beneath for the heavens shall vanish away like smoke, and the earth shall wax old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation PAGE There were present at that season some that told him of the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacri- fices. And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galileans were sinners above all the Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish. Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon and found none. Then said he unto the dresser of the vineyard, Behold these three years I come seek- ing fruit on this fig tree, and find none; cut it down, why cumbereth it the ground? And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: and if it bear fruit, well: and if When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are : Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; de- part from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abra- ham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the saying that he was worthy for whom he should do this: for he loveth our nation, and he hath built us a synagogue. 301 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the Gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and SERMONS. SERMON I. INTRODUCTORY DISCOURSE. GENESIS i. 1. "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." THE foregoing words are rendered remarkable by the fact of their forming the commencement, or the introductory part, of that divine volume, emphatically termed the Bible. The word Bible signifies, in its original sense, a book, and in consequence the Bible signifies the book, which is so termed by reason of its superiority to all books which have ever been written from the commencement of time, or which ever will be written as long as eternity itself shall exist. This sacred book, as you are aware, is divided into two parts. One of these is termed the Old, and B the other the New Testament. The word Testament signifies covenant or agreement; and the Old Testament is so called because it contains the terms of the covenant, or agreement, which God made with man, which began just after the creation, and which was at various times renewed, until the time of Malachi, who prophesied about four hundred years before the birth of Jesus Christ. After the completion of this, the Almighty withdrew all intercourse with man, according to the hint which has just been given, for the space of about four hundred years. At the expiration of this period, Jesus Christ appeared upon earth as the bearer of a new message from heaven, by whom the terms of a new covenant were proposed, and the will and disposition of God more fully manifested with respect to the future happiness of mankind. The particulars of this message, which was on different occasions proclaimed by our Lord during his peregrinations in the land of his countrymen, have been recorded by certain of his faithful disciples, the Apostles and Evangelists. And this portion of the Bible, for a self-evident reason, is termed the New Testament, that is to say, the New Agreement which God has vouchsafed to make with man, by the instrumentality and mediation of his only Son, our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. And this divine volume is it, in which the words of our text are the first words which present themselves to the notice of the reader. When, there |