my brethren, it may often happen that the most important spiritual interests may require that I persist fervently and unconditionally in requesting God to grant some temporal petition. Though asking for the things of time, I may cry out like David, when he prayed to be delivered from his enemies, “O Lord my rock; be not silent to me; lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit."—"O my God, I trust in thee; let me not be ashamed!" My request for temporal benefits rests upon the express promise of God; for I have the words firmly engraved on my heart-" And all things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive." My spiritual life is so closely connected with the granting of my prayer, that my faith would suffer shipwreck were the Lord not to hear me. In these circumstances, could you be justified in saying to me—" "No, it is wrong in this emergency to hope with such confidence in the Divine assistance; here you must doubt and pray with certain limitations!"

III. The manner in which promises are accomplished which have been grasped by the hand of faith, they know best who have personally experienced them. It is the opinion of many, that they are seldom accomplished until after many struggles and trials; or at least that though we have much to contend with, that is no reason why our faith should waver. This was the experience of the saints of old :— When Joshua believed that he had now only to make a division of the promised land, the men of Ai came up against Israel, and the promises of God seemed for a time as though they were not to be fulfilled. When Abraham, after hearing the words of God, believed himself certain of a numerous posterity, he was commanded to take his only son Isaac, whom he loved, and offer him up a sacrifice upon Mount Moriah. When the sailors to whom Paul cried out" And now I exhort you to be of good cheer;

for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you!"when they believed his words, and in spirit beheld themselves already saved; their ship must first be stranded, and with it the probability of their deliverance. In short, is there any among the saints of old, who ever received the accomplishment of a promise, without having their faith previously exercised? In Moses we have a striking example of this; for while he was watching the sheep of his father-in-law, Jethro, in the desert near Mount Horeb, the Lord appeared unto him, and said, "Certainly I will be with thee; and this shall be a token unto thee that I have sent thee: when thou hast brought forth the people out of Egypt, ye shall serve God upon this mountain." With these words the Lord virtually planted his standard upon the summit of Horeb; though immediately afterwards it seemed to wave idly in the wind; for there was little probability, that Moses along with the children of Israel would ever sacrifice here; and yet God had said, and his words would surely remain stedfast, "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain." Innumerable difficulties and hindrances arose to render the accomplishment of this promise, to human eyes, well nigh impossible; but God kept his word, and Moses, though after many delays, was enabled to do so. Pharaoh with his host rose up against the people, but Moses did not despair, for he still heard the voice of God resounding from Horeb, "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain!" The Red Sea, with its raging waves, leagued itself with Pharaoh; "Alas!" thought Moses, when he beheld dimly beyond the billows, the banner of God waving on the distant height, "Never shall we be able to reach it!" But the standard beckoned, and the voice of the Eternal again repeated, "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain!" Difficulty after difficulty was surmounted, barrier after barrier was thrown down, until at last the Israelites, having overcome all opposition,

stood in triumph on Mount Horeb.

The smoke of the

incense now curled joyfully up to heaven, and Moses and the Israelites could praise, in hymns of joy, the faithfulness of the God of Jacob, who had now fulfilled his promise, "Ye shall serve God upon this mountain!"

Yes, my brethren, God will stand to his word, if ye rely upon it in faith: only believe with Abraham, "Though I slay the son of so many promises, yet God is able for his word's sake to raise him again from the dead." And most assuredly he will do it; sooner will heaven and earth pass away than one single word of his fall to the ground. How many instances could I relate to prove that he will keep his covenant unto those that trust in him; unto those who with firm and stedfast grasp lay hold of the divine promises; and who in every 'emergency rely upon his word! They proclaim amongst their brethren-" For his name's sake the Lord will deliver us!" And in fact the Lord does deliver them, time after time, in the most wonderful and astonishing manner, fulfilling in them the words of the Psalmist, "Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!"

Since the promises of God are thus performed; why do ye grieve and sorrow any more, and why are lamentations heard in our streets? Can ye not read the words of consolation which are interwoven through the whole Bible? Are they not the steps which form the ladder by which ye ascend in prayer to God, secure in the conviction that he will not refuse his promised aid and assistance? Let Abraham teach you what you have to rest upon. Verily, verily, the arm of the Lord is never shortened; He is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever; and what he once said unto Martha, he says unto all, "If thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God." Amen.

THE BLOOD OF SPRINKLING.

EXODUS XII. 13.

pass over

And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are; and when I see the blood, I will you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

If the choice I have made of to-day's text surprise you, my brethren, I must either believe that you are unaware of the symbolical depth and significancy of the history from which it is selected; or else that you are not acquainted with the aim and object of the Lord's supper, to which it ultimately refers. If that rule of the ancient fathers is to be applied anywhere, "that one should read the Old Testament as though it were written throughout with the blood of Christ;" most especially is it applicable to the deliverance of the children of Israel out of Egypt. The opinion of Luther is, that "there is no passage in the whole Bible which may not be compared to a fruittree, from which, if one know how to shake it, abundance of refreshing and enlivening fruit will fall down," and this is particularly applicable, where the Scriptures relate how the chosen people cast off the yoke of Pharaoh. Here, all has a deep, symbolical, and mysterious signification, which only finds its explanation in the miracles on Mount

Golgotha, and at the cross of Christ. The meditations of to-day will, I trust, convince us of this, if, guided by our text, we contemplate the efficacy of the blood of Christ; and for this purpose let us direct our attention to the houses sprinkled with blood, and to the great passover.

I. The words of our text transport us to the dwellings of the children of Israel in Egypt. Regarding them merely as houses, there is little to be seen; but they have an allegorical significancy, and refer to things the most important and interesting. We ourselves are dwelling-places, and the Scriptures frequently make use of this comparison with regard to us. "Whose house are we," are the words of the Apostle Paul. In another place we are called living temples; and elsewhere we are compared to a city, or a number of habitations, in which there are various denizens. Who does not remember the beautiful allegory of Solomon, in the twelfth chapter of Ecclesiastes, where he compares man to a house, and speaks of the keepers of the house, which are the hands and arms; the grinders, which are the teeth; the windows, which are the eyes; the doors opening to the streets, which are the lips; and so on, following out the comparison. The Scriptures describe those who are regenerated as the abode of God and of his Spirit; while in the others Satan has his portion, for they are the dwelling-places of sin, the world, and the flesh. In the unconverted world, as in a city, there are many different species of houses, some having a joyful and a happy exterior, but within nothing but misery and discontent; others having splendid shields and arms emblazoned without, while we find nothing within but low occupations, and foolish if not vicious pursuits taking up the minds of their inhabitants. They are tombs of moral decay, abodes of corruption, and dwelling-places of sin and of death. The Israelitish house,. to which our text refers, stands in the utmost danger, for

G