all the plains of heaven; angels, "as the sand which is by the sea shore, innumerable;" multitudes, which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, crying with a loud voice, and saying, salvation, to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

cross.

I cannot, my brethren, dismiss you, without a few words, applicable to the present circumstances which surround us. The times are long gone by, when a man, who sincerely desired to serve God, had, comparatively, no difficulty, in discerning the line of conduct, which my text points out. To renounce the vanities of time, and to exchange the allurements of a flattering world, for a life hid with Christ in God; this was the trial, and the And though the flesh was weak, yet, if the spirit was willing, the grace of God became, to those who diligently sought it, the power of God unto salvation; and, when once the choice was made, the path was clear. There were not, then, as in the present day, two wide-spread systems, the one called religious, and the other worldly society; in either of which, though greatly differing I grant, the pilgrim might miss his way to heaven. That there has been, of late years, a great revival in spiritual things, no man can fairly deny. Nevertheless, this extension of religion,

has its peculiar trials, for the children of God. It has rendered that line, which used to separate them from others, less distinct, than it was before. They are now, in many places, surrounded by a large society, professing the same peculiar doctrines, protesting against the same dissipations, and zealous in the same outward activities, as themselves. Amongst this multitude, that Satan has not failed to sow his tares, we may be well assured. Hence a new danger awaits the Christian: I mean the difficulty of preserving the separation, so indispensably required, from those, who are marked off from him by no visible distinctions. Hence, without redoubled caution, a spirit of less simplicity, and devotedness to God, steals, insensibly, upon true believers; because the infection breathes in the house of their friends.

The truth is, that the soldiers of the cross, have, in these remarkable times,* a powerful and marvellously compacted confederacy, against them. The most discordant principles coalesce. The most hostile elements intermingle and combine. Superstition, that believes every thing, and liberalism, that believes nothing; those who make reason the whole of their religion, and those who exclude reason from all share in their religion; all find a

*Preached in 1832.

pause.

centre of union, and principle of combination, in enmity to the truths of God. The danger is all around us. The clouds are gathering, and grow darker every day. There is a hurry in the times. Events are flying, on the wings of every passing breeze. There is a velocity in the motion, so rapid as to elude our vision, and to present the appearance, rather, of an awful When that pause is ended, and when the overhanging clouds discharge, I do not ask, what they will bring forth: but I do ask, whether you stand prepared for whatever may be coming on the earth? I do not ask, whether you believe, as many do, that the Lord is near at hand: but I do put it, as the most important of all questions, whether, if he were to appear in the clouds of heaven, you would fly affrighted from his presence; or whether you would lift up your heads, knowing that your redemption was nigh at hand? No question, I repeat it, can be more important. On this depends the main point, namely, whether our hearts are right with God. For, assuredly, no true love or loyalty, can dwell in the bosom of that man, who would consider his Saviour's appearance, as a calamity, and a misfortune.

But, my brethren, how near, at all events, may that day be to you, when you must stand naked and disembodied, in the presence of your Judge!

Oh! if you were now in the land of darkness, from which no traveller can return; if you were now beyond the possibilities of repentance, in a lost and miserable eternity; what an angel of mercy would one appear to you, who came with the offer of pardon and deliverance. But no such messenger could reach you there. "Behold, now is the accepted time: behold, now is the day of salvation." Will you, then, before it is too late; will have it still in your power, lay you, while you hold on the mercies which are freely offered you? Will you add another jewel to your Saviour's crown? Will you increase that joy which he set before him, when he endured the cross, despising the shame when he counted not his life dear unto himself, so that he might save us from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us, and guide our feet into the way of peace?

E

50

SERMON IV.

ST. MATTHEW, xxiv. 12.

"AND BECAUSE INIQUITY SHALL ABOUND, THE LOVE OF MANY SHALL WAX COLD."

SUCH were the words of our blessed Saviour, when he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem; the general falling away of that apostate people, and the full measure of iniquity, which they were hastening to fill up. He foresaw the dangers to which his own followers would be exposed;-that some would, in this flood of evils, make shipwreck of the faith; that others would so far catch the prevalent infection, as to slacken in their zeal, and cool in the ardour of their affections towards him.

Nor were these dangers peculiar to the season then approaching. Human nature is the same at all times. What has happened once, will happen again, if similar circumstances arise. It is, therefore, a standing rule, founded in the nature of things, and in the constitution of man, that where "iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold." The words of my text then, apply, in their full force, to the times and circumstances, in which we live