tihxavy of t:he t:heolo0ical ^tmimvy PRINCETON • NEW JERSEY BX 9183 .R4 1872 Reformed Presbyterian Churc in North America. Memorial volume, covenant >-CiT-i/-^Tra+- 1 r\r\ 1 1 x^ „^.«^#.'*^*** fl-Mt* $ . ^i- .f lidi - IK*....... ^ ..vy»^?4-_ 1 « •^ _ _ . _ 27 *^ By Rev. H. H. George. Confession of Sin Necessary to the Enjoy- ment OF God's Presence, - - - 40 By Rev. James Kennedy. Covenanting and its Benefits to the Cov- enanters, - - - - - "58^ JTq By Rev, A. Stevenson, D. D. The Spirit in which we should engage in the act of Covenanting, - - - _ 7^ ^^ By Re.. J R. W. Sloane, D. D. / Fidelity to Vows, - - - - - 81 By Rev. W. Milroy. The Messiah Expecting his Foes' Subjection, 94. By Rev. S. Carlisle. The Lamb that was Slain, _ - - 101 By Rev. S. O. Wylie, D. D. iv Contents. PAGE Debarring AND Inviting Service, - - - 128 By Rev, S. Bowden Explanation of the Words of Institution, - 139 By Rev. T. Sproull, D. D. Table Addresses — I. The Church a Quiet Habitation, - 142 By Rev. D. S. Paris. ~ II. Jehovah-jireh, - - - - 14-^ By Rev. J. W. Sproull. III. Christ, his Excellence and Love, - 146 By Rev. J. Hunter. IV. Christ ever Present with his People, 152 By Rev. R. J. Sharpe. Our Work a work of Reformation, - - 158 By Rev. John French. The Nature and Ground of Political Dissent, 1 60 By Rev. D. McAllister. The Position and Duty of Covenanters, - 189 By Rev. A. M. Milligan. Our Past and our Future, - _ _ 205 By Rev. John Galbraith. COVENANT RENOVATION. NARRATIVE. Thk transaction which this volume is designed to commemorate marks an important era in the history of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America. The Hmits to which we are necessarily confined, preclude any discussion of the Scriptural ordinance of covenanting, or any detailed historv of those memorable epochs in which the church of God has exemplified this part of her testimony. For information upon these points, we must refer the reader to the discourses in the body of this volume, and to such other sources as are easily accessible. The object which we have in view is simply to pre- sent a brief narrative of the Act of Covenanting by the Reformed Presbyterian Church in North America, in the city of Pittsburgh, May 27, 1871. It has been the custom of the church to commemo- rate remarkable events in her history, both by material structures and literary records. We have early instances of the former in Jacob's pillars, those set up by Moses at Mount Sinai, the twenty-four stones erected by Joshua at the passage of the Jordan, and the one which he set u}) I 6 IViEMORiAL Volume. under the oak by the sanctuary of the Lord in Shechem -, of the latter, in Miriam's song at the Red Sea, that of Deborah and Barak at the overthrow of Sisera, and in many of the Psalms of David. Following such approved examples, Synod resolved to erect a commemorative pillar — a " Memorial Theological Seminary," — as an expression of devout thankfulness to our covenant God for the tokens of the divine favor enjoyed in all the circumstances of this solemn trans- action, and also to issue this " Memorial Volume" as a means of perpetuating its remembrance, and transmitting to posterity an accurate account of the impressive ser- vices connected with it. " Walk about Zion and go round about her ; tell the towers thereof. Mark ye well her bulwarks, consider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generation following. For this God is our God for ever and ever. He will be our guide even unto death." " Instead of thy fathers shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the earth. I will make thy name to be remembered in all generations, therefore shall the people praise thee for ever and ever." In the September number of the Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter for 187 1, will be found a detailed ac- count of the various attempts made by the church in this country to renew her federal engagements. Although many of these efforts resulted only in disappointment and apparent failure, it is manifest that the Head of the church was all the time preparing his people for a real- ization of their hopes, while leading them by a way which they knew not. At the meeting of Synod held at Northwood, Ohio, Narrative. 7 May, 1868, petitions from the ist congregation of New York, 1st Philadelphia, and Pittsburgh, were presented, urging immediate attention to the subject of covenanting. These petitions were favorably received, and a special committee appointed to report on the subject at that meeting of Synod. The following is the report of the committee : "Whereas, Public social covenanting is a duty and privilege of the church under the New Testament dis- pensation ; and whereas, it is a distinctive principle of the Reformed Presbyterian Church that such engagements should be entered into at suitable seasons ; and whereas, the ordinance of covenanting has never been practically exemplified by the church in America ; and whereas, it is our devout conviction that the proper observance of this ordinance would be blessed by God to the revival of the church through the outpouring of his Holy Spirit ; and whereas, we are profoundly convinced that there is in the present aspects of divine providence toward our church an urgent call to enter immediately upon the work of covenant renovation ; therefore, " Resolved^ That Synod appoint a special committee to prepare the draft of a covenant, and make all necessary arrangements for entering up:)n the work of covenanting without unnecessary delay." The adoption of this report was immediately fjllowed by the appointment of a committee, consisting of S. O. Wyhe, D. D., J. R. W. Sloane, D. D., T. Sproull, D. D., A. Stevenson, D. D., and William Crawford — J. Wiggins and Andrew Knox were subsequently added — to carry out the recommendations of the report. 8 Memorial Volume. At the. next meeting of Synod held in Newburgh, N. Y., May, 1869, the committee, owing to the indispo- sition of the chairman, was not able to report progress. The committee was continued, and directed " to prepare a bond and report to the next meeting of Synod, on the morning of the second day of its sessions, and the con- sideration of the subject of covenanting was made the order of the day for the forenoon session of the third day." Pastors of congregations were also directed to preach on the subject of covenanting. Accordingly, at the meeting of Synod held ia New York, May, 1870, a draft of confession of sins and bond of covenant was reported by the committee. These were carefully considered, discussed, amended, and finally unanimously adopted. '^ The form of cove- nant," as thus adopted by Synod, "was sent down in overture to presbyteries and sessions, with instructions to vote yea or nay. Presbyteries were also directed to trans- mit to Synod the votes of sessions." As many of the members of Synod as were members of the committee on covenanting were appointed a com- mittee to report the order of exercises for the renewal of the covenant. This committee reported the following order, subsequently with slight variations, observed : 1. That Synod, if the way be clear, engage in taking the covenant on Saturday after the day on which it meetSsjn May, of 1871. 2. That the sacrament of the Lord^s supper be dis- pensed on the following Sabbath, and the Friday preced- ing be observed as a day of fasting. 3. That a committee be appointed to arrange the order Narrative. 9 of proceeding in covenanting, and to assign to suitable pel sons the parts of this work and of the communion, and pubhsh the arrangement in the Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter^ in connection with the minutts of Synod. 4. That all office bearers in the church present at the meeting, be allowed, if they v/ish, to join with Synod in taking the covenant. 