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such an anointing of the Holy Spirit, and such an experimental acquaintance with all the essential truths of Christianity, as will effectually prevent your falling into those snares, which have proved fatal to these unhappy apostates."-Nor can I forget to mention the remarkable promise made originally to Joshua, and which most certainly belongs to all the people of God, as appears from the manner of its application in the epistle to the Hebrews; I will not, I will not leave thee, I will never, never, never forsake thee:' for such is the emphasis of the original a. Language this, which conveys a strong idea of the immutability of the divine love; and as it is designed to encourage our confidence in God's readiness to assist us on all occasions, and amidst the greatest difficulties and temptations, so adds no small weight to the general argument.

On these considerations then, may we rest our firm persuasion, "That God will perform the good work he hath begun in every real Christian."

And now to close the whole. Let me remind you, Christians, of your infinite obligations to the grace of God. You cannot be enough thankful. The foundation of your hope is laid in grace;, the superstructure is raised by grace; and the topstone will at length be brought with shoutings, crying, Grace, grace unto it.—And having substantial reason to conclude that you are Christians indeed, if what hath been said is true, you have surely all imaginable cause for cheerfulness and joy, as well as gratitude and praise.-Nor will this doctrine, if rightly understood, prove an occasion of sloth and indifference to an ingenuous mind: on the contrary, instead of relaxing, it will strengthen the nerves of the soul, and mightily quicken and invigorate the Christian in his course of duty.—And as to those who are disposed to turn the grace of God into licentiousness, it is sufficient to observe, that the remotest expression of such a temper may justly authorise a strong presumption, that God hath not begun a good work in that man's heart; and that, therefore, the hopes with which such an one flatters himself, are vain and groundless. But I am persuaded better things of you, brethren, and things which accompany salvation.

« Heb. xiii. 5. Ου μή σε ἀνῶ, εδ' ἐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω.

DISCOURSE XVI.

THE USE OF RELIGION IN DEATH.

PSALM XXIII. 4.-Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

Or the many arguments that may be urged in favour of religion, its usefulness in death is not the least. Nay this is an argument of such weighty consideration, that it might well demand our most serious attention, even though all idea of the advantages which at present result from religion were held en tirely out of view. For where is the man who would not be glad to find himself in possession of something that will administer comfort to his heart, when all the resources of nature fail, and he is just upon the point of launching into an unknown and eternal world? Yea, there is scarce a man in the midst of life, be he ever so much intoxicated with its pleasures, who, while his thoughts are by some circumstance turned upon death, doth not secretly envy the Christian of those hopes and joys which religion alone inspires. He may dislike religion itself, but to its utility at such a time, his conscience cannot forbear yielding this testimony. Balaam was a wicked man, yet he spoke the sense of his heart when he said, Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his a. And if a glance only at death will force an acknowledgment of this sort from the lips of men of profligate lives, what advantage may we not hope will result from a steady contemplation of it? As such a realizing prospect of our final dissolution would not fail to plead strongly in favour of the truth and importance of religion, so, it is probable, it would prove a powerful mean, with the blessing of God, of conciliating our hearts to that great event. With this view I propose now to discourse particularly of death,

a Num. xxiii. 10.

And how great will be my happiness, if, while I am describing its terrors on the one hand, and that effectual antidote which the grace of God hath provided against those terrors on the other, I should be an instrument of winning one soul to the love and obedience of Christ!

To this subject the words of the text naturally lead me. David was a great and mighty prince: and it should seem from what follows in the next verse, that he was at this time in the height of worldly prosperity. But his prosperity did not, as is too often the case with us, banish death from his thoughts. No. He knew how to admit a contemplation of this sort amidst the most cheerful scenes. Nay he knew how hereby to add beauty to a composure, which for sprightliness of imagination and softness of expression, as well as for the accuracy and justness with which he keeps up the figure, exceeds almost any other of the kind in the book of Psalms.

