In connexion with those qualities which I have mentioned, the per· petuity of this kingdom must endear it, above allthings, to a good man: this indeed crowns the whole. It is a perpetual kingdom; it shall never be removed; it shall never be taken away to be given to any other people; but the saints of the Most High shall continually possess it. It shall rise upon the ruins of all other dominions, and shall itself never be subverted.

Let us then rejoice at the tokens which we see of God's purpose to extend this kingdom. Our eyes have seen great and wonderful things: God is doing much for his church; we have advantages beyond any of our predecessors. Such a period as this has not been witnessed since the days of the apostles: all events seem to be pointing to the final issue; and this should reconcile us to live in a time of desolation. In the midst of the darkness that surrounds us, a bright point is visible that forebodes the dawn of a brighter day. God is overturning, overturning; but it is to prepare the way for his coming whose right it is, and who shall reign for ever.

The kingdoms of this world are changing and falling to ruin. Let us not be dismayed at this; they are made of changeable materials. We ought not to wonder if the mortal dies, and if the changeable changes; but ever rejoice that we receive "a kingdom which cannot be moved." 99# Let us have grace, while we see these things, "to serve the Lord acceptably, with reverence and godly fear.

This kingdom, my brethren, will advance in the world when we depart out of it. It is a kingdom, at present, consisting of two parts; there is an upper and a lower province in the lower province the subjects are required to struggle and fight; when called hence, they shall triumph. Then shall we know what is meant by the glory of this kingdom, when "God shall wipe away all tears from our eyes," and when "the Lamb that is in the midst of the throne shall feed us, and lead us to living fountains of water;" when we shall "rejoice before the throne, and reign for ever and ever."‡

Let us, while we live here, sincerely pray and labour for the advancement and glorious increase of this kingdom, which embraces all the elements of purity and happiness. "This is all our salvation," and should be all our desire. Beyond this, there is nothing to be hoped for; without this, there is nothing on earth that can render the prospect of death tolerable, or life worth possessing.

Finally, then, let us look to ourselves, that, while we hear these things, we may possess a personal interest in this kingdom. "The law and the prophets were until John:" but now is the kingdom of heaven; and let every man be pressing into it. Press into it-strive to enter. Strive as in an agony: "for many shall strive" imperfectly, "and shall not be able." Let it be your determination, by the aid of promised grace, to surmount every difficulty. Press into the kingdom; for behind thee is the wrath and curse of Almighty God; but within is a place of safety, of peace, and joy. Put your feet within the limits

Heb. xii. 28.

+ Rev. vii. 17.

+ Rev. vii. 9, 15.

of this kingdom, and it will be as one of the cities of refuge to the men that were pursued by the avengers of blood; and the farther you penetrate, the more will your peace and joy be promoted.

To be within this kingdom-how important! Why are there, then, any of you that are not earnestly seeking it? If you have not felt a concern about it before, what are your present thoughts? Is what we have advanced all imagination? Is it only a fancied empire that has been represented to you? Is there such a kingdom among men? Have you heard of it, have you seen it? And is the Saviour, the Lord of his church, wooing your souls? Is he asking leave to come in? Does he say, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in?"* Open then the door, and let the King of glory come in. If he visits you, it is that he may reign in you; and then he will bless you with his salvation There is no one wise that does not yield to the Saviour: all are fools who are not either rejoicing in the evidence that they are in this kingdom, or earnestly desirous of it. Be not content that this kingdom should appear before you for a time, and then vanish away for ever; say not, I shall see it, but not for myself. Oh, thou that art exalted to heaven, take heed lest thou be thrust down into hell! The kingdom of God indeed is come nigh unto you: it is nigh you in the gospel, it is nigh you in the efforts of the present time, it is nigh you in the endeavours of your ministers, it is nigh you in every sermon you hear, and in every ordinance you attend. It is nigh you; and you will never get quit of this thought: it will be as a sharp arrow that will drink up your spirits to all eternity. When it is far from you, when between you and the blessed subjects of it "there is a great gulf fixed,"† you will for ever cry, Once it was nigh me; every Sabbath it was nigh me; every day it was nigh me; for months and years together it was nigh me; but I refused it; I thrust it from me; I would have none of the Saviour's counsel, I rejected his reproof: and nowit is past; it is gone; the things of the kingdom are for ever hidden from my eyes! Beware, lest that come upon you which is written; "Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish." "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in Him."

VI.

GOD'S WAYS, THOUGH OFTEN INSCRUTABLE, ARE
RIGHTEOUS AND JUST.*

PSALM XCVII. 2.-Clouds and darkness are round about him: righteous ness and judgment are the habitation of his throne.

[PREACHED AT LUTON, MAY, 1815.]

THIS psalm commences with a statement of the most important doctrine of religion; a doctrine which is the foundation of all serious piety, the rule and dominion of God over his creatures. It then calls to rejoicing in that great fact. In every time of trouble this is the Christian's consolation; and it is his chief joy in his best moments. He who is "above all" continually conducts the machine of providence, and superintends all things in every part of the universe. This is the unfailing source of comfort to a good man,-" The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."

In the text we have a concession made, perfectly consistent with the great truth before propounded: "Clouds and darkness are round about him righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." Two propositions are contained in this text, to which I now propose calling your attention.

