also be counted amongst them, and may the wings of divine mercy encompass you, that you may enjoy an eternal sabbath-rest in Jesus Christ. Amen. NABOTH'S VINEYARD. "TRUTH, Lord: yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master's table." These were the words with which the woman of Canaan victoriously surmounted the last barrier which Jesus placed before her faith. In this, "Truth, Lord: yet," is reflected, like the sun in a dew-drop, not only the whole splendour of the Gospel, but also the inward condition of all true Chris tians. "Truth, Lord:" begins the woman; and how significant is here the word "Truth!" This, "Truth" is full of reproach against our generation, and confirms a judgment of the dignity of human nature more condemnatory than any that has ever been passed upon it. on earth. perdition, and the avenger of blood pursues us; "yet" there is an altar upon earth by which we take refuge and who dares touch us? Help has appeared for the miserable, life for the dead, grace for the rebels, and righteousness for transgressors. For this reason the, "Truth, Lord," stands no longer by itself. The cries of fear dissolve in the happy exclamations of hope and joy. The Gospel permits us to disperse the horrors of the greatest and the most just self-condemnation with a joyful, "yet, Lord,- yet," and this is the glory of the Gospel. "No, "Truth, Lord, yet." Where these words are uttered, as the woman of Canaan uttered them, with sincerity, and a palpitating heart-there is a child of God. The, "Truth, Lord," when the Lord speaks of dogs and such like, is a difficult word, not very willingly pronounced. How long was it, for instance, ere the man after God's own heart, when he had transgressed, spoke it out freely. Without intermission, a voice cried within him, "Woe to thee, thou adulterer! murderer !" Lord," was his answer, "no, it is not so bad with me.' As the sea after a storm, when the surface is calm and quiet, but in the depth it rages and roars fearfully,- thus lived the false brother: inwardly the most dreadful commotion, but externally an assumed calmness, as if nothing were the matter. And, behold, the hand of the Lord must first be heavy upon him for many a day and many a night; his bones must first wax old through his daily roaring, and his moisture be turned into the drought of summer, ere at length, amid tears and groanings, was uttered the, "Truth, Lord.” "I said," he relates himself, " will confess my transgressions unto the Lord, and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. See, my friends, so backward are we with that, Truth, Lord," and so forcibly it must be wrested out of the proud heart. But that moment when, overcome, broken, ashamed, and with a sunken head, a poor sinner weepingly stammers his, "Truth, Lord, before the seat of the Eternal Judge, and confesses his guilt, oh, that moment is truly great and important, and heaven, and earth, and hell, are concerned in it. It is the crisis, and it is the first step out of Satan's bonds. 66 You know the Saviour spake just now of dogs, in contradisdiction to the children of the house; and it was evident enough that under this mortifying title he included all those who stood yet without his kingdom, and had not yet experienced the great renovation by water and the Spirit. And, behold, how ill she pleads in our behalf against that severe accusation. "Truth, Lord!" she replies to the humiliating sentence, and with it judges and condemns herself as well as the whole world, as far as it had not yet received the second birth from God. But the, "Truth, Lord," is not all she has to say, for she immediately adds to it the little word "yet". and certain it is, my beloved, in this, "Truth, Lord: yet, we see the glory of the Gospel in its full splendour. And however closely the, "Truth, Lord," and the, "yet," follow upon each other, still, when strictly viewed, there is much between them. A cross is between, against which all the tempests of divine wrath rage. An altar is between, crimsoned with the holiest blood that ever flowed A Lamb is between, which bears the sins of the world. A Surety is between, who takes the punishment allotted to us upon himself: for the curses of Ebal were no empty threats. A Martyr "Truth, Lord," exclaimed the woman, but did is between, made unto sin on our account. A not stop at these words. A mere, Truth, Lord," blood-stained body is between, in the death and if it even come from the heart, is not yet a certain ruin of which the fiery shafts of divine anger, pre-sign of divine adoption. If in the heart of the pared for our destruction, have been quenched. O, woman of Canaan were nothing besides this, "Truth, happy we!