"I say unto you, that many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven. But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." In speaking of the man who was destitute of the wedding garment, he represents the king as saying, "Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Speaking of the vicious servant, who neglected to prepare for the coming of his Lord, he says, "The Lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." And speaking of the man, who had received and neglected the one talent, he says, “Take the talent from him; and cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." Though sinners, while they remain secure, are stout-hearted, and seem to bid defiance to the dreadful threatenings pointed against them in the gospel; yet whenever they are constrained to give up their false and groundless hopes of eternal happiness, they will find their hearts fail them, and must stoop under the dread of endless destruction. And the stronger their hopes have been, and the less their fears of falling into the bottomless pit, the more distressing will it be to exchange their hopes of eternal life for the fears of eternal death. This will fill them with extreme anguish of heart, if it does not subject them to weeping and gnashing of teeth forever.

HEADS OF IMPROVEMENT.

1. If it be owing to false hopes of future happiness, that sinners are secure; then they are to blame for their security. This they are not apt to believe. They complain of their stupidity, as a mere calamity, which they wish to remove, but cannot. This is a great mistake. Their security is owing to their hopes; and their hopes are voluntary, arising from voluntary ignorance. They wish to retain their hopes, and "will not come to the light" of divine truth, which would show them that they are in "the gall of bitterness and bond of iniquity." 2. If the security of sinners arises from their hopes of future happiness, then it should be the leading object of preaching to destroy their false and delusive hopes. No preaching, which leaves sinners in possession of their groundless hopes, will ever

have the least tendency to awaken them from their guilty slumbers. The greatest obstacle which lies in the way of the saving effect of a preached gospel, is presented by the false hopes of them that hear it. These must be destroyed, or their souls will be lost. And as these hopes arise from their ignorance of God, of themselves, and of the terms of the gospel; how can they be destroyed, but by exhibiting the truth on these subjects, in a clear, scriptural and discriminating manner? Though such preaching may be the most disagreeable; yet it is the most useful; but that kind of preaching which conceals a part of the counsel of God, or exhibits it in an obscure and unintelligible manner, while it is pleasing and popular, is ever most dangerous and destructive.

3. Sinners have no reason to rejoice, that they are able to retain their false hopes, notwithstanding all the means that are used to awaken them. They do rejoice-but their joy will be turned into sorrow.

4. If sinners can form and maintain their false hopes, notwithstanding all the outward means used with them; then they are entirely in the sovereign hand of God—to awaken, or to stupify-to renew, or to destroy them. All sinners do, is to keep and confirm their old false hope, till convinced by the strivings of the Divine Spirit; and then all they do, is to endeavor to get a new hope, until their hearts are changed by the special, quickening, new-creating influence of the same Holy and Divine Spirit.

5. It concerns all who are in a state of security, to examine the grounds of their hopes. Very many are secure. Negligent sinners are secure-seeking sinners-careless professors.

Let all be urged to give up their false hopes. Such hopes may be known. They are extremely dangerous.-They must be given up, sooner or later.-If given up now, there may be opportunity to secure that "good hope which is through grace" -but, soon it will be "as the giving up of the ghost."

SENEX.

For the Hopkinsian Magazine.

REASONS WHY GOOD MEN DESIRE THE PROSPERITY OF THE CHURCH, ABOVE ALL THINGS ELSE IN THE WORLD.

THE friends of God in Babylon solemnly protested, that they supremely desired the prosperity of Zion. Each one could

appeal to God, and say, "I prefer Jerusalem above my chief joy." Moses expressed the same sentiment, while he was with the church in the wilderness. 'Let my name be blotted out, rather than the church should not live and prosper.' Elijah, Nehemiah, Daniel, Paul, and many other good men mentioned in the Bible, manifested a supreme desire for the prosperity of the church. This may look strange to the men of the world, and even to many who would be thought to have a real regard for religion. It may be useful, therefore, to inquire why good men supremely desire the prosperity of the church, And I would observe,

1. It is because the prosperity of the church will bring the greatest glory to God. It is by the church, that he means to display himself most fully to principalities and powers, and to all intelligent beings in the universe. It is when he builds up Zion, that he appears in his greatest glory. It is by making his church the perfection of beauty, that he will obtain the largest reverence of praise and glory, both in time and eternity. As good men love God supremely, so they must desire, above all things, that he may be glorified by the enlargement, and light, and knowledge, and holiness of his church. This is the way God has devised to glorify himself, and therefore all his friends supremely desire, that he may be glorified in this way.

