Lord hath taken away, blessed be the Name of the Lord." Let us remember this, and strive with the weakness and infirmity of our nature, that we may pass through our worldly sufferings, as gold through the furnace, more bright and valuable than before.

13. When it pleases God to send us any temporal suffering, or to afflict us, in our bodies, with any sore distemper, if we do not then humble ourselves before him, and thankfully acknowledge how infinitely short of our demerits are his chastenings, and how far the mercy of our Creator always exceeds his justice, we provoke his Holy Spirit against us; and with a mighty and stretched-out arm he afflicts us with greater calamities, in order to awaken our hardened souls to repentance and salvation: Therefore, when we mourn with inward sorrow, or smart under pain, let us bend our souls, and offer up our sufferings, before

the mercy-seat of God; let us, with humility and confidence, think of his gracious promises to the penitent sinner; for God will not reject the prayer of the poor and destitute, nor despise the broken and contrite heart.

14. There are many trials in this life, which we are tempted to think are beyond our strength, and for which we are ready to arraign the Mercy of God; but we neither know the extent of his mercy, nor justly estimate our own strength-What we call our weakness, is often only our laziness and irresolution; and it is our pride and self-love, which induce us to rebel against God, in the trials which he allots to us here.

15. To the unfortunate, the world is unfeeling, cold-hearted, and selfish; although those who are in sorrow or misfortune, have a peculiar claim to the pity and kindness of their more prosper

ous fellow-creatures. The Gospel tells ús, that those whom God loves, he chastens; on this account, the afflicted and sorrowful should be also objects of love and compassion to those who truly love God. Any misfortune, which does not deprive us of our reason and our will, may, indeed, be most severely felt; but, however deep the wound, time will bring with it a most powerful consolation to all who believe in God, and trust in the merits of their blessed Redeemer. We suffer, but we are content to suffer, because it is the Will of God. This perfect acquiescence in his Will, founded on the conviction of his Wisdom and Goodness, in all that he appoints for us, can alone disarm misfortune of its sting, and heal our deepest wounds.Happy is that soul which places its hope and confidence in God, and with humility accepts from his hands both good and evil. How infinite is his goodness to us, miserable sinners!-What consola

tion does he pour into our hearts, if, in the hour of affliction, we rest on Him? Our souls can be raised towards Him, without the help of speech, and the grace of his holy spirit can fill our hearts with comfort, and even "with joy unspeakable and full of glory." Let us, then, rest our wounded hearts upon our merciful God; and we shall be comforted, and enabled to endure whatever may be our lot, in this passing scene; remembering always, that it is here, where we must make good our claim to happiness hereafter; even to the happiness of eternity.

16. Have you lost, by death, an object in whom your heart was bound up; who was in the full enjoyment of life, and its prosperity, and in whose society you hoped for many years of enjoyment? O, consider (ere you accuse Providence for the stroke) that this death (apparently so untimely) is, possibly, the greatest instance towards you both, of the mercy

and love of God. The creature so dear to you, may have been taken from some sad reverse of fortune, or from the commission of some great crime, which might have endangered his salvation: To secure this, therefore, God has removed him from temptation. The same loss is, perhaps, a call from God to yourself, and is intended to awaken you from that attachment which was binding you too fast to this world, and causing you to forget your Creator Thus the stroke which, to secure his future happiness, takes him from the evil to come, detaches you from the world, and warns you to prepare for your own death, through that of one so dear to you. The pang of separation is, indeed, most bitter; our very vitals are lacerated with the wound; yet our merciful Father does not needlessly afflict his creatures: He wounds, only to heal the diseases of our souls. Let us, then, in the hour of calamity, hold fast by this conviction, and say, with Job,