of a mediator." These terrific signs, these voices, these sounds, these trumpets, these fires, and all the terrific scenery by which the Lord God Almighty was surrounded on Mount Sinai, seem to have been managed by the agency of angels. : Ex Son of Man-now is the time. In the thirty-fourth chapter of the book of Exodus we read, "When Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. And Moses called unto them; and Aaron and all the rulers of the congregation returned unto him; and Moses talked with them. And after-consuming fire," and if the Lord Jeward all the children of Israel came nigh and he gave them in commandment all that the Lord had spoken with him in Mount Sinai. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a veil on his face. But when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with him, he took the veil off until he came out." The glory of the Lord was manifested in the face of Moses, and he put a veil upon his face when he came to speak to the people. When Jesus Christ, the true Mediator, first visited the earth in great humility, to speak to man from God, he cast a veil over his face in order that men might look at the glory of God and live; for he that hath seen me hath seen the Father," saith the Lord Jesus. There was then a veil over the glory; but now the Lord Jesus is gone into the holy place, and has taken off the veil. When he returns to the earth he will not put the veil on again, but he will return in the unveiled glory of his Father, with the shining face which he now wears on the Father's throne, the glorious appearance of the risen man as he is now the object of worship, of wonder, of adoration, and praise, to angels and archangels and all the host of heaven. Without losing any of that glory, without veiling himself in order to enable mortals to behold him, he will return to the earth in the glory of the Father, surrounded by the wonderworking angels. sus returns in the glory of God with the angels, whom he maketh "a flame of fire"-then, except a man in the mean time, before Jesus returns, be brought into union with Jesus, be made a part of him, part and parcel of the glory, he must be consumed by the glory. Except a man be born again he cannot stand the manifestation of the kingdom of God. It is in anticipation of this that the Prophet exclaims, "Who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner's fire, and like fuller's sope. And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer to the Lord an offering in righteousness. And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the Lord of Hosts." Now, then, is the time to draw near to Jesus-now is the time to cultivate a holy intimacy and acquaintance with him-now, while the glory of Jehovah the Lord of Hosts is veiled by the tenderness and sympathy of Jesus the My brethren, seek ye the Lord now while he may be found. He may be found now. Jesus is ready to receive any and all of you that come to him. His arms are open for sinners. He hides his glories for the present that you may come. His language to you still is what it was to his disciples"Peace be unto you." He has restrained himself from the fulfilment of his glorious purposes. He is longsuffering-not as man accounts longsuffering-but as God himself accounts long-suffering. And the reason is, that he is not willing that any of you should perish, but that you should all come to repentance. The time of repentance is only the time while he remains behind the veil. When he once puts forth his majesty and comes to the earth in glory, repentance is at an end for ever. No more exhortations to repentance then; no more entreaties for conversion then; but swift eternal judgment from God. Therefore now is the time. The Lord Jesus, who hath declared that he will come in glory, still now waits in pity, still now waits in mercy, still now waits and proclaims salvation through his precious blood, that a man may put repose in Christ Jesus the Lord as Mediator, and be saved-that a man may become a member of Christ, and instead of being terrified at the coming glory, become a partaker of it, an actor in the judgment that shall follow the manifestation of God. Now is the appointed time-now is the day of salvation. Another important truth connected with the whole subject set before us is, THAT ALL CHRIST'S BELIEVING PEOPLE, BOTH THOSE WHO HAVE FALLEN ASLEEP IN HIM, AND THOSE THAT HAVE BEEN TRANSLATED THAT THEY SHOULD NOT SEE DEATH, SHALL APPEAR WITH HIM IN GLORY. Elias was translated-he did not sleep, but was changed. Moses slept, but he was changed also. Elias and Moses appeared in glory with Jesus, talking with him; they were his partners in the glory, which glory was revealed as a specimen of what shall be. The Apostle Paul says concerning the whole body of Jesus, the elect of God, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump." The body which Jesus took to himself, consisting of many members, may well be considered as a type or figure of his whole mystical body, consisting of many members, yet one body in him. Some of them have long since fallen asleep; their flesh is mouldered to its kindred dust, and their spirits absent from the body are present with the Lord. Some of them have but just fallen asleep; the traces of health and strength and beauty are scarcely faded from their cheek; their flesh is not yet mouldered, but corruption is just beginning its work; and their spirits, too, absent from the body are present with the Lord. Some of them are still alive in the flesh, born again of God, struggling against sin, panting after communion with God, eager and earnest in prayer and in all appointed means, for a growing resemblance unto Jesus the holy One in perfect righteousness. Some of them are yet alive in the flesh but dead in sin; the still small voice of divine grace hath never yet whispered in their hearts, Awake. Elected, predestinated to the