to God, till he be converted from nature to grace, and even only then in and through Christ Jesus.

The Lord's bounty and goodness is manifested much in the works of creation, more in the works of providence, but most of all in the astonishing work of redemption. "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not "all his benefits," was the language of that royal contemplator of God's works, Psal. ciii. 2, and Psal. lxxvii. 12; and shall it not be my language? Yes, O my soul, bless, the Lord, and forget not all his benefits; forget not that he made thee out of nothing a reasonable creature at the first, after his own image, Gen. i. 27, and formed for thee, out of the dust of the earth, an erect and convenient body; in the handsomeness of its shape, beauty of its form, and dignity of its countenance, far surpassing the other creatures on earth, over all which thou wast made lord; and that he placed thee not in the house of the world till once he had furnished it with all things necessary, convenient, and comfortable, for thy accommodation :

that thou wast then made perfectly holy and happy forget not also, that he not only formed thee in the womb a complete man in miniature, but preserved thee there, and in due time opened it and brought thee out fafely; nourished thee on the breast, and guarded thee from numberless accidents to which thy heedless steps in childhood exposed thee; guided thee safely up the slippery paths of youth to the summit of manhood; when wounded, pained, and sick, hath often healed thee, and restored thy health, supplied thy returning wants, and relieved thee out of many straits, and constantly preserveth thy being But, above all, forget not that, when in Adam thou hadst fallen by thine iniquity, and destroyed thyself, rebelled against God, consequently lost his image, and thy holy and happy estate, and wast become a slave to the devil, vile and miserable, obnoxious to the wrath of God, and his eternal displeasure; that then, even then, astonishing to think! the Three-one God manifested the plan devised from all eternity for thy recovery, even the ever-wonderful plan of salvation by Christ Jesus.

Forget not, to the remotest ages of eternity, that the Most High God, against whom thou hadst rebelled, and whom thou didst dishonour, not by thy original transgression only, but also by thy highly aggravated actual iniquities, sent his own Son, who was and is God, equal with himself, into the world, to take thy nature upon him, to work out a righteousness, and to bear all that infinite wrath, or equivalent to it, which thy sins justly incurred, in thy room and stead, that thou mightest be set free from the curse of the broken law, and mightest again enjoy the favour of God, and be eternally happy.

Forget not that he willingly came on this errand, and hath fully paid thy ransom: believe this, and rest wholly on him for salvation, and thou shalt not, to eternity, forget this ever amazing and astonishing benefit which he hath conferred upon thee.

There grow a few beautiful limes, the blossoms of which perfume the air, and invite the bees to an ample store of sweets,

from which now they go richly laden to their cells.

The shade of them is also truly delightful.---Like these trees should all those who profess the Christian name be; still perfuming the church, and that part of the world where they live, with the sweet savour of a meek, holy life and conversation, that thereby they may attract others to partake of their sweets; and that none may go away who come into their society, without receiving some benefit, unless the fault be their own.

Their shade, too, of protection and comfort ought to be extended toward all their poor brethren. In all this may I, as an individual, according to my sphere, acquit myself through life.

Round this corner of the wood stands a formidable hedge of rugged thorns, like so many soldiers, all with pointed bayonets, armed cap-a-pie, to resist the invader; not on the offensive, but all on the defensive

they act. For this should kingdoms arm themselves, and nations wage war; and in this manner, as individuals, should every one's passion of resentment be employed; thus war alone is justifiable, and only then, too, when in defence of just rights and privileges; and until such times as nations and individuals arm for this only, we need not expect to see our swords beaten into ploughshares, nor our spears into pruning hooks, Isa. ii. 4.

When a hedge is broken down, the richest pasture, and most pleasant nurseries, are in great danger of being destroyed; so when an army, which is as a fence around a commonwealth or kingdom, is much enfeebled and broken, the constitution, wealth, and inhabitants thereof, are greatly in danger of being destroyed by foreign and domestic

enemies.

In like manner, when the hedge of discipline around the vineyard of the church is not taken care of, but suffered to be broken down, is not the beautiful planting therein,

Ꮓ