Ruler, calm submission is due; but more than submission that belongs t as a merciful father; it is the spirit o dial and affectionate consent to his Unknown to us as the times to com it should be sufficient to our full that they are known to God. Th and the hour which are fixed in his sels for our dismission from life, we to be persuaded are fixed for the and that any longer we should not remain. When we see that last hour d nigh, though our spirits may be co on our own account, yet, on acco our friends and families, no little and sorrow may be sometimes apt possession of the mind. Long w enjoyed the comfort of their societ been accustomed to consider them of ourselves. To be parted from th in the Hand of God. III. 57 ever is, at any rate, a bitter thought; but SERMON to the bitterness of this, is over and above added the apprehension of their suffering much by our death. We leave many a relation, perhaps, may leave young children, and a helpless family, behind us, to be exposed to various dangers, and thrown forth on an unfriendly world. Such virtuous anxieties often oppress the tender and feeling heart at the closing periods of life. My brethren, look up to that God, in whose hand the times of your fathers were; in whose hand the times of your posterity shall be. Recollect, for your comfort, the experience of ages. When were the righteous utterly forsaken by^ God in times past? Why should they be forsaken by him in times to come? Well did he govern the world before you had a being in it: Well shall he continue to govern it after you are no more. No cause have you, therefore, to oppress your minds with the load of unknown futurity. Commit your cares to a father in heaven. Surrender your life, your friends, and your family, to that God who hath said, The children of his servants shall continue, and their 58 III. On our Lives being SERMON their seed shall be established before him*. Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive; and let thy widows trust in me.t I have thus shewn what the import is, and what the improvement should be, of the doctrine of the text, that our times are in the hand of God. It asserts a fact, the truth of which can he called in question by none; a fact which, whether persons have any sentiments of religion or not, is calculated to make a serious impression on every mind; especially at seasons when the revolution of years gives us warning that our duration on earth is measured, and advances toward its period. To persons who are religiously disposed, who study to improve life to its proper purposes, to do their duty towards God and man, and through the merits of their Redeemer to obtain grace and favour from heaven, the doctrine of the text is still more important. Among them it tends to which are not only Psalm cii, 28. awaken impressions serious, but, as I Jeremiah, xlix. 11. in the Hand of God. III. 59 have shewn, salutary and comforting to SERMON the heart. Thankful that our times are in the hand of a sovereign, who is both wise and gracious, let us prepare ourselves to meet the approaching events of life with becoming resignation, and at the same time with manly constancy and firm trust in God. As long as it shall please him to continue our abode in the world, let us remain faithful to our duty and when it shall please him to give the command for our removal hence, let us utter only this voice: "In "thy hand, O my God, my times are. "Thou art calling me away. Here I "am ready to obey thy call, and at thy "signal to go forth. I thank thee that "I have been admitted to partake so long of the comforts of life, and to "be a spectator of the wisdom and goodness displayed in thy works. I thank "thee that thou hast borne so long with my infirmities and provocations; hast "allowed me to look up to thy promises "in the gospel, and to hear the words of eternal life uttered by my great Re"deemer. With gratitude, With gratitude, faith, and hope, |