to improper conclusions in reasoning, and to persevering obstinacy in error and vice. Both these are occasions of increasing the torments of unavoidable afflictions, of multiplying greatly the toils and sorrows of adversity. But to whom shall we go for a remedy? What power can curb the human appetites, or sanctify the passions? God our Maker is our Redeemer and our sanctifier. "Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling savour-even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word; that he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy, and without blemish."*

You will, therefore, brethren, perceive, that true religion is a corrective of our doubts and our fears; that it restrains and sanctifies all our passions; that, by it we are delivered from the reigning power of sin, and from the condemnation which our transgressions merit; and you will perceive, of course, that the Christian, in receiving and reviewing these benefits, has cause of joy in the God of his salvation.

2. Religion is a source of consolation, because it affords support to the Christian under all the afflictions which he must suffer in life.

We have shown already, that it removes the principal causes of grief the guilt and dominion of sin; and so far as it prevails over our innate corruptions, that it also corrects our doubts, fears, and unsanctified emotions and passions. There are, notwithstanding, many troubles incident to the saints, while they pass along, as pilgrims, through this vale of tears. "Many," said the persecuted Psalmist of Israel, when driven away by Abimelech, from the place in which he sought protection, "many are the afflictions of the righteous." "We must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God," is the assertion of Paul and Barnabas to the primitive Christians. Nay, our Saviour himself assured his disciples, both of the unavoidable evil, and the only adequate remedy. " In the world ye shall have tribulation: be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."†

It is perfectly obvious, that no Christian has a right to expect entire exemption from the common calamities of the present world, so long as he continues to live among its inhabitants; but we all have a right to expect divine support under our several burdens. This sentiment is unequivocally uttered by the apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians. "There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will, with the temptation, also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."* The writer had experience of this truth, in his own personal trials. In answer to repeated prayers, for the removal of the thorn in the flesh which troubled him, the reply of his God to this inspired man is remarkable. The prayer is heard, the request is refused, support is promised, and granted, and the apostle is satisfied: yea, he glories in the advantages of his religion. "For this thing, I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. And he said unto me, MY GRACE IS SUFFICIENT FOR THEE; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."t

Afflictions of any kind, spring not from the dust: neither do they come by chance without the hand of Providence. He who numbers the hairs of our heads, and without whose permission, a sparrow cannot fall to the ground, distributes affliction around, and apportions his own share to every one of his disciples. To complain of their pains, they have of course no right; because, God hath inflicted the blow. He is Sovereign, and he is just who then can find fault? Christians certainly, have no reason to complain of his administrations; for all things shall work together for their good, who are called according to his purpose. Although man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upwards, yet all these troubles are under the direction of wisdom and goodness. They are sent by the Governor of the world to communities

+ 2 Cor. xii. 7-9.

* 1 Cor. x. 13. The "thorn in the flesh," σκόλοψ τη σαρκι, is a subject, upon which the ingenuity of commentators has been sufficiently exercised. There is scarcely a disease, or a crime, or a temptation, to which it has not been applied. Every one, anxious to have Paul for a companion in personal infirmity, endeavours to show that his peculiar failing resembles the Apostle's thorn in the flesh. It is sufficient, however, for us to know what has been revealed. The affliction was great-It came in the providence of God-Satan gave it point-Paul repeatedly sought the removal of it-His prayer was not granted; for the affliction continued-It taught taught him humility-It was the occasion of his receiving more Christian strength and consolation-And in it, at last, the apostle rejoices, as the means of glorifying God his Redeemer.

or individuals, sometimes to punish, and sometimes to prevent transgressions. The man of piety enjoys Christian consolation under afflictions; because he is taught to see their use and their end. They last but for a moment, compared with the duration of the soul with God, and they work out for us, by the blessing of heaven, a far more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory.

