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while others, apparently much more worldly than myself, are living in uninterrupted tranquillity, and in the midst of their families and friends? And is it for you then to find fault with the dispensations of the Almighty? Are you, to whom no heart but your own is known, and that very imperfectly, the proper judge of of the manner in which you are treated? Yet, mark those prosperous families, as you esteem them, but a little longer, and you will soon see that their happiness is of short continuance, and that when their time of trial arrives, the severity of it will be according as they are affected towards God; very grievous, if they have not been seasonably disciplined to bear his yoke, but comparatively light, if their will has betimes been broken and moulded into submission to the Will of God. What, then, if your mourning begin early in life! It is to be regarded only as a preparation for succeeding sorrows, and the method, the best adapted that can possibly be, for weaning your hearts from the love of this present evil world, and preparing you to meet your God. Remember then, that happy is he whom the Lord correcteth by these means, and despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty.

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2nd. Let us consider the distress arising from the loss of property, and from the pinchings

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of poverty. It has been ordained ever since the transgression of our first parents, that man should earn his subsistence by the sweat of his brow, and though few are the real wants of mankind, yet great pains are continually taken by one and another to increase the store, and to add not only to the conveniences, but to the luxuries of life. By these means every sense is gratified in various ways, and as the carnal and spiritual life are directly opposite to one another, it comes to pass, that the mind is so totally occupied in providing for the body, that God is forgotten, and the things which concern a future state are either entirely disregarded, or so lightly thought of, that they make no more impression than the passing dream. Persons of this description generally conceive they have too much to do to attend the house of God, or to look into their Bibles, and as for private prayer, it is a thing with them totally out of the question. But, how often does it happen, after a labour of many years, after rising early, and late taking rest, and eating the bread of carefulness, that some unexpected event takes place, which deprives them of all the sums that they have amassed, and leaves them as poor and destitute as many persons, whom they lately thought almost beneath their notice. Thus do riches make to

themselves wings, and fly away, and, when they are gone, what is left to comfort their late possessor? Alas! nothing but the design of beginning the toil again; but, e're he can fill his "purse a second time, he drops into the grave, and then all his thoughts perish. Yet, to many a one is the loss of property a great mercy. "Have I," he will say, "acted the part of a wise man in placing my supreme happiness in the enjoyment of those things, which perish in the using? Is there nothing more solid, and more durable, to engage my attention? Ought I not to have sought a trea sure in Heaven, which cannot be broken in upon, and may I not yet have that treasure if I diligently seek it? Yes, I may, and I will therefore, by the grace of God, spend the remainder of my days to a better purpose, and endeavour to secure that of which even death itself cannot deprive me." When once this happy direction is given to a man's pursuits, the losses, which deeply affect some, and drive others to despair, little move him, for he is assured, that the wise Disposer of all events cannot do wrong, and that it is better for him to live in a state of dependence for his daily bread, than to possess abundance, by means of which his heart might be too much attached to the love of this present evil world. His

language, under all his earthly disappointments, is that of patient Job-" The Lord hath given, and the Lord hath taken away: blessed be the name of the Lord."

3rd. We may consider the removal of health as another correction applied by the hand of the Almighty to check the sinner in his mad career of wickedness, and to keep the souls of the godly in a spiritual frame. Short as the allotted time of three score years and ten is, and rarely as it happens, that even that period of years is attained to, yet to the young, and to the lively, the hour of dissolution appears so distant, that each one feels disposed to say to himself, "Soul! thou hast many years of enjoyment before thee; now is thy time for it: eat, drink, and be merry." And what scenes of happiness, what seasons of uninterrupted gratification does the imagination of a sanguine youth set before him! Then sickness seizes his frame, and in one short hour all his future hopes are blasted. The grave opens, as it were, before him, and the judgment, of which he would not think while in health, demands his most serious attention. A prospect of recovery allows him again perhaps the expectation of realizing the schemes he had in view before his seizure, and with a full restoration, it might be, that all his indifference to eternal

things would return. God, who knows all hearts, perceives his disposition, and, in mercy to his soul, refuses the health, which he so ardently desires. He has pains, which baffle the physician's utmost skill, and he has infirmities, which remind him daily of his latter end. He sees others, much farther advanced in years than himself, strong and hearty, and he is disposed to murmur under a dispensation, which he conceives to be particularly severe. But, as by these means his heart becomes weaned from the love of those things, which he once foolishly fancied would constitute his supreme delight, he begins to understand the design of his chastisement, and to turn himself to the Lord, who has appointed this cross for his benefit, and who, perhaps, will not remove it but with his life, when he shall bid an eternal farewel to suffering, and be welcomed into those mansions of rest and ease, where sorrow, pain, and sickness shall be known no more. Blessed is the man, who is taught by the loss of health so to number his days, as to apply his heart unto wisdom.

There are other afflictions of various kinds, which may come under the general idea of crosses, vexations, and disappointments, to which men are subject in this mortal life; and I believe there are few, if any, who are not

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