wing, indeed, to the mind, in her contemplations on the present universe; but she will build her nest, and seek her refuge and her solace in the Rock of eternal ages.

And what an exquisite happiness, how unutterably sweet, to intermingle the idea of His beneficent agency with all that is visible, withall that occurs on the scene of human life! For, He who sits upon the throne of universal empire is the "Shepherd that laid down his life for the sheep; the infinite Fountain whence all the streams of love and of happiness continually flow. It is Jesus Christ, according to the majority of interpreters, who proclaims, in the person of Eternal Wisdom, "By me kings reign." The supreme sceptre is swayed by the hand which once was pierced with nails for love of human kind. All things receive an essential qualification and tincture from the blood of Christ. His cross is the grand pillar of our world. And he rules over all, not only in the prerogative of his own eternal Godhead, but, as Redeemer, in the right of a Divine grant from the Father, of lawful conquest over satan, and of a free election of his saints. May we all become his willing people in this the day of his most gracious power!

To conclude: The doctrine of the text also teaches, that our subordinate situations in society are divinely ordained; and that, consequently, it becomes us to acquiesce with cheerfulness in their appointment. There are, no doubt, certain cases in which men may properly aspire beyond their original lot in life; but they are pointed out by Providence, and clearly marked as extraordinary. Indeed, the nature of society could not admit them to be general. If they were, it would cause a ruinous gap in the state. The advancement, however, ought always to be effected under the direction of Providence, and the operation of moral principle. If we cannot attain wealth and its advantages without fraud, we must be content to die in comparative poverty. To labour, either with the sweat of the body, or with that of the mind, is the decree of God. If it be a curse, it is the curse of our heavenly Father, and accompanied with many alleviations. To attempt to fly from it, and to cancel the very terms upon which we received our existence, is to incur far heavier curses, and far severer penalties.*

Let us, therefore, avoid that false species of condolence with

* See Burke on "A Regicide Peace," Letter 3.

the inferior classes of society which is too often substituted for an actual benevolence, and which, instead of soothing, irritates the temper with aggravated pains and discontents. Let us mutually, in privation and suffering, recommend those remedies which all must acknowledge to be scriptural,-patience, labour, sobriety, frugality, and religion. If we adopt these in the first place, and abide by them, we may then resort to political remedies in particular, with the greater safety and success: The mind will then preserve its balance; will be clear in determining, and cool and firm in action; and fatal errors and improper passions will be neutralized the moment they arise.

Indeed, whatever be our situation in society, we have infinitely greater reason to rejoice and sing praise, than to murmur and complain. "The life is more than meat, and the body

more than raiment." Man must be valued as to his nature and ultimate destination, rather than as marked by the superficial and uncertain circumstances of his present condition. Let ns be thankful that God loves us; that all things are designed to "work together for our good;" and that, through faith in the blood of Christ, who now sustains for us the glorious regency of heaven and earth, our grave may be the passage to a state of immortal felicity, in which we may be equal to kings themselves. For, in the lowest rank of society we may exercise, as to the principle, all the essential virtues of religion and morality, even those of justice and benevolence, to a degree as much entitled to the evangelical rewards of eternity, as that of the same virtues more illustriously displayed, in regard of the manner and effects, by the most opulent and elevated characters of mankind.

SERMON V.

GOOD THINGS FOR GOOD PEOPLE.

God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy.-ECCLES. ii. 26.

RELIGIOUS truth, whatever be the weight of its subject, or the power of its language, cannot operate as the effectual means of our salvation without the special influence of God the Holy Ghost. This is so manifest, that even the words of inspiration, employed as a moral instrument in the absence of this agency, fall equally short of its grand design with the weakest endeavours of unassisted human speech.

Still, the methods of address adopted in the Holy Scriptures are admirably suited to fulfil their intention; so far, at least, as the nature of means is concerned. They show a noble superiority to petty rules of arrangement in their own beautiful disorder; but the extreme simplicity with which Divine things are expressed, in the cooler moments of the writer, and his perfect sincerity, and freedom from all artifice, when the boldest language and illustrations are seized by him, together with the great importance of the things themselves, may well attract attention, and influence the heart.

