B. H.

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
 _  ^-

A SERMON

preached in the

FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH,

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA,

JULY 29, 1855.

BY B. M. PALMER, D. D.
'IpASTOE.

COLUMBIA, 8.. C.
PRINTED BY I. O. MORGAN.
1855.

CORRESPONDENCE.

Columbia, S. C, July 29, 1855.
Deab Sie,
At a meeting of the congregation of the 1st. Presbyterian Church,
of Columbia, this afternoon, the following was unanimously agreed
to: Whereas, we have heard, with much gratification and instruction,
the Sermon delivered by our Pastor, Rev. B. M. Palmer, D. D., this
morning, and desire that it may be preserved for our own use, as
well as the benefit of others, — Therefore,
Resolved, That Dr. Palmer be requested to furnish a copy for pub
lication, and that a committee of three be appointed to carry out this
object. As a committee under the above, we would respectfully and ear
nestly solicit your prompt compliance, in furnishing the manuscript
of your Sermon for the printer. Very truly yours, J. McF. Gaston,
Jno. S. Scott,
Andrew Crawford.

Columbia, S. C, July 30, 1855.
Dear Brethren,
I am well aware that the interest created by the Sermon referred
to in the resolution you have transmitted, is due simply to the sub
ject discussed, and not to the artistic excellence of the Discourse itself.
This, perhaps, is a reason for submitting it the more readily to your
disposal; which I have concluded to do, from the conviction that
while my Pastoral relations continue, you have a right to my labours

IV. CORBESPONDENCE.
in any form agreeable or profitable to yourselves. As soon, therefore,
as I can write it out, the Sermon will be furnished to the printer :
and while the train of thought will be scrupulously preserved, I shall
not attempt to re-produce the precise language ; whi^h, indeed, in
an extemporaneous address, hastily prepared, it would be impossible
to do with any thing like accuracy.
Very truly yours, in the bonds of Christ,
B. M. Palmer.
Messrs. J. McF. Gaston, J
John S. Scott, [ Committee.
And'w. Crawford, )

SERMON.

"Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication,
with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God." — Phil. 4: 6.
No one lives without the experience of care. The
different relations we sustain in this world are all
crowded with their respective duties, which impose
corresponding obligations ; and the mere sense of
responsibility arising from these, without any acces
sories, is a sufficient source of anxiety. When to this
is added that imperfect control over the persons or
events with which each is connected, it is not surpri
sing that the shoulders of so many stoop under the
burdens they have neither strength to cast off, nor
fortitude to bear. The schemes formed with the
wisest forecast are suddenly thwarted by influences
which were never anticipated, and issue at length in
disappointment and sorrow : so that, with Solomon,
we "look on all the works that our hands have
wrought, and on the labour that we have laboured
to do, and behold all is vanity and vexation of
spirit, and there is no profit under the sun." Hence,
moralists of every age have found it a fruitful theme

THE ANTIDOTE OE CABE.

of discourse, either to lift men above the sense of
care, or else to reconcile them to the thorns which
must always vex their repose. In so far as they
have appealed to the natural resources of the human
will, or have drawn their arguments from this world
alone, they have signally failed. No considerations
of the shortness of life, nor of the unavoidable ne
cessity of these cares, have materially lightened their
pressure, so long as they are felt. Unfortunately
too, only here and there an athletic spirit gathers
strength, like the fabled Antaeus, from such contact
with earth, and achieves the stoicism which is so
much admired; while weaker natures shrink away
under the bondage of evils from which this proud
philosophy finds for them no redemption. And
though ifr should be universally attained, it remains
a question whether the cold and stony hardness
imparted to the character will prove a compensation
for the very ulceration of the heart it is intended to
relieve. It is worthy of youf notice * how far the .ethical
teachings of the Bible transcend those of the noblest
earthly schools. The doctrines of grace, always pre
supposed, even when not professedly expounded,
underlie their moral instructions, just as the solid
ribs of stone support the outer crust of earth. —
Hence, they never amuse the care-worn believer
with delusive counsel ; which, however charming to

