shall weep

and

verily, I say unto you, that ye lament, and ye shall be sorrowful. In the world ye shall have tribulation; now is my soul troubled, What shall I say? Save me from this hour, but for this cause came I to this hour.

Oh that my grief were thoroughly weighed and my calamity laid in the balances together, for now would it be heavier than the sand

of the sea. For the arrows of the Almighty are within me; the poison thereof drinketh up my spirits. The terrors of God do set

themselves in array against me. O my God, my soul is cast down within me. Deep calleth unto deep, at the noise of thy waterspouts, all thy waves and thy billows are gone over me. Have mercy, O God, upon me, for I am in trouble: mine eye is consumed with grief, yea, my soul and my belly. For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing. My strength faileth because of iniquity, and my bones are consumed. I am forgotten as a dead man out of mind. I am like a broken vessel. I am the man that hath seen affliction: by the rod of his wrath, he hath led me, and brought me into darkness, but not into light. He hath hedged me about that I cannot get out, he hath made my chain heavy, he hath turned aside my ways and pulled me in pieces, he hath made me desolate, he hath caused the arrows of his quiver to enter into my reins. He hath filled me with bitterness, he hath made me drunken with with worm

C

wood, thou hast removed my soul far off from peace. I forgot prosperity. The sorrows of death compassed me, and the pains of hell got hold of me. I found trouble and sorrow. Many are the afflictions of the righteous. These are they that came out of great tribulation.

ADDRESS.

It has been the design and dispensation of God ever since disobedience entered into the world, that men should pass through various scenes of affliction, before they enter an eternal state. Sin has transformed this lower world from a paradise to a wilderness, in which all, without exception, are called to experience a portion of suffering and sorrow. And whatever may be the character individuals may sustain, in the situation in which they may be placed, the providence of God will most assuredly assign to them a share of tribulation. The warrior by his might cannot defend himself from trouble, or Naaman would not have been a leper. Royalty is no shield against it; Hezekiah would not have been diseased. Piety cannot ward it off, or it would not have been said, "Lord, he whom thou lovest is sick." The love of God to the soul does not prevent it, for

as many as I love, I rebuke and chasten." The children of Israel did not pass from Egypt to Canaan without the attack of the

foe. The thorns and briars of the desert, the waters of Mara which were bitter. The triumphs of heaven must be preceded by the troubles of earth. The crown of glory by the cross of the world. O thou afflicted, tossed with tempests, and not comforted. Why are you surprised that you should have a portion of affliction, in your passage from time to eternity? yea, that you should have sorrow upon sorrow. Are you surprised that the serenity of the atmosphere should be agitated by the storm? that the clearness of the sky should be obscured by the clouds? that the calmness of the ocean's surface should be lashed into turbulence by the fury of the winds? And why should you be surprised that your light is occasionally mixed with some darkness, that your satisfactions have some alloy, that you have a crook in your lot? Have not all who have existed in this world endured the same fight of afflictions? yea, and was not Jesus himself, though without sin, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And what is there in the circumstances of your case, that can entitle you to freedom from the common lot of humanity?

In the estimation of some, exemption from calamity would be considered a great blessing, and, perhaps you who are now enduring severe trials from the hand of God, may be disposed, under their pressure to think so too; if so, you take an improper view of the case. Let all things be taken into the ac

count, and you will see that there is much truth in the remark of one who observes, "It is a great misfortune not to endure misfortune. I judge no man more unhappy than the person who is never in adversity, or who meets with no disappointments." Instead then of any fruitless repinings at the allotments of providence, seek to derive all the advantages. you possibly can from these unavoidable and righteous dispensations. Carry all your griefs and burdens to the footstool of mercy. Cast with humble resignation and holy confidence all your care upon him who hath said, "Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me."

PRAYER.*

O thou great and eternal Jehovah, thou who rulest all things, doing according to thy pleasure in the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. Though thou art the high and Holy One dwelling in the light and glory of eternity, yet dost thou condescend to notice the meanest of thy creatures. Thine eye is upon all their circumstances, and thine hand manages all their affairs; thou hearest the prayer of the destitute and those who are out of the way. O Lord, thy servant before thee

* By altering the pronoun from we into I, &c., him into me, &c., as marked in the first prayer, the prayers may be read by the afflicted person.

is oppressed; undertake for him (or me): thine hand is upon him (or me). Thou hast brought him (or me) into the fire and into the water of affliction, and causest him (or me) to eat the bread of adversity. This is the righteous discipline through which all thy servants are called to pass in this vale of tears. We (or I) know that we (or I) cannot escape the stroke of thy hand, nor would we (or I) wish it. Thou hast taught us (or me) both by the examples and precepts of thy blessed word, to expect adversity in this evil world, and the thought that thou, who canst not err, nor be unkind, dost appoint these afflictions, and that we (or I) richly deserve them, should humble us (or me) under thy mighty hand, and induce us (or me) to submit without a murmur to all thy proceedings, however severe in their nature, or trying to unsanctified and rebellious nature. O Lord, grant that we (or I) may cheerfully submit to, and acquiesce in, whatever thy infinite wisdom allots to us (or me); knowing that if thou hadst dealt with us (or me) after our (or my) sins, and rewarded us (or me) according to our (or my) iniquities, the afflictions which thou dost send would be a hundredfold more painful and oppressive. Though afflicted and distressed, there are many whose sufferings are far heavier than ours (or mine), though not more guilty and unworthy than we are (or I am).

Grant, gracious God, that thy afflicted servant before thee may be convinced that there