up and the skies rolled together like parchment, this imperishable HABITATION shall remain-the glorious happy Home of the children of God. You know a man's habitation is the place where he dwells, eats, drinks, and sleeps, and where, most likely, he dies at last. Just so Jesus Christ is the believer's HABITATION. Into it he enters at his conversion-he is "a man in Christ." Therein he dwells all his life, he "abideth in Christ." He will live there till he dies, and then he will "sleep in Jesus; " and you know where it is written, Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord." Oh, if you would not like the thought of having no place to lay your head in, no home in the world for your body, how much more should you dread the thought of having no HABITATION for your poor soul! If therefore there be any consolation in Christ, or any comfort of love, make haste! come! partake of it. Will you enter? or are you resolved to remain without? Well, you may not be fully sensible of your loss during life's brief day; but how dreadful it will be at the end of your journey to find no lodging at night! How dreadful to have to lie out, as it were, in the open field throughout the dark night of eternity, exposed to all the horrors of a tempest of fire, with nothing to shield you from its fury! But they that trust in the Lord can say, Thou art my strong Rock, a "HOUSE OF DEFENCE to save me." HOUSE OF DEFENCE. Psa. xxxi. 2. Where do men want to be when a tempest is raging, when the wind howls and the lightning darts to and fro, striking down tall trees, and hail and rain flood all the pathways? Do they not want to be in their Houses? Certainly. And at such a time happy is he who has one to go to. But the kind Saviour knew that there were worse storms than wintry blasts or sweeping hail, against which His followers would want a HOUSE OF DEFENCE. And so He forewarns them, "In the world ye shall have tribulation, but in Me ye shall have peace." He points out beforehand the Retreat where they must hide themselves, "Come, My people, enter into thy chambers and shut thy doors about thee.” Let us all comply with His affectionate invitation, and then,— "As Noah, humble, happy saint, And sung the grace that steered him through ; So shall we sing, in Jesus safe, While storms of vengeance round us fall." Again, it is said, "Ye that fear the Lord, trust in the Lord; He is their HELP AND SHIELD.” HELP AND SHIELD. Psalm cxv. 11. And surely the thought of this may well make the Christian a Dreadnought. Thus Luther, when one asked him where he would find shelter if the Elector of Saxony should desert him, replied, "Under the Shield of heaven.” HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH. 199 His confidence in his Divine HELP made him as bold as a lion. When his friends would have dissuaded him from going to Worms to contend for the truth, because many foes would be there who thirsted for his blood, his answer was, "Though there be as many devils at Worms as there are tiles on the houses, I'll go." And it was said over the grave of John Knox, the great Scottish Reformer, "Here lies one who never feared the face of man." 66 And you may all lean on the same Mighty HELPER whose support made those men such "Greathearts," May I indeed?" says one, "but I am poor and every one despises me. Will Jesus be my HELP?" Oh yes. He says, "Fear not, I will help thee." Who but He has helped you hitherto? When you were a little smiling babe hanging on your mother's breast, God took care of you; and when you were sick and no skill could heal you, the eye of God was still upon you; and many a time His hand has been stretched out to save you when you have not thought of Him. And if you pray to Him He will help you more and more. There may be sorrows and dark clouds before you and a weary journey through life, and the lonely grave as the end of it, and after death the judgment! But if you have Christ for your HELP, you need fear none of these. "Fear not, thou worm Jacob," says He, (and what can be weaker than a worm? but) "fear not,-I will help thee." HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH is another of the magnificent Titles of the Glorious Hope of Israel. In Eph. i. 22, it is said, God " gave Him to be the HEAD OVER ALL THINGS to the church." This may mean He gave Him this Title and dignity or gave Him to the church to be all this for her benefit. And how gloriously this august Title becomes Him! It is no empty unmeaning name, like some that are conferred on mortals by their fellow worms, but one descriptive of His actions. For by Him God administers His providential government. Let us look at some of His wonderful doings on behalf of His people. _ It was at His command savage lions restrained their thirst for blood and suffered Daniel to sit in their den unhurt; and raging bears came forth out of a wood to revenge the insult offered to His servant Elisha by those forty and two wicked youths who mocked the prophet, saying, "Let us see now if thou canst not go up into the clouds like old Elijah!-go up, thou bald-head, go up! It was He that sent that great fish to be a floating ark for His disobedient prophet Jonah; and when Jonah prayed, "spake to the fish" and told it to carry him safe to land. It was by His direction the ravens daily winged their way to Elijah's hiding-place in the desert, with a breakfast every morning and a supper every evening, till it was time for him to go forth in God's service again. At His bidding rocks became rivers, Exodus xvii. 6; rivers became high roads, Exodus xiv. 21, 22; and water was turned into blood, Exodus vii. 20, or into wine, John ii. 6-9, whichever the occasion demanded; whether the church's enemies were to be confounded, or her friends comforted. He controlled the devouring element when three young Jews trod unhurt the red-hot pavement of the oven seven times heated. And when a company of fearful disciples were to be saved from shipwreck, the tempestuous winds owned the presence of the HEAD OVER ALL THINGS, and ceased their raging at the sound of His voice; while the deep waters of the lake bore Him up walking on its surface, and thus acknowledged His right to suspend the laws by which He had bound them. All these, and many more such things are recorded for our encouragement. He does not now manifest His interest in His church by such astonishing miracles. But enough has been done to prove the greatness of His power, and to secure the confidence of His people; who are persuaded that if the church still required miracles for her deliverance, miracles would not be wanting which would prove His right to the exalted Title, HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH. Well may Zechariah sing in the name of the church, "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for He hath raised up for us an HORN OF SALVATION." HORN OF SALVATION. Luke i. 69. This is another Title descriptive of His power to deliver. A Horn is a symbol of strength and conquest. The image refers to the horns of animals in which the power of so many of them lies. Herds of huge elks and buffaloes swarm in some parts of the earth, the force of whose horns renders them the terror of man and beast. Thus Moses said of Joseph. Deut. xxxiii. 