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your own time and measure, even though you ask them in fincerity with the prayer of faith. There may be reasons for with-holding them, and yet you may be accepted in your prayers. An infinitely wife God knows best what is for your good, and he only hath a right to determine in what part of his own fervice; where and how long he fhall employ you. Truft in God, therefore, in this refpect, implies a careful attention to the tenor of the promises with regard to temporal mercies, and not to look for, or even, if poffible, defire what he hath not promised to beflow.

If I am not miftaken, we fhall find it of moment, upon this fubject, to, observe, both what he hath not and what he hath certainly promifed. He has no where promised that his own people fhall be the richest or the greatest on earth; but he hath certainly promifed to blefs their provifion, and affured them that a little that a juft man hath, fhall be better than the riches of many wicked. He has not promised that they fhall be free from fuffering; but he hath certainly promifed to fupport them by his own prefence under their diftrefs. Ifa. xliii. 2. "When thou "pafleft through the waters, I will be with thee; and "through the rivers, they fhall not overflow thee; when "thou walkeft through the fire thou fhalt not be burnt; "neither fhall the flame kindle upon thee." The truth is, he hath promised that "all things fhall work together "for their good." In one word, they have indeed all mercies promised, only they themselves are not in a condition, at present, to judge what they may ufe with fafety, and what not. As the heir of an opulent eftate, though he is proprietor of all, yet is laid under restraint while in infancy and non-age, because he would foon ruin himself if it were committed to his own management; fo the believer, though an heir of God, and joint heir with Christ, yet till he is meet for the inheritance, he must be at his Maker's and Redeemer's difpofal. Take in, therefore, only this limitation, and then fee his extenfive charter. 1 Cor. iii. 21. "For all things are yours; whether Paul, "or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, "or things prefent, or things to come; all are yours; and

แ ye are Chrift's, and Chrift is God's." What then is the duty of a child of God? It is to breathe after more and more fubmiffion to the divine will, and to annex this reservation to every petition of a temporal nature, neverthelefs, not my will but thine be done. And oh! my brethren, how happy the perfon who hath feen the weakness of human judgment; who waits the intimation of God's will, before he will fuffer his defires to faften with eagernefs on any earthly comfort, and who endeavors to keep himself free from perplexity, by an humble and fubmiffive reliance on the all-fufficiency of God!

I obferved in entering on this part of the fubject, that fpiritual confolation, or fenfible joy in God, is to be confidered as a promise of the fame clafs, which muft, therefore, be asked with fubmiffion, and is difpenfed according to the good pleasure of a gracious but fovereign God. I am fenfible, as has been formerly obferved, with another view, that fome degree of comfort neceffarily follows from a believer's relation to God, but many pious perfons feem to defire and to expect fenfible comfort in a higher meafure than God fees it meet to give them, or, than is proper for them in the prefent ftate. It is with fpiritual prof. perity as with temporal, every one cannot bear it. There fore, it is our duty ftill to be fenfible that we have much more comfort and peace than we deferve, and as we defire and ftrive for greater degrees of it, to accompany these defires with much humility and refignation to the will of God.

I proceed now to the last thing propofed, which was to make a practical application of this fubject for your inftruction and direction.

1. From what has been faid, you may see what judg ment you ought to form of inward fuggeftions, and strong or particular impreffions upon your minds. There are fome extremely prone to interpret a text of fcripture, fuddenly fuggefted to their minds, or any ftrong impreffion made on them, as an immediate message from God, to be directly applied to themfelves: Others, in opposition to this, as enthufiaftical and vifionary, feem to give up eve. ry expectation of being able to fay with the Pfalmift,

"I blefs the Lord who hath given me counfel, my reins "alfo inftruct me in the night feafon." I beg, therefore, that you may obferve, that the fuggeftion of a passage of fcripture, of itself gives no title to the immediate application of it, because the great deceiver may undoubtedly fuggeft fcripture, as we find he could reafon from it in our Saviour's temptation. We are, in every fuch case, to confider the tenor of it, if it be a promise or encourage. ment, that is, how and in what manner it may be fafely applied. If any thing happens to be fuggefted that exprefsly fuits our prefent condition, either by fetting home the obligation of duty, with particular evidence upon the confcience, or pointing out the grounds of comfort, it ought to be thankfully acknowledged as from the spirit of God. For example, if a perfon under the power of a fpirit of bondage, and fear of divine wrath, hath fuggefted to him any of the extenfive gracious affurances of mercy to the chief of finners, it is his duty to lay hold of it. It is directly fuited to his condition, and would be the very thing that a wife and judicious paftor would recommend to him for his relief. He may therefore, without hesitation, blefs God for it, if it is brought with power and ef ficacy upon his heart. In the fame manner, if a perfon under trouble hath fuggefted to him any of the promises of fupport under it, furely he ought, in the discharge of his duty, firmly to rely on the accomplishment of that part of the word of God. But in the reflex examination of a perfon's character or flate, to apply the fudden fuggeftion of a promise or privilege, perhaps of a conditional nature, is certainly both finful and dangerous. Sinful, because without warrant; and dangerous, becaufe leading to de lufion.

