Yes, you do, you cannot but desire it; and it shall be yours whose experience Yea, even the agrees with the text. poor hardened reprobate, and the mocker of God, and the man that places confidence in the flesh, one and all, even of these, cannot but desire, like Balaam of old, to die the death of the righteous, and that their latter end may be like his. Let me then drop one word more of comfort in the ear of the Christians, and one more word of caution in that of the others. Live daily, my christian brethren, on the Lord Jesus, and trust him, and strive to love him more and more; and as you give up yourselves, body, soul, and spirit into his hands, he will reveal himself unto you as he does not unto the world. So that amidst all present changes in your earthly lot, you may rest confident that nothing shall separate you from the love of Christ; no, "neither tribulation, nor distress, nor persecution, nor famine, nor nakedness, nor peril, nor sword; for in all these things, ye shall be more than conquerors N - through him you love, and who loves you." Live daily on your blessed Redeemer in the Spirit, as loving, praying, humble, believing, obedient children; and be assured that "neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Rom. viii. 37 39. But poor, careless, self-conceited, and vain confident sinner, nothing of this will be your portion unless you repent and turn to the Lord, and worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in Christ Jesus, and cease to put confidence in the flesh! Call then this very hour for mercy and pardon for the past, and for grace and sanctification for the future; and may the Lord hear and answer your prayer for Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. "How sad our state by nature is! Our sin, how deep its stains! "But there's a voice of sov'reign grace "O, may we hear th' Almighty call, And run to this relief! We would believe thy promise, Lord; O, help our unbelief! "To the blest fountain of thy blood, Teach us, O Lord, to fly: There may we wash our spotted souls From sins of deepest dye! "Poor, guilty, weak and helpless worms, On thy kind arm we fall; Be thou our strength and righteousness, Our Jesus and our all!" SERMON XVI. THE ANCHOR OF HOPE. HEBREWS VI. 19. "Which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast." THERE are various kinds of hope spoken of in the Scriptures, and cherished among men. We read of a vain, of an empty, of a deceitful, of a hypocritical, and of a destructive hope, and all these are cherished by one individual or another; and we also read of a good hope, of a solid, of a safe, of a sure and lasting hope; and, blessed be God, there are those to be found who, through grace, are staying their souls on these, and reaping the comfort and safety that spring from thence. If we look a few verses before the text, we shall find that the apostle had been mentioning what great and glorious things our heavenly Father had promised to bestow on his waiting, praying, and believing people, who in time of need fled for refuge to him for these blessings. And that they might not stagger through unbelief at the abundance and richness of the things promised, he tells them that God had not only pledged his unchangeable word, but that he had also confirmed that word by his own oath that he would never disappoint or fail the soul who sought such refuge in him and in his promised salvation; and then the apostle adds, "Which hope we have as an anchor to the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil, whither the forerunner is for us entered, even Jesus, made a High Priest for ever, after the order of Melchisedec." Here, then, we are taught and assured of this blessed truth, that those who fly to God as their refuge may have the strongest assurance and consolation that they shall never be disappointed, seeing that the |