sucking child? Yea, she may forget, yet will I not

forget thee," Isa. xlix. 15. I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," Heb. xiii. 5. "God will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able, but will with the temptation also make a way to escape; that ye may be able to bear it," 1 Cor. x. 13. On such words of the Lord rely with confidence; they will not fail to revive the soul; and, at last, the joyful day of harvest will come, the day when those who have sown in tears will reap in joy, when those who have gone forth weeping, bearing precious seed, will come again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them, Psa. cxxvi. 6. Let us, then, not only do good without being weary, but endure evil, for "in due season we shall reap if we faint not." The apostle Paul says, "Every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible:" and should not we be ready, joyfully ready, by waiting and endurance, by quietness and hoping, to glorify the Lord, since he promises us, not merely (as to the waiting husbandman) a joyful day of earthly, transitory reward, but a heavenly, everlasting harvest of joy?

My friends, the apostle James, in giving to his suffering brethren the consoling expectation of a day of praise and joy, reminded them, that the "coming of the Lord draweth nigh;" and St. Paul, on similar occasions, frequently adds, "The Lord is at hand." If, differing from the primitive christians, we are not disposed to consider the second coming of the Lord,

for the terror of unbelievers, and the reward of the faithful, to be so near at hand, yet can we be unwilling, when a season of painful waiting and endurance is laid upon us, to comfort ourselves with the words in a somewhat different sense, "The Lord is at hand!" Let us continually remember, that after the Lord had checked the impatient and curious inquiries of his disciples, relative to his second coming, by telling them that the Father had reserved the times and seasons in his own power, he assured them, "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." And, as the disciples felt their courage revived, principally by this assurance, and returning to Jerusalem with great joy, began to execute their commission with a patient expectation of receiving the promise of the Father, the Spirit of truth; so let us take courage from the unquestionable nearness of the Lord, who is every day and every hour invisibly present with his disciples. Let us be confiding and patient, courageous, humble, and persevering, in every conflict and difficulty, and under every cross and suffering which the loving wisdom of God appoints for us. At last the day will come, when the Lord will redeem those who have patiently endured from all evil, and receive them to his heavenly kingdom. "He that endureth to the end shall be saved." Amen.

LECTURE XVII.

JAMES V. 9-12.

Grudge not one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned: behold, the judge standeth before the door. Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience. Behold, we count them happy which endure. Ye have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy. But above all things, my brethren, swear not, neither by heaven, neither by the earth, neither by any other oath but let your yea be yea; and your nay, nay; lest ye fall into condemnation.

My christian friends, you well remember how the apostle James exhorted those christians, who were oppressed and ill-treated by their haughty, wealthy neighbours, to a believing expectation, and a patient endurance, by pointing out the strong consolation afforded by the word and promise of God, and reininding them of the last day, "the harvest which is the end of the world," Matt. xiii. 39, which would make ample amends for all they had suffered. The words that I have just read contain a reiterated exhortation to patience, founded on grounds not less

solid than the former, and equally worthy of being carefully laid to heart. Turning away from the consideration of their wealthy oppressors, whom he had so severely rebuked, he addresses himself to his beloved brethren, the innocent sufferers. It did not seem needful to dissuade them from attempting to inflict retribution on their persecutors, or from cherishing feelings of animosity; for that rule, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth," had been already abrogated by the Redeemer; and in place of the ancient rule, "Thou shalt love thy friend, and hate thy enemy," he had substituted the law of universal love; teaching us, that we ought to look upon every man to whom we stand in any relation whatever, and therefore even an enemy, as our neighbour. Hence the apostle's mild exhortation to his suffering fellow christians, "Grudge not one against another," that is, "be not inwardly incensed-do not groan inwardly." But this admonition, though kindly and tenderly expressed, may appear to exact too much, if it means that secret groaning under suffering is to be considered as unchristian. Yet, my friends, along with apparent patience, there may be a silent, secret agitation of spirit, which, though not heard by men, is heard by God, which before him speaks aloud of injustice suffered, and calls upon him for vengeance, and the punishment of our adversaries: and does not such a feeling plainly indicate a state of heart inconsistent with christian love, with the love of our enemies? and are we not consequently bound to

repress it as unlawful? But the apostle probably had something more than this in his mind. Between husbands and wives, members of the same family, friends and relations, are there not times, when they think themselves warranted to cast indirect reproaches on one another; when, without living in actual avowed enmity, they retain much unkindly feeling in their hearts; they manifest in their demeanour, chagrin, and irritation, and displeasure; they practise a silent method of letting each other feel coldness and un friendliness; they maintain altogether a line of conduct the very opposite of all that is cordial and affectionate, and which I will not attempt to describe more minutely, since we all know it from observation or experience. Indeed, I know not how to express it more accurately, than in the words of the apostle in our text; "Grudge not" (murmur not inwardly) "one against another." And now, my friends, only reflect how often the marriage union, the domestic circle, and the intercourse of relations and friends, are embittered by such conduct. Alas! how many a germ of improvement or of goodness is blighted or checked in its growth, where such a mode of acting, as we have described, has insinuated itself! How many obstacles has it created to the increase of the kingdom of God, in individuals, in families, and in congregations!obstacles which are so much the more difficult to remove, because both parties, to a certain extent, have' some just cause of complaint, and each considers that the habitual manifestations of ill-will which he inflicts