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timents, he proceeds in his voyage through
this ocean of life; refigned to the will,
and confiding in the protection, of Pro-
vidence; enjoying the prefent ferenity,
without apprehenfion of future tempefts.
But if the clouds fhould gather, and the
ftorm arife, and the floods lift up their
waves, and all around be diftrefs and
trouble, his heart is established, and will
not fhrink from his confidence in that
Supreme Ruler, who can rebuke the storm;
can fave when we are ready to perish;
and need only fay, "Peace, be ftill," and
immediately there will be a calm. In
every fituation, his mind reposes itself on
GOD. In the darkest night of affliction,
fome light will spring up, fome beam of
joy dart
upon his mind, from this confi-
deration, that the GOD whom he ferves is
able to deliver, and in his own good time
will deliver him out of all his troubles, or
reward him with joys unfpeakable in his
own blissful prefence. Thus bleffed is the
man whofe hope the Lord is.

But, on the other hand, they who take

not

not GOD for their strength, but build all their hopes upon their power, their riches, their reputation, their friendships, and the like, build upon a weak and treacherous foundation. Stability is not the property of any worldly poffeffion. A thousand unforeseen causes may deprive them of fuch objects of their confidence, and too late convince them of the vanity of all temporal dependencies. If they place their dependence on character and reputation, these may be foon blafted by popular breath; if on friendship, that often falls a facrifice to clandeftine whispers and artful infinuations; riches, by many fecret ways, make themselves wings; and power, even the greatest, stands on a foundation which various engines åre continually at work to undermine.

But fuch dependencies, besides their uncertainty, are often utterly ineffectual and vain in thofe hours of diftrefs when we stand in most need of fupport. If, for inftance, fickness approaches, who but GOD can prescribe bounds to it, and fay, Hitherto

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therto fhalt thou come, and no farther: If confcience fhould fmite us with a fenfe of guilt, and the fpirit be wounded within us, can man, can the whole world, fay to the defponding finner, Son, be of good cheer, thy fins be forgiven thee?

From whence let us make this practical application, That he, and he alone, who has GOD for his confidence, whofe confcious integrity gives him well-grounded affurances of the divine favour, has fuch an internal comforter in his breaft as will fupport him under all the viciffitudes of this mortal life; will make trouble in fome degree fit eafy on him; will infpire fortitude in the midft of dangers; will carry him through the rugged paths of adver fity; will sweeten the bitter waters of affiction; will difarm even our last enemy of his terrors, and render even our diffolution a happy emigration to a state of im mortality.

Let us then, while we have opportunity, endeavour to acquire this greatest of all confolations, this confidence in our GOD,

by

by an universal obedience to his laws. Let this obedience be the ground-work in our plan of happiness. On this foundation we may build the firmeft hopes, and fecurely truft, that the GOD whom we serve will with his favourable kindness defend us as with a fhield; will blefs us with his gracious protection in this world; and in the world to come will receive us into that fullness of blifs, which no language can describe, and no human intellect can as yet comprehend,

SERMON XXI.

On univerfal OBEDIENCE.

LUKE i. 6.

Walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless.

'HAT fin and wickednefs must ren

TH

der us juft objects of the divine difpleasure, and expose us to deserved punishment here or hereafter, is a fentiment which Nature fuggefts, and has engraven on our hearts in characters too deep for all the arts of irreligion ever to efface. This fentiment muft fometimes occur to us in our hours of reflection; muft fometimes force its way into the mind, through all the obftacles we can employ to exclude

and