and after idols I will go," be the consequences what they may? Come death, come hell, come what may, one thing I will never do, and that is, give up my sins and return to God through Jesus Christ.

Ah, my bold hearer, is it this that you have come to? Will you contend with God? Can thine heart endure, and can thine hands be strong, in the day when he shall deal with thee? Foolish men, when will ye be wise! There is a better destiny for you than this hopeless, this ruinous conflict, with your Maker. Come, sinner, to him who came to seek and save that which was lost. He will not cast you out, bold, and desperate, and hopeless a sinner as you may have been. He will pity, he will pardon, he will save. He will care for you when the mountains shake, and the waters roar and are troubled. When earth and sea, in mingled burning, are consumed over your head, he will think of you, and raise you up at the Last Day.

SERMON VIII.

FEAR RELIEVED BY TRUST IN GOD.

PSALM Ixvi. 3. At what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee.

FEAR is that dread and horror of mind which arises from the apprehension of danger. It is often attended with anxiety and solicitude; and sometimes with a dejection and melancholy which unfit men for those duties which seasons of danger demand.

A man may not be chargeable with superstition, merely because he has many painful remembrances of the past, or some melancholy forebodings of the future. They are not phantoms of horror, which make a wise man anxious for his personal safety. Idle fears outweigh the sober judgment, tyrannize over the imagination, and beset the path of life with evils which do not exist. They are real evils, which are to be feared; and one of the great preservatives from them, is to be afraid of them. Yet such fears are ever among the great disturbers of human tranquillity; and though there is no perfect security from them, it is a question of interest, if they may not be alleviated and relieved.

In answer to this question, we have the experience of one who had been familiar with the dangers of the camp, and the field of battle, and the still more formidable dangers of the throne. He was a man of sober reflection and great firmness; too active and resolute,

ever to be panic-struck, or impressed with false terrors; yet too wide awake to the dangers to which he was exposed, not to have sought a timely and effective relief even from fear. He was, moreover, under the guidance of the Spirit of God; and the truth he utters in the text is therefore one of those universal truths, which are alike adapted to all men, in all employments, and in all ages of the world. The answer he gives to this question is, "At what time I am afraid, I will trust in thee." His fears were alleviated by his trust in God. Peace instead of perturbation, safety instead of danger, strength, confidence, and courage, instead of weakness, suspicion, and fear, were, with this holy man, the result of trusting in God.

I. Let us direct our thoughts, in the first place, to the constituent elements of this state of mind, and show what it is to trust in God.

There are natural elements of character which render men fearless. There are also employments and habits of life in which some persons are so accustomed to danger, that they scarcely know the strong emotions of fear. High stimulus and strong internal excitement often make men courageous. Anger, and revenge, and the absorbing love of gold, not unfrequently so engross the mind, that it is heedless of danger, and rushes upon it as the horse rusheth into the battle, or the reckless soldier faces the mouth of the cannon. A keen sensitiveness to reproach, or a chivalric pride, or a morbid and false sense of honor, lead some to court scenes of langer, and with a fool-hardy bravado, expose and throw away human life; when true courage would have been fearless of the obloquy, and a stainless honor

would have shielded the sacred deposits which it had no right to throw away, or expose.

But this is a fearlessness which has no alliance with the tranquil state of mind spoken of in our text. There are moral elements in this state of mind, which distinguish it from natural fortitude, and from mere animal, or even intellectual courage, and which give it steadiness and vigor, as well as patience and perseverance, which are found only in the man who trusts in God.

Nowhere is there the broad basis for confidenceintelligent and enduring confidence-tranquil and joyful confidence, save in the character, care, wisdom, goodness, and power of that great and gracious Being, who is "God over all, blessed forever." God must be known, his favor must be secured, his presence felt and enjoyed; else the changes we pass through, the trials we feel, and the evils which threaten us, will disturb our quietude. "The Lord liveth, and blessed be my Rock, and let the God of my salvation be exalted,"-this is the true expression of a trusting confidence. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble," this is the confidence which gives peace. "Whom have I in heaven but thee, and what is there on the earth that I desire beside thee ?"-this is the trust in which the soul rises above every fear. Instead of being the enemy of God, such a man is his friend; instead of fleeing from God, such a man flees to him, and trusts in him. There is a confidence in the will, and way, and wisdom of God, which leads us to prefer his will to our own, to commit our way to him, and to seek and learn wisdom by sitting at his feet. And it is just in the measure in which these things are seen and felt,

that we see and feel that there is no just and solid ground for confidence anywhere except in God.

There is one thing that never fails to weaken trust in God I mean disobedience to his commands. A guilty conscience and a tranquil state of mind cannot exist together in the same bosom. Disobedience always opens the door to doubt and fear. It brings the soul into bondage and terror. It always did, and always will weaken confidence in God. It did in the fallen angels; it made them fear and tremble. So, when our first parents committed their first sin, their own minds were filled with suspicion and distrust. They ran away from God and "hid themselves among the trees of the garden." And we all know from our own experience, that the more we sin against God, the more we are plunged into the same wakeful jealousy. Guilt is never confiding, and always suspicious. It poisons all the sources of confidence. "Who is he

that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good?" It is only then, that men trust in God to keep them. "The name of the Lord is a strong tower, into which the righteous runneth and is safe."

you.

Yet all these things are but preliminaries to the act itself of trusting in God. That act consists in the exerercise of faith in God's goodness, and power to protect A trusting heart is the very opposite of a distrustful and unbelieving heart. It never gives way to an overweening anxiety and solicitude. It does not yield to dejection. Whenever it is exercised, the soul is supported and comforted by a view of the fulness, all-sufficiency, and presence of God. It trusts the providence of God; it trusts his word; it trusts in the grace in Jesus Christ. It fears nothing; it sees nothing to be afraid