envy, and jealousy, and chagrin, and inward vexation. which may enter the most splendid circle, and which may live there despite all that is gay and winning. In that brilliant world all may seem to be smiles and blandishments; on the pillow where the aching head shall rest, the eyes may give vent to tears at disappointment, or the heart be swollen by envy and chagrin, for which tears would afford no relief. Madame Malibran, the most celebrated opera singer of her age, returning home from a grand aristocratic party, where all had striven to overwhelm her with admiration, burst into tears, knowing that after all she was "a mere opera-singer." Alexander wept on the throne of the world. Charles V. and Dioclesian descended from the throne to seek that happiness in the vale of private life, which could never be found in the robes of royalty. Goethe, the celebrated German author, said of himself in advanced age, "They have called me a child of fortune, nor have I any wish to complain of the course of my life. Yet it has been nothing but labor and sorrow, and I may truly say that in seventy-five years, I have not had four weeks of true comfort. It was the constant rolling of a stone that was always to be lifted anew." Who shall record the disappointment of those who seek wealth as their portion? Who shall gather up and write down the names of the young men numerous as mighty armies-who have sought fame, and been disappointed? Who shall give utterance to the unrecorded sighs that bespoke the failures in the pursuit of happiness in the gay assembly?— The most instructive part of the history of our world is unwritten- at least is not written among mortals. It is recorded in the book that preserves the memory of human deeds with reference to the judgment, and will be developed only on the final trial. It is the record of numberless individual failures and disappointments; the total history of that which makes up the vast experiment in our world to find enjoyment without the friendship of the Most High; the record of what has resulted to men for having forsaken the fountain of living waters, and for having hewed out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Wandering sinner, permit me to say to you in conclu

sion, you can never be happy without God. You are destined to be a miserable man while you wander away from him-as the Prodigal Son was wretched who had left his father's home. Nor wealth, nor books, nor business, nor games, nor the dance, nor eating, nor drinking, nor a splendid dwelling, nor a brilliant reputation, nor all that you can do to secure a grateful remembrance after you are dead, can be a substitute for the happiness that is to be found in God. You may be false to your Maker, but the world will be true to the God that made it. It will not impart happiness except when he bids it. True is that world to its God-the earth, the air, the sea, the silver, and the gold. Not one of them will give peace except when he commands, and all of them he can make a curse to your soul. There is no substitute for the bliss which he alone can give; and though you may pervert your own powers, yet you can never so torture and pervert the works of the Almighty as to make them confer permanent enjoyment except when he commands.

Wandering sinner, learn from our subject the benevolent design of the plan of redemption. It is to bring back an alienated and wretched race to the fountain of living waters. It comes to us on the presumption that man must be miserable as long as he continues to wander away from his Maker. From the broken cistern which can hold no water, it would re-conduct the race back to God, and restore the bliss of Eden. O happy if man had never wandered away, and happy still if he would return. Not one favor would be denied by him who has had so just cause to be offended; not one frown would the sinner find on the brow of the Almighty; not one expression of kindness would be withheld if he would return. The same heaven might be his abode as if he had never sinned, and the bliss of even God's eternal favor may be heightened to the returning sinner by all there is in thankfulness for redemption, and in returning joy after many

sorrows.

Wandering sinner, I call on you to return to your long forgotten God-the fountain of living waters. In view of the experience of the world; in view of its recorded woes in every face of care, in every sick bed, in every grave, as the result of wandering away from God; and in

view of the unrecorded ills of forsaking him, I call on you to come back. Sufficient has been the sad experience of the world to satisfy you that in those wanderings happiness never can be found. Let the experience of the world-dear bought in millions of instances-lead you to return. Come back, unhappy wanderer, come back: come to the ever-living fountain of bliss; come and partake of the happiness that never deceives, and that never fails. From the parched and desolate land where you have gone, come back to the fountain of living waters. Yes, come to the fountain of living waters; for the Spirit and the bride say come, and whosoever will let him take the water of life FREELY.

SERMON VIII.

GOD IS WORTHY OF CONFIDENCE.

Job xxii. 21. Acquaint now thyself with him, and be at peace.

THAT is, with God. The case to which the text refers was this. Eliphaz-who addresses these words to Jobsupposed that he was wholly a stranger to the true God; that he had altogether erroneous views of his government; that he regarded him as harsh and severe in his administration, and as unworthy of confidence. In his sufferings, Job had at some times indulged in remarks of considerable severity on the divine dealings. This was by no means the prevailing character of the man; but it was so interpreted by his friends, and Eliphaz now designs to assure him that he could never find peace until he should become more acquainted with the divine character, and should feel that God was worthy of confidence. He proceeds, therefore, in a most beautiful manner to exhort him to be reconciled to God, and portrays the benefits which would result from such reconciliation. The meaning is, 'Become truly acquainted with the character and government of God. You have now no just views of him. You regard him as harsh, severe, tyrannical. You murmur, and complain, and are wretched. Estranged from him, you must be miserable. But it is not too late to repent and return to him; and in so doing you will find peace.' Eliphaz-however improperly he applied this to Job-has here stated a doctrine which has been confirmed by all the subsequent revelations in the Bible, and by all experience, that happiness follows reconciliation with God, and that true peace is found only there. This doctrine must have been understood as early as religion was known after the fall. Man became alienated from God by the apostasy, and consequently miserable; and peace was to be found again only by reconciliation with him.

There are two great difficulties in the minds of men. The one is, they have no just views of the character and

government of God; and the second is, if his true character is made known to them, they have no pleasure in it—no confidence in it. Both these difficulties must be removed before man can be reconciled to his Maker. No small part of the difficulty will be removed if we can show him that the character of God is such as to DESERVE his confidence. To that task I now proceed, and shal arrange my thoughts under three heads:

I. The liability to error on our part in judging of the character and government of God;

II. The real difficulties in the case; and

III. The evidence that he is worthy of our confidence. I would not attempt an argument of this nature, were it not that I believe that the great difficulty with men is, that they have no confidence in God. This is the source of all our woes. Man does not believe that the God of the Bible is worthy to be the Sovereign of the universe; that his government is equal; and that the terms of his favors are the best that could be. He confides in his own understanding rather than in God; forms his own plan of religion rather than embrace the one which God has revealed; and relies on his own merits for salvation rather than on the merits of him whom God has sent. He goes not to him in perplexity; asks not his support in sickness; relies not on him in the hour of death. The great evil in this world is a want of confidence in God;

-a want of confidence producing the same disasters there which it does in a commercial community, and in the relations of domestic life. The great thing needful to make this a happy world is to restore confidence in the Creator-confidence, the great restorer of happiness every where.

Now, men can never be reconciled to God unless this confidence shall be restored. You and your neighbor are at variance. The dispute has been bitter and long. There has been a misunderstanding, and dissatisfaction, and a lawsuit, and a long strife resulting in a confirmed. alienation. Now, suppose, in this difficulty, you are wholly right, and your neighbor wholly wrong. You have really done him no injury. You have not been unwilling to be on terms of friendship with him. But a long train of circumstances, which you could not have