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 7
the ear, is always "broken to the hope." They
point him at once to the hills above whence his
strength cometh; and to the patient imitation of
one, who bowed his soul unto death, in submissive
endurance of his Father's will, — "who, though he
were a son, yet learned obedience by the things
which he suffered" : and they teach that thus " the
trial of his faith, being much more precious than of
gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire,
might be found unto praise and honour and glory at
the appearing of Jesus Christ." In the text, for
example, the inspired oracle gives, in a single word,
a perfect antidote to all care : a single word, more
fruitful of peace than all the weighty apophthegms
which human wisdom has strung: together upon its
ethical pages, like the beads of a rosary : " Be careful
for nothing, but in every thing by prayer and sup
plication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known unto God." " Is any among you afflict
ed ? let him pray." The exhortation, you perceive,
is unqualified : " be careful," — that is, be solicitous,
or full of care about nothing,— but in every thing
let your requests be made known to Grod. The
counsel is not tendered in that doubtful and measur
ed tone winch marks one not well assured of the
efficacy of his specific. It will meet every case.
Whatever be the pressure of care, or the severity of
affliction, the true and only remedy is found at the

8 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
mercy-seat. I propose, then, to consider the subject
of prayer, in this particular relation to worldly per
plexities and trials; and to show why its magic
influence should dissipate the cares which swarm
upon the soul with their offensive and corroding
touch. 1. In the first place, m prayer we cure brought to
a/n habitual and practical sense of the swpreme will of
a personal God. When we have made a last analy
sis of the cares which annoy us, they are found to
have their root in the conviction, more or less in
tense, of .individual responsibility. The judge on
the bench, the professional man in his office, the
merchant on change, the parent among his children,
the mistress in her house-hold, all feel themselves
girded with weighty and irremissible trusts. The
more these are pondered, the more heavy grows the
pressure of responsibility upon the spirit ; until not
unfrequently a feverish anxiety is engendered, which
leads to distempered and gloomy views of life, and
by exhausting the resolution disqualifies from the
healthful and patient discharge of duty. It is a
special aggravation in almost every case when the
refractory wills of those under our control refuse to
bend to our authority; and the painful alternative
presents itself of abondoning the line of duty which
conscience recognizes, or of entering upon an obsti
nate struggle for the requisite ascendancy. So, too,

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. \)
when events continually happen in providence which
the utmost prudence could not foresee, and too stub
born to be worked into the plans antecedently laid
down. When keenly alive to the responsibility of
their positions in life, few spirits but are sorely
chafed to feel, on the one hand, that they cannot be
disrobed of these; and yet, on the other, to find
themselves constantly defeated by the spirit of in
subordination which will not brook restraint, or
thwarted by new occurrences which throw up a
front of resistance directly across their path.
It is obvious that these, anxieties would instantly
be terminated by complete exemption from responsi
bility in the cases supposed. If in no degree we are
answerable for the results attained, no reason exists
for irritation of spirit. That petulance engendered
merely by the crossing of one's will, where no duties
are imposed, and no responsibility accrues, meets
with no sympathy from God's word; and as the
sign of an imperious and haughty temper, is severe
ly chastised at the hands of moralists. Whatever,
therefore, shall tend to lighten this responsibility,
will equally abridge these cares. For this reason,
whenever, by association, this responsibility can be
divided with others, there is a sensible mitigation of
solicitude. The parent who is not left alone in the
guidance of his household, and the merchant who
can summon to his aid a partner equally implicated
2

10 THE ANTIDOTE OF CAEE.
in all the transactions of business, find as much relief
from their joint counsels, as they do assistance from
the division of their labours. Thus, " two are better
than one, because they have a good reward for their
labour : for, if they fall, the one will lift up his fel
low ; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth,
for he hath not another tp help him up." It is pre
cisely in this aspect I would have you first regard
prayer in its relation to the various annoyances of
life. It brings us face to face with a personal God,
whose supreme will we must trace in all the events
of our history ; and upon whom, if conscious of fideli
ty to his commands, we can throw, to a large extent,
the responsibilities which otherwise must crush us
with their weight.
Prayer is vastly more than the passionate outburst
of imprisoned feeling, seeking blindly for a vent like
the spurting of blood under the compression of a
bandage. It is more than bald apostrophe to a law
less power which rushes on its pathway with the
majesty of a hurricane, or with the impetuosity of an
avalanche. It is the intelligent offering of our de
sires to a Being who can hear and be moved by our
entreaties. Prayer is nothing, if it does not deeply
and practically apprehend God in all the distinctness
of his personality. Undiscovered by the senses of
the body, He is clearly revealed to the eye of faith,
which approaches His throne and touches the sceptre

