thou farsaken me!" How wildly it breaks on the awful stillness. That fearful cry is unanswered in heaven, mocked in hell, ridiculed on earth. His deep death groans answered only by the moaning of the earthquake or the rending of the sepulchre. The furies in millions advance, silently, but sternly, by all but himself unseen. Now is the crisis, whether Paradise shall be won or lost, whether heaven or hell shall triumph, whether man shall be saved or damned. The demons, with eyes gleaming from the darkness, watch his head fall over his agitated bosom, they hear the groans that shakes the earth in its orbits; and the infernal regions ring for once with acclamations of victory; but their triumph is short. Before he expired, he said, "It was finished; the atonement was made, man was redeemed, Paradise won, and hell was conquered the serpent's head was bruised, and Christ stands alone in his glory, the Hero of Redemption.

II. What is the second character under which he was promised? A Benefactor, a universal Benefactor. God said to Araham, "Get thee out of thy country, cut thyself off from thy family, and become a wanderer. For in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." Then he was to be a universal benefactor. By giving to us a Bible, thus opening to our contemplation the truths of our holy religion; by giving to the world the great blessing of the Holy Ghost, He will bless the families of the earth; by destroying the principle of discord, of intemperance, of slavery, and of war, what lovely spectacles will be presented to us, when all the families of the earth are filled with his spirit, governed by his laws, and blessed with his salvation; then shall the voice of melody be heard in the tabernacles of the righteous, the rain will be over, the time of the singing of birds will come, and the voice of the turtle will be heard in our land. The influences of the spirit like the refreshing light will go forth over all the earth, incense and a pure offering will be rising from every family altar up to the great mediatorial throne, heaven will be opened, and blessings rich will fall upon us. In Him shall all the families

of the earth be blessed.

III. What is the third character under which he is promised? As a centre of Attraction. I must refer you to the venerable patriarch Jacob for a proof of this.

The

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sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shilo come. And unto him shall the gathering of the people be; he is the head of the new world the centre of a new universe, a centre to unite all the tribes of men into one family. He is the great sun in the centre of the universe, a grand centre to attract the eyes of all the families around this planet, to attract looks from all the dispensations of time, from all the corners of the universe, from all the ages of eternity. To him shall the gathering of the people be, he will unite man to man, heaven to earth, and men to angels; He will make them one and one in Him. And in heaven to Him shall the gathering of the people be and as he shall look abroad from his throne, and see circling around him, countless thousands of happy beings; every countenance reflecting his image, every heart burning with his love, every voice uttering his praise. He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied. He will unite all in one family; here the mind of the infant and the archangel will meet and harmonise in him. He shall dwell among them and feed them, and lead them to living fountains of water; He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. Here you see him as a Hero, a Benefactor, and as a centre of Attraction. We have only been able to place these few outlines on the great map; we wish you to see him in this light. Much of the Old and New Testament is employed to develop these three views of the Messiah. The design of God is, that by Jesus Christ every sinner on the globe shall be restored, and Christ is the oracle of God to make this announcement to the world. But he that heareth not this prophet, shall be cast off from the people; not merely from the Jewish Church, or from the Christian Church, but from the triumphal Church-from heaven. If Moses' law was honored, and every transgression received a just recompense of reward, by what rule of reasoning can the sinner who rejects Jesus Christ hope to escape.

Who is that on the mount yonder? Jesus, in a happy mood has taken up three of his favoured disciples to the mountain summit; they knew not, why, Moses the great lawgiver alights among them, nobody knew where he was buried, but here he is; he was the next greatest to Christ. There comes Elijah, that burning and shining light, that great reformer. There they are, Moses and Elijah," the

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giver and restorer of the law, and Jesus the end of the law. How bright their garments shine, brighter than the light. How deep and intense their conversation, they are conversing about the death of Christ, about the bloody cross and its grand results. The cloud of divine glory overshadows them; the three disciples seem all in confusion, overwhelmed with the glory of God, they scarcely know what they say. Peter says, Let us pitch three booths, one for Thee, one for Moses, and one for Elias. Master, it is good for us to be here." Now God sometimes acts as well as speak. Whe do they all meet together? Why to show that they were all associated and united in one great scheme. God takes away the two great saints, and leaves Jesus alone. Hark! God speaks from the cloud, he says, "Hear ye Him." This was the last time God spake to man. Whenever the voice

of God is heard speaking to man, it is always on some great and important subject. Jesus honored the Father, and the Father honored Him. When Christ was baptized, the Holy Dove, the third person in the Trinity descended, and pitched upon Him.

