abroad or ministers at home; one duty is not to set aside every other, one work is not to employ every servant; but there is not a man with a Bible in his chamber, who round about," to examine them, to notice how "very many" they were, and how "very dry." And this is exactly what the same Lord is now demanding at your hands. He asked it not of your fathers. is not bound to think of the many habitaThey heard little or nothing of the heathen; in their days, they perished by millions "without any regarding it;" but he has not suffered you to remain in the same unfeeling ignorance. He brings the means of information within your reach, and we beseech you to use them-not to content You need not move far from your own yourselves with hearing once in the year homes, brethren, in order to preach the a sermon or an address on the miseries of gospel to the ignorant, or declare its glad heathen lands, but to think seriously on the tidings to the suffering. There are those subject, to examine it, to take a lively and within your own parish, perhaps within habitual interest in it, to treat it as though your own house, who are heathens in it were a matter of importance, of life and heart, though Christians in name. Speak death. Were a neighbor to enter your to them of the things that concern their habitations, and to tell you of a multitude peace; of the things which the cares of that he had discovered starving among the world, the turmoil of life, keep so far your mountains, how should you act? You from their thoughts-of their souls and their would question him closely as to their con- sins, of a glorious heaven and a dreaddition and number; you would think of ful hell, of a descending Judge and a waitthem after he was gone; if you yourselves ing Saviour. Is there no brother who needs did not hasten to look into their wants, you a warning? no relative who is perishing would speak of them to others; you would in ignorance? no child whose soul is starvask day by day what aid they had received, ing? Is there no afflicted neighhor to whom and what help they needed. And is not you can say, "Cast thy burden on the the bread of life as necessary for the soul, Lord ?" Have you no friend to whom you as food for the body? Is it not as precious? have never yet once said, "O taste and Am I to deem six hundred millions of the see that the Lord is gracious?" starving unworthy of a thought, because they speak not my language, or because oceans separate them from my home? tions which that book has never gladdened; and more than this-he is bound to give to these children of wretchedness all the time, and effort, and property, he can honestly spare, in order to send them relief in their misery. But mere examination is not enough; inquiry will not raise the dead. 2. We are called on to make known to the heathen the word of life, the gospel. And as for the heathen, there are men actually gone forth among them ; men who have left their friends and their homesall as dear to them as our homes and our friends are to us—and are gone to the dark places of the earth to enlighten and to cheer them; to say, not to a company of ChrisThe prophet is first told to pass round tians assembled in a quiet church, ready about the bones in this gloomy valley, to esteem and love them, but to savages, to to fasten his attention on them; and it companies even of cannibals, " Behold your might have been supposed this was all he God." Now missionary societies are escould do; but a new and strange idea tablished to send out these men, to direct is brought before him, and as strange a their exertions, to protect them, and, if need duty laid upon him. The Lord said unto be, to supply their necessities. They ask him, "Can these bones live?" "O Lord for our aid; and by giving it to them, you God," said the wondering man, "thou fulfil, in some poor measure, the last knowest." And then the command is given command of your Lord; you yourselves him, "Prophesy upon these bones, and say "preach the gospel to every creature," in unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word the only way perhaps in which you can of the Lord." preach it. And this is nothing more than we are all But suppose missionaries to be multiplied called on to do in this world of death, each a thousand fold, suppose them to be sent to of us according to the ability he possesses, every corner of the globe, can missionaries and the opportunities afforded him. Not turn sinners from "darkness to light, from that we are all to become missionaries the power of Satan unto God?" Can mis sionaries raise the dead? No. Attention | creature to the Creator, from the broken cistern to the overflowing fountain, and then the desire of your hearts has come. may be excited to their words; there may be a noise among the bones; they may assume the appearance of living men ; but whose work is all this? Even this is the work of the mighty God. Thus saith the Lord God unto these bones, "Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live. And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live." The promise is partially fulfilled. The bones move, they arrange themselves, they unite, they are covered with flesh; but still there is "no breath in them." And what must be done? Ezekiel has prophesied, and the Lord has wrought, but before the work can be completed, Ezekiel must pray. "Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith the Lord God, Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live." 3. Hence we are taught a third duty which the heathen claim at our hands, or rather which the great God demands of us in their behalf-earnest prayer