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 11
which sways the destinies of a universe. Whether it
articulates itself in forms of speech, or is embodied in
those "unutterable groanings" which only He who
knows the mind of the Spirit is able to translate, it
equally recognises God- as present, with intelligence
to know, and with will to relieve. Wholly indepen
dent of the artificial symbols necessary to human
intercourse, it is a communion more intimate than
any which man holds with his fellow on earth : and
the Christian is conscious that his supplications enter
into the very ears of a present God, while the promi
ses opened to his faith become the living voice of
Jehovah in reply. Nor is this recognition of the
Divine personality that meagre speculative assent,
which may be learnt by rote from the stereotyped
phrases of a scientific creed. It is an abiding and
practical sense of it pervading the soul, which makes
the Christian life beat with a swifter pulse, and gives
complexion to all the thoughts and duties of the
man. Such a sense of God as a living person, will
lead us to bow with sacred deference before the
supremacy of His will. God's agency is seen as
clearly in the fall of a sparrow as in the creation of a
planet, in the rustling of a leaf as in the crash of
an empire. His supremacy is felt immeasurably to
transcend that feeble dominion which the proudest
earthly despot wields within the circle of his power :
for it is not a supremacy over the person and fortune

12 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
alone, but over the mind and temper and heart ; and
is in so far denied, until every thought is brought
into captivity to the obedience of His will.
See now the bearing of this upon the subject we
are considering. The man of prayer comes down
from the mount of intercourse where he has talked
face to face with God, as a man talketh with his
friend. He surveys the lot which Providence has
assigned for his inheritance in life. It may be one
of great perplexity and toil ; still it is the lot of
God's choosing. Within his dwelling all the cares of
this world may hive like swarms of bees ; still they
light not by chance, but come at the bidding of Him
"who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a
flame of fire." If untoward events thwart his fond
est counsels, they are still threads woven into the
web of Divine providence, which all have a purpose
and an aim. He is not then wholly responsible for
the trials of his earthly condition, but may share
these with Him whom none shall dare to challenge.
For himself, he is only responsible for his demeanor,
for his humble submission to God's will, and for
patient continuance in well-doing to the end. As
for all the rest, he may cast his care upon One
who careth for him. The peevish complaints of men
in respect to the cares of this world surely proceed
from want of consideration and of faith. If they
would but pray and hold personal communion with

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 13
God, they would learn that all these come by the
appointment of a will they would not desire to
resist. They would know that if faithful to His
service, they are accepted as surely in defeat as in
success : and this reliance upon God's supremacy
would afford precisely that support upon which the
dependent spirit of a created being craves to lean.
Their sense of individual responsibility would be
lightened, and the axe laid at the root of all their
anxieties. There are forms of bereavement in this
world which no argument can reach, but that de
rived from the sovereignty of God. The stricken
heart can only " be still and know that He is God."
" I was dumb, I opened not my mouth, because thou
didst it." " Surely I have behaved and quieted my
self, as a child that is weaned of his mother." The
argument is just as cogent for our trials as for our
sorrows : " It is the Lord — should I distrust,
Or contradict his will,
Who cannot do but what is just,
And must be righteous still f"
2. Prayer leads to the contemplation of God in
his Covenant relations to us, which will soften the lot
otherwise rugged amd difficult. If a reflecting mind
should be suddenly aroused to the necessity and
privilege of prayer, without a single ray of previ
ous instruction, several questions of vast importance

14 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
would immediately be suggested to his consideration.
Will this infinite and glorious Being condescend to
his low estate and bend an ear to his requests ? "How
shall he find God, and by what avenue approach into
His presence ? Who will present him before the
throne, and become his interpreter and advocate in
that august court ? How shall the vileness of his sins
be covered from the sight of God's consuming holi
ness? By what title shall the Divine majesty be
recognised, and what form of address shall he em
ploy ? Are any limitations placed upon his desires,
or may he present every vagrant wish that finds a
transient lodgement in his breast ? And upon what
warrant may he expect a determinate answer to his
petitions? To all these inquiries the Scriptures re
turn precise answers, our familiar acquaintance with
which blunts the sense of their importance ; and it
requires an effort of imagination to throw ourselves
into the position of such an inquirer, and to feel the
agitation of his spirit until they are resolved. Still
we can see that the exercise of prayer depends upon
the answers which shall be returned ; otherwise all
access to a throne of Grace is barred.
The Bible, however, contains a written charter,
which' secures to the Christian all the immunities
and privileges he enjoys : " This is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their mind,>

