be found? You may go and search for it through the whole creation in vain : " The depth saith, It is not in me ; and the sea saith, It is not in me. It cannot be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed for the price thereof e :" it is in Christ only that the nations of the earth either are, or can be, blessed. If it be said, that religion has its peculiar trials ; we acknow- ledge readily, that it has : but if it bring trials, it affords comforts also to counterbalance them : indeed the very word " comfort" necessarily implies in it somewhat of previous pain or trouble. Sorrow for sin, the mortification of our in-dwelling corruptions, the enduring of contempt and reproach for Christ's sake, may all be considered as painful in themselves ; but none ever took "this yoke" upon them, without finding it, after a season, both "light and easy;" and being enabled at last to take pleasure, and to glory, in those very trials, which appear so formidable to unenlightened menf. But if you wish to be happy and yet hold fast your sins, that is impossible : as the tenderest mother in the universe cannot make her child happy, whilst he is under the influence of perverse and wicked dispositions, so neither can God himself make you happy, whilst you are living in disobedience to any one of his commands. There must of necessity be a difference between a duteous and a disobedient child : to the one a wise mother will impart many testimonies of her regard, which she is constrained to withhold from the other. So it is with God: he manifests himself to his faithful people as he does not unto the world : and if we would but walk before him as obedient children, he would give us a foretaste of heaven itself, in the light of his countenance, and in the tokens of his love. Were this duly considered, we should no longer be content to live as " aliens from the com- monwealth of Israel," but should seek to become "fellow- citizens with the saints, and of the household of God."]
2. Those who love and mourn for her —
[Your concern for the welfare of the Church is a hopeful evidence that you have received the word of God in truth ; for it is the characteristic mark of all true saints, that " they prefer Jerusalem above their chief joy." But, whilst you are concerned about the Church at large, you must not forget, that you yourselves constitute a part of that Church, and that the other members of this great family will rejoice or mourn, according as you walk worthy, or unworthy, of your high call- ing. The comfort of God's children depends, not only on the manifestations of his favour, but on. the state of the Church around them. What tears did David shed on account of those who kept not God's law ! and how did Paul feel, as it were,
e Job xxviii. 1 1, 15. *' 2 Cor. xii. 9, 10.