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grave. But though he has now all the love and tenderness of the Lamb of God, you will not find him so in the day of vengeance. As the Lion of the tribe of Judah, he will repay, and every enemy will learn that the blood of Jesus is too holy a thing to be trodden under foot in vain.

But I am loath to speak to you, beloved, as to the enemies of Christ; I cannot bear the contemplation of such a scene, for any hearer of mine, as that which will be unfolded at the last, for all the despisers of his words. Go on, believes! continue to be fruitful boughs, and to mature your fruit for eternity. Go on! until you shall be taken up with roots that shall never decay, and with branches that shall never wither. You love the Lord Jesus Christ, and the ministers of Christ for his sake. You care not for the vessel for its own sake, but because it is appointed of God to declare the excellency of his dear Son. The glory of the Bridegroom needs not the eloquence of words to give it distinction. It will be known, it will be felt, it will be communicated; it has been already sent forth, like the light, to pierce the darkness of heathen lands; it has travelled from heart to heart, and, blessed be the God of all grace, it has not passed by yours. This manifestation of glory is a declaration of his love.

And why should we not all be partakers of this rich and ever-flowing love? There is no hindrance but sin. You may have been a part of that company of archers who sorely grieved him, and shot at him, and hated him; but seek ye his face, and the clouds will depart, and you will not discover a frown upon it. Lift up your hearts, and they will be made strong by the mighty God of Jacob. Follow him as a shepherd, and build upon him as an immoveable stone; and a glorious temple will be raised out of it, and your life, even a holy and spiritua life, will be "hid with Christ in God."

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SERMON X.

CHRIST THE INSTRUCTOR OF KINGS.

1 SAMUEL xv. 26.

And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel.

WHAT a difference is there between the opinion man forms of man, and the judgment that is formed of him by God! The degree of regard that one child of the world obtains from another, depends upon the degree of rank that he holds, on the extent of land that he can call his own, or on the superior intelligence of his mind; but all these acquired distinctions weigh not a feather in the sight of heaven, "There is no respect of persons with God." Sin, whether it be the act of a man in rags, or in rich clothing, whether it be committed by the occupier of a cottage or a palace, is equally offensive to the purity of

the Lord; he does not pass by the king, and reckon with the peasant, but because he finds guilt upon both of them he applies the same corrective rod, and both are chastened by it. Nay, he has a right to look for a brighter example from those whose stations are the highest; and instead of escaping the penalty upon that ground, they will be as surely visited, as the hills and mountains of the earth were, when he laid the old world in ruin.

We have an illustration of this truth in the proceedings of God, that are here made mention of in detail. His command to Saul was, "Go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not, but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass: and Saul smote the Amalekites, but he spared Agag, the king, and the best of the sheep, and of the oxen, and of the fatlings, and the lambs, and all that was good, and would not utterly destroy them. Then came the word of the Lord to Samuel, saying, it repenteth me that I have set up Saul to be king, for he is turned back from following me, and hath not preferred my commandments. And Samuel came to Saul, and Saul said unto him, blessed be thou of the Lord! I have performed the commandment of the Lord; and Samuel said, what meaneth then this bleating

of the sheep in mine ears, and the lowing of the oxen which I hear? And Saul said, they have brought them from the Amalekites, for the people spared of the best of the sheep and of the oxen, to sacrifice unto the Lord thy God. And Samuel said, hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken, than the fat of rams; and Saul said, I have sinned, now therefore I pray thee pardon my sin, and turn again with me, that I may worship the Lord." The reply of the prophet is conveyed to us in the words of the text. "And Samuel said unto Saul, I will not return with thee, for thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, and the Lord hath rejected thee from being king over Israel."

In opening this sentence, I must, first, consider what the expression means, of rejecting God's word; secondly, what are the peculiar blessings that are lost to us by such an act : and thirdly, how far the answer of Samuel, under the old dispensation, agrees with that of Christ's ministers under the new. May God's assisting grace be with me, and his enlightening grace with you, my brethren! May the seed I shall now sow, fall into good ground, that so my preaching may, on the one hand, give me fresh cause for

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