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their feet; that they would rather be poor as Lazarus, than without "the pearl of great price," "the unsearchable riches of Christ." They tell thee, that this is their friend, their counsellor, their guardian through life; the lamp both of their prosperity and their adversity; the purifier of all their joys, and the solace of all their cares; the lightener of every burden, and the balm for every wound. The "life which they live by faith in the Son of God," is the very bliss and confidence of their soul; they are thankful for every step in the kingdom of their Lord, and in the way of His appointment; at every step, they have fresh experience of His goodness; and would not desire, that any portion of their way, whether for the present joyous or grievous, should be altered or untrodden. The Lord is their all in all; and where He is, they are happy: this they maintain and declare. And canst thou not believe them? Then make the experiment; and see if thou be not thus convinced.

But the wisdom of the just is not to be fully known on this side the grave. There will come a day, when it will appear, even to the slowest of belief, without a shadow and without a doubt. "When the Lord comes to make up His jewels," the preciousness of those jewels, and the joy of being gathered amongst them, will be perfectly manifest, both to friends and foes; to the one, by their admission into His heavenly kingdom; to the other, by their being cast away. Nay, but even then not fully known; not till we arrive at the place of our final destiny, of joy or of sorrow. In heaven we shall know the wisdom of the just; by our enjoyment of the pure and perfect good; by our felicity with the holy angels and all the redeemed of the Lord, in the presence of God and the Lamb; and in the other world, this wisdom will be known also by our loss; loss irreparable and eternal.

What need then have the ministers and stewards of God's mysteries to be faithful in their calling and urgent in their work;

to beseech the disobedient, in His name, and by His grace, to turn heartily unto the Lord; to turn and be saved. O, my brethren, there is a loud and pressing call upon the heart of every one of us: we do not, cannot doubt, where our true interest lies: O, let it be by all means secured. I desire, I pray, fain would I labour, that every soul of us may be wise unto salvation; that there may be no one provision of mercy unaccepted; not a word of heavenly wisdom undervalued; not one point, in which we knowingly come short of the glory of God; that Christ may be truly to us what He is "unto them which are called-the power of God, and the wisdom of God."*

* 1 Cor. i. 24.

SERMON III.

PRESENT IMPERFECTION FUTURE PERFECTION.

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1 COR. xiii. 10.

When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.

IN the present life, every thing is imper fect; or, as the Apostle calls it, "in part." Whatever spiritual knowledge may be revealed to us, our limited faculties will enable us to comprehend only a part of the subject; and possibly, there is seldom vouchsafed even all that we could comprehend; for we are required to live, not so much by knowledge as by faith; and the knowledge, which we possess, is given us chiefly for the food and exercise of our faith.

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And whatever spiritual comforts and joys may be mercifully administered, we cannot have them here in perfection; for it is only a certain measure of happiness, that the frail heart of man is capable of receiving and on every occasion, there will soon be a check to our enjoyment; an earthly or fleshly interruption. The fulness of knowledge, as of all spiritual blessedness, is reserved for that day, when the vail of the flesh shall be removed; when there shall be no more sin, and no more sorrow: then we shall go to our rest, and after our rest, to glory: the light of the Lamb will there shine upon every object; and there will be no spot of darkness remaining.

Every sincere believer may gather some presage or confirmation of this truth, from his own continual experience. He finds, that his acquaintance with God, and the things of God, is from time to time improving he sees more of the height and depth, and length, and breadth of God's unsearchable wisdom and love; the Spirit

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