ourselves, and conditions, than there is ground for;-how great foever the relief is, which a man draws from it at prefent, it too often difappoints in the end, leaving him to go on his way forrowing, mourning, as the prophet rowing,―mourning,—as fays, that his hope is loft.-So that, after all, in our severer trials, we still find a neceffity of calling in fomething to aid this principle, and direct it fo, that it may not wander with this uncertain expectation of what may never be accomplifhed, but fix itself upon a proper object of truft and reliance, that is able to fulfil our defires, to hear our cry, and to help us. The paffion of hope, without this, though in ftraits a man may fupport his fpirits for a time with a general expectation of better fortune;-yet, like a fhip toffed without a pilot upon a troublesome fea,-it may float upon the furface for a while, but is never,-never likely to be brought to the haven where it would be. To accomplish this,reafon and religion are called in at length, and join with nature in exhort

ing us to hope;-but to hope in God, in whofe hands are the iffues of life and death, and without whose knowledge and permiffion we know that not a hair of our heads can fall to the ground.Strengthened with this anchor of hope, which keeps us ftedfaft, when the rains defcend, and the floods come upon us,

-however the forrows of a man are multiplied, he bears up his head, looks towards heaven with confidence, waiting for the falvation of GOD:-he then builds upon a rock against which the gates of hell cannot prevail.-He may be troubled, it is true, on every side, but fhall not be diftreffed,-perplexed, yet not in despair:-though he walks through the valley of the fhadow of death, even then he fears no evil; this rod and this ftaff comfort him.

The virtue of this had been fufficiently tried by David, and had, no doubt, been of use to him in the course of a life full of afflictions; many of which were fo great, that he declares, that he should verily have fainted under the fense and

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apprehenfion of them, but that he be lieved to fee the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. He believed! how could he do otherwife? He had all the conviction that reafon and inspiration could give him,-that there was a Being in whom every thing concurred which could be the proper object of truft and confidence ;-power to help,-and goodnefs always to incline him to do it.-He knew this infinite Being, though his dwelling was fo high-that his glory was above the heavens,-yet humbled himself to behold the things that are done in heaven and earth:-that he was not an idle and distant fpectator of what paffed there, but that he was a prefent help in time of trouble:-that he bowed the heavens and came down to over-rule the courfe of things; delivering the poor, and him that was in mifery, from him that was too ftrong for him; lifting the fimple out of his diftrefs, and guarding him by his providence, fo that no man fhould do him wrong:-that neither the Sun fhould

fmite him by day, neither the Moon by night. Of this the Pfalmift had fuch evidence from his obfervation on the life of others, with the strongest conviction, at the fame time, which a long life full of perfonal deliverances could give;-all which taught him the value of the leffon in the text, from which he had received fo much encouragement himself, that he tranfmits it for the benefit of the whole race of mankind after him, to fupport them, as it had done him, under the afflictions which befel him.

Trust in God;-as if he had faid, Whofoever thou art that fhall hereafter fall into any fuch ftraits or troubles as I have experienced,-learn by my example where to feek for fuccour ;—trust not in princes, nor in any child of man, for there is no help in them :-the fons of men, who are of low degree, are vanity, and are not able to help thee;men of high degree are a lie,-too often deceive thy hopes, and will not help thee:-but thou, when thy foul is in heaviness, turn thy eyes from the earth,

and look up towards heaven, to that infinitely kind and powerful Being, who neither flumbereth nor fleepeth; who is a prefent help in time of trouble :-defpond not, and fay within thyfelf,-why his chariot wheels ftay fo long?—and why he vouchfafeth thee not a speedy relief?-but arm thyself in thy misfortunes with patience and fortitude ;truft in GoD, who fees all thofe conflicts under which thou laboureft,-who knows thy neceffities afar off, and puts all thy tears into his bottle-who fees every careful thought and penfive look, -and hears every figh and melancholy groan thou uttereft.

In all thy exigencies truft and depend on him;-nor ever doubt but he, who heareth the cry of the fatherlefs, and defendeth the caufe of the widow, if it is juft, will hear thine, and either lighten thy burden, and let thee go free; -or, which is the fame, if that feems not meet, by adding ftrength to thy mind, to enable thee to fuftain what he has fuffered to be laid

upon

thee.