I. "Clouds and darkness are round about God."

II. " Righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne." I. "Clouds and darkness are round about God." The figurative language in the poetical parts of the Old Testament is frequently taken from the historical books, and refers to the facts therein recorded: thus the appearances of God to the saints and patriarchs in old times are the origin of the figure in our text. If you look at the history of these appearances, you will find they were all accompanied with clouds and darkness. The cloud of the Lord went before the children of Israel when they departed from the land of bondage. This cloud had a dark and a bright side, and was a symbol of the Divine presence: thus it preceded the people in all their marches, as a pillar of fire by night, and of a cloud by day. When Solomon dedicated the temple, the glory of the Lord filled the house, and the priest could not enter into the house of the Lord, because the glory of the Lord filled the house.‡ When God descended upon Mount Sinai, "there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud. And Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire: and the smoke thereof ascended as the smoke of a furnace, and the whole mount quaked greatly. And the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, upon the top of the mount."§ When our

* Printed from the notes of the Rev. Samuel Hillyard. ‡ 1 Kings viii. 10, 11.

† Exodus xiv. 19, 20. Exodus xix. 16, 18, 20

Saviour was transfigured before three of his disciples, " a bright cloud overshadowed them," from which proceeded the voice of the Father, saying, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him." 99* And Peter, who was present there, afterward referring to this fact, says, that the voice proceeded "from the excellent glory."t Thus, in all the symbols of the Divine presence, there was a mixture of splendour with darkness and obscurity. So it is in the operations of Providence in a moral and figurative sense we may say, that clouds and darkness surround all the operations of Divine power and wisdom.

Clouds are emblems of obscurity; darkness, of distress. The works of God's providence are often obscure and productive of distress to mankind, "though righteousness and judgment are the habitation of his throne."

In the present state of the affairs of the nations, we see the interference of Divine Providence; and yet it is surrounded with clouds and darkness. Never was the hand of God more conspicuous, yet never were men less able to penetrate and comprehend his deep and unfathomable designs.

As this is the Divine method of government with respect to affairs of a larger scale, so it is also in instances of a smaller and inferior kind it is thus, in the removal of the most eminent, holy, and useful characters, that while we acknowledge the hand of God, we say, "clouds and darkness are round about him." Such removals we have experienced: "The fathers, where are they; and the prophets, do they live for ever?" No. Such as seemed most necessary in the church, the pillars of the temple, are removed, and many are trembling for the ark of God. We are taught to "be still, and know that he is God," since "what we know not now we shall know hereafter:" and we feel it necessary, in our obscurity and distress, to refer to the great principles of his government, "Judgment and righteousness are the habitation of his throne."

The course of events has not been such as might have been expected from the known character of God. If we look into the book of history we shall perceive that there is much disorder in earthly scenes, much confusion in the affairs of men; and was this to be expected from a God of order and wisdom? We know that he is a being of infinite mercy, that out of his infinite fulness he loves to communicate happiness to his creatures; yet we see them oppressed with calamity, surrounded by miseries; and we find that man has, in all ages and in all stations, been "born to trouble, as the sparks fly upward."

Again, we know that God, in his great love to our world, has devised a plan to raise men to happiness and glory; his regard to this plan, and the objects of it, appears in all the doctrines of revelation, in all the miracles by which they are supported, and in all the prophecies and glorious things that are spoken concerning the church, by which our expectations have been greatly raised. But how have those

expectations fallen short of their accomplishment; what a small part of the world is enlightened by the beams of the "Sun of Righteousness;" how narrow are the limits of the gospel; how little has been done by Christianity, compared with what might have been anticipated from the Divine principles, the character of the Author, and from the interest it possesses in the heart of God. We have, as yet, wrought almost no deliverance in the earth; paganism yet strikes deep its roots in various lands; Mahometanism has plucked up the "good seed of the kingdom" in countries where that seed brought forth fruit abundantly: even in what is called Christendom, how little have the known and blessed effects of the gospel been manifested! Jesus Christ came to reconcile all who receive him into one family; to make, of many, one body; to compose discords, to allay violent passions and animosities, to make wars to cease, and to give peace, and love, and harmony to his followers; but those called Christians have been inflamed and armed against each other. From the beginning, dangerous errors have produced noxious effects; the "mystery of iniquity" began to work; those who "named the name of Christ" have inflicted greater barbarities upon one another, under the influence of superstition and bigotry, than their fathers had suffered from their pagan persecutors. The woman that "sat upon the scarlet-coloured beast" is indeed "full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns;" she is still arrayed in "purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones, and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abomination and filthiness and fornication; and upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth. And I saw," says the apostle, "the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.”* And what could be less expected, what more surprising, than that Christianity should occasion the discovery of so much vileness? Nay, where genuine Christianity is taught, how small has been its progress! how few seem to be converted to God, compared with those who are enemies in heart to him, and to the kingdom to which they profess to belong! Instead of Christians being of one heart and of one mind, they are armed with malice and envy against each other, on account of some differences of sentiment and judgment; even persons of real piety give way to prejudice and party zeal, which prevent, in a great measure, the operation and effect of pure Christianity. Thus this blessed system of religion seems to have been the occasion of more. feuds and strifes among its professors than any other interest has produced since the world began. Look at the state of the world; see nations professing the name of Christ rushing into hostilities, building all their hopes of future peace upon the success of their plans of bloodshed and carnage, breathing defiance and slaughter in their words, and displaying them in their enraged countenances. When will the end of these things be? Were it not for the sure word of prophecy,

Rev. xvii. 4-6.