shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." God invites his people to call upon him in their trouble, and thus he answers :he answers by his promises, speaking peace to the soul; he answers by his spirit, strengthening them in their inner man, and inspiring them with joy and peace in believing; he answers by his providence, bringing in seasonable relief, or working out deliverance for them. And if God proportions our strength to the degree and continuance of our trouble, if he keep us from offending him by impatience and discontent, if he recompence outward losses and afflictions with special manifestations of his presence and favor, and make death at last a complete discharge from all our troubles, then is his promise most faithfully fulfilled.

Affliction should be attended by submission,—not the constrained submission of necessity,-not a stoical insensibility, or an affected superiority to pain and calamity, which has been so often and so unjustly extolled as the highest attainment of virtue,—but a cheerful resignation to the will of God. With the most rigid of the ancient philosophers insensibility was deemed the perfection of virtue and wisdom. "Gnaw as thou wilt," said one of these, apostrophising an excruciating distemper with which he was afflicted, "thou shalt never compel me to confess that pain is an evil." He spake the language of obstinancy and system, a language which his feelings belied. The groans that interrupted his words, proved the futility of a system at variance with reason, and shewed that to support humanity under trying circumstances, to produce patience without obstinancy, and resignation without despondency, requires other motives than those which philosophy furnishes. The gospel addresses us as men,-as beings susceptible, both in mind and body, of enjoyment and of pain. It allows the tear to flow when the heart is wouuded; indeed, if our afflic tions were not felt, they would not be afflictions. It is well

observed by an heathen writer," that the more sensible perception a man hath of the evils he suffers, when yet he is contented to suffer for the sake of virtue, so much the more properly he may he said to be courageous." The submission which is required of us is that temper of mind which disposes us to put a check upon every thing that is rebellious in our thoughts, words, and carriage; and which secures such a degree of composure and inward tranquillity, as enables us to think coolly and deliberately on the ways of providence ;— to examine the cause of our affliction, and the purpose it may be intended to accomplish;-to advert to all the circumstances of alleviation which may be connected with it ;—to converse freely with our friends respecting the trial, and calmly to acquiesce in a condition of the disadvantages of which we may be fully sensible. O happy man! who hath gained such an ascendancy over the passions of his nature, that whilst he laments the loss of one comfort, he can yet taste the sweetness of those that remain; who, amidst the weakness of his nature has sufficient firmness to break through every difficulty, and betake himself to the appropriate duties of his condition; who, though God seems as if he were about to destroy him, can yet converse with him, and read, and think, and pray, and find a relish for these sacred exercises. Labour, therefore, to display this state of mind, whatever may be the character of your condition, or the peculiarity of your affliction. Impatience turns the rod into a scorpion, and transfixes more deeply the barbed arrows of sorrow. Till you wipe from your eyes the suffusion of tears you cannot see what God is doing, and while the noisy passions are clamourous, his addresses cannot be heard. You are not to excuse improper dispositions in affliction, by saying, "it was so trying, who could help it?" This would be to justify rebellion by the very means which God employs in order to induce submission. Be assured that the fault is not in the condition but in the

temper. All things are to us what we make them. It is not so much the state of things without us, as the disposition which predominates within, that constitutes our real condition, and gives the tone to our emotions. The very same circumstances, therefore, which in one state of mind quite overwhelm us, in another and a better one, are reduced to their proper insignificance. The experience of the Psalmist, as delineated in the 130th Psalm, furnishes a striking illustration. In the commencement he describes his state as one of deep calamity, -one from which he saw no outlet,-one with which his soul struggled even to agony, but yet seemed to be sinking lower and lower into the black and fathomless gulf of despair. At length he looked out of himself for help and deliverance. He raised his eye from the calamities around him to the compassion of God above him. By faith his cries were prolonged, and raised into persevering application, and from faith there sprang the calm of submission and of hope. He believed in the mercy of God, he trusted in the promise of God, and therefore he waited quietly in patient expectation of the help of God. Yet he had no more distinct reasons for hope than he possessed before. There were no further assurances of help than existed before. There were no further assurances of help revealed; no new facts had occurred; no interposition had been vouchsafed; all things were just the same; and yet how inexpressibly different was his state of mind! how widely opposite the spirit with which he looked out upon these facts! and therefore he beheld a corresponding difference in the aspect of the facts themselves. Every thing was viewed at first in itself alone, and he sank in dismay; every thing at last was viewed in God, and he became submissive and hopeful. Not that things had altered, but that his mind had changed. The idea of God had been gradually rising in his mind. God's compassion was remembered, God's character and promises were meditated upon, until his mind rose from

