If the glories of the everlasting kingdom call forth your praise, seek those things which are above, and strive earnestly for the promised possession. How can you profess gratitude to your God and Saviour, if you resist his will, disobey his commands, refuse his promises, or defy his judgments?

I have omitted, under a former head, the notice of one point, which may form an appropriate conclusion of this discourse. În speaking of thankfulness for spiritual blessings, it were unpardonable to omit those which are vouchsafed to the church of Christ, or those which each congregation, forming a portion of that church, enjoys in itself; blessings I may well and truly call them, as they fall to our lot in this favoured country, — public prayer, the regular morning and evening service, the due administration of the sacraments, the hearing of the word, the instruction afforded to children, the visitation of the sick, and, let me add, the uniting of all the children of God in a holy and visible bond of fellowship, by their walking in the house of God as friends, partaking of the same spiritual gifts, and being stirred up to the mutual exercise of Christian love and charity. These, surely, are blessings which, if rightly weighed, call for a more than common expression of devout thankfulness. And these, my Christian brethren, in some measure now yours. May I be permitted, with something of that spirit of thankfulness which the

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apostles felt in addressing their brethren in various places, to congratulate you that you have now completed one short course a monthly course-of services in this place, during which every thing (I believe) which we are allowed to perform has been done amongst us; the regular service of every Lord's day leading us on, and gradually preparing us for the highest exercise of our devotion, that of the Holy Communion. Thus we go on from strength to strength, appearing before God in our Zion. Let me bless God, brethren, who has blessed you with spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus; and pray, with the holy apostle, "that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge, and in all judgment; that ye may approve things that are excellent; that ye may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, to the praise and glory of God." I can conceive, that as we are now at the end of one month, so when, by the favour of God, a whole year shall have rolled its course, the day on which this house was dedicated to holy uses shall be remembered, if not publicly, yet privately and solemnly, by each individual who shall then be a member of this congregation, with serious recollection and enquiry how far he has himself profited, and how far he has been enabled to impart to others the spiritual blessings here vouchsafed him; with increased feeling of Christian love and charity to those who shall then be his

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companions in divine worship, and tender remembrance of such as may have departed in the Lord. Let these blessings now excite you, my brethren, to continual thankfulness. Cherish in your hearts that due sense of the mercy of God in bestowing them upon you, that you may be unfeignedly thankful." And use them, I beseech you, so steadily and faithfully as to stir up in yourselves more and more a spirit of true devotion. Let your attendance in this place be honourable to God, and profitable to yourselves, and calculated to promote His glory and the edification of others in your families and among your neighbours. In the language of the solemn service of Consecration, "draw near unto God, to offer up your prayers and praises in this place with such steadfastness of faith, and with such seriousness, sincerity, and devout affection of mind, that you may be graciously accepted in his sight. Prepare your hearts to serve God with reverence and godly fear. Be affected with an awful apprehension of his Divine majesty, and with a deep sense of your own unworthiness, that you may approach His sanctuary with lowliness and devotion, with purity and sincerity of heart, and be acceptable in His sight."

But let not your service be one of the lips, no, nor of the heart only. "Let your conversation," i. e. the whole course and tenour of your life, "be as becometh the Gospel of Christ." Labour to "adorn the

doctrine of God our Saviour in all things; to show forth his praise in your life; to show to those who yet know it not, as they ought to know, the excellency of the Gospel in calming all that is irritable and impatient in the temper, softening all that is harsh, purifying all that defiles, elevating all base and unworthy desires, bringing the whole body and soul and spirit into subjection to the law of God, and thereby to the highest excellence. Show forth in your own conduct and character the admirable effects of the religion of Christ implanted in the heart, and thereby lead others to glorify God. Especially let this be manifest in your own family, and those who are in any way connected with you, or dependent upon you. Lead them, by exhortation, by precept, by family prayer, by personal example, to the love of Christ and His religion; and thus draw them from the dreary prospects of those who are without God in the world, or the splendid vanities of earth, to a real and substantial treasure that fadeth not away; to fix a strong hope as an anchor within the veil. Brethren, the times are in God's hand; and He-doubt it not will carry forward the work now begun. Let us be thankful that we have been permitted to witness the happy commencement of it; and let those that minister here, and those among whom they minister, strive together, by the grace of God, for the glorifying of His name, and doing His work. To Him, in every thing, be the praise!

"Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life; and they are they which testify of me."

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HE expressions here used are very instructive, yet perhaps scarcely convey the full meaning of our Lord, or of his beloved disciple who has recorded the admonition. The word translated "search," signifies an accurate tracing out, or tracking it, as a dog would track his game; and therefore, manifestly implies considerable diligence and painstaking, not to say some sagacity likewise in discovering the true meaning. The work here set before us, like every other to which God calls us, is a trial of our industry, and of the value which we set upon the object of our search. God would have us be not idle or heedless readers, but careful investigators of his word; "like those who have found great spoil," as the Psalmist speaks, and