cenfure, for which fome of Job's impatient wishes for relief had no doubt given too juft occafion. But thefe expreffions, uttered in

his hafte, he afterwards retracted, and finally came out from the furnace of affliction, like gold tried and refined by the fire.—What I propose, in difcourfing on this fubject, is to illuftrate and prove the general propofition, that there can be no greater folly than to feek to escape from affliction by complying with the temptations of fin; or, in other words, that the smallest act of deliberate tranfgreffion is infinitely worse than the greatest calamity we can fuffer in this life.

That the greater part of mankind are under the influence of the contrary opinion, may be too juftly inferred from their practice. How many have recourse to finful pleasures to relieve their inward diftrefs? What unlawful methods do others ufe for acquiring the perifhing riches or honours of this world? while, in order to evade fufferings for righteousness fake, thousands make fhipwreck of faith and a good confcience, through finful compliances. with the manners of the world, against the clear and deliberate conviction of their own minds. These things plainly fhew, that the fubject I have chofen is of the highest impor

tance;

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tance; and if what may be faid on it shall be fo far bleffed to any as to render fin more odious, or affliction lefs formidable, I shall gain one of the nobleft ends of my office, and we shall have reafon to acknowledge, that our meeting together has been for the better, and not for the worse.

In proof, then, of the general propofition, That there can be no greater folly than to chufe fin rather than affliction, let it be obferved,

I. That fin feparates us from God, the only fource of real felicity. That man is not fufficient to his own happiness is a truth confirmed by the experience of all who have candidly attended to their own feelings. It is the consciousness of this infufficiency of the human mind for its own happiness, which makes men feek refources from abroad; which makes them fly to pleasures and amusements of various kinds, whofe chief value confifts in filling up the blanks of time, and diverting their uneafy reflections from their own internal poverty. But these are vain and de

ceitful

ceitful refuges of lies. The want remains, and we have found out only the means of putting away the fense of it for a time. God alone can be the fource of real happiness to an immortal foul, an adequate fupply to all its faculties, an inexhauftible subject to its understanding, an everlasting object to its affections.

Sin bereaves the foul of man of this its only portion. "Behold," faith the Prophet, "God's hand is not fhortened that it cannot "fave, neither is his ear heavy that it cannot "hear, but your iniquities have feparated be

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tween you and your God, and your fins

have hid his face from you, that he will

not hear." Affliction, on the other hand, instead of feparating the foul from God, is often the means of bringing it nearer to him. Let a man be ever fo poor, difeafed, reproached, perfecuted, ftill if he hold faft his integrity, if he be a real faint, he is near and dear to God. The eyes of the Lord are upon him, and his ears are open to his cry. The angel of the Lord encampeth round about him, and a guard of angels wait to car

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