the Lord, for he hath triumphed gloriously; the horse and the rider hath he thrown into the sea," they, happy people, saw their deliverance, but not the land that flowed with milk and honey, their hoped-for Palestine.- Exod. 15:14. But you beheld it! like Moses from Mount Nebo, -from the highest Pisgah summit, the Lord showed you all the glorious land, unto the “utmost sea,”— Deut. 34 :1, 4,— and gave your ravished soul a taste of its beauties and privileges, and you sang: "Rejoicing now in earnest hope, I stand, and from the mountain top Rivers of milk and honey rise, "A land of corn, and wine, and oil, There dwells the Lord our righteousness, And everlasting rest." But the tempter came. Moses greatly desired to go over into the Canaan to which he had led Israel, and said to the Lord, "I pray thee, let me go over and see the good land that is beyond Jordan, that goodly mountain, and Lebanon." But the Lord said, "Let it suffice thee; speak no more unto me of this matter," — Deut. 3 : 25, 26, intimation to Moses. Did he say so to you? Ah no! Favored above Moses, he intimated his willingness you should go over and possess it. But, instead of saying, "O that I might at once go up ! a sad This moment end my legal years, Sorrows, and sins, and doubts, and fears, A howling wilderness!"— you turned away, saying, "Not now, Lord; not now." Alas, alas! what could you expect, after rejecting such superior light — such glorious manifestations of the willingness of God to save you unto the uttermost ! More than once you had such a glorious view of your purchased inheritance,- your birthright inheritance. But, like poor Esau, you sold it for "a mess of pottage." And so, as Esau, by that act, entailed upon himself and posterity an untold amount of disability and trial, so did you. More of this by and by. The moment you were "born again," you became an heir to full salvation; ay, sure as you were "an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ." Rom. 8:17. But you soon preferred something else. Like the Israelites, you gave the "wilderness" the preference, where were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought; where there was no water,- Deut. 8: 15,a land of deserts and of pits, a land of drought and the shadow of death,- Jer. 2: 6,-rather than fight for your inheritance in the Canaan of perfect love. I say not these things to make you sadder, but I want you to have a penetrating view of your past folly, if, happily, you may learn wisdom, obedience and holiness, from the things you have suffered. Besides, there are others present whose history has been almost as painful as your own. They, too, may perceive their error, and now, at last, be saved. Like the Reubenites and Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the days of Moses and Joshua, you preferred your rest on the wilderness side of Jordan, with the manna of justification and some other temporal advantages rather than the conquest of the land flowing with milk and honey. Like them, also, you may have helped others to take the land of promise, but returned yourself, soon as possible, to your old wilderness state. If you did not, like them, prefer that side of Jordan, because there was good pasture for your cattle, if you had any, yet there was some other temporal or carnal advantage of equal importance to you. It is mournful to read of the wheedling talks of these tribes with Moses on the subject; their " cattle were sure to be spoken of. Num. 32. They plead for their cattle: "It is a land for cattle; thy servants have cattle — bring us not over Jordan." Moses said: "Shall your brothers go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land; and behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to aug. ment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and ye shall destroy all this people." This touched them; but the very next thought was about their sheep-folds and their cattle! They persisted in their request, offering to help the other tribes to fight and possess the land, but as for them, they begged to be excused from living in it. Their request was granted, and afterwards recognized by Joshua, as we find in Joshua 1:16. Alas for them! They were the first of all the tribes that were overcome by their enemies, and carried away captive, quite out of their chosen lands. Apply this to yourself. Your history is something like its counterpart. How often were you urged by ministers and your others to go into spiritual Canaan; but you would not! The Holy Spirit again and again solicited you. The hearts of others were weakened by you, and not a few prevented. But had selected you your ground land was elsewhere, with some temporal advantages. Your choice was granted. There you set up your rest, and almost said to your soul, "Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry." Alas for you! there was no rest for your soul there. Can hell be satisfied with souls, or the grave with dead, or your stomach with wind? As easily, say, as your soul could be satisfied with earthly good; much less with secret intercourse with sin. But troubles came upon you, losses, and crosses, and sorrows. How often, besides, have you been carried away captive by the devil and inbred sin? Most of your troubles are traceable to this wrong choice in the beginning of your Christian career. This is all I have to say to you at present. Another person's case requires a few words. It has some resemblance to your own. If you follow me closely, you may find something more for yourself. 3d. To "one who was called to purity, and refused."My closing remark to one just addressed is equally applicable to you. Your troubles are traceable to a neglect of holiness. It is perilous to resist a plain call from God "to purity and perfect love." He is sure to change his countenance toward such, and to place them under a different dispensation than before, so far, at least, as is disciplinary and painful. All justified persons are called to be holy, and feel it; yet I cannot help thinking some are called more loudly than others. Perhaps for the work they have to perform, the good they are capable of doing, the peculiar temptations which are sure to assail them, the superior light they have upon the subject, the shortness of their life, the peculiar crown or walk that may be awaiting them hereafter, if not in the present world. It will require another world to explain all the dealings of God toward us in this. on in That "voice" which rang through your soul in the time of your "first love," "Be ye holy, for I, the Lord thy God, am holy," was his call to you, as to young Samuel * in the temple. He knew not the Lord's voice then, but you did, and became responsible. But you were young in religion, and he dealt tenderly with you, and would not cast you away; but his countenance soon changed a little, and your love cooled. Again and again he called you to be holy, but "other affairs crowded in," and you still kept a low path, but in a good sort of a way," till the Lord intercepted you again, and asked you into a higher path, which you shrank from and became unhappy. These visitations were repeated, with like results. O ye young converts, mark these points of deviation from the will of God, and avoid them, as you would the road that sinners tread. But that "ONCE"! Ah! that was the crisis! Lord drew nigh then. His banner over you was love. He gave you clusters of the grapes of Canaan; for he had sent your thoughts out to spy the land, and they had returned. richly laden; but, alas! some of them brought a bad report of "giants in the land" that it would be troublesome to conquer, and troublesome to retain when conquered; and so a desponding thought came in, and then a murmuring thought, why cannot I be allowed to go on in the good sort of a way I have been in? mixed with unfaithfulness, indeed, but still meaning to serve the Lord. So, resolving to have my own way, I hardened my heart, and rebelled, and turned away. I lost the sweet comfort I had just before; soon temptations encompassed me, as bees with honey in The |