sembled, and the elders gathered. The bridegroom came forth from his chamber, and the bride from her closet; and the solemn assembly turned to God, with all their hearts, with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning. And they rent their hearts, as well as their garments, in turning unto the Lord their God: for he is gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repenteth him of the evil. And the priests, the ministers of the sanctuary, wept between the porch and the altar, and said: Spare thy people, O Lord, and give not thine heritage to reproach, that the heathen should rule over them. And the Lord pitied his people, and answered and said unto them: Behold, I will send you corn, and wine, and oil, and ye shall be satisfied; and I will no more make you a reproach among the heathen. I will remove far off from you the northern army, and will drive him into a land barren and desolate. The pastures of the wilderness shall be clothed with verdure; the tree shall bear her fruit; the fig-tree and the vine shall yield their strength. The floors shall be full of wheat, and the land shall overflow with wine and oil; and I will return to you the years that the locust has eaten, the canker-worm, and the caterpillar, and the palm-worm-my great army which I sent among you. And ye shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, that he hath dealt wondrously with you; and my people shall never be ashamed. And ye shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God. Such was the national calamity-such was the desolating scourge, that was removed by fasting and prayer.

But the spirit of prophecy has foretold a more terrible day of the divine displeasure, than that which we have described―a day when the wrath of God shall burn to the lowest hell-a day when he will rain upon the wicked fire, and snares, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest-a day that is emphatically styled the great day of his wrath. It shall be ushered in with the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of the archangel. The signal shall be heard by the sleeping millions, who shall come forth from their dusty beds. The sea shall cast up its dead, and roll on the majestic wave its living forms to the shore. The living shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye; and all shall be caught up into the regions of the air. The heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; the elements melt with fervent heat, and the earth, and the works thereof, burnt up. In the midst of these august scenes, fear and dismay shall seize the ungodly. In their frantic rage, they shall gnaw their tongues with pain; and shall call upon the rocks and mountains to fall upon them, to hide them from the presence of God, and to shield them from the wrath of the Lamb. But rocks and mountains shall flee away, and deny them their friendly protection. The Judge shall descend, in awful grandeur, to take vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not his gospel. He shall proclaim, as when seven thunders utter their voices, Bring hither these

mine enemies, that would not that I should rule over them, and slay them before me. And, O my God, will the unconverted, who hear me this day, be among the number? Will they appear before this awful tribunal naked, and unprepared to meet their Judge? Will they be exposed, in that awful period, to that devouring wrath, which will consume their souls?

My friends, we have consecrated this solemn fast to avert this impending storm, which ere long will burst upon the guilty heads of the wicked. And how many of our parents, and children, and companions, and associates, are among the number of the wicked, and exposed to the fiery indignation of the Almighty? And can we bear the thoughts of their going on in sin, and finally laying down in sorrow? Will that awful sound fall upon our ears, Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels? Shall these eyes behold the flaming sword of divine justice unsheathed against those bound to us by the strongest ties of nature? Shall we see them, all pale and ghastly, sinking down into the shades of darkness, to rise no more? O come, fellow-sinner, and unite with us to-day in rending the heart, in weeping over the condition of perishing man, and in calling upon God to avert this impending storm of divine wrath! O God! save the ungodly from the power and dominion of sin; save them from the corroding cares of the world; save them from the snares of the devil; save them from the pleasures of sense; save them from the fear of death and the horror of hell! O, save them from the storm of vengeance, in the great day of thy wrath!

2. The judgments of God may not only be averted by fasting and prayer, but his blessings may also be secured. The Scriptures are replete with this sentiment. We have two instances of the consecration of a special fast in the Jewish church, (1 Samuel vii., 5, 6; Neh. ix., 1,) to obtain the pardon of their sins in departing from the commandments of the Lord. At these fasts they put away their strange gods, and also separated themselves from their strange wives, and served the Lord only, and kept his commandments. In the days of Ezra they consecrated a solemn fast to beg special mercies of God, and to seek of him a right way, (viii., 21.) These fasts were observed with becoming solemnity, and were attended with the divine blessing. Such fasts, when duly celebrated, are styled such fasts as God has chosen, an acceptable day to the Lord, a day holy to the Lord, and honorable; and such seasons not only meet with the divine approbation, but will likewise be attended with the blessing of God.

These are the very blessings we need, and to obtain which we have consecrated this solemn fast: we ask of God mercy to pardon our sins, and his Holy Spirit to direct us in the right way, and to give us strength to walk therein. And these blessings are certain and sure to all who rend their hearts, and turn to the Lord their God. For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity,

