stantly preferveth thy being: But above all, forget not, that when in Adam thou hadst fallen by thine iniquity, and destroyed thyfelf, rebelled against God, confequently loft his image, and thy holy and happy estate, and waft become a flave to the devil, vile and miferable, obnoxious to the wrath of God and his eternal displeasure that then, even then, astonishing to think! the Threeone God manifested the plan devised from all everlasting for thy recovery, even the ever-wonderful plan of falvation by Christ Jefus.

Forget not to the remoteft ages of eternity, that the most High God, against whom thou hadst rebelled, and whom thou didst dishonour, not by thy original tranfgreffion only; but also by thy highly aggravated actual iniquities, fent his own Son who was, and is God, equal with himself, into the world, to take thy nature upon him, to work out a righteousness, and to bear all that infinite wrath, or equivalent to it, which thy fins justly incurred, in thy room and stead; that thou mightest be fet free from the curfe of the broken law, and mightest again

enjoy the favour of God, and be eternally happy.

Forget not that he willingly came on this errand, and hath fully paid thy ransom: believe this, and reft wholly on him for falvation, and thou shalt not to eternity forget this ever amazing and astonishing benefit which he hath conferred upon thee.

There grow a few beautiful limes, the bloffoms of which perfume the air, and invite the bees to an ample ftore of fweets, from which now they go richly loaden to their cells.

The fhade of them is alfo truly delightful---Like these trees fhould all those who profess the Christian name be; ftill perfuming the Church, and that part of the world where they live, with the fweet favour of a meek, holy life and converfation, that thereby they may attract others to partake of their fweets; and that none may go away who come into their fociety, without receiving fome benefit, unless the fault be their own.

Their fhade too of protection and comfort ought to be extended toward all their poor brethren. In all this may I as an individual, according to my fphere, acquit myself through life.

Round this corner of the wood stands a formidable hedge of rugged thorns, like so many foldiers, all with pointed bayonets, armed cap-a-pee, to refift the invader; not on the offenfive, but all on the defenfive they act. For this fhould kingdoms arm themselves, and nations wage war; and in this manner as individuals fhould every one's paffion of refentment be employed: thus war alone is justifiable, and only then too, when in defence of just rights and privileges; and until fuch times as nations and individuals arm for this only, we need not expect to see our fwords beat into plough fhares, nor our fpears into pruning hooks, Ifa. ii. 4.

When a hedge is broken down, the richest pasture, and most pleasant nurseries are in great danger of being destroyed; fo when an army, which is as a fence around a commonwealth or kingdom, is much enfeebled

and broken; the conftitution, wealth, and inhabitants thereof are greatly in danger. of being deftroyed by foreign and domestic enemies.

In like manner, when the hedge of difcipline around the vineyard of the church is not taken care of, but fuffered to be broken down, is not the beautiful planting therein, even that delightful vine, Pfal. lxxx. 8. expofed to the ravages of the boar out of the wood, and the wild beast of the field, ver. 13. even to error and corruption, which are more deftructive than thofe would be to a pleasant planting or vine?

Might not our ancient reformers, if they were now alive, adopt the language of the man of wifdom with a little variation, and fay, We went by the field and vineyard of the church, which, owing to the slothfulness of its watchmen and keepers, was all grown over with thorns, and nettles had covered the face thereof, and the stone. wall thereof was broken down, Prov. xxiv. 30, 31. quite different it was from the beautiful order in which we left it?

Here amidft a group of thorns I fee a delicate lily fpringing · up. Charming flower! thou art destined to grow in a difagreeable fituation; fcarcely wilt thou have room to open thy delightful foilage for thy rugged neighbours, which, regardlefs of thy beauty or odours, will pierce thy bloffom; and fcarce will the wind blow but thou fhalt find their hard oppreffion and sharp fting: yet though thus pierced and oppreffed, thou wilt grow, fpread forth, and flourish to perfection.

This puts me in mind of that beautiful paffage in the Song of Solomon, where the spouse is compared to a lily among thorns, Cant. ii. 2. Thus the church hath been in all ages furrounded by an unneighbourly and unfriendly world, which, regardless of either her beauty or falutary benefits, hath oppreffed and pained her fore, and striven to retard, by the fierce winds of perfecution, her growth and fuccess in the world: yet wonderful! to the praise of free grace, even of her head and hufband Christ Jefus, in the midst of this incumberance, fhe hath been made to grow,