-Were the Lamb of the sacrifice not Lord," it would not have saved her from destructhere which drowned our sin in the streams of his tion. Judas exclaimed, "I have sinned in that I blood, then we could only say, "Truth, Lord; "have betrayed the innocent blood, " and despair of and thereby make a stop. No, " yet," could then grace. This was a, "Truth, Lord!" but there it follow. "Truth, Lord," were then our only reply; stopped, and the consequence was-hell. He went we are dogs, and condemnable rebels ;" and, instead to his place in spite of his self-accusation. To the, of the, "yet," would succeed howling, and writhing" Truth, Lord," of the elect, is joined a "yet;" of hands, and despair. But now it is otherwise. If and where these two sounds meet together in harwe are even obliged with shame and trembling to mony, there is sure to be a sheep of the flock of say, "Truth, Lord," to the condemnations of Christ. A deep sense of one's own corruption, God pronounced upon us, the cross on Golgotha supported by a sincere reliance in God's mercy, permits us to add a blessed, yet." Truth, we through Christ Jesus, is the peculiar character of a have incurred divine wrath, and merit the council; child of God. Therefore, we can justly say that in yet a throne of grace is erected on the accursed the, "Truth, Lord: yet," is reflected the glory of ground, and an eternal reconciliation has been the Gospel, as well as the inward condition of every obtained. Truth, we are imprisoned, judged, and true Christian. condemned to a fearful death; yet, a wondrous key lies in perforated hands, which opens every gate, and promises liberty. Truth, we have deserved eternal 66 66 * Matt, xv. 27, 28. 66 You ask me, why I have commenced the consideration of our narrative by opening to you an insight into the heart of the woman of Canaan? I * Psalm xxxii. 5. did so, first of all, in order to impart a cheering "And the word of the Lord came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?' And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Lord. Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity.' About the time when, at Abel-meholah, Elijah called the husbandman Elisha from the plough, and consecrated him to be a prophet, a bloody war broke out in Israel. Benhadad, the king of the Syrians, marched quite unexpectedly with an immense army, commanded by two and thirty tributary and confederate kings, against Ahab; but by the help of God was defeated, and compelled to make peace. Where Elijah was during these turbulent times, we are not informed; not until after the disturbances are past, we behold him appear again on the stage of history, and, namely, as a herald and ambassador of the Judge in heaven. He is to go to Samaria, and to reprove king Ahab for his sin. This mission of Elijah is the subject of our present consideration. We direct our attention to its cause, and its purport, and its immediate consequences. I. The word of the Lord comes to Elijah, saying, "Arise, go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it." Thus saith the Lord. The crime which Ahab had committed against Naboth, and the taking possession of his vineyard, occasioned the present mission of our prophet to the royal residence. The revolting injustice the court was guilty of against Naboth, that pious Israelite, is known to you, and I need but briefly remind you of it. We are acquainted with king Ahab. We have met but too often with him, and know in what class of men he is to be ranked. His character was not so villanous as depraved; for the word "villanous" implies yet a certain strength and energy. The villain commits his evil deeds in cold blood, out of principle, methodically, spontaneously, and with deliberation. But Ahab was a thorough weakling, whose actions were always decided by external influence, and who on all occasions was what the circumstances he happened to be in at the time, or the people by whom he was surrounded, made of him. Thus, as at one time he could show himself over kind and generous; as, for instance, in his behaviour towards the vanquished king of Syria, when the Lord was obliged to reprove him for this untimely kindness, by sending a prophet to him, saying, "Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go for his life;" so also he could, according as he was influenced and wrought upon externally, in the very next moment, commit the most heinous cruelty, especially if it could be done with some ease, and without any personal risk. Under a better direction, Ahab might very likely have been a better king; but under the control of a Jezebel, and a parcel of crafty sycophants, such as his courtiers were, this characterless man necessarily became depraved to the highest degree. Hence, if we look at the individuals about him, it need not in the least surprise us to see the life of a man who, as we have already perceived, was not entirely unsusceptible of better impressions, form, nevertheless, an unbroken chain of iniquities and crimes. Ahab was an effeminate and voluptuous man. He left the sceptre and the state affairs entirely to his wife; and was happy, if, in undisturbed ease and quiet, he could follow his inclinations. After the conclusion of the war, he had retired again to his palace at Jezreel. Here, in order to pass away time, he bethought him that he would make some alterations in his buildings and gardens, and improve, and, if possible, enlarge the grounds surrounding his palace. Adjacent to the palace-garden was a vineyard, the paternal inheritance of Naboth the Jezreelite. It immediately struck king Ahab that his establishment would gain not a little by the addition of that piece of land. He therefore resolved to obtain it. Forthwith he ordered the proprietor of the vineyard to be summoned before him, acquainted him with his wishes, and offered to make an exchange with him; or, should he object to this, to give him the worth of it in money. But Naboth could in nowise be prevailed upon to give up his vineyard. According to the divine law, no Israelite was permitted to sell his inheritance; for they were to consider the land they inhabited as a property of the Lord, of which they