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ligion, as the foundation of our adherence to God as our portion, there must be an actual contemplation of them as the mean of our fupport in trial or deliverance from danger. Whatever be the nature or source of temptation, we must meet it, as it were, and refift it, by taking_suitable views of the fulness and all-fufficiency of God. Does the believer stand in need of any thing spiritual or temporal ? is he diftreffed with the want of it? does he fee no human or probable way of his being fupplied with it? He runs to the name of God as his strong tower, by confidering, that "the earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof:" that his wifdom is infinite; and that, if it is really neceffary, he can easily find a way of beftowing it. Pf. xxxiv. 9, 10. "O fear the Lord ye his faints; for there is no want to "them that fear him. The young lions do lack, and fuf"fer hunger: but they that seek the Lord fhall not want

any good thing." He dwells upon the univerfal prefence and the fpecial providence of God, and endeavors to reafon down his anxiety and fear. Perhaps he may do it in the words of our bleffed Saviour, Matth. vi. 25, to the 33d verfe, "Therefore, I fay unto you, take no thought "for your life, what ye fhall eat, or what ye fhall drink, "nor yet for your body what ye fhall put on; is not the "life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Be"hold the fowls of the air; for they fow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly "Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? Which of you, by taking thought, can add one cubit unto his ftature? And why take ye thought for "raiment ? Confider the lilies of the field, how they "grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet, I "fay unto you, that even Solomon, in all his glory, was "not arrayed like one of thefe. Wherefore, if God fo "clothe the grafs of the field, which to day is, and to-mor"row is caft into the oven, fhall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, what shall we eat? or what fhall, we drink? or "wherewithal fhall we be clothed? (For after all these "things do the Gentiles feek ;) for your heavenly Father "knoweth that ye have need of all these things."

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Is the believer diftreffed with enemies, malicious, powerful, implacable? does he fuffer, or is he afraid of fuffering from them, in his name, in his perfon, in his life itfelf? he confider's the power of God to fhield him from their attacks, or more than compenfate all the injuries which he may receive from them, and firengthen and animate him to a vigorous discharge of his duty in oppofition them. Pfal. iii. 5, 6, 7, 8. "I laid me down and flept, "I awaked; for the Lord fuftained me: I will not be a"fraid of ten thousands of people that have fet themselves "against me round about. Arife, O Lord; fave me O my God; for thou haft fmitten all mine enemies upon "the cheek-bone; thou haft broken the teeth of the un"godly. Salvation belongeth unto the Lord; thy bleffing "is upon thy people, Selah." He endeavors to deliver himself from the diftreffing fear of man, by the reasonable and dutiful fear of offending God, Luke, xii. 4, 6. "And "I fay unto you, my friends, be not afraid of them that "kill the body, and after that have no more that they can "do. But I will forewarn you whom you fhall fear: Fear "him, which after he hath killed, hath power to caft into "hell, yea, I fay unto you, fear him." Dan. iii. 16, 17, 18. "Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, answered, and "faid to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar! we are not care"ful to answer thee in this matter. If it be fo, our God, "whom we serve, is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace; and he will deliver us out of thine hand, "O King! But, if not, be it known unto thee, O King! "that we will not ferve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou haft fet up."

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Is the believer afraid of the ordinary evils of life? is he of a timorous nature, trembling at the thoughts of the accidents that may befal him? he runs to the name of God as the fupreme difpofer of every event, and thinks of the invifible power that governs and directs all vifible things, and that the very minifters of Providence have received a charge concerning his people: Pfal. xci. 1,-12. "He "that dwelleth in the fecret place of the Moft High fhall "abide under the fhadow of the Almighty. I will fay of the Lord, he is my refuge, and my fortrefs; my God,

"in him will I truft. Surely he fhall deliver thee from "the fnare of the fowler, and from the noisome peftilence. "He fhall cover thee with his feathers; and under his "wings fhalt thou truft. His truth fhall be thy fhield and "buckler. Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night, "nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pefti"lence that walketh in darknefs; nor for the deftruction "that wasteth at noon-day. A thousand shall fall at thy "fide, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall "not come nigh thee: only with thine eyes fhalt thou "behold, and fee the reward of the wicked, because thou "haft made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the Most

High, thy habitation. There fhall no evil befal thee, "neither fhall any plague come nigh thy dwelling: for "he fhall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee, "in all thy ways."

