Jesus; and yet we are determined to know nothing among you but "Christ and him crucified." Oh! what a mass of contradiction there is here; and yet how easily it is solved! These bones were dead, dry, spiritless, lifeless, without flesh, without ears to hear; and yet God says: “Prophesy upon these bones, and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord." And while he prophesied there was a noise, and "behold a shaking; and the bones came together, bone to his bone; and when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came up upon them, and the skin covered them above." Just so, my unconverted friends, your souls are like these dry bones-dead, dry, spiritless, lifeless, without ears to hear, without hearts to attend to the things which are spoken. You have such blunted consciences, that no words of mine can move you to flee from the wrath to come; you have such hard, wicked hearts, that no words of mine can persuade you to embrace the beseeching Saviour; and yet it is by the foolishness of preaching that it pleases God to save them that believe; and though our words have no power, yet God can work almightily through them; and this is his message unto you: "O ye dry bones, hear the word of the Lord."

I earnestly beseech those of you who care little for the preaching of the Word to attend to this. You may say, and say truly, that preaching seems a weak and foolish instrument for such a work -God himself has called it "the foolishness of preaching." You may say, and say truly, that ministers are but earthen vesselsthat they are men of like passions with yourselves-God himself has called them so before you. But you cannot say that it is not God's way of converting souls; and it is at the peril of your own souls if ye despise it. Keep away from the house of God and lock up your Bible, and you put away from you the only instruments by which God can reach your dying souls.

III. The third and last lesson we learn from this vision is, that prayer must be added to preaching, else preaching is in vain.

The effects produced by the prophesying of Ezekiel to the dry bones were very remarkable. The bones came together, bone to his bone; the flesh, the sinews, the skin came up upon them, and covered them; but still there was no breath in them-they were as dead as ever. And, oh! how like this is to the effects which often follow on the preaching of the Word. How often is a people outwardly reformed! Instead of Sabbath breaking there is Sabbath observance; instead of drunkenness, sobriety; the form of godliness, but none of the power; the bones, and sinews, and flesh, and skin of godliness, but none of the living breath of godliness. Ah! my friends, is not this just the way with our congregations at this day; abundance of head knowledge, but, ah! where is the lowly heart that loves the Saviour? Abundance of orthodoxy and argument, but, ah! where is the simple faith in the Lord Jesus,

and love to all the saints? Does not the Saviour say when he looks down on our Churches ; "There is no breath in them?" Oh! then, brethren, let us one and all give heed to the second command to the prophet: "Prophesy unto the Spirit, son of man; say, Come from the four winds, O Spirit, and breathe upon these slain, that they may live. So I prophesied as he commanded, and the breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an exceeding great army."

Learn two lessons from this.

1st, Unconverted friends, what dead hearts you must have; all the preaching in the world cannot put life into them. What hard hearts yours must be; the heaviest hammer we can lift cannot break them. We speak the weightiest arguments into your ear, yet all will not move you. We must lift up our voice, and prophesy to the Spirit; we must bring down the Almighty Spirit before we can touch your heart. We try to convince you of sin; we show you how you have broken the law, and that "cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them;" that you must be under that curse, that you will not be able to bear that curse, that it crushed a Saviour to the earth, and will crush you to the lowest hell. You are somewhat impressed, and we hope that your heart is touched; but your impressions are like impressions on the sand when the tide is out, and the very next tide of the world effaces all. We try to convince you of righteousness. We tell you of the love of the Saviour, how it passeth knowledge; how there was an ocean of love in that bosom, which no line could fathom-love to lost sinners like you; how he served in the stead of sinners, obeying the law for us; how he suffered in the stead of sinners, bearing the curse for us. We tell you to believe in him, and be saved; you are melted, and the tear stands on your cheek; but, ah! it is like "the morning cloud and early dew-it quickly passes away."

Ah! brethren, what hard, iron hearts you must have, when all that man can do will not melt them. Your hearts are too hard for us; and we have to go back weeping to our Lord, saying: "Who hath believed our report?" In all other things we could persuade you by arguments. If your bodies were sick, we could persuade you to send for the physician; if your estate were entangled, we could persuade you to be diligent for your familyoh! how readily you would obey us; but when we demonstrate that you are the heirs, soul and body, of an eternal hell, you will not awake for it all. Even if we could show you the Lord Jesus Christ himself the bleeding, beseeching Saviour-your wicked hearts would not cleave to him. You need Him that made your hearts, to break and bend your hearts. Will you not, each of you, go away, then, beating on the breast, and saying: "God, be merciful to me, a sinner?"

Learn, 2dly, Believing brethren, what need you have to pray

When God, in the chapter before (xxxvi.), promises to give a new heart and a new spirit to Israel, "to take away the stony heart out of their flesh, and to give them a heart of flesh," he adds, at verse 37: "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house of Israel to do it for them." And when God promises to give to Christ the heathen for his heritage, be only promises it in answer to prayer: "Ask of me, and I will give thee." And just so here; when he wishes to give life to these dead carcasses that are lying in the open valley, his word is: "Prophesy, O son of man, unto the Spirit."

