dates of the Great Eternal; when we consider, that such agents are employed to give unto us every blessing, and to regulate the universe for our present and future happiness, is not the faithful Christian surprised at the callous soul as it lies listless and unmoved, under that heavy load of guilt, that ancient wound, as it has been termed, and amid the threatenings of God's vengeance? Can ingratitude arrive at a greater height? or greater violence be offered to God's kingdom? God has offered us blessings, and do we refuse to enjoy them? God has spread before us temporal happiness; food and raiment, with which we should be content; food, not only for the body, but for the mind! hope for the soul, comfort for the heart, contemplation for the imagination, His own word for the understanding! not confined to the few passing years of this perishable existence, but commensurate with that eternity which is the property of his own Divine Essence. He has spread before us a royal kingdom, the beau

ties and glories of which can be seen by the eye of faith, can be enjoyed by the spiritual mind, and be held in actual possession by the Christian, when he has passed his long and faithful service in the vineyard of his Lord and Master. Oh! that some celestial influence would, at this moment, pass over the soul of every member in this congregation! and that God's Spirit would excite and encourage it, as it rises from the dead weight which does so easily beset it! and that, as the sun, which God has set in the heavens to rule the day, gradually changes the darkness of night into the glorious light of noon, so the Spirit of God would change that mist and darkness, which is continually brooding over the heart, into the effulgent light which is in Christ Jesus! What hope have we? One that is immortal, and fadeth not away; for, if we were without hope in Christ, we should be of all men most miserable; but now our hope is in Heaven, from whence we expect the Saviour in glory to receive His faithful

servants. This hope, however, must be invigorated by prayer; for prayer will accomplish every spiritual desire! Prayer will secure every blessing! Prayer will realize every hope in this life, and in that life which is to come!

Brethren, if ye

desire to attain the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, neglect not prayer! It is that golden key, that unlocks the gate of Heaven; it opens that blessed communion, which we hold with our God, and which secures for us every spiritual advancement we enjoy. Prayer is not the mere muttering of the lip; it is not the sigh, or the breath drawn too often almost in mimicry to God, or the occasional petition when the storm and the tempest press strong upon the worldly heart; but it is a continual communion with our heavenly Father, it is that wrestling with Jehovah which calls down the heavenly blessing. And if this be prayer, it may be used, not only in the morn or in the dawn of day, but also in the midst of our several occupa

tions; though, not like the Pharisee, for the sake of public applause, but privately; and God, who will hear us in secret, will most surely reward us openly. A short prayer may be uttered at any moment; and few prayers are more suitable than the very concise and important one in our text, "Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief." With this upon our lips, let us separate; and 'may the Holy Spirit be with us, that each in his separate calling may promote God's eternal honour and glory, to his own great and endless comfort.

SERMON V.

NATIONAL EDUCATION.

ISAIAH xlix. 15.

"Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee."

It is impossible to dwell upon the writings of the Prophets, especially those of Isaiah, without being moved with that peculiar force and elegance of expression, by which they are so illustriously distinguished from all other writings.

The proudest display of modern eloquence contains nothing which can be compared to the inspired writings of the Prophets; nothing can approach to their sublimity and