The danger of prosperity discovered in several sermons upon Prov. I. 27 /

3. When the Wicked abuse God's Blessings, defeat his Kindness, and frustrate the excellent Ends of it, he most righteously and severely continues their Prosperity, that foments their Lusts, and renders them more wilful and incorrigible, and the more guilty of their own damnation. What was said by Simeon, concerning the most glorious Gift of God, our Saviour, is applicable in this Case; Behold, this Child is set for the fall of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against. When the riches of Grace offered in the Gospel, are despised and neglected, the blessed Saviour of Souls is most justly ordained to be the occasion of their ⟨p. 12⟩sorer Punishment. So when the common Benefits and Mercies of God are ungratefully perverted by Men, to the dishonour of the Giver, they are by Divine Determination ordered, for the aggravating of their Sins and Sentence. Prosperity is a fatal Ambush for their surprisal and ruin, according to that heavy Imprecation of the Psalmist, ^*Let their Table become a snare to them: and that which should have been for their welfare, let it become a trap, an occasion of their falling. This judgment proceeds from the most terrible and inexorable Displeasure: 'tis better and more eligible to encounter all the storms of a raging World, than to enjoy the calm and security of a prosperous Sinner. For the more afflicted we are by Men, the more earnest are our addresses to ⟨p. 13⟩God's propitious Throne, to incline his Mercy to regard and relieve us: but a Sinner, the more full fruition he has of the World, the more he forsakes and provokes God, and the more he is abandoned to his worst Enemies, his Lusts, and Satan. This will be amplified more in the following parts of the Discourse.

3. When the Wicked abuse God's Blessings, defeat his Kindness, and frustrate the excellent Ends of it, he most righteously and severely continues their Prosperity, that foments their Lusts, and renders them more wilful and incorrigible, and the more guilty of their own damnation. What was said by Simeon, concerning the most glorious Gift of God, our Saviour, is applicable in this Case; Behold, this Child is set for the fall of many in Israel, and for a sign that shall be spoken against. When the riches of Grace offered in the Gospel, are despised and neglected, the blessed Saviour of Souls is most justly ordained to be the occasion of their