is it that my friends are against me; my children, instead of being a blessing, are a curse, and break my heart. If I am beloved of the Lord, how is it that I have so many domestic trials that cause me to cry out, Wo is me that I so-journ in Mesheck,and dwell in the tents of Kedar. If I am beloved of the Lord, how is it that 1 am harrassed with blasphemous thoughts thus; the trials I meet with in bringing down the outward man. If I am beloved of the Lord, how is it that instead of living in plenty, I now want bread to eat, and should be glad to have it from those I once scorned to set with the dogs of my flock? Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Our dear Jesus was never more beloved of his Father than when he cried out, My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? never more beloved of his Father than when he was sweating great drops of blood, when he cried, Father, if it be possible let this cup pass from me. I remember a dear minister of Christ, now in Suffolk, told me, when he was in Scotland going to receive the sacrament, he was so dry and dark, and benumbed and tempted, that he thought he would go away; as he was going this word came to his mind, when was Jesus Christ most acceptable to his Father? when did he give the greatest trial of his love? when he cried out, My God! my God! why hast thou forsaken me? Why then, says he, upon this I will venture; if I perish, I perish at Christ's feet; and he came away filled with comfort from his blessed God and Father in Christ.

Well then, what is to be done to those that are beloved of the Lord? here's for you, they shall dwell in safety; why? they shall dwell between his

shoulders; observe the expression, the prophet says they shall dwell in love. Will God indeed dwell on earth? says Solomon, yes; God, says he, dwells in my earthly heart, made heavenly by the grace of God. Did ever any hear such an expression from the mouth of God, I will be thy God; I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward? He does not say an angel shall go; if God had only said in his word, that I was to be kept by angels, I am sure my wicked heart would despair, because it would deceive all the angels in heaven: but God saith, I will be thy keeper; so they that would hurt his people, must go through God himself. They shall dwell on high; bread shall be given to them, and their waters shall be sure. They are kept by the mighty power of God through faith, to everlasting salvation. It is said, they shall dwell between his shoulders. The government of the church, and the world, and all, are upon the Redeemer's shoulders, and the Lord's everlasting arms are under his people. Observe it is said, they dwell in safety; and very often we are safest when we think we are most in danger.

They shall dwell in safety: those that are lovers of the Lord Jesus shall dwell safely with God on earth, and eternally with him in heaven. O may God bless this foolishness of preaching to some of God's poor, and perhaps, doubting beloved ones. Come you poor souls, I often think that this field preaching is particularly comfortable to the poor; whenever field preaching is stopped, farewell to the power of religion. When poor people have been working hard all day, how sweet must it be for them to come to a place of worship, and get a lift for to-morrow: may the Lord God bless his barley bread! If you can wrap yourselves in

God, let the world hate you; God's children are the greatest plagues and trials one to another, but God loves them, God smiles upon them, and therefore they shall dwell in safety. The devil told me I should not dwell in safety, but I bid him defiance, and turned him to Deut. xxxiii. and told him Benjamin's lot was mine; the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him.

Wo, wo, wo be to you that have no marks of being beloved of the Lord. Have we any profane Esaus here to-night, that are saying, do not tell me of your being beloved of the Lord; if I can have the love of such a person, I don't care whether God loves me or not; you may tell me God loves people when they are afflicted; I want none of these marks, I think God loves me because I am in a good frame; I think God loves me because I prosper; I think God loves me because I am very healthy and strong; I do not care whether I wait upon God or not, or give to the poor or not. I will not soften the matter; there is no going to heaven without wearing a fool's coat. O, you may say, that is owing to your imprudence; you make people uneasy, and set them upon a false scent, and make them their own persecutors; thank God, I can go into a hundred companies, and not give them reason to say I am a Methodist: I can go into company and sing an innocent song; I don't tell them I have a Tabernacle hymn-book in my pocket. There are few have the courage that the gentleman had who loved God, and went to see some carnal relations after he became a fool for Christ's sake: says one of the relations, it is always our custom after dinner to sing a song, and asked him to sing; he said he would in his turn; two of them sung

"

his relation said to him, come, cousin, sing; says he, I have not sung a song a good while, but, if you please, I will sing a hymn: he sung it out, but they never asked him to sing again, nor did they sing afterwards. How sweet it is to ga through boldly with a thing for Christ! Do not you think you are a coward? are you not ashamed? are any of you such cowards as to plead your prudence? God help you to be unmasked to-night. I do not know whether you go to a masquerade, but you have a dreadful masque upon your souls, a dreadful religious visage. I heard somebody appeared the other night, in order to bring contempt upon us, in a Methodist dress, that was one of the dresses. O how can they do so? say you; how canst thou do so? pretend to be a Methodist among God's people, and behave light and foolish among the children of the devil; for shame unmask yourselves, for God will, by death, unmask your soul, and show your hypocrisy. The word hypocrite is taken from a stage-player, who acts that part he is not: God, of his infinite mercy, keep all here from stopping short.

If any of you are awakened and convinced, the Lord grant you may never rest till you know you are the beloved of the Lord. Ah! say you, I shall never know that, that I am the beloved of the Lord: I am that old grey-headed wretch you mentioned at the beginning of your sermon; can God love me a drunkard, sabbath-breaker, a whoremonger, an adulterer, an unclean wretch as -ever trod on the ground! Pray what was Paul? what was the jailor? what were all the three thou

sand that were converted at once; what was their case? nay, what was Adam the first sinner? an d yet Adam and Eve both, I believe, received mercy

of God; she is therefore called the mother of all living, because she is the mother of all believers. Come then at a venture, come then, throw thyself upon Christ; do not say, pardon my iniquities because they are small, but say, Lord, pardon my iniquities for they are great. One that was executed to-day for forging something to rob his father what! a father deal thus with his son? well, said I, it is so with a man, but our heavenly Father will pardon; and though the law is called a fiery law, yet there is, blessed be God, a new and living way. Oh sinners! oh sinners! God help. you to come and venture, and strive, though you have none of the marks that have been mentioned, yet say, God can put these marks upon me. have been courting this and that person's love; nay, I made no other use of coming to worship, but to look out for something to advance myself. I have been looking out for nothing but beauty; I have been looking out for nothing but money, or something or other to make my fortune; but now begone, vain world: now, Lord, I would look after thee. That you may know you are the beloved of the Lord, dwell in safety on earth, and after death be conveyed to dwell with and love him to all eternity, God grant for Christ's sake. Amen,

I