CHRIST, and declared to be of more value than the large offerings of the fich. Do all you can; by giving money if you have it, and if not, by friendly assistance, by advice, and by example; and when nothing else remains to give for the relief of the unfortunate, give him your prayers. The prayer of faith may heal the sick, when all the skill of the physician fails. The prayer of i faith may reach the Throne of Mercy, and bring down blessings on his head, and on your own. Perhaps, when we all meet in another world, the poor sufferer may thank you for it, more than for any assistance which money could have afforded him. And He who went about doing good, and who has commanded us all to go and do likewise, He will not forget your labour of love; but will say to every one who has done the best he could, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant, thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things. Enter thou into the joy of thy LORD."+ + Matt. xxv. 21.

L

SERMON XIV.

ST. LUKE Xxii. 42.

Not my will, but thine be done.

WHEN the only-begotten Son of GOD left

the bosom of his Father, and took upon

him the nature of man, he was also pleased to take on himself the sorrows to which men are subject, and greater than any other man ever felt. "He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. He was afflicted and tormented. He was led as a lamb to the slaughter."* But amidst all these dreadful trials he has left us a glorious example of patience, and resignation to the will of God. In

* Isaiah liii. 3, 7.

his agony in the garden, when he appears to have felt such anguish as never was inflicted on any other man, when "his sweat was as it were great drops of blood, falling down to the ground;"* he then taught us how every good man should meet the severest trials which can befal him. He prayed earnestly, that, if it were possible, GOD would remove this cup from him, but immediately he adds, "Not my will, but thine be done." With this example ever before our eyes, I will consider the situation of a christian under those afflictions, which at some time or other of our lives are the lot of all; and will point out the conduct which the Gospel requires from him. In order to make what I wish to say on this subject more clear and distinct, I will mention, first, the sorrows which we receive immediately from the hand of God; secondly, those which are inflicted upon us by men; and lastly, those which we bring on ourselves.

The sorrows which we receive from the hand of God, are often great; but they are almost always, in the course of our lives, mixed with many and great mercies. We have many days of health for one day of sickness, many hours of

* Luke xii, 44.

ease for one of pain, many comforts to balance one affliction. This ought to be gratefully acknowledged, even when the day of trial comes; and we should say with Job, "Shall we receive good at the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD.' But still the day of trial must come, and we ought to be prepared to meet it. The most common trials which we experience from the hand of GOD are sickness, poverty, and the loss of friends. Our best support in all these is the firm belief that every affliction is sent in mercy, to make us more virtuous and more happy. It is an undoubted truth, which I wish to impress on the minds of all who hear me, that we never can be perfectly happy in this world or the next, till we have learnt submission to the will of Gop, and have renounced every evil inclination, which would lead us out of that path in which He has commanded us to walk. If we have not sufficiently learnt this lesson in the school of mercy, we must be taught it by affliction; but this lesson is not learnt as it ought to be, till, humbled in the dust, we bless our gracious GOD for our sufferings as

+ Job ii. 10.