TIdE.RELTCTOUs IMPRO.VENIENT vi. 9. The man of religion will enquire, " What have I done to provoke the. Almighty to send down his judg,- ments from heaven. What abuse of mercies have I been guilty of, to provoke the great'God to remove them from me ? What share have I had in the common guilt ofa nation, that may have awakened the anger of God against it in any'instances-of public sorrow ?" 2. " We should raise our hearts to a delightful notice and a grateful sense of the mercy of God in his provi- dences." The business of religion is not all sadness and mourning. We are bound to take notice of public Joys, as well as of common and extensive calamities. A christian may rejoice in the light of heaven and the sun- beams, as well as observe the clouds, and thunder and storms ; but he must remember they all come from above. Thè wicked of the earth make themselves merry amidst the comforts of life without any notice of the God that gives then, or any thank offerings to his name :. But a sincere christian loves to receive his blessings from the hand ofhis heavenly Father : He looks on them as the distributions of divine love, he beholds them sanctified by the covenant of rich grace, and thereby he tastes a double relish of sweetness in them. Common and public blessings afford him a private and delicious sensation beyond what the thoughtless herd of mankind partake Of The stranger intermeddles not with this joy ;" Prov. xiv. 10. When he drinks of the sweet streams of delight here on earth, he traces them to the fountain head in heaven, and as it were bathes himself in the immense ocean of goodness. " This God is my God, my hea- venly friend, and he will be my. God for ever and ever ;" Ps. xlviii. 14. 3. " We should make a humble enquiry into the various duties, both toward God and man, which divine providence calls 'us to, at special seasons, and under spe- , cial circumstances." It is the language of á soul that walks with God " Lord what wilt thou have me to do s' Acts ix. 6. There is not a day nor an hour but brings .a duty with it not a change of providence but calls for peculiar practices of piety. We are placed here in a state of service, ' and God requires that our eye be directed to him hourly, " as the eye of a servant to his, master,. or a handmaid to her mistress; so speaks the
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