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nished its various parts. It is but justice, however, to say, that though the volume presents no mean specimens of fervid eloquence, the principal object has not been to select the most eloquent passages, but to prepare a useful book on as great a variety of topics as could be well included in it. Of course its editor will not be held responsible for every shade of sentiment it includes, much less for every interpretation of which its statements may be capable. All, however, must rejoice in a ministry which presents the characteristics here shown.

One source of regret, however, it has been the lot of the editor to discover. Not a few of the most eminent of our ministers have published no sermons, or a diligent inquiry has not been able to find them. It may be the case that some have thus appeared before the public whose names and labors are not in this volume. No small kindness will be shown by the transmission of such sermons to the editor, addressed to the care of his publisher; and should the public call for a second volume of the work, these will furnish materials in connection with new sermons constantly issuing from the press, for it.

With these statements the volume is now humbly commended to the blessing of God, and the kind consideration of its readers.

THE BAPTIST PULPIT.

I.

THE CHARACTER AND WORKS OF GOD.

1. THE IMMUTABILITY OF JEHOVAH.

W. SOUTHWOOD.

EVERY created object which passes before us, and challenges our contemplation as it passes, has the marks of mutability upon it. Do we press the yielding sand, or strike the rock of adamant, and inquire for immutability? The answer is, it is not in me. In every direction, in things animate and things inanimate; in the physical and intellectual world, we meet with evidences of mutability. The earth and the heavens shall perish, all of them shall wax old as a garment, and as a vesture they shall be folded up and changed. He who made all things, and who governs all things, is alone immutable, and this we know from his word, which he hath magnified above all His name. His wisdom and his power are discovered in creation, but revelation was necessary to make known to us the immutability of God. And it is no small consolation to the people of God to know, that revelation is made with a special reference to them. Indeed, all things are for their sake; and whether it be creation or revelation, they have an interest in all, because they have an interest in Christ through precious faith. "All things," says the Apostle Paul," are yours; whether

Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or -death; or things present, or things to come; all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."

That there is one Almighty Being, the light of nature will teach us; and that he made and governs the world, the heathen, in all ages, have acknowledged; but unassisted reason has drawn sentiments of the Deity from his power and vengeance; and men, in their blind attempts to propitiate him, have shown that their wisdom is folly, and that their tender mercies are cruel. Revelation has been given to exalt our reason; to place man upon an eminence, where, in the province of faith, the Almighty might be surrounded by a brightness and a grandeur which the light of nature could not bestow.

The immutability of Jehovah is an attribute of the most exalted nature, and of the purest excellence. In a peculiar manner it distinguishes him from all the creatures he hath made. Man, his fairest work, fell, because he was mutable; the angels, who kept not their first estate, were mutable; and those who remained faithful stood not by their own power, but because they were elect, and because they were sustained by him who had chosen them; whose prerogative it is, to be the same yesterday, to-day, and forever.

That the works of God, without his word, cannot sufficiently inform our minds of the unchangeableness of God, is clear from this circumstance-all his works are ordained to mutability. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handywork; but soon, the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll, the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the world, and all that is therein, shall be burnt up. Then shall the sun start from his place, and the stars shall fall like falling leaves from off a fig-tree; then shall the hills melt like wax before the presence of the Lord, and the mountains flee from their station like chaff before the wind, and like a rolling thing before

the whirlwind; then it shall appear, that all flesh is grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of the field; the grass withereth, and the flower thereof fadeth away, but the word of the Lord endureth forever; and this is the word, which by the Gospel is preached unto you.

Jehovah's immutability is the ground of security to the church of God. He who is unchangeable in his nature, is unchangeable in his purposes, and unchangeable in his covenant promises in Christ, to a thousand generations. Though worldly policy may sneer at such expressions, it is to be feared that the same philosophy, falsely so-called, will lead to the denial that one being or essence subsists in three distinct persons, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, who are co-eternal, and co-equal, in all the properties and perfections of the Godhead; or, at least, to the keeping back of such truths of the Bible, as too antiquated for the popular taste; till on their revival, for revival there must be, they will be so far forgotten that, like the philosophers at Athens, Christian congregations will say " May we know what this new doctrine, whereof thou speakest, is? For thou bringest strange things to our ears: we would know, therefore, what these things mean."

2.-JEHOVAH SEEN IN HIS WORKS.

J. MAXCY.

WELL indeed is it said that the heavens declare the glory of God. This Great Being is everywhere present. He exists all around us. He is not, as we are apt to imagine, at a great distance. Wherever we turn, his image meets our view. We see him in the earth, in the air, in the sun, moon, and stars. We feel him in ourselves. He is always working around us; he performs the greatest operations, produces the noblest effects, discovers himself in a thousand different

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ways, and yet the real God remains unseen. of creation are equally under his inspection. Though he warms the breast of the highest angel in heaven, yet he breathes life into the meanest insect on earth. He lives through all his works, supporting all by the word of his power. He shines in the verdure that clothes the plains, in the lily that delights the vale, and in the forest that waves on the mountain. He supports the slender reed that trembles in the breeze, and the sturdy oak that defies the tempest. His presence cheers the inanimate creation.

Far in the wilderness, where human eye never saw, where the savage foot never trod, there he bids the blooming forest smile, and the blushing rose open its leaves to the morning sun. There he causes the feathered inhabitants to whistle their wild notes to the listening trees and echoing mountains. There nature lives in all her wanton wildness. There the ravished eye, hurrying from scene to scene, is lost in a blush of beauty. From the dark stream that rolls through the forest, the silver-scaled fish leap up, and humbly mean the praise of God. Though man remains silent, yet God will have praise. He regards, observes, upholds, connects, and equals all.

3.-DIVINE BENEVOLENCE TO MAN.

M. R. SUARES.

THE formation of man was the result of benevolence. The sources of his enjoyment are infinite; and the obligation consequent upon this gift is equivalent to his supreme affection for God. Men, however, looking at the evils of life, and regarding them as the absolute condition of our existence, have questioned the benevolence of man's creation. In their estimation, they can trace but few features in the whole relation of man; which they regard as benevolent. The sufferings

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