preached the spel of the Kingdom of The time is fulfilled, the

God is at hand: Repent ye, the Gospel." This period He when in the synagogue of Naic declared to those who were prehat the passage connected with the as in that day fulfilled in their ears. sneriod He proclaimed throughout the cle course of His ministry. This period te commanded His Apostles to proclaim, ng to them, "Go ye into all the world, d preach the Gospel to every creature.' This period He has since continued to proclaim by the publication of His written Word, and by the voice of His faithful Ministers: one part of whose office, like His own, has ever been, and still is, to preach "the acceptable year of the Lord."

But there is another Period also to be proclaimed.

II. "The Day of Vengeance of our God.” We find in the writings of the Prophets, frequent mention made of "a Day of Vengeance;" thus in the thirty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, the Prophet, in the midst of the most tremendous description of predicted Judgements, declares, "for it is the Day of the Lord's Vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." So in, in the sixty-third chapter, we find the

Lord Himself using this language, "I have trodden the wine-press alone, and of the People there was none with Me: for I will tread them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury: and their blood shall be sprinkled upon my garments, and I will stain all my raiment. For the Day of Vengeance is in mine heart, and the year of my redeemed is come." In like manner, in the forty-sixth chapter of Jeremiah, we meet with the following passage: "For this is the Day of the Lord God of Hosts, a Day of Vengeance, that He may avenge Him of his adversaries." And so again in the fifty-first chapter, "Flee out of the midst of Babylon, and deliver every man his soul: be not cut off in her iniquity for this is the time of the Lord's Vengeance; He will render unto her a reTo adduce more passages on compense. this subject would be superfluous. Not only the Prophetical Writings, but the Scriptures throughout confirm the same truth. They all with one voice speak of an appointed Period, by whatever name it may be called, whether as in the text," the Day of Vengeance," or as in other places, "the Day of Wrath," the Day of Recompense," the "Day of Indignation," the "Day of the Lord;" in which the Almighty will arise to Judgement, and will avenge Himself upon His enemies. Such a Period, Christ, accord

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ing to the text, anointed to proclaim. Such a period proclaim. He distineth wo events, in which these donungissa Judgement would be awefilled. One was the Destrucand the overthrow of the ca and State. For a season the hear the joyful sound of the Crumpet. The acceptable year of would be proclaimed, the Gospel preached to them. But when, by Severing rejection of Christ and of ered blessings, they should have filled Sueasure of their sin, then wrath would upon them to the uttermost. "These," Christ speaking of this time of unprecuted calamities, "these are the Days of cance, that all things which are written be fulfilled."* The other event, which ist predicted, was that consummation of wrath which at the last days are to be poured ut on the corrupt and apostate part of the Christian Church; which, having long abused And at length having rejected the Grace of the Gospel, is to be visited with the most Lemendous Judgements. This will, indeed, be a Day of Vengeance, and was proclaimed by Christ in a subsequent part of the same prophecy, when He declares that the times of the Gentiles being fulfilled, "there shall *Luke, xxi. 22.

be signs in the sun and in the moon, and in the stars, and upon the earth distress of nations with perplexity; the sea, and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth: for the powers of Heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory."

These are two instances in which Christ proclaimed "the Day of Vengeance of our God;" and thus so far complied with the prediction in the text. But these instances form not the only accomplishment of the Prophecy. It was not in proclaiming these periods of vengeance only, that Christ would have fulfilled the spiritual office assigned to Him. There was another period to be proclaimed by Him: a period, which may most emphatically be styled "the Day of Vengeance of our God:" a period, in comparison with which the temporal calamities which have been inflicted on the Jewish, or are to be inflicted on the Christian Apostate Church, are objects of no consideration: a period, the consequences of which will be so tremendously aweful, that the greatest extremities of suffering in this world, will appear to have been only types and shadows of them. And what is this period, but the Day of Judgement," "the Day of the

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"Ask then and ye shall have, that your joy may be full."

But, it may be, that your fears arise from another quarter. You not only feel that your ignorance is great: but you are also conscious that it is far greater than it ought to be. You are sensible that it has been much increased by your own past neglect. You have failed to make use of the means

vouchsafed to you. Had you duly improved them, you had not now been so uninformed, You have let slip many opportunities of procuring religious wisdom and can you now dare to hope that God will bestow it on you? Yes, you may dare to hope it. "He giveth liberally and upbraideth not." He does not reproach any with their ignorance or past neglect. He mercifully overlooks and forgets their sin. How kind and gentle was our Blessed Saviour in teaching his Disciples! How patiently did he bear with their dulness and mistakes! How graciously did He condescend often to repeat the same instructions! We find Him upbraiding the people, for their obstinacy and impenitence, in having seen His miracles without being convinced by them. We find Him upbraiding his Disciples for their unbelief and hardness of heart, in not receiving the testimony of those, who had seen Him after he was risen from the dead. But we never find Him