It will be sufficient for the object we have before us, to show that there are statements in the Scriptures of the kind to which we have referred, for the verification of which we are compelled, by common consent, to look forward to the future. Let the following quotations justify our assertion :— "It shall come to pass in the last days, that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall judge among the nations, and rebuke many people: and they shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." Isaiah ii. 2-4. "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it; the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God." Isaiah xxxv. 1, 2, and the whole chapter. "Lift up thine eyes round about, and behold, all these gather themselves together, and come to thee. As I live, saith the Lord, thou shalt surely clothe thee with them all as with an ornament, and bind them on thee as a bride doeth Thus saith the Lord God, Behold I will lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my standard to the people: and they shall bring thy sons in their arms, and thy daughters shall be carried upon their shoulders, and kings shall be thy nursing fathers, and their queens thy nursing mothers: they shall bow down to thee with their face toward the earth, and lick up the dust of thy feet; and thou shalt know that I am the Lord; for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me." Isaiah. xlix. 18-23. Neither will I hide my face any more from them: for I have poured out my spirit upon the house of Israel, saith the Lord God." Ezek. xxxix. 29. Sing and rejoice, O daughter of Zion: for lo, I come, and I will dwell in the midst of thee, saith the Lord. And many nations shall be joined to the Lord in that day, and shall be my people; and I will dwell in the midst of thee, and thou shalt know that the Lord of Hosts hath sent me unto thee." "And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem the spirit of grace and of supplication: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his only son." Zech. ii. 10-12; xii. 10. "It shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: and also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days, will I pour out my spirit And it shall come to pass that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be delivered for in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord hath said." Joel ii. 28-32. The extract from Joel we regard as a general description of the blessings to be conferred on the church under the gospel economy, and we expect for it a much more literal fulfilment than has yet been realized. Many other quotations might be made from the prophetic books of similar import, and obviously pointing to the same period. Whilst in the book of Psalms there are glowing descriptions, which, we are constrained to admit, yet wait for their fulfilment in a period of general triumph and universal dominion for the church of Jesus Christ. We mention only the 48th, 87th, and 132nd Psalms, as examples of what we mean. We purposely omit any notice of the theories which have been promulgated respecting what is called the millenium. It is enough for us to be assured that there is a future in the history of the church which is all bright and cheering, that we are advancing to a period of prosperity such as the church has never yet known. And we do not find it difficult to believe that just now, notwithstanding so much that is painful, we are pressing on with unusual rapidity to those scenes and seasons of which the prophets have written. The fearful convulsions of the nations-the great earthquake, by the shaking of which kings have been hurled from their thrones, and their thrones mingled with the dust-the mighty revolutions which have destroyed long-established systems, and proved the uselessness and folly of long-cherished principles, have almost made us feel as if fresh impetus had been given to the whirling ball in which we live. We could almost imagine, as we watch the rapid course of events, that the dial of the universe had suddenly increased the speed of its revolutions; that "Old Father Time himself" as if weary of the monotony of his toilsome career, had made a spasmodic effort, and recovering for a while the energy of his youth, was hurrying us forward with accelerated speed to our ultimate goal. Strange and startling as are the events which are happening around us, there is a pleasing significance in them, they tell us of the coming day; and if it be allowed us to liken the spiritual to the natural, we should think of the passing scenes, as the confusion and agitation of the clouds in their hurry out of the path of the advancing sun. They are the harbingers of the mid-day glory, a day brighter and better than any the church has witnessed for many a weary year. That day when "He will no more hide his face, but will pour his spirit upon the house of Israel,”—that day when Zion having shaken the dust from her garments, shall recover and exhibit her proper, pristine glory, when "her peace shall be as a river, and her righteousness as the waves of the sea." Is it possible to contemplate these scenes and not feel the heart refreshed with foretaste of the joy; or, in the fulness of faith and of buoyant anticipation, to fail to hear the swellings of the song which employs all nations, "whilst they cry— 66 'Worthy the Lamb, for he was slain for us! Cowper's Tusk, bk. vi. The more profound our meditation upon the future in the history of the church, the more deeply we shall feel that "it doth not yet appear what we shall be," the more complete will be our sympathy with the beautiful sentiment we have selected from the poet. But we are now to ask, How is the present connected with this glowing and animated future? Is there any connexion sufficiently intimate to justify us in bringing them together in our thought? Assuredly there is. That which is immediately to follow is always modified by that which now is. The body which falls in space derives, during the first moment, the force which carries it with increased speed through the second, and the second prepares it for the third. There is a first step, a first measure in every movement. Every great movement, however wide its ultimate influence, has its origin generally in one mind, and is gradually extended from the originator to his friend, from the friend to the acquaintance, until it has gathered the force which carries it forward. It is this we wish to see realised in the matter under consideration. We look forward to a glorious consummation of blessedness in the history of the church. We can see it foreshadowed in the page of prophecy; and surely it indicates but a feeble estimate of the vastness of the honour and of the greatness of the bliss, if we are not concerned to foretaste the joy, though we may not be present at its full fruition. It devolves upon us to take a decided step in the way of preparation. We must be ready with the preliminaries, and the generation next to come shall take and apply them, and from them it shall be received and carried forward by those who follow, and soon, yes, very soon, "righteousnesss shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the mighty deep." We now reap the fruits natural to previous neglect. A clear apprehension of the truth of the case, and corresponding measures to effect a deviation in the current three or five years ago, would have left the Christian community in far