5. That sessions and presbyteries take early action on the bond, and that clerks of presbyteries remit to the clerk of Synod the results of their action, that he may have them in readiness for immediate action in Synod. The existing committee on covenanting was appointed under the third paragraph of the above report. The arrangements were completed and published in the Reformed Presbyterian and Covenanter for January, 1871. When Synod met in May, it was found that the reports from presbyteries were all favorable, and that the desire to go forward immediately was very general ; with many it had been the cherished hope and subject of earnest prayer for many years ; not a ^^^n were present at considerable sacrifice, for the express purpose of wit- nessing this solemn act, and now that all things appeared ready, they were impatient of any delay which might again put it in hazard. After an earnest discussion, conducted in the best spirit, it was decided by an almost unanimous vote, to carry out the expressed purpose of Synod, without further delay. A committee had been appointed " to receive and con- sider any papers in relation to the form of covenant, and to hear and remove, if possible, any objections which I* 10 Memorial Volume. may be made to the bond." This committee found its task comparatively easy ; but few objections were pre- sented, and these, in most instances, easily removed. In order to satisfy scruples, the committee recommended an amendment to the confession of sins, more distinctly recognizing the covenants of the " Second Reformation." This recommendation was cordially accepted, and the following resolution adopted : " Re^olved^ That in order to satisfy the scruples of some members of Synod, we understand that the expres- sion 'Covenants of the Second Reformation' includes the National Covenant of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant of the three Kingdoms," These additions and explanations served to satisfy the minds of all those who had been in doubt, with the exception of two ministers and one ruling elder ; and thus the way was open to the immediate observance of the ordinance. The mountains flowed down and be- came a plain before our New Testament Zerubbabel. The Lord our God made our darkness to be light ; fears were disappointed ; cherished hopes were to be realized. The morning of joy had dawned. There was cheering evidence that our covenant God was about to " visit Zion, and his glory to arise upon her." From the time that the final determination was made, a feeling of deep solemnity appeared to pervade the minds of the members of the court. Humility, joy, hope, serenity and pleasing anticipation, were the mingled emotions with which they looked forward to this act of self-consecration. Prayer also was made continually. Friday was the day set apart for humiliation and prayer. Narrative. li The services of the forenoon were, reading confession of sins, by Rev. James Wallace, of St. Louis, Missouri, and sermon by Rev. J. R. Thompson, of Newburgh, N. Y. The sermon was preached in the afternoon by Rev. H. H. George, of Cincinnati. It is unnecessary to characterize these or the other discourses which were preached in connection with the services of this memor- able occasion, as they are given in the body of this volume, and will be read, we are confident, with pleasure and profit, by many who did not enjoy the privilege of hearing them delivered. In the evening a large number of the members of Synod assembled for devotional exercises, which were conducted wholly by ruling elders, Mr. David Wallace, of Muskingum, Ohio, presiding. This meeting was char- acterized by a deeply devotional spirit. After these devo- tional exercises, a sermon was preached by Rev. James Kennedy, of New York city. Saturday was the day appointed for covenanting. Rev. Andrev/ Stevenson, D. D., of New York city, preached a discourse appropriate to the occasion. At the close of the service Synod took a recess of half an hour ; at the expiration of this time. Synod was called to order. The large house of worship in which Synod met was filled to its utmost capacity with an attentive and deeply interested audience, the members of Synod occupying the pews immediately in front and on each side of the pulpit. The exercises of the afternoon were introduced by sing- ing a portion of a psalm, followed by the reading, in an impressive manner, of the covenant, by Rev. J. M. Beat- tie, of Rvegate, Vermont. Then followed the address 12 Memorial Volume. " Upon the spirit in which we should engage in the act of covenanting," by Rev. J. R. W. Sloane, D. D., of Allegheny city. Rev. Thomas Sproull, D. D., of Al- legheny city, who had been appointed to preside, then solemnly addressed the Throne of Grace. A few mo- ments were given for silent prayer. He then proceeded to read the oath, all the members standing and holdino; up their right hands, and at the close responding audibly, "Amen." Dr. Sproull then read the covenant, section by section; at the close of each section the members again responded "Amen," and at the conclusion of the whole repeated in concert, "All that the Lord hath said will we do and be obedient." The covenant was then subscribed by seventy-four ministers and seventy ruling elders, members of Synod, and by five licentiates, four students of theology, and nineteen elders who were not members of the court. The closing address was then delivered by Rev. Wm. Milroy, of Northwood, Ohio, on " Covenant Keeping," and the service was closed by singing Psalm 72 : 17-19. The scene thus briefly sketched was one never to be forgotten. A solemn awe pervaded the entire assembly. At some points in the service, the deepest feeling was manifested. None shouted for joy as in the old Grey- friar's- churchyard, but many wept. The feeling that predominated was a calm and holy joy. All felt that the covenant promise had been fulfilled, " In all places where I record my name, I will come unto thee and I will bless thee." As the sacrament of the supper was to be observed on the following day, the terms of communion were read, Narrative. 13 and tokens of admission to the Lord's table dispensed, Rev. John Crozier, of Elizabeth, Pa., conducting this service, the closing one of "a great and good day," as it was characterized by many members of Synod. We cannot refrain from quoting, as strikingly appro- priate, the beautiful words of another, descriptive of a similar scene in a distant land. " The public religious services of this memorable day were concluded about seven (five) o'clock in the evening. Amidst the solemn calm of the closing day, the large assembly that had waited upon them for so many hours, with fixed atten- tion, retired from the scene, under impressions of the peculiar favor of the God of their fathers vouchsafed upon the occasion."* On communion Sabbath the psalm was explained by Rev. Samuel Carlisle, of Newburgh, N. Y. The action sermon was preached by Rev. S, O. Wylie, D. D., of Philadelphia, Pa. The service of debarring was con- ducted by Rev. Samuel Bowden, of York, N. Y. The words of institution were explained by Rev. Thomas SprouU, D. D. The first table was served by Rev. D. S. Paris, of Sparta, 111.; second by Rev. J. W. Sproull, of Allegheny ; third by Rev. J. Hunter, of Wilkins- burg. Pa.; fourth by Rev. R. J. Sharpe, of Philadelphia. Rev. John French, of California, Mich., addressed the communicants. Rev. D. McAllister, of Walton, N. Y., preached the sermon on Sabbath evening, and Rev. A. M. Milligan, of Pittsburgh, on Monday evening. Rev. John Galbraith gave the parting address and read ■^ "Memoiial of Covenanting," by Thomas Houston, D. D , Knock- bracken, Ireland. 14 Memorial Volume. the usual passages, thus closing the communion service held in connection with covenanting. The communion season added much to the interest of the occasion, and was felt to be a time of reviving and refreshing from the presence of the Lord. « « Arrangements were immediately made by Synod to further the work of covenanting by the various congre- gations. Directions were given as to the manner of procedure. A committee was appointed to prepare a " Pastoral Address," and another to issue as soon as practicable the present " Memorial Volume." We are, perhaps, too near these solemn transactions to estimate properly the results. Already, however, there are cheering evidences that the anticipations of the church are to be realized ; that the Spirit will be poured out from on high, the wilderness become a fruitful field, and the desert be made to rejoice and blossom as the rose. " Who is this that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners ?" 15 GOD'S PUNITIVE DEALINGS WITH MAN. BY REV. J. RENWICK THOMPSON. Genesis 3 : 24. " So he drove out the man." The idea of man's responsibility to God underlies our text. It is a truth that is clearly revealed in human consciousness ; that meets us on the very threshold of human history ; and that is written with the pen of in- spiration upon the sacred page. Both the natural and supernatural unite in linking man by an indissoluble chain to the throne of the Eternal. No more certainly do the minute atoms of matter that fringe the outer verge of creation respond to the force of natural law, than man responds to the constraining power of a moral responsibil- ity that binds him to the moral Governor and Judge of all. An ignoring of this responsibility, a breaking a link in this chain, necessarily, and at once, exposes the transgres- sor to the certain, impartial, and avenging judgment of God. Hence, the very moment that man in the morning of his existence attempted to throw off this responsibility, swift judgment followed, and he stood a condemned crim- inal at the bar of God. It was a judgment, not merely upon the first man, but upon the whole human family. It was not Adam alone that God drove out of the garden, but the human race federally in Adam. This judgment was the first penal infliction upon the race, and was a wit- ness and prophecy of the many judgments that leave their dark impress on the page of human history. A judg- ment meets man almost at the beginning of his history ; a judgment will meet him at the end ; and judgments lie t6 Memorial Volume. along the whole line of his earthly progress. Truly he may look up to the Ruler of the