can but get by it, they do not mind it; but an honest man will shun it, Jacob argues with his mother against it; O says she, the curse be on me, my son! O dreadful! for a good woman to say so. Doubtless she was persuaded God would give Jacob the blessing, but she took a wrong way to obtain it; she might have waited for the blessing to come with a blessing. How did God punish Jacob? why, in a night afterwards poor Jacob was imposed upon by a wrong wife, he got a Leah instead of a Rachel; the poor creature was imposed upon there, and so all along almost to the end of his life; he had a furnace of affliction. Happy they who pray in the furnace, Lord let me know why thou dost contend with me. Therefore God sends this message to Ely by Samuel, the thing that thou knowest; seems to me to refer to his too great lenity to his sons; the thing that thou knowest; thou dost not act like a magistrate. These sons were the means of bringing a judgment on his ho use, and breaking their father's neck: God Almighty keep us from bringing a rod upon ourselves.

We glorify God in the fire when we bear it patiently. It is a dreadful thing when we are saying with Cain, My punishment is greater than I can bear; but the language of a soul that glorifies God in the fire is this, shall I, Lord, shall I a sinful man, complain for the punishment of my sins? It is a glorious thing when we can say with a good man, one of whose particular friends told me more than once, that when he was racked with pain, and groaning all night with trouble, he would often say, Lord, I groan; Lord, I groan; Lord I groan; but, Lord Jesus, Iappeal to thee, thou knowest do not grumble, Then we glorify God in the fire, when, though we feel pain and anguish, we at

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the same time say, Lord we deserve this and ten thousand times more.

We glorify God in the fire also, when we are really and fully persuaded, God will not put us in the fire but for our good, and his own glory. I am afraid some people think God does, as some cheating apothecaries, that bring five things whenthey need not bring but one, especially when," they have some silly patients that love to be taking physic; they send one after another, when, perhaps, the best thing would be to throw them all away; so we think of God, but it is a mistake; he never sends one but what is necessary, and something to be purged away.

We glorify God in the fire, when we say,Lord, don't let the fire go out till it has purged away all my dross. Then we glorify God when we wish for the good of the fire, and not to have it extinguished; when the soul can say, Here I am, my God, do with me as seemeth good in thy sight: I know I shall not have one stroke but thou will give me a plaister, and let me know wherefore thou contendest with me.

We glorify God in the fire when we are content to say, I know not what God does with me now, but I shall know hereafter. Do you tell your children that are five years old the reason of things, no: and do you think God will tell us What shall this man do? saith the disciples, “what is that to thee?" saith Christ, follow thou me. You glorify God in the fire, when you are content to walk by faith and not by sight.

You glorify God in the fire when you are not grumbling, but humbly submitting to his will ; a humble spirit walks not in sulkiness and stubborness: there are some spirits too stout, they will not speak, When that awful message was

brought to Ely, what does he say? "It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good;" let my children be killed, whatever be done it is the Lord's doing; only, Lord, save my soul at last.

We glorify God in the fire when in the midst of the fire we can sing God's high praises, Thus the children of Israel glorified the Lord; the song of the three children in the fiery furnace is a sweet song; as are all that are made in the fire. all the works of the Lord, praise and magnify him for ever!" Then we glorify God in the fire when we rejoice in him, when we not only think but know it best, and can thank God for striking us; can thank God for whipping us; can bless God for not letting us alone; thank God for not saying, let him alone: this is to glorify God in the fire. Not only so, saith the apostle, but we glory in tribulation, knowing that tribulation worketh pa

tiencé.

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In a word, we glorify the Lord in the fire when we have in exercise, patience, meekness, humility; learning more to distrust ourselves, having a deeper knowledge of our own weakness, and of God's omnipotence and grace. Happy when we can look back and say, thus have I been enabled to glorify God in the fire, Who can put his hand to his heart and say, I have glorified God in the fire as I ought? instead of that I am afraid the soul must say, that instead of being thankful and resigned, I have been fretful; and because I will not find fault with myself, nor let the world know I find fault with God, I find fault with all about me. Did you never find yourself in such a humour when your spirits were low? I heard a good man once speak on those words," they shall Abring forth fruit in old age:" O the fruit, said

he, is peevishness; I thought it was the infirmity of old age, the fruit of which ought to be heavenlymindedness, deadness of the world, and a liveliness to God.

My brethren, let us humble ourselves to-night, and let us be ashamed and abashed before God, and wonder he has not struck us into hell when we have been complaining the fire was too hot, that God sent us not to the devil. Let us weep, let us weep, let us weep for our stubborness, Happy they who are used to be put into the fire betimes! "It is good for a man to bear the yoke in his youth. Some years ago, when I was at the Orphan-house, they told me they were going to yoke two steers together, one sturdy and old, the other a little one, on which they no sooner put the yoke, but he kicked once or twice, and then bore it very well: O, thought I, it is a good thing to have the yoke betimes.

Are any of you now in the furnace, are any of you troubled, or can any of you say, I have no trouble; a calm is sometimes the fore-runner of a storm; thank God, you are not in the fire; surely you have been in the fire. There is the devil's fire; the fires of "the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life:" God help you to come out of these fires, lest they damn your souls for ever. You must be put either in the devil's fire or God's fire, and the devil's fires are hottest, because there is no God to support under the trouble they bring upon the soul. O what a dreadful thing it is to be in the devil's fire continually, and to go out of the fire of the devil here to burn with the devil in hell hereafter! if there are any of you in this case, Lord Jesus Christ shorten them, Lord Jesus Christ sanctify his afflictions to his

people, as he did to one of the prisoners last Wednesday: how sweetly he behaved! while the others were cursing and swearing, tossing up who should sit on the right hand in the cart, he was glorifying God, thanking God, he was sent there, and going to be executed: God, saith he, hath stopt me, I might have gone on in sin to ruin. O send to my father, go to him, warn him to flee from the wrath to come: somebody went to his parent, and the father sent back this loving message; tell him to mind his own soul, and be damned! O, dear Lord, what lengths has man gone! never was such a message sent to a son before; he bid him mind his own soul and be damned! God grant none of you may ever have such a frame of mind as that! O remember fire hardens as well as softens and if you are not better by afflictions, you will be worse: and indeed you will know you cannot come out of the furnace as you went in, you will either be hardened or else be purified; and if this be the case, the Lord Jesus Christ help you to bear the fire now, that you may never be cast into the fire of hell. God haste you, hasten you that are out of the devil's fire to flee, flee, ye weary souls, to Jesus Christ; fly to the Lamb of God, from hell to heaven, as far as you can from these bellish fires, to the fire of his blessed merit and love.

Happy you that have got into Christ's fire! happy you that have found his fires in your souls! I believe many souls have: O Lord Jesus Christ help you to glorify him in whatever fires he shall be pleased to send you, and into whatever furnaces he shall be pleased to put you: we shall then sing "the church triumphant," much better than we sing to-night; we shall see Jesus Christ ready to help us when we are in the furnace: O that