know thee not, and upon the families that call not upon thy

name.

My brethren and friends, to whomsoever we apply this subject, if we do not apply it to ourselves, it will do us no good. If we see how it is with others, will this answer our purpose, unless we see how it is with ourselves? When we consider the condition of this church, and of this society, can we feel satisfied? Does it appear that we are living in the unity of the Spirit, and in the bond of peace, or is there any thing upon which we can found a hope that times of greater prosperity are approaching? Have we not occasion to say with miserable Saul, God is departed from me, and answereth me no more neither by prophets nor by dreams.

SERMON XI.

FAST SERMO N.

ZECHARIAH xii, 10-14.

And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace, and of suppli cations: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his first born. In that day shall there be a great mourning in Jerusalem, as the mourning of Hadadrimmon in the valley of Megiddon. And the land shall mourn, every family apart; the family of the house of David apart, and their wives apart; the family of the house of Nathan apart, and their wives apart; The family of the house of Levi apart, and their wives apart; the family of Shimei apart, and their wives apart; All the families that remain, every family apart, and their wives apart.

THIS is a prophecy which has had a partial fulfilment, at different periods already, but it undoubtedly has respect to a future period, for its final, and ful!, accomplishment.

God's ancient people, now scattered in every direction, and in circumstances exactly such as Moses predicted, are to be brought back to the land of their fathers, and to be received again into favor; so that those natural branches,

which have for many ages been broken off, will be seen to flourish more than ever when the time shall come for them to be engrafted upon the olive tree, their original stock.

Though the time in which we are living is the nineteenth century since the total rejection, and dispersion, of the people, and though we see not yet any thing considerable effected in relation to their recovery, their recovery is certain for the word of truth stands pledged for its accomplishment.

The house of David, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, spoken of in our text, include the whole community, reckoning all ages, and orders; and the language plainly marks the distinction between rulers and subjects. In the eightyninth psalm God says, Once have I sworn by my holiness, that I will not lie unto David; His seed shall endure forever; and his throne as the sun before me.

David is a name which here designates him personally, and also refers to Christ, of whom he was a type; and though the prophecy is incapable of a complete and literal, accomplishment, in any one but Christ, it was accomplished, in a great degree, in that long succession of kings which sprang from the house of David.

The house of David, as it was for so long time a house of kings, may well represent all the kings of that people, throughout every age. As we know not what will be the form of government in that day when the things prophesied in the text will be realized, so it is impossible for us to determine, that there will not then be one actually descended from David, sitting on a throne, and reigning as a king, where David was once king himself. If the distinction of tribes, and families, is lost, it is lost only to the tribes, and families, and the world at large; for it must be well known to God to what tribe, and to what family each individual belongs; and he can make such a selection as he shall see fit.

Jerusalem, called also Jebus, and Salem, was, in the days of Joshua, one of the most powerful kingdoms of Canaan; and when subdued by David it became his capital; and continued to be the capital city of the whole country, while the tribes were united; and after a separation took place, it was still the capital city of the kings of Judah. Because

of its importance, and because that a reformation in populous places is seldom seen when there is not a general reformation, what is said of Jerusalem, is to be understood as equally applicable to the country which stands connected with it.

Our common method is to endeavor to find out the meaning of what we read, for it is very evident, that no benefit can result from our reading, unless we understand what was intended by the writer. When I say this is our common method, I refer, not to the Bible, but to other books; for with respect to the Bible, the meaning seems not to be sought after, by the generality of those who read it.

To confine ourselves to this single passage, does it appear that the Jews of old times did, as a nation, inquire for the meaning of it; or, that the majority of those who read it now, whether Jews or Gentiles, stop to consider what such words, standing in such a connexion must impart.

As we have nothing else to do at present, let us take up this passage, and examine it, as well as we can, in its several parts.

The first thing to be noticed is, that a spirit of grace, and of supplications, is to be poured upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem. Grace and supplications go together; and the two terms may be considered as having reference to various things. When these things shall take place, the condition of that people will be essentially, and wonderfully altered. Let us take notice in what ways a spirit of grace must discover itself; and in what ways a spirit of supplications must be manifested.

All men who ever think upon the subject, endeavor to find something upon which to rest a hope, that they shall finally be accepted of God; and though there are many devices in a man's heart, they all come to the same point, and may all be denominated self righteousnes. Should we confine ourselves to the history of Israel, that evidence which is universally connected with the case of the natural man, would be abundantly found in the case of that people. Their fasting exhibited pride, instead of humiliation; and they submitted to various mortifications; unnecessary; uncommanded, and unprofitable; for being ignorant of God's

righteousness, and traced to the merit of their works, whatever good they had, and depended upon the merit of their works for whatever good they expected.

When the time shall come for a spirit of grace to be poured upon them, there will be a great revolution in their moral, and religious, sentiments; and seeing their works of righteousness in the light of truth, they will hasten their escape from such a sandy foundation: and rejoice to build upon the foundation that God himself has laid, and described in his Word. Their language will be very different when they shall obtain a more correct understanding of human nature; and those expressions which record their past and present feelings, will become quite obsolete when they shall no more be disposed to say God I thank thee, that I am not as other men; or we be Abraham's seed; or Are we blind also?

Whoever considers how broad a commandment the law of God is, must see that it extends to every thing external, and internal, to the actions; to the words; and to the thoughts; to the desires, and to the affections, and of course, that it must be a fiery law to every transgressor; holding forth no encouragement; but threatening absolute and universal in.

The doctrine of grace is food for the souls of humble and contrite sinners, while those who merely speculate upon religion, without being allured by the promises, or alarmed by the terrors of the Lord; spurn at a free salvation; and arrogantly, and ignorantly, prefer a claim to what they will not receive as a gift.

A spirit of grace, not only disposes those who are possesed of it, to welcome the doctrine of grace, and to reject very doctrine that is inconsistent with it; but it likewise rings up to view the goodness of God, in the several disdays of it; for whatever he bestows is grace to the recipient since he is under no obligation to bestow any thing; and since every thing granted, where there is no obligation is fairly included in the meaning of the term grace. All people who can see what God has done for them, can see that he has done much and the people of Israel, when they shall be led to look into their own circumstances, and to trace the history of their ancestors, will cease to complain, that