Universe and exclaim, " Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne." This first judicial infliction, however, was not without a gleam of mercv. As soon as the rr^T-ht of sin settled down upon the earth, the star of mercy arose above the dark horizon. Justice and mercy met together on the cross, but they had their first earthly meeting in the gar- den of Eden. Justice declared " Thou shalt surely die," but mercy at the same time announced " That the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head." These thoughts grow out of and cluster around our text. They suggest for discussion a very important fea- ture in the divine administration, and clearly show that God deals with man for his conduct — deals with him se- verely, justly, and yet mercifully. " So he drove out the man." Doctrine : God punishes man for his sin. I. Severely. It is no light infliction, no sham pun- ishment that mocks justice and deludes the guilty ; but it is real and severe. I. God punishes man severely by opening his eyes to a perception of his sinful and sad condition. " And the eyes of them both were opened." Gen. 3 : 7. Their eyes were opened, as the serpent predicted, but not in the way they had expected. They were opened to see their spiritual nakedness, their moral depravity, their misery and utter helplessness. A spiritual insight was given to them, by which they had a perception o\ the moral turpi- tude of their act, its unprovoked ingratitude, its stain upon God's moral government, its effects upon themselves and God's Punitive Dealings. 17 upon their posterity to the latest generation, and upon a portion of the human family throughout eternity. It was this view of sin that forced from the Psalmist the bitter cry, "My sin is ever before me;" that constrained the evangelical prophet to exclaim, "Woe is me ! for I am un- done ;" that wrung from Peter those penitent tears as he "went out and wept bitterly;" that stung the conscience of a Judas until he rushed forth and hung himself. One of the severest penalties that God inflicts on sinners is opening their eyes to a perception of the criminality of their sins, and thereby awakening into activity the power of conscience, that ever-present avenger that fills the soul with dreadful forebodings and kindles within it a fire which is never quenched. A view of sin in its nature and consequences, is a severe infliction in this life, and will form no small portion of the penalty of the lost for ever and ever. 2. By judicially abandoning man to the dominion of sin. Scripture and human experience alike confirm the fact that sin is a punishment for sin ; that the burden of guilt and depravity which every one bears about with him is not only the consequence but the certain punishment of sin. Sin follows close on the heels of sin as an avenger. The moment Adam sinned, guilt and depravity seized him in their iron grasp and became the penal infliction for his rebellion against God. Paul, in Romans i : 24, clearly shows that because the heathen forsook God they were judicially given up to uncleanness as a punitive infliction for their sin. In like manner God punished Pharaoh, not merely by withholding grace and leaving him to the hardening influence of his native depravitv, but by mak- 2 1 8 Memorial Volume. Ing the " hardening" of his heart a penal infliction so that his sin became the punishment for his sin. A ruined constitution is not only the consequence of the violation of natural laws, but the punishment for such a violation. Spiritual insensibility not only flows from sin, but is the punishment of sin. When Paul uttered the bitter complaint, "Oh ! wretched man that I am," it was not only because he loathed his depravity, but felt it as a severe punishment — that "the body of death" was God's punitive hand upon him, crushing him down al- most into the depths of despair. God drove man out of his presence, left him a captive in the power of sin, and by this judicial abandonment inflicted upon him a severe punishment. 3. By suspending communion with hi?n. Man's delight- ful fellowship with God in Paradise was interrupted b) sin, and he was sent forth from the tree of life, from the presence of God, and the gate of the garden closed against him lest he should return and partake of the symbol and pledge of those blessings he had forfeited. As he reluct- antly went forth, forced out by the penalty of his sin, he felt the severity of his punishment, and in his own soul was ready to exclaim in the words afterwards uttered by his rebellious son, " My punishment is greater than I can bear " — shut out from the presence of God and left alone in a sin-cursed world. Exclusion from the presence of God in the sanctuary, was a severe punishment to the Jew ; and suspension from the privileges of the church, is one of the severest inflictions upon a child of God. But much severer is the trial when God judicially suspends communion with man and shuts him out from his gra- God's Punitive Dealings. 19 cious presence. Truly did the pious Henry Martyn say that to be absent from God for a time was to be miserable. 4. By exposing him to the ills of this life and the life that is to come. Expulsion from the garden was the beginning of multitudinous trials. The world became to man a prison-house ; the ground was made to bristle with briars and thorns ; in the sweat of his face he ate his bread ; dis- ease seized his physical frame, and death cut short his career. Suffering in body and in mind, in various forms, bears testimony to the severity of the punishment which a righteous God inflicts on man. But eternity can only re- veal the true character of that righteous retribution that the God of vengeance executes upon the impenitent vio- lator of his law. " Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord." The avenging Nemesis follows close on the track of sin, and the divine providences are so adjusted that "punishment is the recoil of sin, and the strength of the back stroke is in proportion to the original blow." As- the crime is heinous, so the punishment is severe. We may exclaim with the apostle, " Behold" not only " the goodness," but also " the severity of God ; on them that fell severity. ^^ II. Justly. Divine punishment is not the arbitrary act of a sover- eign ; nor the blow of a blind and remorseless fate ; nor yet the uncertain stroke of the wheel of chance, but the just penalty, the inevitable retribution for sin. Its sanc- tion is in man's moral constitution, in the religion and lit- erature of all nations, in the retributive forces of nature, in the mysterious revolving of the wheels of providence, and is echoed from the awful throne of the sin-avenging 20 Memorial Volume. God. Every department of Jehovah's empire proclaims the truth that "the face of the Lord is against them that do evil." God punishes sin justly. I. Because of the dishonor it does to his moral government. Sin being an act of rebellion against God's throne, an assault upon his administration, an act of spiritual trea- son, it necessarily puts dishonor upon God's government, and therefore justly deserves punishment. God's nature, as well as the claims of his government, demands the in- fliction of punishment upon the sinner. The necessity for punishment springs from the divine love ; and did not God punish the sinner he would not be a God of love. His love to his true children calls for the punishment of the disobedient. The very existence of God's throne, as well as the purity of his administration, cries with an in- exorable voice for the punishment of every assault made upon his government. Every stain upon God's govern- ment must be wiped out by the hand of retributive justice. 2. Because man has transgressed the known law of God. Law is a rule of conduct prescribed by the Supreme Ru- ler. Its obligation does not spring from our consent or approbation, but from the will of the Lawgiver. It is not a compact, for then it would, in part, originate with man ; but is a command given to us and for us. The strength of thi-* law lies in its penalty. Hence, says Blackstone, " of all parts of the law, the most effectual is the vindicatory.'^ Without the penalty, the law would be a rope of sand. The violation of law, then, is necessarily followed by the infliction of the penalty. In God's moral government, as well as in nature, the penalty follows as the avenger of violated law. God, who is just, God's Punitive Dealings. 