abundantly clear, that that only which directs us to the gathering in of the dispersed of Judah, can be referred to the glorious times, when there shall be no church but the church triumphant ; when the conquering Jesus shall lift up his standard of victory, that great covenant pledge, which shall stand for ever as an ensign for the people. The connexion between the other circumstances, prophetically introduced to us in this same portion of scripture, is so close and unbroken, that I do not see how it is possible to divide them, or to place one at that early age, when Christianity was yet but an infant, and the other at the more remote age, when it will have grown up to the stature of the fulness of Christ. For observe how the prophet enters upon his subject, and leads us on, without interruption, from the Messiah himself, to the character of his redeemed: "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots, and the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, and shall make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord; and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes, neither reprove after the hearing of his ears; but with righteousness shall he judge the poor,

and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked, and righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins." Here he closes his catalogue of the perfections of Christ, as a rod of the stem of Jesse; and then he proceeds immediately to speak of those who were to come under the influence of the same spirit, whom he would gather into his church, from the four corners of the earth, in all the generations of time. "The wolf also"-remark the connecting link" the wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.” These words will enable me, in the first place, to give you the scripture test of a really regenerate Christian; and secondly, to make that improvement of the subject which is called for from one so full of important consequences as this.

The substance of the prophecy is, to declare, generally, what were to be the evidences of Christ's kingdom under the gospel; and the miraculous change, which that dispensation of mercy was to exhibit, is shadowed out under the similitude of beasts, and those of the wildest

and most ferocious nature; and this is done with a view of showing that there is no soul, however polluted, that may not be purified in a fountain of blood; no bosom, however maddened with passion, that may not be melted down into a bosom of love. The first effect of gospel power upon the heart, appears in its yielding to God the peaceable fruits of righteousness; this is manifest in a change of the affections. To illustrate this part of his subject, the prophet introduces an animal, that above all others has cruelty and deceit engrained in its nature, so changed, so subdued by a power superior to its own, as not only to suspend all its former propensities, but to exercise others, which were the very opposite to those that it greedily and closely followed. Here, O man! thou mayest see in the ravenous wolf, a just image, and a most faithful representation of what thou art in the wild desart of nature, whilst alienated from God by wicked works.

His nature is not more unmanageable than ours, my brethren, whilst we have fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness; and you may form some judgment of the revolution of character that is necessary for transforming us into the children of God, when he fixes upon the most tyrannical tenant of the woods, and brings him under our notice, unchanged indeed

in form and appearance, but with all the violence of his nature gone. Until we can offer proofs of a renewed spirit, as conclusive and convincing as these, until the law of God, and the life of God, and the love of God, are engraven in the heart by the finger of the Holy Ghost, we are not free from the law of sin and death; for were we really and effectually led by the Spirit, we should not fulfil the lusts of the flesh; for that very grace of God, which frees us from the law as a covenant, would bind us to it as a rule of obedience.

And let me remind you, that my argument is not in the remotest degree affected by the circumstance of your being persons of what is usually called an even temper; there may be as much heat in a confined furnace, which is completing its operations silently, as in that which is exposed to the action of the air, and sends out its flames uncontrolled. The enmity of Judas was not to be understood by any bitterness of his tongue, or in any daring act of licentiousness; for he is said by David, when he personates Christ, "To be mine own familiar friend whom I trusted." He threw himself into this disguise, that he might more readily "lift up his heel against him." He differed only in this, from other rebels, that theirs was the sin of an open enemy; and his the rebellion of an hypocrite; they

had each their way of crucifying the Lord of Glory, but the offence was the same. The evil thoughts are lodged, alas! so deep in the soul, that many a hearer who can talk fluently of his Bible, and with a show of pity weigh his brother's faults in his own balance, would, if he himself were weighed, be found no more in substance, than a cloud that rises like a mountain and then vanishes away, and of no more value than the broken cistern which is handled, and tried, and will hold no water.

Again, this change in the affections, if it be built upon a right foundation, will be exemplified in a change of conduct. The anointing of the Spirit will be like the " precious ointment upon the head, that ran down unto the beard, even unto Aaron's beard, and went down to the skirts of his clothing," and this will chiefly appear in love towards the children of God. "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb." When the psalmist was brought up out of the dust, his desire was to seek out those who, like himself, had taken "the cup of salvation," and called upon the name of the Lord: "I am a companion of them that fear thee, and of them that keep thy precepts. If we are sealed, my friends, with the Holy Spirit of promise, we shall not take the measurement of our religion, and say that it shall be only so high and so