ticipation of the danger which might ensue. Whereas freedom from trouble, uninterrupted prosperity and good fortune, would have made us presume upon our own strength, and have rendered us inactive and inattentive to the dangers, especially the spiritual dangers, with which we are beset. Such are some of the reasons, vague and ill-defined though they may be, why misery and sorrow are awarded to the children of men. Of the necessity of these we must all be convinced, though of the reason of this necessity we must be contented to remain in considerable uncertainty and doubt: for we know that the greatest wisdom of man is nothing less than ignorance and folly, when compared with the superior and perfect wisdom of the Most High. He it is who, seated on his throne of celestial glory, directs the affairs of men in one uniform plan of ability and wisdom, at the same time that he feels satisfied within himself, and knows that every thing is as it ought to be; that things could have been no otherwise than they actually are, and as they have been immutably and irrevocably predestined by Him before either the heavens or the earth were created.

Whatever, therefore, may happen to you, brethren, whether pain or suffering-whether prosperity or adversity, repose yourselves on the firm and comfortable assurance that there is a God above who will take care of you, if you only take ordinary care of yourselves. The evils of life, which are more or less experienced by all, are to be

directed towards the object which they are calculated to effect. Precisely in the same manner as the afflicted and diseased body is only restored to health by painful operations, or by nauseous and loathsome medicines, so is the health and security of the immortal spirit only to be effected by a similar disagreeable ordeal the evils and calamities to which human life is subject. The parallel, however, may be continued still further, and it will suggest to you no indistinct analogy between the physician of your bodies and the still greater physician to whose wonderful and superior skill is entrusted the cure and the restoration of the spiritual portion of your existence. The remedies, in either case, are to be received and taken with a due attention to the rules which have been laid down by him by whom they are administered and prescribed. Whatever these may be, in the former case, of course depends on the peculiar nature of the disease; so, likewise, is it in regard to the latter. Yet are the ordinary forms, which in all ages have been practised by discreet and well organized bodies of Christians, to be observed by all those who come unto Christ for relief. They are heavy laden and oppressed, and so will they continue to be oppressed and heavy laden, unless they follow the rules which are prescribed. They are to pray to God for his assistance they are to exert themselves as much as possible to follow the example which Christ has set them they are to attend to the commands of their God and Saviour, by participating in the two sacra

ments of grace-not in that of Baptism only, but likewise in that of the Lord's Supper. Unless these directions be attended to, the many evils of life which Christians undergo, wholesome medicines though they be, will altogether fail in their effect. Without a compliance with the rules which have been prescribed by the great physician of souls, Jesus Christ, not only will people experience misery in this world, but this will likewise be continued to them in the world which is to come!

H

SERMON VIII.

ON CONFIRMATION.

ACTS ii. 38.

"Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.”

You will not have forgotten that, on Sunday last, I mentioned to you the present time as that which I had selected for the purpose of delivering a discourse on one of the rites of our church-I mean that of Confirmation. But, before I proceed to explain to you the origin and nature of the rite, I deem it proper to impress upon you the great necessity which makes it incumbent upon all persons to obtain an acquaintance with this, as well as with all other ordinances of the church to which they belong; for what, indeed, can be more absurd than to take part in any ceremony or performance whatever, without being acquainted with its nature and its use; to do any thing, in truth, whatever it may be, without knowing or being able to explain what we are doing? I address myself more particularly, at the present moment, to those among you who

are desirous of presenting themselves before the Bishop; yet, as there may be something in the present discourse not undeserving the consideration of all, I once more earnestly request your attention to those observations which I am about to offer in explanation of the present subject.

Permit me then to remind you, in the first place, that the ordinance now before us neither does nor can exist of itself independently of any other, but it is closely connected with the sacrament of baptism, of which it is a ratification, or, as its name implies, a confirmation. When, therefore, the question is asked, What is meant by this confirmation of which so much is said at the present time? you naturally answer, that it is a ratification, or a confirmation of the rite of baptism, which must have been previously celebrated. Before you can present yourselves to be confirmed, it is evident that you must have been baptized: and, in the same manner, before you can understand what is meant by confirmation, it is fully necessary that you should know the signification of baptism—that you should know what is meant by being baptized. We will, in the first place, therefore, consider the meaning, as well as the nature, and origin, of baptism; and, in the second place, as we shall then easily do, we will consider the meaning, as well as the nature, and origin, of confirmation.

Our first enquiry, then, is, What is the meaning of the word baptism? I answer, Baptism means washing; that is to say, any act which is performed by