for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the heathen world. In this lies the real strength of every effort that is made in this holy cause, here must rest all our hopes for perishing millions-in fervent prayer; in a thorough conviction that while we are doing all we can to save the lost, we shall do all in vain, unless the Lord God of heaven accompanies his servants, and gives power to his word. This is that one thing without which all will be fruitless-a looking out of ourselves; a looking beyond our societies, and missionaries, and exertions; a placing of them in the dust, and lifting up our eyes to the living God on his throne. The Lord will vindicate his sovereignty, he will have the glory of his own work; and his jealousy is as great in the public affairs of his church, as in the private history of his saints. He will so bring to pass his purposes of grace, he will so give life to the dead and comfort to the wretched, that, as he himself declares in the sixth verse of this chapter, and asserts again and again in the end of this vision, his people "shall know that he is the Lord." Hence our best-concerted plans are often baffled, and our fairest expectations crossed. Hence our missionaries, one after another, are laid aside, in the midst of their work, and others die. O could the sainted Brainerd, that gentle but heroic preacher in the wilderness, could the fervent Martyn, speak to us from their early graves, or rather from their thrones in heaven, what would they say? Would they ask us for our silver and gold? Would they urge us at once to imitate them in the almost consuming ardor of their zeal? Would not their language rather be, "Cease ye from man? For the heathen we lived; for the heathen too we died. God showed you in our lives how ye ought to labor; and then he taught you in our deaths, that his glory he will give to none other. He cut off our days, he deprived us of the residue of our years, to teach you wisdom; to turn away your hopes from all the instruments his condescension deigns to use, to himself who only worketh all in all. Cease ye from man." You see then, brethren, how the poorest among you may contribute your aid in this cause. Silver and gold you may have none; but if you love the Lord Jesus Christ, you have that to give which the heathen need more, that which is a far These can, Perhaps the friends of the heathen are more rare and precious gift—the pleadings not yet sufficiently brought to a sense of of an humble, fervent heart. this truth. The many disappointments in a moment, reach the heavens, and, in a which they experience, may be designed to moment, send home the word of truth to teach it them. The Lord deals with them some lost Indian's or Negro's soul. From as he deals with us in our private concerns your cottage the prayer may be heard one -he humbles before he blesses. Consult minute, "Lord, send out thy light and thy your own experience, brethren. When truth;" the next, angels may rejoice to see have you obtained the blessing your soul has longed for? Never, unless in judg. ment, till you have been driven for it from man to God. Heart-sick with disappointment, you have at length turned from the it answered. The Holy Spirit may look with delight on you, and then breathe into some perishing idolater the breath of life. Here then we have, in a few words, the conduct required of us-inquiry, exertion, prayer. We must think of the heathen, send them the gospel, and then pray for its success. we must admit the force of these objections; we join with them in saying, it is useless, it is enthusiastic, it is the very height of And mark with what a mixture of mod- fanaticism, to attempt the conversion of six esty, submission, and faith, the prophet hundred millions of idolaters by the preachadopts this conduct. He offers no objec-ing of a few simple men; we might as well tions to the strange commands given him, enters into no reasonings, asks no questions; he simply executes the Lord's will. This is indeed the only way to have the work of God prosper in our hands, or his grace flourish in our hearts. Does he give us any plain command? Our duty is clear-we are to obey it; not to reason, but to act; and while acting, not to despair or even fear, not to be calculating probabilities or measuring difficulties, but to pray and hope, leaving the success of our efforts to him, whose we are and whom we serve ; to him who can, in the twinkling of an eye, beat down the loftiest mountain that stops our path, or hinder and confound us by an obstacle which we may despise, but cannot pass. There is nothing more difficult than this simple obedience and simple faith. The union of them is the perfection of the Christian character. It marks the old, experienced warrior of the cross; it is the badge of "the good soldier of Jesus Christ." It is that which God only can give, and it is that which he has pledged himself to bless. Let your labors in his cause begin as they may, this will make them end well. However they may be thwarted in their progress, this simplicity of obedience ensures their success. III. Consider the promised success of the conduct here enjoined. This, in the case before us, was unexpected, progressive, and complete. To the eye of sense, it seemed impossible. A mighty effect is produced, and that by means which appear utterly inadequate. A feeble man stands in the midst of a valley of dry bones; he speaks to them; he calls upon the four winds of heaven to breathe life into them; and what follows? He is no longer surrounded with the memorials of havoc and of death; all have disappeared; he stands among "an exceeding great army" of living men. Here we