on the Lord. They refer to his work, and he has pledged himself to do it; and we may be assured he will not fail to do as he has said. But the Christian may be anxious also about the performance of known duty. In this case he is carefully to guard against temptations to neglect duty; but he is not to indulge in any anxiety as to whether he will be enabled, trusting in God, to perform any duty, however difficult, to which God may be pleased to call him. That is God's concern; why does he burden himself with it? He will look after the accomplishment of his own promise. "My grace is sufficient for thee, and my strength shall be perfected in weakness;" and let the Christian, in the full assurance of this, with an earnest, determined, but unanxious mind, set about the performance of the difficult, perhaps at the time apparently impossible, work.

As to events, they, properly speaking, belong entirely to God. Man proposes; God disposes. To man some events seem desirable, others undesirable; and, so far as we are concerned in the matter, we are to use such lawful means as seem to us best fitted to further events, which, with the widest and most accurate view we can take of them, seem to be desirable; and, when they have done this, their own anxiety should cease. Our care should be cast upon God, who "worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will," whose "work is perfect," "most honourable, and glorious." This is the duty of the Christian respecting all the events of time, and all the events of eternity, both in reference to himself individually, and to all with whom he is connected; with regard to the church, and with regard to the world. With regard to duty, we ought to cast on Him all our care and anxiety as to skill to discover it, and strength to perform it; and as to events, we ought to trust him with them entirely.

In order to thus casting our cares on God, there are plainly required three things:-1. A persuasion that God has com

1 Psal, cxi. 3.

plete control in reference to those things which excite our anxiety; 2. A persuasion that he will use this control in the best manner, abstractly considered; and 3. A persuasion that he will use this control in the best possible manner, so far as I am concerned.

(1.) A persuasion that God has power to control what excites our anxiety.

I could not get rid of painful anxiety by casting it on God, if I did not believe he could sustain it. What lies at the very foundation here is, that God is Sovereign of the universe, uncontrolled and uncontrollable, "whose kingdom rules over all," "who can do every thing," "whose arm none can stay, to whom none dare say, What dost thou ?" whose ends his enemies further by opposing them, who "makes their wrath to praise him, and who restrains the remainder thereof."

(2.) A persuasion that God will employ his controlling power in the best possible way.

But though I had entire conviction of the Divine power, I could not cast my care, all my care, on him, unless I believed that his power was guided by wisdom and righteousness, and influenced by benignity. A belief of a being possessed of infinite power, if I were not sure of his being also a being possessed of infinite wisdom and righteousness, would increase, not diminish, my anxieties. But the clear apprehension that He who has all things under his control is perfect in knowledge, infinite in wisdom, glorious in holiness, plentiful in justice, and full of kindness, must persuade me that his management of every thing must be the best possible.

(3.) A persuasion that he will employ his controlling power in the best possible way for me.

It might be thought that this conviction of absolute intellectual and moral perfection, in combination with almighty

power, should be quite enough to enable me, quite enough morally to compel me, to cast all my care on God; that in the presence of such convictions anxieties of every kind would cease. But no! I am a sinner. I have offended this infinitely powerful, and wise, and excellent Being, and the very excellence of his nature may render certain those events, anxiety about which can only be quieted by an assurance that they never shall take place. I must be persuaded that this control which he possesses will be exercised not only in the best possible way in the abstract, but in the best way for me. In other words, I must know and believe him to be my Friend. I must know that he is "pacified towards me for all the iniquity which I have done." I must believe his own testimony, that he has no pleasure in my death; that he is "in Christ reconciling the world to himself;" that "for the great love wherewith he loves men, he blesses them with all heavenly and spiritual blessings." I must, on the faith of his testimony, lay hold of his promise, and believe that to me, trusting in him, he will do all that he has said, make all things work for my good, and bestow on me the salvation that is in Christ with eternal glory.

Wherever there is, and in the degree in which there is, the possession of this threefold persuasion, we learn to cast our cares on God; and we find that, by doing so, we are relieved of them. When we are thus "anxious about nothing, but in every thing by prayer and supplication make our requests known to God, the peace of God which passeth all understanding, keeps our hearts and minds by Christ Jesus." It is then in believing prayer that the afflicted, anxious Christian, is to cast his cares on God.

"This is the way," as good Leighton says, "to walk contentedly and cheerfully homewards, leaning and resting all the way on him who is both our guide and our guard, our wisdom and our strength, who hath us and all our good in his gracious hand. The more tender and weak we are, the more tender will he be of us, the more strong will he be in He feeds his flock as a shepherd, and the weakest he is

us.

most careful of. They go in his arms and bosom, and it is for the feeblest so to go."

easy

In reference to events, the more completely we rid ourselves of all anxiety, we act the more reasonably and wisely. It is entirely his province to manage them. If we meddle with it, and we are constantly meddling with it, we displease him and disquiet ourselves. This sin carries its punishment in its bosom. "If thou wilt," says the pious prelate, "be struggling with that which belongs not to thee, and poising at that burden which is not thine, what wonder, yea, I may say, what pity if thou fall under it? Is it not just, if thou wilt do for thyself, and bear for thyself what thy Lord calls for to bear for thee, is it not just that thou feel the weight of it to thy cost?”

There is just one other thought to which I would solicit your attention before closing this part of the subject. The Christian must beware of laying his cares on any but God. He must cast all his cares on God. He may seek the sympathy and the advice of his fellow-Christians; but he must never cast his cares, or place his confidence on them. They cannot bear the burden. They are obliged to cast their own cares on God. "Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm." He well understood the blessed art of casting all his care on God, who said, "My soul, wait thou only on God; for my expectation is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God. Ye people, place your confidence in him continually; pour out your heart before him: God is a refuge for us.”1

Finally, here, in the right state of mind under affliction, the two things recommended by the Apostle must be conjoined, "Humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God," and "Casting all our cares upon him." Our selfabasement must not lead to despondency, but to deeper de

1 Psal. lxii. 5-8.

pendence, greater confidence, and our reliance on God, and consequent ease of mind, must not be presumptuous. A sense of sin must not prevent the use of privilege, and a continuous enjoyment of privilege must not diminish selfabasement.

§3. The motive to casting our care on God is, that he cares for us. It is time now that I proceed to turn your attention to the motive by which the Apostle urges the Christian to cast all his care on God. "Casting all your care on God; for he careth for you." And here I shall very briefly state the evidence of this truth, that God cares for his people; and then show how the belief of this truth should lead them to cast their care on him.

It is quite obvious that the Apostle is not here speaking of the general providential care which God has of men as his creatures, but of the peculiar care which he has of those who are in a peculiar sense his children, his people, his inheritance, his purchased possession. He cares for them in another way than he does for the world. On those who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God, by a spiritual separation, and who are made obedient to the truth and sprinkled with the blood of Jesus, are bestowed peculiar "heavenly and spiritual blessings;" to them who have obtained like precious faith with the Apostles, are given "exceeding great and precious promises." It is the care of God for this peculiar people, that I mean to establish as a ground why this peculiar people should cast all their care on him.

It deserves notice that the word "careth" in this last clause is a word of a very different meaning from that used in the first clause, though rendered by the same English word.1 The word in the first clause denotes painful anxiety; in the second, kind interest. It is said, "the hireling fleeth when the wolf cometh; for he careth not for the sheep." It is

VOL. III.

1 Μερίμναι Μέλει.