them upon the bed of languishing, and makes all their bed in their sickness, Psalm xli. 3; places his everlasting arm underneath them, and manifests himself the strength of their heart. The arm of supporting power, and the kind embraces of a loving God and Father, remove the troubles of the mind, make bodily afflictions light, and every part of the bed both soft and easy. These are times in which our souls make diligent search after God, and when he is found to be about our path, and about our bed, spying out all our ways, and, observing the path that we take, he makes bare his delivering hand in our deepest necessities, and at a time when our eyes are up unto him; by which means we get more acquainted with him, by perceiving his precious salvation to be near to us; and we come forth as gold seven times purified, which encourages a holy familiarity with him.

He that is the Father of our mercies is the physician both of body and soul; he kills and makes alive, he wounds, and his hands make whole; the severe rod and the healing balm are both from him; no affliction comes by chance, no trouble springs out of the ground; nor shall either be a burden to us any longer than while we rebel: when submission takes place salvation is at the door.

Afflictions are good for us; when the grain is put into the sieve the chaff rises and flies away; when the branch is purged it brings forth more

fruit; when the gold is purified it loses its dross; when the outward man decays the inward is renewed;" by sorrow of heart the spirit is broken," and by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better. Bodily health, bodily ease, temporal wealth and prosperity, contribute little to the growth or happiness of the soul, but contrariwise. In health, wealth, and strength, Solomon lost his heart; and in prosperity David lost his eyes; and when Jeshurun waxed fat then he kicked, forsook God that made him, and lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation, Deut. xxxii. 15. An infected tabernacle becomes loathsome to the inhabitant; none like to dwell in a pesthouse who know in themselves that they have a better house not made with hands, that is, not of this building, eternal in the heavens. A persuasion of this made Paul long to be unclothed, and to be clothed upon with his house which is from above, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.

Tribulation worketh patience; and when patience has had her perfect work we are entire, lacking nothing; patience works experience; the patient waiter on God, and the patient saint under his chastening hand, experience many tokens for good, many soul-humbling visits, many comfortable lifts to heavenly-mindedness, many a pregnant promise to encourage and fill their hopes, and many a pleasing glimpse, which are so many earnest rays of the glorious inheritance of the saints in light. Thus experience worketh hope;

"and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost, which is given unto us." The decay of the outward man often terminates in the renewal and revival of the man of grace; while the former is tumbling into ruins, the latter is building his nest in the stars.

In afflictions the soul seeks out her evidences; ponders over the word and work of God; searches after the girdle of truth to gird up the loins of the mind; feels for the lamp of salvation to burn afresh, that her state may appear clear and, bright; and as soon as the house is searched by self-examination, and those things confessed that appear to be wrong, then it is swept in answer to prayer, and the peace found which perhaps was, with respect to the enjoyment of it, lost; then, O! then, the soul is ready; the loins are girded, the candle is lighted, and peace is enjoyed: the longing eye is fixed on the end of our faith and the end of our race; the lamp of salvation is in the hand of divine confidence, and the mantle of an imputed righteousness wrapped close about; the soul then thinks it could smite the waters with the skirt of it, and go over even dryshod.

The girdle of truth, Madam, is a sure defence against the destroying attacks of the father of lies; "because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation,"

The atonement of Christ is an eternal security against the flaming sword of vindictive justice; and, if found upon us, it will give us right and free access to the tree of life, which is in the midst of the paradise of God. Under the type of this atonement Israel escaped the destroying sword at the midnight cry of Egypt; and under the antitype of that the wise virgins will escape when the second midnight cry proclaims the Bridegroom coming; when the same sword will come down on Idumea, the people of God's curse, to judgment.

An imputed righteousness is a breastplate sufficient to repel the force of every curse or condemning sentence of God's holy and righteous law; there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.

The breastplate of love guards the heart of an afflicted saint against the strong encroachments of surviving friends, who too often make inroads on the resigned and passive soul, and bring it into a strait between two; having a desire to continue, and a desire to depart, and be with Christ, which is far better; but which to choose they wot not.

The spirit of life in us is a divine security against a departure or separation from God, which is called the second death: such have everlasting life, and can never perish; none can pluck them out of God's hands, nothing can separate them from him; "he that is joined to the Lord is one

Spirit;" astonishing mystery! This is the armour, Madam, that God has provided for his saints; and it is as sure a defence as the war with death is certain; "there is no man that hath power over the Spirit to retain the Spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death; and there is no discharge in that war." Put ye on therefore the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand, and having done all to stand; for "I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,-shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

It is common with the people of God, when afflictions come suddenly on them, to be much surprised and dismayed: hence Peter tells you to "think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you," 1 Pet. iv. 12, for the same strange things are accomplished in our brethren that are in the world. Temptations, unbelief, doubts, fears, and dark clouds, often gather thick about the poor believer when he goes first into the furnace, which makes him gather all up into himself, until he finds, as the Scriptures say, that in his flesh dwelleth no good thing, and that the more he looks to himself the worse he gets; then he is glad to look to Jesus. "We had the sen tence of death in ourselves," says Paul, should not trust in ourselves, but in God which

"that we