saw them surrounded by ten thousand converts to his grace. He saw the veil fall from the heart of the Jews; and heard their bitter mourning as they stood looking at him whom they had pierced. He saw Ethiopia stretching out her hands unto God; and heard her, as the slave-chain fell from her loins, exulting in a double liberty. He heard his name shouted from land to land as the watchword of salvation, and marked how its every echo shook and brought down the pillars of the empire of sin. He saw the race of Ishmael that now traverses the desert tracts of Arabia-the castes of India with their numbers infinite-the national Chinese-the Tartar hordes-the unknown and snowconcealed inhabitants of the north-the tribes of Europe—and all the islands of the sea; he saw them flocking into his kingdom-his grace the theme of every tongue-his glory the object of every eye. He saw of the travail of his soul, and was satisfied; his soul was satisfied! Glorious intimation! Even in the hour of its travail, it was satisfied. What an unlimited vision of human happiness must it have been! Happiness not bounded by time, but filling the expanse of eternity! His prophetic eye caught even then a view of the infinite result in heaven! His ear caught the far, far-distant shout of his redeemed and glorified church, singing, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!' Brethren, if we would do justice to our office as witnesses for God-if we would catch the true inspiration of our work—we, too, must often cross, as he did, the threshold of eternity— transport ourselves ten thousand ages hence into the blessedness of heaven, and behold the fruits of our instrumentality there, still adding new joy to angels, new crowns to Jesus, new tides of glory around the throne of God. Realizing that scene, we should gird up our loins afresh, as if a new command had come down from heaven, calling us by name to be witnesses for God.

The Obligations of the Church.

"Brethren, according to the theory of the Christian church, every one of its members is a witness for Christ. In making you, Christian, a partaker of his grace, he not only intended your own salvation—he intended the salvation of others by your instrumentality-he intended that you should go forth from his presence as a witness, conveying to the world the cheering intelligence that he is still pardoning and saving sinners-sitting on his throne of mercy, waiting to be gracious to them, as he has been to you. He says to you, in effect, "You have given yourselves to me, and I give you to the world—give you as my witnesses: look on yourselves as dedicated to this officededicated from eternity." Brethren, your very business, as Christians, your calling, is to propagate your religion.

"Never was there an age when the wide field of human misery was so accurately measured, and so fully explored, as the present; and, consequently, there never was a time when the obligation of the Christian church to bring out all its divine resources and remedies, was so binding and so great. Never was there an age when science attempted so much, and promised so largely-challenging the gospel, in effect, to run with it a race of philanthropy; and, consequently, never was there a time when it so much concerned the church to vindicate her character as the true angel of mercy to the world; and to shew that, not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of God, the wounds of the world must be healed. Never was there a time when the elements of universal society exhibited so much restlessness and change,-when the ancient superstitions exhibited so many signs of dotage and approaching death,-when the field of the world was so extensively broken up, and ready for cultivation; broken up, not by the ordinary ploughshare of human

instrumentality, but by strange convulsions from beneath, and by bolts from an invisible hand above; and, consequently, never was there a time which so loudly called on the Christian sower to go forth and sow. And never was there a land blessed with such peculiar facilities as Britain, for acting as a witness for Christ to the world. Why is it that the gospel is at this time in trust with a people whose ships cover the seas,-who are the merchants of the world? Has he who drew the boundaries of Judea with his own finger,-who selected the precise spot for the temple,-who did every thing for the Jewish church with design, abandoned the Christian church to accident? And, if not, if he has placed the gospel here with design, what can the nature of that design_be, but that it should be borne to the world on the wings of every wind that blows? Say, why is it that Britain, and her religious ally, America, should divide the seas,—should hold the keys of the world? Oh, were we but awake to the designs of God, and to our own responsibility, we should hear him say, "I have put you in possession of the seas; put the world in possession of my gospel." And every ship we sent out would be a missionary church,-like the ark of the deluge, a floating testimony for God, and bearing in its bosom the seeds of a new creation. Christians, ours is, indeed, a post of responsibility and of honour! On us have accumulated all the advantages of the past; and on us lies the great stress of the present. The world is waiting, breathless, on our movements; the voice of all heaven is urging us on. Oh, for celestial wisdom, to act in harmony with the high appointments of Providence-to seize the crisis which has come, for blessing the world!

"The energy we want is that which springs from sympathy with the grandeur of our theme, the dignity of our office, and the magnificence of the missionary enterprise. Oh, where is

the spiritual perception that looks forth on the world as the great scene of a moral conflict, and beholds it under the stirring aspect which it presents to the beings of other worlds? Where are the kindled eye, and the beaming countenance, and the heart bursting with the momentous import of the gospel message? Where the fearlessness and confidence whose very tones inspire conviction, and carry with them all the force of certainty, and the weight of an oath? Where the zeal which burns with its subject, as if it had just come from witnessing the crucifixion, and felt its theme with all the freshness and force of a new revelation ?—the zeal which, during its intervals of labour, repairs to the mount of vision to see the funeral procession of six hundred millions of souls-to the mouth of hell, to hear six hundred millions of voices saying, as the voice of one man, "Send to our brethren, lest they also come into this place of torment"-to Calvary, to renew its vigour by touching the cross- -to the spot where John stood, to catch a view of the ranks of the blessed above. Enthusiasm is sobriety here. In this cause, the zeal of Christ consumed him—his holiest ministers have become flames of fire; and, as if all created ardour were insufficient, here infinite zeal finds scope to burn, “for the zeal of the Lord of hosts shall perform it."

"And where is this flame to be kindled ?-where is the live coal to be obtained but from off the altar? It was there the witnesses of Christ, in every age, found it; and there they kept it bright and burning. It was there that Christ himself sustained that zeal, in the flames of which he at last ascended as a sacrifice to God. Nay, what was that atoning sacrifice itself, but a more intense prayer for the redemption of the world-the prayer of blood-a prayer so ardent that he consumed himself in the utterance--a prayer which is ascending still, and still filling the ear of God with its entreaties—a prayer, from which

all other prayers derive their prevailing power.

And what was

the object of that bleeding intercession ? and what did he himself regard as the full answer to it? What but the advent of the Spirit, as the agent of a new creation? Oh, Christians, is there such a doctrine in our creed as the doctrine of Divine influence ? Is there such an agent in the church as the Almighty Spirit of God? Is he amongst us expressly to testify of Christ—to be the great animating spirit of his missionary witness, the church ? and is it true that his unlimited aid can be obtained by prayerthat we can be baptized by the Holy Ghost, and with fire? Oh, ye that preach "believe and be saved" to the sinner, preach the same to the church—“ believe the promise of the Spirit, and be saved." Ye that love the Lord, keep not silence; send up a loud, long, united, and unsparing entreaty for his promised aid. This, this is what we want. And this is all we want. Till this

be obtained, all the angelic

agency of heaven would avail us

nothing; and when it is obtained, all that agency will be unequal to the celebration of our triumphs.