perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which you shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. Page 33

SERMON IV.

GOD'S FAVOUR TO THOSE WHO TRUST IN HIM. NAHUM, i. 7. The Lord is good, a strong-hold in in the day of trouble, and He knoweth them that trust in Him.

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SERMON V.

THE EXCELLENCY OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF

PHILIPPIANS, iii.

CHRIST.

Yea doubtless, and I count all things, but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.

SERMON VI.

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THE PRIVILEGES, CHARACTER, AND EXPERIENCE OF THE LORD'S PEOPLE.

PSALM 1xxiii. 24. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and afterwards receive me to glory.

SERMON VII.

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CHRIST A SHELTER AND REFRESHMENT TO HIS PEOPLE.

ISAIAH Xxxii. 2. And a man shall be as a hidingplace from the wind, and a covert from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land.

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SERMON VIII.

OBEDIENCE BETTER THAN SACRIFICE.

1 SAMUEL, XV. 22. And Samuel said, Hath the Lord as great delight in burnt-offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. Page 116

SERMON IX.

THE BLESSEDNESS OF THOSE WHO ARE WASHED IN THE BLOOD OF THE LAMB.

REVELATION, vii. 14, 15, 16, 17. And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in his temple: and He that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of water; and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.

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SERMON X.

GOOD WORKS THE FRUITS OF FAITH AND

LOVE.

SERMON XI.

COMING SINNERS IN NO WISE CAST OUT.

JOHN, vi. 37. And him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.

SERMON XII.

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LIFE THROUGH FAITH IN THE NAME OF CHRIST,

JOHN, XX. 31. But these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name,

SERMON XIII.

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THE ANGEL'S ADMONITION TO LOT. GENESIS, Xix. 17. Escape for thy life; look not behind thee, neither stay thou in all the plain: escape to the mountain lest thou be consumed.

SERMON XIV.

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THE LORD'S FAITHFULNESS IN PROVIDING FOOD FOR HIS PEOPLE,

PSALM CXi. 5. He hath given meat unto them that fear Him: He will ever be mindful of His cove

nant

SERMON XV.

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THE CHRISTIAN'S REST THROUGH FAITH. HEBREWS, iv. 1. Let us therefore fear, lest a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of should seem to come short of it.

you

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SERMON I.

THE OBJECT, AND WEAPONS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

2 CORINTHIANS, X. 4.

For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds.

Ir it be true of individual Christians, that they are soldiers fighting under the banner of Christ, it is more especially true of His Ministers. They are indeed engaged in a conflict. For they have not only to contend, like others, with the enemies of their own salvation, but they have to advance the kingdom of their heavenly Master, in the face of all that opposition, which it encounters from the devil, the world, and the flesh. In this respect their warfare is of a peculiar kind; and encompassed as they are with infirmity, they might reasonably be cast down at the difficulties in their way, and almost despair of success. But, blessed be God! they are not left to themselves in this arduous conflict.

They contend not in their own strength; nor by means and instruments of their own devising. As St. Paul observes in the verse before the text, "Though they walk in the flesh, yet they do not war after the flesh. Though they live in the body, and so far in the common concerns of life act like other men, yet, in their warfare in the work of their ministry, they are not governed by worldly motives, or carnal policy: they do not aim to please men, nor rely for success on an arm of flesh. "For (as the Apostle adds in the text) the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, to the pulling down of strong-holds."

From these words, let us take occasion to consider,

I. The Object of the Christian Ministry.
II. The Means appointed for accomplish.

ing it.

I. The Object of the Christian Ministry is here briefly stated to be "the pulling down of strong-holds."

We have already observed, that the Apostle is comparing his ministry to a warfare; and it is in allusion to this comparison, that he uses the term "strong-holds.” A strong

hold is a place of defence, fortified by nature or art, and intended for security and protection in a time and state of warfare. It is a place in which people entrench them