different circumstances than those we now occupy. The remark is general, but modified to circumstances, it applies to every individual Christian society. To be aware of the first symptoms of decline, and there promptly apply the corrective, is, we think, the legitimate course to be pursued to prevent progressive religious declension. We have declined, but we were never what we shall be. Shall we contrast the present with the future? To propose is to make the contrast-the difference is so wide, so great. Shall we, then, let the present generation pass, entailing deeper darkness upon that which is to come than we ourselves suffer; or shall we calmly and humbly seek to estimate the contrast and give ourselves to improvement? We fear not for the answer. But one will be given. The general voice will admit, "It is high time for us to awake out of sleep," for our redemption draweth nigh. Permit us, then, to suggest three points which demand our present very serious reflection. First. It is required of us to review our opinions and conviction upon the relation which the Holy Spirit bears to the important matter under consideration. "When the workings of any extraordinary Divine power have been long withheld and restrained, the thoughts and apprehensions of such a thing is much vanished out of the minds of men." Thus spake John Howe, in his sixth sermon, on "The work of the Holy Spirit in reference to the church," a series of sermons we should like to see issued in a cheap form, and circulated through the kingdom, until every individual Christian has become thoroughly conversant with them. We fear that the long withholding of the manifestations of the Divine Power have very much weakened our conviction of the necessity of that power. The statement is somewhat paradoxical; for, viewed from different points, the cause is the effect, and the effect is the cause. Christians have become unaccustomed to any decided exhibitions of the power of the Holy Spirit in connexion with the efforts of the church, and have, comparatively speaking, ceased to feel deep anxiety about it; and it is because their anxiety has diminished, that the sight is withheld. Profession of the necessity of the Holy Spirit for the revival of the churches, and the conversion of sinners, still prevails, but the homage which this truth demands is something more than mere admission. We think it must be a conviction, deep, settled, fervent, as active in private Christians as in ministers, and so powerful in both, that whilst they are prepared to say, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God."—"Paul may plant, and Apollos water, but God giveth the increase;" they shall be ready also to say, "We have not yet attained, neither are we already perfect; but we follow after, if that we may apprehend that for which we have been apprehended of Christ Jesus." A revived and deepened conviction upon this point is, in our esteem, an essential preliminary to the coming glory. Second. It is required of us to seek, with great fervour of feeling, that the Holy Spirit may be poured out upon us. We say advisedly, with great fervour of feeling, and if our mind be not so that we can thus call upon God, our first business is with ourselves. It is evidently one of the most prominent features of the times we are anticipating, that "the Spirit shall be poured from on high.” Isaiah xxxii. 13, 15; Ezek. xxxix. 29; Joel ii. 28, 29. It is at once the description of the times, and must be the preliminary to those times. If we are right in the general view we have advocated respecting the Spirit, there will be no question upon this second point. But let it be remembered, that whilst the promises of the Spirit are numerous and distinct, they can never be separated from that other class of statements which convey this sentiment, "For all these things will I be inquired of by the house of Israel, to do these things for them." The history of the church abounds with illustrations of the connexion we wish here to establish; and feeling the fitness of the language and its universality of application, we would invite the earnest, serious thoughtfulness of every Christian in our land to the words addressed in the letter of Jeremiah to the captive Israelites. "I know the thoughts that I think towards you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and shall ye go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart; and I will be found of you, saith the Lord." Jerem. xxix. 11-13. The third point demanding serious reflection, as we think, is, Can we not individually do more than we are doing, to make known the saving truths of the gospel to our perishing fellow men? Individual responsibility for the salvation of men, is perfectly compatible with the views we have already advanced. As exhibited in the New Testament doctrines and examples, that responsibility is stupendous. It is because our estimate of it is so low, that we do not each live in sympathy with the Apostle, when, in view of his great work, he exclaimed, "Who is sufficient for these things." There is unquestionably something which each one can do, and something, therefore, which each one must do, or be chargeable with unfaithfulness and neglect. To receive from the great arbiter of the fates of men the approving sentence, "He hath done what he could," is the highest praise which can possibly be pronounced, and to receive it in the hearing of the assembled worlds, the highest honour which can be conferred. Brethren, shall we each receive it in that great day? We think much would be gained in enlisting the sympathies of the members of our churches, and securing their co-operation, if some methodized system of "lay agency" were adopted among us. The unused resources of our churches are immense, and greatly should we rejoice to see the whole body of ministers simultaneously entering upon the sacred work, and directing the unemployed energies of the members of the churches in the great matter of the world's regeneration. We should hail it most confidently as the immediate precursor of that joyous hour, when, in glad surprise, the church should be heard exclaiming, "Who are these that fly as a cloud, and as doves to their windows."- "Who hath begotten me these; seeing I have lost my children and am desolate, a captive, and removing to and fro? and who hath brought up these? Behold I was left alone; these, where have they been?" We have thus taken a general glance of the future and the present in their relation to each other, in the history of the kingdom of Christ upon earth. We have seen enough to satisfy us that the future is full of life, that it promises a succession of bloodless conquests and peaceful triumphs. "The little one is destined to become a thousand, and the small one a strong nation." The world is hurrying on to its grand and awful destiny. Time is carrying us with incalculable haste beyond the sphere of action and of active sympathy with these great matters. How shall we leave the world, if we should presently find that we have reached the limit of earthly life? Better than we found it? The answer derived from a view of all the circumstances would be perfectly appalling. How much those who follow us will have to undo of what we have done, and to do which we have left undone, is more than can be measured. Shall we let the time passed suffice, and feeling that time is pressing hard upon us, shall we now exert ourselves to realize our proper posi |