sleep shall rise;" but if we look into the original, the Apostle's language appears distinct and special; "If I may attain 5 y ἀνάστασιν ἐκ τῶν νεκρῶν, the resurrection from among tne dead.” And so the Apostle John says, "This is the first resurrection;" it is literally, "This is the resurrection, the first one;" i. e. the resurrection from among the dead. And we read that, when Christ appears, he will "descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first." Now I believe that when the dawn of that blessed millennium shall come, the trumpet shall sound, and there shall not be a dead brother, or a dead sister, or a dead son, or a dead dear and near one now mouldering in the tomb, but asleep in Jesus, who shall not hear and be electrified by the sound, and come forth and shine in the splendors of the resurrection morn, wearing a crown of life that fadeth not away; and that millennium, with all its beauty and its blessedness, will be but a foretaste and prelibation, or, as it were, the mere vestibule or ante-room of that everlasting glory into which the people of God shall enter and abide for ever.

Such is this crown of life, the first resurrection, the distinction of the saints, the glory of them that have fallen asleep in Jesus. It is not impossible, nay, it seems to me probable, that many who are now before me shall not fall asleep till they hear that royal sound. All things indicate we are rushing to it; all things show that it is rapidly coming on: worldly men cannot explain what the world is about; politicians cannot understand why all their schemes are failing, and all their diplomacy coming to naught; they cannot understand how it is that nations seem as if some terrible spirit had started up from the depths below, and driven them to destroy each other. It is the increasing chaos that precedes order; it is the disorganization that precedes a new combination; the world's sabbath is now close at hand. I have before told you that it has been clearly proved that the seventh thousandth year of the world will begin about A. D. 1862; it has already lasted nearly six thousand years, and according to the Jewish belief, the seventh thousand years will constitute the great year of Jubilee, "the rest that remaineth for the people

of God." It is very remarkable also, if what Clinton has established be true, that the great prophetic epochs will all terminate within five or ten years of that period. It is not for man or angel to specify the year; but we know it is for all men to be prepared; and then, they that have a sabbath heart shall be fitted for a sabbath rest; and they that have a millennial love, shall enter into millennial joy.

LECTURE XIII.

THE PROMISE.

"He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death."-REV. ii. 11.

THESE are the last words of the instructive epistle addressed to the Church of Smyrna. Christ begins his address by describing himself as "the First and the Last." He was before angels were, and he shall be over all and above all when all that is now seen has passed away. He begins by stating that he knows, in the exercise of omniscience, the works of that Church, alike her deeds of mercy and her acts of beneficence. A believer does not breathe a prayer for a sufferer, or give a cup of cold water to the thirsty, that Christ does not see, and of whom he does not say, "Inasmuch as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." "I know," too, "thy tribulation," the persecution you have experienced, the affliction you have suffered. "I know," too, "thy poverty;" very little wealth in thy purse, and still less in thy coffers; externally thou art poor, but in a higher sense than man sees, thou art rich." Thou hast not the wealth of Cæsar, but thou hast, instead, the riches of Christ; thou art poor in the judgment of man, unspeakably rich in the estimate of the Lord. For substantial happiness now and eternal joy hereafter, it matters little how poor we are in the things of time, if we are rich in faith and in grace towards God. "And I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Jews, and are not"-those who pretend to be Christians, and who, under the covert of the Christian name, assail, malign, seduce, and pervert. But then he gives a prescription: "Fear none of those things;" meet them manfully in the strength of your Redeemer; resist them, but do not fear

them. Fear paralyses effort, damps exertion, is the sure precursor of defeat. "Let not your heart be troubled;" "Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer." Behold, they shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried, and ye shall have tribulation ten days,"-ten prophetic days, or ten years. And he then gives the exhortation and the promise, "Be thou faithful unto death"-faithful to the end of life—faithful, if death should be the penalty of its exercise; and, being thus faithful unto death, "I will give thee a crown of life;" it is by grace, not by merit; there is no merit in a Christian's cross, there is nothing that deserves a crown in a Christian's sacrifices; and therefore the last gift of Christ shall be, like the first, free; heaven will begin as earth commenced, with a free and sovereign donative; "I will give thee a crown of life." And then he adds, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches." The epistle is for all; the instruction is for us to-day, just as much as it was for the followers of Christ at Smyrna eighteen centuries ago. Here you may see, indirectly, though I do not now dwell upon it, the evidence of the personality of the Holy Spirit, "Hear what the Spirit saith." Socinians have tried to show that the Spirit is a figure of speech; but no one, I am sure, can honestly, or carefully and teachably read through the New Testament, without seeing that the Holy Spirit is there assumed to be, and described as, a person. "The Spirit is vexed;""the Spirit is grieved;""the Spirit witnesseth;" "the Spirit saith to the Churches;" expressions that can be predicated only of a person, and cannot be used of a figure of speech. But there is not only personality implied, but there is also Deity; because the speaker is the same Being who gives the epistles; and we are told that Christ, who walks in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks, speaks to the one Church, and Christ, who is the First and the Last, speaks to the other Church; but to each of them the Spirit speaks also; "Hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches," teaching us that the Spirit "takes of the things of Christ, and shows them unto us."

Perhaps there is an allusion here to the great fact that we cannot learn the truths of the Gospel and feel them in all their saving and their sanctifying power, unless the Holy Spirit of God shall

take them, and apply them, and impress them on our hearts; and consequently the reason why so little interest is felt in the Gospel - why so many hear it, and so few feel it is not that there is wanted greater light, more eloquence of speech, more force of language; but more prayer on our part, and a more abundant effusion of the Holy Spirit on God's part. If there be no Holy Spirit poured out upon God's Church, it is not because of want of liberality or willingness on God's part, for he constantly reasons with us, remonstrates with us, and says, "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit unto them that ask him!"

Now what is the reason why every man in this assembly, without one single exception, this night, has not a new heart, and is not a new creature? Hear it, and carry this solemn conviction with you, the only reason is, that he does not ask it. No man ever went, in the depth of his conviction, and bent, not the knee, but the heart, and raised, not the eye, but the soul unto his Father, and asked him for his Holy Spirit to change his heart, in the name and through the mediation of Christ the living way, and retired, permanently disappointed. None. If such an instance were produced, it would be evidence to me that God's word is not true; for what does it say? "Ask, and ye shall receive; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you." Let us treat God's word as an honest and bonâ fide book; do not dilute this expression, and deduct so much per cent. from that; do not say, This promise is figurative, and that offer is hyperbolical; but just believe what God says no less and no more; ask, seek, and knock where he bids you, and see if God will disappoint you. I believe, my dear friends, one great mistake is, that we do not read God's book in the simplicity in which God has given it. It is the plainest of all books; it is, what Howells called it, "common sense inspired." In order to understand this book, we do not need, as some persons seem to imagine, a new edition of the Bible, but a new spirit in the reader of the Bible when we ask for the Holy Spirit to enable us to understand the Bible, we do not ask of him to emit a plainer record, or to write a new commentary on the Bible, or to alter one jot of