cern to prepare to obey the folemn call, whenever it shall please the LORD of life and death to fummon us to depart hence; that at the awful hour we may calmly ly down in peace, in hopes of awaking in a state of immortal felicity, of being introduced into the presence of the KING of heaven, and of being received with that happy congratulation, Well done, good and faithful fervant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!

SER

SERMON XX.

On TRUST in Go D.

JER. xvii. 7.

Blessed is the man that trufteth in the Lord, and whofe hope the Lord is.

WE

E are by nature formed with an inextinguishable defire of happinefs, and have fomething within us that irresistibly impels us to the pursuit of it. But, furrounded as we are with troubles, which we may complain of, but cannot redress; expofed to dangers we may always fear, but cannot always escape; and full of wants, which we are impatient, but unable to fupply ;-we foon become

con

confcious of our inability to attain the happiness we pursue, and are foon taught the neceffity of looking abroad for affiftance to support our weakness, to supply our wants, and protect us from our fears. Our general error is, that we overlook the proper Object of our confidence. We place our dependence on inferior caufes, too inattentive to that First Supreme Cause, from whom alone can come our present or future falvation. But if reafon does not, experience feldom fails to bring with it full conviction of the vanity of all temporal dependencies. To a fuperior Power, then, we must have recourfe: we must look up for support to where religion directs; to HIM whofe kingdom is univerfal nature, to whom all things are in fubjection, and without whofe permiffion nothing can approach to hurt us. And it is our invaluable privilege, that we are permitted and authorised to repofe a confidence in that Power whom all nature obeys.

But because a juft confidence differs from a groundless prefumption, I shall in

this difcourfe confider, t, What is a juft confidence in GOD; 2dly, When our confidence is well-grounded; and, laftly, The happinefs refulting from a well-grounded truft in him.

I. Let us confider what is a juft confidence in GOD. This duty implies an humble dependence on him for that protection, and thofe bleffings, which his fupreme perfections both enable and incline him to bestow on his creatures. To truft in GOD, is to entertain a full conviction of his goodness and mercy; and a steady hope, that that mercy will, on all occafions, in all our dangers and neceffities, be extended to us, in fuch a manner as to his wifdom appears moft conducive, if not to our tranquillity in this life, to our everlafting felicity in the next. In all circumftances, profperous or adverfe, whatever be our fituation, or however gloomy our profpect, whether danger be approaching or prefent, our fouls must wait ftill upon GOD, our eyes must be lifted up to him, the great Arbiter of all events: for he, infinitely

finitely merciful and gracious, is at all times, in all emergencies, as willing as he is able to support and protect his creatures ; never inacceffible to their addreffes, never inexorable to their prayers, nor indifferent to their afflictions.

We are not indeed to expect, that his wifdom, infinitely fuperior to ours, will always comply with our expectations, and favour us with the particular objects of our defire; for this were to direct and govern his providence, not to trust in him: but we are to live under an habitual fenfe of his care and protection, and an affurance that under that protection we shall obtain what is good for us; which is more than we could promise ourselves, were the difpenfations of Providence to be under our direction. This duty can hardly be fo far misapprehended, as to reprefs the efforts of industry, or be supposed to fupercede the neceffity of due care and ap plication to the employment and duties of our refpective stations. For we have no grounds to expect, that GOD will provide

for