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out it, no work of the hands, or meditation of the heart, can be expected to prosper!

The Apostles used the appointment by lot in the ordination of their first associate, that the immediate hand of Christ might be, as it were, placed upon him. The imposition of hands on ordained Bishops, and Presbyters, or Priests, was adopted after the more full effusion of the Holy Spirit. God establishes his own Church after his own manner, and “ gave some Apostles, some Prophets, and some Evangelists, and some pastors and teachers'." Every superior and inferior office we shall behold arising in the Church according to the exigence and circumstance of the time.

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We have seen the lot of Matthias. Let us not neglect our own, whatever it may be. In spiritual things our lot is a very fair one, if we do not lose it by our misconduct. To every Christian in this country it may be said, "The lot is fallen upon you in a fair ground; yea, ye have a goodly heritage ";" for "he who seeks the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good." To be born in a Christian land; to be early received by baptism into a Church reformed from ancient errors, where the sacraments are duly administered, and the food of life plentifully supplied; to see the way made plain before us, from the original condition of man, where sin abounds, to his restoration, through a merciful Redeemer, to all the comforts and rewards promised to the penitent; to participate in

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the exquisite satisfaction, not only of following the steps of our Saviour's blessed life, but in reaping the benefit of his death; to be qualified, through his merits, when we resign ourselves to the grave, to rest in hope, and when, at the last day, we are delivered from it, to rise in glory ;—these, these, my Brethren, are advantages which none but a God of mercy can bestow, which none but a pious Christian can receive.

LECTURE IV.

ACTS II. 1-41.

The Effusion of the Holy Ghost on the Apostles on the Day of Pentecost, and its happy Consequences. Jerusalem, A. D. 33.

WHEN We reflect on the primitive history of the Apostles, when we attend them in the different stages of their pious travels, when we accompany them in the progress of their preaching, and observe the solemn and gradual disclosure of those divine truths which they were particularly commissioned to inculcate, we feel something like the dawning of a new day, and the day-star, the bright and morning star of redemption, arising in our hearts. But when we are led by the authentic records of our faith to the very apartment where they were so frequently assembled, and which was the first visible Church of Christ; when we there behold the accomplishment of an ancient prophecy, as well as the fulfilling of a sacred promise made by our Lord himself; we exclaim with one voice"the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth 1."

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1 John ii. 8.

What event, in the early history of the Church, is so impressive in its appearance, or so important in its consequences, as the effusion of the Holy Spirit on the Apostles on the day of Pentecost! "When the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all, with one accord, in one place." The day of Pentecost was a solemn festival of the Jews, so called by the Greeks, because it was holden on the fiftieth day after the Passover, or feast of unleavened bread. Ye shall count unto you, says Moses, from that time seven sabbaths complete', that is, forty-nine days, the fiftieth being the day of the feast. Hence from this particular computation, it was called by the Jews the feast of weeks; on the day after which was celebrated the day of the first fruits, because then were offered the first fruits of the second, or wheat harvest. How appropriate was this festival to the wonderful circumstance which now took place upon it! The weeks from the Passover, from the day of our Lord's resurrection, were counted with diligent care. So looks the anxious eye, so beats the fervent heart, for the expected return of some dear and valuable friend. And when the day was fully come, that friend appears, and brings with him such gifts and graces, as shew the value of his love and friendship. The offering now made was most acceptable; it was the emblem of plenty and of peace; the first fruits of an abundant harvest. But what are these to the important offering of the first

1 Lev. xxiii. 15.

fruits of the Spirit? The day selected for this purpose was the day following the Jewish Sabbath, that which has since been distinguished by all Christian societies as peculiarly the Lord's Day. Thus signifying that all the sanctifying graces are more particularly to be looked for at solemn times, and on sacred occasions. How fully sensible of this are all the pious worshippers of God! It is not amidst the distractions of the world that we can unreservedly devote ourselves to heaven; it is not where pomp and pleasure meet; where worldly cares assault us, or where the dissolute votaries of unrestrained indulgence associate, that we can abstract our minds from ordinary occurrences, or curb our wandering thoughts. Alas! even with our best preparation, we are not able fully to accomplish our purpose. But in any way to succeed, we must seek the Lord where he will be found, in the depth of occasional retirement, in the garden, or the chamber, or in his own holy courts, where the pious and the good feel all the raptures of a sincere devotion, and receive the blessings of a liberal and indulgent God.

The Apostles were not only assembled on the great day of the feast, and in one place, the accustomed place of their pious meetings, but with one accord. I cannot pass over this expression without noticing its beauty and importance. With one accord! What harmony of thought and action does that word produce! The grace of God is here promised to divine unity; and it is with peculiar propriety introduced by St. Luke, as a little con

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