whose love cannot fail, and under whose feet every enemy must be placed in entire and final subjection." In sickness and suffering; in the hour of death, and in the day of judgment, you will look back upon this birthday of your souls, as the great point of remembrance in your lives. You will sing the praises of Almighty God forever, that you were led thus to receive the mark of the Lamb, and to follow him with thankful confidence, whithersoever he should lead you.

2. If this radical conversion of heart be the result of the first coming of God our Saviour, we are then redeemed from captivity, and there will be nothing disheartening or terrible in his second coming to finish his purposes of love for us. When a reconciled Father calls us home; and a beloved Saviour says to us, "make haste, and come, for this day I must abide at thy house;" there should be no feeling within us, but unmingled joy. The thankfulness with which prophets and righteous men looked forward to the first coming of the Lord Jesus upon the earth, his people may now feel, in expecting him, the second time without sin unto salvation. The valley of the shadow of death may be dark without the presence of a Saviour; but for those who follow him, the Lord is an everlasting light, and their God their glory. Let every true Christian remember that the same Lord, who loved them, and gave himself for them, will uphold and bless them there. The gates of hell shall not prevail against them. God shall make them conquerors, and more than conquerors, through him that loved them. They may think of him, and trust in him, as one for whom they have waited, and believing in whom, they have eternal life. For them he

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comes, that he may make up his jewels; that he may write up the number of his people, and give them the rest they need, and the inheritance which he has provided for them. It will be a day of glory, and triumph, and songs of praise, when Jesus, and the whole church of the first born whose names are written in heaven, shall meet to be separated no more forever. Every redeemed soul shall be there. one poor, trembling saint shall be lost. Of all whom the Father hath given him, Jesus shall lose none. Saints of all ages, believers of every land, shall be seen collected. And while all ascribe the praise and honour of their salvation to the Lamb, he shall be glorified in his saints, and admired in them that believe. When a Christian dies, he is born anew to glory. And far rather should we praise God, that he is safe, and a conqueror, than lament over his remains, or speak mournfully of his departure. Better is this day of his death than the day of his birth. Now, he is crowned, exalted, and happy, beyond the reach of suffering or fear. And we are to give glory to God, that he has taken one more wanderer unto himself, and secured him eternally in his fold. Soon this hour will come for us, and if we are now in Christ, we shall then be with him. O, happy will be that moment of return to God, when we shall be acknowledged as the friends of Jesus, and stand forth with him before the universe, crowned with his free salvation! And welcome may be disease, and languishing, and death, which shall bring our Emanuel a second time for our deliverance, and transfer us under his guidance to an eternal home with him.

SERMON III.

GOD'S MESSAGE TO ISRAEL.

AMOS iv. 12.-Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.

I HAVE twice spoken upon this text, as God's message to the spiritual Israel. I come now to apply it with seriousness and affection to another class of my hearers, of whom I shall speak under the title of the IDOLATROUS ISRAEL. After what you have heard from me upon this subject, it cannot be necessary for me now to say, that under these two appellations, I have designed to represent, the converted and the unconverted portions of my hearers; the religious and the irreligious classes of men, who are now before me.

To the one class, the message of the text, as already considered, is a joyful annunciation; a call for thankful preparation for the coming of a triumphant Saviour. In view of his approach, they are to lift up their heads, to rejoice and be exceeding glad, for their redemption draweth nigh.

To the other class, it is the solemn warning of an approaching judgment; the annunciation of a day of

God's own appointment, when the measure of human trial shall be finished, and every immortal soul shall receive a just recompense of reward; when he that is righteous, shall remain righteous still, and he that is unholy shall be unholy still.

Into these two classes of persons, every congregation is divided. But the division is generally a very unequal one. There are probably, but a small portion of the members of any of our public assemblies, who can be reasonably addressed, as converted, or pious persons. For this reason it is, that the faithful exhortations of the pulpit must be generally addressed to those, whose attention has yet to be awakened to the claims of religion, and whose affections are to be drawn to the high and important objects which the Gospel presents. True believers in the Lord Jesus, the Israel of God, are to be comforted, encouraged, and built up in their most holy faith. The exceeding great and precious promises of the Gospel belong to them; and they are to be applied to them without fear. But we cannot cry peace to the ungodly, when there is no peace. And there is no peace to the wicked, saith our God. The same fidelity which will lead us, on the one side, to speak comfortably to the people of God, will compel us on the other, to cry aloud, and spare not, to lift up our voice like a trumpet, in proclaiming to unbelieving men, their dangers and their sins.

We are not the enemies of men, because we tell them the truth. Did we hate them indeed, we should leave them to become the victims of their own infatuation; we should combine with Satan, in persuading them to hold on upon the belief, that they are

safe, and may be happy as they are; we should soothe them in their fears; we should lull them into still deeper slumbers. We know that this would infallibly accomplish their eternal ruin. We cannot conceal from ourselves the painful fact, that the far greater portion of those who listen to us, from week to week, are in a state of alienation from God, and under the curse of his broken law; that they are without his love in their hearts, and enemies to his holy will. They are not our personal foes. In some cases, they are our dearest friends, bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; and God is our record, how greatly we long after them all, in the bowels of Jesus Christ. We love them as our own souls. And loving them thus, we would arouse them from their sleep; we would convince them of their dangers; we would draw them, the Lord being merciful unto them, to a city of refuge, a place of eternal safety. To accomplish this most important of all objects, we warn them with all long-suffering, we preach to them with all boldness, we keep back nothing that is profitable unto them, hoping through the boundless mercy of Almighty God, that we may be made the instruments of saving some.

To this class of my hearers, I come this day, with another serious warning. I have no message of consolation for unconverted sinners, no words of peace, unless the invitations of the Gospel prove effectual, and their hearts are brought home in a spiritual conversion unto Jesus Christ the Lord. The address of the text, is to them, a solemn admonition." Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel."

The prophet Amos ministered to the ten tribes of Israel, during the reign of the second Jeroboam; of