trust in it, from the profusion with which the British heart poured forth the treasures of its wealth, whenever the standard of liberty was unfurled, or the blessings which itself enjoyed seemed to be opening upon other men. I trust in it, still more, from that silent but heroick magnanimity with which the great body of our people, conscious of their blessings, have, in late years, borne the visitations of God; and which, while it tells us the affection with which they cling to their country, affords us the deepest and sublimest earnest, that they will not bear the visitations of Man.

The war, however, with all its hopes, and all its fears, will cease. When the ends of the Almighty are accomplished, nature will reassume her reign of peace; "the devices of Man will "fail," and "the counsel of God alone will "stand." Yet a few years, and all that trouble, and all that bless humanity, will rest in their graves. The great designs of the Almighty will proceed, and victor and vanquished will alike appear before the Eternal Throne.

In that awful and searching hour, it will be of little consequence to us, in what scenes of suffering or enjoyment life has been passed. All that will be of consequence is,-whether its duties have been discharged,-whether we have acted the part of brave, and pious, and virtuous citizens, -or that of weak, and timid, and selfish men!

I pray God, my brethren, that, with this mighty prospect before us, and the counsel of the Almighty on our side, we may all so meet the dangers which advance upon us, that, in our last hour, we may have the consolation of thinking, that we have done our duty to our children, to our country, and to our God;-that we may leave the land which gave us birth free, as in the hour when we were born ;-and that the future historian of our country may say, That in our hearts the " spirit "of God had arisen," and that by our arms "his "enemies were scattered."

SERMON V.

ON SEASONS OF SCARCITY.*

PSALM XC. 3.

"Thou turnest man to destruction: Again Thou sayest, Come again, ye children of men."

In this psalm, composed evidently in some season of national affliction and despondence, the Psalmist expresses the great truth of the dominion of the Almighty over nature, and the continual dependence of man upon the God "that made "him." It is not only as an individual, but as the representative of his people, that he here prostrates himself before the throne of Heaven; and, feeling that He whom he addressed, "was God "from everlasting," he acknowledges, at the same time, that it was His power alone which "turned "nations to destruction ;" and which again could say, "come again, ye children of men."

In this deep and awful sentiment, every one who hath lived to the age of understanding must agree with the Psalmist. Life, we all know, is not

Preached after the severe season of 1800,

scene of security; it is a broken and uncertain scene, in which both individuals and nations are mutually subjected to the apparent rule of time and chance. Amid the opening promises of prosperous times, some unwelcome blast often comes to wither the hopes we had formed; and, even when prosperous times return, we tremble to think, that the adversities we have suffered may again be renewed. It is thus now, therefore, as in the days of the Psalmist, that the Governour of Nature displays his power, by, at one season, seemingly "turning man to destruction ;" and at another, saying, "come again, ye children of "men."

It is probable, my brethren, that the seasons of adversity and of want which we have witnessed, may have brought this reflection to all our minds, and that the highest as well as the lowest of us must have felt his dependence upon him "who "inhabiteth eternity." With all this, however, it is possible for us to entertain very erroneous and very ungrateful views upon the subject.-We may forget the beneficence of God amid our considerations of his power; and, while we meet adversity with superstitious terrour, we may meet prosperity with an unbecoming joy. Suffer me, therefore, in the present discourse, to consider the purpose or end of this apparent uncertainty and instability in the government of nature; and to shew you the important effects it has upon the

improvement and happiness of human nature. On so important a subject, I can offer you only a few very imperfect reflections :-Yet, I trust, that to those who pursue them, they will afford a happiness, and awaken a devotion of no common kind.

1. I must observe, then, in the first place, that there is no other system than this of variableness and uncertainty, which could be fitted to the character of such a being as man. In the human mind, as we all know, there are capacities and virtues of very different kinds, and which respect very different situations of human condition.-There are powers of understanding which are adapted to prosperity, and others to adversity; there are the virtues of patience, of resignation, of magnanimity, in scenes of distress,-as well as those of gratitude, of generosity, or of beneficence, in scenes of enjoyment. The perfection, however, of human nature, and, what is far more, the voice of conscience within us, demands, that both of these should be brought into exercise; and the character of man ever remains mutilated and imperfect, while it is the virtues or the capacities of one condition alone which he possesses or displays. To such a being,-to a state of existence intended to call all those various powers and virtues into action,—no conceivable character of nature around him could be adapted, but that of variableness and uncertainty. Were it in a scene of perpetual prosperity he was placed, all the