2. From what hath been faid, you may fee what it is that we ought to feek for with the greateft earnestness, and may hope to obtain with the greateft confidence. Recollect, I befeech you, the order in which I have mentioned the promises of God as the objects of truft and reliance. First of all the promises of falvation, deliverance from the guilt of fin, and a right to everlafting life; next

whatever is necessary to the preservation and improvement of the fpiritual life; and then in the third place, proper accommodation and suitable provision in our paffage through the present world. They are here ranked according to their value in themselves, and the value which we fhould put upon them: Let us, therefore, take care that we never violate this order, which is neceffary, not only because of their comparative value, but because of their mutual influence one upon another. It is in vain for us to expect to attain to the habit or practice of holiness, till we are united to God by faith in Jefus Chrift. All the promises of the gofpel are ratified in him. All the divine fulness is treasured up in him. Every divine gift is dif penfed by him. Therefore, he fays John xv. 4. "Abide "in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit "of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me." And the apostle Paul, Gal. ii. 20, "I am crucified with Chrift; nevertheless I live; "yet not 1, but Chrift liveth in me; and the life which I "now live in the flefh, I live by the faith of the Son of "God, who loved me, and gave himself for me."

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In the fame manner nothing can be more prepofterous than to fix our affections upon temporal mercies, or our attention upon the promises that relate to them, fo as to lofe view of our interest in God's favor, and the progress of our fanctification. All the temporal promises in fcripture are made to the children of God as fuch, and for carrying on the purposes of his grace in them.-Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of thefe things. There is no promile in the whole volume of infpiration to the wicked and impenitent. "There is no peace, faith my "God, to the wicked." He will either rebuke them in his wrath and chaften them in his hot difpleafure, or give them up to a curfed, hardening, stupifying prosperity, than which, no state on earth, is more to be dreaded.— Christian! never fuffer an anxiety about your outward ftate to fupplant or go before, or even to be feparated from a concern, that you may not be found wanting when weighed in the balance of the fanctuary.

3. Let me befeech you to adore the wisdom, justice and mercy of God, in the order he hath established, according to the different nature of the promifes. That which is of molt, nay, properly speaking, of unfpeakable value, and radically contains all the reft, is placed first in order, and offered in the moft free and gracious manner, without money and without price. Salvation is preached to the chief of finners, and a Saviour held forth as able to fave to the uttermoft all that come to God by him. Many ufes might be made of this, but the single use I intend to make of it, at present, as connected with the duty of truft, is to filence the complaints of envy and impatience. How prone are many to look with an evil eye upon the more extenfive poffeffions and greater apparent outward comfort which others enjoy? Does it not aftonifh you to think how much unbelief and ingratitude there is in those repining thoughts? Meannefs of rank, and poverty of ftate, are no hinderance at all to an intereft in Chrift, and a right to everlasting life. Nay, the gofpel is preached to the poor.-Many a Lazarus has been carried by the angels to Abraham's bofom, while the rich and luxurious have lifted up their eyes in torments. Will you, can you, dare you then complain? Will you envy the man of the world, his stately palace-his elegant furniture, and his fumptuous fare? What is the ampleft portion in the prefent life compared with the fure mercies of David? What child of God would exchange with any wicked man a prifon for a palace, or a fcaffold for a throne?

I beseech you to add to all this, that, even with regard to prefent peace or comfort, there is no comparison between a good man and a bad. "A man's life doth not "confift in the abundance of the things which he poffeffes.' This is a truth not only often repeated in the facred oracles, but written in the clearest and most legible characters in the hiftory of Providence.-Nay, even independently of virtue or religion itself, every human calamity, whether arifing from ficknefs, reproach, contention, fear, or ungratified defire, rages with greater violence in the higher, than in the lower ftations of life. A vain and conceited monarch once fent to afk at an heathen oracle,

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