adoption of sons, but not yet called, they walk amongst men and are known only to God, whose whole family is written both in heaven and in earth. Some of them are not yet born; but their fathers or their grandfathers are sustained of God in his providence, because that he sees and knows that through them and by their means he is bringing into the world the accomplishment of his elect. But all these are of one body in Christ; and because he liveth they must live also. Those of them who shall be alive in the flesh when the Lord shall come in the glory of his Father, shall not go before those that have fallen asleep in the Lord. It is as easy for him to recall the slumbering ashes, the dissolved remains of the body, as it is to change the parts of the body that have not gone into dissolution; and both shall be done at one and the same time. The Apostle says, "We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. For the trumpet shall sound" and then two things shall take place -"the dead shall be raised, and we shall be changed." The dead shall be raised first, if there be priority at all: it is the raising of the dead first, and then the changing of the living; but both done all at once, at the sounding of the trumpet. Then concerning this whole body so raised and changed, it is written-and the language is most delightful, full of consolation and strength-"This corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is made the match, that laid the train, that fired the house. He has seen the heart that planned the lie, and the tongue that uttered it. he has seen the heart that was deceived by it, and he has sympathized with the wound thus unjustly inflicted. He has seen the artful designing mind which took advantage of the weakness, or fancied weakness, of every countenance, to speak words of flattery, and then boasted, with mingled complacency and malice, of having pleased only to deceive. He has told us among whom to rank those sporting liars-with the madman, and the man who throws about firebrands and says, Am I not in sport? These and all such as them written, Death is swallowed up in | and darkness and light have been alike victory." And then shall be heard to him. He has seen the hand that the language of triumph, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?" And then mark how here, as elsewhere in the Holy Scriptures, the glory of Christian privilege is made the groundwork of Christian duty. "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord." The Lord himself, my beloved, shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise. Then such of the brethren as remain and are alive upon the earth at the time, shall be caught up with the raised ones, and go together to meet the Lord in the air; and so the whole Church shall ever be with the Lord. And to those among you who are mourners, I would say with much affection, "Wherefore, beloved brethren, comfort one another with these words." Thirdly, THE LORD AT HIS COMING IN HIS GLORY WITH HIS ANGELS SHALL Nay, REWARD EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO all the dishonest, all the secret wickednesses which now pass unheeded, all the things which the devil makes use of to arm the minds of men against God, aye, against the very existence of God-all these things he will bring into judgment. We believe that he will come to be our judge. He himself says and let no man dare to gainsay it" He will reward every man according to his works." And now, my beloved friends, if you would stand before the coming Saviour with joy, deny yourselves, take up your cross, and follow him. You must ascertain for yourselves in what your cross consists-in what concern, and at what stage of it, the interests of the world present such a difficulty in your way as to make you swerve from the path of obedience-in what concern of your life, and at what stage of it, Christian consistency becomes invested with difficulties which make you pause, and determine for ease rather than for truth. You must each with honesty of intention-for you may easily deceive yourselves here, if you wish to do it, for the devil is fruitful in expedients-you must ascertain each for himself where the burden begins to gall, where the struggle begins to be desperate. And when the things that are against God begin to exercise a sway over you, apply these words of the Lord," If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and come after me." One of the best apostolical specifics against worldly mindedness is, the sudden appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ: "Let your moderation be known unto all menthe Lord is at hand." Consider not merely the vanity of worldly possessions and enjoyments-they are dear to flesh and blood, and they cannot be despised by any effort so to do. Consider not merely the decay of nature and all things around us-they are renewed every spring, and, for any thing we can tell, all things go on as they have since the fathers fell asleep. Consider not merely the uncertainty of human life while health and strength remain, death seems at a distance, and the mind of man is clever at avoiding its contemplation. But consider the Son of Man's coming in the glory of his Father with the angels. Against this neither health nor strength, neither the long-established usages of mankind, nor the uniformity of God's dealings with mankind in nature and providence-nothing of this sort gives the slightest security against the glorious truth now before us. The world will be taken by surprise. The parliament house-the exchange-the counting-house-the market-the shops the drawing-room-the cottage the field-all will be going on just as they are now, when the trumpet shall sound; there will be no more warning than we now have. It is highly probable, that up to the very last moment of the Lord's absence, no individual | will have more warning than you have now. There