under his body." The meaning must be sought in connexion with that phrase, "When I have preached to others."

It is well known that the church at Corinth contained many very inconsistent members, who greatly indulged their fleshly or natural appetites, to the scandal of the church,-they were intemperate in eating and drinking, and carried their intemperance to such an extent as to disgrace the Lord's-supper by making it a sensual feast (see 1 Cor. xi. 20-30), for which they are reproved. In the fifth chapter of this epistle, we find that the sins of the body did not consist merely of excesses in eating and drinking, but much worse, and instead of the church lamenting it, they rather approved, and were "puffed up" with pride and selfconceit in the matter.

Now the preaching to which Paul refers, in our text, is not the preaching of the gospel, the setting forth of the great truths of the plan of salvation. But the preaching up to them the necessity of leading a moral life, "for the gospel's sake (verse 23); they must learn to deny themselves, cease to indulge the flesh, and come out from their old companions, and leave off their old habits; this was necessary, we say, "for the gospel's sake," that the way of God might not be evil spoken of, and that men might not find an excuse for their evil ways from the example of the Christians. And if they would continue in these evil courses, why then they must be cast out of the church. "In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ" (chap. v. 4, 5). Again in 1 Tim. i. 20, our apostle says, of two filthy professors, "Whom I have delivered unto Satan," not that they may be cast by him into hell, but "that they may learn not to blaspheme." Here we have the poor miserable" castaway," "delivered unto Satan," that is, cast out of the church as a sheep outside the fold, exposed to the lion and the bear. And, perhaps, there is not a more unhappy state out of hell. We have seen many such, dispirited, dejected, and diseased, they have sunk into the grave, there has been the "destruction of the flesh" (chap. v. 5). Yet we have hoped that "the spirit may be saved." Now, surely, it is no light thing to be a castaway" in this sense. And should these lines meet the eye of a professor, who is in the habit of indulging the flesh, we pray that he may take warning, and watch and be sober. "When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: and put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite " (Prov. xxiii. 1, 2).

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Now, says Paul," When I have preached to others" that they should be ❝temperate in all things" (v. 25), lest they bring disgrace upon the good cause and have to be turned out; I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection," lest after all I should fall a victim to appetite, and be “a castaway" out of the visible communion of the church.

This, we believe, to be the meaning of the Spirit in the text. It is possible for a spiritually living soul so to fall as to necessitate his exclusion from the visible church. And not only so, but it is possible for men of great abilities and influence so to fall; indeed they are exposed to greater danger from the high ground on which they stand. The poor do not "sit to eat with a ruler." The Christian of wealth and talent, education and high position, is peculiarly exposed to the sin of excess,—especially “if he be a man given to appetite naturally. Indeed, this is one of the greatest evils of the present day in our more wealthy churches. The eating and drinking customs of our time are fraught with danger. You no sooner enter the house of many rich professors than the "bottle" is produced. Not that there is any need of it; the visitor is neither hungry, thirsty, nor fatigued ; but the demon of social custom tempts. How dangerous this is to a minister who makes several visits in a day, if he be "given to appetite!" Then there is the friendly gathering to spend the evening. How the flesh is indulged on such occasions in many places! And we have known giddy young men slily put an extra quantity into a minister's glass for the purpose, if possible, of making him tipsy, "just for the fun of the thing." Oh how we should set our faces against these things! Why

Should Christians be slaves to the customs of worldlings? Should we not rather "Come out, and be separate, and touch not the unclean thing ?" (2 Cor. vi. 17).

But while it is possible-fearfully possible !-for a great and good man so to conduct himself as to have to be cast out of the visible church, it is not possible for a real Christian to lose his interest in Christ. The comfort of salvation may be lost on earth, as David painfully knew by bitter experience when he prayed, "Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation" (Psa. li. 12). Salvation itself cannot be lost. No, union with Jesus secures our immortal felicity. We are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones; and where the Head is the members must also finally be. Let, then, men given to appetite fear, lest they be cast out of church fellowship; but let no humble, penitent, praying soul fear being cast out of Christ's love, who hath said, "Him that cometh, I will in no wise cast out."

