Second thing propofed, which was to fhew that the favour and patronage of God is their great fupport, refuge, ftrength and help under all calamities and evils of every kind.

The attempt to prove that good men can have none other, wenld be fuperfluous and augatory. They can have no confi dence in earthly treafures, for riches make to themselves wings and flee away, and more frequently involve in calami ties than prove a defence against them. Can they truft in their might and in their power? Their strength is weaknefs. And how often does human greatnefs, when it becomes exorbitant, fall by its own weight? Can they confide in worldly wisdom? Alas! a thousand unexpected accidents, and unobserved latent circumftances cross, confound and fruftrate this, and render the achitophels of this world, not only unfortunate, but often miferable and contemptible too. Let not therefore the wife

man glory in his wifdom, neither let the mighty man glory "in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches; but "let him that glorieth, glory in this, that he understandeth "and knoweth me, that I am the Lord””

To promote the frame of fpirit and illuftrate the prefent fubject, please to confider the following things He who is interested in the favour of God, is freed from the worst of evils

that God is able and willing to fupport hrs fervants-he is ready to prevent the evils which may threaten them, and deli. ver them out of thofe in which they are-and that he certainly does in all respects, that which is best for them.

Firt, he who has an intereft in the favour of God and un der the gracious patronage of heaven, is furely freed from the wort of evils. He has an almighty protection to whom he may on all occafions and at all times repair, therefore can ne. ver be without refource. A God ready to hear, a friend, a guardian and a lather. He can reprefent his cafe to God'

with more freedom, fatisfaction and expectation, than a weep ing child relates its complaints to its earthly parent. Tho mountains be caft into the fea; tho' the hills be removed out of their place; tho' affaulted with the greatest temptations, and furrounded with the fevereft calamities, yet he has a God in covenant, in whom he confides his life, his foul, his all. This is a confoling reflection, infinitely preferable, to the poffeffion of the whole world, with all its riches and honors. A fource of more fubftantial felicity than all the princes and monarchs of the earth can afford,

To be without the friendship of God; to be abandoned by his holy spirit; to be given up to a reprobate sense, and after all to be caft into hell, these are evils which make men compleatly and eternally miferable. But to the comfort and fupport of every pious foul, God is a very prefent help in times of trouble, and none of these evils can poffibly befall him. As to man, what Zeba and Zalmuna faid of the timid Jether, "As is the man, fo is his ftrength," is applicable to the fons of men, their strength, weakness, and their furious wrath, is impotency. They are armed like angry wafps with buz and bit. ternefs, not like God with the fatal thunderbolts of irresistible ruin. What can feeble man in all the rage of malice do? His tongue can wound our reputation, his arm our body; he can plunder our property, rob us of our fortune, deprive us of liberty or life; but what is the amount of all this? while he cannot diffolve our connection with heaven, mar our hopes, blaft our peace of confcience, nor wound our immortal fouls? Amidst all the turmoils, confufions and defolating wars; amidst earthquakes, conflagrations, inundations and ftorms, the good man is fafe in a place of refuge, even in his God. No ravening hand can seize upon his heavenly treasure, no violence can wreft the crown of life from his head; therefore let us ever bear upon our minds the counfel of our Lord. "Fear not * them which can kill the body, but are not able

to kill the

"foul; but rather fear him which is able to deftroy both "foul and body in hell.”

Secondly, God will affuredly protect, fupport and eternally reward all who put their confidence in him. Various are the ways in which God administers aid, protection, patronage and fupport to his people; partly by his gracious promises, fecretly strengthening their faith, hope and all their graces, mingling a due proportion of good with all the r evils, fortifying them by his spirit, according to the dangers, difficulties and conflicts. What the force, virtue and strength of all these put together are, may be estimated from the joys, confolations, victories and triumphs of good men in all ages. They have rejoiced in all forts of tribulations, they have triumphed over the infults and perfecutions of enemies, and the ingratitude and perfidy of friends. How fupporting have been their confolations in poverty, reproaches, imprisonments, fickneffes, and even in death itself? They have maintained their ground, preferved their integrity, fuftained their innocence, and appeared amidst all the combinations of calamities, eminently great and illuftrious. A good caufe and a good confcience, the patronage of God and the aids of grace, are proof againft all afflic tions; the sword of the fpirit and the field of faith are an all-fufficient protection against the darts of earth and hell.