were only the stewards. The most they could do was to exchange it; but even that only until the year of jubilee, when they were obliged to redeem it again. Naboth would not deviate from the command of his God; nor had he any inclination to enter upon an exchange, because he foresaw that the idolatrous king would little trouble himself about the year of jubilee, and its rights. "No," replied Naboth to the proposition of the king; "the Lord forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee." He does not hesitate to acknowledge himself before the idolatrous monarch as a worshipper of the God of Abraham; and we rejoice to meet in this man another of those seven thousand who would not bow their knee to Baal. The king was not at all prepared for such an answer. That he should not have his will, and be obliged to see his most pleasing projects frustrated, and frustrated too by the obstinacy of a man of the old law, and by the piety of a subject who had dared, in spite of the royal command and example, to refuse homage to the Sidonian idol, and to adhere to the faith of his fathers, was to him an aggravating and insupportable thought. Mortified at this offence offered to his royal majesty, and full of vexation and anger at the refusal, he hastens back to his palace, demeans himself like a spoiled child, whose will has not been complied with, throws himself upon his bed, turns his face to the wall, and work, and though it came not exactly to stoning, still, as far as inward feelings went, Ahab and Jezebel were there and stood against Naboth. II. Ahab's joy over the gained piece of land was not of long duration. However secretly even the murderers had played their part, and contrived their hellish plan, ONE, whose presence they certainly never thought of, was there in the cabinet where the plot was laid; "One" had observed the thoughts of the blood-thirsty queen, and had stood behind her seat when she wrote the counterfeit letters; "One" had listened to the conversation she held with the hired villains; and this "One" knew the whole transaction. This secret witness was no other than HE whose eyes are like flames of fire. It was the Keeper who neither sleeps nor slumbers, who reads the heart as an open book, who digs through the wall, who disregards every cover, who discerns from afar the thoughts of sinners, and who is at home in all our lurking places. The Holy One of Israel saw it, and his fierce anger was kindled against the workers of iniquity and bloodshed. will not eat. In this disconsolate state he is found were threatened with dismissal from service and by Jezebel, who, not a little surprised at it, inquires what has befallen her husband, and Ahab relates to her the circumstance. "And is that all?" says the woman; "then we will soon find a remedy. Israel would be a kingdom, if things were allowed to go on thus! Arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry. I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite." And Jezebel, partly to avenge the disgrace inflicted upon the royal majesty, partly by a new favour to rivet her husband still more closely to herself, immediately adopts measures to acquire the vineyard at any price. She writes letters in Ahab's name, she misapplies the seal of state to commands which the king is entirely ignorant of. She orders the elders and nobles of the town to proclaim a fast, which was wont to be done when any calamity had occurred, or some dreadful crime had been committed. She desires them to assemble the people, and to set Naboth on high among them; and then two hired villains are to appear against him with false evidences, and accuse him of having uttered curses and blasphemies against God and the king. This being done, Naboth is condemned without examination, resigned to the infuriated populace, dragged out of the city, and most inhumanly stoned to death. And when the bloody execution was accomplished, Jezebel went triumphantly to Ahab, and said, "Arise, take possession of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money, for Naboth is not alive, but dead." .And when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, the clouds of disappointment vanished from his brow. With joy beaming in his eyes, the miserable man arose from his couch, and hastened down to the vineyard to take possession of it. See, my beloved, this was the shocking crime in which, although it originated with Jezebel, Ahab had an equal share by heartily approving of the atrocious deed, and gladly seizing the spoil. He would have perpetrated the wicked deed himself, had he the resolution and cunning at command, which his wife possessed in so high a degree. They were both of them the murderers of Naboth, both polluted with his blood, both equally guilty and punishable. The But why, when the Almighty saw the wicked deed plotting, did He not interpose to prevent it? Why did he not save the innocent Naboth, who was His servant and His child, and had incurred the danger through his faith and obedience? Scripture refers us to eternity with questions like these. Until then we must quietly submit to the thousands of mysteries of divine government, which surround us here below; and, trusting in a firm prophetical word, by faith give God the glory, that even "His foolishness" is nothing less than adorable wisdom; and that whatever seems contradictory and strange in His governance belongs to a plan and economy which