21 must inflict the penalty wherever his law is violated, '^ The wag&s of sin is death," for " sin is the transgression of the law," 3. Because man has violated a solemn covenant engage- ment. Where there is a covenant entered into there is an increased obligation arising from the voluntary assent given to its stipulations. Adam was bound by the law of God originally, but his obligation was increased by enter- ing into the covenant of works. Abraham's obligation to God was increased by his accepting the Abrahamic cove- nant. Our covenanted forefathers had their obligation strengthened by setting their seal to the Solemn League and Covenant. Accepting, then, this principle, a viola- tion of a covenant is a sin of no small magnitude, and justly deserves a severe penalty. God drove Adam out of Eden because he was a covenant breaker ; and cove- nant sins are not amorgthe least of man's transgressions. ''They have transgressed my covenant and trespassed against my law." 4. Because of the consequences of man's sin. Sin, in its effects, is not confined to the sinner or the limits of time. Adam's sin did not terminate in his own person or his own age ; its influence was imparted and its guilt imputed to the whole race, and its effects reach into eternity. Adam and Eve went not alone out of Eden, but were followed by a procession of the whole human race and a train of woes and sorrows that extend into the future world. No tongue can tell the consequences of his sin. Collect all the fruits of it in this and the future world, and pile them up in one mass, and the earth would not form a base wide enough or heaven be high enough to contain so dark a 2* 22 Memorial Volume. monument. Sin :s the fruitful parent of every crime and woe. It fills our jails with criminals, our asylums with the insane, the dark haunts in our cities with festering disease, squalor and death. It fires the passions of licen- tiousness, inflames the appetite of the inebriate, sends sinners blindly down the yawning gulf into perdition and peoples hell with its victims. It is sin, that has lit the torch of persecution, that has rent the seamless robe of Christ, and that has nailed the Son of God to the cross. Oh ! sin has done all this, and more. Shall we not ar- raign this culprit before the bar of God ? Shall not you render the verdict guilty; and shall not the Judge pro- nounce the righteous sentence ? Surely, man's sin that is so far-reaching and disastrous in its results, justly deserves the severest punishment of Heaven. Punishment is truly the logical exponent of sin ; its just desert. God must inflict the penalty. "Just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints." III. Mercifully The punishment on man is not only severe and just, but also tempered with mercy. " Mercy and truth are met together ; righteousness and peace have kissed each other:' Ps. 85: 10. The very moment the sword of justice was unsheathed against man the rainbow of merey spanned the throne, and a voice came forth, " The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." " I have have found a ransom." God punishes mercifully. I. By not inflicting upon man the full penalty of the law. The penalty was death — death spiritual, physical and eter- nal. The first was inflicted the instant man sinned. The kni^'e fell the very moment sin sprung the trap ; but mercy God's Punitive Dealings. 23 staved Its progress, and it did not reach the extreme limit of the penalty. Death physical was delayed ; and death eternal was robbed by mercy of many of its victims. God did punish man, but not to the full extent of the law. He drove man out of the garden, but not out of the world. He closed the gates of Paradise against him, but did not bolt them, so that they could never be opened. He clouded man's prospects, but did not entirely quench the spark of hope. Mercy accompanied justice as the lat- ter drove man out into the cheerless world, so that outside of the gates of Eden man could sing of mercy as well as of judgment. And through the ages that are past, mercy has locked the wheels of judgment and delayed the hour of execution, by causing the hand of justice to move slowly on the dial. If justice would immediately exact from the sinner its full demands, who could live for a mo- ment in its presence ? '' If thou. Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand ?" 2. By accompanying the penalty with the promise and pledge of salvation. In connection with the penalty was the germ of a future restoration, the symbol that excited the hope of a return to Paradise. At the east gate of the garden was not only the flaming sword of justice to vin- dicate the rightsof God's government, but also the cher- ubim of mercy and hope pointing back to the tree of life, and symbolically announcing that a way of return would be opened up. There stood two symbolical sentinels, the one guarding the rights of sovereignty, and the other offering mercy to the returning prodigal. From that day to this, mercy has gone hand in hand with judgment ; the promise has kept pace with the threatening ; the mes- 24 Memorial Volume. sengers of pardon have followed close in the track of the ministers of justice. On the very cross where justice slew one on the left hand, mercy snatched a trophy on the right and bore it in triumph to glory. As flowers bloom on the margin of the eternal snows, so mercy appears on the very verge of justice. While the sword of ven- geance goes forth slaying its thousands, the angel of mercy follows in the desolated track, gathering up the wounded, pouring in the oil of joy and offering eternal life to the dying. Mercy gives the promise and pledge of salvation even under the shadow of the penalty, and achieves the brightest victories where the thunders of justice are the loudest. 3. By giving him full time for repentance. A delay in execution is mercy to the sinner. Mercy lengthened out Adam's days to nine hundred and thirty years, and thus gave him full time to repent. It held back the flood from the antediluvian world and gave it a respite for repentance. Long did mercy cry to our guilty nation, *' Let the op- pressed go free." Long did it check the bursting storm and delay the doom, that an ungrateful nation might be spared. And long has mercy been pleading with our nation to honor Christ, to "Bring fcrth the royal diaderr, And crown him Lord of all." Oh ! impenitent sinner ! mercy is likewise giving you time for repentance. Nestled among the Alps was once a hamlet near that mountain glacier that moves but a foot and a half in a year. The progress was so slow that the inhabitants felt no alarm. Scientific men warned them of their danger, but years of peace had lulled them into se- God's Punitive Dealings. 25 curlty. The day of mercy, however, ended, the glacier brok^ loose, and in a moment that village was buried in icy ruins. Oh ! sinners ! towards you, God's judgments are moving forward ; and while mercy retards their progress, escape for your life, look not behind, flee to the mountain of safety. 4, By bestowing many blessings upon man even while he rests under the penalty. Adam was driven from the garden, but the severity of the penalty was mitigated by special blessings. The earth was cursed, for his sake, with briars and thorns, and yet made to yield the finest of the wheat. The sentence, " In the sweat of thy face thou shalt eat bread," was enforced, yet his labor was turned into a means of health and an antidote to sin. His expulsion from Eden was an act of mercy, for, had he remained, he might have eaten of the tree of life, and thus profaned a divine ordinance, excited vain hopes, and perhaps sealed his eternal condemnation by making his spiritual death incurable. Thus, his eating of the tree of life would have been more disastrous than his first sin in eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Mercy, too, insti- tuted at the gate of the garden remedial ordinances, and erected an altar which, for sixteen hundred years, was the place where the devout went up to offer sacrifices and worship God; and the same mercy has continued, until the present time, gracious institutions for the true Israel. While on the one side of Israel was the frowning brow of Ebal, on the other was the smiling face of Gerizim. There was a thorn in the flesh given to Paul, and yet grace to counteract its influence. Upon the cross where were the agonies of death were a!so the joys of a new birth. The history of the world is luminous with bless- 26 Memorial Volume. ings that shine the brighter because of the background of divine judgments. TVuly, while God severely and justly chastises his own people, he is mercifully crowning them with his loving kindnesses. "So he drove out the man" from one Paradise, only to reveal to him another, brighter and more glorious. In conclusion, the survey of this whole subject pre- sents to us the moral completeness of the divine character ; that the idea of God includes justice as well as mercy, the sterner and gentler attributes meeting and mingling like the rainbow and the thunder in the same cloud. The Most High should not be viewed from the extreme point of a cold, stern, unyielding fatalism, nor yet from the other extreme of a sentimental free-will Pelagianism that resolves the divine character into nothing but a sickly and spurious love. Both extremes are alike derogatory to the perfection of God's character. In him justice and mercy harmonize. In the light of this subject we see that God is justly chastising us for our sins — our sins as individuals and as a church ; and yet at the same time the voice of mercy cries, "Turn ye, turn ye, from your evil ways; why will ye die, O house of Israel " Its rainbow round about the throne, like unto an emerald, invites and em- boldens sinners to draw near, that they may find grace to help in time of need. It has opened up the gates of Paradise, through which the expelled sinners may enter in and eat of the fruit from the topmost bough of the tree of life. That God that drove man out of Eden gives also the promise, " To him that overcometh will I g;ive to eat of the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God." 27 COVENANTING A DUTY IN NEW TES- TAMENT TIMES. BY REV. H. H. GEORGE. 