J. S. A.

THE DIGNITY OF GOD'S PEOPLE.

A Sermon delivered at Mount Zion Chapel, Chadwell-street, Clerkenwell, on Sunday Morning, 5th September, 1869.

BY MR. HAZELTON.

"But Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints."-HOSEA xi. 12.

DURING the reigns of Saul, David, and Solomon, the children of Israel, the twelve tribes of Jacob, were one kingdom. But during the reign of Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, ten tribes revolted, and the people became two kingdoms. Rehoboam was the king of Judah and Benjamin, called the two tribes; and Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, became the king of the ten tribes.

Hosea was raised up about this time, for the purpose of carrying messages from God to the tribes. When Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, made the children of Israel to sin, he set up two calves in the two extremities of the land, and certain persons were set up as priests. Yet this people professed to be the people of God, and professed they had not departed from the ways of the Lord. Therefore God addresses them in the former part of the text: "Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit : but Judah yet ruleth with God and is faithful with the saints." The children of Israel, or the ten tribes, continued to exist for a considerable number of years; but as the dear Redeemer was not to proceed from them, and as they were generally presided over by men and sometimes by women who were exceedingly sinful and wicked, in the course of time they were carried away. But the kingdom of Judah continued to exist under the blessing of the most high God. They continued to exist as a people until the time of the Lord Jesus Christ. And forty years after Jesus Christ, the Romans went and took away their place and nation. Therefore the Lord looking at the ten tribes as worshippers of the two golden calves, that had been set up, and having regard to the fact that they regarded themselves as the people of the true God, he says, "Ephraim compasseth me about with lies, and the house of Israel with deceit : but Judah yet ruleth with God, and is faithful with the saints." I shall try to direct your attention to the two branches into which the text divides itself: First, The dignity of the people of God: "Judah yet ruleth with God." And secondly, Their fidelity: "And is faithful with the saints."

I. Let us look for a few minutes at The dignity of God's people: "Judah yet ruleth with God." And God's people have ruled with God until now; and will continue to rule with God until they die; and having ceased to live, they will reign with God out of time. The government of the children of Israel was what is called a theocracy. God was their direct King; and he, as the King of Israel,

had a residence first of all in the midst of them in the wilderness. In the midst of their tents there was a large tabernacle; and that tabernacle was the residence of God. And God had his throne amongst them too. He had made for himself an ark of shittim wood; and that throne was placed in the royal palace of God, and he, as the King of Israel, sat upon it. When a king takes up his abode in his palace, he has his standard floating over it; and God had his standard. He had the pillar of cloud for a standard. There were upwards of three millions of people; they had no human government, no human king. "The Lordof hosts was with them, the God of Jacob was in their midst." And God was a God of mercy, and he said to all his subjects, through Moses, "Here will I meet with thee, and here will I commune with thee. The same state of things continued. Solomon built a temple, and there was the ark, and above that ark was the Divine Shekinah; and this was the same in the days of Hezekiah himself.

When the ten tribes of Israel departed from God, the tribes of Judah continued to rule with God; and God told the children of Israel, as a deceitful people, "But Judah yet ruleth with me; I am still ruling on the ark of the covenant, and Judah, through their good king Hezekiah, continues to rule with me, and to be faithful with the saints."

Before I speak of individual experience I should like to make a few remarks: first upon Christian churches. When may it be said (and really, Christian friends, what I am about to bring before you is of very great importance),-when may it be said that Christian churches rule with God? Christian churches when they are in a certain condition, may be said to rule with God. There are a multitude of churches who rule, but who do not rule with God; and, therefore, let me call your attention to a few important matters connected with this fact. When may a Christian church be said to rule with God?

