trial, by which the Enemy is permitted to vex them, and if they resolutely refuse to give way to it, it may cease altogether, and they may find, even in this world, what a joyful and pleasant thing it is to be thankful./

What has been said relates more particularly to the praises of ALMIGHTY GOD, and to our intercession for our brethren, and to such other parts of the holy services as more directly call off our minds from ourselves: consider, now, the effect of the prayers, and of those psalms which are like prayers. How unspeakably soothing to hear and join in words, which though not exactly our own, yet express our own feelings, and to know that those words are taught us by the Most High GOD! The mere utterance of our longings and sorrows is in itself a great relief, but grief is naturally a kind of sacred thing, and the confession of it to God ALMIGHTY is a thing yet more sacred: men are commonly shy and fearful in speaking of such matters, and if left to themselves would hardly find relief in words; but here He who made our hearts and lips has graciously provided words for us; such words, that if we will let ourselves be carried along with them, we may most entirely relieve and satisfy our deepest feelings, without any painful strain upon our own minds, and without improperly drawing on us the attention of others. Think only of the LORD's Prayer and the Psalms, both the immediate teaching of the Most High GOD; what a thing it is to be permitted to use them, and to be quite sure that whilst we are using them, we are but repeating the words which He did HIMSELF put into our minds, to represent and express those very wants and feelings of ours, whatever they are, which the hallowed forms seem to us to express for the time!

For example, take such a plain case as that of one wanting bread for himself and his children; ALMIGHTY GOD bestows on him, if he has faith, this exceeding great consolation, that He has put words into his mouth, "Give us this day our daily bread," whereby to declare to HIM such his want; so that he can no more doubt CHRIST's knowledge of his case, and gracious fellow-feeling for him, than he can doubt whether the LORD's prayer is CHRIST's prayer. The one is a sure pledge of the other; the very words and letters which we see, as we read the LORD's prayer in our books, or the tones and pauses we

hear, when it is said in Church, are signs and tokens and earnests of His love and care for us, now at this very time, and in regard of this very distress, whatever it be. Doubt it not, my brethren, let not one doubt it, of all the poor and needy of CHRIST'S flock; whenever the words, "Give us this day our daily bread," are said over in the Church, or in your regular prayers at home, you may be as certain of CHRIST's being at hand, entering into your fear and grief, feeling for your wants and the wants of your children-you may be as certain of this, as if you had been present on the mountain, when He fed the five thousand, and had heard HIM say to His disciples, "I have compassion on the multitude, because they have nothing to eat, and I will not send them away fasting, lest they faint by the way." If you had been there fainting and hungry, and had heard those words, would it not have refreshed your souls, and relieved your anxiety at once? Why, then, be of good courage, when you hear HIM by the voice of His Church telling you to ask Him for your daily bread: the one is as certain a token of His gracious presence and mind towards you, as the other was, had we but faith to receive it.

And if our coming in dutifulness to CHRIST's Church, or saying her prayers at home when we cannot come, has such a promise in respect of our earthly bread, how much more in respect of the Bread of Life, whereof that earthly bread is but a figure and shadow! If those who are severely tried with temporal afflictions are invited to come here for relief, how much more those who mourn because they know they have offended their SAVIOur, and fear lest the light of His countenance be withdrawn from them! If those do well to come here and pray, who know not which way to turn in the perplexities of this life, how much more those who doubt what they should do to please God, to perform their Christian task thoroughly, to heal the wounds of their sins, and perfect their repentance! Surely it is a great thing, for a doubting and troubled conscience, to be divinely warranted in saying to itself, for so many minutes and hours of its time as the regular Church prayers take up, Whatever else is right or wrong, of this at least I am sure, that it must be right to try all I can to think of GOD and of CHRIST, and to forget my own bitter thoughts, so long as this service lasts. It is a great

thing that we are permitted, though but for a short time, to hope and labour for a sense of that Heavenly Presence, which in its perfection and continuance is the fulness of joy.

So far, as I said, it seems that even such as we are may be able to understand, in some small measure, how constant waiting on CHRIST in Church Services is the appointed cure and remedy for troubled minds: but who shall say how much more there is in it, beyond what we can possibly imagine or understand? Who shall set bounds to the blessings and graces, flowing out from GOD Incarnate, where He has especially promised to be? We know not what we do, indeed we know not what we do, when we make light of this His appointed way.

SERMON CCLXVIII.

JUSTIFYING FAITH.

FOR THE TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.

HABAKKUK ii. 4.

"Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith."

THIS is one of the solemn passages, which are not uncommon in the Old Prophets, where their minds are in deep thought on the difference between the world and the Church, and the fierce warfare which is to come on between them in the last days before the judgment. Mind not, he tells us in the Name of God, though the time seem long, and the trial of your faith harder and harder. God's work is still going on; you must not measure it by your own sense or imagination; you must not at all hurry, or be impatient. God's time is set, and HE will keep it; our not knowing it makes no difference. "The vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it: because it will surely come, it will not tarry."

And then it goes on; 'Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith." As if he had said, Depend upon it, when this world has done its best and its worst, it will plainly appear that the great question between it and the Church is, whether it is better to trust in one's self, one's own wisdom, and fame, and riches, and high spirit, or

to go altogether out of one's self, and to live entirely by faith upon the heavenly righteousness which God gives to His own people. The world rests upon itself, the Church lives by faith. The last day will show to all God's creation, as every man's hour of death will show to him and convince him for ever, which is the right of these two, and which is the wrong.

It is the great concern of us all to make up our minds to this in good time; to make it the very rule of our life; that when the shadows of this world pass away, we may not depart helpless and unprepared into that other world, where are no shadows at all, but dying with CHRIST's mark on us, and with our hearts full of HIM, may both be acknowledged by HIM, whom we shall there meet face to face, and may ourselves know Him even as we are known. This should be our great care; all our life we should be looking on to this; all our life we should be turning towards HIM, who hath brought us already so very near HIM: by this faith, this heavenly and spiritual mind, Gon promises that we shall live; HE will meet our dutiful and obedient longings with His unfailing gift of grace: such faith HE will make the continuance of heavenly life to us.

I say the continuance; because by His distinguishing mercy we who have been baptized in infancy were then made partakers of that life-we then had our new birth unto righteousness; we began to live by that life which the members of CHRIST have from Him, as the branches of a tree live by the sap which they secretly draw from the roots. If we had not been called to that blessing until we were grown up, the Church would have required of us actually and really to have this faith in our minds: according to what we learn in the Catechism, that in persons to be baptized the Church requires faith, whereby they stedfastly believe God's promises. As it is, the unspeakable gift was made ours before we could know any thing of it; it was breathed into us, like the breath of life, by the free and bountiful grace of the regenerating SPIRIT; yet still we live by faith. Faith is that by which we abide in CHRIST, and keep our portion in the Good and HOLY SPIRIT. By faith, as the Apostle says, we stand: that is, the spiritual life within us depends in some special manner on this grace. We are justified, made holy, made members of CHRIST, once for all, as infants in Holy Baptism. But just as