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 15
and write them in their hearts; and I will be to
them a God, and they shall be- to me a people." By
this covenant the way of approach is opened through
Christ by one Spirit unto the Father ; — an advocate
and intercessor is presented in "the Great High
Priest that is passed into the Heavens, Jesus, the
Son of God," so that we may " come boldly unto the
throne of Grace, to obtain mercy and find grace to
help in time of need ;" — an effectual plea is furnished,
which may be urged in perfect assurance that what
soever we ask the Father in the name of the Son,
he will give it unto us ; — nay, the very petitions
which spring from our lips are indited by the in
dwelling Spirit, who " helpeth our infirmities," teach
ing " what we should pray for as we ought." The
promises of this covenant, as they constitute the
warrant, so they contain the very material of true
prayer. They teach that certain blessings may be
asked of God with an absolute expectation of their
being granted, because known antecedently .to be in
accordance with " the good pleasure of His will" ; as
when the Christian prays for a sense of acceptance,
or for increase of holiness. Certain other things,
however, may be objects of desire, but can only be
made- properly the subjects of prayer under condi
tions mentally recognised, if not verbally enunciated
by the petitioner; as when we pray for recovery
from sickness, or for the increase of worldly posses-

16 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
sions. These particular things are nowhere in the
covenant the subject of a specific promise ; and if our
prayers embrace them, it must be with a reservation
in favour of God's sovereignty, to which we are
pledged to bow with docility and cheerfulness in
whatever He may appoint. Thus, the Divine cove
nant, which opens the way and secures the answer of
prayer, also regulates its exercise : so that it is not a
lawless wishing, but the intelligent " offering up of
our desires to God for things agreeable to His will."
It is thus plain that the Christian idea of prayer
goes far beyond that inculcated by natural religion.
The latter would construe prayer only as the lan
guage of a creature's dependance upon the infinite
resources of an Almighty creator and benefactor.
But, if the question be asked, how shall a svrmer
approach the awful holiness of God, and hold the
communion with Him which is implied in prayer, it
is grace only that can answer, by pointing to the
mediation of Jesus Christ, and to the co-operation
and assistance of the Holy Ghost. If it be asked,
again, what shall form the subject-matter of our
petitions, the answer is, those things which grace
makes over in the promises of the Gospel as the
inheritance of God's children. Prayer, therefore, —
the prayer of a sinner,- — must contemplate the cove
nant, as the only charter under which the sinner can
hold any privileges, or claim any rights ; and it must

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 17
regard God, not merely in the natural relations of
creator, preserver and benefactor, but in the gra
cious relations which He sustains by promise and by
oath, of Father, redeemer and portion.
It requires now but a word to trace the influence
of these views upon the perplexities and sorrows of
the present life. Be it so, that the believer's lot is
one of continuous vexation and solicitude, and at
every point his will is contradicted, and his purposes
defeated. His habitual and reverential study of the
covenant assures him that these allotments are in no
wise inconsistent with God's fatherly love, and form
no evidence against his personal acceptance in Christ.
On the contrary, if this life be a state of gracious
discipline, he may expect his patience of hope, his
cheerfulness of submission, his trustfulness of faith,
to be tested by every variety of trial which earth
can afford. If, through infinite mercy, his spirit is
adorned with gracious tempers and dispositions, all
the analogies of nature and providence will teach
him that these can only grow to robustness and
maturity by exercise, attended with pain and toil
If the unspeakable joys of Heaven- are hereafter to
be possessed in the way of gracious reward, the cares
and sorrows of life are necessary for manifesting
those traits of fidelity and constancy which will re
ceive the plaudit "well done," at the last day. If,
moreover, it is one of the dignities, conferred upon

