breaking of a few chains which now hold us down; the parting with a few friends that have been dear companions to us; a few sharp severings of earthly ties; a little passing struggle, a momentary paroxysm, then we believe, as surely as we stand here, that He whom we love and follow, will reach out His hands through the darkness, and we shall hear Him say, "Fear not, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God." We believe that when we take the next step, the step into the unknown, that those dear arms will be stretched out to receive us, and in another moment we shall find ourselves "for ever with the Lord."

I cannot go any further. I cannot tell you about that blessed home that is preparing for us, though we do know some little about it. "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him, but God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit." I can just tell you this much about it, that all that we have been most earnest in longing for on earth, will be fully realised there; and brighter and better than all the rest we shall find that in that God-whom we have trusted, and whom we have followed here, whose cross we have borne, whose service we have rejoiced in,-that in that God the soul has got its portion, its deep source of undying joy; and we shall look up into His face, with holy rapture, and we shall be able to say, "I am my Beloved's and He is mine!"

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Men and brethren, I have put before you all the two Gods; and now I have got to put before you your choice. I find that "halters usually "halt a long time; therefore I do not wonder that Elijah said,-"How long halt ye?" I venture to believe that there are men and women whose hair is hoary, and who are well stricken in years, who are halting" still. Oh! my aged brother and sister, how long dost thou intend to "halt ?" While time is slipping away, and eternity is coming on? And there are young men here who have begun to "halt"-and they have " halted" for twenty or thirty years. Remember the devil does not want you to make up your minds that you will have nothing to do with God, or with religion, but he would only have you say, "I will have Him by-andby," and so go on "halting" a little longer. "Why there are only six hours of my day gone, I have the other six hours in which to make my decision, let me linger a little

longer, a little longer yet!" I tell you that your day is going away quicker than you think; already the shadows of evening are gathering around your path. I tell you that the god of this world is plying his fatal task with deadlier purpose, every hour you live. I tell you, that if this "Mission," leaves you unconverted, it will leave you with a harder heart, and with fewer opportunities of salvation than you ever had before. I tell you that the Holy Spirit grieved, will soon be the Holy Spirit withdrawn; and that when once He has withdrawn Himself, when you cry, there will be no answer! and the ringing appeal of your despair will make no change in the inexorable decree of Divine justice. "How long "-in my Master's name I ask the question-"How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God;" if He holds your life in His hand, if you exist only for His glory,-if you are journeying on to stand face to face with Him,-if, in a few short days, your everlasting destiny will be decided, and the sentence will go forth-" He that is unjust let him be unjust still, and he that is filthy let him be filthy still, and he that is righteous let him be righteous still, and he that is holy let him be holy still,"-if this be so, then I say to you "How long halt ye between two opinions?" Will you "halt" to-night? Will you hesitate? Will you shrink from casting in your lot with Christ? If terror cannot conquer you, surely love shall do it! Behold He stands before you, His side is open, His face is full of tenderness, and He pleads with all -"Be not deaf to Me!" He Himself takes up the words— "How long halt ye between two opinions?" Take heed, lest it be said of any of you-" Almost persuaded!" Almost!! LOST!!

but

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XIII.

Cornelius."

"To Him give all the prophets witness, that through His name, whosoever believeth in Him, shall receive remission of sins."-ACTS x. 43.

WE

E have brought before us, my brethren, in the interesting narrative with which our text is connected, the record of God's dealings with an honest heart. Although it is a tale of mercy on God's side, and not a story of merit on man's side, yet it is well that we should clearly discern those laws by which God Himself is guided in His dealings with human nature. The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us, in the parable of "the sower," that it is when the seed falls upon "an honest and good heart" that it " brings forth fruit an hundred fold." "The preparation of the heart," as well as the conversion of the heart, "is of the Lord." At the same time, just as it is possible to resist those influences of the Spirit which lead us directly up to the cross of Christ, so is it possible to turn a deaf ear to that searching voice of God the Holy Ghost, which leads us to place ourselves in the light of truth, and examine ourselves as to our soul's actual need, so that we may be prepared for receiving "God's unspeakable gift." In other words, brethren, it is possible for us to be false to our own selves, and the man who is false to himself, will never be true to his God.

