link in one united chain; powerful in itself, whilst at the same time it gives increased strength and firmness to the whole.

Assuredly this is a cause for praise and thanksgiving. Since this general agreement affords a pleasing hope, that in answer to your prayers the Lord has graciously assisted his servants-has given to them "the spirit of love, and of power, and of a sound mind."

Another particular cause for praise I consider to be that remarkable stillness and deeply fixed and devout attention which has pervaded the congregation,—a stillness which has been particularly noticed by almost each successive preacher, at times so profound that it might almost have reminded us of the words of the prophet, "The Lord is in His holy temple, let all the earth keep silence before him.”*

May this grace still be continued. May the Holy Spirit now vouchsafe his aid whilst I attempt

I. TO REVIEW THE PROGRESSIVE STEPS IN WHICH THE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY HAS LED

US.

II. TO SET FORTH THE COURSE IT NOW BE

May the Lord indeed be with us; may He solemnize our minds, impress our consciences, and "bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ" -that as it is the last, so it may, by the blessing of God, be among the most

effectual of these Lectures.

I proceed then, I. TO REVIEW THE PROGRES

SIVE STEPS IN WHICH THE SURE WORD OF PROPHECY HAS LED US.

Here it will be remembered, that before the prophetic roll was opened, that the word of God might be read with greater advantage, the rules to be observed in the interpretation of the prophetic Scriptures were stated. This appeared to be a necessary preliminary, since by the mode of interpretation adopted by some commentators, "the mind of the Spirit" was lost sight of; and persons were called off from the plain grammatical meaning of the words, to some mystical sense, more accordant with the private opinions of the expositor.

These rules having been presented to you, the course was commenced by setting forth man's original state, the dominion then given to him over the earth, the loss of that dominion by sin, and the promise of full restoration by the seed of the woman.

This mode of treating our subject was adopted in accordance with the principle, that the surest way to attain accurate knowledge is to trace a subject from its origin; to commence at the fountain head, and then proceed with the stream as it widens and deepens in its course.

In opening this sublime thesis, a view was presented, as to which it is difficult to say whether the mind was more impressed with the power and goodness of God displayed in the creation of the world-with the exceeding sinfulness of man, in transgressing "his holy, just, and good commandment;" or with the depth of the divine wisdom and knowledge manifested in the glorious plan the Lord devised for man's recovery; a plan in which "mercy rejoices against judgment;" for in the very act of passing judgment upon Satan, God, as the righteous Governor of the world, gave a promise full of grace and mercy to fallen man

"the seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head, and he shall bruise his heel."

Here was the germ of blessedness; that "sure word of prophecy that shineth as a light in a dark place."

Having commenced with this cheering beam of hope, we were led on to the unfolding of this original prediction in the call of Abraham, and the blessings secured to him and to his seed, and

to all the families of the earth by the promise, covenant, and oath of God.

Here we saw a brighter manifestation of divine mercy. Previously to this period the promise given to our first parents, although sufficiently understood to afford to the elders a sure ground for their faith in God, was veiled in much obscurity. But when "the God of Glory appeared to Abraham, and called him to get out of his country into a land which he should shew him; an individual was chosen by the Lord as the progenitor of the race from whom the promised Deliverer was to come: and this Deliverer so clearly made known to the Father of the Faithful, that even at that distant period "he saw the day of Christ and was glad."*

From this revelation made to Abraham, we proceeded to the days of David. The prophetic lamp would have brought into view the death-bed predictions of Jacob, the intermediate visions of Balaam, and the blessings pronounced by Moses, all of which continued to unfold the original promise; but these Scriptures were not dwelt upon, that the course taken by the inspired writers of the New Testament might be more exactly pursued. They, in tracing the genealogy of our blessed

*John viii. 56.

Lord, reckoned first from Abraham to David, then from David to the captivity in Babylon, and from thence to Christ himself. These divisions appear to have been made, from these periods forming special eras in the prophetic calendar. In Abraham we have the people selected from whom the Deliverer was to spring: but in David the actual tribe and family are made known. Still further the Holy Ghost, speaking by David in the Psalms, reveals the person of Messiah, his divine and human nature, His birth, His character, His sufferings, His death, His resurrection, His ascension, His session at the right hand of God, and with these his universal kingdom. "All kings shall fall down before Him, all nations shall serve Him: His name shall endure for ever, His name shall be continued as long as the sun and men shall be blessed in Him, all nations shall call him blessed."

It would be a very pleasing task to follow the steps of those pious Israelites who at the appointed feasts went up to Jerusalem bearing with them the lamp of prophecy, when the appointed courses sung in the temple the inspired Psalms of David. They might have looked forward with a blessed hope to the speedy advent of their Mes

* See Psalms 87, 45, 69, 22, 16, 68, 110, 72.