O believing brethren! what an instrument is this which God hath put into your hands! Prayer moves Him that moves the universe. O men of faith and prayer!-Israels, who wrestle with God, and prevail !-righteous, justified men, whose prayers avail much!-you may be a little flock, but be you entreated to give the Lord no rest. O pray for the Spirit to "breathe upon these slain, that they may live!" And you, selfish Christians, if such a contradiction can exist; you, who approach the throne of God only for yourselves; you, whose petitions begin and end only for yourselves; who ask no gifts but only for your own peace and joy, go you and learn what this meaneth: "It is more blessed to give than to receive"-" Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus."

Dundee, Dec. 25, 1836.

SERMON LXVI.

CHRIST THE ONLY REFUGE.

"Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee: hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.' Isa. xxvi., 20.

THIS passage is a word in season to God's people in every time of impending calamity. The form of expression is evidently taken from that dreadful night when God passed through the land of Egypt to smite all the first-born of Egypt, from the first-born of Pharaoh that sat upon the throne to the first-born of the captive that sat in the dungeon. And Pharaoh arose in the night, he, and all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead. But God had commanded his own Israel to kill the paschal lamb, the type of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, and to take a bunch of hyssop, and dip it in the blood, and to strike the lintel and the two side posts with the blood: “And none

of you (said he) shall go out at the door of his house until the morning." As if he had said, "Come, my people, enter into thy chambers, and shut thy blood-sprinkled doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."

It may be difficult to determine what time of indignation the prophet here refers to. The prophecy was given in the beginning of Hezekiah's reign, when many a destruction was yet to come upon the land of Israel. The invasion by Sennacherib the Assyrian was just at hand, and may be primarily referred to. The invasion by Nebuchadnezzar, and seventy years' captivity, was also coming; and this also may be referred to. And the invasion by the Romans, in which Jerusalem was destroyed, and the Jews finally dispersed over the world, may also be referred to. And in all these coming indignations, God's word to his people was, to hide in their chambers, in the refuge which he had appointed them, till the indignation should be overpast. But most of all does this prophecy refer to the great storm of indignation which God is yet going to bring upon the world, before the end come; when the Lord Jesus shall come a second time, without sin unto salvation; when he shall come again, no more a poor man, clothed in a seamless garment, but glorious in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength;" when he shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, when he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and admired in all them that believe." In that day of awful tribulation-which, except it were shortened, no flesh should be savedGod will gather his own as it were into chambers, and keep them hid till the storm passes over. As in the flood he brought his little flock into the ark, and it is written, "God shut them in ;" he shut the doors about them, till the deluge of his wrath was past; as in the destruction of Jericho, the family of Rahab were gathered all within doors, and saved from the wrath that came on all besides; as in the destruction of the first-born in Egypt, God kept his own Israel safely hid in their dwellings; so, in the last storm that shall fall on this poor perishing world, God will gather his elect safe under the hollow of his hand, saying, "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast."

The doctrine to be learned from this passage is a very plain one, namely, that in every time of calamity God bids us and our families find refuge in Christ. There is no safety anywhere else. Christ is a complete refuge in every storm.

In other parts of the Bible Christ is compared to "a hidingplace from the wind, a covert from the storm, and the shadow of a great rock in a weary land;" he is compared to "a fortress, or

high tower, into which we may flee and be safe;" he is compared to "an apple tree amid the trees of the wood, under whose shadow we may sit down, and his fruit be sweet to our taste;" but the comparison here is quite different; he is here compared to our own chamber with the door shut: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee."

Now Christ is like our own chamber with the door shut, in many respects:-1. Because there is safety in him. There is no place in all the world to which we look oftener in an hour of danger, as a refuge and place of safety, than our own home, the inner chamber, with the door made fast. Brethren, just such is Christ. There is safety in him: "There is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus." 2. Because there is quietness and rest in him. In the world we look for the bustle and harassment of business; but when we enter into our chamber and shut the door behind us, we shut out the bustling, noisy world; all is tranquillity and peace. Brethren, just such is Christ. In him the weary are at rest." We are "without carefulness"-we have "quietness and assurance for ever." 3. Because our home is a ready-made retreat, near and easy of access. When we seek our home, we have not to soar with the eagle to the top of the rugged rocks: nor like the dove that makes its nest in the hole's mouth; neither have we to dig into the earth, that we may hide our head there. Our home is near unto us. Brethren, just such is Christ. He is a ready-made Saviour, at hand, and not afar off. We have not to ascend, to bring Christ down from above; neither have we to descend into the deep, to bring Christ again from the dead. But the word is nigh thec, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. Oh! he is a near Saviour; he is not far from any one of us. Now, this is the refuge which God bids his people flee into in every storm: "Come, my people, enter thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee; hide thee as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast." And oh! it is an allsufficient refuge in every storm.

1. Christ is a complete refuge in a storm of conscience.-The great mass of unconverted men are living quite securely in their sins; going about from day to day without the least anxiety, though they are abiding under wrath. The reason is, that the vials of wrath are held over their heads, but not yet poured out; the flames of hell are burning up to their very feet, but they are not yet suffered to touch them. God is long-suffering, not willing that any should perish. But when God awakens a soul to know his true condition, then there arises a storm of conscience within. O brethren! there is no more security to that soul. He does not feel the loathsomeness of sin as a child of God does; but he feels the terribleness of wrath. The Spirit has convinced him of sin. Every sin of his past life rises up behind him, and seems to cry for instant vengeance; all the sins of his hands-his taking things