The

ments, therefore, corroborate each other. Redeemer appealed to the ancient Scriptures as those which testified of him, and both of these distinct portions have foretold events which history, and even our own eyes, prove to have frequently happened.

Thus, to doubt the Scriptures, is to doubt our own existence; therefore, brethren, is it your duty, as it is your interest, to have recourse to them at all times and on all occasions, whether ordinary or extraordinary. They are, indeed, the only light in this world of darkness and sorrow; the only compass by which the bark of your frail bodies can be safely steered through the stormy ocean of life into the haven which all must desire to enter, the haven of everlasting happiness and rest.

With such a light, and such a compass, has the Almighty most mercifully and benevolently provided you. They contain much important information respecting things and occurrences which concern our salvation, which never could have been known without them; yet do they not undertake to satisfy an idle or a useless curiosity; to do that which is impossible to mere mortals; to raise our reasoning faculties above that standard which has originally been fixed by the Creator. As the things of a man can indeed be known by the spirit of a man, so can the things of God be known only by the Spirit of God. And while, brethren, I caution you against the folly and the sin of unbelief, based as such must be on an improper estimate of your own understanding, an excess of which implies nothing more

nor less than regarding the spirit of man which is in him as equal to the Spirit of God, to which it bears a resemblance, indeed, but of the most distant and imperfect description, I would, likewise, caution you, indeed I have already more than once cautioned you, against following the example of those who though they may believe or professedly believe the mysterious unity of the three persons of the Godhead, on which our salvation depends, yet do they raise disputes, on points of less moment, within the precincts of the church of Christ. If the Scriptures are true; if the first epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians be to be believed, then were the remonstrances of the Apostle and his conclusive argument in the text, though more directly applicable to the sin of unbelief, yet intended as a corrective of the differences which prevailed within the pale of Christ's church: "Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, that there are contentions among you." Then, in allusion to the "wise" and "prudent," the unbelieving Jews and Greeks whom we have before mentioned, he says the "natural man receiveth not the Spirit of God." And, immediately afterwards, that the Corinthian sectaries might not misunderstand him, he adds that they are as bad as the natural man, the professed unbeliever: "Ye are yet carnal: for

ye

whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men?” Consider, therefore, brethren, that there is no difference, or a very imperceptible one, between an infidel and a schismatic; between him who denies the divine origin of Christ's church, and him who foments religious disputes within it. Under the blessing of God, such a consideration, I think, must very materially tend to suppress those multifarious differences, those childish vanities, which are now so prevalent, and promote harmony and good will within that fold of which Christ is the "good shepherd who careth for his sheep." The object of the gospel is unanimity and concord; peace upon earth and good will among men; as preliminary to that eternal peace and good will which the just made perfect shall hereafter experience in heaven. As well, therefore, may a man deny the gospel, and keep aloof from its hallowed inclosures, as, having professedly embraced it and entered within its precincts, to thwart and resist those purposes which are essential to it. May God duly impress you with this truth, by the aid of his Holy Spirit, through Jesus Christ.

SERMON XVI.

MAN'S DISOBEDIENCE TO GOD REBUKED BY THE CONDUCT OF THE RECHABITES.

JEREMIAH, Xxxv. 13, 14.

"Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.”

How remarkable, brethren, is the contrast which, by the mouth of his Holy Prophet, the Almighty draws between the obedience of the sect of the Rechabites and the disobedience of those who, as the lineal descendants of Abraham, were so peculiarly the objects of His especial favour and protection. The entire chapter, which has been appointed as the first lesson of this morning, is taken

up in forcing upon the notice of the latter the remarkable contrast just mentioned. The Almighty directs the prophet Jeremiah, as he himself informs us, to go to the Rechabites, and having placed before them a certain quantity of wine, to request them to drink it; this, however, they resolutely refused to do for the reason which they immediately assigned: "Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, ye shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons for ever.'

As the Inspired Volume has said so little on the subject, it would be useless to expect any precise or extensive information respecting the sect whose conduct and whose practices are so decidedly approved of by the Almighty.

It appears, however, that they were not descended from either of the twelve tribes who represented the twelve sons of Jacob, though they were closely connected with these by means of the wife of their great lawgiver, Moses, who married one of Jethro's daughters. In the first chapter of Judges, Jethro is spoken of as the Kenite whose children left the country where they had formerly dwelt, and took up their abode with the children of Judah. And afterwards, in the last verse of the second chapter of the first book of Chronicles, we find a portion of the descendants of these thus alluded to: "These are the Kenites that came of Hemath the father of the house of Rechab."

We may therefore, I think, look upon the "Rea Jeremiah, xxxv. 6.