ing wounds. flattered. Rather let me be contemned than "YONDER comes a moft covetous and unthank"ful perfon." Covetoufnefs, pride, and envy, alway render men unthankful: whoever finfully covets more than he hath, contemns what he hath, and forgets to acknowledge it; pride makes a man fo admire himself, as to value neither God nor his gifts ; envy fo draws out his heart against the felicity of his neighbour, that he fees not his own. May unworthy I, in every thing give thanks : when, like the elephant, I have reafon to ftartle at my own likeness, how marvellous, that God fhould gracioufly look on me! let me thank him, even for what I dare not pray for. "NOT this charming, but the thorny, the miry (( path, must be mine." My near way to glory, is not through charming outward pleasure; but through much tribulation: like Jonathan's way up the rock, flippery on the one fide; thorny on the other: here I muft wear my black garments of mourning, and my red of bloody fuffering ;-hereafter I fhall walk with the Lamb in white, for he hath made me worthy: trouble obliges me now to fow in tears, but I thall reap in joy fearce is it ever well with my foul, but when the rod of God is upon me; but when no good thing is eafily come by, why fhould I baulk any to win Chrift and obtain glory? If Satan and the world oppofe me much, it is a fign that my work is good; and let oppofition render me refolute in it. -The longer Christ's yoke is borne, it is the easier. ---How many efcape trouble, juft because the world loves them, and God hates them! how many, the more they strive to get out of affliction, the more they are entangled! and how many get relief, worse than than their diftrefs! In fits of trouble, and ads of religion, it is an unhappy fign, if I am glad and think all is well, that they are got over. "WHAT languishing appears in the countenance "of youder friend! in his dying condition, let me afk "of his welfare :-extremity diftinguithes friends." Every ailment is a little, a begun death: to die often, to die daily is to die well: better go forth to meet death, than loiter till he come and feize us. In the mount the Lord fhall be feen: grief, trouble, and death IN HIM, will be a fweet back-look. Far better lie under God's chaftifement, than be without it. There is nothing of hell in it; and yet it is all the hell a true Chriftian can fuffer. Chattisement is not fo much threatened, as promifed to a child of God. It is a double honour to be a Chriftian fufferer. By affiction God feparates the fin which he hates, from the foul which he loves. And the more we fear fin, the lefs we will fear trouble. bin is the poifon, affiction is the phyfic. If God humble us, let us humble ourfelves. Though his hand be against us, his heart is toward us; his providence crofieth us, but his promise blefleth us. It is good to bear temporal croffes, in order that we may wear an eternal crown. Let therefore our troubles ftir up our graces, as well as our griefs. And let us alway remember, that our enjoyments are greater than our afflictions, and our afflictions much less than our fins deferve. “What "a pitiful crop this long-run field hath produced!" Alas! many profeffors, the longer they live, they, like the Syrian lionefs, are the lefs fruitful: Lord, is it I? "Now the fun fets: how quickly hath he finifh"ed his race! How quickly is my time fpent, and fo much of me with it! "How broadly looks this "fetting U "fetting fun upon our terrestrial abodes!" With what triumphant fmile; with what compaffion to men, did Jefus die !-And how agreeable the aspect of a Chriftian, couragious in poverty, trouble, and death!"How fweetly the adjacent clouds are gild"ed by this fetting fun." How pleasant to fee the clouds of guilt difpelled by Jefus' death! to fee troubles and forrows made comely! and even fin made the occafion to illuftrate the virtue of his blood, and riches of his grace? How fweetly doth the cheerful dying faint tincture all around with spiritual care to taste and fee that God is good!--Better then is the day of death, than the day of one's birth. "THE fun being fet, our fide of the globe is be"nighted :-black and deep the night begins to "fall; a fhade immense: all beauty is void; diftinc"tion loft: Now flung with hunger, and egged on with thirft of blood, the wild beasts creap forth." Where, O earth, fhall be thy beauty, thy diftin&ive honours. or enjoyments, when I am laid in the grave -When faints die faft, what darkness and confufion doth it presage in the church! Then the fons of violence, impurity, and error, boldly exert themselves.When Jefus hideth himself from my foul, what darknefs, danger, and confufion enfue! no charming beauty appears in word or ordinances; my graces ceafe from their labour; and wild beafts of luft, and temptation creep abroad.-But I fhall fee hin again, and my heart fhall rejoice, and my joy fhall no man take from, me: I fall fee him even now; Ifball behold him even nigh. "GRADUALLY the ftars twinkle forth one after "another, till countless numbers pour their glory from the fky." So gradually Heaven's infpired luminaries Juminaries poured their glory on my heart: first, that evening star, that noted promife, which I hope is engraven on me as with a pen of iron, and point of a diamond:" gradually have I fince defcribed new promifes, new words, new worlds of grace to me.-) How much more pleasant their light, and fweeter their influence, than thofe of Pleiades, Arcturus, and Mazzaroth! And what unnumbered new discoveries of God fhall I for ever obtain. ་་ "Now I have a diftant, but dim profpect of my "friend's houfe, where I intend to lodge: but there " is a deep, a dangerous valley, between me and it." O for clear views of the heavenly manfions, to encourage, and fupport my heart! and may Jefus' rod and staff be with me, in the valley of the fhadow of death. "I am bewildered in this hallow ground. "I have loft fight of my friend's dwelling:-I "know not whither I go." If doubts compass me in the valley of the shadow of death, while I walk in darkness, let me truft in the name of the Lord, who once said to me, "Fear not, for I am with thee: be not difmayed, for I am thy God:- I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteoufnefs;" Hereon I repofe all my prefent, all my future con cerns. "Now I have got to my lodging." What a mercy is it, that I and this family are alive ;-are well! but how much greater, that I hope to meet with Jefus, and his faints, where there is neither fin nort forrow nor curfe, nor crying, nor pain. "Here "the houfe-wife is bufy in leavening her bread." Lord, let no fouring leaven of hypocrify or malice, but thy grace infect, and leaven my heart: let no U 2 error, error, but powerful gospel-truth, leaven thy church. "The evening-facrifice of family-worthip hath been “offered up; but most of the reapers flumbered and flept." Better to perform it before fupper; for wearied bodies, and crammed ftomachs, difpose to drowfinefs.-Alas! do we tire ourselves with the fervice, and cram our heart and belly with the enjoyments of an empty world, till we have neither fpirit, ftrength, nor room for God !---O to meet with my friends, where neither drowfy head, nor fleepy heart, fhall ever mar our fongs of praife! "Prayer and thanksgiving, not games at cards, pre"pare for bed here." How furprising, that any where, men fhould pleafe that pitiful recreation! how odd, to have rational fouls chiefly filled with pictures of finall fquare pieces of painted paper! how mad to neglect bufinefs, difordered minds, and families for their fake! how wicked to appeal to Cod in the fhuffling thereof! how vile hereby to learn heathenish languge of luck, chance, and the like! have heathenish affe&tions, and practife dependance on thefe imaginary deities. "Now I go up to my bed-chamber." But thrice fweeter to go up to Jefus' bed of love; to afcend from a death-bed to his throne; to mount up from a grave to meet the Lord in the air. "The fervant "who lighted me up, hath left the candle with me, "and returned in darknefs." How often are minifters, and private perfons, after affifting and lifting up the faints to their heavenly manfions, thrust down into utter darkness; where there is weeping, wail. ing, and gnashing of teeth!" How the tallow of the candle boils, burns, and waftes!" Awful thought! fo fhall wicked men decay, as fat of lambs: fo, for ever unwafting, fhall they be tormented in hell. "Here the foolish fly plays with the flame till she "burn |