church above opposition, for at the close of that period we read that Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the globe, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle; the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. And they went out on the breadth of of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about and around the beloved city; and fire came down from God, out of heaven, and devoured them. I think we gather from this passage that when the millennium, or Sabbath of the church is past, she will still have enemies in every part of the world who will unite their strength for her destruction. Thus the bush will still burn, but it will not be consumed, for God shall rain. fire from heaven which will destroy her enemies.

Remarks.-1. If the church, as a whole, is thus safe, so are all her members. The idea that the whole of a thing can be safe and yet all its parts in danger is absurd, like that of supposing a general, without a particular providence. The bush that Moses saw remained entire in the midst of the flames. Not a branch nor leaf perished. If there is no security for the perseverance of individual saints there may be no church on earth before the return of another Sabbath. And yet let it not be supposed that the text affords any security to hypocrites; for although they may be enrolled with God's people, he may still save his people, and destroy them. Were the visible church entirely composed of false professors, there would be doubt whether it would not become extinct, but there are mingled with the ungodly professors enough to ensure the continuance of a visible church. But I suppose the security prefigured in the text to belong only to those

who are real believers, and whom God knows will finally be admitted to the joys of his kingdom.

2. How vain have been the efforts of the ungodly to destroy the church. She has lived, and can live amid all the fires they can kindle. She has often flourished most when persecution has raged with the greatest vehemence. Hence was derived that saying, "The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." And it is as well for the world at large as for the church, that their efforts are unavailing: for the saints are the salt of the earth, hence, were the church destroyed, the world would perish too; of course, their only safety is in their defeat. If they achieve their pose, they undo themselves.

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You have known men to attempt their own execution, and been prevented. Their failure was their safety. You have known youths arrested by the arm of paternal authority when setting out in a career of ruin. Their defeat saved them. The same will be the case with the enemies of God's kingdom. To whatever extent they injure the church they will hurt themselves. If they could destroy the church they would ruin the world. Every thrust they make will recoil upon their own heads.

3. How useless and ungrateful are the fears of God's people. They are useless for they achieve nothing. They are ungrateful for God has already done enough for his church to deserve her confidence. If he had ever seen her desolations with indifference, if one promise of his had ever failed, if the church had ever found him her enemy in the hour of distress, there would then be ground of fear. But no such thing is true; no season of her distress has failed to move his pity, he has never turned a deaf ear

to her prayers, no one of his numerous promises has ever failed, nor did her enemies ever find God their friend in a season of his church's conflict.

4. What abundant cause have God's people to rejoice in his covenant faithfulness. There is nothing but God that Christians love so much as the church, and while the church is safe it must make them happy. In her safety every thing dear to us is safe, in her ultimate triumph we shall find our own salvation. The subject, then, is calculated to make Christians lift up their heads. To not be happy when there is such abundant cause for joy, will argue disaffection to the interest we have professed to espouse, and will cast upon us the suspicion of treachery. This is a case I wish to provide against, lest in my dying behaviour I dishonour him who laid down his life for me. If I am not happy when dying, impute it to derangement, unless it will the less dishonour my divine Master to conclude that I have always been in the gall of bitterness, and under the bonds of iniquity, and am now deserted of him to prove that "I am about to go to my own place." The church has always been so safe, and with it every interest of mine, unless I have interests that are distinct from Christ's interests, and then I am an unbeliever, and have no part nor lot in the matter. There can have been no failure of the everlasting covenant. God will do as he has said. And, in doing so, if he does not glorious things for me I have only to lie down and die with shame, and the one hundred and forty and four thousand who are about the throne of the Lamb, will say forever, "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing." And the whole multitude will utter their loud and long amen.

SERMON XIV.

THE TRUE GOD A SURE DEFENCE.-No. 1.

2 Kings xvii. 33.

"They feared the Lord and served their own gods."

WHEN the king of Assyria had carried captive the ten tribes of Israel, and placed them in different parts of his empire, he brought back other men with which to people the cities of Samaria. But as these strangers had no fear of the God of Israel, while they occupied the consecrated territory, he sent lions among them, that committed such ravages that complaint was made to the king of Assyria. He immediately gave directions to send thither one of the priests that they had brought captive from that land, that he might teach them the manner of the God of the land, and thus induce him to be propitious to its new population. He came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught the people how they should fear the Lord. He was no doubt an idolatrous priest who had been accustomed to officiate in the idolatrous worship of the golden calf. Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and finally, being unable to see any wide distinction between the calf and their own favourite idol, paid very little regard to the established worship. They made priests of the lowest of the people, and offered sacrifices in their high places. Then follows the apparently paradoxical remark of the text. "They feared the Lord, and served their own Gods."

By their fearing the Lord we are not to understand that they had that fear of the Lord which is

the beginning of wisdom, else they would not have served their own gods. The sense appears to be, that they paid some attention to the established worship of the calf but devoted their principal zeal to the idol worship, to the worship they had imported with them into their new territory. And this is declared to have been the manner of the Israelites whom they had carried captive. They pretended in their national religion to pay some kind of homage to the true God, but still practised the worship of Baal. But that all this show of homage to Jehovah was offensive to him there needs no argument to prove other than to state the fact that it was an idol worship which he could not accept.

But the question urges itself upon us, Have we any thing in these gospel times that savours of such a spirit. We boast of our superior light, but are we not conversant with the same indifference, and the same lightness that was practised by the Samaritans two thousand five hundred years ago? Let us trace the resemblance between some of the features of that age and this.

I. There was evidently great indifference felt as to what God was worshipped-Jehovah or any other god. Where the true God was pretended to be worshipped under the image of a beast that had horns and hoofs it was to be expected that he would claim nothing more of his worshippers than might be claimed by any other idol. There might be some sacredness of names, or ascription of attributes or works to the Israelitish gods that they had not been accustomed to give their idols, but the untutored Assyrian, and Mede, and Persian would not discern the difference, and would be more impressed by the form of the image, than by