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amidst the wanderings of faith, brought out of the twilight gloom of hope and fear, bless GOD! Are you strengthened in your weaknesses, settled amidst the uncertainties, the mockeries of time and

strong crying and prayer for the influ- | ality, bless God! Are you stablished ences of the Holy Spirit, to convince, enlighten, strengthen, sanctify—in the sorrows of a broken and a contrite heart —in the humility that is prostrate in the dust, in an obedience that is quick in watchfulness, prompt in zealous en-sense, bless and adore the grace of God. deavour, complying though all sacrifice, in the faith that casts an unreserved confidence on the atoning merits of Jesus, that cleaves with a stronger grasp to the cross from the conviction that it has found the only thing of security in the universe, the only plank that can save from ruin in a world of desolating and devouring waters, in self mortification, in holiness, a separating holiness of the walk in the love of God-I have no other answer than this, and if I know any thing of the spirit by which I am led, the truth of the word of God which I preach, the answer will not deceive you, it is the stake on which I cast mine own soul fully and fearlessly! Fourthly. THE EFFECTS OF THE GRACE OF GOD UPON THE HEARTS WHICH RECEIVE IT.

What are these but a bursting into song, into expressions of adoration and praise-but a pouring-up of holy gratitude and joy for the gifts which make us to differ, which so distinguish and so enrich! Are you a pardoned sinner, bless GOD! Are you a liberated captive, bless GOD! Are you an enlightened fool, bless GOD! Are you a received prodigal, an adopted stranger, bless GOD! Are you a recovered backslider, a convinced apostate, bless GOD! Is the gold purified from the dross of sensu

And with a sense of these benefits in common with an apostle, let there be a common ascription with the apostle "to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever"—the glory of having sought us out in all our unworthiness, of having called us by the Lord Jesus, amidst all our resistances and reluctances, of having poured before us the riches of his everlasting gospel, in all our ingratitude and demerits, to him be dominion, let his true church extend, let the earth be filled with the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the channels of the sea-let all peoples consolidate into one people, who have the same baptism, the same faith, the same hope of their calling, the same Lord and Saviour-let the material universe be only the extended plane of the invisibile, resound with the same hosannas, be covered with like hosts of singing and worshipping souls-God over all, and God the father of all being honored and blessed by his one family of saints and angels! Christians who are so not merely in the distinction of the name but in the power of the thing signified, add to your daily petitions at the throne of all grace these your daily praises for its manifestations, rising from your knees as St. Peter rose with a hearty and a solemn Amen.

A Sermon

DELIVERED BY THE REV. THOMAS SCOTT, B.A. (LATE FELLOW OF QUEEN'S COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE,)

AT ST. MARY'S, ISLINGTON, JULY 20, 1831.

Isaiah, xl. 27-32.-" Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, My way is hid from the LORD, and my judgment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: but they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as cagles; they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint.”

THERE are two kinds of infidelity in the world. The one principally confined, I will not say to the philosophical, but at least to those who consider themselves to be philosophical, the other universal. The one the infidelity of theory, the other of practice the one palpable and easy of detection, the other insidious and little liable to suspicion-the one an infidelity which is execrated by those whom common discourse, whom the opinion of the world, pronounces the moral and the good-the other which searches the souls of these moral and these good men themselves, and there finds for herself a lodging, in the emphatic language of Holy Scripture, empty, swept, and garnished. The very deist, the very theoretic infidel, will allow the omniscience, the omnipotence of GOD, for thus much the wisest and the best even of heathens have held to be taught us by the order of the universe, and by the distribution of pleasure and of pain; but the man of the world, the practical infidel, the representative of the main body of our congregations, believes these truths, and yet believes them not; his tongue confesses, but his works deny. Ask him, and he will tell thee, that GOD is all-wise, that God is all-powerful

but listen to the voice of his actions, and he saith unto thee, "Tush! the Lord doth not see, neither doth the GOD of Jacob regard it." The theoretic infidel we condemn, but the practical we admire. Lo, these are the ungodly, these prosper in the world, and these have riches in possession-and surely their success and prosperity has often tended to foster the same feeling even in minds to which the Spirit of GOD has in some degree taught what is truly good and truly estimable. There are many who will look with the Psalmist at the prosperity of the ungodly, and will say with the Psalmist, in no excusable dispondency," Lo, then, have I cleansed my heart in vain, and washed my hands in innocency."

