he! it is he!" and after that you hear on the one hand, shouts of "Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah," "Welcome, welcome, welcome Son of God." But mixed with that there is a deep bass, composed of the weeping and the wailing of the men who have persecuted him, and who have rejected him. Listen! I think I can dissect the sonnet; I think I can hear the words as they come separately, each one of them, tolling like a death knell. What say they? They say, "Rocks hide us, mountains fall upon us, hide us from the face of him that sits upon the throne." And shall you be among the number of those who say to the rocks, "Hide us ?"

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My impenitent hearer, I suppose for a moment that you have gone out of this world, and that you have died impenitent, and that you are among those who are weeping, and wailing, and gnashing their teeth. Oh! what will then be your terror! Blanched cheeks, and knocking knees are nothing, compared to thy horror of heart when thou shalt be drunken, but not with wine, and when thou shalt reel to and fro with the intoxication of amazement, and shall fall down, and roll in the dust for horror and dismay. For there he comes, and there he is, with fierce, fire-darting eye; and now the time is come for the great division. The voice is heard, Gather my people from the four winds of heaven, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth." They are gathered at the right hand, and there they are. And now saith he, "Gather up the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn." And you are gathered, and on the left hand there you are, gathered into the bundle. All that is wanted is the lighting of the pile. Where shall be the torch that shall kindle them? The tares are to be burned; where is the flame? The flame comes out of his mouth, and it is composed of words like these-" Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, in hell, prepared for the devil and his angels."

Do you linger? "Depart!" Do you seek a blessing? "Ye are cursed." I curse you with a curse. Do ye seek to escape? It is everlasting fire. Do ye stop and plead? No, "I called, and ye refused; I stretched out my hands, and ye regarded me not; therefore I will mock at your calamity, I will laugh when your fear cometh." "Depart, again, I say ;

depart for ever!" And you are gone. And what is your reflection? Why, it is this: "Oh! would to God that I never had been born! Oh! that I had never heard the gospel preached, that I might never have had the sin of rejecting it !” This will be the gnawing of the worm in your conscience— "I knew better, but I did not do better."-" As I sowed the wind, it is right I should reap the whirlwind; I was checked, but I would not be stopped; I was wooed, but I would not be invited. Now I see that I have murdered myself. Oh! thought above all thoughts most deadly. I am lost, lost, lost! And this is the horror of horrors: I have caused myself to be lost; I have put from me the gospel of Christ; I have destroyed myself."

Shall this be so with thee, my hearer? Shall this be so with thee? I pray it may not! 0 may the Holy Spirit now constrain thee to come to Jesus, for I know that thou art too vile to yield, unless he compels thee. But I hope for thee. Methinks I hear thee say, "What must I do to be saved ?" Let me tell you the way of salvation, and then farewell. If thou wouldest be saved, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;" for the Scripture says, "He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; he that believeth not shall be damned." There he hangs, dying on his cross! look

to him and live.

"Venture on him, venture wholly,

Be you wicked,

Let no other trust intrude;

None but Jesus

Can do helpless sinners good."

filthy, depraved, degraded, you are still invited to Christ. The devil's castaways Christ takes in-the offscouring, the dross, the scum, the draff, the sewerage of this world, is now invited to Christ. Come to him now, and obtain mercy. But if ye harden your hearts,

"The Lord in anger dressed,

Shall lift his hand and swear,

'You that despised my promised rest,

Shall have no portion there."

SERMON XXVII.

FAITH IN PERFECTION.

"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me. Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands."-PSALM cxxxviii. 8.

IN the opening, I must remark that this is not the heritage of all mankind. The word, "me," in the text, can not be appropriated by any man, unless he, in some respects, resembles the character of David, who penned this Psalm. The text, however, itself, is its own guard. If you look at it, you will see that there is in its bowels a full description of a true Christian. I will ask you three questions suggested by the words themselves, and according to your answer to these three questions, shall be my reply, yes or no, as to whether this promise belongs to you.