2 Cor. 8:5. "And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their ^ / own selves to ihe Lord, and unto us by the will of God.'' That covenanting is a d uty, the Scriptures clearly I teach, a duty bin ding alike upon individuals and snni gty, \ upon churches and nations. As an act, it is one of gr eat, ;p^^.^3(r solemni ty and importa nce ; a c ontract with Go d, a link p^ ^ p^ of connection wi th his thron e, and an oath of loyalty to ,yfft^^ him. It is one, whose impress upon the church must be marked either for good o r Illj for goo^, if done with i honest purpose and sincerity of heart ; forill, if unwor- ! thily and in hypocrisy. We select th is tex t as an e^^am ple of covenant re no- j vation by the New Testament church . The t hree churches of Macedo nia, viz,, Phili^p i, Berea and Thessalonica, were endowed with the grace of God that disposed them to contribute libera lly to the poor saints at Jerusalem; ^^t his they d id," as the result of a solemn dedication of themselves to the L ord. It was an ecc lesiastical covena nt, in which al l the churches of / Ma ^cedonia participa ted. It could have been none othe r than an act of covenantin g, b ecaus e the yhad given the m- selv es to God in a professi on many years before; and. their dedication in baptism no doubt took place at the time of iheir profession, as it was customary to admin- ister baptism immediately upon conversion : The Lord opened the heart of Lydia,, and "she was baptized and / 28 Memorial Volume. I hgr househ old." The sanie jiight the jailor of_ Phi]ippi I b elieved on the Lo rd Jesu s, he ^^was baptized, he and ? all his, straightway." / Nor could it have been a n ordinary communion s ea- son, for such was no more than the apostle expected of ' them ; but this was an unlooked for occasion, ^'not as f we hoped or expected ;" some high, extraordinary conse- ^? oration, verified only in public social covenanting. ! Granting that covenanti ng was a du ty recognized and I obs erved in former ti mes, pract iced by Jew s and earl y j Christians, the qu estion still arises in the minds of ip any, 4>^ w hat is the use of it now ? Has it any appropriateness t o our day ? To this we might answer, a moral dut y never ceases in its obligation s. I nstituted by Go d for both Old and New Testament dispensations, it remains with perpet ual force upon the church as long as her or- ^ ' ganization co ntinu es. VW hen any thin g is plainly direc ted i n the word of God, it is presuming to be wiser than he to ask what is - the use of it. But yet many obvious reasons may be adduced to convince the inquirer that it is a duty now as ever before. Let us fi rst consider a few of th ese reasons. -i-' 1st. The visible oneness of the church is maintained ■^ ■ ■ -* by cove nant renovatio n. No Bible reader will deny that the church was a covenanted socie ty in the days of ^ Abraham, o f Isa^a c, and of Jac ob. ^^ Which cov^j iant he made with Abraham and his oath unto Is aac, and I con firmed the same unt o [acob for aj aw, znd^jjQ^JLsfa.e\ for an everksting covenant ." It w^as the basis ofGod^s dealing with the Patriarchs. Covenanting a Duty. 29 Nor was it different through the entire period of Moses, of Samuel, and all the prophets. When the prophets foretold that glorious era yet to dawn upon our world, they gave prominence to the fact, that it should be a covenanting period. " In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weep- ing: they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to Zion, with their faces thitherward, J{j^,57)' ' ^ saying. C ome, and let us join ourselves to the Lord --Zir " I in a perpetual covena nt that shall not be forgotten." See also Is. 19 : 18-21, and 44 : 5. O ur text illustrates the same idea i n New Testament times. And histor y records on many a pa ge, that the true church of Christ owned publicly her covenan t relations to him. The Waldenses were a covenant soci ety, bound by an oath, and th ey required al l wh o^ iQi"edj th^m^to^^sub.scrih.e_. t he covena nt. / A German divin e writes, ^^ that both the Waldenses of Toulouse, and th e Hussites of Bghernia ,, ratified their fede ral transactions with solemn oath/ * In the year 1530, a historic covenant was made and en- tered into by the Protestant people o f Germa ny, together with the ir prince s, den ominated the League of Smalkald. Seven' years subsequently, the Geneva n church and re- pu blic bound themselves by solem n covenant to the prin cipal doctrines of the Christian religion, and to the or der and discipline of the primitive churc h. In 1 620,j jir Reformed jrhurch es of France ente red into a pu blic cov^Q ant, swearing conformity to the con- fession of faith then adopted. The record says, " we 3 30 Memorial Volume. swear, as well in our own names as in the names of the churches and provinces which have comnnssioned us to be their deputies unto this assembly, t hat we will liv e and die in this confession." J> j And as to Great Bri tain, n o Protestant need be to ld C^t hat it is a covenanted land , i To t hose bonds that bound church an d nation to Gjd , we look back as bulwarks of defence to the followers of Christ ; a s towering; mon u- ments of that favo r of God that led them through the s truggles of their persecutions , to the enjoyments and privileges of a' glorious reformation. The Second Re - / (formation is known by all readers of history as the covj - ] ^ nanted reformatio ru r^ Now, with t his line of hist ory, is the Covenanter oil t o-day in the visible oneness of the churc h, or .the man i who derides the solemn act ? Is the true church of I Christ transmitted through the line of covenants , or by ' the way of covenant renunciation and disre gard ? Let the reader of his Bible and of histor y answ er. By this i s olemn act we join hands with all the faithful of pas t gen erations back to Abrah am ; b y it, we identify wjt h the tr ue church to- day, and bj it we reach forward ou r h and to unborn generations, the ^rand gathering of al l^ which s hall constitute one general assembly around the t h rone of God, in everlastin p ^ covenant with himse If. But a 2d reason. It is the best mea ns of maintaj n- * ing the c hurch's testimo ny. ^ In those d ays of t he past, when it was necessary for trutTi to have an edge upon it, when it was necessary to dr aw aclear dividing lin e betwee n the friends and eii eiTiJes of truth, as, e. ^., the days when Protestantism was bor n. Covenanting a Duty. 31 and h ad to struggle through years of blood for an exist- _ ence ; tho se were __d avs when co yrnant^ were a fel t i iecessi ty. Then God's peop le f elt the need of being ] bound together, h and and hea it together, to stand or fa ll, / to l [ve or die in defence of glorious princ iples. As our n ation , amid the struggles of rebellion, bo und her subje cts \ ^an o ath of loyalty, so the church amid the fires g f J pers ecution bound her subjects with an oath of fealty to t he great Captain of her salvation. yj ■^ The fir st reformation, from popery, had been a failur e/V \ j! f had not strong men, bound by solemn oath, stood un- flinchingly together. The s econd reformati on, from /;^ *'U3 an_honest_debt, and his surviving^ children are morally - bound to pay it. A nation assumes obligations in one /irx^^^^MT period th at are justly entailed upon futu re generatio ns to be discharged. Ma ny of the benevolent schem es i n operatio n, such as schools of learning, asjlunis for the poor, and even mi ssionar y efforts, are o nly the car ryin g out of contracts mad e by such as lived years ago . Pr£P£L0 "^^ directed bywiil, may be squandered in many a way ; but fixed by testamental stipulation, it must take that direction. So i n like man ner, principles, covenanted, oath-bound, principles, are transmitted, and bear yvith ail the weighty of solem n, swo rn contract, upon the children of those^ that take them. f'1«n>"^-'*''*'*^ The covenant Qo.d made with Israel at Hore b bound :^f with equal weight in all its provisions upon those who y^d>^^—"^ stood there at the taking of it, and upon the generation who lived long afterwards. " The Lord our God made ^^ a covej ianjiwith us in Horeb; the Lord made not this covenant with our fathers, but zi;/V/jj^', even z^i, who_ are all of us h ere alive this day." When Joseph was^ about to die, he " took an oath of the chi ldren of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry up j ^ my bones from hence." Several hundred years after- wards, when Israel was setting out on their departure, we read, " And^ Moses took the bones of Joseph with \ him ; for he had straitly sworn the children of I srael^ / 34 Memorial Volume. saying, God will surely visi t you ; and ye shall carry u p niy bones away hence with you." When the Gibeonites ca me to Joshua u nder f alse p re- tences, he made a covenarit with them that they should . not be put to deatl T; y ears afterw ards, Saul broke the covenant by slaying them ; and fiye_hundred years from ^ / th e time the covenan t was rnade, there was a faminejn / Israe l, be cause of Sa ul and his bloody hqjjse, for he had, s lain the Gibeon ites. G od will see to it, that faithful covenant contracts ar e transmitted t o posterity, and as faithfully observed ; or e lse the breach will be atoned for by sufferin^the penalty. ^,. On the principle that human contracts are bindin g, and after confirmation can never be withdrawn or mu- ytilated, Paul says, " Brethren, I speak after the manner I ofnien, though it be but a man's covenant, yet, if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto ;" which is to say, that every principle in the bond that we are about to swear, will not only be binding upon us, but upon our children in all time to come. I A second general thought we notice is, the tinies that call for covenanting. A time when dan ger threatens the cau se jhteojusness. 