"Never introduce a God," said a philosopher, "unless it is on an occasion worthy of Him." Never was there a more appropriate sentiment uttered than this. There was no other person great enough, or wise enough to point out the Son of God. The Holy Ghost only could tell who the Son of God was. Let then Moses and Elijah retire, and hark! God proclaims to you, hear ye Him." Christ is therefore now the only Oracle of God to man."

Let us make a practical application of this subject: 1. Let me address you who are unconverted. God has spoken to you by his Son. And what does he say to you. "He that believeth shall be saved; he that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, this is the gospel, the good news from heaven. The Oracle utters this great truth. Philosophers had long been searching for it, they tried a thousand schemes, and every one failed. And as they sunk into their graves, crying, "What is truth? Where is the path to happiness?" They heard nothing but the miserable echo of their own voice. But the Oracle has announced to you salvation. He says also, "He that believeth not shall be damned." And if man is threatened with damnation, it must be because he is guilty and deserves it. Jesus is the

Lamb of God, and he has perfectly removed all obstruction between man and God. He has taken away the sin of the world, He has taken away your sin, so that your sin does not now stand in the way of your coming to God, you may now approach the God of mercy and live. If you do not therefore come in his name for the remission of sins, you stand in your own light. Do you not see that this is the great point in the gospel, that it offers you a free pardon? I ask do you see this point? There are then but two things in the universe that can prevent your salvation, and secure your damnation, viz., impenitency and unbelief, The gospel brings you relief, it offers you help; and, what! are you without this help? During life's fitful fever tossed on the troubled sea of passions, you are like a frail bark, without pilot, rudder, or compass; no star above to guide you, no voice to comfort you, no lighthouse on the dreary waste pathway to show you a peaceful harbour, no shore beyond it except the burning shore of hell. The gospel sounds and the flashings of the Spirit ever and anon are flung across your path, but you shut your eyes and ears against it. Jesus Christ is empowered to bestow eternal life upon you; He has laid in His death a foundation for your restoration to happiness, holiness, and heaven. Here is a foundation that justifies God and man, that at the same time glorifies the divine character, and secures the salvation of the believing sinner. I ask do you see this point, that Christ is a foundation—an only foundation? Do you see that you must step on it or perish? Suppose Jesus Christ is taken out of the way altogether, can you put anything in His place? If there be but one Saviour, are you wise in rejecting Him, will you not one day look back upon every moment during which you rejected Jesus, as a horrid dream, and amid the thunders of eternity, the shrieks of lost souls, and the melancholy murmurings of the liquid lake be maddened into fury at your insanity in rejecting the only Saviour? Do you see the heniousness of this sin, a sin that brought down heaven's fiercest malediction on the Jews, and uprooted and scattered them over the nations of the earth; a sin that is the bitterest ingredient in the cup of the damned, a sin that will make the flames of hell burn fiercer? You reject him, and God will reject you, and in doing so He will only be treating you just as you treated Jesus, just as you treated the Father, and treated

yourself; for in rejecting Christ you reject your own interest, you judge yourself unworthy of eternal life.

2. Let us look at this matter in its bearing on the Church. Christ is the Oracle of God to the Church. Not only is He a Saviour, but He is the lawgiver. Christ is the head of the Church, He is the head of the hierarchy above, and His law is binding on earth, and binding in heaven. Christianity is not a mere science like astronomy, affecting only the intellect; it affects man's whole nature, it regenerates man, saves man, gives him power to obey, makes him live for ever. Christ is the Oracle of God. There are around you millions of perishing souls, the Oracle bids you pray for them and speak to them, and tell them that Jesus died for them. Hear ye Him.

THE REPENTANCE OF THE SINNERS OF NINEVEH.

THE LAST SERMON PREACHED BY THE REV. D. STONER.

Luke 11 c. 32 v. The men of Nineveh shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."

The divine benevolence of Jesus to the bodies, and especially to the souls of the people admirably discloses itself in His public instructions. Sometimes He endeavours to alarm his hearers out of their sins, by solemnly announcing the consequences of transgression;-sometimes to allure them out of their sins, by the most affectionate appeals to their hearts; sometimes, by the most convincing arguments and powerful expostulations, to reason them out of their sins ;and sometimes, as in the text, to shame them out of their sins, by comparing their evil conduct with the good conduct of others, who enjoyed inferior privileges. The text applied originally to the unrepenting Jews, may, on the ground of our superior advantages, be applied to the impenitent sinners of the present generation. Let us institute a comparison between the men of Nineveh and the impenitent sinners of this congregation, First, in their sins; particularly idolatry, the principle of which consists in the love and pursuit of any