tions, being called the Sea of Galilee, from the province of Galilee in general; the Sea of Tiberias, from a city of that name on its western shore; and the Lake of Genesareth, from a particular tract of Galilee, extending a considerable way along its western side.

According to Josephus, it is a hundred furlongs in length, and forty in breadth. The bottom is of gravel, which renders the waters both of a good color and taste. It is softer than either fountain or river water; and, at the same time, so cold that it will not grow warm, though exposed to the rays of the sun in the very hottest season of the year. The river Jordan runs through the midst of it, which stocks it with a great variety of fish, of a peculiar form and flavor, not found in any other place.

The countries surrounding this lake were large, fertile, and populous, especially the two Galilees, which, according to Josephus, had a great many towns, and a multitude of villages, the least of which contained fifteen hundred souls. On the east side were the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, Gadara, and Hippon; on the west, Capernaum, Tiberias, and Tarrichea. And from all these advantages, it was a common saying among the Jews, that God loved the sea of Galilee above all other seas. An observation strictly just, if to these we add its greatest advantage, namely, that this sea, above all others, was frequently honored with the divine presence of the great Redeemer of mankind, while he dwelt at Capernaum, and even once after he arose from the dead.

While Jesus tarried at Capernaum, he usually taught in the synagogues on the sabbath-day, preaching with such energy of power, as greatly astonished the whole congregation. He did not, however, constantly confiue himself to that city; the adjacent country was often blessed with his presence, and cheered with the heavenly words of his mouth.

In one of the neighboring villages, he called Simon and Andrew, who were following their occupation of fishing on the Jake, to accompany him. These disciples, who had before been acquainted with him, readily obeyed the heavenly mandate, and followed the Saviour of the world. Soon after, he saw James and John, who were also fishing on the lake, and called them also. Nor did they hesitate to follow the great Redeemer of mankind; and, from their ready compliance, there is reason to believe that they, as well as Simon and Andrew, were acquainted with Jesus at Jordan; unless we suppose, which is far from being improbable, that their readiness proceeded from the secret energy of his power upon their minds. But, however this be, the four disciples accompanied our blessed Saviour to Capernaum, and soon after to different parts of Galilee.

How long our Lord was on this journey cannot be determined: all the Evangelists have mentioned is, that he wrought a great number of miracles on diseased persons; and that the fame of these wonderful works drew people from Galilee, Jerusalem, Judea, and beyond Jordan. Nor was the knowledge of these miracles concealed from the heathen, particularly the inhabitants of Syria; for they also brought their sick to Galilee to be healed by him. Consequently, the time our blessed Saviour spent in these tours must have been considerable, though the Evangelists have said very little concerning it.

But whatever time was spent in these benevolent actions, the prodigious multitudes which flocked to him from every quarter, moved his compassion towards those who were bewildered in the darkness of ignorance, and determined him to preach to them "the words of eternal life."

For this blessed purpose, he ascended a 'mountain in that neighborhood; and placing himself on an eminence, from whence he could be heard by the throngs of people attending him, he inculcated, in an amazingly pathetic manner, the most important points of religiou. But, alas! they were coldly received, because many of them were directly opposite to the standing precepts delivered by the scribes and pharisees. Surely, these people, who had seen the blessed Jesus perform so many benevolent actions to the poor, the diseased, and the maimed, might have entertained a more favorable opinion of his doctrine, and known that so compassionate and powerful a person must have been actuated by the Spirit of God, and, consequently that the doctrine he taught was really divine.

He opened his excellent sermon with the doctrine of happiness, a subject which the teachers of wisdom have always considered as the principal object in morals, and employed their utmost abilities to convey a clear idea of it to their disciples, but differed very remarkably with regard to the particulars in which it consisted. The Jews were, in general, persuaded that the enjoyments of sense were the sovereign good. Riches, conquest, liberty, mirth, fame, revenge, and other things of the same kind, afforded them such pleasures, that they wished for no better in the Messiah's kingdom, which they all considered as a secular one; and that a "golden," instead of a "sceptre of righteousness," would have been the "sceptre of his kingdom." Nay, some of the disciples themselves retained, for a time, the like kind of notion, till they were convinced of their mistake by the conduct of their divine Master.

Our Lord and Master, therefore, to shew his hearers in general, and his disciples in particular, the grossness of their error, declared, that the highest happiness of man consisted in the graces of the Spirit, because from the possession and exercise of

them, the purest pleasures result; pleasures which satisfy even the Almighty himself, and constitute his ineffable felicity. The rich, the great, the proud, said the great Redeemer of mankind in whom the wisdom of God was fully displayed, are not happy, as you imagine; they are always wishing for what they cannot obtain; and their disappointments are poisoned arrows, festering in their breasts. On the contrary, the poor in spirit are the truly happy, who discharge the duties of their station, whatever it be, with virtue and integrity, and bless the omnipotent hand who fashioned them in the womb, and guards them from all dangers in this humble vale of sorrow and distress: and though they are excluded from enjoying an earthly kingdom, yet they have a much better reserved for them eternal in the heavens. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs' is the kingdom of heaven."

The jocose and flighty are not the happy race of mortals; but, on the contrary, the afflicted, provided they rightly improve their afflictions; that is, if they are excited by them to mourn for their sins, forsake their wicked courses, and seek a better life. For they shall here enjoy the consolation that their sins are forgiven; and, after passing through the valley of the shadow of death, the fruition of eternal joys. "Blessed are they that mourn for they shall be comforted."