'S when the stqrm-clo,ud gathered thick and dark over ancient Israel, threatening to pour out the floods of Jehovah's indignation, Israel, under the leader- l ship of such wise men as Hezekiah, Josiah and Nehe- i miah, who could discern the signs of the times, were \^ I to God in holy covenant. " Now, it is in my heart C // I And I St. A (/ ' / j bf truth and rigl / In] those days Covenanting a r)UTY. 35 to make a covenant with the Lord God of Israel, that k ^^^^^^ his fierce wrath may turn away from^s." In the days of o ur fath ers, wh en the ark of God trembled upon the cart wheels, when the conflict rao;ed between the blind «ii II " ■ — and maddened forces of popery and th e friends of civil and r eligious li berty, when the ^reat issues pressing upon the worl d w ere, wh ether the nig;ht of i gnorance and superstition s hall continu e, QjL.t he sunlight of truth and rig;hte ousness dawn upon the earth ; whether the yoke of popery should continue to gall the necks, and the cna ins^of superstition fetter the limbs of mankind, or j^ should liberty, glorious liberty, bless the earth ; amid the struggles of such jjmes, the friends of God and truth took refuge in solemn covenaiit> They believed the promise, " For in the time of trouble he shall hide me i n ^ hij_pa.vilion." They heard the invitation, " Co me, rny people, enter thou into thy chambers " of covenant security, "and shut thy doors about thee j hide thyself^as > it were for a little moment, until the indignation be over- l past/^' They entrenched themselves within the QQ.ve- \ nants, as bulwarks of defence. And are not the aspects of danger equally threatening to the cause of God in our own day ? When enemies, strong and mighty, are massing their forces, and "taking counset together against the Lord and agajnst his An- ointed, saying, Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us," it is manifest to every observer that the enemies^of God and his church are augmenting their strength, organizing their effort and in- creasing in boldness. Already they hesitate not to make open warfare upon / f 36 Memorial Volume theJible__and^dTe Sabbath of the Lord. With foul hands they are atte jnptin^ to disrobe the Redeemer of jhe world of his divin ity, and with bl asphemous tong ues they assert th at in his stead there is a coming man . They ar c crucifying the Lord th a t, bough t them, and infa- mously casting his authority behind their backs. As P rophe t they^ deny him, aa..£dest they disown liini, and as Ki ng they proudly rebel against him, saying, /^ We will not have this man to reign over us/* Never, perhaps, wa s_a more opportune time for t he fri ejids of Christ to bind themselves to him ., and to one another in holy covena nt, as a b ulwark o f defence against hi s and their enem ies. When the enemy's flood of infidelity, Sabbath desecration, profamty, intempeiaince, Ifcentiousness, and e very species of re bellion, is thi;eat- ening to sweep all before^it, by jcovenanting the Spidt of God will enable the church " to lift up a standard a gainst h im." 2d. Times of declension, when the fait h and practi ce J j of the church are we akening, when lukewarmness is pervading the ranks, and c ovetousness, which is idol atry, is captivatin g the hearts of God 's people. During the last days of Joshua, Israel had become greatly addicted to^idolatry ; th ey served the gods^th^eii;. father's served on the other side of the flood, and the gods of the Amorites. Jo shua summoned them all to Shechem. There he put the test, " Choose you this day_^ -^.whoni,ye wili.serve^" In res pon_se they sai d to Joshua, " The Lord our jjod will we serve, and his voice will we / obey.'* " SoJ^shua made a coven^t with the people Cf*' j that day, and set them a statute and an ordinance in Covenanting a Duty. 37 Shechem." This covenant was ma de for a state_ of_de- clension, and desj gned as a reclamation fromjdqlatry. What tr ue lover of Christ does not feel to-day that ^ vital p iety is lo w ; that while t here is much of the form , \ the re is but little of the power of ^odling ss ; that J yi worl dhness has taken a deep hold upon 'the chur ch, and / f olly and fash ion have__ made many inroads upon h er ? " The waysof Zion do mourn, because none come to ^ th e solemn fea sts : all her gates are^desoja te : her priests li^, her virgins^ are affljcted, and ^he is in bitte rjiess. Her adversaries are the chjef, her_enemies prosper." But, for such a state of things there is a remedy, for such decline there is an antidote ; and that is found in return- ino- to God with sorrow in our hearts, and honest con- fession upon our lips, binding our souls in solemn cove- nant to be obedient. " All that the Lord hath said wiU A we do, and be obedient." To arrest the back slider, to .stay the tide of. decljen- \ sion, and to return again to the favor of God, there can j r- be no more direct and efficient way than Jby__s wearing anew to be his, and only his, and his tore_ver. \ 3d. Times when we are de siring and praying for / a revival. An immediace outgrowth, or evidence of a grand revival contemplated by the prophet, when God says, '' I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, axid floods_upon the dry ground ; I will pour my Spirit upoji thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offsprino;," is co_y- en^nt engageinent. "• One shall say, I am the Lord's ; and another shall call hims elf by the name of Jacok,; and anot her sEall subscribe w ithjhi'^ hand nnrn the Lord^, ^ and surname himself by the name of Israel." / /A 3^ Memorial Volume. Not__only is it an_ evidence, ^but_^ls o the pro curing; ca use of a reviv al. To swear a covenant is only a new engagement to be the Loni's, an additional bond of de- v otednes s, a supe radded vow to befalthtul and tru e ; and wh at else is a reviv al ? In Heze kiah*s day, th e pe ople ^ rej oiced when they had taken the oat h . The history of all such occasions shows an awakened interest upon the part of the covenanters. Amid the dark_da ys of Scotlan d^ when the s word of persecu tion was being glu tted wjt h the blood of the saints, those > who had solemnly covenanted with G od never lost faiths I i n the moral force of their vo ^. ("^ When Ja mes Guthrie , a faithful m artyr, was led to I I the s caffol d, hi s eyes were bandag :ed, and all things made gx^ j Jr eady for the execu tion ; t he last momen t before the fa^al -'--^[fji platform was turned, h e raised th e napkin from his ey^s, "^ Ip-and cried ajoud, " T he covenan ts, t he coven ants sh^ll ^t V be Sco tland's reviving." ^ "~" Arntd^ the e xcitements of this d ay, th e great feature_i ^ /"a genuine revival, viz., fidelity to God and his tru th, ^ seems to be in no small deo;ree ignored. The fact that revivals are cnily by the Spirit of God, and that ac- cording to his^ord, seems oftentimes to be lost sight /of. The prayer of the psalmist of Israel, '' Quicken (^Ap*"'^^ j thou me according to thy word," is unheeded ; and «' I hence their spasmodic character. We Jia[l with glad- ness the promised day of revival, grand, universal re\ii- val, but we expect it not till men are ready to make a complete surrender of themselves, and all they have apd ar e^ to God ; to pledge themselves in solemn vow to be for him, and not for another. (TV^ ( Covenanting a Duty. 39 " In those days, and in that time, saith the Lord, the children of Israel shall come, they and the children of Judah together, going and weeping : they shall go, and seek the Lord their God. They shall ask the way to \ Zion, with their faces thitherward, saying, Come, and J / / let us join ourselves to the Lo rd jii a perpetual cove^ i^V nant that shall n ot be forgotten." /^ Conclusion. 