whose name is holy: I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of an humble and contrite spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might, he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall; but they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles ; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. In conclusion let me, in the first place, address myself to the unconverted part of this assembly. If you would be benefited by this consecrated fast, you must become truly penitent, you must rend your hearts. To rend the heart is a figurative expression, but a figure full of meaning. The ancient Jews, on the occasions of public fasting, wore a mean and coarse habit as a token of grief. Hence, to rend the garment, was used as a sign of great sorrow and amazement. This custom, however, when a sense of the evil of sin and sorrow for it were wanting, degenerated into a hypocritical form. We are, therefore, commanded to rend our hearts, and not our garments. If we would gain the favor of God, our hearts must be rent from sin-from the love and practice of sin-from sinful passions and desires, as well as from sinful customs and sinful habits. We must put sin away from us as that abominable thing that God hates. And we must do it now-to-day. And your souls must be deeply humbled within you on account of your sins, and you must weep and mourn over them, and pray God to pardon them. Your hearts must be rent from earthly pleasures and delights, from the love of riches, and that honor that cometh from man. Love not the world, nor the things that are in the world; for if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father but of the world. Think of the young man who came to Christ seeking a knowledge of eternal life. But his love for earthly riches overcame his desire for heaven, so, after the way was pointed out to him, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. How melancholy to see him sinking down to hell in chains of gold! Thrice happy, indeed, would that young man have been, had he rent his heart from the love of earthly possessions. You must rend your hearts from all creatures, however fondly or affectionately you may be attached to them, at least so far as they obstruct your salvation. Every offending eye must be plucked out, and every offending arm cut off. O! how often do young people ensnare each other's souls! how often do we suffer our hearts to become so much attached to our worldly associates, or to be so ensnared by the fear of their displeasure, as to hold us back from Christ! But if they will not go with you to Christ, it is better to part with them here, than to sink down with them here

after into perdition. Your hearts must be rent from pride, and you must be abased low in the depths of humility. Pride is highly offensive to God; he has said that he will resist the proud afar off, but will give grace to the humble. O restrain the pride of your hearts, and seek that meek and quiet spirit, which in the sight of God is an ornament of great price. When the heart is glued to pride, the soul is ashamed to fly to Jesus for refuge; it lingers upon the plains of destruction, till ruin, irrecoverable ruin, overtakes it. O, fellow sinner, rend your heart to-day from every sinful object, from every endearing delight that would hold you back from Christ; make one mighty effort, and cast yourself at the feet of sovereign mercy; and there mourn, and weep, and pray, till in the strength and majesty of heaven, you are enabled to rise, clothed in your right mind, and filled with all the fulness of God. All heaven is waiting to be gracious, and the angels of God are ready to rejoice over every repenting sinner.

2. My brethren, let us to-day humble ourselves before our God, and see if he will not exalt us; let us rend our hearts from every sinful and from every forbidden object, and see if he will not restore unto us the joy of his salvation; let us break off from the love and practice of every sin, and turn to the Lord our God with all our hearts, and see if he will not display his power and manifest his glory in our midst; let us try him and prove him to-day, and see if he will not open the windows of heaven, and pour us out a rich and lasting blessing. He has promised to come down upon his people like rain upon the mown grass, and like showers that water the earth-he has declared that the wilderness shall bud and blossom as the rose, and that springs of water shall break out in the dry and thirsty land—then his people shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall break forth before them into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn, shall come up the fir-tree; and instead of the briar, shall come up the myrtle-tree; it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off. Then shall our sons be as plants grown up in their youth, and our daughters will be as corner-stones, polished after the similitude of a palace. Then the Lord will create in Zion a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flame of fire by night; indeed, he will be a wall of fire round about us, and the glory in the midst of us.

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DISCOURSE XIV.

God richly Provides for the Wants of all his Creatures.

"Thou openest thine hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing."Ps. cxlv., 16.

CREATION is full of God-wherever we turn our eyes, we see the clearest traces of his existence, his power, his wisdom, and his goodness. The heavens declare his glory, the firmament showeth forth his handiwork, and the earth is full of his goodness. The invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. How much soever men may be in the dark respecting God, it is not for the want of evidence. He is not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being.

The passage before us is truly and wonderfully sublime; it expresses a great truth in the most simple and forcible language. It represents the Supreme Being as the Father of his creation, surrounded with an innumerable family, whose eyes all wait on him for daily food; while he, with paternal goodness, opens his bounteous hand, and satisfies their various wants. How wonderful. how surprising, and how complicated is the machinery of Divine Providence-a providence extending to all events, and supplying the wants of every living creature-a providence ever watchful, and never forgetting or overlooking a single living thing--a providence acting with all the force and regularity of the laws of nature. It is to this bounty of providence, to which our attention is called in the text. In the discussion of the subject, I shall offer some remarks by way of explanation, notice the evidence on which it rests -and conclude by an improvement of the subject.

I. We proceed, then, in the first place, to make some remarks in explanation of the subject. Thou openest thy hand, and satisfieth the desire of every living thing. There is much discontent among men; they are seldom satisfied, but are often found murmuring and complaining against God. Objections to the equality and goodness of Divine Providence, are too generally entertained; and there are but few persons who feel themselves duly impressed with the reality and the importance of the doctrine. In order, therefore, to obviate such objections, I would observe

1. The desires which God satisfies, are to be restricted to those of his own creating. Men have created many artificial and sinful desires. These God has nowhere engaged to satisfy; and if men take the bounties of providence to satisfy these self-created and sinful desires, they prostitute them to an unlawful purpose; and