640 11OVV THt CHRISTIAN /AVIS. liver us. Thou hasc been my helper; in the shadow of thy wings will I trust. IV. By the comfortable words of friendsand acquaint- ance relating their own experiences of the goodness of God, and encouraging and supporting us under trouble. 2 Cor. i. 3, 4. Blessed be the God of all comfort, which comforteth us in all our tribulations, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewithwe ourselves are comforted of God. Comfort the feeble- minded, support the weak, be pa- tient toward all men. 11. Thess. v. 14. Comfort one ano- ther with these words, chap: iv. ult. Prov. xxvii. 9. Ointment and perfume rejoice the heart: so doth the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. Telling them I was in these circumstances, and the Lord bath delivered ,me, &c. aìid these were my supports, and these my methods to obtain peace and relief. V. By teaching us to live more upon invisible things, and making all present troubles seem very light, and by raising our hearts to things eternal and heavenly. By daily converse with God and heavenly things, and living above the world. 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18. For our light af- fliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things that are not seen ; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things that are not seen are eternal. Thus we have been dying, and behold we live. Bless the Lord, O my soul ! .Amen. Hallelujah, praise ye the Lord ! 7fiirdly, We seem to be dying in regard to our spiri- tual life, the life of holiness ancrpeace begun in us. When we feel our corruptions working and rising at every turn, we are afraid we shall be overpowered by them, and quite led captive to sin and death : Pride, sinful appetite, intemperance, furious anger, resentment, uneasiness, and repining at Providence, &c. When we feel the temptations of the world surround- ing us and pressing hard upon us, either the soft entice- ments of the world, and the allurements of flesh, luxury, and vanity, or the oppositions and frowns, and reproaches, and ,terrors of the world, between one and the other we are ready to cry out, We shall sink and die ! and espe- cially if God delays to hear our prayers and hide him- self from us ; and if the tempter, the accuser, be suf-
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