All this is not intended to fuppofe that the trials of the true chriftian are without trouble, his wounds without fmart, or his heart untouched with pain, only that he is not broken, dejected and hopeless like the ungodly finner; that he is never wholly deftitute of inward fupport, nor entirely calts away all hope in God. This is the defcription the Pfalmift gives us of his own faith and the state of his foul under complicated trials. "Mine enemies would daily fwallow me up; but what time I "am afraid, I will truft in thee, O thou Moft High. Innu. "merable evils have compaffed me about; mine iniquities have

taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head; therefore my heart faileth me. Be pleafed O Lord, to deliver me; O Lord "make hafte to help me. In God I have put my truft, I will "not fear what flesh can do unto me. Put thou my tears inthy bottle; are they not in thy book?"

It must not be concealed, that fometimes fuch is the strength of faith, the tranfports of love, the confidence of hope, the luxuriancy of joy in God and in Jefus Chrift, that the pleasures of a good man amidst all his fufferings and afflictions, do infi nitely outweigh and exceed all his pains and forrows. It is to be acknowledged and lamented that these are rare cafes; the reafon of the rarenefs of fuch inftances and examples is, because in those days there is little of living and growing chriftianity. But though the truly pious may not feel that spring of prefent comforts in their afflictions of this life, that they would defire, yet God affords them the fweet profpect of a full recompence of all their fufferings in the felicities and glories of para. dife. Hear our Saviour pronouncing them happy whom the world calls miferable. "Bleffed are the poor for theirs is the "kingdom of God; bleffed are they that mourn for they fhall "be comforted."

Thirdly, God is ready to prevent the evils which may threat. en them, and deliver them out of thofe in which they are. To doubt of this would be an approach toward Atheism. His ómnipotence and omniscience are no more to be queftioned than his existence. He doth whatsoever he pleaseth in the heavens above, and on the earth beneath. Hence it follows that all the power and wifdom fcattered throughout creation, if combined and united, would bear no proportion to that which is originally and effentially in God. All created perfection is only as it were a drop of his inexhauftible ftore. All creatures depend upon hiu and are fubject to his will. When therefore

he commands the ftars in their courses to fight against Sifers, and the river of Kifon to fweep them away, it is inftantly done. Fire, hail and vapour, ftorms and tempefts, famine and plagues, difeafe and death, obey his voice. The methods in which God ufually governs the church and the world, is by fixed and ftated laws; yet fometimes he humbles the proud and rescues the righteous in ways fo extraordinary and uncommon, that immediately it is acknowledged, this is the finger of God. By these measures evils are often prevented, and deliverance wrought for his people. Trace Jofeph from the envy and malice of his brethren, to the friendship and honors of the Egyptian court; from the pit in the wilderness, to the exalted place by Pharaoh on the throne; contemplate the infant Mofes drawn from the waters, and become the great captain of Ifrael; David raised from a fhepherd's boy, delivered from the paw of the lion, the paw of the bear, and from the terrible hand of the Philistine, and exalted to wield the fceptre of a mighty nation; but there would be no end of retailing inftances of God's averting evil, and often turning it into good to his people. The confideration of these things caufed the Pfalmift to cry out in an extatic triumph, "The Lord is my light and my falvation, "of whom fhall I be afraid; the Lord is my ftrength whom “ shall I fear ?”

How lively is the idea here afforded us of the happiness of the good man?-his mind enjoys a calm in the storms of calamity, his foul poffeffes tranquility amidst a thoufand furrounding dangers. "Happy is the man whofe "heart is fixed, trufting in the Lord." Others may be crafty and fortunate, but the good man alone is wife and great. He wears the image and is fomething like unto his God, whofe character is light, yet he makes darkness his pavilion, and clouds are round about him; and in the midst of thunders, hurricanes and earthquakes, he is ferene, calm and undiftur. bed.

"Let all thofe who put their trust in God rejoice, let