up to pronounce the eulogy. Again "What subject can be more fit for meditation, his voice was stifled. He bowed O my soul, than the sufferings of thy dear Re

down and wept for several minutes. A third time the aged pastor of Linlithgow attempted to pay the last tribute to one whom he loved as his own soul. But he burst again into tears, and wept aloud. The whole

deemer, when thou hast so near a view of celebrating them in the sacrament of the Holy Supthe glorious person suffering-the eternal Son of the eternal God, the Father of spirits-the Word that was in the beginning with God-yea, was God, and is God over all, blessed for evermore

per? Is it not with wonder that thou beholdest

audience melted into tears; and the by whom all things are and were created-and

most of them sobbed and wept. And after a long silence, interrupted by sighs and groans, the Clerk rose, and gave out the 15th verse of the hundred and sixteenth Psalm, [Scottish version.] "Dear in God's sight is his saint's death," &c. And the mournful melody of "Old Martyrs," floated from the quivering lips of two thousand weeping people. It was without affectation, and without design. And it was one of the most touching, and eloquent perorations, perhaps, which ever closed a funeral sermon over departed piety and worth.

I would venture

a

on comparison of it with the celebrated display of eloquence and piety by Bossuet, in his Funeral Oration, pronounced over the Princess Henrietta of Orleans; even with that part of it which produced such an effect on his audience. I allude to the following words, which, as he pronounced them, caused the whole of his audience to start up from their seats with looks of anguish! "O vanity of vanities! O nothing! O mortals! O night of wo! O night of horror! when, like a peal of thunder.... the dreadful words.... Henrietta is dying...... Henriettais dead......burst upon us! Nothing could be heard, but cries! Nothing was discernible but grief, despair, and the image of death!"

We shall conclude with the following specimen of Dr. Laidlie's youthful meditations. It is a meditation on the sufferings of Jesus. It is taken from the second leaf of his earliest Diary.

without whom was not any thing made that now is! Look back, O my soul! and think upon that gracious Covenant of redemption, wherein thy glorious Redeemer undertook the desperate cause of fallen man! There see him undertaking to satisfy the divine justice. The Father willingly accepts of the Son as a surety for man; and the Son willingly gives himself as such for man.The Father demands a full and perfect satisfaction to be made to his offended justice and broken law. The 'Son graciously undertakes this.Accordingly, he is manifested in due time. Ho

veils his glory with humanity; and, though Lord of all, he takes upon him the form of a servant; and for our sakes becomes poor, that we who are poor, might become rich. Oh! unparalleled condescension! He was born of a woman. He submitted to all the indignities of meanness of birth, and all the inconveniences of poverty.He yielded a strict obedience to that law of cere

monies, of which he was the legislator. If I trace my Saviour, God's dear Son, from the cradle to the grave, I find his whole life spent in doing good, and in enduring reproaches, and the most cruel sufferings; even from those-O most wondrous!-for whose sake he came! He went about always doing good. He came to his own, and his own received him not! He was of the air have nests, and the beasts of the field have holes; but-O wonderful humiliation of my dear Saviour-He, the Son of man, had not where to lay his head! I would now accompany my dear Redeemer to the garden, where his soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. There I behold him drinking the cup of the Father's

wounded in the house of his friends! The fowls

wrath. There I hear a strange dialogue between

his innocent human nature, and his love to man. There I see clouds gathering thick about him.There I see him sustaining the weight of all the

sins of an elect world. And there I see the Father loading him with our sins, and the demerit of them. I would now follow him through all the various steps of his sufferings; and with him let me now climb Mount Calvary, and see-Oh! amazing!-my Redeemer nailed to the Cross! Here, O my soul, pause and wonder !..... Behold-Istly. The dreadful nature of the guilt and demerit of sin. 2dly. The strict severity and

By the church we mean, not only the house in which God is worshiped, but also the assemblies of his people retain. The Spirit which animates wherever, and whenever convened. and governs them, is unlike that of the This use of the term is common in sa-world. I know that the Infidel and

cred Scripture. Acts vii 38-ii. 47 -xv. 3. Eph. i. 22, and many others. In order to clear the subject, and at once point out the nature of the evidence, which it will require to establish this position, we ask-in what ing in their hearts, that it is a solemn manner can the glorified Redeemer reality. They acknowledge it too in manifest his presence in an earthly their intercourse with the world.sanctuary? To expect a second in-1 Satan has few champions in his cause,

every war with its enemies, it has uniformly been victorious: and every plot, devised for its ruin, has not on

who are hardy enough to stand unawed, even in the presence of the humble and unpretending follower of Jesus. And why? No reason ac-ly utterly failed, but resulted in its

knowledged to be sufficient by any candid mind, can be given, but because they feel the influence of that Heavenly Spirit, by which they are animated.