18 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
him to be anointed as a witness for God, how shall
the riches of Divine grace be revealed through him
as "a living epistle, known and read of all men,"
unless he is placed in situations beyond the power of
nature to endure with equanimity and cheerfulness.
And last of all, when his fortitude is about to yield
under accumulated trials, the covenant directs him
to God, as the source of supernatural strength; while
the assurance "My grace is sufficient for thee," nerves
him to present and future endurance. Thus, a mel
low light, issuing from the covenant of -grace, throws
a softer hue upon these checkered earthly scenes.
Just as from a lofty elevation the rugged objects left
below shade off into harmonious parts of a lovely
landscape, so from the mount of prayer our perplexi
ties are viewed through an atmosphere of grace,
which softens *heir- deformities, into the features of a
wise and well-proportioned plan.
3. Prayer compels us to take an mveritory of our
mercies, amd to balance, these against owr trials. In
the text, the apostle uses three terms to indicate the
nature of true prayer : " In ,every thing, by prayer
and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your re
quests be made known unto God." This aggregation
of descriptive terms is common in the New Testa
ment, wherever this topic is discussed : as in Eph. vi.
IS, "praying always with all prayer and supplication
in the Spirit" ; and 1 Tim. ii : 1, " I exhort, therefore,

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 19
that first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions
and giving of thanks, be made for all men." This
reduplication of language should not be charged
with tautology, even though we should not be able
to attach a (precise and different sense to each ex
pression ; since the fulness and vehemency of prayer
are thereby implied* But I suppose a difference of
signification may easily be traced. The first term,
"prayer," is the most general of all, importing the
wishes and desires presented to God for good things
to be obtained. The second term, "supplication,"
refers to deprecatory petitions extorted from us by
the pressure of evils, either already experienced or
anticipated with dread.- But I am now more parti
cularly concerned with the third and last. It is not
without emphasis that Paml here enumerates "thanks
giving" as an element of true prayer : since promi
nently in this is found that antidote of care which he
is so earnestly recommending.
Few things conduce more to contentment than the
habit of contrasting our circumstances with those of
others less favoured in providence. While we sit
brooding over ottr own trials^ it is easy to fancy our
lot peculiarly hard, until the festering discontent
shall ripen into habitual peevishness. But the sight
of .other men's distresses will often dissipate the
sore before it gathers into an imposthume. Let the

20 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
mistress of a well-appointed household, for example,
whose soul is vexed by the cares incident to its
control, view a poor widow, broken in spirit, op
pressed with bodily suffering, stitching by a flicker
ing lamp through the weary hours of night, — while
in imagination she divides her gains between a black
loaf for her hungry babes and the arrearage of rent
which threatens to thrust her from a comfortless
attic into the drains and gutters of the city ; — and
she will return grateful for the home which before it
vexed her to keep, and for the domestics whom it
was a trial to manage. Or, let the busy merchant,
who frets angrily over the accounts of delinquent
debtors staring out. from the columns of his fat, led
ger, visit a brother suddenly overtaken with bank
ruptcy — his credit prostrate, his honor tainted, even
hope itself crushed out under the iron-weight of irre
trievable insolvency ; — and he will turn with another
heart to that long array, of figures, thankful that he
at least can strike a balance between his credits and
his debits, — and while he sets the one over against
the other, he will at least learn contentment. Or,
let the. anxious father, weary ofthe conflict with the
hardy wills which he must restrain, enter the cell of
some gloomy prison, through whose grated window
streams just light enough to reveal the gray hairs of
a more unfortunate1 parent, bowing with shame and

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 21
agony over the .fetters of a profligate' son ; — and he
will turn with stronger resolution to the long and
weary task of paternal discipline.
These illustrations, you will admit, are tableaux
of real life, and they are sufficient for my purpose.
But prayer exerts the same wholesome influence by
forcing us to perceive the contrasts in our own indi
vidual life. It is difficult to conceive of a true and
full prayer, of which thanksgiving shall not be a
prominent part. The- very habit of referring to infi
nite goodness, as the source from- which blessings are
to be drawn, and to infinite power, by which antici
pated ills are to be averted, will call up the remem
brance of mercies already enjoyed. The petitioner
will naturally seek for precedents in his own history,
for the confirmation of his hope. He will remember
former emergencies in which he cried unto the Lord
and was delivered, — in the seventh trouble he will
not forget the six which preceded. The deep grati
tude of his soul will pour forth in praise and song.
The sense of those mercies, none the less precious
because the most common, will now be lively and
strong ; and he will bless God for the air he breathes,
the light he sees, the health he enjoys, the food he
eats, the raiment he wears, the reason he exercises,
the sweets of domestic and social life, and the thou
sand pleasures which approach him by a thousand
different avenues. At length,, the swelling list over-