one degree of buoyancy to another, and at last the mists of doubt and despondency were left beneath him, and he sprang into the pure and unclouded region of steadfast faith and unreserved submission, where he even sang for joy. Be it your concern to imitate his example. "Fret not thyself in any wise to do evil." Let not sorrow drive you into sin, but “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him." "Delight thyself in the Lord, and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." "Commit thy way unto the Lord, and he shall bring it to pass." "For the Lord is good to them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him."

In affliction we should cherish a thankful spirit. There is no state that does not require gratitude. However afflictive our circumstances may be, there is always much more to call for gratitude than for complaint. The praise of God is never out of season. It is, therefore, his will that in every thing we should give thanks: in things adverse, as well as prosperous;-dark, as well as light;-grievous, as well as joyous. This, however, is a duty too commonly neglected. We are naturally selfish, and our selfishness appears in our very devotions. We are backward to every duty of religion; we are backward to pray, but still more to praise. Pressed by our difficulties, and urged by our wants, we are constrained to pray, but we too often pray in our distress as if our case. was one of unqualified calamity, which admitted of no feeling but that of disquietude, and of no language but that of complaint; therefore it is that we are so often overwhelmed with sorrow whereas, connected with our afflictions there are innumerable circumstances, all consoling in their tendency, and which call for grateful and fervent acknowledgment: nay, those things which seem the most unfriendly to our wishes and welfare, did we know all, would probably draw forth our highest praises. We must always distinguish between what is pleasing, and what is profitable. Though correction is not

agreeable to the child, yet it is so good for him that he who spareth the rod hateth his son. Medicine is unpalatable; but it is good for the patient, and renewed health more than reconciles him to the infliction and the expense. The vinedresser does the tree good, not by suffering the wanton shoots to grow on draining the sap, but by pruning it that it may bring forth more fruit. In this way our greatest crosses are often productive of our choicest blessings, and justly claim our highest praises. Yes, if temporal suffering is an evidence of our heavenly Father's kindness and care;—if, through the operation of his word and Spirit, it is productive of spiritual and eternal benefits;—if it softens, in one sense, and invigorates in another,-if it humbles and reclaims, -if it purifies and refines,-if it awakens conscience when asleep,-if it detaches from the world,-if it raises the soul to heaven, and reconciles us to the last event;-does it not demand our grateful acknowledgment? The restraint which God places upon our desires and pursuits, is not less indicative of mercy. The child cries when the father places beyond his reach the knife he was going to grasp, unconscious of the dangerous nature of the weapon; but is not the father's love as conspicuous in this as in conferring an object gratifying to the wishes of the child? And if God crosses our purpose, to save our souls, if he negatives our wishes to promote our welfare, then does he not deserve our praise? Come then, afflicted reader, not only seek to justify the ways of God, in all his dealings with you, but also reckon up your mercies. Search out every thing in your condition, and every thing in the divine dispensations, past, present, and future, which prefers a claim to your gratitude. Examine your condition; bring forth to view all its alleviations, and supports, and comforts. You are afflicted, but it is not in hell;-you have many crosses, but you have also many consolations ;-you have been much tried, but you have hitherto been supported ;-your cup is