we are not destroyed."* In the thickest cloud, there is still an opening, through which a little light shineth; and soon the day shall break, and the shades shall be dispelled. "Weeping may endure "for a night; but joy cometh in the morning :"t and then "we shall forget our misery; and re"member it as waters that pass away."‡ 4. Christian joy is adapted to every station and condition in life. Of temporal enjoyments, there is none suited to every character, case, and situation. Those who are weak in memory and judgment, are incapable of the pleasures of learning. The poor are cut off from the delicacies, from many of the comforts and conveniences, and are often pinched as to the necessaries of life. While their poverty, at the same time, precludes them, though possessed of mental talents, from access to books, the storehouses of history and of knowledge; which might fill up, both with improvement and with innocent recreation, the intervals of toil. The blind have not the satisfaction of beholding the order and the grandeur of the works of God; the majestic orbs of heaven above; and beneath, the earth's ever-varying and ever-beauteous robe. The harmony of sound reaches not the ears of the deaf. The ambitious and the covetous deny themselves the pleasures of repose. The indolent and luxurious know not those of useful and of healthful action. And what joys, short of those which come from heaven, can visit the aged, the feeble, or the bed-chained sufferer; in whom desire hath failed, and whose every sense hath been blunted, unless to pain? To these, * 2 Cor. iv. 8, 9. + Psalm xxx. 5. Job xi. 16. and to the like, neither affluence nor philosophy can say, Come unto me, ye weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. But even to these, spiritual joy is not necessarily a stranger. There is no distance to which it cannot travel; no darkness or shadow of death, which it cannot penetrate. Is the christian poor? he knows that God hath provided for him the riches of grace and glory: and he is satisfied, he is transported with the fulness and validity of his title to a treasure that faileth not, an incorruptible inheritance, a kingdom that cannot be moved. Is he deprived of the pleasures of sense, of meats, and of drinks? he tastes the purer and sweeter pleasures of the mind: he eats of the hidden manna; he is nourished by the bread of life; he is refreshed by the fruits of the spirit, righteousness, and peace, and joy. Is he tossed in a sea of troubles? he has an anchor within the veil, and his mind is calm. Is he under the reproach of men? he has the approbation of God, and the testimony of a good conscience. In short, there is no condition in which he cannot obey God's law. For if, through absence of health or prosperity, he have not the opportunities of active obedience, he can suffer patiently; and the joy, which is the result of either, nothing can take from him. There is no state that can prevent his rejoicing in the providence of Jehovah, while he constantly cherishes the belief, that all things concerning him are disposed by the wisdom which knows what is best, and by the goodness which always loves him. Faith and hope rise superior to pain and sorrow: for the objects on which they rest, and from which they enable him to derive his happiness, cannot be affected by any change in the things of time and sense. They are the wings, which lift him above the world, to the abodes of bliss; or rather, they are the instruments, which bring down heaven to his soul. Such joy the world cannot give, and cannot take away. The rains may descend, the floods beat, and the winds blow, but it abides unshaken; for it is founded on the rock of ages, the power and faithfulness of the most High. External circumstances, the loss of fortune, of fame, of health, do not impair it; they rather confirm its exercise, and render its value more sensibly evident. Like the frost, which makes the flame burn clearer; like the blast, which causes the oak to strike deeper root; like the storm howling o'er the well-staid battlements,'* which increases the sense of comfort to those who are lodged within; or like the prospect of the tempest-tossed ocean, which heightens the enjoyment of the beholder on the shore. Peace was the precious legacy which Christ left to his disciples; and neither things present, nor things to come, nor life, nor death, can deprive us of the inheritance of the rich bequest. "Peace I leave with you; my “peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you: let not your heart be troubled, "neither let it be afraid."+ 66 III. We proposed, lastly, to suggest some motives to the exercise of christian joy. It may seem strange, that this should be made a head of discourse, or that I should think it necessary to produce arguments to engage men to rejoice; particularly, after having shewn, in the pre† John xiv. 27. • Akenside. ence. ceding discussions, what ample and perennial sources of pleasure are opened to every believer. But this objection will vanish, when it is considered that there are some, even among the professors of christianity, who think it incompatible with cheerfulness; and who make a great part of religion to consist in a sorrowful spirit, an austere manner, and a solemn countenance. If any thing more be wanting to justify us, in prosecuting this part of the subject, let it suffice, that the apostle, under the direction of the holy spirit, has enjoined rejoicing by command; and we cannot, therefore, be misemployed, in suggesting motives to obediBut still it may be said, that the love of happiness, being a law of our nature, if men will not cherish joy on its own account, no other motives will persuade them to it. This, however, is not always true. There are christians who have such a sense of duty, that from it they will essay and perform what the mere consideration of personal enjoyment could not lead them to attempt. This is particularly the case, in the present instance. Some fear to indulge joy, because they are doubtful of their right to rejoice. But it is to be hoped, that when they come to see it as a duty to God, to their fellow creatures, and to the religion which they professs and value, they will make some efforts towards a joyful spirit, and a cheerful demeanour. I shall not, therefore, endeavour to recommend joy, by proving, that it is more pleasing and comfortable than the opposite frame of mind. This were but to assert, that joy is joy, and that pain is pain: but I request you to consider 66 1. That to " rejoice evermore" is a duty which you owe to God. He hath commanded you to rejoice: to persist in grieving, therefore, is to disobey, or to charge God with requiring what is impossible. Dejection and moroseness, too, in the presence of a benefactor, is telling him to his face, that his fayours are not worth rejoicing for, and, of course, not worth our gratitude. But if there be truth or force in the considerations which have been stated upon this subject, God hath given us just and abundant reasons to rejoice. To refuse, then, is to disallow the validity of these reasons; or, in other words, to deny the value of his gifts. To cherish, however, a just esteem of benefits, is always the desire of a thankful mind. But how shall that desire appear, if, amidst all the benefits which we enjoy, we still continue gloomy and dissatisfied? Pleasure in the enjoyment of benefits, and cheerfulness in the benefactor's presence, have, therefore, ever been considered as expressions of gratitude highly becoming. What opinion, then, would you form of a person dependent on, and highly obligated to another, of great power, wisdom, and generosity, if, in the society of his patron, he were to appear sullen, fretful, and impatient? You would charge him with a bad and a perverse heart. And much more unbecoming, is it not, in the christian, to wear a melancholy aspect, or to indulge, at any time, a peevish humour, since he is always in the presence of his God? To God's hand all his welfare is entrusted to him he hath constant access in meditation and devotion: to him, whom to contemplate, is joy, and to know, is life everlasting. Every mo |