of His care, as the greatest things are not exempted from His control; and if the world abounds with affliction, we know the cause and the origin of evil— and if the mysterious dispensations of Providence have withheld from you some good which you anticipated, or have inflicted some evil which you feared, the only source of consolation is to be found in that religion which assures you of the greatness and Providence of God, and which tells you also, that He healeth the broken in heart. So long as the world smiles upon us-and so long as the deeper and more anxious reflections respecting our future salvation are disregarded, so long there will never be a broken heart-and so long, therefore, there will never be that state of mind which brings the spirit of man to God, which bows down the heart at the foot of the Cross-and which is healed by the mercy of God, that man may be happy for ever. A broken heart denotes a mind bent down by some inward grief. Now grief is always occasioned by one or both of these two thingsoutward calamity, or a conviction of sin. If a broken heart proceed from outward calamity, it can only be healed by trusting the Providence, which we cannot trace, and by offering the prayer of Him who was made perfect by sufferings-Father, if this cup may not pass from me except I drink it, Thy will be done. If the broken heart proceed from the conviction that you have offended the 8 Luke xxii. 42. great God of heaven and earth-then are you in that state of mind which is most suited to your condition-which is most becoming a sinful manand which is the best, and indeed the only, sacrifice which is accepted by the Almighty God. A broken and contrite heart, O God, Thou wilt not despise9. If you are thus broken-hearted, we present to you the only remedy for the evil-we preach to you the pardon of sin, and the certainty of peace to the conscience-through the wonderful sacrifice of that holy Redeemer and Saviour who has died that man might live. Return to the Lord and He will have mercy upon you-and to our God for He will abundantly pardon 10. This message is the remedy for a broken heart. This is the object for - which God has been revealed to us. For this we know the God of creation, that we may learn to have hope in Him who telleth the number of the stars, and calleth them all by their names. For this the prophets have spoken-for this the Scriptures were written for this the Providence of God has been displayed in the government of the world -that the broken in heart might be assured of the mercy and love of God-and that the message of the salvation of the soul by the Son of God, might be received upon the best evidence, as the only remedy for the sorrows and the sins of man. Thus have I spoken to you respecting the Almighty God; and, guided by the Scriptures alone, 9 Psalm li. 17. 10 Isaiah lv. 7. Even I have ventured to represent to you, in the most brief manner in which I was able to compress the subject, His GREATNESS, HIS PROVIDENCE, and His MERCY — and I now conclude this noble topic with enforcing the duty and the privilege to which the author of this Psalm refers: Praise ye the Lord. Let us not be contented with taking a gloomy view of religion.-Why should we not elevate our hearts to God, and rejoice in the contemplation of His goodness. Even in this life, amidst all our troubles, and amidst all our sorrows, we have reason to praise Him, whenever we attempt to count our mercies, and remember how little we have deserved the least of them. now we have reason to praise God, for the discovery of His greatness, which elevates us to the contemplation of heavenly things. We have reason to praise God for His providence-for I am convinced there is not one person present who is not able to look back upon his past life, and remember some proofs, that the Providence of God has been extended to him in mercy and goodness. We have reason to praise Him for His love, for your life has been prolonged to this moment, that you may repent, and return to Him, and believe rightly, and live holily. But if the present consideration of these things will not raise you to that state of delight and of joy, in which you can praise God remember that a day is coming when the burthen of the flesh shall be removed; when the body shall be parted from the spirit; and when a brighter and better world than this shall be the portion of the broken in heart.-Oh happy state, when the blissful immortality of man shall begin, and eternity shall be his portion! Then shall we praise God, when we shall contemplate His excellent greatness in the infinity of His magnificent universe-then shall we praise Him for His providence, for we shall understand the reasons for which we were afflicted. We shall know the causes of the evils which appear so mysterious. We shall praise God for the sufferings of life, as much as for the good we receive from Him. We shall praise Him for His mercy and His love; for we shall unite in that sublime and holy praise, which the Prophet has related in the vision which opened to him the future world: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive the glory and the honour, the worship" and the praise of His creatures. Not unto us, Oh Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the praise 12 of our salvation. My Christian brethren, this is the immortality before you; these are the things which the mercy of God now places in your power. Will you not then lay aside every weight, and the sin that doth so easily beset you 13: will you not run with patience the race that is set before you, looking unto Jesus, the author 14 of these great blessings, the sacrifice and the example for man? I beseech I beseech you, brethren, by the greatness, by the Providence, by the mercies of |