1. I n covenanting , we should have a deep view o f sin. It is our nearest approach to Him ^^ who cannp t look upon sin," " whose eyes see and whose eyelids try men's sons." 2. We need great_toh. In the darkesthour tjiat ever broo ded over this lost world ., when the Sayjour jjf men was suffering, h e set us an example oj" faith, " My God, my God." Well he kne w, though all else shou ld pro ve a wr eck, t hat God who had made fhe rnvenant with him was still his Goj . 3. We need imp ortunate pray er. " Ta ke with you \ / vV nC words^ and turn to the Lord ; say untojiim, Take^^way j ^ ^ all iniquity, and re ceive us gracious ly." j^^i^r X JH 'Xi 4. We need t ^ kno\v and _feel our own personal cove=. nant relation to God. " T h_e secret of the Lord i_s wltFTEeiTr that fear him ; and he will show them hjs covenant. ^ 40 HUMILIATION FOR SIN A PREPARATION FOR ENJOYING DIVINE FAVOR. BY REV. JAMES KENNEDY. Psalm io6 : 6. " We have sinned with our fathers." Whatever may be thought of the theory of Heng- stenberg, that the 105th and the io6th psalms form two members of a trilogy, of which the 104th is the first, it is plain that these two psalms are most intimately connected, and relate to the same subject. Perhaps it would be more natural to regard them as a double psalm — a morning and evening hymn — having the same subject — God's ways with man, as set forth in his deal- ings with the nation of Israel The 105th presents this subject from the divine stand-point, the ro6th, from the human. The former is replete with the infinite conde- scension, wisdom, goodness, long-sufFering, faithfulness and grace of Jehovah — the latter with the ingratitude, folly, waywardness, and inexcusable wickedness and re- bellion of man ; and together they bring the lights and shades of the divine government into clearer manifestation by their vivid contrasts. As the artist places behind the object to be photographed a screen, on which, as a back- ground, the lights and shades of his pictures may be more distinctly visible, so here human wickedness is spread out, that on its darkness the glory of divine wis- dom, faithfulness and longsuffering may have a more glorious manifestation. As a hw tons of water are raised from earth, and spread out as a dark canvas, on which to Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 41 paint the glories of the bow, and every drop in that weeping cloud has prismatic power to exhibit more dis- tinctly the colors in the sun's rays — so in the story of Israel here, there is raised up and spread out before our view, a dark mass of humanity, and on aH its various aspects and workings are to be seen, reflected in brighter colors, the glories of the divine character and govern- ment. At the same time the ingratitude and inexcusable wickedness of man, and the horrid character of his deep depravity, become more strikingly manifest, when con- templated in the light of the divine glory shining on them. The practical application of these great principles to ourselves in our present circumstances, is easily made. We realize and enjoy more of God at any time, the deeper, clearer and more impressive the views we have of own sinfulness ; and to labor after and diligently seek such humbling views of ourselves, is, at any time, the best preparation for more enlarged manifestations and gracious experience and enjoyment of God. As has been beau- tifully said, " All gracious experience of God is like the rainbow, beams from heaven in drops from earth." How seasonable, then, the exercise for which we meet ! We are hoping and expecting enlarged manifestations of divine favor in connection with a season of covenanting and renewed communion. Can anything be more suit- able, then, than that we follow the example of the godly, who in past tfmes have gone before us in such work, and meditate deeply and frequently on our own exceeding sinfulness, and its enormous aggravations, that our hearts may be duly affected, and from a realizing sense of our 4 42 Memorial Volume. own criminality before God we may confess, " We have sinned with our fathers ?" Consider here, I. The Confession. The confession has regard to three things : sin, sin which we feel we have committed, and, sin aggravated by its having been " with our fathers." I. It regards sin. There are many terms employed In Scripture to denote what is morally evil or wrong, before God, in its differ- ent degrees and shades of guilt. Sin is one of these, and like other terms employed, as, iniquity, transgression, trespass, error, wickedness, etc., has always reference to a standard of obedience. " For sin is the transgres- sion of the law." Without correct views, therefore, of the law, there can be no just idea of the sinfulness of sin. It is from knowing that "the law is holy, and the commandment holy, just and good," and being able to say, " For we know that the law is spiritual," that we come to add, " but I am carnal and sold under sin." Besides, however, a knowledge of the absolute perfec- tion and universal extent of the law, it helps us to clearer views of sin to know exactly the form of law against which our sin has been committed. Law may exist In one of three forms. First, law absolute, or the will of the Creator absolutely enjoining or impressing upon the creature, as a sovereign, a rule of obedience. Law in this aspect, consists of two elements, a precept and a penalty. Secondly, law economic, or law in a covenant form. This form of law differs from the absolute in two respects. First, it is proposed to the subject and receives his assent, and, secondly, a promise is added to Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 43 the precept and penalty to encourage obedience. Under this form of law we know the human family was origi- nally placed, and from certain hints contained in the Scrip- tures, it is highly probable that this was the form under which angels were also placed at their creation. That the laws, under which they were to serve, had their assent, seems implied in what is predicated of their obedi- ence, " that do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word," and that they serve under a promise, is deducible from the fact that they shall be judged, and if judged, of course, rew^arded. " Know ye not that we shall judge angels ?" The God-man judge, with accla- mations of assent from the justified throng of redeemed saints, shall, no doubt, on the great day of assize, decree and proclaim a reward of increased honor and happiness to holy angels for the diligence wherewith they have labored to promote all the ends contemplated in the covenant of grace, as well as sentence to punishment those fallen spirits who have labored to frustrate God's gracious purpose. Now this form of law, the economic, violated and taking effect, just constitutes man's present moral standing and condition. Its precept broken, and ability longer to obey it on his part gone — its penalty incurred and in part inflicted — its promise lost — whilst from having had, and still having, a measure of assent, on his part, that it is good, his mouth is stopped, and he is brought in guilty before God, and nothing remains to him but a ""fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation." As, however, the confession before us is made by God's people in a new relation, that of children in Christ, 44 Memorial Volumh. there must be another form of law against which their sins are committed. This is law mediatorial. " Being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ." Whilst unbelievers still remain under law, with pre- cept violated, penalty incurred, and promise lost, in the economy of grace, through the work of Christ, be- lievers are brought into a new relationship to law. In Christ they are under law with its precept fulfilled by perfect and accepted obedience, its penalty borne, and its promise made sure. It may be asked in their case, " Wherefore then serveth the law ? " It was added as the rule of the Mediator's government, that by it we may render obedience to Christ, and attain sanctification of nature and life. The sins of a believer, therefore, after conversion, are transgressions of this new form of law — law mediatorial. They do not and cannot destroy his state of justification, for that is founded on the perfect obedience of his surety, and " there is no con- demnation to them who are in Christ Jesus." They do not endanger his safety, for in Christ he is not in a state of probation, but " has passed from death unto life." They do not make void the promise, " P or all the prom- ises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen, unto the glory of God, by us." But they strike against the authority of God as put forth through the mediatorial government ; against our new relationship to him in the covenant of grace ; against his purpose, love and grace in our salvation ; against the ends of Christ's sufferings and government ; against the work and presence of the Spirit within us ; and against our holy calling and our manifold obligations to obey and honor our Saviour and Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 45 Lord The sins .of believers, then, though not condem- ning, are awfully aggravated ; indeed, moie aggravated than sins against any other form of law. being not only in direct opposition to God's authority, but to his whole object and design in the plan of redemption and its medi- atorial administration. 