may be what we may call more warning, but our minds will get away from their influence as they have before: we may not be at that very time under any greater impression than we have often been within these walls—than we are at this time. Watch, I say, my dear brethren; for the Son of Man cometh at such an hour as ye think not. Watch with joy-watch with gladness: lift up your heads with delight, for your redemption draweth nigh. The night is far spent-the day is at hand. This is the time in which the thief goes to his work-in which the incendiary goes to his work-in which the ambitious man plies his trade of bribery to drive other men to a desperate act which he is afraid to do himself. This is the night time-the time of oppression-the time of dishonesty and wickedness the time of all things that make us sigh and cry and weep for a better state of things. But the day is at hand. All attempts to reveal the light, though the duty of those that have power to make them, and though successful in a measure, and blessed of God—all attempts to remove the night upon a large scale fail, until the sun ariseth, until the day dawn, and joy and peace and glory be established over the face of the earth. Lord Jesus, so come. Pray for it, ye that love the Lord; and grace, mercy, and peace be with you, and keep your hearts and minds, through Jesus Christ. Amen. A Sermon DELIVERED BY THE REV. H. PERRING, Isaiah, lxi. 1, 2.—" The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." to alarm and to arouse, as well as to comfort—to hold forth the threatenings no less than the promises, the judgments no less than the consolations of the Scriptures, is the duty and office of the Preacher of the Gospel. To discharge this duty, to fulfil this office on the present occasion, I purpose-and may the Spirit of God assist that purpose-to set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse-to proclaim to you in the language of the text, on the one hand, "the acceptable year of the Lord," and on the other, "the day of vengeance of our God." First, THE ACCEPTABLE YEAR OF THE LORD. The Prophet in using this expression seems evidently to have alluded to that divine institution which forms so remarkable a feature in the Jewish dispensation, the year of Jubilee. In this year not only every Israelite who had been reduced to a state of servitude and bondage, was set free and restored to his liberty and friends, but every estate, also, which from any cause had been alienated, reverted to its original possessor or to his family. A year thus divinely appointed for such important purposes, and bringing with it such distinguished privileges, might well be called, "the acceptable year of the Lord ;" and with singular propriety might the Prophet when speaking of the office of Christ allude to this institution, as illus. trating the blessings of that dispensation, which he by his preaching would produce. In fact the whole institution of the Jubilee was typical. While it served to distinguish and benefit the people to whom it was prescribed, it was designed also to exhibit to them a lively representation of the spiritual privileges which the Gospel offered to the world. What indeed are those privileges, but a deliverance from bondage and a restoration to our original inheritance? What does the Gospel propose, but to redeem us from sin and to bring us to heaven? The Gospel finds us in a state of spiritual bondage by nature and by practice, sinners bound over to judgment, and under the dominion of sin; but it offers to free us from this state; it proclaims liberty to the captives, and the open. ing of the prison to them that are bound." It offers to deliver us from condemnation, from the strength and the power and the tyranny of Satan, from the sting of death, from the prison of the grave and from the pains of hell. On the other hand, it also opens to us the kingdom of heaven; it proposes to invest us with a new title to our forfeited inheritance; it promises to put us in possession, and perfectly to qualify us for the enjoyment of its pure and spiritual delights. Such are the privileges, such are the blessings which the Gospel brings with it. Hence, then, the acceptable year of the Lord, in the sense in which the Prophet uses the expression, evidently denotes the period of the Gospel dispensation, the time during which its spiritual privileges should be freely offered to all who will accept them. But there is another period also to be proclaimed, THE DAY OF VENGEANCE OF OUR GOD. In the writings of the Prophets we find frequent mention made of the day of vengeance. Thus in the thirty fourth chapter of the Prophecies of Isaiah, the Prophet in the midst of a description of predicted judgment declares, "For it is the day of the Lord's vengeance, and the year of recompenses for the controversy of Zion." In the forty-sixth chapter of Jeremiah, we meet with the following passage-"For this is the day of the Lord God of hosts, a day of vengeance, that he may avenge him of his adversaries." But it would be superfluous to adduce more passages on the subject; for not only the prophetical writings, but the Scriptures throughout confirm the same fact. They all with one voice speak of an appointed period, by whatever name it may be called, whether, as in the text, the day of vengeance, the day of recompenses, the day of indignation, or the day of the Lord in which the Almighty will rise to judgment and will avenge himself upon his enemies. Such a period Christ according to the text was anointed to proclaim; and such a period he did proclaim. He distinctly predicted two events in which these denunciations of judgment would be awfully accomplished. One was the destruction of their city, and the overthrow of the Jewish Church and State. The other was that consummation of wrath which at the last day will be poured on the corrupt and apostate part of the Christian church, |