Let not us, I beseech you, O let not us become fo infenfible to God's goodness and to our own happiness, as to neglect the Disposer of all Events both profperous and adverse, either in the day of profperity or adversity. He will sweeten every enjoyment in a fuccessful season, and alleviate the burden of every evil in the day of our calamities. Happy fituation! to have the all-powerful and moft merciful Lord of heaven and earth, our friend and protector against the affaults of adverfity. He fhall defend us, under the fhadow of his wing, from every evil which the devil or man worketh against us. Though we appear unfortunate in the eyes of the world; though we may be poor and despised, who were once rich and honoured; though we may fuffer in our reputation; though we may be tormented with pain and the languor of ill health; though death should tear from our arms the dearest object of our love; yet will we truft in God, and he will infufe a balfam into our hearts, which fhall affuage every anguish, and heal the foreft laceration. The fear of death, which torments the finful man of the world, fhall have no painful effect on the man who really hopes and fully trufts in Him, who hath subdued death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel. Let me then prevail with you, to labour in feafon and out of feafon, to bring your minds to this real confidence in God, under all the viciffitudes of this mortal life, in profperity as well as adverfity; for a godlefs profperity is the most dangerous fituation to which human nature can be exposed. Exercise yourselves in it under little croffes and inconveniencies, that when you fuffer great evils, you may not be off your guard; but may meet them with the fortitude of men, of christian men, arifing from an entire truft in your heavenly Friend and Father. While we are well, and all goes fmoothly with us, I know it is eafy to prefcribe to others, and that we are apt to give advice, which, in our turn, we are unwilling to follow. But let us not be wife in word only, but in deed; and seriously lay to heart, and apply to ourfelves, the doctrines which we hear and approve. If we have received a good impreffion, let us bear it away uneffaced to our graves. If God has vouchfafed to open our hearts, let us not fuffer them to clofe again amidst our worldly cares. : Then may you fay to your fouls under every evil with which you may be vifited in the pilgrimage of this life, even in the last pangs of agonizing nature; Why art thou caft down, O my foul, and why art thou difquieted within me? To grieve, indeed, is natural, but to grieve without hope, is forbidden to the profeffor of Chriftianity, and leads to the laft fad catastrophe of human life. To repine and murmur against Providence, is unpardonable impiety to fink into defpair, and to cherish a wish to terminate our fufferings by felfmurder, an act too common, and even recommended by the writings of men poffeffing acute understandings with hard hearts, unhappily ftrangers to the comforts of religion, is to increase every evil which we fuffer; and for the fake of avoiding a momentary pain, to rifque the bitter pains of eternal death. Adopt not fuch unhappy errors, O my foul, but HOPE THOU IN GOD! -On God recline, as on a pillow, for repofe, and a column for fupport. - Hope thou in God, the foundation of all real happinefs, and all folid and lafting comfort. Hope thou in God-for I fhall yet, after all my fears and fufferings, I fhall yet praise him for the light of his countenance, for that light which, if I may compare great things with small, like the light of the bleffed fun, fhall dispel every mift of doubt, dread, and forrow, and leave thee, O my foul, in a state of unclouded ferenity; only to be surpassed by the happiness of thofe realms above, where the light of God's countenance beams forth to all eternity, the mild rays of mercy, blended with glory and majefty unutterable! SERMON III. On the MEANS and the IMPORTANCE of GRACE. 2 PETER, iii. 18. Grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour, Jefus Chrift. NO acquifitions in polite learning, in ele gant arts, or profound fcience, are comparable, in the opinion of a true Christian, to improvement in grace, and in the knowledge of his Redeemer. The comfort which the human heart derived from moral philofophy, and the light of nature, was indeed great; but it was fugacious and unfubftantial as a dream, in comparison with the folid fatisfactions of a state of grace. It is the peculiar glory of Christianity that it affords its worthy profeffors the enjoyment of heavenly grace; a gift which no other system could infure, and of which man in his corrupt and unregenerated ftate could never participate. E The |