and of pity to the offspring of his bowels. It is equally so with our EVERLASTING FATHER in his conduct to his children of grace. Read the Bible-mark the characters whom God hath loved-tell me then, from the history of their lives, whether God hath not, from this very parental principle, scourged every son whom he receiveth? I shall only add, an affectionate father chastiseth his disobedient son with a sanguine expectation of producing reformation. And, concerning the fatherly chastisements of God, we may safely say, the fruit of all is to take away sin. Not to make atonement for sin; that has been done by Christ; but when we indulge an undue attachment to the world, inordinately love the creature, neglect our positive duties, or in any way gratify the corrupt passions of our fallen nature, God sends such afflictions in kind, weight, and measure, as shall answer the end of taking away from us the love of sin, teach us that our God is holy, and saith, My son, give me thine heart. Under such chastisement we mourn our folly, hate our sins, fly from them, and return like sensi❤ ble prodigals to the arms of our compassionate Father.

These observations I think I may sum up in the words of the Lord to David concerning his son Solomon: I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men; but my mercy shall not depart away from him. Let us then adore our heavenly Father, justify his ways with man, fly from the appearance of evil, and render obedience to his holy will!

2. We are to recommend the important duty of consi, dering this parental principle on which God chasteneth his children. We all know the influence of affliction

apon the human mind; sometimes a stupor is created, and at other times the breast is irritated, and the sufferer thinks, like Jonah, he does well to be angry. And as it is with individuals, so with families. By the loss of property, the introduction of sickness, or by the death of relatives, the sufferers pour upon the wound which is made, and their grief is accumulated. As the heart of man is naturally rebellious against God, satan takes the advantage of our sufferings as he did in the case of Job, to tempt us to presume or to despair. To remedy these evils we are exhorted to the duty of consideration, in which the mind is directed from the calamity to that God who ordereth all things after the counsel of his own will, and who hath designs of mercy and goodness in the affliction of his children. The nature of this exhorta tion should be duly observed. Consider in thine heart; that is, let the work be done sincerely and attentively, with the soul most solemnly engaged with God, and not take a transient superficial view of your afflictions. It is not improper that the cause, instruments, progress, and consequences of your sorrows should make a part of your investigation; but, you must remember that this will never afford ease to the heart. The most important thing is for you to read your interest in your heavenly Father's love, and to be persuaded that his dealings with you flow from that principle; then cheerful submission will arise in your breast, you will read your Father's will in every thing around you, and you will adopt the language of your Saviour, The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not drink it? The more you consider this in your heart, the more you will be drawn from the love of sin, an attachment to the world, and an ardent desire to

lay up all your good in God; perhaps not improperly expressed in this language:

All my own schemes and self design
I to thy better will resign.

Impress this deeply on my breast
That I'm in thee, already blest.

I am equally certain that such an heart consideration of this subject will have a charming influence upon your hope for immortality. You will thereby practically learn, that our light afflictions, which are but for a moment, work out for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. When he hath tried me, said Job, he will bring me forth as gold. In the furnace you will lose nothing but your dross, and the more of that the better. You will learn to hold the world by a slender thread, that when death shall break it, you will feel little pain or regret. He who hath loved you and supported you under your numberless sorrows, will assuredly bear up your soul in the last conflict of death, and receive you to mansions of eternal repose.

Having dismissed the subject, perhaps it may not be unappropriate to conclude our discourse by saying, that the interest of the human soul in the love of God may be learned with the greatest certainty from the temper, confidence, and submission it possesses under sufferings. A man in easy circumstances of life, surrounded with caressing friends, may easily maintain a public profession of religion, and pass current for a good man, while he possibly may be a stranger to a changed heart. The real Christian also, in seasons of repose and affluence,

finds great difficulty to possess indisputable evidence of his interest in Jesus; we are of the earth earthy; our corrupt nature loves worldly security; and the greater abundance of ease, the less grace, faith, and patience have to operate upon. For this reason it was that a very valuable Christian under prosperity expressed the sensibility of his heart in the following lines:

Whene'er becalm'd I lie,

And storms forbear to toss;

Be thou, dear Lord, still nigh,

Lest I should suffer loss:

For more the treacherous calm I dread,
Than tempests bursting o'er my head.

The case of a man in the furnace of affliction is different from both those which I have named; disappointed in the world, bereft of dear pledges of earthly love, surrounded with foes, and his own heart the seat of temptation; if such an one be possessed of grace, this is the time when its influence will be felt in leading him to repose in God, and bear the fruit of humility and patience before man. Thus the trial of faith is more precious than gold, which perisheth. The evidences of God's love obtained in the furnace are more sensible and permanent than those received in any other way. David never wrote better than when he dipped his pen in the black ink of affliction; and when God removed the creature from his embraces, his soul could with more ardour exclaim, O God, my heart is fixed, I will sing and give praise? Beloved Joseph, too, has left this testimony for our attention: The Lord hath made me fruitful in the land of my affliction. And, upon the whole, we

H

may say, in the language of inspiration, If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons. Upon a point of such magnitude, permit me to beseech you to examine the temper and state of your heart when under calamity. Ask, Do I kiss the rod, adore the hand, and justify the ways of God in my sufferings? Can I say that I am more happy in God than I can be in all which the world calls good and great? Stripped of all things else, do I embrace the Saviour as my never failing, present, and eternal portion? If so, be assured your sufferings are in love; they yield you a token for God, and shall work together for your highest intérest and the glory of your Lord!