Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: SERMON V. SUFFERINGS OF THE ISRAELITES. Deuteronomy, xxviii. 67. In the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even ! and al even thou thalt say, Would God it were morning ! for the, fear of thine heart wherewith thou siuilt fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see. These words are taken from the chapter which was read as the first lesson for the morning service on Wednesday last. It was not chosen on purpose, for there are no proper lessons for Ash Wednesday ; but it is the regular lesson in the calendar for the seventh day of March; and as Ash Wednesday happened to fall on that day, so this chapter was read accordingly. Yet, had it been intentionally fixed upon, it could not have suited the service better. In particular, it well agrees with the Commination service, which warns us against falling under the wrath of God for our many andvarious sins. This chapter is, indeed, an awful commination : it threatens the Israelites with every conceivable evil, if they departed from serving the Lord their God ; it leaves them absolutely without hope, unless they turned with all their hearts, and repented them of their disobedience. It is impossible, I think, to read or to hear this chapter, without being deeply struck by it. It speaks to the Israelites, before they were yet entered into the land of Canaan, to forewarn them lest they should be cast out of it. Amidst all the signs and wonders which God had been showing in their behalf, they were taught to look for a time when neither miracle nor prophet would be vouchsafed to them, when God would be as closely hidden from them, as his power was now manifestly revealed to do them good. As if, too, warning were far more required than encouragement, we find that the blessings promised for obedience bear a sma...