same violent assaults. From God himself too must we occa- sionally experience the hidings of his face, and the chastisements of his rod: for, " What son is he whom the Father chasteneth not?" But in our troubles we must imitate our blessed Lord, and spread them before our heavenly Father " with strong crying and tears." The proper language for us is that which was used by him" And, as far as our afflictions pro- ceed from men, we must meet them with patience and resigna- tion, or rather, I should say, with returns of kindness and love. We should be ready to " restore that which we took not away," and to render good for evil, till we have " overcome evil with good°." Doubtless this is a difficult and arduous task: but it is one which will be richly recompensed in the performance of it, and will be highly approved of our God in the last day p. We may indeed, notwithstanding such conduct, be constrained to " pass through deep waters ;" but our God will be with us in the midst of them'i, and bring us through all our tribulations to a state of eternal blessedness and glory ^]
n ver. 13—18. ° Rom. xii. 20, 21. P Matt. vi. 14.
1 Isai. xliii. 2. ^ Rev. vii. 14, 15.
Ps. Ixix. 32, 33. Your heart shall live that seek God., For the Lord heareth the poor, and despiseth not his prisoners.
SWEETLY encouraging are the records of God's people, as contained in the Sacred Oracles. We see their complaints exactly agreeing with those which we ourselves are constrained to utter. We see with what confidence they betook themselves to prayer ; and how wonderfully their efforts were crowned with success ; and how pleased God himself was with magnifying his grace and mercy towards them : and from all this we derive encouragement, at once suited to our necessities, and sufficient for our wants. Be- hold the experience of David in the preceding con- text : " I am poor and sorrowful." (This accords with what is felt by every contrite soul.) And to what has he recourse ? To prayer ; and with an enlargement of heart which we should scarcely have expected to see : " Let thy salvation, O God, set me up on high ! " (It is thus that we also should pray ;