good. Even persecution, though it has gorged the earth with the blood of the martyrs of the Gospel, so far from exterminating, has only tended to increase the number of its disciples. In this has been verified the proverb of the fathers, "That the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church." Whence, we ask again, is this astonishing result, from means apparently so weak and ineffectual? Is it, because men love the Gospel? The carnal mind is enmity against God. Is it, because it has been advocated by superior talents and learning? They have, at no time, been greater than could be found in the ranks of its enemies. Is it, because the arm of power, and the edge of the sword, have, by violence, opened for it a way? They have uniformily been against it. What is it then? The presence of the Spirit of Christ, working mightily

Notonly so, her gradual extension and enlargement also, shews the presence of Christ's Spirit to be with his Church. We confidently assert, that the unparalleled extension of the Gospel, amid all the untoward circumstances which attend it, can be accounted for, on no other principle. Coming as it does, in opposition to all the delights and wayward fancies of the depraved heart, it must long since have sunk in oblivion, if it had not claimed God for its author, and engaged the assistance of his Spirit, like those systems, which the wisdom of man has, in different ages, divised for the melioration of society. But instead of this, it has gloriously triumphed over every obstacle, and for his Church, to the pulling down spread over the earth. Notwith- of strong holds. This is her shield standing men hate the Holy Spirit of and buckler, her high tower and the gospel, its all-subduing power rearward.

bows their hearts, as the cedars of 2. Christ manifests his presence in Lebanon bow before the mighty- his Church by his word, and ordinwhirlwind.-And why? Because he ances. These are symbols of his whose power directs the planets in presence, and speak to the spiritual their courses, and holds in his hands the hearts of all men, has wrought mightily in them, to the production of righteousness and holiness.

understanding in language not to be mistaken. And by divesting himself, in this way, of the terror of his ancient appearances to the Patriarchs, he has conformed to the mild dispen

The contemplation of the rapid and successful march of the gospel, sation of the Gospel. The time was, is truly animating to the heart of a when at every message from God, the Christian. No sooner did it appear, heavens bowed themselves with revthan superstition, ignorance, preju-erend submission, a star shot down dice, and power, all melted away be- the sky; or mute nature, trembling fore its influence, as the frost work of and retiring, confessed her Creator.

morning dissolves before the beams of the rising sun. It borrowed no influence from power, courted no applause or popularity from men, administered no flattery to the depraved heart; but rearing itself in direct opposition to all, it whelmed them in the dust. In

But this "spirit of fear and trembling" as characterising the law, being inconsistent with the liberty of the Gospel, is changed. Hence, there are no more earthquakes as at Sinai, when he spake to the Israelites, clothed in the awful majesty of God -No more visions of "horror and thick darkness," such as passed before the Patriarch. No more stars appearing, as at Bethlehem : and no more choirs of angels, chanting in our ears the melody of heaven, as on the plains of Bethlehem; but with all the mildness, and freedom of the Gospel, we see him in the ordinances of his house, and hear him speaking in his word.

of the presence of Christ: because where his peculiar work is carried on, he must be there in some sense. Now, in the great work of salvation, the word and Spirit of Christ go hand in hand, claiming their own work.They are so nearly allied, that they cannot be separated, without doing violence to both. Without the Spiritthe word is a dead letter, and instead of life, works death; and the preaching of the gospel, if unaccompanied by this seal, though attended with all the energy of Paul, or the divine eloquence of Apollos, can never be any thing but 'a sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.'

How sweet and enrapturing, sometimes, is such a sight of the Saviour, to an eye of faith, the joy of many can testify. Have not some of my Christian Brethren thus beheld him? have you not felt the influence of his presence? yea while sitting under his shadow with great delight, have not the fruits of his salvation been sweet to your taste? You have heard his voice too in the promises of his word, speaking pardon, peace, life and hope, and its accents, as they fell upon your ear, were sweeter to the heart than the softest music-more refreshing to its anxieties, than the most healthful cordials: and more But though neither the Spirit nor

harmonious than the melody of hymning Seraphim. When with deep anxieties you sought the peace of your soul, it spoke of "the tree of life," and you heard it with deep-felt rejoicing-it offered a Saviour's pardoning blood, and you trusted with all the confidence of faith-yea, you reposed on this word all your eternal interests, with the perfect assurance that it was the word of Christ and when you had yet scarcely believed, it was made "the power of God unto your salvation." In all this, did you not feel confident, that the presence of Christ was there? Who else gave to its language and promises, such divine efficiency and strength? Again

