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inestimable benefits with which he covenants to crown those who wait for his blessing: promises, evincing the tender mercy and loving-kindness of God, fitted for every changing scene, and adapted to comfort and support under the most painful circumstances. Yet he will remember that these promises are made only to those who obey God, and keep his commandments; he will be careful not to appropriate them to himself, unless he can trace an unfeigned desire to yield up the whole heart to him, whose it is, and who demands its homage. He will studiously examine the preceptive parts of Holy Writ, and desire that his feelings and his conduct may correspond with its principles. He will equally delight in those passages which demand the submission of the heart, as in those which bind up the brokenhearted, and proclaim peace and security to the wretched. He will be equally comforted by obedience to his heavenly Father, as by appropriating the supports which he has afforded. He will not take a partial view of the revealed will of God; for he will be anxious not to mistake on a subject so important, nor lose the benefit arising from his sufferings. He will desire, first, conformity to the spirit, and tone, and temper of the Bible, and then will anxiously wait, expect, and plead for peace and comfort.

A few passages of Sacred Writ are subjoined,

with the view principally of rousing the mourner to inquire and diligently to search the Scriptures. "But when they in their trouble did turn unto the Lord God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. Although affliction cometh not forth of the dust, neither doth trouble spring out of the ground; yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward. Man that is born of a woman is of few days, and full of trouble. They cause the cry of the to come unto him, and poor he heareth the cry of the afflicted. When he giveth quietness, who then can make trouble? and when he hideth his face, who then can behold him? whether it be done against a nation, or against a man only. Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty: for he maketh sore, and bindeth up: he woundeth, and his hands make whole. He shall deliver thee in six troubles: yea, in seven there shall no evil touch thee. If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and help. And when he was in affliction, he besought the Lord his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, and prayed unto him: and he was entreated of him, and

heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the Lord he was God. And he shall judge the world in righteousness, he shall minister judgment to the people in uprightness. The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble. And they that know thy name will put their trust in thee: for thou, Lord, hast not forsaken them that seek thee. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him. Thou art my hiding-place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. I will instruct thee, and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye. Many sorrows shall be to the wicked; but he that trusteth in the Lord, mercy shall compass him about. But the salvation of the righteous is of the Lord: he is their strength in the time of trouble. And the Lord shall help them, and deliver them: he shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them, because they trust in him. Blessed is he that considereth the poor: the Lord will deliver him in time of trouble. The Lord will strengthen him upon the bed of languishing: thou wilt make all his bed in his sickness. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his

pavilion; in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble, and he delivered them out of their distresses. He forgetteth not the cry of the humble. Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me thou shalt stretch forth thy hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me. I know that the Lord will maintain the cause of the afflicted, and the right of the poor. This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word. I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right, and that thou in faithfulness hast afflicted me. Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant. And it shall come to pass in the day that the Lord shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve, &c. And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction. Sing, O heavens; and be joyful, O

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earth; and break forth into singing, O mountains for the Lord hath comforted his people, and will have mercy upon his afflicted. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But though he cause grief, yet will he have compassion according to the multitude of his mercies. In that day, saith the Lord, will I assemble her that halteth, and I will gather her that is driven out, and her that I have afflicted; and I will make her that halted a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation: and the Lord shall reign over them in Mount Zion from henceforth, even for ever. Verily, verily, I say unto you, that ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy. But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. Choosing rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin