God often difappoints our expectations, to make us more fenfible of our dependance upon him; to oblige us to go to him at all times for help; to hinder us from facrificing to our own net, as if all our fuccefs were owing to ourselves; to increase our faith, and hope, and patience, and other virtues; that we may depend upon his word and promises, wait his time which is always beft, and caft all our cares on him who careth for us.

There is another plain reason why men do not often fucceed, even in their most honeft employments. They undertake and follow their business without ever asking God's blefsing; they labour and take pains, as if that alone would do; and God, who knows that fuch as go about their business without his leave and bleffing will, if they prosper, never thank him for their fuccefs; he therefore often blasts their labours, and makes all their endeavours fruitless.

This fhews the great advantage and neceffity of private and family prayer. For why fhould any perfon, or family, expect that God fhould profper them in the way they go, who will not fo much as afk his protection and bleffing. One may fay, that such persons, fuch families, cannot profper, or if they do for a while, it will be to their greater lofs and forrow.

Laftly; It is in great mercy to us, that God very often denies fuccefs to our labours. If,

for

for inftance, we are in a bad way, good fuccefs would but harden us, and encourage us to go on in fin; would but make us more wicked, and haften our deftruction. God is therefore undoubtedly merciful in hindering our fucceeding in any evil way whatever. And if we are in a good way, and are in danger of abufing the favour of God, (which he only knows) it must be owned to be the greatest goodness in him to disappoint us; neither to hear our prayers for success, nor to profper our labours.

For most certainly it had been better for millions of people, who are gone to give an account to God for the evil use they made of his favours, if he had withholden them; if all their endeavours had been blafted with ill fuccefs; if they had wanted that abundance which they made fo ill ufe of; if they had lived and died as poor and miferable in the eye of the world as Lazarus. And they will, in the words of a Chriftian poet,

Bless their poverty, who had

No reckonings to make when they are dead.

Ye afk, (faith St. James) and receive not, because ye afk amifs, that ye may confume it upon your lufts. And is it not a mercy not to be heard, when men make fuch petitions? And does not God indeed answer our daily prayers, Lead is not into temptation, but deliver us from evil; when he denies us fuccefs in fuch things

as

as he fees would really hurt us, and hinder our falvation?

The Wife man's advice would now feem very strange to moft ears; Labour not to be rich; ceafe from thine own wifdom—for that will fuggeft to thee that riches are a mighty bleffing; but, adds he, they will deceive thee at laft: For riches certainly make themselves wings; they fly away as an eagle towards heaven. And is not God kind to those whofe wishes for riches and abundance he denies, and fo prevents the greatest vexation which men fuffer in being deprived of them?

But then if we confider what our Lord has made known to us, That riches are a mighty hindrance in our way to heaven; that it is the hardest thing in the world to have them, and not to truft in them; that they who receive all the good things in this world which their riches afford them, will be tormented in the next. Whoever confiders this, will be convinced, fure, that God is indeed merciful to all thofe to whom he denies that fuccefs which would be their everlasting ruin.

After all, as it is the most difficult thing in the world to perfuade even the beft Chriftians to believe this; and as there is scarce one in a thousand who will be convinced that there is so much danger as God has declared in having our wifhes for abundance fulfilled, God is therefore forced to disappoint those who fear him, and for whom he has greater mercies

a Prov. xxiii. 4.

cies in store; and a time will come, when they fhall fee and confefs the kindness of God, in denying them that fuccefs in all things which they fo paffionately defired and laboured for.

But are we not, therefore, to labour and pray for fuccefs upon our honeft endeavours? Are we not to be careful in our business, and diligent in our callings? Yes; moft certainly: God, from the creation, defigned man for bufinefs; he put Adam into the garden of Eden, to dress and to keep it. And though we are taught to pray for our daily bread, yet every man is bound to do fomething towards obtaining it, or else he may starve, and ought to do fo. If any man (faith the apostle) will not work, will not take fome pains in his generation, neither ought he to eat.

And this will bring us, in the second place, to confider what are the most proper means to prevail with God fo to bless our endeavours, as that they may profper; and that we may be able to give a comfortable account of our time and labours to our great Master.

Our first care then must be, That whatever business we undertake be juft; that it be in the way of our duty; that it be reasonable, and like to end well: for a man can expect no bleffing of God, no good iffue, if his aims are unlawful, if he is out of the way of his calling, or if he undertakes things at random, and without good grounds.

Our

So

Our next care must be, that we undertake and pursue the works of our calling with a confcientious regard to God and to his laws; without which, we have no reason to expect his bleffing, either upon our endeavours, or upon the fruit of our labours. At thy word, (faith St. Peter) I will let down the net. ought every Chriftian to fay, At thy word, and because thou haft commanded me, I will be true and juft in all my dealings; at thy word, and because I cannot hope to profper without thy bleffing, I will use no deceitful ways to increase my fubftance; I will be ruled by thy word, and not by my own corrupt defires, or by the practice or customs of an evil world; at thy will and word I will act, and at thy word I will forbear.

The apostle therefore juftly rebukes those who are fo foolish and wicked as to lay down projects of what they will do hereafter, without ever faying, if the Lord will-we will do this or that. And God himself threatens those with difappointment and bad fuccefs in all their undertakings, who trust in an arm of flesh, and neglect to call upon him for a bleffing upon their labours.

As therefore we hope for his bleffing, let us take the apostle's advice, In every thing, in all the affairs of life, let your requests be made known unto God; that is, pray unto him, that whatever business you go about may be for his glory and your advantage; that he would direct

b Phil. iv. 6.