1. A Christian church rules with God when it acknowledges God's authority; when it contends for Divine authority; and I hope you will not think that this is an unimportant matter. God is a God of order, and he has bound himself to observe a certain order of things; and when his people depart from that order of things, they depart from their God. And when they do that, they cannot be said to "rule" with God. And if we as a Christian church, would rule with God, and would have the presence of God in our midst, and to live with us and walk with us, and we as a Christian church would walk and talk with God, and prosper as through the presence of God,-if these are our desires as a Christian church, we must acknowledge and contend for Divine authority. If in the days of Hezekiah, the children of Judah had departed from the simplicity of Divine worship, and mixed idolatry with the worship which God had instituted, they, like Israel, would have ceased to rule with God. But they did not mix idolatry with their worship; therefore the Lord was with them when Sennacherib surrounded them. And therefore Hezekiah did not hesitate to take the letter of Rabshakeh into the presence of God; and he opened it before the Divine Majesty, and spread it before the throne of God, for Hezekiah and Judah ruled with God, and continued faithful with the saints. And let us contend at all times, whatever it may cost us, for nothing but God's authority in the church. It is not what this or that individual may say; it should, and it must be, "What has the Lord of hosts said? What says the word of Divine truth?" If we admit human authority into the church, we shall begin to dwindle away; our spirituality will begin to waste, we shall become corrupt and worldly, and we shall be debased and disgraced. Whatever it may cost the church of Christ, contend for God's own authority for the honour of the Most High. And though the church should not have much or any worldly influence, it will have a good conscience, it will have the concurrence of the glorious gospel of the blessed God. There will be no obstacle between the church and the throne of Jehovah. What was it that decreased the purity of the church of God? It was the admission of human authority into the church. What is infant sprinkling; and what are other ceremonies? They are matters of human invention. And what is a human invention, but the introduction of human authority? The church of God cannot connect itself with the world and remain uncorrupt.

Admit a little of human authority, and you corrupt the whole. I contend that if you admit any but God's authority into a church, that church may be the Church of England, or the Church of Rome, but it is not the church of God.

2. I notice that a church may be said to rule with God, when the very throne of God is in its midst. The Lord of hosts is ruling with his people in a spiritual way; and if we are what we hope we are, if we are, as an organized body of people, a gospel and spiritual church, and if we are composed of spiritual materials,beloved friends, if it is so, the very throne of God is in our midst, when we meet together in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And if the throne of God is here, and we are experimentally conscious of it, if we heartily and sincerely believe and feel that the throne of God is in our midst, and we are a devout and praying people, and it is our privilege to approach that throne as a family which belongs to heaven, -if such is our experience,-God rules here, and we rule with God. Let me say a word upon prayer. I do contend, beloved brethren, and that as in the sight of God, that a praying church must be a spiritual church,—it must be a prosperous church, and must be a ruling church. For just as good old Jacob had power with God, when he wrestled with him, so we as a church shall have power with God, if we are conscious of God's presence in our midst, and are helped to be a praying people before his throne. It is not so much, perhaps, the preaching in the pulpit, that is the cause of prosperity, as it is the state of the people themselves. Let prayer be overlooked, let prayer-meetings be despised, and whatever preaching there may be in the pulpit,-it may draw throngs of people from week to week, and there may be a great show of spirituality and religion; -but if prayer is at a low ebb, if it is shallow, and if prayer-meetings are not attended as a matter of conscience, notwithstanding the crowded state of the church, there is no real depth of that which is heavenly in the heart. And therefore, if we would rule with God, let us be conscious that God is with us, and that it becomes us to be here, because He is here. When our Father is here, let us, who are his children, come to meet Him. When our King is here, may it be our heart's concern to be here also. I would live where the King of Zion lives; and if he has condescended to erect his throne here to rule, I would, as an infinite privilege, give all honour to that throne, and rule with him that sits upon it. God's people rule with God, when they honour him, and he is pleased to honour them. What do you mean by that? I mean that it is the privilege of God's people to crown their God, and the prerogative of God to crown his people. There is a mutual coronation, if I may so speak: we crown Him with praise and thanksgiving, and He crowns us, if we rule with him, with honour and glory. A wonder appeared in heaven: a woman crowned with twelve stars. And it is to that crown that Christ refers, when he says, "Hold fast that which thou hast, that no man take thy crown." It has been supposed that Christ refers to the crown of glory; but we have not the crown of glory yet. But if we rule with God, we have been crowned-crowned with the glorious gospel of the blessed God. Now, churches have lost their crowns. When a church gives up the truth, the crown is taken off her head, and she ceases to rule with God. I contend that that church rules with God, that holds fast the truth; and if we would rule with God, we must hold fast that which our God gives. Judah held fast that which God had given to them, and ruled with God. Let every man be persuaded in his own mind, that that which is preached is the glorious gospel of the blessed God, notwithstanding all that is said, and hold fast those principles on which God has based salvation,-those principles which will be softer and easier to you than a downy bed. And these are the principles that you must have to sweep away the terrors and sting of death in a dying hour; and you shall rule with God, and be Isaid to be faithful with the saints.

