when stripped of his eftate,----his wealth, his friends, his children,--chearfully holding up his head, and entertaining. his hard fortune with firmnefs and ferenity, and this, not from a stoical ftupidity, but a juft fenfe of God's providence, and a perfuafion of his justice and goodnefs in all his dealings.

-Such an example, I fay, as this, is of more univerfal ufe, fpeaks truer to the heart, than all the heroic precepts,. which the pedantry of philofophy have to offer.

This leads me to the point I aim at in this difcourfe; namely, that there are no principles but thofe of religion to be depended on in cafes of real stress, and that these are able to encounter the worst emergencies; and to bear us up under all the changes and chances to which our life his fubject.

Confider then, what virtue, the very first principle of religion has, and how wonderfully it is conducive to this end. That there is a God, a powerful, a wife and good being, who firft made the world

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and continues to govern it;-by whofe goodness all things are defigned-and by whofe providence all things are conducted to bring about the greatest and best ends The forrowful and penfive wretch that was giving way to his miffortunes, and mournfully finking under them, the moment this doctrine comes into his aid, hufhes all his complaints→→→→ and thus fpeaks comfort to his foul-" It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth him good,-without his direction I know that no evil can befall me,-without his permiffion that no power can hurt me,—it is impoffible a being fo wife fhould mistake my happinessor that a being fo good fhould contradict it. If he has denied me riches or other advantages-perhaps he forefees the gratifying my wifhes would undo me, and by my own abuse of them be perverted to my ruin.If he has denied me the request of children,—or in his providence has thought fit to take them from me how can I say--whether he has not dealt kindly, with me, and only taken that away which he forefaw would embitter and fhorten my days-It does fo, to thousands, where the disobedi

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ence of a thankless child has brought down the parents grey hairs with forrow to the grave. Has he vifited me with fickness, poverty, or other disappointments ?-can I fay, but these are bleffings in difguife? -fo many different expreffions of his care and concern to difintangle iny thoughts from this world, and fix them upon another,another, a better world beyond this!" This thought opens a new scene of hope and confolation to the unfortu nate; and as the perfuafion of a providence reconciles him to the evils he has fuffered, this profpect of a future life gives him ftrength to defpife them, and esteem the light afflictions of his life as they are not worthy to be compared to what is referved for him hereafter.

Things are great or small by comparifon-and he who looks no further than this world, and ballances the accompts of his joys and fufferings from that confideration, finds all his forrows enlarged, and at the clofe of them will be apt to look back, and caft the fame fad reflection upon the whole, which the patriarch did to Pharaoh," That few

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and evil had been the days of his pilgri mage:" But let him lift up his eyes towards heaven, and ftedfaftly behold the life and immortality of a future ftate, -he then wipes away all tears from off his eyes for ever and ever-like the exiled captive, big with the hopes that he is returning home;-------he feels not the weight of his chains, or counts the days of his captivity; but looks forward with rapture towards the country. where his heart is fled before.

Thefe are the aids which religion of fers us towards the regulation of our spirit under the evils of life,----but like great cordials,--they are feldom used but on greater occurrences.----In the leffer evils of life we feem to ftand unguarded. --and our peace and contentment are overthrown, and our happiness broke in upon by a little impatience of spirit, under the crofs and untoward accidents we meet with.----Thefe stand unprovided for, and we neglect them as we do the flighter indifpofitions of the body----which we think not worth treating feriously and fo leave them to nature.

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In good habits of the body, this may ́do, ---and I would gladly believe, there are fuch good habits of the temper,-----such a complexional eafe and health of heart, as may often faye, the patient much medicine. ----We are still to confider---that however fuch good frames of mind are got----they are worth preferving by all rules;----patience and contentment.--which like the treasure hid in the field for which a man fold all he had to purchase----is of that price that it cannot be had at too great a purchase, fince without it, the best condition in life cannot make us happy,

and with it, it is impoffible we should be miferable even in the worlt. ------Give me leave therefore to clofe this difcourfe with fome reflections upon the subject of a contented mind------and the duty in inan of regulating his fpirit, in our way. through life;a fubject in every body's mouth-preached upon daily to our friends and kindred-but too oft in fuch a ftyle, as to convince the party lectured, only of this truth;-that we bear the misfortunes of others with excellent tranquility.

I believe