and with fire ?-A divine attribute, a divine act; an attribute and act of Jehovah. "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me"-and who was it that came after him? the incarnate Word; the Word made flesh; Jesus of Nazareth; the man who dwelt at Nazareth; the man who died on the cross, and who in his divine nature is over all, God blessed forever" He that cometh after me, is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."

And my dear friends, the Lord in his mercy grant, that we may no longer as a people, or as individual members of this people, be satisfied with moving on the mere surface of things; but may we be baptized, every one, with the Holy Ghost, and with fire, that our hard things, and our high things, and all our idolatry, and our covetousness, and our speculations, and all our false glories, may be broken to pieces; and that we may know the eternal truth to rise into dominion amongst us, as it did amongst our forefathers in days of old; that we may know the shout of a Mighty King, even King Jesus, to be heard within our borders; and that our young people may flock and rally round the unfurled banner of Jesse's immortal Son. And then there will be evidence in abundance, in the practical result, of the truth of those religious principles which we believe it our duty steadily to maintain in the face of all nations,

say the doubters on the one hand, and the cavillers on the other, what they please.

O, my beloved friends, the faith which is in Jesus, gave to this poor man that perfect soundness in the presence of them all. And may we know that same faith to bring us into perfect soundness spiritually. O, these unsound things, like the marshy, miry, places into which some have fallen, by departing from the plain truth! You know there is that which can heal them. It is the old power, and the ever new power of the risen Saviour, who bought us with his own blood, and who baptized us with his own Spirit. Come, then come; is there any thing which we can desire more than a state of spiritual soundness? It is the privilege of the true-hearted christian; "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."

Come, my beloved friends, and bow under the mighty power of Jesus. "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself; but in me is thine help." "Return, ye backsliding children, and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel."

17

PRAYER.

Under an awful and solemn sense of thy presence, thou everlasting, all-glorious, incomprehensible, and infinite Jehovah! we would unite in glorifying thine ever-worthy and excellent name. Whither can we

go from thy Spirit, and whither can we flee from thy presence? Thou omniscient Searcher of all hearts, we acknowledge that unto thee, with thy well beloved Son, our Holy Redeemer, belong, and must be ascribed through the power of the Holy Ghost, all honor, glory, dominion and power, world without end.

We pray thee to look down upon these thy children, who are now gathered before thee in solemn worship; and if there be any whose minds have been clouded by the dark mists of unbelief, we reverently pray thee, that the bright beam of the Sun of righteousness may now illuminate their darkness, and give them to see the truth, the all-glorious truth, in its essential features, as it is in Jesus; that they may come to know him, our Saviour and Redeemer, to be made unto them, indeed, a Father who is wisdom to direct them, sanctification to cleanse them, and righteousness to save them in full and final redemp

tion.

O Lord God! for thy dear Son's sake, may it please thee to deliver many young ones, especially such as may have become bewildered in the labyrinth of error, from all the powers of darkness, and to translate them into the kingdom of thy dear Son, in whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. And O, Holy One of Israel! we pray thee, that there may be preserved, and greatly increased among this people, a living, baptized remnant-baptized with the Holy Ghost, and with fire,who shall, in the maintenance of their well known christian testimonies and principles, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in thy work, forasmuch as they know that their labour shall not be in vain in thee. If there are those who have entered into covenant with thee, and have made their escape as from the city of Gomorrah, and are ascending as it were, into the hill-country, that there, they may come to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, preserve them, most merciful Father, from looking back, lest they be turned like Lot's wife, into a pillar of salt, a useless, lifeless, motionless thing.

O thou Holy One of Israel! pour forth upon us, we reverently pray thee, the blessed influence of thy Holy Spirit, that we may be animated to go forward in our christian course, nothing fearing, nothing doubting, looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith, that so we may grow stronger and stronger, until every one shall appear before thee in

the Heavenly Zion, through the blood of the everlasting covenant.

Most merciful God and Father, who hearest and answerest the cry of thy people, even the deep-felt sighing and groaning in spirit of the broken in heart, we are emboldened now to petition that this multitude who are now assembled in solemn worship in the church militant, may be permitted to re-assemble one with another, in league with all the innumerable company of saints and of angels, before the throne of thy Glory, there to cast every crown at thy feet; there to acknowledge that thou art eternally worthy of all our service, and of all our praise-Hallelujah! Hallelujah!-for thou, O Lord God! omnipotent reignest.