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from alarm and disquietude. Your sins shall be blotted from your memory, as they are blotted from the book of God. Every part of nature shall indeed feel the stroke of that terrible hour-the stars shall be extinguished, the sun abandon his sphere, and the whole creation loosen into its original elements-but the church, redeemed by the blood of the Saviour out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation," shall be "made kings and priests unto God for ever." The "voice which once shook the earth" shall say, "Fear not; I am the First and the Last: I am he that liveth and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore; and have the keys of hell and of death." ·

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Such, then, is the society to which the text introduces the true servant of God. Let us consider, in conclusion, the bearing of this statement on two distinct classes of indivdiuals.

1. And first, I would ask the man seeking his happiness in the world, What have you in your earthly acquisition to oppose to the present and future blessings and triumphs of the church of God as displayed in the text? Suppose yourself to be carried into a temple hung round with the spoils of pollution, or worldliness, or indifference suppose an Apostle to be summoned, as in this passage, to exhibit to you the trophies won on the fields of this world's triumphs: what should we see, in such a case, that might be compared with the " Mount Zion," and the " of the living God;" with this intimate and eternal union with the "spirits of the just," and the angels," and the "Mediator," and God the Judge of all?" Should we not, instead of these, behold, on the one hand, present disappointment, vexation, and misery; and, on the

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other, the "worm which will not sleep, and cannot die," and the lake of "unquenchable fire?". May this contrast excite you, under God, to abandon the world, and enrol yourselves as citizens of heaven, and children of the great family of God! O that I could obtain from every man a pledge that he would do so; that he would "bow his knee to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ;" for that intimate, close, and inseparable union with his Redemer, which might invest him with his infinite merits, and stamp him with his spotless image. Whose heart must not ache with the reflection, that, when such offers are made, a single deluded creature should be found to reject them! "Awake," brethren, "and arise;"-" escape for your life;" look not behind you;"-vengeance is abroad ;-" make haste, and turn your feet unto the testimonies of God."

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2. Lastly, I would address myself to the true servants of God.-To those I must say, Contemplate the grandeur of your destiny, as displayed to you in the text; and then consider the practical results which ought to arise out of your peculiar and privileged circumstances. Suppose yourselves already introduced into the august assembly we have been contemplating to-day. Could you, if you had seen its glories; if you had trod the golden streets of the heavenly city, or breathed the air of the Mount of God, or had been enthroned amidst the powers and principalities of heaven, or had held deep converse with those happy spirits whom death has snatched away; or had rejoiced in the light of the Divine presence; or had surveyed the glorified body of the Redeemer seated on the Throne of his Father, and dispensing the blessings of the everlasting covenant.

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the crowns of pure gold, and the jewels of the sanctuary-could you turn from all this, and go back with the same zest to the follies and vices of life? Could you again satisfy yourself with the lean ceremonial of a worldly life; with society without love; with habits of intercourse which go nigh to exclude God from his own world, which crucify his Son afresh," which "do despite to the Spirit of grace," which magnify this moment of existence into ages, and reduce eternity to a shadow? Could you abandon heaven in all its glories, for the doubtful pleasures and certain miseries of a worldly life? Would you not exclaim, if solicited to make this world your main pursuit, "This is not our home-we have here no abiding city—we seek the city whose builder and maker is God." Then, my Christian brethren, let your life, and spirit, and conversation prove to the world that such is the present conviction and resolution of your mind. For these things are as sure as though you had stood in the midst of the splendid assembly which the text presents to you. A single day may put you in possession of these joys for ever. Away, therefore, by the help of God, with all irresolution and half measures, and compromisings with the world, and shiftings and evasions in religion. Seek, through the blood of a Saviour, pardon and grace, and "the inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." And may that Saviour prosper your endeavours! May the "God of all grace, who hath called you to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you! To Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen."

SERMON XXII.

THE LOVE OF AN UNSEEN SAVIOUR.

1 PETER i. 8, 9.

Whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory; receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.

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IF, in the midst of any large society, a particular body of individuals were to appear, who were not merely exempt from the common corruptions of those around them, but adorned with new and extraordinary virtues, the general attention would be naturally directed to the inquiry, By what master principle, or passion, these individuals were controlled or impelled.' Now this was precisely the case supplied by the new converts of the Gospel to the heathen around them. Their little company presented to the eye of the examiner, like the oasis in the desert, a region of fertility in the midst of surrounding barrenness. Their spirit of love, of forbearance, of benevolence, of good order, of constancy in life and in death, was a subject of astonishment to every reflecting and conscientious bystander.

What, then, was the master principle or passion of this peculiar body of individuals? what was the frame of mind by which they were essentially distinguished from those around them? The text enables us, not only to reply to this question,

but to point out the means by which their peculiar frame of mind may be secured, and the happy consequences by which it is followed. Let us, then, in dependence upon the aid of the Holy Spirit, endeavour to notice successively these three points:

I. WHAT, AS DESCRIBED BY THE TEXT, IS THE

FRAME OF MIND IN A TRUE CHRISTIAN; II. WHAT ARE THE MEANS suggested of ATTAINING TO THAT STATE;

III. WHAT ARE THE PRIVILEGES OF THOSE WHO DO

ATTAIN TO IT.

I. In the first place, we are to consider WHAT

IS DESCRIBED IN THE TEXT AS THE FRAME OF MIND

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IN A TRUE CHRISTIAN. -The frame of mind referred to is suggested in these words; "Whom having not seen, ye love." It is described with the same explicitness by St. Paul; "The love of Christ constraineth us:" and by St. John; "We love him, because he first loved us." Love, then, to an invisible Lord and Saviour, appears to be the peculiar and governing principle in the mind of the Christian. He will have He will have many feelings in common with others. He will be, for instance, as warm a friend, or patriot, or philanthropist, as any man. No heart will beat stronger in every high and generous cause. His love to the Great Father of the Universe will transcend that of others, because he contemplates Him as "the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." But he will be distinguished from all others.by this peculiarity, that the love of Him who died upon the cross for sinners, will become one of the master principles of his soul. How strongly do the witnesses already referred to condemn the want of this feeling! "If any man

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