eventually will only force from us the more profound admiration, the more it was the cause of vexation to our darkened understanding here upon earth. God's thoughts are not our thoughts, and His ways are infinitely higher than our ways. "We do not understand His government," says an enlightened writer; "and take always too much upon ourselves either in praising it, or in finding fault with it. God delights in his plan, and is unconcerned about our opinions. He does not seek our applauses and admiration for his goodness to the world, or for the wisdom of his rule." "It is downright absurdity," says the same ingenious author, "to wish for a hair more or less than we possess, and it is certainly better to be Elisha than Absalom; Lazarus than-to go to the devil, after having, like him, played long enough the factotum upon earth. Let the world be good or bad, provided God reigns in it, or rather in our hearts, His ways will be always acceptable to us." The atrocity committed upon the unhappy Naboth was the more abominable and heinous, since it was not obstinacy that induced the poor man to refuse the king's proposal, but the faith in the God of his fathers, and the obedience to His holy regulations. But there is not the least doubt, as we have already remarked, that it was this which still more exasperated the murderers, and enraged them to the utmost. Nothing is more intolerable to the world than to be refused in something from reasons of piety and faith. Thus it has happened that It is true, an event such as that of the innocently unbelieving masters have expected their Christian condemned Naboth bleeding under the hands of workmen to accede to one or the other dishonest violence, and the most revolting injustice, can give proposal respecting their work, and were refused; our faith something to contend with, and for a this, however, would have been of no consequence, moment shake the pillars of our theology. But and every thing would have remained upon good however harsh such an occurrence may sound to the footing if the latter had only stated some natural natural ear, to the heavenly, even this dissonance is and human reason for their refusal, and said, may dissolved into the most rapturous harmony. Let us be, that it is dangerous to adulterate their goods in leave every thing to the Lord. He is sure to unthis or that manner, that it could cause injury to ravel all knots which may be tied in the life of his their master, and such like. But as, on the con- friends, to his own glory and their advantage. We trary, they referred to their Saviour, and mentioned can depend upon it that it was no complaint of the the law of God as the cause of their non-compli- melancholy end of his life with which Naboth, after ance, then came chiding and swearing, and they|he had closed his eyes, on the place of execution, under the shower of stones of his enemies, opened them again before the footstool of his God, and in the peaceful calm of his eternal home. Doubtless his violent death is to him, to this day, a subject of praise and not of lamentation; and were he now amongst us, our surprise at his guidance would give him pain, and he would urge us to adore it, with him, as a guidance replete with wisdom, kindness, and love. vested, I am surrounded by the same divine affection as Christ; and, whilst this consciousness does not leave me for a moment in doubt that God neither can nor will deny me, his well pleasing child made acceptable in the Son of his love, any thing I may ask for, nothing prevents me from throwing myself with all my concerns joyfully on the paternal heart of the Almighty,—and his abode stands open to me as my own chamber. This is the approaching in the name of Jesus, that is, in Jesus' stead; and to such a state of faith, God has promised every thing, and wished for. Consequently there can be a condition entirely free from cares and fear, even in the midst of a thousand dangers; there can be a state of mind in which we possess the keys to all the treasuries of God, as well as an impenetrable shield against all dangers of body and soul. Know only how to abide in Christ, and "to ask in his name," then pray for whatsoever thou likest, either to be given to thee, or to be removed from thee; and even whilst thou prayest thy request is granted. "Yes," you think, "that may be; but-where are the promises of God, if a man like Naboth meet with such a fate?"- The promises of God?-They-every thing without exception, that may be asked remain as they were, and are all "Yea and Amen!" God has sworn to them that love him that all things should be to their advantage; and such is the case. God has promised he will be with them in fire and in water; and He is with them. But you presume it is promised to them that no fire or water shall ever reach them; no sorrow or calamity befall them. But this is erroneous; for it is expressly said that the way to the kingdom of God is "through much tribulation;" and the Saviour does not conceal it from his friends, that he will "appoint unto them the kingdom, even as the Fa-deed in Jezreel is accomplished. Naboth's mangled ther hath appointed it unto Him." "But if such be the case," I hear you say, "we must be in constant fear, and cannot, in any danger, calculate with confidence upon escaping the tempest that threatens If we pass through a forest, it is doubtful whether we shall fall into the hands of robbers and murderers, or not. If we