fion

milies, if an entertainment go beyond the plaineft repaft-if it lead to vying in expence-if it occaany wafte of victuals or any oftentatious prodigality-it may be called (without any long deduction of inferences) injuftice to the poor. It is also infulting them; the comparison between feafting and starving is cruelly held out.

This idea is ftrongly characterized in a rich man of ancient time, who is chronicled for faring fumptuously every day, and paying no regard to the poor. Let the beggar lie ftarving at my gate, he would fay; if my board be plentifully fupplied within, I leave him to the compaffion of my dogs. Time ran on. The rich man continued to fare fumptuously, and the beggar to farve.-At length the day of reckoning came. The rich man died. All his fumptuous fare was now at an end. His melancholy note now was, Give me a drop of cold water to cool my tongue, for I am tormented in this flame. In this affecting relation, our bleffed Saviour gives all rich men a leffon, which they fhould never forget. It is a fable indeed: but the moral is an awful truth.

In the time of fcarcity, however, it is not enough to reprefs the luxuries of the table. Such moderation indeed will give propriety to a meal in the

eye

eye of the world; but to make it charity in the eye of heaven, the expence of all the overplus fhould be given to the poor.

Thus far to the rich. To the poor, it is fomewhat more difficult to speak. To those in abun dant circumstances we are not fo fearful of giving pain. They have their mitigating refources. But poverty requires pity. In the time of dearth, the poor man is always the greatest sufferer.-At the fame time, the poor man must confider, that his wickedness will be a great addition to the calamities he fuffers. If the poor man be a wicked man, I know not where to fend him for confolation. The diftrefs of the times is correction only to the pious fufferer: to the bad man it is the juft punishment of his fins.-He increases them alfo by fretfulness, and repining at calamities fent by God, which no human power, much lefs his repining, can prevent.-Too often likewife he brings mischief on himself by joining in riotous bodies. Such disturbances cannot leffen a fcarcity, but they may increase it—like a highway robbery, they may procure a prefent relief; but the mischief will always exceed the advantage.

To

To fuch poor therefore no confolation can well be given. But to thofe patient fufferers, who are truly God's fervants, I hope, we may speak a more comfortable language. Receive with meek refignation God's holy will. The times are hard: no doubt they arc. But it is God's will to make them fo; and it is impoffible for you to make them otherwise by oppofing his will. On the other hand, by refigning yourself to it, you may make them better. When you refign yourfelf to God's will, you make the act partly your own; and fo far as you fuffer voluntarily, you make the fuffering eafier. But when you oppose God's will by repining at it, you add the uneafy fretfulness of your own temper to what you are obliged to fuffer.-Be of good cheer, therefore. Make God your friend, and you are in hands that will never forfake you.-Be quiet and peaceable-industrious and frugal-truft in God, and endeavour to please him; and you may hope for his protecting care even in the time of dearth. He who provided a table in the wilderness-he who fed Jacob and his family in the day of faminewill, I truft, raise you up friends, who will fecure you at least from the diftrefs of want.

Let

Let us then all, my brethren, rich and poor, attend seriously to the admonition of the text. When God's judgments are abroad in the world, let us learn righteousness. These times of scarcity afford means of trial to us all. The rich, in whatever way God hath bleffed them, are called upon for their utmost charity and affistance to the poor. It is the office affigned them. In the very beautiful and expreffive language of the prophet, they should draw out their fouls to the hungry.*—The poor again are called on for quietness-for patience for gratitude to their friends-and above all, for truft in God.

Let us all then, in our refpective ftations, do our duty, and we shall at least alleviate the diftreffes of the times. We fhall have a friend, who can occafionally do wonders for his faithful fervants. He can prevent the barrel of meal from wafting, and the cruife of oil from failing, till he fend in his goodnefs more plentiful times.

On the other hand, fevere as the present distress is, if we do not avert God's wrath, it may only yet be the beginning of forrows. This nation may,

* Ifaiah, lviii. 10.

↑ Kings, xvii. 14.

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like many others, be over-run with our enemies, however fecure we may think ourselves from the fituation of our country, and our triumphant fleets-Or the plague, as in many other nations, at this time, may break out amongst us-Or the scarcity we now feel, may increase ftill farther to a famine. Events, which at firft appear of little confequence, by degrees become evils of magnitude. The war, in which we are now engaged, was thought of little moment when it first broke out. We have had a train of naval victories fince that time, but we are still fo involved in this pernicious war, that we fee not how it may end; and yet it may be fuddenly ended at once, by fome trivial unexpected event. With God it is nothing to fave with many, or with few.-In the fame way the present scarcity may be alleviated, and the poorsupplied with food in a manner, which we do not now forefee. In the mean time, let us endeavour to please God, and avert his judgments by amending our lives. If we are good, I truft we fhall fee happier times: if we continue still fartherto provoke God by our wicked lives, it may be feared (as our Saviour threatened the cripple at Bethesda) that a worfe thing may come upon us.