get an answer to those who tell us that the conversion of the heathen world is beyond our strength, that we only show our folly and pride in attempting it. Judging as they judge, with a total forgetfulness of the power and promises of God, employ as many worms to level the hills of the earth. But we dare not judge as these men judge; we dare not forget God. What would have been the state of this very land, had the missionaries who preached the gospel to our savage forefathers, reasoned thus ? We might at this hour, on this spot, have been offering up our sons and our daughters to devils. And what would have been the state of the whole world, had the fishermen of Galilee and the tentmaker of Tarsus reasoned thus? No man will reason thus, who heartily believes the Bible. He will learn in that sacred book, what a shining sun and the rolling stars might long ago have taught us all, that nothing is " too hard for the Lord." His faith will lift him above the reasonings, and fears, and objections, of a selfish world, and his own selfish heart. Instead of look. ing at difficulties, he will look at the uplifted arm of Jehovah, and in his strength beat them down. It is by accomplishing great ends by feeble means, that the Lord often causes himself to be acknowledged in a world which disowns him. The "worm Jacob threshes the mountains and beats them small, and makes the hills as chaff," and then the "men of Israel rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the Holy One." And what will be the effect of the wonderful restoration predicted in this vision? As soon as "the exceeding great army" of living men stood before the prophet, the Lord said unto him, "Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. Behold they say, Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for our parts." And what says the answer of God unto them? He does not describe their state as less hopeless than their fears had represented it; he meets them on their own ground; he addresses them as dead. Thus saith the Lord God, "Behold, O my people, I will open your graves, and cause you to come up out of your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. And ye shall know that I am the Lord when I have opened your graves, O my people, and brought you up out of your graves, and shall put my Spirit in you, and ye shall live; and I will place you in your own land. Then shall ye know," he says again, "that I the Lord have spoken it, and performed it." The conversion of the heathen, too, is as certain, and will be as glorious. We have the steadfast promise of our God, nay, promise upon promise, to ensure it. It is begun. The word of the Lord has been heard among the bones; and, "behold, a shaking," and more than a shaking; there is breath and life, where once all was death. The first part of the exceeding great army is already risen up; the shout of a King is among them; and heaven will in the end resound with the triumphs of the host. The firstfruits are gathered in, and angels and men will eventually rejoice in the abundance of the ripened harvest. We could tell you of whole islands become the followers of the Redeemer, that a few years ago had scarcely heard of his blessed name. The gospel which is preached sabbath after sabbath at the foot of your mountains, is heard with gladness on many a foreign shore. At this very moment perhaps some heathen heart is touched by the Spirit of God; some once senseless idolater is shedding tears of love as he hears of a dying Jesus, is tasting of his grace, and is satisfied. unconverted, neglected, and ruined? What will it profit me to have felt for others, if I have had no pity on myself? Look within your own bosoms, brethren. Ask your selves honestly and closely, whether this scripture has ever been fulfilled in your own hearts. Have you been convinced that the sad picture here exhibited of captive Israel, is only a description of the natural state of your own soul? that all there is disease, corruption, death? Have you felt your need of the Spirit of Christ? Have you sought his grace? Have you experienced his life-giving, quickening, converting power? O brethren, let me beseech you to begin at home; to adopt the same conduct towards yourselves, that has been urged on you towards the heathen-to inquire into your state; to apply the word of God to your own hearts, or rather to look upward and entreat the Holy Spirit to apply it. Once begin to care about your own souls, and then you will begin in good earnest to feel for the souls of others. It is personal religion, an experience of its power, a knowledge of its value, a taste for its sweetness; it is a sense of redeeming mercy, a sight of Christ as the great Saviour of the lost, "the love of God shed abroad in the heart;" really hearty in the cause of the heathen. What then will you say to these things?