22 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
whelms him with its magnitude, and he bows with
adoration before " the Father of lights, from whom
cometh down every good and perfect gift," whose
"mercies are new every morning, and renewed every
evening." Tell me now, if, in the sight of God's
unnumbered favours, the aeal of silence will not be
placed upon every complaint, and each repining
thought be led captive in the train of victorious and
triumphant gratitude ? If, then, in prayer we are led
thus to survey the goodness of the. Lord, we must
needs be quiet amidst the discipline of care, and
patiently endure those thorns in the -flesh, "the
messengers of Satan to buffet us lest we should be
exalted above measure."
4. Prayer imparts a tone to the spirit, girding it
for the how of trial. - Have you never found unex
pected relief from the burdens of life through com
munion with some more heroic spirit, whose inter
course insensibly restores the elasticity which had
begun to be weakened ? He may not utter a single
word of sympathy, and be entirely ignorant of your
secret •grief. Yet, as he discourses upon the nobler
themes which interest himself, you are quietly drawn
up to the higher summit-level on which he stands,
and breathe a more bracing atmosphere. Introduced
to a wider range of thought, you are mortified at
the narrow circle of your own views, and blush for
the feebleness of your own will. You at once per-

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 23
ceive that life has other elements than the petty
cares which had absorbed your interest. The diver
sion of your mind to these, causes them to shrink
back into their native littleness ; and the emanci
pated soul comes forth to look at, and to work out,
the higher mission to which it is now exalted. All
this is but the influence which mind naturally exerts
upon mind; for "as iron sharpeneth iron, so a man
sharpeneth the countenance of his friend." But
prayer is the loftiest of all intercourse, by so much
as God is the loftiest of all beings. The reverence
and awe inspired by a sense of the Divine majesty
and holiness, take complete possession of the soul,
swaying all its faculties. This is by a law similar in
its operation, only infinitely higher in degree, to that
mysterious ascendancy gained by superior natures
over those of weaker mould: when, by an unac
countable fascination, all their powers are held as
by a spell, whose control is irresistible- like that of
fate. This, however, would be a low view in which to
rest. The believer's communion with God, and his
reception of strength, turn upon far higher princi
ples than«those of mere nature* By virtue of his
union with Christ, there is a real, yet mysterious,
communication of life and power from Him, "in
whom" to this .end " dwelleth all the fulness of the
Godhead bodily." For this purpose the Holy Ghost,

24 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
the Comforter, is sent to abide with him forever.
As the Spirit of Christ, He applies the grace which
is treasured in Christ; communicating light in sea
sons of darkness, and strength in the hour of weak
ness. He dwells within the Christian, exerting his
power immediately upon every faculty of his nature.
This is clearly implied by the Apostle in the verse
succeeding the text : " and the peace of God, which
passeth all understanding, shall keep your minds and
hearts through Christ Jesus.'x The expression, ashall
keep your minds and hearts," is, in the original, a
military metaphor, — " shall garrison- your minds." —
There is, therefore, an influence of the Holy Ghost
upon the understanding of the Christian, fortifying it
against the infidel cavils which the seeming inequali
ties of Divine providence May easily suggest ; — upon
the affections, ¦ guarding them- against the seductions
of the world, and securing them to God's throne ; —
upon the will, strengthening it to bolder resistance
in {he time of strong temptation. By this immedi
ate influence of the Spirit in the dispensation of
grace, the permanent condition of the believer is one
of security and peace : and this habitual serenity and
composure of soul is itself a protection against the
invasions of care and sorrow. " Be careful for no
thing"- — such is Paul's argument, — "only let your
requests be made known to God" : and, as the result,
" the peace of God will keep your minds and hearts"

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 25
with all the security of a garrison. This general and
constant influence of true prayer upon the character
is perhaps too much overlooked, even by Christians.
We are prone to estimate the value of prayer only
by the particular blessings it is the means of obtain^
ing. That heroic tone of the spirit which is impart
ed by habitual communion with God — that tension
of all our faculties, secured by the direct influence of
the Holy Ghost,— is appreciated with more difficulty,
and often undervalued, till the attention is distinctly
drawn to it. And yet, upon this previous fortifica
tion of the soul depends, in a large degree, our
safety in trouble and temptation. In the first access
of these there is not composure enough to elaborate
the principles upon which to fall back for support.
They must be at hand and ready for use, as the
surprised soldier can do nothing more than to un-
sling and present to the enemy his weapons of war,
already burnished and charged. " Prayer keeps the
Christian's armour bright," and his courage at the
highest elevation, as knowing that he is ready for
the onset, with his mind strung, and his spirit calm.
All experience will testify that the Christian never
yields under any pressure of sin and care, save as he
loses the tone of spirit, which can only be preserved
by earnest and habitual prayer continually fixing
him at the throne of power and of grace.
5. Nearly allied to this is another influence of true

