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darkness*. With what joy ought we then to SFRMON recognise an unvarying and stedfast Ruler, under whose dominion we have no such disasters to dread; but can depend on the course of Nature continuing to proceed as it has ever gone on, until the period shall arrive of its final dissolution!

BUT though the great laws of Nature be constant like their Author, yet in the affairs of men there is much variety and change. All that regards our present possessions and enjoyments was, for wise reasons, left, in a great measure, uncertain; and from this uncertainty arises the distress of human life. Sensible of the changes to which we lie open, we look round with anxious eyes, and eagerly grasp at every object which appears to promise us security. But in vain is the whole circle of human things explored with this view, There is nothing on earth so stable as to assure us of undisturbed rest, nor so powerful as to afford us constant protection. Time, death, and change, triumph over all the labours of men. What we build up,

IV.

SERMON they incessantly destroy. The public condition of nations, and the private fortunes of individuals, are alike subject to reverse. Life never retains long the same form. Its whole scenery is continually shifting round us.Amidst those endless vicissitudes, what can give any firm consolation, any satisfying rest to the heart, except the dominion of a wise and righteous Sovereign, with whom there is no variableness, nor sbadow of turning? Though all things change, and we ourselves be involved in the general mutability, yet as long as there is fixed and permanent goodness at the head of the universe, we are assured that the great interests of all good men shall be safe. That river perpetually flows, the streams whereof make glad the city of God. We know that the Supreme Being loved righteousness from the beginning of days, and that he will continue to love it to the last. Under his government none of those revolutions happen which have place among the kingdoms of the earth; where princes die, and new sovereigns ascend the throne; new ministers and new counsels succeed; the whole face of affairs is changed; and former plans

fall

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fall into oblivion. But the throne of the Lord SERMON is established for ever; and the thoughts of his heart endure to all generations. We serve the same God whom our fathers worshipped, and whom our posterity shall adore. His unchanging dominion comprehends all events and all ages; establishes a connecting principle which holds together the past, the present, and the future.; gives stability to things which in themselves are fluctuating, and extracts order from those which appear most confused. Well may the earth rejoice, and the multitude of isles be glad, because there reigneth over the universe such an immutable Lord.

Were you to unhinge this great article of faith; were you either to say with the fool, that there is no God, or to suppose with the superstitious, that the God who rules is variable and capricious; you would, indeed, lay the axe to the root of the tree, and cut down with one blow, the hope and security of mankind. For you would then leave nothing in the whole compass of nature, but a round of casual and transitory being; no foundation of trust, no protec

SERMON tion to the righteous, no stedfast principle to uphold and to regulate the succession of existence. Instead of that magnificent spectacle which the world now exhibits, when beheld in connection with the divine government, it would then only present to view a multitude of short-lived creatures, springing out of the dust, wandering on the face of the earth without guide or protector, struggling for a few years against the torrent of uncertainty and change; and then sinking into utter oblivion, and vanishing like visions of the night, Mysterious obscurity would involve the beginning of things; disorder would mark their progress; and the blackness of darkness would cover their final result. Whereas, when Faith enables us to recover an universal Sovereign, whose power never fails, and whose wisdom and goodness never change, the prospect clears up on every side. A ray from the great source of light seems to illuminate the whole creation. Good men discover a parent and a friend, They attain a fortress in every danger; a refuge amidst all storms; a dwelling place

in

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in all generations. They are no longer SERMON afraid of evil tidings. Their heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord.

THOUGH these reasonings, from the unchanging tenour of divine government, cannot but afford much comfort to good men, their satisfaction, however, becomes still more complete, when they consider the explicit promises which are given them in the word of God. The immutability of the divine purpose assures them most perfectly of those promises being fulfilled in due time, how adverse soever circumstances may at present appear to their accomplishment. The Strength of Israel is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent. Hath he said it, and shall be not do it? Hath he spoken, and shall be not make it good? Men have the command only of the present time. When that is suffered to pass, changes may befal, either in their own state, or in the situation of things around them, which shall defeat their best intentions in our behalf, and render all their promises fruitless. Hence, even setting aside the danger of human inconstancy,

the