many a tragical inftance on record, what greater evils have been run into, merely to avoid this one.

Without this tax of infamy, poverty, with all the burdens it lays upon our flesh-fo long as it is virtuous, could never break the spirits of a man: all its hunger, and pain, and nakedness, are nothing to it; they have fome counterpoife of good; and befides they are directed by Providence, and muft be fubmitted to: but those are afflictions, not from the hand of GoD or nature- for they do come forth of the DUST, and most properly may be faid "to fpring out of the GROUND; and this is the rea"fon they lay fuch ftrefs upon our patience,-and "in the end, create such a distrust of the world, as "makes us look up-and pray, Let me fall into "thy bands, O God! but let me not fall into the hands " of men."

Agreeable to this, was the advice of Eliphaz to Job in the day of his diftrefs" Acquaint thyself, "faid he, Now with God:"-indeed his poverty feemed to have left him no other friend: the fwords of the Sabeans had frightened them away-all but a few; and, of what kind they were, the very proverb, of Job's comforters-fays enough.

It is an inftance which gives one great concern for human nature, "That a man, who always wept for "him who was in trouble ;-who never faw any perish

for want of clothing;—who never fuffered the stranger "to lodge in the street, but opened his door to the tra"veller:" that a man of fo good a character,— that he never caufed the eyes of the widow to fail,"or had eaten bis morfel by himlelf alone, and the fa

"therless had not eaten thereof ;——that such a man the moment he fell into poverty, fhould have occafion to cry out for quarter,- Have mercy upon me, my friends! for the hand of God has touched me, Gentleness and humanity (one would think)would melt the hardest heart, and charm the fierceft spirit; bind up the most violent hand, and ftill the most abufive tongue;--but the experiment failed in a ftronger inftance, of Him, whofe meat and drink it was to do us good; and, in pursuit of which, whofe whole life was a continued scene of kindness and of infults, for which we must go back to the fame explanation with which we fet out, and that is, the fcandal of poverty.

"This fellow we know not whence he is"—was the popular cry of one part; and with those who seemed to know better, the quere did not leffen the difgrace:

-Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?.

Of Mary!-great GoD of Ifrael! What of the meanest of thy people! for he had not regarded the low eftate of his hand-maiden)--and of the pooreft, too! (for fhe had not a lamb to offer, but was purified, as Mofes directed in fuch a cafe, by the oblation of a turtle-dove).

That the SAVIOUR of their nation could be poor, and not have where to lay his head,- was a crime never to be forgiven; and though the purity of his doctrine, and the works which he had done in its fupport, were ftronger arguments on its fide, than his humiliation could be against it,-yet the offence ftill remained:-they looked for the redemption of

Ifrael; but they would have it only in thofe dreams of power which filled their imagination.

Ye who weigh the worth of all things only in the goldsmith's balance!was this religion for you? -a religion whose appearance was not great and fplendid, but looked thin and meagre, and whofe principles and promifes fhowed more like the curfes of the law, than its blefings for they called for fufferings, and promifed little but perfecutions.

In truth, it is not eafy for tribulation or diftrefs, for nakedness or famine, to make many converts out of pride or reconcile a worldly heart to the fcorn and reproaches, which were fure to be the portion of every one who believed a mystery fo difcredited by the world, and fo unpalatable to all its paffions and pleasures.

But, to bring this fermon to its proper conclufion

If Aftrea, or Juftice, never finally took her leave of the world, till the day that poverty first became ridiculous, it is matter of confolation, that the GOD of Justice is ever over us ;-that whatever outrages the lowness of our condition may be exposed to, from a mean and undiscerning world,that we walk in the prefence of the greatest and most generous of Beings, who is infinitely removed from cruelty and traitnefs of mind, and all those little and illiberal paffions, with which we hourly infult each other.

The worst part of mankind are not always to be conquered; but if they are 'tis by the imitation of thefe qualities, which muft do it :- 'Tis true

as I've shown-they may fail; but still all is not loft,————for if we conquer not the world—in the very attempts to do it, we should at least conquer ourfelves, and lay the foundation of our peace (where it ought to be) within our own hearts.

SERMON XVII.

The Cafe of Hezekiah and the Mef

fengers

2 KINGS XX, 15.

And he faid, What have they feen in thine houfe? and Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen : there is nothing amongst all my treasures that I have not shown them.

this?

AND where was the harm, you'll fay, in all

"An eastern prince, the fon of Baladan, had "fent meffengers with prefents as far as from Baby"lon, to congratulate Hezekiah upon the recovery " from his fickness; and Hezekiah, who was a good "prince, acted confiftently with himself: be receiv«ed and entertained the men, and bearkened unto them; "and before he fent them away, he courteously "fhowed them all that was worth a stranger's curi

ofity in his house and in his kingdom-and in "this, feemed only to have discharged himself or "what urbanity or the etiquette of courts might re

Preached before his Excellency the Earl of HERTFORD, at 1763.