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God? it will be exerted in destroying you. O, dread his anger, and take refuge in Jesus, the Sanctuary.*

*We have before noticed, that Mr. Spencer was accustomed to enlarge on his written notes, in the improvements of his sermons; we annex the following specimen, which was taken down in shortband:

"Now to all this, my dear hearers, you are required to pronounce the solemn word-Amen! Because God possesses this power, you ought to rejoice in it; because he can do exceeding abundantly above all that you can ask or think, you ought to entreat him, from the bottom of your hearts, that he would do it for you. My text is a prayer, a prayer for the glory of God, to which all our exertions ought to be directed. Is this, then, the object to which your exertions are directed? Are you saying, by your lives and conversations, Worthy is the Lamb? Are you glorifying Jesus by your lives? Remember, that you have now an opportunity of showing that you desire to glorify him; and I trust that Jesus will receive a revenue of praise, within the walls of this place, at this opportunity.

"Sinners! What aspect does the mighty power of God wear towards you ? It wears the most terrific aspect. You may think of defying the power of God; but once hath God spoken, yea, twice have I heard this, that power belongeth unto God; and power to destroy as well as to save. I have told you that there was a power that worked in the hearts of them that believe; but O! you have not submitted to it; your lusts are your guide; and God may say of you, He is joined to idols, let him alone!' He is able to inflict exceeding abundantly more pain upon you than you can think; he has. so much ability, that he can terrify you by his anger, frown you into hell, and make you the eternal subject of the gnawing of the worm that never dies. Whither will you flee from his anger? Jesus shall be a sanctuary; but if you refuse him, whither will you flee from the Divine anger? A man shall be a covert from the tempest, and a shelter from the wind, and you can only take shelter in that way. But so soon as you have embraced him, he will present you to God as one who has received his good Spirit. The moment you lay hold on the hope set before you, that moment the omnipotence of God shall be engaged on your behalf, and the prayer of Christ shall be answered: Keep, through thine own name, those whom thou hast given me.'

"Now to the God, whose power can do
More than our thoughts or wishes know,
Be everlasting houors done,

By all the church, through Christ his Son.

Amen."

DISCOURSE XVII.

PAUL'S UNTIRING ASSIDUITY IN PREACHING THE

GOSPEL.

PREACHED JUNE 10, 1810.

"And there sat in a window a certain young man, named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep; and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and, embracing him, said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him." ACTS xx. 9, 10.

"WHEREVER," says the Great Shepherd and Bishop of souls, "two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." Confined to no walls, he dispenses the blessings of his grace in every congregation of faithful men, who approach him through the veil, that is to say, his flesh, and humbly expect that their services will be accepted through his own mediation and death. In all places where such characters record his name, he comes to them, and blesses them. We may say to him,

"Jesus, where'er thy people meet,
There they behold thy mercy-seat;
Where'er they seek thee thou art found,
And every place is hallow'd ground."

This, the experience of his saints, in every age, abundantly confirms; and I am induced to drop the remark now, because the circumstance which

calls for our attention at this time, took place in an upper chamber, where Paul addressed a worshipping assembly upon the things which belonged to their peace. The place was consecrated and sanctified by the presence of Him who resorts with his saints wherever they dwell, and hears them from whatever place they send their petitions to his throne. While they were thus worshipping, "in the holy calm of night," a certain young man, named Eutychus, who sat in a window, being fallen into a deep sleep, sunk down, and fell from the third loft, and was taken up dead. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him. And, by a miracle, he brought him back again to life, and restored him once more to his friends and relations.

Bear with me, my hearers, while from the text I direct your attention to four ideas.

I. Observe the holy zeal of the apostle Paul. II. Observe the effect of the body in interrupting the exercises of worship.

III. Behold an affecting instance of the uncertainty of human life. And,

IV. Look at the kind conduct of the apostle Paul as emblematic of the grace of Jesus.

I. Observe the holy zeal of the apostle Paul. And this noble principle discovers itself in him in two ways; in the season, and in the length of his discourse.

1. In the season of this discourse. He was now, you remember, like Jesus, going about doing good; scattering the seed of the kingdom, and declaring the testimony of God. He had remained six days at Troas, and on the morrow he was about to depart elsewhere, as the providence of God might direct. But there was one opportunity

left for addressing the inhabitants of Troas in the name of Jesus; and he had too much concern for the Redeemer's honor, and too much love to immortal souls, to let that opportunity slip; and though it was late, and the next morning he had to undertake a voyage, yet did he zealously improve the few hours that were left, by directing the attention of the people to that Jesus whom he every where preached. What a fine example of being instant in season and out of season! what a striking instance of ministerial ardor! what a noble proof of the influence of the love of Christ in the soul! Great Head of the church, send down upon all thy servants like dispositions, that their exertions in thy cause may be constant and ardent, and that thine own honor may be widely promoted.

2. Again, we may observe the zeal of the apostle in the length of this discourse: for we are told, that he was long preaching. You find, that he continued his speech even until midnight; his great soul was so occupied by the prospect of promoting the glory of Christ, and the best interests of the souls of men, that he paid no regard to the flight of time; his tongue, no doubt, was like the pen of a ready-writer; he was much enlarged, and a door of utterance was opened to him so spake he with his tongue. Long sermons are not always proofs of glowing zeal; but this evidently was so. He was, no doubt, blessed with a large measure of the Holy Spirit, and he recollected too, that he might never see them again; and, therefore, his discourse was lengthened to a very unusual degree. In the work of the Lord, he loses his concern for himself, and he conferred not with flesh and blood; he might have contented

himself with addressing them for a few minutes; he might have indulged gloomy apprehensions that he should injure his health and constitution; but this was not the case; he knew that he had often committed both soul and body into the hands of his great Lord and Master, and that he was abie to take care of both. Unconcerned, then, about sparing himself, and anxious to declare to them the whole counsel of God, he preached even until midnight. And O, shall we think much of the poor services we perform? rather let us, after all that we have done in the cause of Christ, call ourselves unprofitable servants, and entreat a large measure of the influences of the Holy Spirit, that we may devise and execute fresh works for God; remembering that we are hasting to a world where all these duties will be known no more. In our

text, we may remark,

II. The influence of the body in interrupting the exercises of devotion. For we are informed, that while Paul was preaching, a young man of the name of Eutychus fell into a deep sleep. Shall we say that he was slothful, or that he had no relish for the truths delivered by Paul? Probably he was not so fixed in his attention as he ought to have been. But the writer of this narrative rather seems inclined, in some measure, to excuse him from the charge of total indifference; for it is stated, that there were many lights in the upper chamber, which must have made it hot; Paul was long preaching; the place, too, was considerably crowded; and it was at the hour when Eutychus had been accustomed to repose: and who among us knows what laborious exercises this young man might have passed through in the day? I hope that I am addressing some who have often

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