been my God from my youth, saith the Psalmist, upon thee have I hung ever since I was taken out of my mother's womb-forsake me not in my grey hairs, when my strength faileth me," Psalm 1xxi. 5-9. We should gather upon God, as it were, from former experience of his goodness, and trust him for the time to come, having formerly found him true. Therefore, let us learn daily to observe the experience of his goodness towards us-how when we have committed ourselves to him on former occasions, he hath been a God from time to time, in such and such dangers to us. Ancient christians should be the most advanced christians, because they are enriched by the most experiences. It is a shame for ancient christians to stagger, when they yield up their souls to God, as if they had not been acquainted with him before. In Psalm xxxi. 5., David pleads to God, "Thou hast redeemed me." He goes to former experience of his mercy. This Psalm is a practice of this precept; here is the precept, "Commit your souls to God as unto a faithful Creator;" here is the practice, "Into thine hand I commend my spirit, for thou hast redeemed me, O Lord God of truth." Therefore, I beseech you, let us treasure up former experiences of God's goodness, so that when extremities come, we may go boldly unto him. To that end, let us observe how faithful he is in discharging the trust committed to him upon all occasions-how he delivers his poor church in the greatest extremities, and ourselves also, in our worst times :"How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God, therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings," Psalm xxxvi. 7. Daily experience of God's lovingkindness, will make us daily trust in him; it should be our continual course to observe the GOODNESS, KINDNESS, FAITHFULNESS, and other attributes of God,

and often to support our souls with them.

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Even our very hairs are numbered, our tears are taken notice of, and put into his bottle, Psalm lvi. 8, our steps are told, Job xxxi. 4, our desires known, our groans are not hid, Psalm xxxviii. 9., we shall not lose one sigh for sin, so particular is God's providence he watcheth continually over us; there are not any of our members, but they are written in his book, Psalm cxxxix. 16; so that he will not suffer a bone to be broken, Psalm xxxiv. 20. We should, therefore, daily resign up our souls to his merciful care, exercising ourselves to walk in his presence. This is that which the scriptures speak of Enoch, who is said to have "walked with God," that is, to have committed himself and his soul to Him, as a faithful Creator. Happy are we, if we have God to go to in our trouble, we may then rest secure. Though the earth be removed, and the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea," Psalm xlvi. 2, yet we shall be safe. There is a river shall refresh the house of God, ver. 4. There are chambers of Divine protection, that the christian enters into, as the prophet saith, Isaiah xxvi. 20, and God is his habitation still: if a christian had no shelter in the world, yet he hath an abiding place in God continually; as God dwells in him, so he dwells in God. Satan and all other his enemies must break through God, before they can destroy him, when once he has committed himself to God as a tower and habitation, and sought him as a hiding-place from the tempest, Isaiah xxxii. 3; so blessed a state is it, to be in God, having commended our souls to him. Beloved, when we commit ourselves to God, we are safe; and if he keep us not out of trouble, yet will he preserve us in trouble. "I will be with thee in the fire, and in the water" (saith God), Isaiah xliii. 2. He saith not, I will

keep you out of the fire and out of the water, for he brought many holy martyrs into it-some were drowned, some burned. Though God will not keep us out of trouble, yet he will preserve our spirit in trouble; nay God often makes the troubles of the godly a preservation to them. Was not Jonah preserved by the whale? What had become of him, if the whale had not swallowed him up? That, that one would have thought must have destroyed him, was a means to carry him

safe to land.

Sometimes, God seems to neglect his children, even when they commit themselves to him; but mark the issue, “ He hath made everything beautiful in his time," Eccles. iii. 11. He permits them, it may be, to remain a long time in trouble and danger, to perfect the work of mortification in their hearts, to crucify their confidence in earthly things, to make them more sensible of the evil of sin, and more watchful against it; but wait awhile, and you shall see that the end of his people is peace, Psalm xxxvii. 37. God's presence and assistance to support his children in trouble is invinciblehe gives them comfort and gladness when they look not for it. When he seems to neglect their outward man, he gives them a paradise within. God preserves "their feet from falling," and their souls from despair, they have an invisible protection. There was a fence about Job that Satan saw, Job i. 10; and a guard of angels that Elisha saw, 2 Kings vi. 17, and that his servant saw afterwards. The ungodly neither see, nor believe that God sets a guard about his children; as Christ saith, "they have meat the world knows not of," John iv. 32. They feed upon hidden comforts.

Those that commit themselves to God aright, are far from tempting his majesty: God will be trusted, but

not tempted: what though things fall not out according to thy expectation, yet wait thou, and think that God hath further ends, thou canst not see: God will do things in his own way, in the order of his providence, therefore neglect not that. If Christ had cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple, what an act would that have been! But He would not so tempt the Almighty. Neither ought we to run unadvisedly into danger, but serve His providence upon all occasions. God uses our endeavours to this very end; He saves not always IMMEDIATELY, but by putting wisdom into our hearts to use lawful means, and using those means, he will save us in them. A christian then, should be in a continual dependance upon God, and say, "I will use these means, God may bless them, if not, I will trust in him. God is not tied to the use of means, though I am." And where there is dependance upon God, there will be an holy silence; all rebellious, stubborn, and tumultuous thoughts are hushed, "My soul is silent unto God," saith David, and "trust in him," Psalm lxii. 1.-MARGIN. Christ addressed his disciples with "Fear not little flock, for it is YOUR Father's will to give you the kingdom." As if he had said, "Will not he, that gives you heaven, give you all things? The apostle too, thus writes to the Philippians, chap. iv. 6, "for nothing be careful," that is, in a distracting manner, but let your requests be made known unto God, and the God of peace shall keep you; and, 66 therefore were we redeemed from the hands of our enemies, that we might serve him without fear all our days," Luke i. 74, 75. Again, a man that truly trusts God, will commit all his ways unto him. He will take no course, but what he is guided in by the Lord; he looks for wisdom from above, and saith, "Lord, it is not in me to guide my own

way; but as thy word shall lead me, and the good counsel of thy Spirit in others direct me, so will I follow thee." He, that commits not his ways unto God, will not commit his comforts unto Him. God must be

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both our counsellor and our comforter. Therefore, the wise man bids us, Acknowledge God in all our ways, and lean not to our own understanding. I beseech you to learn this wholesome lesson, great is our benefit thereby "He that trusts in the Lord shall be as Mount Sion, that cannot be removed," Psalm cxxv. 1; we may be shaken, but cannot be moved. The earth is shaken with earthquakes, but the earth keeps its own centre still : our only peace is in God, and our chiefest safety in his protection. "I was brought low, and he helped me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul, for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee." Is it not a precious thing to have a sweet security of soul, that whether I sleep or wake, whether I be at home or abroad, live or die, I have a Providence watching over me, better than mine own? When I yield myself up to God, his wisdom is mine, his strength mine, whatsoever he hath it is for me, because I am his; ought this not to bring down heaven upon earth, that a christian, out of a holy familiarity with God, can resign up his soul to him upon all occasions? How sweet should a christian's rest be at night after he has yielded himself up to God in prayer!

Beloved, when trouble comes, when sickness comes, when death approaches, what will become of the man that hath no acquaintance with God? he was a stranger to him in time of prosperity, and God is now a stranger to him in adversity; therefore, as we desire to die in God's arms, and yield up ourselves to him; let us daily inure ourselves to this blessed course of committing ourselves and all our ways to him.