another; the desolating wars, the pestilence, the judgments of every kind, do but trace out for him, in lines clear to his mental vision, the development of plans and purposes which gradually conduce to the glory of God. His is the feeling of the Psalmist— Whate'er events betide, Thy wisdom times them all. From these he may derive aid in his work of religion; and amidst all the tumults of the world, his mind may be kept in peace, because he learns that God is the Ruler of the universe. Let the individual whose mind is turned to the subject of religion, and who is zealously pursuing the salvation of his soul, observe the movements of the grand machinery of God in relation to the moral and religious improvement of the world. Other men may see in this the miscalled march of intellect, and the mind of the political economist may read the gradual amelioration of the condition of the species going on in his estimation to the perfection of our nature: but from all these things, the man engaged in the work of religion, finds a most powerful auxiliary, because every thing in this class of subjects, teaches him the faithfulness of God. When, after a night or day of clouds, and rain, and tempest, the wind veers to that portion of the compass whence experience has taught that clear weather comes, and when along the western horizon there is a line of light and broken clouds, from the appearance of the sky men generally can prognosticate the character of the succeeding day. These are the signs of the sky which our Saviour says all are apt to observe. But there are signs of the times which bring no glad and moving intelligence to the world of unconverted men. The man engaged in the salvation of his soul, and in the glory of his God, reads these with a clearer vision than human eye can discern the aspect of the weather; and in the movements of this great moral machinery, he gets the aid of the reflection that God is just advancing to their completion those vast designs which relate to his own glory in the salvation of sinners. He sees in the moral improvement of the age the levelling of the mountain and the filling up of the valley; he sees the crooked made straight, and the rough places plain, preparing the way of the Lord and making straight a highway for our God. When he observes that many run to and fro, and that knowledge is increased, he turns him to the promise-"The knowledge of God shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea." "I will give the heathen for thine inheritance, and the utmost parts of the earth for thy possession;" and amidst the difficulties and the foes of his work of religion, he sees the steady movements of the majesty of God, and it animates his courage. Why should I droop, though surrounded by foes and pressed by difficulties on every side, when I see the promises of God all in the progress of their accomplishment? Let the individual whose mind is turned to the subject of religion, and who is carrying out this great work,-let him fix his attention to the circumstances in the providential arrangements of God by which he is surrounded, and aid will inevitably come in to invigorate his faith and to animate his hopes. The favourable circumstances which God in his infinite mercy has seen fit to cluster around you, are just as much beyond the possibility of your adequate conception, as they are replete with aid to encourage you in your work of religion. Let me place a few of them before you. Your lot is cast in a land where the light of the Gospel shines with a ray as clear as ever the bright orb of day shed on any portion of God's great creation; and you live under circumstances of political and religious liberty which throw no obstacles in the way of your walk in that glorious light and liberty of the children of God. There are here no fires of persecution raging, and there is no martyrdom in prospect for your profession of the faith of Jesus Christ, save that moral martyrdom which is inseparable from the consistency of the Christian struggle. Tell me, ye who are engaged in this great work of religion, who is there in this land of liberty that dares to harm you, or who can make you afraid? I grant you that your souls may be embarrassed and disquieted by the lighter difficulties which surround you; and you may be sneered at, and laughed at, and talked at; but who can harm you? who can infringe upon your liberty? If you choose to belong to Christ, and having counted the cost of the undertaking, take your stand on his side, upon your actions directed up to God, no living soul dares to lay the finger of positive restraint. Not only your souls, but your bodies, are as free as the air of liberty you breathe. The viper who has been divested of his tooth, may coil himself in your path, and present his unsightly form, and hiss at you as you pass, but he cannot bite. You may pity and despise his malice. Some lion may roar against you in the way, but no lion can here do more than roar; he may frighten timid souls, but every lion is chained, thanks to the blessing of God on the religious liberty of this western world. There are dispensations in the providence of God, of which the individual engaged in the work of religion may, and from which he does draw direct and positive aid. What need I fear, though the work is arduous, and the difficulties great? God has surrounded me by circumstances of favour which place me beyond the pressure of external opposition, and if I will but exercise the liberty with which God has made me free, none can molest, none need make me afraid. But among the providential arrangements from which aid can be drawn in the pursuit of the great work of religion, is the possession of what are called the means of grace, those rich overflowings of the treasures of God. By means of grace I desire to be understood, as expressing the idea, that there are certain arrangements in the dealings of God with men in relation to their salvation, by and through which he sees fit to bestow his blessings. I do not intend to discuss the question, whether what are called the means of grace are available to impenitent sinners. "Repent and believe the Gospel," are the two prominent points which we are commanded zealously and perseveringly to preach; and it is of no consequence what is done without this, as without this there is nothing effectually done. God every where commands all mankind to use what are called means of grace; but whenever the command is made, the disposition with which the means are to be used is either commanded or implied. But in relation to those who are zealously and perseveringly engaged in the salvation of their souls, who have repented, and have "laid hold of the hope which is set before them," the means of grace are among the richest gifts in the treasury of God to which the individual can resort for aid; such as prayer, the reading of the word of God, the devout reception of the ordinances of the Gospel, the many opportunities of becoming wise unto salvation which this land of Gospel illumination furnishes. And from all these, as did Nehemiah from the resources of the king of Persia, can the individual engaged in the great work of his salvation draw his continual supplies. Take them in their order, and with a few brief observations, mark the aid they furnish. Prayer is most accurately defined in the language of poetry. It is The soul's sincere desire, That burns within the breast. Prayer may be divided into public, social, domestic, private; and under every one of these forms it is the Christian's medium of receiving aid from on high. To every aspect of prayer the Christian has the promise of help from God. Is it public? "The Lord is in his Holy Temple." Is it social, by which I mean, in the more unobtrusive form of the humble meeting for prayer and mutual edification? Wherever two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Is it domestic? that is, is it connected with family worship? There is fury revealed in the Scriptures against the families which call not on the Lord, and of consequence |