It is the gracious purpose of his judgments to reclaim the impenitent; and their final destruction is delayed till the warnings of his justice and the persuasives of his mercy have been repeatedly and obstinately contemned. The afflictions by which he seeks to awaken impenitent sinners, are accompanied by the gracious assurance, that if they return to him, "though he hath torn, he will heal; though he hath smitten, he will bind up. Let then the merciful goodness of God, O sinner! lead thee to repentance. Despise not the gracious voice of thy heavenly Father, who, in the midst of judgment remembering mercy, invites thee to repose under the shadow of his wings. Return to those merciful arms which thou hast so long resisted, but which are still stretched out to receive thee, and thou shalt be sheltered from the apprehensions that agitate the guilty, and refreshed with divine and unfailing consolations. For Jehovah is the everlasting Father and Friend of the righteous: "he will keep them as the apple of his eye;" "he will hide them as in the hollow of his hand." "In the time of trouble he will keep them in his pavilion, in the secret of his tabernacle will he hide them: he shall set them up as upon a rock." "Though they walk through the valley of the shadow of death, they shall fear no evil: his rod and his staff comfort them." "The Lord of hosts is with them, the God of Jacob is their refuge."

Let then the servants of God, under all the afflictive dispensations to which in this state of probation they are exposed, repose with full faith on the goodness and mercy of that Lord who is their refuge and their portion. Let them cast their care upon God, for he careth for them. They "shall

not then be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day; nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the sickness that destroyeth in the noon-day." "Although the figtree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be on the vine; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the ⚫ fields shall yield no meat; the cattle shall be cut off from the fold, neither shall be any herd in the stall yet they will rejoice in the Lord, they will joy in the God of their salvation."

Happy are they, brethren, who in the house of mourning learn that heavenly wisdom that maketh wise unto salvation; who are taught by the afflictive dispensations of Providence the vanity of the world, and are thus led to choose God as their refuge and their portion! When their heavenly Father dispenses to them the blessings of the house of feasting, enjoying them in thankful moderation, they glorify him, the beneficent Giver, and celebrate his unfailing goodness and love. The disappointments and sorrows of the house of mourning will not overwhelm them with despondency, nor excite the murmurs of discontent: for it is the Lord who giveth them their blessings-it is the same all-wise and all-merciful God who taketh them away-and, animated by lively confidence in his goodness, they exclaim, when he takes away what he gives-" Blessed be the name of the Lord!" Secure of the favour of that Almighty Jehovah who hath promised to make all things work together for their good, they repine not at the present, however afflictive-they look forward to the future with composure and with hope. Through the changes and trials of their earthly pilgrimage, he who never slumbereth nor sleepeth,

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he whose goodness is infinite, whose power is almighty, will be their Guide and their Guardian and beyond this scene of their probation, clouded as it is by cares and sorrows, they look, with the steady eye of faith, to the unclouded glories of their heavenly home. They know that if their earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, they have a building of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. Yes; there remaineth a rest for the people of God-a rest from the wearisome cares, the painful apprehensions, and the poignant afflictions of this state of probation-a rest which sin does not disturb, which sorrow does not alloy, which death does not invade-a rest where God diffuses his eternal and satisfying love. Heavenly Father, admit us to this never-ending rest; and in regard to all the allotments of this mortal pilgrimage, the language of our souls shall be-" It is the Lord, let him do what seemeth to him good."

SERMON XIX.

AN EPIPHANY AND MISSIONARY SERMON.

ISAIAH IX. 15-22.

Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the Lord am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob. For brass I will bring gold, and for iron I will bring silver, and for wood brass, and for stones iron: I will also make thy officers peace, and thine exactors righteousness. Violence shall no more be heard in thy land, wasting nor destruction within thy borders; but thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy light by day: neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee: but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself: for the Lord shall be thine everlasting light, and the days of thy mourning shall be ended. Thy people also shall be all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified. A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the Lord will hasten it in his time.

THIS chapter affords a lively specimen of the sublimity and majesty of sentiment-of the elegance, dignity, and variety of imagery-and of the energy, beauty, and sweetness of language, which render so delightful and interesting the evangelical strains of the prophet Isaiah.

Many of the prophecies, it has often been remarked, have a double signification. They deVOL. II.

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scribe, in events relative to the Jewish nation and the Zion of Israel, corresponding but more glorious events in the mystical Zion-the Christian church.

The prophecy contained in this chapter may be considered as primarily addressed to Jerusalem at the period of the captivity. Her temple was destroyed, her walls were razed to the ground, and her people were led captive by the tyrant of Babylon. From this state of darkness and affliction the prophet calls upon her to arise, and to shine forth in her glory, as the Zion of the Lord: for he consoles her by the assurances, that, aided by Cyrus and his several successors, her stately palaces should be rebuilt, and her temple rise in glory from its ruins; and thus "the sons of strangers should build up her walls, and their kings should minister unto her."

But the singularly sublime and elevated imagery employed in this prediction, denotes a state of glory and prosperity far more transcendent than any to which the Jewish nation was advanced after their return from captivity. Warmed as the heart of the prophet must have been by the view of the prosperous fortunes of his countrymen, it is apparent that even this enlivening theme was merged in one of infinitely greater transport-the glory of the Christian Zion; when, from "the darkness that covered the earth, and the gross darkness that rested on the people, the Lord should arise upon her, and his glory should be seen upon her; when the Gentiles should come to her light, and kings to the brightness of her rising; when the sun should no more be her light by day, neither for brightness should the moon give light unto her: but the Lord