3. A church rules with God when it enforces and explains divine laws. It is a church's business to stand forth as an expositor of the laws of God, and a church's business to stand forth for the purpose of enforcing the laws of God,—not with a sword, not with brute force, but in a spiritual, comforting, and divine manner, the laws of God, with regard to the fact that a church must appear as a body:

distinct and separate, and altogether different from the world. How is it now? The church is stepping, little by little, nearer, and still nearer to the world. And we are told that it is the church's duty to touch the world, and to assume those forms which will not be repulsive to the world. Oh, my friends, religion has not altered as to its properties; and if there was the greatest difference between the church's Head, when He was on the earth, and the world, there must be, and should be, the greatest imaginable difference between the church and the world now. It is the bane of the church that she is so near the world: and she means to come nearer. That which separates the church from the world, used to be thick and impassable, but men are now thinning that veil,-making it thinner and more transparent, and by and bye, if things go on as they are now going on, the world will be merged into the church, and the church into the world, and all gracious ruling will cease. It is ours to rule with God by enforcing his laws with regard to the church's position in the world, with regard to the admission of members into the church, with regard to church fellowship in a Christian church, and with regard to excommunication. A church thus blest will not be without influence: as I believe we are not altogether without influence, if we excite the bad feelings of those who are round about. And if we are a gospel church as an organized body, and have the Lord of hosts, we are not without influence, we shall rule with God. The sinfulness of the world will be revealed by contrast. Such churches are the salt of the earth, and the pillars of the earth. Oh that the Lord would give us strength to walk in his statutes; and it will be said of us, They rule with God, and are faithful with the saints."

I will make a few remarks, in the second place, upon religious experience. And look at this part of the verse as regards individual experience: "Judah ruleth with God." No doubt the ungodly think that we are slaves. When they saw you going to chapel this morning, they thought you were slaves;-"They are slaves who go to chapel, and pull long faces; they are the people who have no soul, and are the dupes of this and that system of things." Well, we thank God, not that they are what they are, but that we are what we are. We know what they are, for we were once like them. In a state of unregeneracy there is no liberty,-you cannot be free. The reason you think you are free is, because you are bound. You came into the world chained, you grew up fettered and chained, you have never known what liberty is, and that is the reason you think you are free. But in unregeneracy there is no liberty and freedom. But when the Holy Ghost enters the heart of a man and regenerates him, He liberates him, because he breaks the two or three chains by which he is held. He breaks the chain of ignorance, the chain of lust, and the chain of enmity to God. And when these three fetters are snapped, when ignorance is gone, the chain of lust snapped, and enmity to God is slain, of such a man it may be said, "He rules with God." Until this change takes place, the devil rules in him, and when these chains are broken, he is translated into the kingdom of God's dear Son. Of such a person it is said, "He raiseth the beggar from the dust, and setteth him with princes, even with the princes of his people." Oh what a glorious thing it is that such a man is in the glorious liberty of the children of God, and has been made free through the freedom given by the Spirit of God!

Another point. It indicates the authority and power of every child of God. To rule with God denotes authority. What is the power and authority of a child of God?-Authority and power are very dangerous to an ungodly man.-To call God our Father. This cannot be done without a change. Oh, to have the power to call God our Father! And the child of God, as the son of God, puts his hand upon it, and says, "Father." He turns over the leaves of the gospel and finds many gracious promises there, and he feels they are his. The oath of God, the pledge of God, every solemn declaration of infinite mercy and grace, he feels is his. This is to rule with God! To have Divine authority to call God one's Father. and Divine authority and power to appropriate what God has revealed in his word. Such a man has power with God as Jacob had when he wrestled with God. God ties himself, if I may so speak, to his dear people, and thus they rule with him.