as ours. But if this be true as it regards the things of this life, how much more is it true as it respects those which have reference to eternity? What! says the natural man, he who knows nothing of the things of God, which he cannot receive because they are spiritually discerned, what! shall I believe that all my salvation depends upon one who came into this world in a state of poverty, lived a life of privation, died an ignominious death, shall I believe that he only can save me? This, we know, is the language of hundreds and thousands of those with whom we come in contact; and yet the Word of God from beginning to end teaches us, that "There is salvation in none other, and that there is no other name given under heaven among men whereby we must be saved, except the name of the Lord Jesus Christ," who thus came into this world, lived a life of privations, as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, who died an ignominious death, "the just for the unjust, that he might bring them unto God."

Of this truth we have a striking proof in the extraordinary occasion on which which we are assembled. Much as it might have been desired by those who have long stood forth as the honoured champions and advocates of Israel's claims, yet the most sanguine could scarcely have ventured to entertain a serious thought of the

circumstances which have now become familiar to us. Had it been said but a short time ago, that ere long this pulpit would be occupied by a humble member of the despised race of Israel, raised and consecrated to be the Bishop of the United Church of England and Ireland in Jerusalem, it would have been rejected as absurd, visionary, and altogether impossible; yet, brethren, here I stand a monument of the Divine sovereignty and power, a proof that nothing is too hard for the Lord, that with him all things are possible, and that his thoughts and ways are not as ours. Surely, then, brethren, it becomes us to wonder and adore, joining in the language of David, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name be the glory;" and in the language of the apostle, Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!" Surely, no one will now venture to doubt the possibility of the literal fulfilment of God's promises to Israel. "He is not a man that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should repent," &c.; and when the Lord shall build up Zion, the time to favour her being come; though Zion's children may now seem most unpromising, and reluctant even to throw off the yoke of superstitious observances of men's inventions, which neither they nor their fathers could

66

bear; yet he who is the God of heaven and earth can and will make his people willing in the day of his power, and so "All Israel shall be saved."

The present very peculiar, and to me, in every respect, painfully interesting occasion, will, I am persuaded, ensure the kind indulgence of my beloved and respected hearers; and he "who knoweth our infirmities" will bear with us whilst, in humble and entire dependence upon his blessing, we proceed to the consideration of our text.

We shall, First, consider the apostle's circumstances as compared with our own; and, Secondly, his holy determination as an example for us to follow in his steps.

1. The circumstances in which the apostle was placed were undoubtedly peculiar. Christianity was yet in its infant state as to the extent of its influence, none of the noble and mighty of the earth were its supporters; on the contrary, it had to contend with principalities and powers on every side; "The kings of the earth had just set themselves, and the rulers took counsel together against the Lord and his Anointed." Jerusalem, formerly the seat of the Divine glory, had just become the scene and instrument of Divine suffering; the children of Zion, the peculiar and beloved people of God, in their blindness and ignorance, had just publicly rejected Him, who in love and in mercy came to redeem them,

and exclaimed, Away with him! Crucify him!" in consequence of which the sword of Divine vengeance was hanging over them. In the midst of this a few of God's people, who had received him, and to whom he had given power to become the sons of God, were in the habit of assembling in an upper chamber to worship God in spirit and in truth. The Apostle Paul, miraculously converted from darkness to light, became a chosen instrument in the hand of God of bearing his name amongst the Gentiles. In his great and arduous work, he had indeed an almighty power to rest upon, who, when he commissioned his disciples to preach the Gospel among the nations, promised to be with them always, even to the end of the world; but as to the Church of God on earth, he had but few to co-operate and sympathize with him, and even amongst them the enemy had succeeded in sowing his tares, so that the apostle's ministry was indeed, in every respect, a very trying one. But in many of these respects the case is very different in our day. The knowledge of the Gospel has spread over a great part of the world; many of the nations of the earth, formerly in a state of heathen darkness, have been enlightened by its blessed precepts; kings, and queens, and princes are amongst its chief supporters; Christianity has become the established religion of some of the most powerful kingdoms

of the earth; and the ambassador of Christ, whithersoever his message may be directed, if connected with any branch of the universal Apostolic Church, has many to second his efforts and to strengthen his hands; and especially in reference to Jerusalem there is this grand distinction between the time of the apostle and our own. He went to an expiring Church; he knew the awful judgments which the Saviour himself had denounced upon that devoted city and her people; we are privileged to go as repairers of the breach, in obedience to the call of the prophet, "Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord's hand double for all her sins." For though Jerusalem has been and still is trodden down of the Gentiles, yet we know it was only to be for a time, until the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled, and whilst we must confess that it is not easy to determine the precise period meant by that expression, we must also admit that there are strong indications in our day of God's returning mercies to Israel, and that "the time to favour Zion is come, yea, even the set time;" and brethren, the very occasion on which we are assembled proves more than ever, even to a demonstration, that the servants of God, the