to God according to the means which He of his bounty hath supplied to our nation. If, according to the wealth which is poured into our shores, or drawn from the bowels of the earth, and the cultivation of its soil, or created by art and science, we will contribute for strengthening the hands of our spiritual rulers, increasing their number, multiplying our clergy, and affording them the means of feeding their flocks, and gathering strangers into the fold- if we will make large sacrifices with a free heart, then will the disgrace which now rests upon us bé removed, the stumbling-blocks be taken out of our way, and the promises made of old to the Church be fulfilled to us, to the praise and glory of God. Then shall "the glory of the Gentiles be like a flowing stream *;" and "the isles shall wait on his law, and the inhabitants thereof sing unto the Lord a new song, and his praise from the ends of the earth." And to us perhaps it may be granted" a land shadowing with wings, that sendeth ambassadors by the sea, in vessels of bulrushes upon the waters to go as swift messengers, and bring a present unto the Lord‡,” of his ancient people; to bring them to "his holy

* Isa. lxvi.

Isa. xviii. 1, 2. 7.

upon this chapter.

† Isa. xlii. 4. 10.

See Bishop Horsley's Dissertation

mountain," to "sing in the height of Zion*," and "be delighted with the abundance of her glory."

If this, then, be for the praise of God, and a blessing to the nations of the earth; if we may indulge the lofty thought that to us, being found faithful, shall be assigned the high office of "assembling the outcasts of Israel, and gathering together the dispersed of Judah," and "declaring his glory among the Gentiles;" how should our hearts rejoice, and give honour to God;" how readily, earnestly, and according to the means which He has given us, should we strive for the accomplishment of his will, for the performance of his work! It is this, at once a solemn obligation, and exalted privilege, to which I would invite your attention, now that the present season is drawing to its close. We heard on the first and blessed day "good tidings of great joy to all people," chanted by angels at the birth of the Saviour, Christ the Lord; and on the last and great day of the feast, we read of the wise and the rich men of the East bowing before the infant Jesus, and presenting gifts to the newborn King. These were the first-fruits of Gentile worshippers. May we not take them for the forerunners of ourselves, who boast to be the wealthiest and mightiest and wisest among the

* Jer. xxxi. 12.

nations of the earth; and who worship the blessed Jesus, now exalted to the throne of heaven, with a pure and holy worship? Having, then, at this season, heard these glad tidings of salvation, and received them into our hearts, does it not become us to present an offering to Him who wrought that salvation? And if our hearts are warmed, as I have said before, with the thought of his love, reaching to the ends of the earth, shall we not be moved to throw in of our substance in aid of the great work, in devout acknowledgment of his boundless mercy? Thousands there are of our countrymen abroad destitute of the means of grace; multitudes of the heathen who have no knowledge of God, nor faith in Christ Jesus, nor hope through him. Oh! what thanks shall we render for the light that has dawned upon our hearts! Our Church is now, blessed be God, awakened as from a long slumber, to a sense of its powers, and of what is due to its Divine Head, and seeks by means of a wellconstituted Society, established above a century ago, feebly supported while it depended on aid from our rulers, but now speaking loudly to the ears and hearts of the people through the land, to gather, in every place to which its influence may extend, congregations of true worshippers under ministers duly appointed, with a Bishop at their

head. Some of us are annual subscribers to this Society, others bring their weekly or monthly contributions. The best that can be done seems but little in the mind of one who has felt his own need of salvation, and is deeply thankful for having that need abundantly supplied; who feels for those who mourn over their want of the means of grace; or, which is a far worse state, neither know nor feel the need itself. An annual payment of a crown or a pound seems but a small offering to make in acknowledgment of the glory of God in the work of salvation, and of our own desire to take our part, so far as the Head of the Church allows those whom He is not ashamed to call his brethren to share with him in promoting his own glory and kingdom. If you think with me, brethren, bring your offerings with a glad heart, to be presented before the Lord; "for He loveth a cheerful giver," and will "accept and bless the work of your hands."

SERMON XXIII.

THE CHILDREN OF PROMISE.

ISA. liv. 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord.

ST. PAUL has taught us, in his Epistle to the Galatians, to take to ourselves, as members of the Church of Christ, the cheering promise and animating exhortation here made by the prophet. He is writing to those who having been delivered from the law of Moses (which he describes as a state of bondage), yet desired to be in subjection to it. And addressing them with the affection and authority of a father, he exhorts them to "stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." He reminds them of the early history of Isaac and Ishmael, the two sons of Abraham; teaching them to consider it as delivered for an allegorical or figurative intent *, and representative of the two covenants, or * ἅτινά ἐστιν ἀλληγορούμενα, Gal. iv. 24.