But, oh, brethren, let us look further, let us look deeper into the works and ways of Providence, and we shall proceed with the Holy Psalmist, from his unbelief, through his repentance to his exultation. "So foolish was I and ignorant, I was even as a beast before thee. Nevertheless, thou art always by me, thou hast holden me by my right hand; thou shalt guide me by thy counsel, and after that receive me with glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee, and there is none upon earth

that I desire but thee. My flesh and my heart faileth, but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever."

In considering the subject of our text, let us endeavour to show-First -THE NATURAL TENDENCY, NOT IN THE UNGODLY ONLY, BUT ALSO IN THE REGENERATE, ΤΟ DISBELIEVE THE OMNISCIENCE AND OMNIPOTENCE

OF GOD. Secondly-THE WISDOM AND THE POWER OF GOD. Thirdly-THAT HE IS A GOD THAT HEARS AND COMFORTS THOSE WHO CALL ON HIM. And of these, on the two former we would touch, but on the last we would dwell, for in it are practically involved the former, and he that waits upon his GOD will neither doubt the knowledge that hears his prayer, nor the power which grants his petition.

First-THE UNIVERSAL DISPOSITION TO UNBELIEF. "Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my GOD?" And oh! merciful Lord, who knowest the secrets of all hearts, shut not thy merciful ears to the prayer of thy servants, but grant that we, feeling the burden and the guilt of our unbelief, may evermore seek of thee an increase of faith, and feeling that thou art a spirit and knowest all things, may evermore worship thee in spirit and in truth, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Let us consider our unbelief-consider whether we do in practice flatter ourselves that our way is hid from the Lord, and our judgment passed over from our God. But how are we to ascertain whether such be the case? The motions of our own minds we cannot fully investigate; but if even in our own judgment we have erred, we may rest assured that we shall be brought in guilty before GOD-"If our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things."

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Let us picture to ourselves aman who fully believes in the omniscience of GoD-who is fully convinced that his way is not hid from the Lord. Let us endeavour to describe, first his dealings with the world, and then his transactions with his own heart and with his GOD; and as we proceed, brethren, let each one of you deeply meditate within himself, and first bear witness with us that our description is correct, and then examine himself and ascertain whether in describing the real believer in the omniscience of GoD we are describing him. In his dealings with his neighbours let us look as him. Let us suppose him a man of trade. Between the honest and the dishonest he well knows that, in the opinion of the world, there is a tolerably wide interval—a kind of debateable land, provided he keeps within which, he is in little danger of falling under the censure of his fellow-men. But how doth he act? He keeps within the bounds of the very strictest integrity-and why? because he believes that his way is not hid from the Lord, and that though he might acquire great accession of emolument and still be highly esteemed among men, yet that there is a GOD in heaven who will note all his actions and will recompense to him according as his work shall be. And how acts he in all the domestic relations of life? In his family and in the world he is still the same-he walks by the same rule, he minds the same things. With Abraham he hears his Maker saying to him,

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spirit doth he hold peculiar watch, | shall he not hear, and he that made and that there is not a thought in his the eye, shall he not see?" soul but his Maker knoweth it. He is anxious not to keep himself from those sins which may depreciate his character in the eyes of his fellow-him why such should be the case. Is

men, whose good opinion he yet much values, but to conform all his thoughts to the Divine law, having that awful sentence written upon his very heart, "thou GoD seest me." Such is the general sketch of the character of him who knoweth that his way is not hid from the Lord. A general sketch is all that we have time to give but cursory, and rude, and superficial though it be, it will be sufficient for our purpose, if in the grand lineaments it be correct-it will be sufficient for our purpose, if it be so unlike the character of any of you, as to awaken 'your alarm and to induce you to try and examine your own hearts.

We will not go on at greater length to demonstrate the general existence of this practical unbelief: we will assume that it is acknowledged. Oh! that we could as easily assume that it was lamented. We will assume the fact, and, in the language of the text, demand the reason of it. "Why sayest thou, O Jacob, why speakest thou, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my GOD?" Hast thou reason to believe that thy GOD is weak, that He, like thyself, is contracted in his views, and limited in his power? Oh! why believest thou thus? Doth the existence of the universe and of the soul of man, the one so wonderful as material, the other so much more wonderful as that it is immaterial-doth their existence teach thee that his power is limited, and that he planned this universe, and saw that all its motions would, in perfect regularity, continue; doth this teach thee that his knowledge is small?" He that planted the ear,

