forgotten to be gracious? hath he in anger fhut up his "tender mercies? Selah." Or, with Job, Job x. 1,-3, "My foul is weary of my life; I will leave my complaint upon myself; I will fpeak in the bitterness of my foul. "I will fay unto God, do not condemn me; fhew me "wherefore thou contendeft with me. Is it good unto "thee, that thou shouldest opprefs? that thou fhouldeft despise the work of thine hands, and fhine upon the "counsel of the wicked?"

But what a mercy is it, when it pleaseth God to reconcile our minds to the will of his providence; to fet home upon the conscience his right of fovereignty; his title to difpofe of our perfons, our reputation, our fubftance, our relations, without exception, and without condition, even as he will. O how happy! to be able to fay, with our fuffering Saviour, "O my Father, if it be poffible, let this "cup pass from me! nevertheless, not as I will, but as "thou wilt. And, again, if this cup may not pafs away "from me, except I drink it, thy will be done." Is this unreasonable? Nothing lefs. Should he not do what he will with his own? Is it impoffible? Bleffed be God, it is far from it. How happy, my brethren, to have our corruptions mortified by fuffering! to have the spirit broken by contrition and penitence, when the body is broken by fickness or diftrefs; to weaken our attachment to the world, when it is fhowing its inftability and uncertainty as our poffeffion; to hate the fin for which, and not the God by whom the stroke is inflicted, let it be of what nature foever it will? O how happy to have divine confolation under fuffering! an angel from heaven strengthening us! the foul following hard after God! when the believer is enabled to delight himself in God, even in the absence of all outward comfort! and to fay with Hab. iii.

17, 18, "Although the fig-tree fhall not bloffom, neither "fhall fruit be in the vines; the labor of the olive fhall "fail, and the fields fhall yield no meat; the flock fhall "be cut off from the fold, and there fhall be no herd in the "stalls; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the "God of my falvation!" O how happy is it, when we experience the fanctifying effects of fuffering, to be able to

look back upon it, and find the bitterness and severity over, or mitigated by time, but the fruits of it remaining, and daily gathering ftrength! One affliction, truly fanctified, prepares the mind for others to follow, and makes them both more tolerable, and more ufeful. He who has fought, and found confolation in God, under one affliction, is refreshed, braced, and armed for another combat; he is not fo much afraid of new and unknown enemies, because he knows where to find fure and effectual fupport. There is fomething very noble and animated in that part of the apostle Paul's discourse to the elders of Ephefus, which relates to his fufferings for the gofpel, Acts xx. 22, 23, 24. "And now, behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerufalem, not knowing the things that fhall befal me there : "fave that the Holy Ghoft witneffeth in every city, fay"ing, that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of "these things move me; neither count I my life dear "unto myself, fo that I might finifh my courfe with joy, "and the miniftry which I have received of the Lord Jefus, to testify the gofpel of the grace of God." I cannot go through either every kind of suffering, or every kind of benefit we may receive from it; but we have the pleasure of feeing the fcripture faints, both in the Old and New Teftament, bearing witness to the falutary confequence of affliction. Thus David fays, Pfal. cxix. 67, "Before I "was afflicted, I went aftray; but now have I kept thy "word:" and verse 71, "It is good for me that I have “been afflicted, that I might learn thy ftatutes." And the apostle Paul, Rom. v. 3. "And not only fo, but we "glory in tribulation alfo, knowing that tribulation work. "eth patience." And fo certain is this truth, that, I am perfuaded, there is no ferious exercised person among us, but is willing to ftrengthen the evidence by his own testi mony.

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I may add, that the Lord deals very bountifully with thofe to whom he gives the fanctified use of their mercies; when in general mercies have not led to fecurity or pride, but to thankfulness, and even to a holy concern to improve them to the glory of God; when great abundance of outward poffeffions has not led to fenfuality, or profa

nity, or hardness of heart; but, on the contrary, to humility, usefulness, liberality; when a numerous or growing family, children fpringing up as olive plants round about the table, only fill the parents with a tender concern to train them up in the fear of God, and feafon their young hearts with early impreffions of religion; when, instead of a foolish jealousy or ambition to have your children more fumptuously dreffed than others, your great care is to have them kept from the fociety of the vicious, and to have them no way behind the very best accomplished in every branch of useful knowledge; when you are favored with the efteem and affection of others, and God enables you to improve your influence by zeal and diligence in doing good.

