was this good man in when he composed this forty-second Psalm? the Psalm itself can best tell. It seems composed when he was either persecuted by Saul, or driven from his own court by his fondling, beloved son, Absalom; then David appeared truly great; I honor him when I see him yonder, attending a few sheep; but I admire the young stripling, when I see him come out with his sling and stone, and aiming at the head of Goliah, the enemy of God: or, when exalted and filling the seat of justice; but to me he never appears greater, than when he is bowed down in low circumstances, beset on every side, struggling between sense and faith; and as the sun, after an eclipse, breaking forth with greater lustre to all the spectators. In this view we must consider this great, this good man, David, when he cries out, Why art thou cast down, Omy soul, why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God.

Supposing you understand the words as a question, Why art thou cast down, O my soul, though thou art in such circumstances? pray now what is the cause of thy being so dejected? The word implies, that he was sinking under the weight of his present burden, like a person stooping under a load that lies upon his shoulders; and the consequence of this pressure without was disquietude, uneasiness and anxiety within; for say what you will to the contrary, there is such a connection between soul and body, that when one is disordered the other must sympathise with its ever loving friend.

Or you may understand it as chiding himself, Why art thou cast down, my soul, why art thou disquieted within me, how foolish is it to be thus drooping and dejected; how improper for one

favoured of God with so many providences, and special particular privileges for such a one as thou art thus to stoop, and be made subject to every temptation; why dost thou give thy enemies such room to find fault with thy religion on account of thy gloomy looks, and the disquietude of thy heart? a yoke which thou wilt find to be lined with love, and God will keep it from galling thy shoulders. You see, he speaks not to others but to himself; would to God we did thus learn that charity begins at home. Then he goes to God with his case, O my God, says he, my soul is cast down within me. O that we could learn, when in these moods to go more to God, and less to man, we should find more relief, and religion would be less dishonored. But see how faith triumphs in the midst of all, no sooner does unbelief pop up its head, but faith immediately knocks it down. A never-failing maxim is here proposed, hope thou in God, trust in God, believe in God; for I am sure, and all of you that know Jesus Christ are persuaded of it too, that all our troubles arise from our unbelief; O unbelief, injurious bar to comfort, force of tormenting fear! on the contrary, faith bears every thing. Put thy trust in God, as in the old translation; hope in God, as in the new, I shall now praise him. The devil tells me my trouble is so great, I shall never lift up my head again; but unbelief and the devil are liars: I shall yet praise him; my God will carry me through all; I shall yet praise him, even for casting me down; I shall praise him even for that which is the cause of all my disquietude; he will be the health of my countenance; though my afflictions have now made my body low, suck up my spirits, and hurt my animal frame, he will be

the help of my countenance; I shall by and by see him again, and be favoured with those transforming views, which my God has favoured me with in times past; he is the health of my countenance, and my God: though the devil tempts me, and my evil neighbours say, where is now thy God? Dost thou think thou art a child of God, and thy Father suffers thee to be cast down? I tell thee, O Satan, that God who I have been so vilely tempted as to believe has forsaken me, will come over the mountains of my guilt, will forgive my backslidings against himself, my unbelief shall not make his promises of none effect; I shall praise him even while I live, I shall praise him before I die, I shall praise him for ever in heaven, where he will be after death, thehealth of my countenance, and my God; thus faith will get the better in a saint. David was sometimes left to say, in effect, all things are against me; yet still in most of the Psalms, in this, the text, the cxiiith, and many of the rest, he triumphs in God; and he composed but very few without praising at the end, though he complains at the beginning: God help us thus to do!

But it is time to leave off speaking particularly of David, and to turn to you to whom these words, I pray God, may prove salutary and useful. I have had a great struggle in my mind this afternoon what I should preach from; I have been praying and looking up to God, and could not preach for my life on any other text, which has often been the case before, and whenever it was, some poor soul has been comforted and raised up; and among such a mixed multitude there are some, no doubt, come to this poor despised place cast down and disquieted within; I

shall endeavour to enquire what you are cast down for, and then I shall propose a great cure for you, namely, trust in God; and I pray, that what was David's comfort may be yours. Why should not we expect an answer when we pray, that God before you go home may make you whether you will or no, leave your burdens behind you? and God keep you from taking them up as you go home.

Probably, there may be some of you that are real believers; perhaps, I ought to ask your pardon: where am I preaching, in the Tabernacle! the most despised place in London! so scandalous a place, that many of the children of God would rather go elsewhere! God help us to keep up our scandal! But yet I believe there are many king's daughters here, many of you whom God enabled in this place first to say, My Lord, and my God. When you put your fingers, as it were, on the print of Christ's, nails, and put your hands into his side, and were no longer faithless, but believing, you thought you should never be cast down any more, but now you have found yourselves mistaken; and I shall endeavour, in the prosecution of this text, to speak to all that are cast down, whether before or after conversion, and then to such that were never cast down at all; and if you was never cast down before, God cast you down

What are persons cast down for? what are some of you disquieted within for? I have reason to believe, from the notes put up at both ends of the town, that there are many of you that have arrows of conviction stuck fast in your souls; I have taken in near two hundred at the other end of the town, within a fortnight: if this be the case, that God

is thus at work, let the devil roar, and we will go on in the name of the Lord. And what are you cast down for? some poor soul will say, with a sense of sin, the guilt of it, the enmity of it, the very aggravated circumstances that attend it, appear and set themselves as in battle array before me: once I thought I had no sin, at least, I thought that sin was not so exceeding sinful; but I now find it such a burden, I could almost say with Cain, it is greater than I can bear. And, perhaps some of you are so cast down, as in your haste to say as Colonel Gardiner, that great man of God, told me himself had said when under conviction, "I believe God cannot be just, unless he damns my wicked soul." Is this thy case? art thou wicked, art thou so cast down, so disquieted, that thou canst not rest night nor day, shall I send thee away without any comfort? shall I send thee away as the legal preachers do? as a minister some time ago did, when a man told him how wicked he had been; O, says he, if you are so wicked you are damn'd to be sure, I shall not trouble myself with you. When a poor negro was taken up for thieving, another went to him and said, you are so bad I must turn my back to you; that is the law, but the gospel is turn thy face to God; think not that God is dealing with thee as an absolute God, a God out of Christ. I would have nothing to do, says Luther, with an absolute God; as such he is a consuming fire. Trust God in Christ, throw thyself upon him, throw thyself on the Son of God; cry with thy brother, and now thou art in that temper, thou wilt not be ashamed to call the thief thy brother; say with him, Lord, remember me when thou art in thy kingdom: thou shalt yet praise him, thou shalt yet