Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of His people shall He take away from off all the earth for THE LORD HATH SPOKEN IT." My brethren, be of good courage. This is enough to justify our work, and our highest hopes.

Let it be remembered, however, that, if you would partake the glory, you must partake the toil. If you would share in the triumphs of the Gospel, you must share in the labour and expense of their achievement. If you would enjoy its final conquests, you must help to fight its battles. JEHOVAH OF HOSTS goes forth to claim the crown of all the earth. If you really belong to His army, you must take your post, and follow Him to the field. Or, if personal service be not demanded, you must at least consecrate a part of your substance, or a portion of the product of your labour, to this glorious warfare. I call on you for some new token of your loyalty to the King Eternal. I call on you for some additional sacrifice of needless luxury or indulgence, some new effort of industry or of frugality, that you may speed the progress and accelerate the success of the universal Conqueror. Or, to return for one moment to the leading figure of my text, I appeal to you in behalf of souls perishing by millions for lack of knowledge. I ask not that you should starve yourselves to feed them. I implore only the crumbs that fall from your table. Christian, canst thou refuse these needy ones? Canst thou send them empty away? Canst thou consign them, by the scantiness of thy contribution, as far as it depends on thee, to spiritual hunger and wretchedness, to darkness, misery, and death? Who can see, unmoved, the anguish of a brother's soul, when he has the power to interpose, and help to rescue the prisoner from the pit ?

Rejoicing in the prosperity, and usefulness, and success of our fellow-Christians of other names who are awaking to zeal in this cause, we feel ourselves authorized and required to recommend also our own Missionary undertakings, as deserving of patronage from the Christian public at large, and as

making peculiar demands on the generosity of our Societies and congregations in particular. The people of Hull have been long distinguished for their readiness to help in this glorious work; and we have confidence that you will not only continue, but increase, your liberalities. Though a stranger to you, I venture to pronounce that it is impossible for a cause so sacred as that which has been pleaded here during this week to be treated by you with disregard, or supported with niggard and reluctant hand. Methodists of Hull, and of the neighbouring places, it shall never be told at the judgment-day, that a solemn appeal was made to you on behalf of myriads of your blood-redeemed fellow-creatures perishing for lack of Christian knowledge, and that this appeal, though enforced by motives of superlative authority and force, was made in vain. No! your humanity says, No! Your piety says, No! The voice of your past conduct on such occasions says, No! And, I trust in my Lord and Master, the cheerful zeal and liberality of your collection this night will, in yet more animated tones, say, No! Anticipating such a result, I leave the subject to your consciences, and to God.

SERMON XXVII.

ANATHEMA MARAN-ATHA.

1 CORINTHIANS xvi. 22.

IF ANY MAN LOVE NOT THE LORD Jesus Christ, LET HIM BE ANATHEMA MARAN-ATHA.

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ!—And is it possible that any man who has heard of Jesus Christ, and is acquainted with His manifold claims to our esteem and gratitude, can yet refuse to love Him ?

My brethren, if human nature were what some represent it to be, if it still retained its original rectitude,—this would be a case impossible. But it is so awfully fallen, so deeply corrupted by sin, that no case, alas! is more commonly verified by experience and observation. There are multitudes by whom the Lord Jesus Christ is despised and rejected; who are so far from loving Him, that they are the enemies of His cross, the persecutors of His people, and the open opposers of His authority. And there are many others, who profess, indeed, to love Him, but whose tempers and conduct exhibit undeniable evidence that their profession is vain.

If

To both these classes of persons I recommend a serious consideration of the words of my text. They were written by an inspired apostle; not merely dictated to his amanuensis, like the preceding parts of the Epistle, but written with his own. hand. "The salutation of me Paul with mine own hand. any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema. Maran-atha. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. My love be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen." The sentiment of the text is so weighty, and St. Paul was so desirous that it should receive the attention due to its import

ance, that he writes it with his own hand, and inserts it between his salutation and benediction. Let us, then, consider,

I. The case which the apostle undertakes to decide.
II. The sentence which he pronounces respecting it.

III. The suggestion which he appends as to the certain execution of this sentence.

I. The case which St. Paul here undertakes to decide is that of a man who loves not the Lord Jesus Christ.

That we may clearly understand this case, I observe,— 1. It is here assumed that the person in question has heard or read of Christ, and has had the means of obtaining a competent degree of acquaintance with His character. The text is addressed to those who had, by the ministry of Paul and other primitive preachers, been favoured with the testimony of God concerning Jesus. The case of uninstructed heathens, who never had the opportunity of hearing the joyful sound of the Gospel, (though on other grounds sufficiently deplorable and fearful,) must be decided on different principles. How shall they love Him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? But you, my brethren, have heard of Him. Your lot has been most mercifully fixed, not in the dark places of the earth, the habitations of pagan ignorance, cruelty, and superstition; but in a land of Bibles and of evangelical ordinances. If you, therefore, do not love the Lord Jesus Christ, yours is a case exactly in point, and one which lies, indubitably, within the range of our present inquiry. For, I observe,

2. Many who do know Christ are yet involved in the guilt of refusing to love Him. The evil spirit mentioned in Acts xix. 15 could say, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know." It is true, that there is a spurious kind of love to Christ, which seems almost unavoidably to result even from that speculative and historical knowledge of Him which all nominal Christians must be supposed to possess. For who can read with

attention the narrative which the evangelists have given of the holy and useful life of Jesus, of His sublime and heavenly doctrine, of His most amiable and benignant character, and of the unmerited sufferings and death He endured with such exemplary meekness, resignation, and fortitude,—without emotions of admiration and respect? But feelings like these may exist, and, at times, in a high degree of vigour, while the heart is totally destitute of that genuine love to Christ which is the fruit of the Spirit, and to which my text refers. In order to be exempted from the condemnation here denounced against such as do not love the Lord Jesus Christ, the following particulars appear to be essentially requisite:

(1.) Your love to Christ must be supreme. This He, as the LORD, has an original right, in common with the Father and the Holy Ghost, to demand from all intelligent creatures, whether of human or angelic nature. He who made the heart ought to have not only a place, but the first place, in our affections. And He has an additional claim to the supremacy in our esteem and love, because of that beneficent dominion which He exercises as Mediator; for "He is the Head of the body, the church;" "the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the pre-eminence; "*—and because of the unspeakable obligations under which He has laid us by His redeeming acts and saving benefits. It is He, and He only, that delivers us from endless wrath; it is He that has procured for us all the blessings of grace. He is the sole Author of eternal salvation. Now, since we thus owe our all to His merits and mercy, He has a just and righteous claim to our best regards, to our supreme love. And if our love to Him be supreme, it will be sacrificial; that is, it will induce us to sacrifice for His sake whatever He has declared to be incompatible with His favour and friendship. We shall "count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our

*Colossians i. 18,