Thus, viewing means as variously fitted for their purposes, few portions of the Sacred Book, perhaps, exert a more agreeable, a more practical, or more steady power upon the mind, than those which exhibit human character in all its diversified relations and qualities. Sometimes we have faithful portraits of men in real life, which illustrate the nature and practicability of the principles; and sometimes we have fancy pictures, if we may use the expression, showing, by the extraordinary scale of the description, what man might be, as to goodness or badness, were the

principles and powers of his nature very fully developed. And we are not unfrequently presented with what may be termed “an historical composition; or, men engaged in some important transaction, or placed in some affecting situation, and as involved in the consequences of their own vice or virtue.

And sometimes good and bad men are held up to view in pairs, that the contrast may give depth and force to the piece; and that the whole soul of the spectator, through all her sympathies of love and hatred, hope and fear, may be struck at once, and promptly yield to the valuable instruction which shines out in every part. The first Psalm is a brief but beautiful instance of this kind of writing; and our text presents us with a just specimen of a still more frequent and compendious kind of description, a collect, or condensed form of its subjects,—in which the truth of God bursts forth as from a point, and in a moment, on the understanding of the serious reader. "God giveth to a man that is good in his sight, wisdom, and knowledge, and joy; but to the sinner he giveth travail, to gather and to heap up, that he may give to him that is good before God. This also is vanity and vexation of spirit."

It is the happiness of all who properly peruse the Scriptures, to unfold, by prayer and meditation, and to appropriate as their own inheritance, the plentiful and precious treasures so frequently concealed in such brief but "lively oracles." At present we select, for our consideration, the first of the above characters, as the most important and most pleasant of the two; and implore the indispensable assistance of the "Father of lights" to direct and bless our humble and anxious inquiries. This devout appeal is so much the more necessary, as the subject is not only of extreme importance, but also one on which we may be very easily deceived.

Few subjects, indeed, are more liable to dangerous misapprehension than this of good and evil character. This partly arises from the multitude of various and vague opinions concerning it which prevail among men in general, and partly from a natural impatience of inquiry too often felt, in proceeding to collect, and fix, and harmonize the several senses of the terms by which the Scriptures furnish out the doctrine of God respecting it. But the danger chiefly arises from the corruption of our own hearts. Our pride is singularly sensitive on the question of our goodness. In consequence of this, we form rash and prejudiced conceptions;

and then maintain them with a temper so humoursome and obstinate, that the understanding is thereby still further darkened and seduced. Endeavouring to guard against these dangers, and anxious to know "the truth as it is in Jesus," let us briefly explain the several points relating to the person whom the text describes. These are, the goodness of his character, the gifts which God bestows upon him, and the connexion that subsists between the character and the gifts.

I. With respect to the first of these, it may be observed, that certain terms in language are of such general application as to require much care to fix upon their strict and proper meaning when applied to particular subjects; for these subjects are often very different in their natures, and yet are all characterized by the same word. Thus we have a beautiful countenance, a beautiful anthem, and a beautiful sentiment in writing; and this variety occasions some difficulty among writers in their attempts to ascertain the true doctrine of beauty. But a word to discriminate every kind of beauty would multiply the language beyond all convenient bounds; and yet, if our powers of mind were commensurate with the use of language so extended on all subjects, it would, no doubt, greatly assist our inquiries concerning

them.

"Good," or "goodness," is a term of very extensive application. It was actually applied to the whole of the parts of which the universe consisted, when "God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good."

Again The various meanings of the word in Scripture, as well as in common speech, are numerous. And here our diligence is further called into exercise, because of the nature of language, which is in perpetual flux, frequently assuming fresh powers and significations, not expected at the time of its original construction. Like mercury on a plain surface, it runs in all directions, nor could all the art of man prevent it. For example: In an ancient dialogue, a servant is introduced asking for his gospel; which was nothing more than a coarse garment,—his promised reward as the messenger of good news. Nay, words have been known to pass, at length, into a meaning the very opposite of that which they originally possessed.

His

Now, the language of God is also the language of men. inspiration did not re-model it, but stooped to all its natural varieties and properties. We must, therefore, to a certain extent,