Your sorrows, Christians, are merited; therefore, let no complaint escape your lips: they are administered by your heavenly Father; be therefore still, and know that he is God. He does not afflict willingly; be humbled on account of your sins: He is both just and merciful in what he doeth; be therefore resigned to his dispensations. The chastisements which he inflicts, are profitable for your correction, that you may become partakers of his holiness: they serve to try your graces, and so enable you to ascertain the measure of your faith and your patience, of your benevolence and perseverance: they serve to produce evangelical contrition, the broken spirit, which is to God a pleasing sacrifice: they teach us the vanity of all earthly enjoyments; they wean the affections from the things which are seen, and direct our hopes to him that is on high, where our true treasure is laid up in perfect safety: they make us to feel our dependence upon the providence and the grace of God: and they serve to display, in a remarkable manner, the glory of his power and goodness in our support and comfort. His fellowship is our joy in the midst of trouble. He strengthens the intellect for rational reflections upon our own condition. He directs the desires of the soul to other objects less mournful, but full of improvement and comfort. He increases faith to full assurance; he removes the vail, he reveals his countenance, he speaks peace, and extends his hand for help. For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. "I saw the tents of Cushan in affliction, and the curtains of the land of Midian did tremble. And Í trembled in myself, that I might rest in the day of trouble; yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. Most gladly, therefore, will I glory in mine infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me."*

3. Christianity is a

* 2 Cor. iv. 16.

source of joy and consolation, inas

Habak. lií. 7, 19. 2 Cor. xii. 9.

much as it furnishes the best view of the most agreeable and glorious objects in the universe.

The exercise of our speculative powers is one of the sources of our felicity. It serves to show the wisdom and goodness of God in the constitution of human nature, that the mere contemplation of his works, without any other property in them, is capable of yielding delight. Every man, however uncultivated his taste, takes pleasure in beholding the beauty, the order, and the magnificence of the plains, and the valleys, and the streams, and the mountains, with all their several productions. Works of human art, also, furnish a rich variety of interesting objects; and our knowledge of them is of course, one of the means of enjoyment in life. The pursuits of elegant literature, the study of the fine arts, and the more severe investigations of science, are known to be sources of high delight to their respective votaries. They afford exercise and improvement to the intellectual powers of the mind. Natural scenery furnishes innocent pleasure and healthful recreation for our senses; and the resolution of a mathematical problem, has been known to communicate a joy bordering upon ecstacy.

These facts, supported by the observation and experience of ages, justify the introduction of speculative enjoyments among the ingredients of perfect felicity. It remains to show, that religion improves and satisfies this part of the moral constitution of man, and is, of course, the system of consolation, which it is said to be.

The man of piety, stands, at least, upon equally high and safe ground with others of similar natural or acquired endowments; and he has, moreover, peculiar advantages, for deriving happiness from the contemplation of the works of God. Moral beauty is confessedly more engaging, than the qualities of lifeless objects. The orator and the poet, and the very peasant, acting as the child of nature, are so sensible of this, that when they speak of rural scenery, they personify every object, and clothe with imaginary life, the plants and the hills which they describe; or at least, connect them with living beings, to enhance their value. The man of piety, like the king of Israel, in the 104th psalm, contemplates these objects as the works of God; sees in them continually a display of wisdom, of power, and of goodness supreme; and finds Jehovah constantly present in every portion of the universe.

He, besides, hath learned, in the Christian school of education, that all parts of creation are under a constant superintending Providence; and that the whole divine government is put in the hands of the Son of man to be administered for the welfare of his redeemed. He takes an interest in the concerns of the universe, which prompts him to seek its welfare, and to join as a worker in the service of his God, for the promotion of the good order and the happiness of the creation. He is assured that the whole is in a sense his own, so far as is necessary for his welfare, both in time and through eternity. It is not the poet's fancy, but the word of God, that affirms, all things are yours.

He, moreover, contemplates more interesting objects than the whole world, even in this peculiar point of view. He is "come unto mount Zion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general assembly and church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel."* With such objects before him and around him, he feels himself in company, to which the world yields no parallel. A corresponding elevation of thought, and of sentiments, raises up the mind itself to a sublimity of conception, and a susceptibility of enjoyment, and to an extent of delight which far surpasses the pleasures of the present evil world. His reason is improved, his faith is invigorated, his hopes are confirmed, his consolations are abundant. It is enough.

Brethren, compare the objective delights of the sanctuary with those of the men of the world under the best possible advantages, and you cannot fail, in making up the estimate, to acknowledge the vast superiority of the joys of religion. With you, who give all your attention to the things which are seen, we can occasionally dwell, until we have discovered all that is revealed to you. We pursue with you, the path of letters; we engage with you, with equal ardour, in the study of philosophy; we catch fire from the poet and the orator; we behold with awe, the revolutions of those worlds which Omnipotence hath fixed in the boundless expanse over our heads; and we feelingly trace the changes of empire on earth in all their causes and consequences: we admire the historian of ages which are gone, and listen to the story of more modern date: at the present moment, we pursue the warrior with his