The truth of this heavenly aphorism is very evident; for what hath so great a power to turn the feet of the sons of men into the path of virtue, as affliction? Has not affliction a natural tendency to give mankind a distaste to the pleasures of the world, and convince them they are nothing more than "vanity and vexation of spirit ;" and consequently, to demonstrate that they must seek for happiness in things more solid and permanent than any in this vale of tears? Affliction awakens the most serious thoughts in the mind; composes it into a grave and settled frame, very different from the levity inspired by prosperity: it gives a fellow-feeling for the sorrows of others; and makes it thoroughly sensible of the danger of departing from God, the source and centre of all its joys.

Nor are the passionate happy; but, on the contrary, the meek: those who have subdued their tempers can patiently bear provocation, and are strangers to that destructive passion, envy.The meek shall inherit the choicest blessings of the present life; for, indeed, they principally flow from that benevolent and heavenly temper of mind. Meekness consists in the moderation of our passions, which renders a person lovely and venerable in the eyes of his fellow mortals; and thence he possesses their sincere esteem, while the passionate and envious man is considered as despicable, though adorned with the robe of honor, and digni

fied with the most ample possessions. for they shall inherit the earth."

"Blessed are the meek:

Men, through vanity and blindness, consider those as bappy who enjoy the pleasures of this life, by rioting in luxury and excess. But this is far from being the case; on the contrary, those are the truly happy who have the most vehement desire of treading the paths of virtue and religion. For they, by the assistance of the Holy Spirit, shall obtain every thing they desire; shall be happy here in the practice of righteousness; and, after this transitory life is ended, shall be received into the blissful mansions of the heavenly Canaan. "Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

Forgiveness, not resentment for injuries done, is the spring of happiness; and those who are of a humane and beneficent disposition, rejoice when they can perform a benevolent action, especially to their fellow-mortals in distress. The merciful shall see themselves recompensed even in this life for they shall find, after many days, the bread they have cast upon the waters of affliction, returning tenfold into their bosoms. And surely nothing can surpass the pleasure felt by a generous mind at having relieved a brother, when pressed beneath a load of misfortunes; the pleasure is godlike; it is divine. "Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy."

Sensuality, which is a subjection to the appetite, cannot be enjoyed by those who seek for true and enduring happiness: it is the state of those only who have mortified their carnal appetites, to enjoy an inward purity of mind. With what delight do we behold the glories of the sun, and contemplate the beautiful scenes of nature that surround us! But what proportion bears this to the ineffable delights that must fill the minds of those who behold the great Creator himself, who called the whole universe from nothing, and still supports it with the word of his power? "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."

The tyrants and conquerors of the earth, who disturb the peace of mankind, are far from happy it falls to the share of those who love their fellow-creatures, and do all in their power to promote peace and harmony among the children of men. For they imitate, as far as human nature will permit, the perfection of their Maker; and therefore will be acknowledged by him for his children, and participate of his happiness. "Blessed are the peace makers; for they shall be called the children of God."

Nor does happiness consist in liberty and ease, if those privileges are purchased at the expense of virtue. Those who have suffered the severest trial that human nature is capable of sustaining, from purity of heart, and for conscience' sake, shall

be honored with the highest rewards in the blissful mansions of eternity. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake for theirs' is the kingdom of heaven."

Contentment is not to be expected from the applause of the world; but will be the portion of those who are falsely reviled for their righteousness, and share in the affronts offered to God himself; for by these persecutions the prophets of all ages have been distinguished. "Blessed are ye when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad : for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt. v. 11, 12.

These are the declarations, with regard to happiness, made by the Son of God; and surely we may believe the words of him who came down from heaven; and who, in compassion to our infirmities, took upon himself our nature, and to redeem us from the power of sin and death offered himself a sacrifice on the cross, and thereby opened to us the gates of eternal life.

Having shewn in what true happiness consisted, our Saviour addressed himself to his disciples, and explained their duty as the teachers appointed to conduct others in the paths that lead to eternal felicity: excited them to diligence in dispensing the salutary influences of their doctrine and example, that their hearers might honor and praise the great Creator of heaven and earth, who had been so kind to the children of men.

As his definition of happiness was very different from what the Jews were accustomed to hear from the scribes and pharisees, he thought proper to declare that he was not come to destroy the moral precepts contained in the law or the prophets, but to fulfil or confirm them.

Nothing is so steadfast as the eternal truths of morality; the heavens may pass away, and the whole frame of nature be dissolved, but the rules of righteousness shall remain immutable and immortal. And, therefore, he ordered his disciples, on the severest penalties, to enforce, both by preaching and example, the strict observation of all the moral precepts contained in the sacred writings; and that in a much greater latitude than they were taken by the teachers of Israel. And, in consideration of the frailties of human nature, taught them that excellent form of prayer, which has been used by Christians of all denominations to this very day.

"Our Father," &c.

If earthly parents are called fathers, the Almighty has the best title from every creature, and particularly from men, being the father of their spirits, the maker of their bodies, and the continual preserver of both. Nor is this all; he is "our father" in a still higher sense, as he regenerates us, and implants his