lity; and let us never be so foolish as to set bounds to his power, or expect less from him than he promises: for if he gives little, or does not give at all, it is because we do not bring along with us the requisite conditions of receiving it, faith and repentance, a sense of our want of what he promises, and an earnest desire of it. Christ stands over every soul with the same compassion that he did over the impotent man at the pool of Bethesda, and says, "Wilt thou be made whole ?" And if we are not, it is either because we refuse to know our distemper, or have found out some way of our own of healing ourselves slightly, and in both cases reject his assistance: and then we must be content to continue, in the main, as we are, and be what we can make ourselves in our own strength; for as every man that is in Christ is a new creature, so there is no being so without him.

To conclude. It behoves all to enter into a deep consideration, whether we are seeking after salvation by Christ, and have, indeed, brought our souls to him, to be washed in his blood, and renewed by his Spirit, or not: nor think it strange that I should put you, who are baptized in the name of Christ, and call yourselves Christians, and join in the acts of Christian worship, upon this work; for it is notorious that many who do all this are a scandal to the name of Christ; and that very many others, though not openly wicked and immoral, yet know nothing of themselves, and of their want of Christ, and therefore do not believe him. Till men are moved by the sight of their corruption and great weakness under it, to pray for the grace of conversion, and cry mightily to the Lord for deliverance, there is nothing but spiritual deadness in them, whatever they may do, or appear outwardly. The greatest of all wants is the want of a sense of them. And in the want of this sense, all our religion, all our confession of sins, all our

prayer, all our praises, are nothing but a mocking of God, and a deceiving of ourselves. We shall, at the best, only divide Christ, and put in for our share of the forgiveness that is by him, without any desire of his "holiness, without which no man can see the Lord."

"Christ came into the world to save sinners," and he invites sinners to come to him, and must receive men as sinners, if he receives them at all; " for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." And for ever blessed be his mercy, that there is now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus:" but then we are not accepted to the remission of sins, and to a holy fellowship with Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, that we may continue sinners. No one, who has looked into the Bible, can possibly think otherwise of it, than that it requires of us not only real holiness, but very high degrees of it. And though there is no merit in the highest degree of it, though our whole salvation, from first to last, is of Christ, and no man must think to challenge it at the hands of God for any thing that he is or does; yet real Gospel holiness, the inward fear and love of God, purity of heart and life, universal charity, and a patient waiting for the kingdom of God, in continual prayer, and longing for the power of the Holy Ghost, is the end of our high calling in Christ, absolutely necessary to our well-being as Christians here, and for the enjoyment of that everlasting state of happiness in heaven, which God hath prepared for them that love him. And "blessed are they who thus hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." They shall, in some measure, be filled with what they hunger and thirst after; and find, to their unspeakable comfort, that" the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; and that if any man be in Christ, he is, and shall be, a new creature," as sure as the power of God can make him so.

"Now to Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb who was slain, and hath redeemed us by his blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and nation, and people, and to the eternal Spirit, by whom we are sanctified and made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light"-be glory, honour, and power, for ever and ever. Amen.

SERMON XII.

I have set God always before me. Psalm xvi. 9.

I MAY venture to recommend this short saying to you as the rule of happiness, the right frame and health of the soul, its present capacity for enjoyment, and the earnest and foretaste of its future perfection and glory. I would not, however, be understood to speak of this happiness as if I thought it was complete and unmixed; which would be only deceiving ourselves with a vain expectation, and engaging in the pursuit of what is not to be found in the land of the living: for we are in a fallen state, in a world lying under the displeasure of God for sin, and must share in its troubles and calamities. We must be daily spectators of the wants and sorrows of others; and in our turn be wounded with the sharp arrow of affliction, in the pains and sicknesses of the body, disappointment in our best hopes, or the death of friends and relations; and grieve, not least of all, for the sin that dwelleth in us, knowing it to be poison in our blood, the curse of our natures, and the cause of all our miseries; so that, though a prevailing regard to God, steady choice of his will, communion with him, looking up to him in all we do, will be a blessed means of mitigating the greatest

evils which can be laid upon us, it will not change their nature; though it may lighten our burden, it cannot wholly remove it. In spite of all our efforts, we shall find that stoical insensibility is impossible; pain will be painful, and God intends it should be so to answer his ends in sending it; the gout, or stone, will be felt; a sudden reverse of circumstances will put our spirits to the trial; the loss of husband, wife, or child, will extort a cry from us, or make us groan inwardly; and when we have done the best we can to guard against the excess of sorrow and vexation, we can do no more; we must still abide by Job's declaration" Man that is born of a woman, is of few days, and full of trouble."

Neither, in stating the account of our happiness, and proposing the words of the text as the rule of it, and the best method of attaining it, would I forget what the Scripture emphatically calls our "hope," and "strong consolation," the Lord Jesus Christ. On the contrary, he is comfort indeed! A firm belief in him for the remission of sins, and acceptance to a state of favour and sonship through him, is the richest cordial of life; and if we do not lay him for our foundation, a fabric of our own raising, with no other materials than the stock of nature can furnish, will be light as air, liable to be shaken with every blast of adversity, and nothing but self-flattery and fond delusion. In his school, therefore, we must learn this lesson, as we shall, with great advantage and certainty of success, if we proceed upon Scripture grounds. He himself is the very person here speaking, or David of him in the spirit of prophecy," I have set God always before. me; for he is on my right hand, therefore I shall not fall." And as he is our pattern in all things, so we cannot be deceived in following his steps, and adopting the rule of his conduct. What supported him in the great work he had to do, will also support us in ours;

and on this ground we may stand as firm, and be as happy as it is possible for us to be in this suffering state of mortality. I say again, suffering state; for so it is represented to us by the pen of an inspired writer, who was himself the most competent witness, and the most striking example in the case that ever lived; and he was directed to deliver his experience to the world in one whole book, (Eccles.) and to sum up all in a few melancholy words, "All is vanity and vexation of spirit;" but at the same time to point out to us an excellent means of support, on the same infallible authority" Fear God, and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man ;" and therefore, certainly, his happiness.

So then there is hope, there is relief to be had against the pains and sorrows of life. If we have the wisdom to "set God always before us," seeing him at our right hand, living under his eye, taking him into our hearts, and ordering all our thoughts and designs with a view to his approbation, they will be greatly alleviated and sweetened to us in the worst condition of life: if we do not, the best is vain, uncomfortable, and hopeless. We have good warrant for pronouncing this to be the way of happiness, and the divine art of taking out the sting of that trouble which we must all experience in a greater or lesser degree.

But say the advocates for pleasure, (at least inwardly and in thought,) "We will study nothing so much as the gratification of our senses, and how to possess ourselves of the means of securing that enjoyment. Pretend what you will, there can be no happiness in denying the call, and maintaining perpetual opposition to the strong bent of nature." This thought lies close at the hearts and governs the lives of much the greatest part of mankind; though, common as it is in fact and general practice, it is too gross to be openly avowed, or spoken in plain