Without further preface, let us fix our eyes upon this remarkable person, to whom our attention is drawn in this narrative, and endeavour to derive what lessons we can from the consideration of that which is stated regarding him.

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This man Cornelins" is described to us by the sacred historian in a few, brief, pithy sentences. He was a man evidently occupying a position of authority and influence. He was a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway."

Now, before we go any further to consider how God dealt with this man, it would be highly expedient that we should contrast this man's character, and manner of life, with the lives of many of us, who profess and call ourselves "Christians" in the 19th century, because I am morally persuaded there are a large number of persons who make such a profession, who will not, for a moment, stand comparision with this comparatively benighted man, who did not enjoy anything like our privileges. "He was a

If

Now what have we stated about him here? devout man." This takes him at once out of the ranks of those whose religion is not a religion of devotion. There are too many of whom this may be asserted; their religion is a religion of fashion, and not of devotion. You cannot look at them in their places in church without feeling that there is no devotion about them. They enter the church, they bend in formal reverence for about five seconds, then resume their seats, and looking around with a bland smile upon their countenance, nod to their nearest neighbour, and prepare themselves for the infliction of going through the service. they are expected to go twice a day, they make up their minds to it, and so the thing is done; but from first to last anything like devotion is conspicuous by its absence in the whole course of their conduct. If you sit beside them, you scarcely hear a response pass from their lips; or it is in such a cold and formal way that it is only too evident that there is no devotion in it. They are fond of music and singing, perhaps, but their part is taken in such a careless, languid kind of way-sometimes joining, and sometimes not joining, that you cannot help feeling that the mind and heart are not in it. As soon as church is over, there is a kind of feeling of relief that that duty is over for another week, and will not recur till the following Sunday morning. I am not exaggerating: you know I am describing the religious life of some whom I am addressing at this moment.

Now, Cornelius was not such a man as that. And such people should remember that their religion cannot, by any means whatsoever, do them any kind of good. Are you under the impression that it can? Believe me, it is impossible. I cannot think why you have any religion at all. What is the use of it? If it has never brought you into " the secret place of the Most High,"-if it has never bowed you down in the

august presence of Divinity,-if it has never told you of your littleness, if your eyes have never been opened to the sense of your inexpressible need, then what is the use of putting on a poor paltry mask, which you yourself must deride in your own conscience; you cannot help feeling the whole thing is a mere sham and unreality; it brings no comfort to your heart, or power to your life, or joy to your experience; it is simply a poor, miserable sham that you allow yourself to make use of, for the sake of conventional propriety! In other words, it is burning incense to "the God of this world" in the sanctuary of the Most High. If God was outraged, and the holy indignation of His nature was stirred within Him, when within the temple-court, outside the temple, the image of jealousy (Ez. viii. 3) was raised up, and men and women (who ought to have been worshipping Jehovah), bowed themselves down before it in adoration, what must God think of you, when you come into His house only to burn incense to His rival?

Cornelius was "a devout man." There are two or three ideas suggested to our minds about this.

First of all, he was a man thoroughly in earnest. Are you thoroughly in earnest? I do not believe any human being ever got to heaven, or will get there, unless he is in earnest. Yet plenty of people have been in earnest who have never got to heaven, because a person may be obstinate and self-willed, and proud in his earnestness. Earnestness alone will never take a man to heaven. On the other hand, no one ever got to heaven, without being in earnest. You wont be an excep

tion to the rule.

Yet again. This man was not only in earnest, he was impressed with the majesty of God. He had realised something of the glorious character of the Being with whom he had to do. He bowed his head in the spirit of worship. The man's inward nature was impressed with a recognition of the sublimity of that Eternal Being who "holds our lives in His hands," and who created us for His glory. Cornelius's life was a life turned Godwards. He lived towards God. I want to know, dear friends, is this the character of your life? Is the blessed influence of the Everlasting God continually present with you? Are you overshadowed by the august presence of the Most High? If not, you must take a lower position than Cornelius. You cannot be placed even side by side with him. You do not belong to the same category.