good," the patient resignation of Job: "Shall we receive good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil?... The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord;" and the confidence of David: "I shall go to him, but he shall not return unto me... Here am I, let the Lord do to me as seemeth good unto him... Although my house be not so with God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure; this is all my salvation and all my desire." And amidst all your sorrows never forget that joy demands a song of praise for that blessed book that reveals a hope beyond the grave, in which promises of eternal life are declared unto mankind in Christ Jesus our Lord, and which commands you not to sorrow as others who have no hope.

Are any in trouble through the difficulties and instabilities of this uncertain world, struggling for the supply of their temporal wants, and the support of their families; perhaps reduced from a state promising or affording competence, to one of scanty and uncertain supply? call upon the Lord in the day of trouble: the world is his, and the fulness thereof; whatever he sees for thy real good he can bestow, and if thou art a Christian he will bestow. Spread all thy troubles and distresses before him; he can afford relief and support that can no where else be found; and he never said to any, "Seek ye me in vain." If thy heart is conscious that thou hast hitherto been

a stranger to religion, beg of God to overule thy poverty as the happy means of making thee spiritually rich, and thy scanty fare as the means of giving thee a relish for the bread that endureth to life everlasting. And, if thou art a Christian, seek of God increasing contentment and resignation to thy present lot, whatever it may be, and faith to realize that blessed state to which thou art tending, where poverty and distress exist no

more.

Another source of trouble I mentioned, arises in a mind distressed by spiritual apprehensions of guilt and danger; and this is a trouble with which I most affectionately wish every one of my hearers to be exercised; for the soul that has never known spiritual trouble, can never aright know spiritual joy; the soul that has never been wounded by a deep sense of sin, has never been healed by the blood of Jesus; and the soul that never trembled for its safety, is indeed in a state of the most awful danger.

But is there one exclaiming in deep and sincere anxiety, "Lord, I am vile... What shall I do to be saved? ... Oh wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?" I congratulate you-you are in the way of mercy-you are especially invited to cast your burden upon the Lord. Read your Bible, and you will find, that throughout it invites you to turn unto the Lord; and even puts words into your mouths: "Say unto him, take away all iniquity, and receive us graciously, so will we render

the praises of our lips." Read in particular the Psalms of David, that blessed penitent, that devoted saint; you will find them affording you abundant assistance in calling upon God under your spiritual troubles; and, obeying the kind invitation, you shall assuredly find the blessed promise made good, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

Does the trouble of any arise from fear of death? Do you contemplate this last tremendous foe approaching with steady step and invincible arm? Has your mind been enlightened as to the awful consequence of death, and the vast importance of preparation for it; and do you tremble under the thought, "What if the messenger should arrive to me and find me unprepared?" call upon God under this trouble: David did so, and found relief; when the sorrows of death compassed him, and he found trouble and sorrow, then called he upon the name of the Lord; and such sweet support and consolation did he enjoy in communion with God, that we find him, at another time, cheerfully singing, " Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me."

Beg of God to give you just views as to what a true preparation for death consists in, and to work it in you; or if you indeed possess it, to favour you with clear views and evidences of your interest in it. For want of these, many have,

through fear of death, been all their life-time subject to bondage." It is sin that makes death terrible. If God give thee grace to repent of, and hate, and forsake sin, thou hast the best evidence that thy sins are pardoned through the blood of Christ, which takes away the sting of death; and that the Holy Spirit, by his sacred influences, is sanctifying thy nature, and making thee fit for heaven; and this converts the curse into a blessing-the dreaded enemy into a gentle friend. Seek then of God the pardon of thy sins, that thou mayest have nothing to fear from death. Beg of him the Spirit to prepare thee for heaven, and then thou wilt have every thing to hope.

The gracious promise of deliverance, and the consequent obligation to duty spoken of in our text, yet remain to be considered; and with the divine permission, will furnish the matter for this afternoon's discourse.

In all our trials and distresses in this world, may we ever find God to be "our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble ;" and when heart and flesh fail, may he still be the strength of our heart, and our portion for ever.

And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.

THESE Words afforded the subject of our morning's discourse; as I then observed, they evidently comprehend four particulars: viz. a duty enjoined, that of prayer or calling upon God; a time specified as peculiarly suitable for the exercise," the time of trouble;" a gracious promise of deliverance; and a consequent obligation enforced. We have spoken of the duty and the time. The two latter remain for our present consideration. May the divine blessing be upon us while we attend to them.

I. Here is a gracious promise made: "I will deliver thee." This is an encouragement to us to apply ourselves to God; with him is deliverance: and it should teach us the vanity and folly of placing dependance, or expecting deliverance from any other quarter than God. The gods