-these are the things which make a man What can you say, but that the Lord is among his servants of a truth? that he has blessed them in their endeavors to make known his great salvation, and they shall be blessed? that the work which engages them, shall have your aid, your hearts, and your prayers? What more shall I say to you? Shall I urge you again to think of the mournful and helpless state of your fellow-sinners in pagan lands? There is a matter of far greater importance to you and to me, than this; of more tremendous importance to us, than all the souls of all the heathen. We ourselves have souls; souls which are by nature in the very state portrayed in this vision a state as bad as any state in a world of mercy can be. They are dead, "dead in trespasses and sins." Cut off from the Fountain of happiness, their proper, their best life is gone; their purity, their dignity, are gone; every thing is gone which can render their immortality a blessing. What will it avail me then to have given my time and my money for the conversion of pagans, if my own immortal soul remain With this impression on my mind, I can. not prevail on myself to use any entreaties with you to contribute liberally your aid. If you value the word of salvation your. selves, you will endeavor to send it to oth ers; and if not, there is something so sacred and holy in this cause, that the money which does not come freely and cheerfully seems almost to profane it. To urge a company of pilgrims in a wilderness, wounded by its thorns and burdened by its labors-men who have felt the ills of life, and found a remedy for them all in Christ; to urge them to spare a mite to diffuse the knowledge of this remedy to thousands of the broken. hearted, fainting amid desolation and despair-to urge a company of sinners who have heard of a dying Saviour and been snatched as " brands from the burning" by his grace, to give a little money to make known the glad tidings of his salvation to six hundred millions of their fellow-sinners I cannot do this, brethren. I would only remind you of One who, unsolicited and unthought of, came here from a far distant country in mercy to you. And what did he give for you? Silver and gold? O no. "Ye were not redeemed" with such " corruptible things" as these. He gave his own "precious blood." And not this only. Though returned to his home and covered with his glory, he thinks of you now. O think of him. Hear him this moment saying to you from the lofty heavens, as his compassionate eye looks over the heathen world, "Love them as I have loved you." SERMON XXIII. THE CHRISTIAN IN THE WILDERNESS. will visit upon her the days of Baalim." "I will bring her into the wilderness." Now why this anxiety in a God of love to stand thus forward as the author of misery, and misery, observe, among the people he loves the most? For two reasons; first, because we are so backward in affliction to discern his hand. We say indeed when it comes, "It is the work of God," but we do not half believe what we say; we have no deep or lively impression of its truth. There is often lurking within us a conviction directly opposed to it. Else why that restless anxiety in trouble to look so closely into second causes? Why are our minds continually going over the circumstances that have led to our calamities? Why does one of us say, "Had this been let alone, my buried friend might have been spared?" And another, "Had that been done, my poor child might not have sunk?" And a third, "In any other situation, my withered health might have stood firm?" There may be some truth in all this, but the incessant dwelling of our minds on it shows how we labor to push God out of our concerns, how unwilling we are in all sitLITTLE as the Israelites were permanent-uations to acknowledge or even perceive ly benefited by their sufferings in the desert, his hand. they appear never to have forgotten them. But he has another reason for ascribing Centuries passed away, but they still asso- to himself our trials; we can get no good ciated ideas of wretchedness with the scene out of affliction, no real comfort under it, of their fathers' wanderings. Hence "the till we view it as sent to us from him. wilderness" became another word among The man of the world regards affliction as them for trouble and sorrow. It bears that "coming forth of the dust," and trouble as meaning here. It signifies a state of deso-"springing out of the ground." It is the lation, a condition resembling, in its difficulties and miseries, the situation of afflicted Israel in the howling desert. Happy are they who are led by any means into any state that discovers to them the meaning and truth of this gracious promise! Therefore, behold, I will allure her, and bring her into the wilderness, and speak comfortably unto her. And I will give her her vineyards from thence, and the valley of Achor for a door of hope; and she shall sing there as in the days of her youth, and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt. I. It points out to us, in the first instance, the Author of affliction. And he makes no attempt to conceal or disguise himself. On the contrary, he rather forces himself on our notice. It was the Assyrian army that laid Israel waste; it was the cruelty of her enemies that desolated her country, and carried her into a wretched captivity: but not a word is said In this chapter of man or his violence; the God of Israel seems determined to keep all out himself out of our sight. "I," he says, will take away my corn and my wine." I will destroy her vines and her fig-trees." I will cause all her mirth to cease." "I necessary result, he conceives, of our present condition and circumstances. And where is the benefit that he derives from sorrow? It works in him no submission, it brings out of him no praise. It is when the mind discovers God at the very root of its sufferings; when it sees him desolating its comforts and robbing it of its joys with his own hand; when every grave seems dug by him, and every loss and every pang are felt to be his work; when it cannot banish him from its thoughts, nor disconnect from him one of its griefs, nor even wish to do either;—it is then that the soul begins to bethink itself, and the heart to soften, and man's proud, rebellious, stubborn spirit to give way. Then the knee bends, and the prayer goes up, and the blessing comes down. Then, for the first time, we are quieted and subdued. “I was dumb," said David, "and opened not my |