26 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
prayer, which, though scarcely separated- by a sufr
ficient logical difference, for the sake of distinctness,
I prefer to throw under a special head: I refer to
the effect of prayer in bringing us to a distinct issue
with ourselves in relation to our cares. How often it
happens that men bear, with exemplary cheerfulness,
the heavy calamities of life, and yet betray the most
unseemly peevishness under the petty annoyances of
the passing hour ? The reason is, God's hand is seen
in one, and not in the other. The death of a friend,
or the sudden loss of fortune, is recognised at once
as coming by Divine appointment. But our cares
are of the earth, earthy. We do not trace the con
nection between Ihe waywardness of children, the
indolence of servants, the delinquency of neighbours,
and the controlling and disciplinary providence of
God. There is, however, another reason : Calamities
present usually a single front to us. Bach one tow
ers before us in its isolate grandeur and bleakness :
and all the resources of nature and of grace are sum
moned to our aid. The whole soul is gathered up to
meet the trial — all the strength and resolution we
possess are marshalled — it is not the time to allow
discord and schism between the faculties of our na
ture. If for a moment the water-spout bursts over
us, and buries us many fathoms deep, by a natural
buoyancy we rise to the surface again, and by self-
recollection and prayer the whole man is united in

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 27
the resolution patiently to endure. Our cares, on
the other hand, come upon us in detail. They
swarm about us like bees— they cover every inch
of surface upon us— their poisoned sting is felt at
a thousand points at once: until, maddened with
vexation and pain, we fume and stamp and fret, only
to aggravate the petty enemies which bury their
stings within us with tenfold greater fury. Like the
foolish sheep in a thicket, we lacerate and tear our
flesh with thorns and brambles, which would be
powerless to harm if we would only be still and
" possess our souls in patience." Should any of you
come to me for sympathy and counsel under the
burden of your anxieties, I would probably address
you in terms like the following: Are not these cares
incident to the relations you sustain in life, and did
not God bind them up together in the same ordina
tion ? Did you not yourselves select these relations,
with distinct foreknowledge of these very cares?
Would you, even now, consent to drop those, in
order to be quit of these ? If a parent, would you
consent to be deprived of your children to be rid of
their trouble? — if a house-holder, to be without a
home to escape its vexations ? — if a merchant, to lose
your business to avoid its perplexities ? If not, then
by a new election of your will, you choose to be in
the situations in which you are found. What, then,
do you propose ? What indeed remains, but to nerve

28 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
yourselves for the endurance of all that is annoying
in your sphere ? This, then, would be the point of
my discourse: Since these cares are incidental to
your positions, which you are unwilling to abandon ;
since they are imposed upon you by a providence
which is wise and impartial ; since they form a part
of the education which in this school you are acqui
ring; do not suffer them to carry you by default.
Come to an issue with yourselves in relation to them,
precisely as you do in the weightier afflictions of life.
Gather up all the faculties of your nature, and let
them be knit and bound together by a single resolu
tion to bear them with quietness and composure : in
this sense utter the prayer of David, uwnite* my
heart to fear thy name."
Now, this result, to which my counsels would
tend, is more surely and pleasantly reached through
the influence of prayer ; which always brings us to
a determinate issue upon the subject of our petitions.
There is no prayer in God's sight unaccompanied by
* The Greek scholar will detect in the original, (jwjosv (Aspifwars, " be
careful for nothing," an allusion to the schism produced in the soul
by disturbing thoughts. It is the same word used in Mat. vi : 25-34,
and in Luke xii; 11 : 22-26, translated " taking thought." It is used
in Luke x : 41, in Christ's rebuke to the troubled Martha, "thou art
careful about many things." It is employed in the same sense of a
divided mind in 1 Cor. vii : 32-34 ; in 1 Cor. xii : 25 ; and in Phil, ii :
20, It is derived from fi.Epio', f/.epi£cj, a part, to divide ; as Terence
says, " cares draw the mind apart." — See Liddell & Scott's Greek and
English Lexicon.

