God, which was once committed to Jesus, is never far from any one of his children, and we are taught to look upon death itself, the consummation of disease, as the only infallible restorative to health and life without end.

Thus, the miracles of Jesus, in which the design of Providence is so clearly set forth, may teach us to read the more mysterious handwriting of God, in the operations of nature and the common course of events. May the example of him, who received his human existence by a miracle, and used the supernatural power and knowledge intrusted to him, to remind men of their divine origin and heavenly mission, to instruct the ignorant, to heal the sick, to raise the dead, may the example of Jesus Christ teach us the true use of the gifts of nature, of all the means of improvement and happiness we possess! May it induce us to aspire after a more intimate union with God, by a more faithful imitation of him who was the image of his Father; so that our very works may bear witness, that we are in God, and God in us.

SERMON XXIV.*

PROVERBS Xvii. 17.

"A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity."

THE text describes the character of a true friend; and I have chosen it as a guide, for the purpose of investigating with you the nature and the duties of friendship.

There is no one present, I trust, whose moral vision is so dull or so perverted as not to distinguish between friendship and its counterfeit, that mercenary sentiment, I mean, which is referred to in other passages of the book of Proverbs, where we are told that "wealth maketh friends," and that "every man is a friend to him that giveth gifts." It is the existence and prevalence of that mercenary disposition, which forms the peculiar trial of those who are able and willing to give; inasmuch as they find it difficult to discover, whether, among the many who seek their favor and extol their bounty, there is one who loves the giver better than his gifts," a friend that loveth at all times; a brother born for adversity." Proverbial sayings record the testimony of experience, and common sense points out the distinction between a fair

* From an unfinished manuscript. The conclusion is wanting.

weather friend and a friend in need, between a friend in words and a friend in acts. Among all the favors that the most bountiful friend may bestow, there is no gift so rich as that of his friendship. Where the spirit of love is, burdens become benefits; but where that is wanting, benefits become burdens.

Nay, it is said in opposition to the sentiment of the world, according to which wealth maketh friends, that there is greater blessedness in giving than in receiving. This rule is true among strangers; but it does not apply to friends. For there is, or may be, as much magnanimity in receiving as in bestowing benefits; and, if they be expressions of friendship, services, gifts, and sacrifices are precious alike to the giver and the receiver. Travellers in the East have said that when the sun rises on Mount Sinai, it is beautiful to see its shadow resting on the opposite heights of Horeb, but when the sun goes down, it is equally beautiful to trace on the majestic sides of Mount Sinai the brother form of Horeb.

Among all the examples recorded in history, there is none in which the character of true friendship is more strikingly set forth, than in the beautiful and affecting story of the heroic son of the king of Israel and the shepherd's son of Bethlehem. Their friendship began at the time when David, having slain Goliah, was brought before Saul, who inquired of him whose son he was. When the lad had disclosed his humble origin, we read that "the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul." The whole history

of the fearful trials, dangers, and temptations to which their friendship was subjected, proved the greatness of their love, and the sacredness of that covenant of heart, which bound them to one another. Jonathan heard the intimation of his father, "As long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom." What was the prospect that his own greatness would be endangered by that of David; what was his father's anger, which would have destroyed both David and himself; what was it all, when set against the friendship of him whom Jonathan "loved as he loved his own soul"? At the risk of his own life, he sought his friend in secret, and warned him against his father's anger; and "they kissed one another and wept one with another." "Fear not," said he to his friend, "for the hand of Saul my father shall not find thee; and thou shalt be king over Israel, and I shall be next unto thee." And they renewed their covenant before God. Was not this a living illustration of our text, "A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity"?

A similar proof of disinterested friendship we find in John the Baptist, in those lofty expressions of joy at the sight of Jesus, though he knew that as he, who was the light of life, had entered the world, the borrowed light of those who went before him must wax dim. "Ye yourselves bear me witness, that I said, I am not the Christ, but that I am sent before him. He that has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth

him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom's voice; this my joy is fulfilled. He must increase, and I must decrease." Is this sentiment of disinterested love, as we see it displayed in John the Baptist, and in the friend of David, is it only the fruit of a cultivated mind and a matured character? I knew two little children, both very sick, lying in the same room, and eagerly asking for something to drink to allay their feverish thirst. The anxious mother, fearing that a compliance with their request might hurt the little ones, refused their prayer; till at last, by the physician's advice, the object of their eager entreaty, the cup of cold water, was handed to the youngest and sickest of the children. "Thank you, dear mother," said the little girl, "but first give it to Willie ! ” That power within, which enabled a little sick child to restrain the fierce cravings of a fever which no medical skill could arrest, was it a whim of the moment, or the mechanical repetition of a well-learned lesson of politeness, or was it the same spirit that enabled the Saviour on the cross to fix his agonized attention upon those who stood at its foot; and instead of seeking relief for himself in death, and in commending his spirit to God, to exact from shrinking nature a last service, to establish a filial and maternal union between his mother and the disciple whom Jesus loved. Enough has been said of the character of friendship. Let us now consider some of its chief duties.

The first duty of friendship is that which constitutes also one of the prime qualities of the diamond. I