countrymen a spirit of the most unfeeling revenge; Saul himself, forgetting the dignity of his character, held the clothes of those who stoned St. Stephen to death, and thus imbrued his hands in a brother's blood.

After his conversion to Christianity, how different, brethren, were his feelings and his views! "The servant of God," said he, "must not strive, but be gentle unto all men-in meekness instructing those who oppose themselves:" "Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you." These wonderful effects, however, cannot surprise us, when we consider how fully the tidings of salvation are calculated to establish this joy and this peace in our minds. If the Jews exulted at their deliverance from a cruel yoke, and a restoration to their native country; if the messengers of their release gave birth to such emotions of happiness, how much more should a fallen sinner rejoice, when the Gospel proclaims in his ears the willingness of God to be reconciled to his soul! If the poor cripple, who had lain at the gate of the temple from his youth, rejoiced at his restoration to the use of his limbs; if his recovery occasioned such vibrations of felicity in his mind, as to make him leap with ecstacy and delight, praising and adoring the Author of his blessings, how should the Christian rejoice when called from darkness into light? When by conversion of heart he becomes a new creature, and is made an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ; when from that change he discovers in his life and conversation, he can say that his soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; when he becomes a partaker of that peace of God which passeth all understanding, what supreme cause has he for pious exultation! The joy, my brethren, peculiar to the Gospel, is not confined to the lower world; it is at this moment, and ever will be, the subject of praise and thanksgiving in the regions of eternal day; the saints of the Most High God, who are permitted to assemble around the throne of Jehovah, have their attention constantly directed to the effects of the cross of

Christ, and never are they diverted from that sublime object for a single moment: day and night their harps of praise are tuned to devotion: day and night are they singing, in strains of celestial melody, " to him who loved them, and washed them from their sins in his own blood;" and though the blessed angels, those happy spirits who never fell, are less interested in the subject than the saints, yet do they join the happy chorus, and with unceasing adoration, "Ascribe honour and glory to him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb forever."

Again; The Gospel forms a ground of the greatest joy, as it respects that information by which life and immortality have been brought to light; the grave, through its cheering influences, is divested of its horrors; the parent, when called to part with a beloved child, no longer shrinks back with horror at the idea of separation; he realizes the blissful hour when its dust will be reanimated, and the peaceful slumberer arise to everlasting day; when its happy spirit, reunited to its incorruptible body, will ascend into the third heaven, and take its mansion near the throne. Yes, when standing at the tomb, he considers it only the receptacle of its body for a season; with the tear of parting affection rolling down his cheek, he thus addresses the gloomy mansion:

"Think not, Grave, that we resign

This treasure as forever thine:

We only ask a transient stay,

"Till Heaven unfolds the eternal day."

With tidings and consolations such as these, we revive the widow's heart; we calm her throbbing bosom with the recollection of eternal joys, and direct her eyes to heaven. The orphan also receives encouragement from Zion's messengers; we proclaim to the defenceless mourner that rest which is provided for the people of God; we assure the trembling sufferer that her parent, if a believer in the Lord Jesus, is not dead, but sleepeth: that the day

is at hand which will usher her into the presence of that father, who once folded her in his arms; into the presence of that mother, at whose bosom she was nurtured, and who taught her lips to lisp the praises of the great Eternal.

To conclude; The Gospel contains a full and free offer of salvation through the merits of the Redeemer; it brings a pardon to every penitent-a pardon sealed with the blood of Christ-a pardon presented to him without money and without price.

How sincerely should we rejoice at those tidings which proclaim to us an inheritance in heaven, a city which hath foundations; whose pillars adversity and sorrow can never shake; whose builder and maker is God.

Let all who hear the joyful sound improve the opportunity. Let them consider the conditions upon which the blessings of the gospel are suspended; repent of sin, and believe on the Lord Jesus. Let them meet the messengers of the cross with grateful hearts, and let their lives bear witness to the sincerity of their religious profession. Let duty to God form our paramount consideration. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and run with patience the race that is set before us; looking to Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our faith," for grace to carry into effect our virtuous resolutions, and for strength to persevere in Christian holiness.

Living in the discharge of our duty to God and to man, believers have every thing to hope, and nothing to fear. What! shall the heirs of a better and an eternal world, despond? Shall those who sincerely love God and delight in his commandments, tremble under momentary trials? Shall those whose treasure is in heaven, be discouraged on account of temporal evils? Believers, remember that there is a rest provided for the people of God; a rest from all your labours and all your difficulties; a rest where all is happiness and joy; a heaven in which no privations will await you; a heaven in which you will meet with those believing friends for whom you have mourned, and from

whom you will no more be separated; a heaven whose felicity is never interrupted by the sigh of sorrow, where the voice of mourning is never heard, but joy unutterable and full of glory will be your portion for ever.

Take, gracious God, take my congregation into thy holy keeping; preserve them from sin, and let that mind that was in Christ Jesus be in them!

"I have received of the Lord, that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread : And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat, this is my body which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner, also, he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the New Testament in my blood; this do ye as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.”—1 Cor. xi. 23 to 26.

In this chapter, from which I have selected the subject of our present meditation, the Apostle exhibits to our view the nature and design of that holy ordinance, to which our attention is particularly called at this time. Το correct the erroneous opinions which the Corinthians held respecting it, and to reprove them for that levity and inconsideration which marked their conduct in the observance of it, appears to have formed his chief object.

In the course of his observations upon the important subject, he discovers to us the reasonableness and propriety of the institution; he shows us how admirably it is calculated to preserve in the human mind a sense of our obligations for the mercies of redemption; to awaken the sensibilities of our hearts to the tender recollections connected with it; and to excite our gratitude to that Saviour who died for the salvation of a lost and ruined world.