cross a stream, we are not sure whether we may not find a watery grave. If we are deprived of work and wages, we possess nothing which can give us hope that God will still preserve us and our children from starvation. If pestilence rages around us, we can be as little certain as any one else that the destroying angel will spare us. For, respecting temporal misfortunes, no promises are given which might assure us of an infallible protection from them; consequently, we are obliged, notwithstanding our adoption, in every danger to give place to the same apprehensions as those who are abroad?" No, no, my friends; these conclusions are wrong and erroneous. us ? But we lose the thread of our history. The dark body reposes in the earth, but the voice of his blood rises from the grave, and cries up to heaven for vengeance. The great Advocate and Blood-avenger of his Church hears it, and prepares himself for judgment. He commissions his herald, the Tishbite, with a message to king Ahab. "Arise," was the divine command, "go down to meet Ahab, king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold he is in the vineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Lord, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth, shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine." Terrific words! One would suppose, Elijah himself must have sunk under the rolling thunder of divine jealousy. And he would have done so, had he no other safeguard than his own righteousness. Indeed, it must have been more than a mere faint glimmer of the Gospel of Christ, Certainly it is not expressly promised to us that that shone in the soul of a man, like Elijah, who so we shall escape all dangers and misfortunes; but often beheld the fierce anger of the Almighty, and whosoever believeth shall see "The glory of the yet could remain undaunted, and of good courage; Lord, " and "all things are possible to Him." and who, although he had to bear about with him, You know we have received assurances, -assu- almost exclusively, the flames of divine wrath; notrances of the most unlimited extent, promises which withstanding, never thought under these fiery bursurpass all our wishes. Of whatever kind the dis-dens of being apprehensive on his own account. tress we are threatened by may be, we need only, according to the express declaration of God, "call upon his name " and we are saved. Yea, the Saviour, according to St. John, warrants us, that "If we abide in him, and his words in us, we may ask what we will, and it shall be done unto us. But what meaneth, "To abide in Christ?" It is a glorious position, and a matter of high importance, which is pointed out to us by this expression. If, in conformity with those words, I abide in Christ, I forget myself in him; I behold myself in Christ, and the consciousness of my sin is lost in that of his merits; I look upon myself as having died with him, risen with him, and as being exalted with him on high, above the world, sin, death, and the devil; I rejoice in his righteousness, as if it were my own, and as, in truth, it is. In this ornament, I no longer know myself, according to the flesh; thus * Chap. xv. 7. -- * There is not the least doubt but that Elijah understood the mystery concerning the brazen serpent, and knew of the cross; and thence proceeded his ready courage, which withstood even the terrors of the Almighty. III The king of Samaria is walking leisurely in the vineyard of Naboth. He rejoices at the rich spoil, and considers how this ill-gotten property may be turned to the best advantage and annexed to his grounds. Suddenly he thinks he hears footsteps near him. He turns round; and how great is his surprise and vexation at beholding a man coming up to him, in whose stead he would rather have seen a whole army advancing, and, who had never yet come upon him more unseasonably than exactly at this moment. It was Elijah the Tishbite. Like a dark tempestuous cloud, fraught with destruction and death, he moved towards him. He does not send any one to announce him; or to inquire whether it be the king's pleasure to admit him to his presence. He takes the audience in the name of Jehovah, and does not scruple to surprise the monarch in the midst of his gardens and pleasure-grounds, and to interrupt him for a while in his private amusements. Detestable meeting for the prince! Had he not already flattered himself with the hope of having got rid for ever of this troublesome guest, and believed that he had left the country, or, what would have pleased him still more, was numbered with the dead. And now, all on a sudden, he again stands before him, like an apparition from another world; yea, even like the spirit of the murdered Naboth. Pale, and trembling with rage and confusion, he beholds the hated messenger approach; and, before Elijah had yet uttered a word, he had already as it were delivered his message to Ahab. For Ahab feels for what purpose he has come. He reads in his eyes the judgment and the curse; and the mere sight of the man in the rough garment is, like a poniard and a fiery arrow to his guilty conscience. "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" he exclaims to him, foaming with passion; but thereby only betrays himself, and becomes his own accuser. "Thou adversary," he would say, "who bears always evil against me, how will thy malicious heart rejoice at having again detected me!" Yes, he was indeed found, the