3. Christ manifests his presence in his Church, by his Spirit and word in conjunction.

It will hardly be denied, that the saving effects of grace, when experienced in the heart, are an evidence

Neither does the Spirit sufficiently enlighten without the word, because God never performs works of supererogation. If a revelation had not been necessary, it would never have been given to the world; nor would holy men of God have spoken as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. The fact that we possess it, is an undeniable evidence of its use.

the word, are separately efficient, in concert, they form a most powerful engine to sanctify the heart. Hence the stately steppings of Jehovah are seen in the sanctuary, when his pure/ word, as the dew from heaven, distils on the soul seeking his presence, and his Spirit comes down to co-operate with it.

Let us now return from these wandering and discursive observations, to apply what has been suggested, to the subject under consideration. If such is the manner in which the Lord of Glory manifest himself in his Church-If he inhabits his sanctuary by his word and Spirit, and by both in conjunction-and therefore manifests his presence not as between the Cherubim, in a visible glory; nor as at Sinai, in clouds, and tempests, and fire: nor as in his incarnation, having his divine glory veiled in a human form; then we appeal to facts, in proof of our position, that

he still glorifies his Church by dwell- | his word made quickening, and powing in her with his presence. erful; when the stubborn hearts of sinSome of these are secret, and only ners bow before him, and they rush on known to the hearts of his people, in crowds to his extended armsothers are before the world, written when their strongest prejudices, and as with a sunbeam. If you inquire, most deeply rooted antipathies, are Oh how earnestly and sweetly do all dissipated in a moment-their their bosoms respond to the truth, "high looks" brought down, and their that the presence of Christ has been proud imagination humbled, what manifested by his Spirit in his sanctuary. They have felt him near-and while they sat under the shadow of his wings, rejoiced with a joy which, while it was unspeakable, was also full of glory. Oft have they said of such seasons,

"These are the sweet and precious days, On which my Lord I've seen."

Noless evident, moreover, is the fact, that Christ manifests his presence there, also, by his word, for they add, "And oft while feasting on his word, In raptures I have been."

Behold! this was a Bethel, and I knew it not; "these are none other than the gates of heaven, and the courts of the New Jerusalem to my soul."

The comfort which the word of God has often poured into the soul of the afflicted, leaves not a doubt of this truth. So precious is its language to their hearts, that they treasure it up, in life, as a pillar on which to rest their hopes, and the sweet savour of its remembrance often refreshes them, even in death.

more conclusive evidence of the presence of Christ, can we ask? Therefore, all those mighty reformations, which these latter days have seen in Churches-those blessed revivals, the fruits of which have been the conversion of multitudes, are so many facts, yielding incontestible evidence, that Christ still glorifies his Church by dwelling in her with his presence.

Inferences.-1 Are these things so? How solemn then ought we to be, in that house, where this display of the presence and glory of Christ is made? God requires those who worship him, to "worship in spirit and in truth." Who, that realizes himself to be in the presence of Jehovah, would suffer one thought to wander? He also requires a perfect heart. Who would bring with him his earthly affections? his impure desires? Be still O my soul! thy Maker is herethis is the rest wherein he dwells! Oh that we could bring, as often as we visit this house, those sacrifices, in which he delights, a broken and a contrite heart!

2. How undivided should be the attention, with which we listen to the messages of God's word? Jehovah

The evidence of this is also before the world. The word of God is the means of converting the souls of sinners. But can an effect so extraordinary, flow from a cause so inade- speaks to us by it-speaks on a subquate, without the accompaniment ject of momentous interest; one, inof divine power? Truth, however volving nothing less than the eternal clear-preaching, however powerful happiness, or misery of our souls.-exhortation, however pungent- He opens, in the Gospel, those treascannot produce a moral renovation, in ures of divine wisdom, which the anthe hearts of sinners. But this effect gels have endeavoured, but in vain, to dees flow from the word of God, and fathom-ascheme of mercy, as free as the fact proves, that Christ manifests his presence by it, and thus dwells in his sanctuary where it is proclaimed. When his Spirit is poured out, and

VoL. II.-6.

it is incomprehensible. In one word, it contains all that is momentous, precious, and sweet. Let us hear then, as those who wish to live.