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Lastly, Let the strength of our desires be proportioned to the real value of the objects desired.

If, on this enlightened principle, our desires be regulated, we shall be placed beyond the danger of serious and overwhelming disappointment. If we delight supremely in God, and supremely desire his favour, then our desires of things, inferior in value, will be only of proportionate strength, and will be kept in due subordination. We shall not desire them as things essential to our happiness, but only as subsidiary, We shall desire them, only on the supposition of their being agreeable to the will of Him, in whom we place our felicity; so that could we ascertain that they were not, in his estimation, desirable for us, they would on that account cease to be objects of desire. We should be perfectly satisfied in the absence of that which it is not his will to bestow. "The very thing is even in this case done, which we should wish to be done." It accords with our heart's desire and prayer. We should be fully prepared to say to our Father in heaven :-" Lord, if thy wisdom, which is infinitely more than mine, see this thing to be not fit, deny me in this desire of mine."-And this general and habitual desire, which is the controller of every specific and occasional desire, cannot fail to be accomplished in favour of the man who delights supremely in the

Lord. He must, in the highest sense, succeed in obtaining the desires of his heart.

Let it be considered also, that if our supreme desire centre in God, it may be perfectly compatible with our best interests, that many inferior and subordinate desires should be granted. That description or degree of earthly good is incompatible with our spiritual prosperity, which we are inclined to over-value, and to seek with undue intensity of desire. It then becomes necessary to our welfare, that such an object should be withheld, lest it should attract the homage and attachment of heart, due only to the blessed God himself. But if it be desired only with the moderation and submissiveness of feeling, which ought ever to be cherished by the christian, it may be granted without injury to our best interests; and God may see fit to indulge this subordinate and wellregulated desire of the heart. It was, I conceive, with these views that the inspired Psalmist penned the words of the text, and of the other connected verses, which have reference to temporal as well as to spiritual blessings:-" Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed. Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.' His encouraging assurance appears to harmonize

with that given, in still more explicit language, by our blessed Redeemer :-" Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." And will not these secondary and super-added gifts be enjoyed with greater delight, from the very consideration of our having desired them, only in submission to the will of God, and of having received them as the expression of his paternal love?

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Let me now conclude by reminding you, that the subject which has thus engaged our attention, should direct our views, beyond the scenes of this present world, to a future and eternal state, What is Heaven, but the world where the inhabitants must be happy, because their well-regulated desires no sooner arise in the mind than they meet their entire and appropriate gratification! And what is Hell, but the world where the inhabitants must be wretched, because their's is the torment of restless and unsatisfied desire! Their unquenchable thirst for happiness finds no relief; and “that ravenous appetite, which would be preying upon external objects that now fail, turns inward, and as an insatiable vulture, gnaws everlastingly the wretched soul itself." From that tremendous anguish may the God of salvation deliver every one of you! If this be, in truth, your own most earnest desire, and you have not yet fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set

before you in the gospel, lose not one single moment; but flee from the wrath to come, and,

by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, "lay hold on eternal life."

LECTURE IX.

THE GOVERNMENT OF THE TEMPER.

COL. III. 12-14.

Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering; forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.

THE word Temper is usually employed to denote the prevailing spirit and disposition of the mind; so that the Government of the Temper comprehends that habitual regulation of all the feelings, whether transient or permanent, which is most favourable to the discharge of duty, and to the enjoyment and diffusion of happiness. The attainment of that control, will be the happy result of the cultivation of those attractive and engaging qualities, which are delineated, with equal force and feeling, in the words we have

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