The blessed God he introduces in the character of a shepherd, at once congratulating himself on the happiness he enjoyed under his pastoral care, and expressing his assured hope that he should still enjoy the divine bounty, guidance and protection. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake a.' How soft, how soothing the description! The tenderness of the shepherd's heart we feel the peaceful pleasures of the happy flock we enjoy. And thus is represented the care which a kind and merciful God vouchsafes to take of those who fear him, the constant provision he makes for their wants, both temporal and spiritual, the seasonable measures he uses for their recovery, when through temptation they go astray, and the skilful manner in which he leads and guides them in the ways of knowledge, truth and holiness. But, as a farther proof of the shepherd's tenderness and love, and of the confidence which the flock securely repose in him, he changes the scene from green pastures and still waters to a dark and gloomy vale. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.'

a Psal. xxiii. 1-3.

Some are of opinion that by this striking image the psalmist means to describe, not death itself, but some affliction, the terrors of which bear a near resemblance to it. And certain it is that there are afflictions, especially those on a religious account, which when they rise to their greatest height do equal, yea perhaps exceed the anguish felt in extreme moments. And David is frequently used to compare his sorrows to those of a dying man. But I see no necessity for departing from the first and obvious sense of the words. The shadow of death, may, without any kind of impropriety, be understood of death itself. Nay it is thus used in several other passages of Scripture, as particularly, where Job speaking of the wicked says, morning is to them even as the shadow of death: if one know them, they are in the terrors of the shadow of death a;' that is, they dread a discovery as men commonly dread death. And the phrase in the text might be rendered, the valley of the deathly shade. Considering the psalmist therefore as speaking here of death, we have in the words-The idea he framed of it, with all the terrors both real and imaginary, which usually attend it--And the fortitude of mind he possessed in the view of it, with the grounds and reasons of that happy temper.

• The

FIRST, His description of death is amazingly striking and expressive. He compares it, not to a gate through which a man instantly passes, but to a dark, deep, long, dreary vale. A vale over which hang steep and craggy precipices, tremendous to be beheld, and which cast a long and horrible shade all through it. A vale in which the unhappy traveller is exposed to various and unknown dangers, where he is liable every moment to be swallowed up in pits of mire and water, or to be torn in pieces by beasts of prey. A vale in which his ear is assaulted with hoarse and dismal sounds, and his imagination overpowered with black and melancholy ideas. In a word, a vale tedious and long, and through which he walks with a slow and doubtful pace. So when the prophet Jeremiah speaks of the wilderness through which the Israelites passed, he describes it as a land of deserts and of pits, a land of drought, and of the shadow of death; and a land that no man had been used to pass through, and where no man dwelt b. And, as if the figure had been incapable of

a Job xxiv. 17.

b Jer. ii. 6.

fully expressing his ideas, he introduces the king of terrors himself, that huge monster, as extending his shadow large and horrible all over this valley, and totally obstructing what little remaining gleams of light it might otherwise enjoy. And thus into his account of death he takes all the dismal appendages, all the sad solemnities of it. So that here is a combination of gloomy ideas, darkness and danger, solitariness and weariness, doubt and uncertainty, fear and horror, in short every thing that is terrible, frightful and alarming. Such is his description of death. And now,

SECONDLY, What is his language, inspired as he was with the hopes and comforts of religion, in the view of this sad and solemn scene? I will fear no evil: for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Happy man! Who would not wish to possess his faith, his resolution?

I will fear no evil. Numerous and great are the evils, as we shall quickly see, to which death exposes mankind-evils which it is scarcely possible for humanity, much less for a guilty conscience to apprehend without dread. "But, be these evils what they may, I will not fear them. No; I will not, though at the same time I acknowledge myself a feeble helpless sheep, and as such prone to fear. They may startle, but they shall not confound me. They may at their first appearance surprise, but they shall not overcome me. I will not yield to fear, but confidently rely on my God. Though ten thousands of these evils set themselves against me, I will not be afraid. No, I will not fear though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be earried into the midst of the sea." And why?

Because thou art with me-" Thou, a skilful compassionate. and faithful Shepherd, who well knowest the dangers which await the flock in this dreary valley; who tenderly pitiest them amidst their weakness and their fears, and art ever able to aid, support and deliver them.-Thou who hast hitherto been my shepherd; hast guided and defended me all my days: hast supplied my wants, when every resource of nature hath failed; and restored my soul when on the brink of miseries worse than death.-Thou art with me. In the midst of this gloomy vale I believe thee to be present. Here I have thee immediately be

fore my eye. I feel, I enjoy thy comforting, thine enlivening

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