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when you are afflicted, it is fuppofed you are always to pray. But as prayer is the grand fupport of affliction, you should always live, especially when the hand of God is upon you, in the spirit of prayer-in that truft in God, and in the merits of a Redeemer, which every one muft feel who prays with fincerity.Again, when you are enlivened with a ray of profperity, and the spirits are boyant, though it is not expected you should always fing pfalms, yet you fhould always live under fuch a sense of that gratitude, and religious thankfulness to the Dif pofer of all events, as will prevent your joy from running riot; and will change it from an earthly into a heavenly feeling,

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X.

As new-born babes, defire the fincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.-1 Pet. ii. 2.

THE scriptures are continually exhorting us to put off the old man-to be renewed in the spirit, and to be born again. In conformity to these gofpel-ideas, the apoftle Peter introduces the beautiful allufion in the text, in which he recommends to his converts, as new born-babes, the fincere milk of the word.-The beauty and aptnefs of this alluffion is very striking.

It confifts, first, in the fimplicity of the food. Moft of the food we use undergoes various kinds of mixtures, and different modes of dreffing: but milk is fo fimple a kind of food, that it requires neither mixture nor cookery; and is therefore properly an emblem of the fincere word of truth.

Then again, its nourishing quality makes it ftill more an emblem of that gofpel, which nourishes to everlasting life.

Its

Its fweet, balsamic nature, makes it efficacious in the cure of many bodily disorders, as the gospel is a remedy for those of the foul.

Even its spotlefs white, without any tincturé of colour, brings it ftill nearer the idea of gofpel-purity.

Then again, the manner in which the child takes this nourishment, carries on the allufion very happily. He takes it with that eagerness which fhews his love for it: he loaths all other food in comparison: though he is fed with it every day, the repetition never cloys him; and his growth fhews how well it agrees with his conftitution. This mode of the child's receiving its food, is a juft exhibition of the true, religious mode of accepting the gospel. It is not often that a fingle allufion illuftrates a fubject in fo many different points of view.

XI.

We both labour, and fuffer reproach, because we truft in the living God.-1 Tim. iv. 10.

Our

THAT holy and indefatigable labourer in the vineyard of the Lord, the Writer of this epiftle, tells his beloved convert, Timothy, in this paffage, that truft in God enabled him to undergo all the labours and diftreffes of his apoftlefhip. His labours and diftreffes were abundant. labours are infignificant, and our diftreffes, commonly, mere trifles, in comparison with his. It is true, we have not that firmness-that heavenly aid, andapoftolic vigour, which St. Paul had. But our fufferings are in proportion to our abilities; and we have the fame ground for going cheerfully through our labours, and for bearing our diftreffes, which this holy apostle had. We may all, if we please, truft in the living God,

All the attributes of God adminifter comfort to man, except his juftice. Here we naturally recoil

recoil. That man, with all his guilt about him, fhould ftand before infinite juftice, prefents an idea which cannot but make an awful impreffion. Yet even here we have great room to truft in the living God. His justice, infinite as it is, is tempered by mercy equally infinite; and to this is added, the powerful mediation of a bleffed Redeemer.

But among all the grounds of comfort which we receive from our gracious Creator, with regard both to this world and the next, the contemplation of his wifdom, and his promifes, is the moft reviving. The former fets our mind at reft in this world; the latter carry us happily to the next.

The wisdom of Providence, which orders all the events of this world with fuch unerring certainty, as to be most beneficial not only to mankind in general, but to every individual in particular, should be a conftant argument with us to submit to every event, however harsh it may appear. If we fully trust in an unerring Providence, it will be impoffible not to acquiefce: if we do not acquiefce, it is impoffible we can fully truft. At the fame time let us confider, that this full trust in the unerring providence of God,

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