17, "His horns are the horns of unicorns, with them he shall push the people together to the ends of the earth." And David says of the great Head of the Church, "Through THEE will we push down our enemies." Jesus Christ then is the Mighty HORN which wounded the dragon, and bruised the serpent's head, and which shall in due time push down all your foes, ye "little children and young men in Christ." He will rid you of sin, Satan, and the world, just as a powerful unicorn would clear the field and drive away all assailants by the terror of his horn. A Horn is also a symbol of glory and dignity. In eastern countries persons of rank may still be met with wearing a horn on their foreheads. This is not uncommon amongst the tribes of Lebanon. And it is also an emblem of royalty. For instance, "The great Horn that is between his eyes is the first king." Dan. viii. 21. "The ten Horns which thou sawest are ten kings." Rev. xvii. 12. When Zechariah therefore spake of a HORN OF SALVATION, he used a wellknown figure to express the glory of Jesus Christ, as the long-lookedfor King of Zion, the HEAD OVER ALL THINGS TO THE CHURCH, in whose days Israel should dwell safely, and the People of God "being delivered from their enemies should serve Him without fear all the days of their life." This is the HORN which will destroy Antichrist, and toss to the HEAD OF THE CORNER. 201 winds all the vain pretences of popes and priests, infidels and false prophets. The HORN OF SALVATION must prevail till He hath put all enemies out of the field, and the joyful song be heard in heaven and echoed on earth, "Now is come salvation and strength and the kingdom of our God and the power of His Christ." And then those words which are written in the Psalms will find their full accomplishment "The Stone which the builders refused is become the "HEAD OF THE CORNER." HEAD OF THE CORNER. Psa. cxviii. 22. This figure is applied by our Lord to Himself in Matt. xxi. 42. We are told by Jewish writers that while Solomon's temple was being built, a certain stone was selected as a Head-stone. This stone, they say, the builders for some reason rejected as unfit for the purpose and were about to substitute another. But an express command from God obliged them to make use of it. And thus they explain the remainder of the passage,-" This is the Lord's doing and it is marvellous in our eyes." Whether this story was invented by the Jews to explain the passage or whether something of this kind actually took place, the real application of the words, as pointed out by the Lord Jesus, is to Himself, who, though refused by the rulers and abhorred by the people, is nevertheless, "by the Lord's doing," elevated "far above all principality and power, and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come." 1. Let the subject lead you to Self-examination. Ask yourself, What is my HOPE? (1.) When a feeling of unhappiness comes over me, do I turn for consolation to the vain world, or do I run to Christ as the HABITATION and HOME of my soul? (2.) When sad thoughts about sin fill me with fear, do I take refuge in my tears and duties and think God will pity me for the sake of these, or do I flee to Christ as my HIDING PLACE and build all my hopes of forgiveness on Him alone? (3.) When I have been overcome with temptation, do I trust in my own resolutions, or do I cry to the strong Deliverer, "Be Thou my HELP and the HORN OF MY SALVATION"? 2. Let it stir you up to offer Praise. Say "What shall we render unto Thee, O Thou glorious HIDING PLACE and Saviour? But for Thee storms of wrath would have beat upon us. But for Thee Satan would have seized us. But for Thee our sins like the wind would have carried us away. Thankful we are we ever heard Thy name. And since we have trusted in Thee and known Thy worth, we prefer Thee above our chief joy. Whom have we in heaven but Thee? Whom on earth do we desire beside Thee?" Twenty-fifth Sunday. IMAGE OF THE INVISIBLE GOD. INVISIBLE. IMMORTAL. INCORRUPTIBLE. IMMANUEL. I AM THAT I AM. INTERPRETER. INTERCESSOR. It IF you ever went to the National Gallery in London, you saw there a picture by Vandyke of a man named Govartius which almost startled you, for its eyes glisten as though the water really stood in them. is an image of a real form. He whom it represents once looked just like that portrait. Or if we take a walk in some cathedral, we shall see in its solemn aisles images of invisible things. What is that on yonder monument? I see the figure of an aged man with a long beard and a scythe and an hour glass. That figure represents Time. And a little farther on stands Justice with a pair of scales and a great sword. And just by are statues of Fame and Victory. But how can they be images of these things? No one ever saw Time or Justice or Fame, any more than he could see the wind. True, but they are symbolical figures. For instance, the hour glass which Time holds in his hand signifies that our days are numbered; his wings show the swiftness with which he passes away, and the scythe reminds us that he soon cuts us down like the grass. Ingenious men thus express invisible qualities by visible forms. And were they to confine themselves to the lawful use of such things there would be no evil in it. For even in Solomon's temple there were images of cherubim and forms of angels embroidered on the curtains of the holy place. They would not have been placed there by the direction of God if it had been wrong to form such things. But here is the origin of the idol-worship of the ancients. They presumed to make images of God Himself or of His attributes, and then they soon began to worship those images as so many separate gods. For instance, they knew God was powerful, so they made an image to represent strength. It was a tall muscular figure with a huge club. Him they called Hercules. They knew that God was the Ruler of the world. So they formed a venerable image grasping thunderbolts, named him Jupiter, and built temples, and offered sacrifices to his honour. But the second commandment strictly forbids the making of images to represent God. Why? Is it only because He is a Spirit? Is it wrong to make images of invisible beings? No. What then? Because the best representation that can be made of Him is only a |