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God may find its way into the heart; you are neglecting that remedy, by which alone the stricken soul can be healed, by which your trouble may be converted into a blessing. Embrace the proffered means; humble yourself beneath the burden, with "a godly sorrow," for the sin that has brought it; bend yourself beneath the storm of heaven, and the Sun of righte ousness will soon shine forth, and cheer you with His brightest beam; "the God of consolation," your Redeemer, your unchangeable friend, "the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever," will turn your darkness into light; your "weeping will endure but for a night, and joy will come in the morning.'

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Or, if it be not literally so; if deliverance come not so speedily as you as you desire or expect, it will assuredly come in God's "due time;" He may wait, to try the strength of your patience and your faith; may seem for a season, as though He heareth not your prayer; but rest assured, * Psal. xxx. 5.

He does hear, and the answer is preparing: the wise and benevolent author of your blessings knows best when to bestow them; depend upon His mercy, and trust Him for the time: the delay will be nothing, as compared with the comfort when it arrives: the very delay will minister to the fulness of your joy: you will perceive the truth of the divine character, as drawn by the pencil of the prophet; you may apply the prophetic description to yourself; "For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer,"*

God will exalt every humble and faithful servant, in due time, even in this world; not perhaps to earthly greatness and honour; but, what is infinitely more important, to the height of His own blessed favour; to the delight of a peaceful reconciliation with Himself; to *Isaiah liv. 7, 8.

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HUMBLE YOURSELVES

the happiness of an approving conscience; to a "hope full of immortality :" and, after death, He will crown that hope with a glorious consummation; will exalt that servant to the skies; far beyond the reach of change, of trouble, or of fear. The Christian, like the Captain of his Salvation, “will be made perfect through sufferings;" like Him, when the combat is over, will receive the crown of glory, and sit down for ever at the right hand of his Father and his God.

He will then more fully see and admire the gracious dealings of his merciful God and Saviour; will see, what reason he had to be thankful for the chastisements of heaven; how they have trained and prepared his soul for the happiness of the blest; how wonderfully they have ministered to the fulness of his joy. Bear then patiently; bear, I ought to say, thankfully, what the Lord layeth upon thee; it is His hand that "worketh all in all," His hand of might and mercy. Thou canst not always trace His designs and opera

tions; if thou couldst, where would be the exercise of thy faith? But if thou wilt believe and trust Him, if thou wilt bow and submit, He will thus exalt thee in due time, when thou art ready, when thy trial is completed, when thy appointed work is done. This is the seed-time; sow, and thou shalt see it spring up; labour, and wait for the harvest; "they that sow in tears shall reap in joy."*

*Psal. cxxvi. 5.

SERMON X.

THOU ART THE MAN.

2 SAM. xii. 7.

And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man.

THE parable, of which these words are a part, is admired, even for its elegance and simplicity, by every one who is capable of appreciating its merit. It serves also to illustrate, in the clearest manner, the advantage of this mode of instruction; which is intended, in the first place, by a lively representation of the productions of nature, or the incidents of common life, to convey an adequate notion of a truth or doctrine in easy and familiar terms; and to leave a more striking impression of it upon the memory and the heart. The parable has a further advantage: the in

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