Christ, that there are now many in our own land, as well as elsewhere, who are cleansed in the blood, sanctified by the Spirit, and passing to the enjoyment of the presence of Jesus Christ; and who, like the faithful worthies, whose pure religion is noticed by Malachi, and approved by Jehovah, "fear the Lord, speak often one to another, and think upon his name. Let us consider,

I. The excellences of good men which are here celebrated.

II. The approbation of them which God here testifies.

I. The excellences of good men which are here celebrated. And you will observe that they are more particularly distinguished by their holy fear of God, their pious meditation upon him, and their Christian fellowship one with another.

1. The first excellent trait which we behold in their character is, their holy fear of God.

They are said to be "they that feared the Lord." And "who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name?" The Divine Being, brethren, claims your reverence, and "blessed are they that fear the Lord, that greatly delight in his commandments." The persons mentioned in our text were like Obadiah, who feared the Lord greatly they were like Abraham, of whom the angel testified after his trial saying, "I know that thou fearest God" they were like the churches mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles, who "walked in the fear of the Lord" they were like Cornelius, who was 66 a devout man, and one that feared God with all his house."

This Divine principle, far from being the produce of the barren soil of nature, must be wrought in us by the power of the Spirit; for one of the

promises of the new covenant is, "I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me." It springs not from a sense of guilt, for this fear is cast out by Divine love; but it induces love to Jesus, it teaches us to hate evil, it prompts to ready obedience, and it leads to the throne of God; for where he is, there shall also his servants be. 2. These Old Testament believers were noted for their pious meditation upon God.

We are told that they thought upon his name." Ah, how unlike those who have not God in any of their thoughts! how unlike many, must I not say most of us, who suffer our minds to be so employed with earthly things, as to let our God, our Saviour go! These men of God, while some trusted in chariots, and some in horses, remembered the name of the Lord in the multitude of their thoughts within them, his comforts delighted their souls; their meditation of him was sweet; they were glad in the Lord, their minds were stayed upon him; the desire of their souls was to him and to the remembrance of his name. And do you know any thing of this? Have you ever enjoyed much of God in the secret silence of the mind? Do you daily, hourly, in your desires and contemplations, rise to the heavenly world? Isaac went out into the fields to meditate; upon whom do your thoughts delight to turn? There is enough in the name of God for contemplation review what he is in himself, and especially what he has done for you; frequently contemplate that work of redemption, which is to be your wonder forever and ever: think of Jesus with thoughts of affection and desire let your minds trace his actions; let the eye of faith behold him in glory pleading your cause; let it penetrate the cloud that separates between

him and you; let it realize the happy time when you shall come before him. And if these are your contemplations, the effects of them will appear; the world will behold you as the Israelites beheld Moses when he came from the mount, with his face shining exceedingly. Your whole deportment will savor of it, and your conversation will be in heaven, from whence you look for the Saviour.

3. These men, of whom the world were not worthy, were remarkable on account of their Christian fellowship one with another.

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They spake often one to another :" and no doubt they spake of the best things; they considered one another, to provoke one another to love, and to good works, and so much the more as they saw the day approaching. We can imagine them saying, "Come unto me, all ye that fear God, and I will tell you what he has done for my soul." Methinks I hear them together reviewing the Divine dealings towards them till their hearts burn within them, while they talk to one another by the way. They were to one another what Jonathan was to David, when he strengthened his hands in God, thus proving that two are better than one. And do we not know that " he that walketh with wise men shall be wise, whilst a companion of fools shall be destroyed?"

How truly deserving of imitation was the conduct of Anna, the prophetess, who came into the temple when Simeon was blessing Jesus, "and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Israel." We see, also, fine instances of the same communicative disposition in the disciples who conversed together about Christ, and brought one another to him. So let us, then, comfort ourselves together, and edify one another, and exhort

one another daily, "looking diligently, lest any one of us fail of the grace of God.”

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We know that men, like Simeon and Levi, are brethren in iniquity; but "O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honor, be thou not united." They invite one another for the worst of purposes; why should not we for the best? They say, Come with us, we shall fill our houses with spoil; cast in thy lot with us, let us have one purse;" but let us turn our eyes from them to the select society of Christians, and "behold how good and how pleasant a thing it is for brethren to dwell together in unity and love." They are all loved with the same everlasting love, all united to the same precious Jesus, all travelling to the same glorious heaven: surely then those communications ought to be, must be sweet. Learn to bear one another's burdens, to pity one another's faults, to pray for one another's best interests; so shall you copy the example of the best of men, and evidence that there is no bond, in heaven or in earth, so uniting as the love of Christ, which begets, preserves, and powerfully constrains to love.

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While infidelity prevailed over many in those days, yet the grace of God influenced some: the Spirit of Christ dwelt in them, the presence of Christ was enjoyed by them, even that presence which turns mourning to joy, and death to life which cherishes our weak faith, and illuminates our dark understandings; which adds new life to fainting hearts, and would make a heaven of hell. It is our mercy, that whenever two or three are gathered together in his name, there his presence is, to chill our corruptions, and bring heaven into our souls.

Having considered the excellences of good men, which are here celebrated, let us now notice,

II. The approbation which God here testifies of them.

And, taking up the ideas of our text, we observe, that this approbation appears, in his paying kind attention to their employment, in his granting them a share in his affectionate remembrances, and in his promising to own and spare them in the day of judgment.

1. Let us see how God evidences his approbation of them, in paying kind attention to their employment for "the Lord hearkened and heard it."

God, indeed, has searched us, and known us; "for there is not a word in our tongues, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether!" and so vast is his notice, that "for every idle word that men speak, they shall give account in the day of judgment." But in a peculiar manner, in a gracious way, does he attend to the groanings of the prisoners, to the cries of the needy, to the conversation of fellow-pilgrims. When you, brethren, unite in inquiring, What has God wrought for our souls, for our families, for the churches to which we belong, or for the world at large? the Lord hearkens and hears it.

With real pleasure he sees, he listens to the public testimonies you give of the excellences of his cause, for, O glorious truth! the Lord taketh pleasure in the prosperity of his servants. Think not that the heavens are brass against you, or that he takes no notice of your actions, for he knows and he approves the way of the righteous. What real consolation does this convey to our minds! for though our spiritual conversation may be neglected by most, and held in the greatest contempt