hath foundations, and there lay up treasures, which floods and ftorms cannot annoy.

5. Unufual floods remind us of God's power to punish, or protect us, according as we offend or obey him.

He who can fwell the waters to overflow us, cant let loose enemies to invade us. He who can reprefs the angry floods, can reftrain the rage of

men.

The inroads of enemies are often compared to the irruption of waters. Their defeat and disap pointment to the ftilling of waves and the drying up of rivers. The prophet foretels a time, "When the enemy fhall come in like a flood, but the Spir it of the Lord fhall lift up a standard against him." The Pfalmift uses the fame fimilitude; "The God of our falvation is the confidence of all the ends of the earth, and of them that are afar off on the feas; he by his ftrength fetteth faft the mountains, and ftilleth the noise of the sea, the noise of the waves, and the tumult of the people." "The forrows of death compaffed me; the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. In my diftrefs I called upon the Lord. He fent forth his arrows and scattered them. Then the channels of waters were seen, the foundations of the world were difcovered. He fent from above, and drew me

out of many waters."

Men, when their paffions are calm and undiflurbed, like natural ftreams of water, move harm. lefs within their bounds, and glide gently along in their proper channels. But if pride, ambition, avarice, wrath and revenge once take the command of them, then like the fea agitated with ftorms, or like rivers fwelled to floods, they rufh on impetuous and carry deftruction with them. Obferve the fame man guided by fober reason, and

urged by blind paffion, and you will fee him as different from himself, as is the gentle rill from the headlong torrent.

There was no evil on earth which David fo much deprecated, as fubjection to the power of a mortal enemy. When the choice was offered him of feven years famine, three days peftilence, or three months flight before his enemies, he answered, "Let us fall into the hands of the Lord, for great are his mercies; but let me not fall into the hand of man."

It is happy for us, that he who rules the feas and restrains the floods, can reprefs the paffions and controul the designs of men. "The wrath of man fhall praise him, and the remainder of that wrath he will reftrain."

6. Floods remind us of our mutable and mortal condition. Under a general fentence of mortality on the nation of ifrael, Mofes faid, "Thou carrieft them away as with a flood.”

Time, like a stream, is rolling on, nor stops its course by day nor by night. Yea, it rushes forward with rapidity like a river fwelled to a flood.

Streams bend their course in various directions; but all, whatever direction they take, tend to the ocean, where their waters are fwallowed up and loft. Men have their different objects and purfuits; but all are alike haftening to the grave; all are preffing forward to the world of eternal retribution.

All the rivers run into the sea, and would foon ceafe, were they not continued by a fucceffion of waters. The human race is preferved by a fucceffion of mortals. One generation paffes away, and another comes. Thus the inhabitants of the earth abide from age to age. The race is called the fame, but the mortals, which compofe it,

VOL. V.

like the waters which conftitute a river, are changing every day and every hour.

It would be wife for us often to reflect on our tranfient condition. We are paffing away like the floods; we have no abiding place on earth. Let us not fet our affection on things below, but look forward to that world, to which we are going. Would a man hurried down a rapid ftream, exult in his riches, because he paffed along in fight of meadows, fields, groves, and houses? Would he call these his own, because he beheld them, and only just beheld them with his eyes? Why fhould we, who are hurried through life, and carried away as with a flood, glory in the worldly objects, which we fee, as we pass along, but scarcely have time to poffefs?

We are changing our condition, and our relation to things around us. We are paffing from place to place, from object to object, from fcene to scene, like men floating down a stream. This moment flies, the next fucceeds, and goes off like the former, giving place to a fucceffor. One enjoyment, or amufement departs, and another comes. One defign, or employment is defeated or laid afide, and another taken up. Here we hope for better fuccefs. Here, again disappointed, we change our purpose. We walk in a vain fhow; we are difquieted in vain. Like men thrown out on a flood, we ftruggle for fhore; we pant for reft; we feize the twig; it breaks; we are driven with the ftream; we grafp the leaf; we fink; we pafs from human fight, and are foon forgotten.

There is nothing ftable here below; no firm object by which we can hold, no folid ground on which we can ftand. The anchor of our hope muft be fixed in the grace and goodness, the promife and faithfulnefs of God.

A flood is not only rapid, but violent in its progrefs. No works of art can reftrain it. And no man hath power over death. As well may we invert the downward ftream and remand it back to its fource; as well may we reprefs the rifing flood or scoop it from its channel, as finally prevent the approach, or repel the attack of death. There is an appointed time to man upon earth, and the bounds appointed him he cannot pafs. It is God who holds our fouls in life, and whose vifitation preferves our fpirits. When he takes away our breath, we die. When he brings down to the duft, who can raise himself up? When he fmites, who can deliver out of his hands?

A flood is a metaphor used in scripture to denote fudden deftruction. The prophet fays, "The Lord hath a mighty and ftrong one, which as a destroying storm, and a flood of mighty waters overflowing, fhall caft down to the earth." Job fays of the hypocrite, "He buildeth his houfe as a moth, and as a booth which the keeper maketh. Terrors take hold on him as waters, a ftorm hurleth him out of his place."

Various are the means by which, and the ways in which, men are removed out of life. Concerning the manner of our own death we can form no certain judgment. But fince many of our fellow mortals are removed in a fudden man. ner, we should all act on the fuppofition, that our removal may be as fudden. Our Saviour admʊnifhes us, that, as we know not at what hour he will come, we ought always to watch, left coming fuddenly he find us fleeping.

We all, like a flood, which rolls on and returns not again, are going the way, whence we shall not return. We are paffing, as the wind, which cometh not again; the place which has known us,

will know us no more. How indifferent should we be to these worldly interefts, which foon we muft relinquish, and never repoffefs! How diligently should we improve the feason, which foon muft end, and never be renewed? "What our hands find to do, let us do it with our might; there is no work in the grave."

To a time of prevailing mortality the metaphor is peculiarly applicable. In reference to such a time Mofes fays, "Thou carrieft them away as with a flood." But at all times men are mortal; are doomed to duft; are haftening to the grave. Time, like a rifing flood, fweeps them all away

without diftinction.

The fwelling river takes up all objects within its reach, and drives them down its current. Death makes no difference; it bears away the fmall and the great, the poor and the rich, the old and the young, the worthlefs and the useful. They are all fwimming down theftream of time together, like the various materials which cover the furface of a flocd. If at one time, they croud thicker, and roll fafter, than at another, yet they are all conftantly hurried downward, and will foon be thrown into the boundlefs ocean.

We fee, then, the true end and use of life. It is to prepare for death, and the eternity which will follow. How unaccountable is the folly of mortals! They know that death is before them; and how feldom they think of it? They fee others fwept away with the flood, and hardly confider themselves as within the ftream. What multitudes perish" without any regarding it ?"

The uncertainty of the time of death, our Lord urges as an argument for watchfulness. Foolish man makes it an argument for careleffness. If the certainty of death be a reason for preparation, the