worthless being, and this was the very cause of his suppressed rage with which, like an adder, he hissed at the prophet. we, it is God, who has found you through us; and him you escape not. The arrow once sticking in your heart, be assured, it cannot be got rid of, until the same Almighty hand which had levelled it against you, extracts it from the wound. If He, "who maketh a spoil of the mighty," intends to lead you to repentance, then spare yourselves the vain labour of kicking against the prick. No herb, no medicament of this world, will have power to heal the aching wound of your conscience. The burning within you will increase from day to day; and the devouring fire in your bones will spread more and more around, until it is quenched in the blood of the Lamb, and subdued in the peace that breathes around the cross. Oh, that we might but find you; we would gladly be called for awhile your enemies. Scarce has the ireful question, "Hast thou found me, O mine enemy?" escaped from the lips of the king, when it is immediately returned to him, like a dreadful echo, in the affirmative. "Yes," says the man in the rough garment, with his usual firmness and tranquillity, "I have found thee." How must the evildoer have felt at these words? Perplexed and restrained as he was by the dreadful accusations of his own conscience, he saw himself utterly unable to offer even the smallest return in defence to the attack of the prophet. Moreover, it came upon him in the very vineyard of Naboth, which made it the more aggravating; and the significant mien with which Elijah accompanied his How often, my brethren, must not we, your words completely convinced the king that the propastors, participate in this fate of Elijah, when we phet knew to whom the ground belonged, and the also succeed in finding sinners in the congregation, reason why he met his sovereign upon this unusual or rather, if, through us, they are found of God. walk within the walls of the inheritance of Naboth. How often also have we not adders and scorpions Truly, a most pitiable position the king of Samaria to deal with, when the lightning of our words occupied at that moment! A more ignominious ignites; when our arrows hit the mark; when the defeat had probably never yet befallen him. In an descriptions of the spiritual warrants we issue from instant, the splendour of his diadem had vanished, the pulpit amongst our congregation are truly ap- and the imposing glory of his royalty was swept plicable to our hearers, and the one or the other away. Like a poor crest-fallen delinquent, from is forced to behold his deformity in the mirrors we whose hands are wrested all weapons against his place before their eyes: then immediately it is said accusers, save a stifled and impotent rage, he to us also, in the hearts of the culpable, "Hast stands before Elijah; and it must have been painthou found me, O mine enemy?" And we are ful for the Tishbite himself to behold his monarch rewarded for our success with the most bitter accu- so humbled, confused, and abased, before him, and, sation. We are then condemned as malicious all at once, to have as it were, exchanged their staadversaries of mankind, finding pleasure in disquiet- tions; so that Elijah now wore the crown, whilst ing and tormenting people without cause. Love the king lay like a crushed worm at his feet. But and Christian meekness are then things which thus the Lord can with a breath prostrate the we are strangers to; and a gloomy and melancholy proud into the dust; and, wherever he brandishes monachism is the piety in which we are instructing the sword of his word, both man and horse sink our congregations. Our sermons are in every res-like grass under the scythe of the mower. pect devoid of truth, and abound with extrava- You feel the severity, piercing both marrow and gances. Instead of elevating the mind, and im- bone, in that cold reply, I have found thee." It buing it with a pleasing view of life, they only is the merciless law which you behold in it. It is offend the tender feelings, and excite the heart the naked justice of the divine court, which you to indignation. Moreover, besides of what is called meet here in its dreadful rigour. How often has it sense and ideas, there is not a particle to be met not happened that a like, "I have found thee," from with in these miserable discourses; and who is the seat of the offended majesty, forthwith cast the desirous for instruction will, at any rate, be disap- sinner it struck into the gulf of despair; yea, even pointed in our church. Such are the uncharitable confused his senses, and drove him to madness. charges which we are then obliged to put up with. Oh, may God grant it in mercy, when, to-day, or toAnd it is not unfrequently the case that people do morrow, you also should be found from above in not stop at words, but carry the criticism into ac- your lurking-places, that not the naked law alone tion. They wish to repay us for having dared to may surprise you, but that it be accompanied by the encroach upon the peace of their heart, and, con- Gospel. May, with the appalling sound," Cursed is sequently, resolve never to hear us again; but, in whosoever departeth from the law," be mingled in future, to attend some other place. Well, go then, the same moment the blessed intelligence, "Christ ye stricken deer, wherever it pleases you. It is not is the end of the law; whosoever believeth in him is |