nations shall flow unto it." In like manner the prophet Jeremiah speaks (xxxiii. 22), “As the host of heaven cannot be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply the seed of David my servant." And Malachi, in terms equivalent (i. 11), " From the rising of the sun, even unto the going down of the same, my name shall be great among the Gentiles; and in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: for my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the Lord of hosts." But I need not multiply such passages. The few recited will bring to the recollection of every reader of the Bible, how full the Scriptures are, on this important point; and with what bright and cheering evidence, both the prophets and the psalms, give witness, that "the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea ;" and that "the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ." Thus we have reason to indulge the hope, that those who are saved during the latter days, will so outnumber those who perish in the great apostasy, as to leave, on the final reckoning, a balance abundantly in favour of the numerical happiness of the sons of Adam.

But however this may be, no delusion can be more complete, than to feel a security, merely in

going with the crowd. Would it have been safe, in the days of Noah, to take the multitude as our rule; when the world was teeming with inhabitants, and one family alone was rescued from destruction? Would it have been safe to do so, amongst the men of Sodom and Gomorrah; when fire and brimstone came down from heaven, and brought the heavy wrath of God upon every living soul that dwelt there? Would it have been safe to do so, in the time of our Lord's abode on earth; when the whole multitude were, with one consent, calling down his blood upon themselves, and upon their children? Would it have been safe to do so, in the very teeth of his tremendous declarations, that" many are called but few are chosen;" that "strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life;" that "wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that go in thereat?" No, my brethren. It would not have been safe to follow the multitude, then: nor is there any salvation, for those who do so, now.

Laying aside, then, all delusive arguments, let us-while we rely upon the Saviour's merits alone, for pardon, and his Spirit alone, for sanctification, and for guidance-humbly obey his indispensable commandment, and strive to enter in at the strait gate. Let us take our rules from the word of

God, and not from men, who inwardly condemn themselves. Let us spurn a confederacy in folly, however general; a confederacy to elevate the body above the soul, and the world above the God that made it. Let us rise above the multitude, who have lost their way, and grope in darkness which they have preferred to light let us rise above them, to the element for which our souls were formed; to the communion of saints; to the fellowship of angels; and to the friendship of the blessed God. Now, we see through a glass darkly; but a little while and we shall see face to face. A little while and those scenes and objects, which faith contemplates in the distance, will be present with us, and all around us. Once admitted to the bright regions of the blessed, old things will have passed away, and all things become new. Then, to "follow a multitude" will be our wisdom, our duty, and our happiness. Then, "the broad way" will be "the way of holiness ;" and to do as others do, will be to delight ourselves in the Lord. Then, numbers without number will be on God's side. And while memory, as it doubtless will do, recalls the past, and brings us back, in thought, to times of trial here below, and places again before our view, those fellow-soldiers, with whom we fought against a world in arms;-Oh! with what transport shall

we contrast that little band, with the countless millions who cover all the plains of heaven; angels," as the sand which is by the sea-shore, innumerable;" multitudes, which no man can number, of all nations, and kindred, and people, and tongues, crying with a loud voice, and saying, salvation, to our God, which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb, for ever and ever.

I cannot, my brethren, dismiss you, without a few words, applicable to the present circumstances which surround us. The times are long gone by, when a man, who sincerely desired to serve God, had, comparatively, no difficulty, in discerning the line of conduct, which my text points out. To renounce the vanities of time, and to exchange the allurements of a flattering world for a life hid with Christ in God; this was the trial and the cross. And though the flesh was weak, yet, if the spirit was willing, the grace of God became, to those who diligently sought it, the power of God unto salvation; and when once the choice was made, the path was clear. There were not, then, as in the present day, two wide-spread systems, the one called religious and the other worldly society; in either of which, though greatly differing I grant, the pilgrim might miss his way to heaven. That there has been of late years, a great revival in spiritual things, no man can fairly

deny. Nevertheless, this extension of religion, has its peculiar trials, for the children of God. It has rendered that line, which used to separate them from others, less distinct than it was before. They are now, in many places, surrounded by a large society, professing the same peculiar doctrines, protesting against the same dissipations, and zealous in the same outward activities, as themselves. Amongst this multitude, that Satan has not failed to sow his tares, we may be well assured. Hence a new danger awaits the Christian: I mean the difficulty of preserving the separation so indispensably required, from those, who are marked off from him by no visible distinctions. Hence, without redoubled caution, a spirit of less simplicity, and devotedness to God, steals, insensibly, upon true believers; because the infection breathes in the house of their friends.

The truth is, that the soldiers of the cross, have, in these remarkable times,* a powerful and marvellously compacted confederacy, against them. The most discordant principles coalesce. The most hostile elements intermingle and combine. Superstition, that believes every thing, and liberalism, that believes nothing; those who make reason the whole of their religion, and those

*Preached in 1832.