These are all fanctified mercies; and, as the Lord deals bountifully with thofe on whom they are bestowed from time to time; fo, in acts of folemn worship, it is an unfpeakable happiness, when fuch views are taken of our state and fituation, and of the aspect of providence towards us, as ferve to confirm and ftrengthen every holy difpofition, and lead us in the paths of truth and righteousness. In the

4th, And last place, The Lord hath dealt bountifully with those whom he hath admitted to the most intimate and fpiritual communion with himself; thofe whom he hath carried above the sphere of temptation, filled them with fenfible joy in the Holy Ghost here, and earnest defires after the complete and perpetual enjoyment of his prefence in heaven. My brethren, it is no contemptible communion with God, when the foul is poured out in penitential forrow, filled with hatred of fin, with a love of God's laws, or fubmiffion to his providence; when the Spirit fhines with clearness either on commands or promifes, and makes the heart approve and reft in them; but there are also special happy seasons, when the believer may be faid to leave his mercies, trials, fins, and duties, altogether at a distance, and to rejoice in the contemplation of an infinite God. He is the proper object of the highest esteem, and most ardent love of every reasonable creature ; he is the immediate object of delight and wonder to the celeftial holts; and fometimes he vouchfafes fome degree

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of the like exalted joy even to the faints on earth. It feems to have been the defire of Mofes, when he says, Exod. xxxiii. 18, "I befeech thee fhew me thy glory." And the fame feems to have been the happy attainment of the disciples on the mount of transfiguration; of which fee the account, Matth. xvii. 1,-4, "And after fix days, Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and "bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, and was transfigured before them, and his face did fhine as the "fun, and his raiment was white as the light; and, be"hold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking "with him. Then answered Peter, and faid unto Jefus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us "make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for

Mofes, and one for Elias." The luftre of their Master's appearance, and what they heard of his intercourfe with the two inhabitants of heaven, feems to have made them quite forget that they had any thing to do on earth: or, at leaft, made them very unwilling to return to their former state.

How fhall I explain this, or bring it down to the conception of worldly men? Perhaps it is wrong to attempt it; but, left any fhould go away, fpeaking with contempt or indignation of communion with God, as extravagance, enthusiasm, and folly, I fhall take leave to fupport it by the following illuftration. Suppofe any of you were, as perhaps you have been, admitted to the fight of fome exceeding ftrange and wonderful appearance in nature or art; will not this fometimes fill you with inexpreffible furprise and delight? will it not, for a time, quite fufpend your attention to any thing else? Your bufinefs, cares, fears, and other pleasures, will be all forgotten for a season. Now, if this is the cafe, I defire to know, why the glory of the true God, difcovered in his word, and illuftrated by his Spirit, may not, or ought not to be the subject of the greatest wonder, and most exalted pleasure, to those who truly love him? The truth is, there is fo much to be feen, that is surprising and astonishing, both in the nature and works of God, in creation, providence, and redemption, that the only thing that hinders us from dwelling

with delight on this great fubject, is the finfulnefs of our nature, which too ftrongly prompts us to flee from him. When therefore the believer is freed from the apprehenfions of guilt, and goes to God, as his God, in gratitude and duty, it is no wonder that he tastes a little of that unspeakable joy that is at his right hand. I doubt not, but many will say this is true. O let but the light of his reconciled countenance fhine upon me, let me be but free from the doubt, fufpicion, and fear, fuggefted by my fins, and heaven would immediately begin to dawn upon my foul!

As intimate communion with God may be faid to bring down fomething of heaven to earth, fo it always carries the defires of the foul from earth to heaven. It is not only made up of faith and contemplation in the present state, but of hope, which breathes after further difcoveries in a ftate of greater perfection. It not only increases defire, but helps our conceptions. The foul, if I may speak fo, climbs up to the fummit of prefent enjoyments, that it may see the farther into what still remains. It fays, as it were, if fuch the glory and luftre of the outer court, what must be the unvailed fplendor of the holy of holies. You fee the apoftle Paul makes this use of comparative reflections, 1 Cor. xiii. 9,-12, "For we know in part; and "we prophefy in part; but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part fhall be done away. "When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as "a child, I thought as a child; but, when I became a "man, I put away childish things: for now we fee through a glafs darkly; but then face to face: now I know in 66 part, but then fhall I know even as alfo I am known," 1 John iii. 2.—" And it doth not yet appear what we shall "be; but we know, that when he fhall appear, we shall "be like him; for we fhall fee him as he is."

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Alas! my brethren, that intimate communion with God fhould be fo rare, and that fo few of us fhould attain to the difpofition of the Apostle of the Gentiles, who defired" to depart and to be with Christ, which is far better." Let us be afhamed of it. Surely many of us have tasted a good deal, and feen a good deal more of the vanity of