2. They supremely desire the prosperity of the church, because this will bring the greatest good to mankind. Just so far as Zion prospers, the highest happiness of men is promoted. Every addition to the church carries in it the eternal happiness of some poor perishing sinner. And as all good men desire the eternal good of their fellow men; so they desire that they may be brought to Zion, and made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. There is nothing they so much desire for the world at large, as that they may be translated out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of Christ. Hence they desire supremely, and ardently, that the church may prosper and spread all over the world, and turn it into an Eden of holiness and happiness. There is no other possible way, in which the general happiness of mankind can be promoted, but by the increase and prosperity of the church. This, therefore, is above all things most desirable to those, who possess the spirit of true love to God and man. Besides,

3. Good men view all their own interests as involved in the prosperity of the church. They would be of all men most miserable, should the church be eut off, and the scheme of the gospel be frustrated. They expect to be completely and forever happy, in no other way, than by the accomplishment of the great work of redemption, which lays the only foundation for the everlasting enjoyment of God. They consider themselves as all members of one body, of which Christ is the head, And it is in the complete holiness and happiness of this one

ody, that they expect to find their own eternal and supreme licity. Hence they love the church as their own souls, and esire its prosperity above any separate, personal good, that hey can derive from any other source. The world and the ings of the world, would lose all their lustre in the eyes of ood men, did they not subserve and promote the prosperity of be church. They view and desire this, therefore, above their hief joy. It is an object in which all their hopes and desires entre, and in which the glory of God and the good of the unierse are necessarily involved. For these weighty and solid reasons, they desire the prosperity of the church, above any thing and every thing in the world. Hence we see, why there is nothing which good men more sincerely and sensibly lament than the low and languishing state of the church. There is nothing so disagreeable to mankind, as to fail of securing their Supreme object. And if good men supremely desire the prosperity of the church; then it must be extremely painful to see it in a low and languishing state. This appears also from the account we have of the feelings of good men, in a time of great degeneracy in the church. The pious Israelites in Babylon, sat down, and wept when they remembered the low state of Zion.' Hence also we learn why good men will do more to promote the prosperity of the church, than to promote any other interest in the world. All men will sacrifice any thing which stands opposed to their supreme object. Good men will. If they can do any thing to promote the prosperity of the church they cheerfully do it. The prosperity of the church is an object, which good men will never give up, so long as they can do any thing to promote it. How happy are all good men! They belong to a society which shall live and prosper, and be source of everlasting joy. But, on the other hand, how wretched are all wicked, impenitent men; they belong to a kingdom which is destined to ruin, and which must sink just as fast as the church of Christ rises. E. N.

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PROTRACTED MEETINGS.

We extract the following from "a Letter on Protracted Meetings, dated February 24th, 1832, and addressed to the Church in Paris, N. Y. by their late Pastor, Rev. WILLIAM R. WEEKS, D. D." He describes such a protracted meeting, as we "should love to attend." If our limits would admit, we should be glad to copy the letter entire, which is, written in the author's peculiarly perspicuous style, and scriptural, convincing manner; and in our view, is exceedingly well-timed and calculated to do much good.

"I should love to attend a protracted meeting of such a kind as I can easily conceive of, in my own mind, though I may not

be able to describe it upon paper so clearly as I could wish.— It should be a meeting for which the church had previously prepared the way, by turning from their backslidings, putting away all their sins, and engaging in the diligent discharge of every duty. They should have "put away from among them all bitterness, and wrath, and clamor, and envy, and evil speak. ing, and be kindly affectioned one toward another with brotherly love." They should have looked closely into their own hearts, and have deeply humbled themselves before God. They should have carefully looked after their wandering brethren, and have administered the discipline of the gospel in the true spirit of it. They should feel their dependence upon God for every blessing, and not be looking to creatures for help. They should realize that God has a right to grant or withhold the influences of his Spirit, as he may see best, and feel that they have no claims upon him, but are utterly unworthy of the favors they ask. They should be disposed to come to God with the temper of dutiful and affectionate children, who have more confidence in the judgment of a wise and good Father, than they have in their own; and should be as willing to be denied the favors they ask, if he shall see that to be best, as they are thankfully to accept what he shall be pleased to bestow. They should desire a revival of religion, chiefly that God may be honored; and while they are prepared to rejoice in the triumphs of his grace, they should be also prepared to rejoice in his adorable sovereignty, and his glorious justice, which are always displayed at such a time, and be willing he should "have mercy on whom he will have mercy, and harden whom he will." They should put away from them, as utterly unworthy of christians, that arrogant spirit, which aspires to dietate to the Almighty, and pretends to "take God at his word, and hold him to his promise," when he has. not promised in his word the conversion of any particular sinner, nor of any sinners in a particular place, nor at a particular time. They should be prepared to hear, and desire to hear and take effectual measures to hear, on such an occasion, those glorious doctrines of the gospel, which exalt God and abase the creature. They should invite, on such an occasion, those preachers of the gospel who most value these precious truths, and exhibit them most clearly and abundantly in their discourses; and such as see eye to eye, and lift up the voice together." They should carefully close up every avenue by which error might creep in, at such a time, and take effectual measures to have truth, in a full, and copious, and unbroken stream, pour in upon the understanding, and conscience, and heart, of every one who attends. They should give place to no human contrivances, no artifice, nor trick, to play upon the passions, and produce a theatrical effect. The native majesty, and simple dignity of truth, as exhibited by the prophets and apostles, in the words which the Holy Ghost has taught in the Bible, will produce deeper feeling, and be attended with better effects. Let God

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