that the everlasting God is still their refuge, and their safety is underneath the shadow of his everlasting arm. The Lord knoweth them that are his. Yes, my friends, whatever may be your secret conflicts, the Lord knoweth them that are his, and he that sees in secret will reward you openly. "When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee, and through the rivers they shall not overflow thee; when thou passest through the fire thou shalt not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle upon thee."

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But all these baptisms,-all the conflicts and trials which he made in his infinite wisdom, all work for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. As there is a temptation to fight against, oh, my friends, how striking is the importance of keeping fast hold of the shield; we feel ourselves surrounded by enemies on every hand; shall we then cast away the shield, though it had not been anointed with oil! Oh, remember it was the place of overthrow and discomfiture where this was done; there the shield of the Lord was vilely cast away, as though it had not been anointed with oil, and "Let there be no dew, neither let there be rain, upon you, nor field of offering," was the language. Let us then, my brethren, keep fast hold upon the shield of faith, wherewith we shall be enabled to quench all the fiery darts of the devil; and the Lord Jesus Christ, who laid down his life for us, who is the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls, will still be the Captain of our salvation, and enable the humble believing soul to raise his song of grateful acknowledgment and thanksgiving unto God, who giveth us to glory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

I very earnestly desire, that my dear young friends may not be discouraged by any confusion,

or commotion, either in their own minds, or which they may discover in looking abroad. Remember, my dear friends, that when that zealous disciple of our Lord Jesus Christ saw his master coming unto him walking upon the sea, he desired that if it was he, he would bid him come to him upon the sea; and in the fulness of that faith, he walked upon the sea; but when the wind blew, and the waves foamed around him, his faith failed him, and he began to sink; how awful must have been his feelings at that moment, when he felt himself sinking into the mighty deep; but his refuge was in the Lord; his language was, "Lord, save me." It was the same apostle who, on another occasion, when many that had followed our blessed Lord turned back and walked no more with him, and he appealed to those around him "Will ye also go away?" the responding language of this disciple was," Unto whom shall we go, thou hast the words of eternal life, and we know and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Now in the moment of extremity, in the feeling of sinking into the deep, his language was "Lord save me ;" his arm was extended; he had experienced his deliverance with this expostulatory, reproving, admonition, "Oh thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt!" And in the feeling of tender love towards my dear young friends, not far advanced in religious experience, but believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, and desiring to come unto him, amidst the flowing elements, and commotion, by which you may be surrounded, look still and steadily unto him, the author and finisher of all things; look unto the Lord Jesus Christ, the Shepherd and Bishop of souls, and in moments of extremity and danger, let him be your refuge, and you

will find deliverance. You will find your feelings calm; yes, when he is felt to be near you, you will be ever calm; there will be a joy and gladness and though you must experience sometimes, at being separated from him, alarm and mourning, yet when he is with you, you will find that there is rejoicing, and joy, and confirmation. But oh, be careful; make no movements, I entreat you, without the direction of his wisdom, it is not in man that walketh, to direct his steps aright. No, my friends, if we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was given to be Lord over all things, we shall have true and living faith in him; we shall seek to be protected by his power, to be guided by his wisdom, standing by his sanctifying arm of power and this will be through the influence, operations, teaching, and guidance of the Holy Spirit.

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Oh, may we be humbled, may we become wise unto salvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus our dear Lord; and, while we are engaged in perusing the Holy Scripture, fervently to pray to the Father of mercies! If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God and he will give it liberally. Seek for the inspiration of divine counsel; seek that your understanding may be opened to understand the Scriptures, that you may be enabled to receive the truths that they contain, and be strengthened to come up in the observance of their precepts. They will create in you a spirit of perseverance, as you are engaged in waiting, not in the deadness of silence, but in a living engagement to draw near to him, who has bid you to come unto him; and you will find that you will have confidence in yourselves and not in another, in the feeling evidence of the love of God, through Jesus Christ, sealed upon your souls; and that your

names are written in heaven. Have a full and entire submission to the great power of God, being brought to repentance in faith, through our Lord Jesus Christ, to experience peace with God on substantial grounds. May you be among those that are following him in the way of his leading, and I believe that he will distribute and give unto you gifts according to his own will, and as there is an humble dependance, there will be raised up judges and councillors as in the beginning, and there will be a brightness and light in the church militant; for God is still graciously disposed to beautify his sanctuary, and the language will yet go forth to the surrounding nations,-Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnity, behold Jerusalem our quiet habitation, a building that shall never be taken down.

SERMON V.

September 11th, 1834.

I HAVE felt a strong desire for such an opportunity as this to meet my beloved friends in this capacity, once more, and an humble hope that we may be favored with some degree of capacity to commend one another to the confiding care of the great Shepherd; and however incapable I may be to meet the occasion as would be most desirable, (for I feel much weakness in several respects) I have been thankful, as we have been sitting together this evening, in feeling a precious calmness, and in feeling that my love towards my dear friends, with whom I have mingled again and again, since my lot has been cast in this land, has increased, and seems on the present occasion to abound. And in this feeling there has been at least a pleasant remembrance of the language of the apostle Paul, to one of the churches with whom he had used a great freedom, and with whom he was then using a great freedom. "Great is my boldness of speech towards you, great is my glorying of you; I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulations;" and yet there is a remembrance of tribulation; but the joy predominateth, it is more abounding; he had brought to their view the high standard of christian perfection, he strongly admonished and exhorted them to come home to this high standard, and he made a bold and noble appeal in reference to the cause that had brought himself among them