against a doctrine, the proof of which is not reason, but revelation.

"Consider then: people ruin their fortunes by extravagance; they bring diseases upon themselves by excess; they incur the penalties of civil laws; (and surely civil government is natural ;) will sorrow for these follies past, and behaving well for the future, alone and of itself, prevent the natural consequences of them? On the contrary, men's natural abilities of helping themselves are often impaired; or if not, yet they are forced to be beholden to the assistance of others, upon several accounts, and in different ways,assistance which they would have had no occasion for, had it not been for their misconduct; but which, in the disadvantageous condition they have reduced themselves to, is absolutely necessary to their recovery, and retrieving their affairs. Now since this is our case, considering ourselves merely as inhabitants of this world, and as having a temporal interest here, under the natural government of God, (which however has a great deal moral in it,)-why is it not supposable that this may be our case also, in our more important capacity, as under this perfect moral government, and having a more general and future interest depending? If we have misbehaved in this higher capacity, and rendered ourselves obnoxious to the future punishment which God has annexed to vice, it is plainly credible that behaving well for the time to come may be-not useless, God forbid—but wholly insufficient, alone and of itself, to prevent that punishment; or to put us in the condition, which we should have been in, had we preserved our innocence.

"And though we ought to reason with all reverence, whenever we reason concerning the Divine conduct, yet it may be added that it is clearly contrary to all our notions of government, as well as to what is, in fact, the general constitution of Nature, to suppose that doing well for the future should, in all cases, prevent all the judicial bad consequences of having done evil, or all the punishment annexed to disobedience. And we have manifestly nothing from whence

to determine in what degree, and in what cases, reformation would prevent this punishment, even supposing that it would in some. And though the efficacy of repentance, itself alone, to prevent what mankind had rendered themselves obnoxious to, and recover what they had forfeited, is now insisted on, in opposition to Christianity,-yet, by the general prevalence of propitiatory sacrifice, over the heathen world, this notion, of repentance alone being sufficient to expiate guilt, appears to be contrary to the general sense of mankind."

SERMON IV.

JACOB IN HIS OLD AGE.

GENESIS xliii. 11-14.

"And their father Israel said unto them, If it must be so now, do this; take of the best fruits in the land in your vessels, and carry down the man a present, a little balm, and a little honey, spices and myrrh, nuts and almonds: And take double money in your hand; and the money, that was brought again in the mouth of your sacks, carry it again in your hand; peradventure it was an oversight: Take also your brother, and arise, go again unto the man: And God Almighty give you mercy before the man, that he may send away your other brother, and Benjamin. If I be bereaved of my children, I am bereaved."

(Fourth Sunday in Lent.-Morning.)

"THE path of the just is as the shining light, which shineth more and more unto the perfect day." So the wise man declared it, and so succeeding ages have found it. The mistakes of young disciples, or the grossly sinful conduct of men who are brought ultimately to God, you will find much talked about by the ungodly and profane; and these are quoted far too readily as show

ing that pretensions to piety, and the practice of piety, are widely different things. To the candid, thoughtful mind they will prove nothing against religion, though they prove a great deal against that sinful nature which religion seeks to rectify; and if we want to know what the grace of God really does for a man, it will be better to examine cases of another those of men who have been tried and purified by a long course of discipline, and whose setting sun has gone down brightly, though the dawn of their career, possibly, was overcast with clouds.

A little while ago the faults of Jacob's youth and early manhood were brought before us. We must not attempt to disguise or palliate them. We must tell the plain truth, that in his conduct to his father and brother there was much that every right-minded man must condemn. His falseness towards the one, and his want of generosity towards the other, were utterly without excuse; and if it be pretended that he valued the religious part of the blessing and the birthright, and sinned against God's universal law of truth that he might have what he deemed his rightful share in one particular promise, we must think the act in question doubly guilty and profane.

Our text brings the patriarch before us in the evening of his days. Many eventful stages had been passed in the interval. There was the memorable night which he passed at Bethel,-his long servitude in the house of Laban,—his courtship

and double marriage,-the growth of his family and household and substance till he travelled almost like the prince of a tribe from Haran to Canaan,— his meeting with Esau, and peaceful settlement in the land of promise,—the loss of his beloved Rachel by death, and of Joseph by treachery,—and, best of all, God's gracious communings with him from time to time, confirming the promises to him and his seed, and making the future bright with hope,all this we find recorded as the filling up of Jacob's story between the two periods we speak of; and the result of it all, the blessed Spirit of holiness being his Teacher all through,-was a character greatly advanced beyond the weakness of his early years, and matured to no common degree of excellence. Trouble still pursued him, but he knew better how to meet it. His hope in God was firmer, and his consolations were more abundant. There were afflictions and disorders in his family, making this world an unquiet sojourning-place for a wearied pilgrim; but he had learned to look steadily forwards to the City which hath foundations, and to wait in patience till his dismissal-time should

come.

Such, I say, was Jacob in his old age, and, as a specimen of his best days, I bring before you his behaviour at a very trying time, as described in the lesson for the day. It will give us some useful hints for the direction of our own conduct in emergencies which are almost sure to happen sooner or later.