they receive evil at his hands. To rejoice in the Lord always, therefore, is the most acceptable duty that christians can perform, because it is the most difficult duty to perform. It is easier for a man to give all his goods to feed the poor, or his body to be burned, than to rejoice in God in times of public calamities, or personal trials and tribulations. Satan supposed that Job could not perform this difficult duty; but God convinced him that he was able to perform it. And when he did perform it, it was highly acceptable to God, who pronounced him a perfect and upright man. When christians rejoice in God while they are receiving good at his hands, he is pleased with them; but he is much more pleased, if they rejoice in him when they receive evil.

3. It appears from what has been said, that those christians who always rejoice in God, do peculiar honor to religion. They give clear and striking evidence that true religion, or a christian spirit, will cause men to rejoice in God always; which is a peculiar and most desirable effect that nothing else will produce. Mere selfishness will dispose men to rejoice in prosperity, or while they are receiving good at the hand of God. The world in general, who are impenitent, unbelieving, and totally destitute of religion, are very joyful in prosperity; but adversity spoils all their joy, and fills them with nothing but pain, sorrow, and grief. Haman was joyful till his good fortune forsook him. The Israelites were in raptures of joy at the side of the Red Sea, but sunk in despondency when the spies returned. The stony ground hearer receiveth the word with joy, and dureth for a while; but when tribulation or persecution arises, he is by and by offended. Multitudes, who embrace the gospel upon selfish motives, greatly rejoice, and imagine that they shall always rejoice; but as they rejoice in themselves, and not in God, their joy generally soon forsakes them; which brings a reproach upon themselves and upon religion itself. But those who understandingly and cordially embrace the gospel, rejoice in God; and as they see cause to rejoice in God at first, so they see cause to rejoice in God always. They, like the noble Ethiopian, go on their way rejoicing at all times and under all circumstances; and thus they manifest to the world the nature and tendency of true religion to produce pure and permanent joy and rejoicing; which reflects great honor upon Christianity. By always rejoicing in God, Abraham, Moses and Job did great honor to religion. In the same way, the apostles and primitive christians adorned the doctrine of God their Saviour. They say of themselves, "We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing." When they

were taken, thrown into prison, and threatened with severe punishments for preaching the gospel, by the highest ecclesiastical judicatory; they departed from the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for the name of Christ. Yea, they took the spoiling of their goods joyfully. They always rejoiced in God; by which they manifested the reality, the beauty and excellence of that religion which caused them to rejoice at all times, and under all circumstances of adversity and affliction. There is nothing which gives the men of the world such a deep and painful conviction of the reality and importance and excellence of religion, as to see christians rejoicing always, under both the smiles and frowns of divine providence, and saying, as the Shunammite did, " All is well." This is something that they do not feel, and cannot say. are always struck with the beauty, excellence and sincerity of those christians who appear to be happy, and rejoice under such trials and calamities and afflictions, as throw other men into gloom, darkness, and inconsolable sorrow and distress. The reason is, they appear to enjoy the supports of religion, while all other supports are taken away. The joy and rejoicing of the primitive christians made the world ready to say that they were beside themselves; they could not see the source of their joys and consolation. But the men of the world at this day, who doctrinally understand the gospel, are convinced that those who really believe and love it, must rejoice in God under all his dispensations of providence, that are designed to promote his glory, and the highest good of the universe. And when they see christians actually rejoice in adversity as well as in prosperity, in sickness as well as in health, and in the nearest prospects of death, they cannot help believing that religion is, of all things, the most desirable and most important.

4. It appears from what has been said, that christians who obey the precept in the text, and rejoice in God always, are the happiest men in the world. It cannot be denied that the men of the world are in some measure happy, so long as they do rejoice; but their rejoicing is often interrupted, diminished, and even turned into sorrow. Joy in the world is essentially different from joy in God, even while it continues. Their joy is generally mixed with a consciousness of its folly and criminality. Hence says Solomon, " As the crackling of thorns under a pot, so is the laughter of fools. This also is vanity." The bursts of joy and laughter in sinners are always attended or followed by a sense of guilt and self reproach. Accordingly, Christ pronounces a wo to such vain and sinful joy. "Wo unto you that laugh now; for ye shall mourn and weep." Whether the joy of sinners arises from mere trifles and vanities, or from the more valuable, laudable and important worldly

objects, it is altogether vain, sinful, inconsistent, interrupted and short lived. The world and the things of the world are no source of pure and permanent joy. But God is a source of pure, never failing, and satisfactory happiness; and all who always rejoice in him, derive from him constant, pure and lasting happiness. Hence Christ says, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again. But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him, shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." The great and precious promises which God has given to christians, lay a solid foundation for their pure, constant, increasing joy and rejoicing. So the primitive christians thought and said, "Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Nay in all these things we are more than conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." These promises all belong to sincere christians, and they all live by faith in them; and of course rejoice in the Lord always. The sources of other men's rejoicings are continually failing, and will finally all fail. But christians have a source of joy which will not fail, when all other sources of joy will fail. They must be, therefore, far more happy even in this vale of tears, than any other men in the world. "The ways of wisdom are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace."

