[When God's mercies have been heaped upon us in an unusual degree, then we feel disposed to ask, " What shall I render to the Lord for all the benefits that he hath done unto me?" Behold David after some great deliverance, whereby " his soul was brought out of a horrible pit, and set, as it were, upon a rock;" " what songs were put into his mouth;" and with what ardour does he exclaim, " Blessed is the man that maketh the Lord his trust q ! " St. Paul had been brought to similar distress by reason of the thorn in his flesh: yet, when once assured that " the grace of Christ should be suffi- cient for him," how does he immediately take pleasure and glory in all that he either did or could endure r! And thus will it be with all, in proportion as they are sensible of the mercies conferred upon them : they will present their whole selves a living sacrifice unto their God, as a reasonable and delightful service s.]
Address —
1. To those who are under any temporal affliction —
[Say not, that " the Lord has forsaken and forgotten you1:" but wait his leisure, and assure yourselves that " all is working for your good." It was by a circuitous path that he led Israel to the promised land : but " he led them by the right way : " and you also shall see, in due season, that though " clouds and darkness have been round about him, righteous- ness and judgment have been the basis of his throne."]
2. To those whose trials are of a spiritual nature —
[These are the heavier of the two : for " a wounded spirit who can bear?" But "light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright in heart." Only wait the appointed time, and " the vision shall come, and not tarry11." " In the evening time it shall be light V In the mean while follow the direction which the Lord himself gives you; and, whilst " walking in darkness and without light, trust in the Lord, and stay yourselves upon your Gody."]
i Ps. xl. 1 — 4. r 2 Cor. xii. 7 — 10. s Rom. xii. 1.
* Isai. xlix. 14. u Hab. iii. 2. x Zech. xiv. 7.
y Isai. 1. 10.