ture; and that he stands indebted to the divine goodness and mercy for every thing which he either has or hopes for. He cannot prove the justice of that praise which he assumes; and the knowledge of this his weak and fallen state, is a fundamental point in religion. A man must be emptied of himself, in order that he may be filled with the blessings of the Gospel. He must become poor in spirit, in order that he may become rich in faith and a partaker of the kingdom of heaven. Blessed therefore is the man who thinks meanly of himself, and highly of his Maker and Redeemer. Blessed is the man who walks humbly with his GOD, and is also humble towards his fellow-creatures. Blessed is the man who both feels and manifests this poverty of spirit. This temper may not exalt him in the eye of the world; but it is the temper befitting his condition-it is a temper honourable to GoD, and truly beneficial to his fellow-creatures. It is the temper which CHRIST has pronounced to be characteristic of the Christian.

II.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 4.

Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

"BLESSED," says the world, "are the joyful and the gay. Blessed are the rich, the prosperous, and the healthy. Blessed are they who cast away care; who laugh, and drink, and sing; who are vexed by no earthly calamities, on the one hand; and by no qualms of conscience, on the other; who dread no devil; who fear no hell; who feel no awful forebodings of a judgment to come; but having

passed merrily through life, slip easily out of it, without much horror in their minds, and without even a dying groan." Such are the world's happy men; such is their blessedness. How many songs have been written in praise of the life which we have described, and have been sung with a chorus of joy by many a large company! But blessed, says our SAVIOUR, are they that mourn, shall be comforted.

for they

Our SAVIOUR thus warns us against the common joy of the world; for it is a joy which shall terminate in sorrow: whereas this is a sorrow which shall as assuredly end in joy. "Blessed are they that mourn." This may be interpreted, first, as referring to the afflictions which many pious men endure; while the gay and the thoughtless seem to be free from them. "They come into no trouble," said the Psalmist, “like other folk; neither are they plagued like other men: their eyes stand out with fatness. They have more than heart could wish:" while he says of himself, "All the day long have I been plagued, and chastened every morning."

Many parts of Scripture speak of the afflictions of the righteous; as for instance-" Whom the LORD loveth he chasteneth; and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth :" and again, "Many are the troubles of the righteous, but the LORD delivereth him out of them all." The truth is, that affliction and trouble are the means by which God very frequently brings the sinner to himself: while worldly happiness and prosperity are often the portion of those who possess the most hardened hearts. How many Christians can bear witness to the truth of this saying of CHRIST. They were once as gay and unconcerned, as their most thoughtless friends are now. They joined in the midnight feast and revelry; and they praised the god of laughter and the god of wine. But while proceeding in this course, they were overtaken by some calamity, by sickness, poverty, or some bitter disappointment; and the affliction, which seemed at first to be the deathblow to their hopes, subdued in them

the love of this world; and became the beginning of a new life of faith and hope and joy and satisfaction in GOD. They exchanged, therefore, a turbulent and heedless joy, which would have soon ended in sorrow, for a sorrow which has led to permanent and real joy.

But secondly, the mourning spoken of in this passage may be understood as referring to that sorrow, on account of sin, which the Christian has felt, especially on his first repentance; and which he continues to feel, in the daily exercise of the same grace. The sorrow of which we before spoke often ends in joy; this always does: for this is that godly sorrow mentioned by St. Paul, which "worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of." Repentance is the foundatien of all true comfort in religion. And repentance is accompanied with many a distressing thought, perhaps by many a tear, certainly by many a sorrowful remembrance of past negligences and sins; but such sorrow is soon turned into joy; therefore "blessed are they who thus mourn, for they shall be comforted."

Let us not, then, complain of religion as gloomy; though we should see some pious persons severely afflicted and often much cast down. They are cast down perhaps only for a time. They may be suffering under a deep sense of their own unworthiness, and as yet but imperfectly acquainted with the grace of their Redeemer. A Mary weeping at the feet of Jesus, and even a Lazarus lying at the gate full of sores, are happier than a Dives clothed with purple and fine linen, and faring sumptuously every day. One in his lifetime receives his good things; and the other, his evil things; but soon the one shall be comforted; and the other, tormented. "Blessed" then (as our Saviour is represented to say in another gospel) "are ye that hunger now, for ye shall be filled. Blessed are ye that weep now, for ye shall laugh. But woe unto you who are rich, for ye have received your consolation. Woe unto you who laugh now, for ye "The shall mourn and weep." *St. Luke, vi. 21, 25.

laughter of the ungodly is as the crackling of thorns which is soon over; but the affliction of the righteous, though for the present it be not joyous but grievous, afterwards bringeth forth the peaceable fruits of righteousness.

III.

ST. MATTHEW, V. 5.

Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

OUR SAVIOUR here delivers another important truth, and he borrows his language from the 37th Psalm. The Psalmist, after speaking of the wicked, who seem for a while to prosper in the world, exhorts the righteous not to fret on that account; for "evil doers shall be cut off: but those that wait on the LORD, they shall inherit the earth;" and he adds in another verse, "But the meek shall inherit the earth." We may discover, partly from these words, and partly from other passages in the same Psalm, what was the precise meaning of our SAVIOUR. By the meek, those persons are intended, who, laying aside that ambition which is common in the world, resort to no violent or unjust means of advancing their fortune; but commit themselves quietly and patiently to GOD, wait His time, trust His providence, are content to let others gain an advantage over them, and even bear the injustice of a neighbour, a rival, and an enemy, without being ruffled by it. The meek, says David, shall inherit the earth. The promises of the Old Testament were generally temporal; life and immortality having been brought clearly to light, only by the Gospel. Nevertheless under the veil of these temporal promises, spiritual blessings were shadowed forth. The term used in the Old Testament, "shall inherit the earth,” might,

therefore, under the New Testament dispensation, be properly rendered "shall be blessed." We may, then, deduce from this saying of CHRIST, that to the meek were the promises made under the Old Testament, by modes of expression suited to that dispensation; and that to the meek also, were the promises made under the New; the Old and the New Testament being in this respect perfectly agreed.

Perhaps it would not be difficult to show that the promise of a blessing to the meek is often fulfilled even in this life, under our dispensation; for though the turbulent frequently seize the possession of the earth, the meek more truly enjoy it. To occupy peaceably a small estate, is better than to gain by violence a large domain; of which the right is disputed; and the possession, continually interrupted. It is more truly to "inherit the earth.”

Let us then value the advantages of meekness, above all the precarious power and riches which may be acquired by turbulence of spirit. Let us also remember that we are specially called by CHRIST to the exercise of this grace. Christians must be the quiet persons of the land; they must not be forward, and assuming, and ambitious ;—eager, factious, and dissatisfied. They must be content with such things as they have: they must not envy the prosperous :they must, in their very religion, avoid noise and disputation, "for the servant of the Lord must not strive, but must be gentle unto all men :—in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves." That violence, which is so common among other men, should have no place among believers. In women, particularly, meekness is a most becoming grace. Their chief ornament should, as the Apostle says, be that ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of GoD of great price." But it is a virtue which is excellent in all, and is required of all. To be meek, is to follow CHRIST; it is to follow both His precepts and His example. "Come, take my yoke upon you," said our SAVIOUR, “and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly of heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

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