any disease by God himself, so far from rejoicing at it, or even being unconcerned about it, he laid it to heart, and set himself by fasting and prayer to obtain for them a removal, or at least a sanctified improvement, of their sufferings : in a word, he felt for them as if they had been his dearest friends, or his most honoured relatives.
Whilst this conduct of David evinced the height of his attainments in relation to a forgiving spirit, it shewed how justly he estimated the condition of a man oppressed with sickness, and at the same time destitute of the consolations of religion, and unpre- pared to meet his God. This is a subject deserving of peculiar attention : for, in truth, it is very seldom viewed as it ought to be, even by religious characters. Slighter feelings of sympathy are common enough ; but such as are described in our text are rarely ex- perienced. To excite them in all our hearts, we shall shew,
I. How much the sick stand in need of our com- passion—
Ungodly men, whether in health or sickness, are in a truly pitiable condition ; for " they are walking in darkness, and ignorant whither they are going," whilst they are on the very brink and precipice of the bottomless abyss of hell. But in sickness they are peculiar objects of our compassion : for.
They are then bereft of all that they before en- joyed—
[The pleasures of society, the sports of the field, the amusements of the theatre or the bull, and even the researches
of science, have now lo^t their relish They have neither
strength nor spirits for such employments. Even the light itself, which is so cheering to those in health, is almost excluded from their chamber, because of their inability to endure its splendor.]
Nor have they any substitute to repair their loss—
[Those who were their companions in pleasure, have no taste for those things which alone would administer comfort in this trying hour. They may make from time to time their com- plimentary inquiries, imt they cannot sympathize with the afflicted, and, by participation, lighten their burthens. If they
come