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great fight of afflictions; partly whilst they were made a gazing stock, both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly whilst they became companions of them that were so used; and took joyfully the spoiling of their goods, knowing in themselves that they had in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

There are other losses besides those of propertyand which seem much more calculated to dry up the springs of human happiness. To persons of sensibility, what pain is so great as that which is felt at the death of those, whom they love? When bereaved of dear and valuable friends, whose presence, because it has been long associated with their habitual feelings, and with the ever-recurring objects on which these feelings seem to be impressed, how natural is it for them to give way to the sorrow that overwhelms the mind, and which has been so appropriately denominated the sorrow that worketh death! How melancholy must have been our situation under such circumstances, were we totally ignorant of the character of that Divine Being into whose hands we resign our spirits; or if we had no intimation of the glorious immortality that awaits us. If, when called to witness the final departure of the friend of our heart, surrounded, it may be, with the interesting group for whose happiness that friend feels as intensely as for his own, no light appeared to illuminate the dark valley of the shadow of death, we were obliged to pronounce in the bitterest agony, "farewell for ever," how truly wretched would have been our condition! Were such the forlorn situation of man at the termination of his mortal career, we might almost conceive

that the best affections of his nature, and all the tender susceptibilities with which he is endowed, had been given him merely to increase the poignancy of his anguish.

On a subject so intimately connected with the moral improvement and happiness of man, God has not left us to derive our consolation from mere inferencefrom the intimations respecting our immortality which the knowledge of his perfections and moral government, and of our nature and faculties might suggest. He has shewn us the path of life; and by the unbounded prospect opened up before us, he has raised our expectations to an eternal weight of glory. It was for this joy that was set before them, that the martyr and confessor seemed to exult in the flames, and meekly to endure all the arts of inflicting suffering employed by their tormentors; and animated by the firmest faith in the goodness of God, and in the truth of his promises, death itself ceased to be an object of terror. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." The twilight that intervenes between time and eternity does, indeed, possess a melancholy gloom; but it will only remain till the curtain that conceals the glorious sunshine of immortality is withdrawn. Then sin and sorrow and separation shall cease; and there shall be no more death, neither any more pain; the former things having passed away.

Thirdly, in temperance, or self-government is included moderation in indulging the desires of the mind. Some of these are natural, as the desires of

knowledge, esteem, society, power, and happiness; others are acquired, as the desire of wealth, and its concomitants. A considerable part of true morality consists in the proper regulation of these desires, and in seeking their gratification only in subordination to the divine authority, and to the higher ends of our being. Out of the heart, we are assured, proceed the issues of life; according to the affections and desires habitually entertained there, will be the tenor of the conduct; and no reformation, therefore, can be effectual which aims not at the thorough melioration of the inward as well as the outward man. Either make the tree good and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruits. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth good things; and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things."

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Even desires which are in themselves lawful, must be indulged under the restraints of conscience, and the direction of the purest and the best motives. Unless reduced to this subjection, they will always be prone to mislead, and in many cases they will go beyond the boundaries of virtue. Can the man who is ever fixing his thoughts on the honour of the world, who indulges himself in ambitious views and projects, and whose fancy dwells on the fleeting visions which the love of fame and of distinction calls into existence, have the moderation or the hardihood to withstand temptation, when it addresses itself to the weakness and the corruption of his nature? Will he who makes gold his hope, and who has said to the fine gold, thou art my confidence, who has consecrated his best

thoughts to the love of money, and who connects his happiness with its attainment, be likely to resist the snares which so invariably accompany the immoderate desire of wealth? Though the habitual and inordinate indulgence of an affection should not discover the strength it has acquired by any immorality of conduct, it is not, therefore, innocent in the sight of God. He requires, what he is entitled to receive, the supremacy of the heart; and no idol should sit upon that throne which he claims as his own. In resisting this claim, in yielding to the dominion of any inordinate desire, such as the love of wealth, or of honour, or of rank, or even to a painful anxiety as to the means of subsistence, we dishonour God, and reflect censure on the providential arrangements of that compassionate parent, whose tender mercies are over all his works, and who is the never-failing refuge of his people.

How numerous are the motives to urge us to the practice of temperance in the various ways which have now been mentioned. The consideration of the health and the happiness which its exercise secures, is no trifling inducement. Did we only consider the inestimable value of this advantage, it seems scarcely possible that we could resist the force of so palpable a motive. Did we remember how much, from the constitution of our nature, our happiness depends on a simple reliance upon God, and on a course of action conformable to his will, we should, for our own sakes, be temperate, not only in the outward act, but in the indulgence of the affections and desires of the mind. How soon may the schemes which gratify ambition, or cherish the inordinate wish for wealth, or that

foster the love of distinction and superiority, be frustrated, and leave their projectors overwhelmed with misery and disappointment: while those who exercise moderation in all things, and who endeavour to devise and to act agreeably to the will of God, by placing their supreme affections on the portion that can never forsake them, have the peace of God amid all the trials and the changes of the world. They shall be, to use the beautiful and expressive language of revelation, "like trees planted by the rivers of waters, that bring forth their fruit in their season, and whose leaves do not wither." They look for their happiness to sources that are independent of change; they allow their desires to be unchecked only in reference to objects that cannot disappoint them; they have intrusted to the care of omnipotence all that is necessary for their accommodation on earth, and all that is requisite to complete their happiness in eternity; and should they meet with reverses in their lot, they cannot be greatly depressed by evils which are incapable of impairing their incorruptible and unfading inheritance. Thus, from their trust in God, from the value they attach to his love and approbation, are they prepared to say, in the subdued tone of sublime devotion; Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vine, the labour of the olive should fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation."

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