Application —
[Here then is the direction which in God's name we give to all; "Kiss the Son." If you have any desire to escape the wrath to come, or to lay hold on eternal life, this is the sure, the only way of attaining your end. Neglect Christ ; and, whatever else you either have or do, it will avail you nothing : you must ** perish" everlastingly'. Love the Lord Jesus Christ, and give yourselves up unto him; and, notwithstanding your past sins, or present infirmities, ^' you shall never perish, but shall have ever- lasting life".]
' Rev. vi. 15— 17. ' Heb. ii, 3.
* Luke xiv. 24. & John iii. 36. " John iii. 15, 16.
god's favour the only substantial good.
Ps. iv. 6. There he many that say, Who will shew us any good P Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us!
Self-sufficiency pertains to God alone: he alone is independent on any other for his own hap-: piness. The creature must of necessity be depen- dent, and must derive its happiness from some other source. The angels around the throne are blessed only in the fruition of their God. Man, of course, is subject to the same necessity of seeking- happiness in something extraneous to himself ; and unhappily, through the blindness of his understanding, the perverseness of his will, and the corruptness of his affections, he seeks it in the creature rather than in the Creator. Hence the universal inquiry spoken of in our text, *' Who will shew us any good V But there are some whose minds are enlightened, and whose desires center in their proper object; and who, in answer to the proposed inquiry, reply, " Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us!"
To illustrate the wisdom of their choice, we will consider more at large,
1 . The world's inquiry —
A desire of good being natural, it is of necessity universal —
[From infancy to youth, from youth to manhood, from manhood to old age, the inquiry is continued. Who will shew us any good ? who will shew us any thing wherein our minds may repose, and find the largest measure of satisfaction ? Agreeably to this universal sentiment, all prosecute the same object, in the ways wherein they think themselves most likely to attain it. The merchant seeks it in his business, and hopes that in due time he shall find it in the acquisition of wealth. The soldier looks for it in the dangers and fatigues of war, and trusts that he shall find it in the laurels of victory, the acquisition of rank, and the applause of men. The traveller searclies for it in foreign climes, in expectation that he shall possess it in an expansion of mind, and in those elegant acquirements, which shall render him the admi- 'ration of the circle in which he moves. The statesman conceives
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