5. It appears from what has been said, that christians are very unwise and sinful in neglecting to rejoice in God. They all know that rejoicing in God affords them the purest and highest happiness, and that rejoicing in themselves, or in the world, deprives them of the happiness they have derived from rejoicing in God. They know, therefore, that they injure their own souls as well as injure God, by neglecting to obey the command which he has given them for their own good and his glory. They are more inconsistent and criminal in neglecting to rejoice in God, than sinners are in neglecting this duty. They often imagine that God cannot be a source of joy and rejoicing; and therefore they forsake God, the fountain of living waters, and hew out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. It is extremely unwise and sinful for those who have tasted the happiness which flows from rejoicing in God, to neglect deriving their happiness from God, and seek to obtain happiness from the world. Their neglecting this duty

not only diminishes their own happiness, but greatly dishonors religion. By their not always rejoicing in God, they lead the men of the world to conclude that their religion, instead of doing them any good, does them a great deal of hurt. It prevents them from rejoicing in any thing, and makes them more disconsolate and gloomy than those who have no religion, and pretend to none. It is a great blemish and imperfection in the character and conduct of christians, to suffer the trials and tribulations which God brings upon them to overwhelm them in sorrow, and to banish all joy and rejoicing from their hearts. David's conduct at the death of Absalom was highly displeasing to God, and to Joab, and to the people in general; and it was happy for him that Joab had courage and resolution to reprove him and bring him to right feelings and conduct. Christians who neglect to rejoice always, never fail to give occasion to the enemies of religion to think and speak reproachfully of it. Nor is this all the evil arising from neglecting to rejoice in God. It unfits them for all religious duties. When they neglect to see God, and to rejoice in him, they are always either in darkness, or stupidity; which makes every religious duty irksome, and leads to the neglect of those duties in which they once took peculiar pleasure and delight. While christians rejoice in the Lord, they are always active and constant in every religious duty; especially in times of trouble, sorrow, or mourning; and never enjoy more happiness, than they then derive from rejoicing in the Lord. These considerations ought to excite all christians to rejoice in the Lord always, as the most important and indispensable duty.

Finally, This subject calls upon sinners to renounce all their worldly and sinful joy, and to rejoice in God, who is the only source of pure and permanent joy. All other sources of joy and rejoicing will soon forsake you; and then you must be wretched indeed. You cannot begin to be truly happy, until ⚫ you rejoice in God; and you cannot always be happy, unless you always rejoice in God. All the happiness of heaven will flow from rejoicing in God; and all the miseries of the damned will flow from the entire loss of this source of happiness. God is infinitely worthy of your supreme love and joy, on account of his essential and amiable perfections. And not only so, but also for what he has done for you, bestowed upon you, and offered to you. You will be the most ungrateful and guilty, as well as the most wretched creatures in the universe, if you continue to refuse to rejoice in God. You have no right to rejoice in any thing, so long as you neglect to rejoice in God. He calls you, therefore, to mourning; and you have reason to mourn for all your rejoicing, which God has forbidden. Be entreated then to rejoice in God immediately and for ever.

SERMON XII.

SAINTS DESIRE GOD TO PUNISH SINNERS.

GIVE them according to their deeds, and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them after the work of their hands; render

THESE are the words of the man after God's own heart, who possessed pure benevolence, and who expressed the genuine feelings of his heart, in his address to the throne of divine grace. It appears from the preceding petitions, that he presented this with peculiar solemnity and tenderness. "Unto thee will I cry, O Lord my rock; be not silent to me, lest if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit. Hear the voice of my supplications when I cry unto thee, when I lift up my hands towards thy holy oracle. Draw me not away with the wicked, and with the workers of iniquity." And to manifest the sincerity of his request, he continues to cry, "Give them according to their deeds and according to the wickedness of their endeavors; give them after the work of their hands; render to them their desert." He had prayed that God would not draw him away with the wicked, nor cast his future and final lot among them. For they appeared so odious in his sight, and so deserving of the marks of the divine displeasure, that he could not only approve of their being punished, but could sincerely desire that God would punish them, for his own glory and the good of all holy beings. His petition is an expression of that love to holiness and hatred of sin, which reigns in every pious, benevolent heart. Hence we may justly draw this general conclusion;

Good men do desire God to punish finally impenitent sinners according to their deserts. I shall show,