seek out the scene where the rod of the Almighty is resting.

Sympathy should always be proportioned to the nature of the calamity which befalls others, and to the circumstances which aggravate it. A considerate mind will see much in the case of the widow to excite its compassion. Those who have met with this trial, and who, after the lapse of years, feel that the heart still knoweth its own bitterness, will be disposed to commiserate those who have seen a husband carried forth to his grave, and who are saying, "Call me Mara, for the Lord hath dealt very bitterly with me.”

Those who are happy in the society of affectionate husbands, may consider what would be their state if God should bereave them of such partners, and thus judge of the widow's calamity. Even the youngest can form an idea of it by the grief they feel at the loss of a beloved companion, or by the pang which the apprehension of it produces.

Sympathy hath a wonderful power to solace the afflicted heart; and is felt in the house of mourning as the sweetest earthly consolation. Let none then approach that house with the air of indifference, or the frivolous talk of the day, but in the exercise of a patient, active, and tender compassion. How beautiful was the sympathy shown by our Saviour to the widow at Nain, following the corpse of her only son to the grave, a son in whom she had, we may suppose, often traced with delight the image and the virtues and the kindness of his father, and who, in this hour of darkness, felt that she was now sunk in utter de

solation! When the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her, and said unto her, Weep not.*

2. It requires from us respect. There are some who indulge in a light way of talking of those whom God hath thus tried, and who think they show their wit and their knowledge of human nature, by predicting the levities of conduct which will soon succeed the burst of sorrow. There is much malignity in this conduct, and no person of right feeling can be entertained by such cruel sarcasms. When sarcastic ridi

cule is directed against the gay and the prosperous, they move in scenes where it is soon forgotten, and they are surrounded by flatterers who sooth their irritated vanity by compliments to them, and by invectives against their enemies; but the mourner has no defence against the scoffer, and the heart, roused to the acutest sensibility by the bereavement it has experienced, is alive to every look and to every word of insult. In whatever form it is presented, every insinuation of this kind should be repressed, and the hopes of charity should be maintained and expressed in opposition to it.

There is one beneficial purpose which such petulant and unfeeling sallies may be made to serve, though for it no gratitude is due to the head or the heart of the scorner; they may excite to that circumspection, for the want of which, in their condition, no agreeable qualities will atone. Happy is the person that feareth alway; he escapes the snares and the mortifications of the rash and the sanguine.

* Luke vii. 12-15.

With the loss of the situation which a husband occupied, the respect expressed for his family often passes away; and many treat with utter neglect, or are ready to insult by airs of superiority, or of affected condescension, those whom they once approached with the utmost deference, and whose notice they were eager to secure. The loss of such respect will not pain a considerate mind: it was paid not to merit, but to station, and was the result, not of true esteem, but of the basest sycophancy.

A good heart will to such families increase instead of diminishing respectful attentions, and will feel that excellence in spirit and conduct in such a calamity strengthens the claim of the widow to veneration. It may be proper to remark on this part of the subject, that there is a jealous pride which prompts some to consider themselves as neglected and slighted when nothing of this kind was intended, and that such a feeling should be repressed by all who value their own peace, or who wish that their calamity should produce its proper fruits.

3. The precept requires that aid be given to them where it is necessary. Charity to the poor of all descriptions is inculcated by the law of Christ; but it is not to be shown to them all in the same form, or in the same measure; their circumstances and character must be wisely considered, and where most is needed most ought to be given. To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction is the first expression of that spirit of love which religion forms and perfects. Charity to this class of sufferers is not liable to the objections which have been sometimes

urged against the claims of others. Sometimes deception is suspected, and it is supposed that an appearance of misery is assumed where there are the means of comfortable subsistence; but in the case of widows such pretexts can seldom be adduced. The circumstances of a family are laid open at the death of its head; and, if they are not, it is not amidst the sorrows of the heart which such a scene produces, that we can suppose any imposition practised. When persons have fallen into poverty, as the result of imprudent speculation, extravagant modes of living, or criminal conduct, it is said that to relieve such families, under sufferings arising from this source, is to encourage folly and vice; but in the case of widows the calamity is the result of the stroke of an Almighty hand. It may be said that the husband ought to have saved from his earnings what might have done something to support his family; but in many cases this is impracticable, even with the severest toil and the most rigid parsimony.

Peculiar delicacy is necessary in ministering to the wants of those who have seen better days, and who once imagined that no such lot as dependence should ever be theirs. The best of all modes of relief is to put such widows into situations where they may support themselves; and those who can give no assistance for this purpose, may be useful by applying to them for the articles which they dispose of, and by inducing others to give them their countenance in this form. We are ready to suppose that widows thus struggling to provide for a destitute family, things honest in the sight of all, could not be the objects of envy or oppo

sition, yet it is too true that some, from a selfish dread of loss to themselves or their friends, have depreciated their commodities, and misrepresented their transactions, and the motives of those who support them. Truth as well as charity requires the exposure of such infamous arts. It has sometimes happened that, in spite of all widows can do by attention and courtesy to secure public favour, they have been unable to gain it; and have had the bitterness of disappointment, and the harsh reflections of those who had befriended them, added to their sorrows. Nay, there have been some who have imposed on their simplicity and goodness, and taken articles on trust with the most sacred assurances of payment, and yet have never made the least effort to discharge the debt. This is a robbery of the widow, and that too under the mask of favour, and is in the sight of God a most heinous crime.

Where widows have young children, it is an act of true charity to educate them, and to put them to suitable employments. It is proper that their education and employment should be adapted to their capacity, and to the sphere in which they would have moved had their father lived. There has been among the fatherless, in the lowest circumstances, a genius which tuition might have formed to high celebrity in the arts, or in literature. Some have, through the discrimination and liberality of patrons, acquired a high place in science, and more might have done so had they been thus favoured.

And when widows must receive from the public funds of the church, the allowance should be as liberal as possible, though in no circumstances can it be ex