'Till the last gleam of life decay,
In one eternal SABBATH DAY!"

Such a person will not be kept away from meeting by any trivial excuse. He has some regard for the feelings of his preacher. He is not troubled with the clouds, or the storms, or a Sunday sickness! When that day returns, it finds him in his place, anxiously waiting for the words of eternal life. Such a man is a Universalist, and is "zealously affected" in the cause he has espoused.

I have the rich satisfaction of knowing that there are some before me of this character, some who delight to sit within the walls of salvation and the gates of praise-some who love the services of the sanctuary and some who have listened to every message of peace which I have had the pleasure of proclaiming in this temple of our God. They are the persons who build up the cause of truth, and accelerate its onward march. They are the persons who strengthen the hands and encourage the heart of a preacher.

Finally.

good thing.

O, happy souls that pray
Where God appoints to hear!
O, happy men that pay

Their constant service there!

They praise thee still; and happy they
Who love the way to Zion's hill."

The doctrine which we believe is a
The cause in which we have enlist-
It is the cause of truth, of God,

ed is a good one.

and of humanity; and it has the prayers of every Christian for its ultimate success. Let us, therefore, be "zealously affected always," in its defence. You have many reasons, as a Society, to thank God and take courage. Your exertions have been wonderfully blest of Heaven. No weapon formed against you has prospered, and every tongue which has arisen in judgment against you, has been condemned. The commencement of another year finds you united, prosperous and happy. The gospel is to be preached to you in future on each returning Sabbath. And the Lord is appearing in

his glory to build up Zion.

Let us, then, one and all, commence the New Year with a renewed zeal and ardor in that cause which God delights to bless. Let us be unitedly engaged live more devoted to the truth - rally around the same standard-and go forward, hand in hand, as a band of brothers. Then shall we be more abundantly blessed in the future the work of the Lord will prosper in our hands and the flame of light and glory, which has been kindled upon Zion's hill, will continue to burn on, until this moral atmosphere shall be purified, and every heart shall rejoice in the life-giving energies of celestial love!

My brethren and friends, I leave these remarks for your consideration. Ponder them well. Treasure them up in your hearts; and may God enable you to remember them continually. And at last, when years with us shall cease their revolu

tions, when the fluctuations, and changes, and trials of life with us shall be over, may we be admitted to the splendors and joys of that world, where, with beloved friends and a ransomed universe, we shall spend an eternity, in exploring the works, admiring the providence, and celebrating the praises of Him, to whom be glory forever. Amen.

SERMON IV.

Christ our Rock.

"That Rock was Christ."-1 Cor. x. 4.

WHATEVER relates to the character of Christ to his labors of love to his interesting life, or his triumphant death, is looked upon with the deepest interest by every believer in his Gospel. The grand and lofty emblems the rich types and shadows and the glowing figures which the sacred writers use to set forth the Son of God, are well calculated to fill every heart with admiration, and cause even the unbeliever to acknowledge their grandeur and power. The Redeemer of the world is called Jesus, because he shall save his people from their sins. He is called Christ, because he was anointed by God, to redeem mankind. He is called the light of the world, because he came to give light to them that sit in darkness. and the shadow of death. He is called a shepherd, because he came in search of his father's sheep, which had strayed from the fold; and he is said to be the good shepherd, because he will never give up the search until every lost sheep is found until every wanderer is brought back to the fold of truth — and until there is but "one fold

and one shepherd." He is called the resurrection. and the life, because by him came the resurrection from the dead, and through him man is to receive the joys of a spiritual and immortal life; and so on. Whenever the inspired penmen speak of Christ, they use such a figure, or language, as is calculated to express the greatness of his power, the divinity of his character, the loftiness of his purposes, the purity of his life, and the boundless love displayed in his sufferings and death.

;

In my text, Christ is compared to a rock. The Apostle is speaking of the children of Israel, in their journey from Egypt to the land of Canaan — and says, "They did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink for they drank of that spiritual rock that went with them that rock was Christ." By turning to the 17th chapter of Exodus, we have the circumstances to which the Apostle alludes. Moses and the children of Israel, in their journey from the dominion of Pharaoh to the land of promise, found themselves in a wilderness destitute of water. The people beginning to murmur, Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, "What shall I do unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the people, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy rod wherewith thou smotest the river take in thine hand, and go. Behold I will stand before thee, there upon the rock in Horeb ; and thou shalt smite the rock, and there shall