friend of sin, and the enemy of God. Ezekiel speaks of a covenant of peace, made with such as once were enemies; I will make with them a covenant of peace, and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness. And Jeremiah declares to us the Mediator to whose hands the execution of this covenant is intrusted; In his days Judah shall be saved, and Israel shall dwell safely; and this is his name whereby he shall be called, THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS. To these his reconciled people, the Lord is a mighty helper in the day of their calamity.

We have adverted to the judgments inflicted upon Egypt, whose first-born he smote, the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham. Yet what then was his treatment of Israel? He made his own people to go forth like sheep, and guided them in the wilderness like a flock; and he led them on safely, so that they feared not: he brought them to the border of his sanctuary, and made the tribes of Israel to dwell in their tents. While Egypt groaned under the plague of darkness, a darkness that might be felt, the children of Israel had light in their dwellings. While the destroying angel passed through the

land to smite the enemies of the Lord, Israel was preserved. Nor let it ever be forgotten that it was the sprinkled blood which was the signal to the angel, that within dwelt a son of Abraham, a professed believer in the doctrine of sacrifice and atonement; a sinner indeed, but one who by this very act declared his dependence on the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world.

Oh, my brethren, with what scrupulous care did every faithful Israelite attend to the sprinkling of the blood upon the lintel and upon the side-posts of his door! And yet how careless are hundreds and thousands even of professing Christians in reference to religious services, and holy sacraments! How few, even at the most solemn seasons of the year, are found bowing before the altar of Jesus, and commemorating his agony and bloody sweat, his cross and passion! How many who are called Christians, never go to the Lord's house! How many who go to his house, never draw near to his table! Is this the case with any of you? If so, I beseech

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you, brethren, suffer the word of exhortation. One of the most solemn festivals of the church will be celebrated on Sunday next, even the feast of our Lord's nativity. You have, I doubt not, been already invited, by him to whom is committed the charge of your souls, you have been encouraged to draw near with faith, and take this holy sacrament, the sacrament of Christ's body and blood, to your comfort. Permit me to second his request and invitation.

I am, indeed, aware that it is awfully possible to receive the outward elements, without partaking of the inward grace; and that a preparation of the heart is necessary. But in reference to such preparation I would say, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find. Let not a sense of unfitness deter you from attention to the sacred duty; for if unfit to surround his table in the church on earth, can you suppose yourselves prepared to worship before his throne in heaven? If you cannot now feel any pleasure in commemorating the death of Christ, can you imagine that you are at all prepared to meet your own?

But forgive this digression: the importance of the subject, especially at this season of the year, must plead the preacher's excuse with a Christian congregation. Yet, let it not be forgotten, that it is at the holy sacrament of the Lord's Supper that the real child of God often experiences the peaceful retreat spoken of in the text. Here is quietness, and security, and peace. Approaching the table of his God and Saviour, he feels a power to cast away every care, and to embrace every promise. The storm rages without the hallowed precincts of the temple; but within all is serenity and peace. He has come hither, as to a sanctuary, from his troubles and his sorrows. The grace of the Spirit is communicated. He looks to his Saviour's cross, and all his own troubles seem light afflictions which are but for a moment. He looks to his Saviour's intercession, and he finds an influence descending from above, which causes those light afflictions to work out for him a far more exceeding, and eternal weight of glory. Under the guidance of such a principle, he looks not at the things which are seen and temporal,

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but at those which are not seen and eternal. He "feeds upon Christ in his heart, by faith, with thanksgiving." A flame of gratitude and praise is lighted up in the sanctuary, is caught at the altar of his God, which burns bright and towers high, in defiance of all his sorrows and trials, his temptations and fears. Nor does the sacred feeling evaporate when the day of rest is concluded. The throne of grace is always accessible, and the Intercessor of the church ever standing ready to receive and to present the prayers of the faithful. The tempest may roar; the floods may rise; the waves may be tossed on high. Public calamity may be added to domestic affliction. The land of his nativity may be in a state of depression. The house, where his fathers praised God, may be burned up with fire; the city may be low in a low place. But even then he shall dwell in a peaceable habitation, and in sure dwellings and in quiet resting-places. Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall there be fruit in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no