about them, they never got drunk, scorn to commit murder, and at the same time are as full of enmity, of envy, malice, and pride, as the devil: the Lord God help such to see their condition. Happy is it Christ can dwell in the bush when we cannot dwell ourselves there: there are few christians can live together, very few relations can live together under one roof; we can take that from other people that we can't bear from our own flesh and blood; and if God did not bear with us more than we bear with one another, we should all have been destroyed every day. Does the devil make you say, that you will give all up; I will go to the Tabernacle no more: I will lay on my couch and take my ease; Oh! if this is the case of any to-night, thus tempted by Satan, may God rescue their souls. O poor dear soul, you never will have such sweet words from God as when you are in the bush; our suffering times will be our best times. I know we had more comfort in Moorfields, on Kennington-Common, and especially when the rotten eggs, the cats and dogs were thrown upon me, and my gown was filled with clods of dirt that I could scarce move it; I have had more comfort in this burning bush that when I have been in ease. I remember when I was preaching at Exeter, a stone came and made my forehead bleed, I found at that very time the word came with double power to a labourer that was gazing at me, who was wounded at the same time by another stone, I felt for the lad more than for myself, went to a friend, and the lad came to me, Sir, says he, the man gave me a wound, but Jesus healed me; I never had my bonds broke till I had my head broke. I appeal to you, whether you were not better when it

武

was colder than now, because your nerves were braced up; you have a day like a dog-day, now you are weak, and are obliged to fan yourselves: thus it is prosperity lulls the soul, and I fear Christians are spoiled by it.

Whatever your trials are, let this be your pray

er, Lord, though the bush is burning, let it not be consumed. I think that is too low, let it be thus; Lord, when the bush is burning, let me not burn lower as the fire does, but let me burn higher and higher: I thank thee, my God, for trouble; I thank thee, my God, for putting me into these afflictions one after another; I thought I could sing a requiem to myself, that I should have a little rest, but trouble came from that very quarter where I might reasonably expect the greatest comfort: I thank thee for knocking my hands off from the creature; Lord, I believe, help my unbelief; and thus you will go on blessing God, to all eternity: by and by the bush shall be translated to the paradise of God; no burning bush in heayen, except the fire of love, wonder, and gratitude; no trials there, troubles are limited to this earth, above our enemies can't reach us.

Perhaps there are some of you here are saying, burning bush, a bush burnt and not consumed! I don't know what to make of this nonsense: come, come, go on, I am used to it, and I guess what are the thoughts of your hearts: I pray God, that every one of you here may be afraid of comfort, lest they should be tossed about by the devil. What is it I have said? how have I talked in such an unintelligible manner? why, say you, what do you mean by a burning bush? why, thou art the very man, how so? why, you are burning with the devil in your hearts; you are burning

with foppery, with nonsense, with the lust of the flesh, with the lust of the eye, and pride of life; and if you do not get out of this state, as Lot said to his sons-in-law, ere long you shall be burning in hell, and not consumed: the same angel of the covenant who spake to Moses out of the bush, he shall ere long descend, surrounded with millions of the heavenly hosts, and sentence you to everlasting burnings. O you frighten me! did you think I did not intend to frighten you? would to God I might frighten you enough! I believe it will be no harm for you to be frightened out of hell, to be frightened out of an unconverted state :

go and tell your companions that the madman said, that wicked men are as firebrands of hell: God pluck you as brands out of that burning. Blessed be God, that there is yet a day of grace: Oh! that this might prove the accepted time; Oh! that this might prove the day of salvation; Oh! angel of the everlasting covenant, come down; thou blessed, dear comforter, have mercy, mercy, mercy upon the unconverted, upon our unconverted friends, upon the unconverted part of this auditory; speak, and it shall be done: command, O Lord, and it shall come to pass: turn the burning bushes of the devil into burning bushes of the Son of God: who knows but God may hear our prayer, who knows but God may hear this I have seen, I have seen the afflictions of my people: the cry of the children of Israel is come up to me, and I am come down to deliver them: God grant this may be his word to you under all your trouble; God grant he may be your comforter. The Lord awaken you that are dead in sin, and though on on the precipice of hell, God keep you from tumb

cry,

ling in and you that are God's burning bushes, God help you to stand to keep this coat of arms, to say when you go home, blesed be God, the bush is burning, but not consumed, Amen! even so, Lord Jesus. Amen!

SERMON XII.

SOUL DEJECTION.

PSALM xlii. ver..

Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, for the help of his countenance.

I

HAVE often told you, in my plain way of speaking, that grace is very frequently grafted on a crab-stock; that the Lord Jesus picks eut persons of the most peevish, churlish disposition, and imparts to them the largest measure of grace, but for want of a better natural temper, a great deal of grace does not shine so bright in them, as a small degree in those that are constitutionally good-natured: persons of this disposition are generally complaining, and are not only tormentors of themselves, but are great plagues to those that are about them: you will hear them always complaining something or other is the matter. What a pity it is we cannot all agree in one thing, to leave off chiding others to chide our own selves, till we can find nothing in ourselves to chide for;

this we shall find will be a good way to grow in the divine life, when, by constant application to the Lamb of God, we get a mastery over those things which hitherto have had the mastery over us; but are these the only people that complain? are people of a melancholy disposition only subject to a disquietude of heart? I will venture to affirm, that the greatest, the dearest children of God, have got their complaining, and their dreary hours. Those who have been favoured with large measures of grace, even those that have been wrapped up as it were to the third heavens, basking on the mount in the sunshine of redeeming grace, and in raptures of love crying out, It is good for us to be here, even these must go down to Gethsemane ; and if they would not be scorched with a strong burning fever from the sun of prosperity, shall find clouds from time to time overshadowing them, not to burn, but to keep them low. It is on this account, that you see good men indifferent frames at different times: our Lord himself was so, he rejoiced sometimes in spirit, but at other times you find him, especially near the last, crying out, My soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death, tarry you here and watch. And I am going to tell you of one to-night, who had the honor of being called, the man after God's own heart; and who, though an Old Testament saint, was greatly blessed with a New Testament spirit, and had the honor of composing Psalms, which in all past ages of the church have been, and in future ones will be a rich magazine, and store-house of spiritual experience, from which the children of God may draw spiritual armour for fighting the good fight of faith, until God shall call them to life eternal may this be your happy lot. What frame