But as the believer also will acknowledge that his belief is languid, with still greater confidence may we ask

there not a wisdom and knowledge in the whole scheme of the Gospel which abundantly proves that it came from no finite author? Is there not in it an adaptation to the wants and maladies of the soul, which sufficiently shows that it has for its author one to whom every working of that soul is perfectly known? Nay, hath he not so led thee by his spirit, so guided thee in all thy wanderings by his grace, that thou canst not but know that he understandeth all thy thoughts, and all thine infirmities? To those who know him not, to Edom or to Moab, he might perhaps ask the question and expect no answer, but for thee, his own peculiar servant, how canst thou reply

"Why sayest thou, O Jacob, why speakest thou, O Israel, my way is hid from the Lord, and my judgment is passed over from my GOD?"

But let us in the Second place glance for a moment at THE ACCOUNT WHICH GOD HIMSELF GIVES OF THE GREAT"Hast

NESS OF HIS ATTRIBUTES.

thou not known? Hast thou not heard that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary; there is no searching of his understanding."

And well to Israel might the Almighty put the enquiry, "Hast thou not known?" He spake to his peculiar, to his favoured people. In Jewry is GOD known-his praise is great in Israel. How could they but know his attributes, to whom he had himself manifested his glory? And to us the same upbraiding queries might well be put. As a nation, he hath exalted us both in temporal and in spiritual advancement far above any other nation of the world. And shall we disbelieve

Pass we now to the Third part of our discourse, on which we would gladly dwell at greater length than either our time or your patience will allow, to consider HOW THE LORD EMPLOYS ALL

his power and his understanding? | est it altogether. Whither shall I go "Hast thou not known? Hast thou not from thy spirit, or whither shall I flee heard?"--but let us look more carefully from thy presence. If I ascend up to at the subject upon which we thus ap-heaven thou art there. If I make my pear to be ignorant-"that the everlast- bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I ing Gon, the Lord, the Creator of the take the wings of the morning, and ends of the world fainteth not, neither dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, is weary; there is no searching of his even there shall thy hand lead me, and understanding." Nay, if we consider thy right hand shall hold me." With the terms by which the Deity desig- Hagar in the wilderness, let us ever nates himself, and by which even the unite the thought of GOD with the infidel will allow that he has a right idea that we are under his eye-let us to designate himself, it will be impos- call the name of the Lord that speaksible for us to conceive that either eth unto us, "thou GoD seest me;" his power or his knowledge is finite. He and not in our afflictions only, but styles himself "the everlasting GOD, also in our joys let us remember that the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the we are under his eye—and every spring earth." The expression "the Lord," of joy, every well of comfort which in this place and in many hundred consoles us in the wilderness of this others throughout the Scriptures, is world, let us call with Hagar Beusubstituted for the word "Jehovah," lahairoi, the well of Him that liveth which stands in the original, and and seeth me. which the piety or superstition of the Jews forbad them to utter. This awful name signifies in itself eternity in its fullest sense-both the eternity which never had a beginning, and the eternity which never shall have an end. It is a word formed of the letters which, in the Hebrew language, are signs of the present, and the past, and the future. This everlasting GOD, Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth, assures us that he fainteth not, neither is weary, and that there is no searching his understanding. In fact, it is almost needless to pursue further this subject. Omniscience and omnipotence are almost inseparable from the very notion of Deity. Our only difficulty consists in constantly and practically crediting what we cannot avoid admitting in theory. Let us then always endeavour to remember that GOD knoweth all our thoughts-that all power is in his hands-that he hath full power to detect and to punish his enemies, and to watch over and protect his friends. "There is not a word in my tongue but thou, O Lord, know

HIS MIGHTY ATTRIBUTES FOR THE CON

"He

SOLATION AND REFRESHMENT OF HIS
PEOPLE WHO CALL UPON HIM.
giveth power to the faint, and to them
that have no might he increaseth
strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, and the young men shall
utterly fall, but they that wait on the
Lord shall renew their strength, they
shall mount up with wings as eagles;
they shall run and not be weary, and
they shall walk and not faint."

We have seen something of the knowledge and the power of God, let us observe how he applies his power to the relief even of those wants and infirmities which his knowledge has discovered. There are two distinct classes of persons to whom the epithets of the text will especially apply, who may with especial propriety be denominated "faint and destitute of might;" those who convinced of their sin and natu

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