To begin, let us read the first sentence- "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." Now, have you a concern in and a concern about heavenly things? Have you ever felt that eternity concerns you more than time; that the mansions of heaven are more worthy your consideration than the dwelling-places of earth? Have you felt that you ought to have a greater concern about your immortal soul than about your perishing body? Remember, if you are living the life of a butterfly, the life of the present, a sportive and flowery life, without making any preparation or taking any thought for a future world, this promise is not yours. If the things of God do not concern you, then God will not perfect them for you. You must have in your own soul a concern about these things, and afterwards you must have a belief in your heart that you have an interest in heavenly things, or otherwise it would be a perversion of holy Scripture for you to appropriate

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these precious things to yourselves. Can we then, each of us put our hand upon our heart and say without stammering, which suggests a hypocrite-can we say honestly, as in the sight of God, “I am concerned about the things of God, of Christ, of salvation, of eternity? I may not have assurance, but I have concern. If I can not say, I know in whom I have believed, yet I can say I know in whom I desire to believe. If I can not say, I know that my Redeemer liveth, yet I can say I desire that I may be found in him at last, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing." Well, soul, if thou hast a concern about the things of God, this is thy promise, and let not Master Clip-promise take it away from thee; suffer him not to take any part of its preciousness; it is all thine, "The Lord will perfect that which concerneth thee."

Another question is suggested by the second clause, “Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever." Have we then tasted of God's mercy? Have you and I gone to the throne of grace conscious of our lost estate? Have we made confession of our sins? Have we looked to the blood of Jesus; and do we know that the mercy of God has been manifested to us? Have we breathed the dying thief's petition, and have we had the gracious answer of Jesus? Have we prayed as the publican did? and have we gone to our house justified by God's mercy? Remember, O man! if thou hast never received God's pardoning mercy and forgiving grace, this text is a divine enclosure into which thou hast no right to intrude; this is a banquet of which thou hast no right to eat; this is a secret place into which thou hast no right to enter. We must first taste God's mercy, and, having tasted that, we may believe that he will perfect that which concerneth us.

A third question, and I beseech you put these questions to your heart, lest you should be misled, by any comfortable words that I shall hereafter speak, into the foul delusion that this promise signifies yourself, when it does not. The last question is suggested by the prayer, "Forsake not the works of thine own hands." Have you then a religion which is the work of God's hands? Many men have a religion which is their own work, there is nothing supernatural about it; human

nature began it, human nature has carried it on, and as far as they have any hope they trust that human nature will complete it. Remember there is no spring on earth that has force enough in it to spout a fountain into Paradise, and there is no strength in human nature that shall ever suffice to raise a soul to heaven. You may practice morality, and I beseech you do so; you may attend to ceremonies, and you have a right to do so, and must do so; you may endeavor to do all righteousness, but since you are a sinner condemned in the sight of God, you can never be pardoned apart from the blood of Christ; and you can never be purified apart from the purifying operations of the Holy Ghost. That man's religion which is born on earth, and born of the will of the flesh or of blood, is a vain religion. Oh! beloved, except a man be born again, or from above, as the original has it, he can not see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and can not enter heaven; only that which is born of the Spirit is spirit, and is, therefore, capable of inheriting a spiritual inheritance which God reserves for spiritual men. Have I then the work of God in my heart? am I sure that it is not my own work? If I am, experimentally, an Arminian, and if I think I have proved the truth of Arminian religion, then I have no religion that will carry me to heaven. But if, experimentally, I am compelled to confess that grace begins, that grace carries on, and that grace must perfect my religion, then God having began the good work in me, I am the person for whom this verse is intended, and I may sit down at this celestial banquet and eat and drink to my very full.

Let each hearer, then, pause and put these three questions to himself—Am I concerned about religion? Have I tasted the mercy of God? Is my religion God's work? They are solemn questions; answer them! and if you can even humbly say "Yes," then come ye to this text, for the joy and comfort of it is yours.

We have three things here. First, the believer's confidence-"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me." Secondly, the ground of that confidence-"Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth for ever;" and thirdly, the result and outgrowth of his