To the power I joined the willingness of God to preferve and protect his people, on their fincere and humble application to him for it. This is abfolutely neceffary as a part of the object of faith. It would be in vain to run to any strong place, with a view of being preserved from our enemies, unless we have fome ground to hope we shall be received into; and it would be madness to flee to a fortrefs kept by an enemy; but God is every righteous man's friend all the divine perfections are engaged for his welfare and therefore he may confidently run to God from every danger, and be affured both of a kind welcome, and of all that fafety which is neceffary for him.

Faith, in this refpect, has an immediate relation to the promifes of God. It is his name, as I obferved on a former head, to which we are to flee, as revealed in his written word; and much of the life of practical religion confifts in attending to the tenor, and in a daily application of the promises. God himfelf requires us to call upon him in a time of trouble, Pfal. 1. 15. "And call upon me in "the day of trouble; I will deliver thee; and thou fhalt

glorify me." Nay, he is gracioufly pleafed to reckon our calling upon him an effential character of his own people, Zech. xiii. 9. "And I will bring the third part "through the fire, and will refine them as filver is refined,

"and will try them as gold is tried; they fhall call on my "name, and I will hear them: I will fay, it is my people; "and they fhall fay, the Lord is my God." He is pleafed to esteem this, as giving him the glory of his truth and faithfulness, wifdoni, power, and goodness, which we find represented in fcripture as fo many chambers of protection into which the righteous are called to enter for fafety and prefervation, Ifa. xxvi. 20. "Come, my people, enter "thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; "hide thy felf as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over-past."

I thall only further obferve, that faith in both these refpects, as applying the power and promife of God, receives very much ftrength from the examples of his mercy, either towards ourselves or others. His name is recorded in every page of the hiftory of providence. And his people cannot in a more proper or effectual manner, run into it as a strong tower, than by confidering and weighing the examples of divine interpofition, in behalf of his faithful fervants. For this reason, is fo great a part of the holy Scriptures hiftorical; because they serve, in a more effectual manner, to engrave the truths of religion both on the memory and heart. Many can remember what befel Abraham, David, Samuel, Daniel, and others, who would forget the precepts delivered them in a more abstract manner. And every one must be fenfible, that the inftructions which arise clearly and obviously from hiftorical facts, come home upon the confcience with a degree of evidence, fuperior to any thing that flows merely from the deductions of reafon. May not the Chriftian, with great advantage, say, “Do I not ferve an everlasting and unchangeable God? Is he not the fame yesterday, to-day, "and forever? Is his hand at all fhortened, that it can. "not fave; or his ear heavy, that it cannot hear? Is not "he who faved David the ftripling, from the ftrength of "Goliah; who faved Daniel from the power of the lions; "and in many other inftances, affifted and delivered his

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own people, when employed in his service, able to fave "me from the power of the enemy, and to carry me "through all the trials of this earthly state, whether they

"arife from temptation or fuffering?" I hope I need not tell you to apply, in the fame manner, all that you have learned of the wifdom or goodness of Providence, from reading or conversation. For this reason, the Pfalmift declares his refolution of communicating the mercy of God to his foul, Pfal. lxvi. 16. "Come and hear, all ye that fear God, and I will declare what he hath done for my "foul."

Suffer me here to fay, that I cannot see a shadow of reafon why Chriftians fhould not imitate the Pfalmift's example, in imparting their experience of divine grace, for their mutual inftruction and confolation. If the ftudent will communicate his intellectual difcoveries; if the naturalift will communicate his facts and observations; if the tradefman will communicate his attainments in his profeffion; if no man fcruples to communicate what he hath known to be useful, for the health of the body; tell me, ye fcorners, what should hinder the Christian to communicate to his fellow-fervants, what may ferve for their fpiritual confolation and peace?

But if our mutual experience may be ferviceable to each other, how much more muft the paft goodness of God towards themselves, encourage his children to put their truft in him? How juft and beautiful the Pfalmift's reflection, Pfal. Ixiii. 7. "Because thou haft been my help; "therefore in the fhadow of thy wings will I rejoice." In the fame manner he recovers from his doubts and fears, Pfal. lxxvii. 5-12. "I have confidered the days of old, "the years of ancient times; I call to remembrance my

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fong in the night; I commune with mine own heart, "and my spirit made diligent fearch. Will the Lord caft "off for ever? and will he be favorable no more? Is his mercy clean gone forever? doth his promife fail for "evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath he "in anger fhut up his tender mercies? Selah. And I "faid, this is my infirmity; but I will remember the years of the right hand of the Moft High. I will re"member the works of the Lord, furely I will remember thy wonders of old."

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