eth closer than a brother. The common resources of men may fail him, but there is one resource ampler than all of these, which he cannot exhaust, and none. can take away from him. He may become an orphan, yet still he has a father kinder and abler than all human parents; he,may be houseless, nevertheless he has a home in heaven, and though cast off of man, he has still a refuge in God. Yes, after all his reverses and losses and disappointments, God remains to him. God, the proprietor of all worlds, the source of all joy, the author of all good, God is his in covenant and by promise; and this single cause of joy surpasses infinitely all the united causes of sorrow. And there is one more remark I must not omit. 5. It is that the very sorrows of the Christian are to be rejoiced in. Among the causes of his joy are his very griefs. They work for him a far more exceeding and an eternal weight of glory; and may not a man congratulate himself on that which has this operation? They contribute to the increase of holiness in his heart, they imbitter sin, they wean him from the world, and is it not reasonable that one should rejoice in those things which prove the means of his sanctification? True, one cannot rejoice in sorrow as such; but if they that sow in tears, shall reap in joy, may not the husbandman, in the prospect of such a harvest, rejoice even while he goeth forth weeping. The Apostle Paul, had learned the heavenly art of converting his sorrows into subjects of rejoicing, for, having said, "We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God," he adds, "and not only so, but we glory also in tribulation;" that is, we rejoice in sorrow, and then assigns for it this most satisfactory reason, "knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience, and experience hope, and hope maketh not ashamed;" he rejoiced in it, in consideration of its effects. And David speaks of affliction as something promised, not threatened, and as, therefore not an evil, but a good, for he says, "I know that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me." If, then, to the Christian there be abundant cause for joy, and equal cause why he should rejoice at one time, as at another; if joy and sorrow are compatible, and the causes of joy always transcend those of sorrow, and the Christian's very sorrows are grounds of rejoicing, is it not practicable, and reasonable, and obligatory, that he should rejoice always? I am aware that uniform rejoicing is not his attainment; but it is not on that account, any the less, his privilege and his duty. He does not always rejoice, because the causes of sorrow are near, while those of joy are more remote; the former are sensible; the latter are spiritual. He is quick of sight to see, but slow of heart to believe; he is keenly alive to impressions from this world, but dull to receive those which come from the world which is invisible and future. Moreover, though he is certain that God exists and reigns, he is not always so certain that God is his friend. He has not an abiding assurance of the divine favor. Yet this he should have, and then he will be able to rejoice always in the Lord. I exhort you, Christians, to the exercise of this privilege, yea, to the performance of this duty. I beseech you, God commands you to be happy. He has laid a foundation for your happiness, solid and broad. You may build upon it without fear; and as many as please may build upon it. Hear now a few inferences. 1. If it is our duty to be happy, then it is a sin to be miserable. We are apt to think that our being sad and sorrowful is pleasing to God; that our voluntary wretchedness recommends us to him, but it is not so. And men have been prone to suppose, that self-inflicted sufferings are meritorious in his sight; but it is by no means the case. He is pleased when his will is done; and it is his will that we should rejoice. It is his pleasure that we should be happy. Infer not, however, that it is a sin to be serious; nor confound happiness with merriment. 2. How grossly they misrepresent the religion of the Bible, who speak of it as a gloomy thing. What! a gloomy thing! a religion which not only permits, but commands its subjects to rejoice? What! has that a tendency to make one miserable, which, affording him ample means of being happy, absolutely requires him to be so? A gloomy thing! that which diffuses through the soul a peace, divinely serene, that passeth understanding, and originates in the heart a hope full of immortality, and conciliates death, and dissipates the darkness of the grave, and reveals a smiling God? The religion of the Bible inimical to human happiness! A wilder raving was never uttered in Bedlam; a fouler falsehood never came up from Tophet; and yet many under this impression concerning it, eschew and deprecate it. And some parents carefully preserve their children from what they seem to esteem its contagion, lest it should drive them to melancholy; would have them make no preparation for dying, lest that should render them unfit for living. Ah, my hearers, it is not religion that makes men unhappy; or, if it is, it is not the religion of the Bible, made the religion of the heart. I can never believe that it is in the love of God, or the hope of heaven to make one unhappy. It is the want of religion that makes men unhappy; or it is a false view of religion; or it is indecision and doubt in religion. 3. We learn from this subject what it is that makes the human soul happy. It is not the world. One may awhile rejoice in that, but he cannot always; he will not always have it. He is passing over it, and it is passing away. No; it is not the world. And yet how many of you have nothing else to rejoice in. Ah! what will you do when called to part from it? It is the Lord. He is happy, who can call him his? 4. If God alone can make his creatures happy, what madness it is to live in ignorance of him, or in estrangement from him. Then "acquaint thyself with him;" "return unto him." I cannot ask the sinner to rejoice, because he has no object to rejoice in; and the reasons why he should sorrow prevail over the others. This subject reveals the misery of sinners. They can't rejoice in God; and there is nothing else one can permanently rejoice in. I pity him who has no God to rejoice in. Though |