of the power of his saving grace in Christ; to make it the subject of the exceeding greatness of that power which works in them that believe. And a great power it is, that turns from darkness to light. O what have we to be thankful for, if this be the case with us! Our lives ought to be an uninterrupted scene of praise. And the greatest honour God can confer upon a church, is to 'make bare his arm' among them, and single out a number of trophies of the greatness of his power and grace. Blessed be God, if we have any such witnesses for him among us. When I look back on the years I have been among you, and the trembling, the weakness, the fear, and the discouragements I have gone through, I can hardly believe, myself, that it was possible I should be carried on and held up, to this day. And when I think of the evidences we have, that God has not withdrawn his presence, and that his ordinances are not barren, and that his gospel is not a dead and lifeless form; I am so conscious that it is nothing in me, or of me, that has produced it, that if I know any thing of my own heart, I am disposed to cry, and may God enable you to join me,- "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake." And yet may we take encouragement to trust him still. He is the same omnipotent God, "yesterday, to-day, and for ever." He has already done great things among us; but he can do still greater things than these, which we may live to see. Let us then trust in the Lord. "Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be glory in the church, by Christ Jesus, throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." THE RICHNESS AND BEAUTY OF THE SERMON III. [Preached at Kettering, July 8. 1787.] MATT. VI. 28-30. AND WHY TAKE YE THOUGHT FOR RAIMENT? CONSIDER THE LILIES OF THE FIELD, HOW THEY GROW; THEY TOIL NOT, NEITHER DO THEY SPIN: AND YET I SAY UNTO YOU, THAT EVEN SOLOMON, IN ALL HIS GLORY, WAS NOT ARRAYED LIKE ONE OF THESE. WHEREFORE, IF GOD SO CLOTHE THE GRASS OF THE FIELD, WHICH TO-DAY IS, AND TO-MORROW IS CAST INTO THE OVEN, SHALL HE NOT MUCH MORE CLOTHE YOU, O YE OF LITTLE FAITH? NOTHING is a more common topic of conversation at this season of the year, than the natural world. The state of the weather, the face of the fields, the prospects, the crops of corn, are in every mouth. It is natural that it should be so, and by no means criminal. But it is exceedingly desirable, that meditation and conversation on these subjects should be, not only innocent, but positively useful; and that rational and immortal beings should contemplate the works of their great Creator in a rational and improving manner. Our Lord, in the passage I have read, affords us a fine opening for this purpose, of which I wish to avail myself, for your instruction and improvement. You see, he turns the beauty and richness of the vegetable world into an argument for humble and providential trust. And as we have the authority of our Lord for what we are going about, we cannot mistake or misapply the thought. "And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin and yet I say unto you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass, which to-day is, and to-morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, 0 ye of little faith?" The leading thought these verses contain, seems, to me, to be this :-THAT THE ORDER AND BEAUTY OF THE NATURAL WORLD AFFORDS SUITABLE GROUND FOR THE HUMBLE AND READY CONFIDENCE. OF HIS RATIONAL CREATURES AND CHILDREN.-A very pleasing and edifying subject. FIRST Our Lord suggests a beautiful and instructive view of the vegetable world, and God's condescending attention to it.-Consider the lilies of the field. See how God clothes the grass. Not Solomon, in all his glory, was arrayed like one of these. 1. Our Lord's hint may be illustrated by a general view of nature.-Go into some fertile part of the country, ascend some little eminence, and look about you; what an amazing scene opens before you! what boundless variety, and yet what richness and fulness every where ! There you see more than you could have formed any conception of, if you had never observed it before. The trees and hedges, the meadows and corn-fields, the mountains and valleys, the leaves and branches, the gardens and orchards, the grass and corn and the blossoms-what a wilderness of sweets and beauties bursts upon the senses! What was Solomon, arrayed in his richest robes, seated on a throne of ivory and gold, in a palace of cedar and pearl;what are the grandest buildings, the artificial representations of a theatre, or the splendours of a royal birth-night, when compared with what the poorest labourer may see every day! Not Solomon, nor all his successors, in all their glory, made an appearance to be |