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 29
a clear and well-defined purpose. The man, for ex
ample, who prays to be delivered from the dominion
of some easily besetting sin, or for the pardon of
some particular transgression which has clouded his
sense of reconciliation with the Almighty, but prays
without any present purpose to forsake those sins,
may at once give over his whining before God, who
looks down with loathing and scorn upon his detest
able meanness and hypocrisy. That purpose may be
so weak as to yield under the first temptation that
shall afterwards offer ; yet, it must be honestly che
rished in the soul, or the prayer itself is vacant of all
meaning. So, if the Christian carries to the throne
of Grace the many vexations of his lot, he can only
be sincere, as with the aids of Divine grace he in
wardly purposes to bear them without chafing and
resentment. 6. In prayer we apprehend the nearness of Heaven,
which is a -motive to submission and patience. The
Scriptures are full of the earnest longings of be
lievers for the appearing of Jesus* Christ and their
introduction into Heaven. Ps. xvii : 20, " I shall be
satisfied," says David, "when I awake in thy like
ness." Phil, iii: 20, "For our conversation" says
Paul, "is in Heaven, from whence also we look for
the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ." Phil, i: 23,
" Having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ,
which is far better." 2 Cor. v: 2, "For in this we

30 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with
our house which is from Heaven." Tit. ii: 13, "Look
ing for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of the great God, and our Saviour Jesus Christ." —
These are but specimens from a large class of passa
ges familiar to every ear. In no sense implying
discontent . or impatience, the Christian yet feels an
estrangement from earth, a profound conviction that
this is not his rest. A pilgrim and a stranger here,
he "seeks a city which hath foundations, whose
maker and builder is God." Now, in no exercise in
which he engages, is he so alive to his separation
from earth, and his nearness to Heaven, as in pray
er. The sweetness of that communion with God ren
ders this world, save as a sphere of duty, wholly
uncongenial to him ; and forces him to cry out,
"whom have I in Heaven but thee, and there is
none upon earth that I desire besides thee"! He
longs for that " crown of righteousness- which the
Lord, the righteous Judge, will give him in that
day," — his eye is dazzled by the brightness of that
"inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and
that fadeth not away, reserved in Heaven" for him'.
If, then, in prayer, he apprehends this as near, — if,
upon the delectable mountains, through the tele
scope, he can descry the shining city over the inter
vening hills and vales, why, should he vex his soul
by reason of the inconveniences of the road, which

THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE. 31
is soon passed over, and which brings him to that
glory? "As when the weary traveller gains
The height of some o'erlooking hill,
His heart revives, if cross the plains
He eyes his home, though distant still :
While he surveys the much loved spot,
He slights the space that lies between ;
His past fatigues are now forgot,
Because his journey's end is seen."
Such, then, are the aspects in which I would have
you view the apostle's specific against earthly cares.
I would sum up, by reminding you that this world,
as the habitation of sinners, must of necessity be a
World of anxiety. It is the imperative law of our
being, from which none are permitted wholly to
escape. In looking at the external advantages by
which some appear to be preferred, it must be re
membered there are secret trials belonging to these
which escape the eye, and are known only to the
sufferers and to God. After all, there is wonderful
equality in the distributions of Providence among
men*: and if the vision could only be realized which
is presented in one of the papers of the Spectator, in
which every member of this complaining race depo
sits his cares in a separate heap, and all were permit?
ted to make their own selection, it would end at last
in every man's taking up his own burden as preferar
ble to that of his neighbour. But I would ask, in

32 THE ANTIDOTE OF CARE.
conclusion, if God has revealed to us an infallible
antidote to care, what right have they to complain,
who refuse to try its virtue ? The remedy is infalli
ble. Even the partial application which good men
make of it, is sufficient to prove its intrinsic power —
none have ever been disappointed in its use — and
God assures us upon his oath, that it will never fail.
We are stripped, then, of all excuse for petulance.
And if men will not pray habitually, earnestly, per
sistently, they are convicted by the very murmurs
they indulge. If pains afflict, or wrongs oppress,
If cares distract, or fears dismay,
If guilt deject, if sin distress,
The remedy 's before thee — pray."
The fretful Christian is inexcusable, precisely in
the same way with the unbelieving sinner ; he does
not use the remedy provided for his disease in the
Gospel. " Be careful for nothing ; but in every
thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiv
ing, let your requests be made known unto God;
and the peace of God, which passeth all under
standing, shall keep your minds and hearts, through
Christ Jesus."

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