hold, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. Then shall be seen, the holy Jerusalem descending out of heaven from God, which shall have no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God shall lighten it, and the Lamb shall be the light thereof. And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it, and they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it; and there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Such, according to the sure word of prophecy, will be the triumphs of Christianity; and to this issue all scriptural efforts to evangelize the heathen contribute their share. That mind is profane, indeed, which repels the sentiment of awe; and hard is the heart which feels no bland emotionBut let us pause-You exult, perhaps, in the view of that happiness which is reserved for the human race; you long for its arrival; and are eager, in your place, to help on the gracious work. It is well. But are there no heathen in this assembly? Are there none who, in the midst of their zeal for foreign missions, forget their own souls; nor

consider that they themselves neglect the great salvation? Remember, my brethren, that a man may be active in measures which shall subserve the conversion of others, and yet perish in his own iniquity. That very gospel which you desire to send to the heathen, must be the gospel of your salvation; it must turn you from darkness to light, from the power of Satan unto God; it must make you meet for the inheritance of the saints, or it shall fearfully aggravate your condemnation at last. You pray, Thy kingdom come. But is the kingdom of God within you? Is the Lord Jesus in you, the hope of glory? Be not deceived. The name of Christian will not save you. Better had it been for you not to have known the way of righteousness-better to have been the most idolatrous pagan-better, infinitely better, not to have been born, than to die strangers to the pardon of the Redeemer's blood, and the sanctifying virtue of his Spirit. From his throne on high he calls; calls, my brethren, to you; Look unto me, and be ye saved, for I am God, and there is none else. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

On the other hand, such as have fled for refuge to lay hold on the hope set before them, are commanded to be joyful in their King. He reigns, O believer, for thee. The stability of his throne is thy safety. The administration of his government is for thy good; and the precious pledge that he will perfect that which concerneth thee. In all thy troubles and in all thy joy commit thy way unto him. He will guard the sacred deposit. Fear not that thou shalt lack any good thing-Fear not that thou shalt be forsaken-Fear not that thou shalt fall beneath the arm of the oppressor. "He went through the fires of the pit to save thee; and he will stake all the glories of his crown to keep thee." Sing, then, thou beloved, Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid; for the Lord Jehovah is my strength and my song ; he also is become my salvation.

And if we have tasted that he is gracious: if we look back with horror and transport upon the wretchedness and the wrath which we have escaped, with what anxiety shall we not hasten to the aid of our fellow-men, who are sitting in the region and shadow of death. What zeal will be too ardent; what labour too persevering; what sacrifice too costly, if, by any means, we may tell them of Jesus, and the resurrec

tion, and the life eternal! Who shall be daunted by difficulties, or deterred by discouragement? If but one pagan should be brought, savingly, by your instrumentality, to the knowledge of God, and the kingdom of heaven, will you not, my brethren, have an ample recompense? Is there here a man who would give up all for lost because some favourite hope has been disappointed? or who regrets the worldly substance which he has expended on so divine an enterprise? Shame on thy coward spirit and thine avaricious heart! Do the holy scriptures, does the experience of ages, does the nature of things, justify the expectation, that we shall carry war into the central regions of delusion and crime, without opposition, without trial? Show me a plan which encounters not fierce resistance from the prince of darkness and his allies in the human heart, and I will show you a plan which never came from the inspiration of God. If missionary effort suffer occasional embarrassment: if impressions on the heathen be less speedy, and powerful, and extensive, than fond wishes have anticipated: if particular parts of the great system of operation be, at times, disconcerted : if any of the ministers of grace fall a sacrifice to the violence of those whom they go to bless in the name

of the Lord; these are events which ought to exercise our faith and patience; to wean us from self-sufficiency; to teach us where our strength lies, and where our dependence must be fixed; but not to enfeeble hope, nor relax diligence. Let us not despise the day of small things. Let us not overlook, as an unimportant matter, the very existence of that missionary spirit which has already awakened Christians in different countries from their long and dishonourable slumbers, and bids fair to produce, in due season, a general movement of the church, upon earth. Let us not, for one instant, harbour the ungracious thought, that the prayers, and tears, and wrestlings of those who make mention of the Lord, form no link in that vast chain of events by which he will establish, and will make Jerusalem a praise in the earth. That dispensation which of all others is most repulsive to flesh and blood, the violent death of faithful missionaries, should animate Christians with new resolution. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints. The cry of martyred blood ascends the heavens; it enters into the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth. It will give him no rest till he rain down righteousness upon the land where it has been shed, and which it has sealed as a future conquest for him who in his