adversary seems to have had more hatred, nor any which he has more striven to mix up with human infirmity. But the holy Bible ever leads us to combine true sobriety and moderation with the Lord's being at hand. Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. Again, we are told, Wherefore be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. And again, Let your moderation be known unto all The Lord is at hand. Thus entirely separated from all enthusiasm, and thus intimately associated with all truth and sober-mindedness, in the holy Scriptures, is that doctrine of the Lord's speedy return and our waiting for him which we have now set before you. Let us not, then, be ashamed of our hope. Let us avow it before all

men.

men.'

Indeed, these are the truths eminently suited to the very times through which we are passing; exactly calculated to meet all the errors and iniquities, the Infidelity, the Popery, and the lawlessness of these days. If God have given us this sure light in a dark place, let us lift it on high, and shine as lights in the world, holding forth the Word of life. This is the seasonable truth for the people of Christ now; it is given by Christ himself, in a

voice from heaven, in the account of the sixth vial, under which we are now living, Behold, I come as a thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. It is, then, clearly according to the mind of Christ that it should be distinctly announced and fully proclaimed. I call upon all his servants then, in the name of the great Lord and Master of all, to testify their hope of his return. Confess him before men, and he will confess you before the angels of God; yea, before his Father in heaven. Thus, when he shall appear, you shall have confidence, and not be. ashamed before him at his coming.

LECTURE II.

THE FULL EXERCISE OF HOPE IN THE COMING OF CHRIST.

BY THE REV. THOS. WOODROOFFE,

CALBOURNE, ISLE OF WIGHT.

1 THESS. II. 19.

"For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?"

WHAT a depth of earnestness marks these questions! What affection glowed in the Apostle's breast towards those Thessalonian believers to whom they were addressed! What a lively hope animated him concerning their eternal welfare! Though absent in body, he was not absent from them in heart; and, when prevented from fulfilling his wish of going to Thessalonica, the deep interest which he took in their spiritual prosperity prompted

him to write this Epistle. He assures them in it, that what he knew and heard of their character convinced him that they were of the number of God's elect; he cheers their spirits under the grievous trials to which, for Christ's sake, they were subjected; and encourages them to persevere in the path in which they were walking, and which, rugged as it might be, would, in God's time, lead to glory and honour and immortality. His hope of them was stedfast; and, though not now permitted to speak with them face to face, he looked forward to the time when their trials and perils should have passed away as the summer-cloud, and they should meet together, and ministers and people should receive a full reward. The time, on which his eye was fixed, was that period, determined on in the counsels of God, when the high destinies of His Church shall be consummated, her warfare accomplished, her holiness and happiness perfected. It was the period so often spoken of in the New Testament, as furnishing the strongest motives to obedience, the most sustaining encouragements under trials, and the richest consolation. in disappointments and sorrows. It was the second coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Then, if not before, would he and his beloved Thessalonian brethren meet; and who could fully understand what his feelings would then be? What is our hope, or joy,

in

or crown of rejoicing? he asks. Are not even ye the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming? What a prospect do the Apostle's words open out to us of that triumphant day, when faithful ministers and faithful people shall meet together in the presence of their glorious Redeemer, and realize in His kingdom the fulfilment of their largest and brightest hopes! May our gracious God give us His Holy Ghost while we meditate on this portion of His Word, and enable us so to fix our thoughts and direct our steps, in reference to that momentous period, that we may see the good of His chosen, rejoice in the gladness of His nation, and glory with His inheritance!

I. Let me, first, call your attention to THE APOSTLE'S MINISTRY AT THESSALONICA.

The history, Acts xvii., informs us, that the unbelieving Jews at Thessalonica excited such a persecution against Paul and Silas that they were compelled to make their escape by night, and to flee to the neighbouring city of Berca. The Apostle, both in that and many other places which he visited, was in a state of great personal danger: in prisons frequent, in deaths oft. Yet none of those things moved him: having a commission from the Lord Jesus to testify His Gospel to the Gentiles, he persevered in the plain path of duty,