2. The confession regards sin which we feel we have committed. In morals, as in physics, it is sometimes difficult to realize the connection between general prin- ciples and facts. The boy who has been taught in his class-room that the law of gravitation is always holding him down to the planetary centre, little realizes the power of such a law in his leaps, gambols and gymnastic efforts during his hours of play. In like manner the mind may assent to the formula, " that action and re- action are equal and contrary," yet can hardly credit the fact that the result of that law is, that wh itever we touch acts back on us as strongly as we act on it ; that in every footfall, for example, the earth strikes back upon the walker a blow with the same force as that where- with itself is struck. This arises from our ignorance of the manner in which physical laws apply and operate. So also it is in morals. We are quite ready, in a general way, to admit the existence of law, and that we have transgressed it, and thereby become sinners. But when we come to facts and particulars, to specific sins, alas ! it often turns out that we have no proper sense of sin at all. If questioned, men will readily admit " O yes, we are sinners, great sinners." But ask, well, what have you done ? What so grievous sins have you com- mitted ? What is wrong in your life .? Are you drunk 4* 46 Memorial Volume. ards, Sabbath-breakers, dishonest, liars ? They will probably answer with righteous indignation, no, no ! and perhaps regard themselves as grossly insulted. They are willing to admit sin in the abstract, so long as you do not come to particulars, and most devoutly repeat, " The whole head is sick, and the whole heart faint," while they neither feel nor will admit one symptom of the moral malady. Now, there is no proper confession of sin, without feeling wherein lue have transgressed, " ^f^e have sinned with our fathers." Applying these principles to our present circumstances, should not we, about to enter into covenant with God, ministers, elders and members of the church, seek out and confess those sins more particularly connected with the position we occupy, and the performance of the duties to which we have engaged ? And first, in respect to the sins of ministers. Among many things that might be noticed, the following are suggested for consideration, of course without personal knowledge or personal reference : Should it not be to us a most humbling consideration and a special sin to be confessed, how little we have really felt the value of perishing souls, and how little we have been in earnest for their salvation ; how much self-seeking in an office which we have declared that we have been moved to undertake, not from any selfish motive, but for " the glory of God and the edification of the church ;" how little close walking with God, too, in the duties of our office, and how little habitual spirituality, and earnest devotedness of end, aim and pursuit, in doing our work! In rising from the perusal of the biographies of such Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 47 men as Payson, or McCheyne, or of such books as James' " Earnest Ministry," how often we have been ready to exclaim, have we been living as ministers of Christ at all ! Can Christ recognize us at all ! Again, in prosecuting our studies so as to keep up with the attainments of the age, and be able to refute the errors that are constantly being propagated in the regions of theology, philosophy, literature and science, as well as to have always something new, as well as old, out of the treasury, and thus always maintain that forward position in relation to the people, that will enable us to be really teachers, how imperfectly we have performed our duty ! Yielding up ourselves to slothful indolence, or wasting time in unprofitable pursuits, or engrossed with wordly interests, and neglecting the aid of the vast mass of biblical literature, that in our day is courting us to the investigation of every Scripture question, how often have we been very imperfect in our attempts to feed the flock of Christ according to the requirements of the times ! In reading the discourses of some of our per- secuted fathers, prepared under circumstances so unfa- vorable as theirs must have been, we have often felt, in this respect, our great shortcomings. Take up, for ex- ample, the sermons of the youthful martyr Renwick, and consider under what circumstances, discourses that yet please and thrill as well as edify, were produced. When hiding in some mountain refuge with nothing but the shelter of a rock, or burrowing in some natural cav- ern, or artificial retreat excavated in the earth, with fur- niture no better than a couch of heath from the hillside ; without books, or study, or help, save like the dieamer 48 Memorial Volume. in Bedford jail, his Bible, he produced sermons which for matter, arrangement, and copiousness of illustration, would not only compare favorably with the best speci- mens of our own day, but which put to shame many of our lame attempts, notwithstanding all our unprecedented facilities. Again, how satisfied we have been with the mere routine, and often the very perfunctory performance of ministerial duty, without either watering our sowing with our tears, or cherishing it into success by our loving labors and prayers, and so little concerned as scarcely to look back for results ! And as we continue our search, how much wasted time and opportunities of doing good, neglected and lost, come up to reprove and humble us ! How often we may feel as once did the noble Chalmers, who, having spent a most agreeable evening in general conversation with a British officer of high rank, in the house of a friend, was shocked, next morning, to learn that his pleasant companion of the previous evening had, during the intervening night, passed away into the eternal state, and gave utterance to his feelings to this effect : ^'' We are enjoined to ^ be instant in season and out of season.' A wise precept ; for who can tell what is really most seasonable ? If I had pressed on my friend last evening his eternal interests, it might have been thought unseasonable, but how seasonable it would ap- pear now, when, alas ! it is too late." And how often, hkewise, have we all lost precious opportunities by false modesty, sinful delicacy, or careless indifference, and often, when God has set before us an open door of usefulness, we have failed to enter in till too late. In holiness and consistency of conversation and de- Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 49 meanor, too, before our people, and before the world, we have much for which to be humbled. How unlike Jesus, our Master, have we been as we have mingled with society, and entered into the enjoyments of social life ! How unlike him whose language never once bor- dered on levity, who never uttered a jest, whose whole bearing was ever in keeping with his mission, and every scrap of whose conversation, however casual, embodied some glorious thought, or had some spiritual aim, and lefty moral, and in whose whole recorded life you can- not find one element low, trifling or carnal, but all pure, grand and ennobling ! In all these and in many other respects, fathers and brethren, may we not realize a sense of sin as we confess " we have sinned with our fathers ?" In the same way, may not ruling elders feel that con- nected with the manner in which the duties of their office have often been performed, there is much for which to be humbled ? Paul says of elders in relation to Christ's flock : "Over which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers," and speaks of the performance of their duty thus, " for they watch for your souls as they who must give an account." Yet, alas ! what oversight ; what watching, in many cases, has there been ? What account can many of our elders render of the spiritual state of the flock ? How often elders cannot tell whether those committed to their care have been in the pasture at all, or in attendance upon ordinances ! Perhaps they have not been in attendance themselves, or have not had a sufficient sense of their responsibility to Christ, to look after his sheep. How (qw elders make conscience 50 Memorial Volume. of statedly visiting those under their charge, to inquire into their spiritual condition, to press upon them the claims of religion, to deal with the young, to quicken the careless, to encourage the weak and timid, and really to do the duty of their office ! Many, you would im- agine, regard the office of ruling elder in the church rather as a sort of honorary distinction, or ornamental appendage, than a vital element, having vital and highly important functions to fulfil, in the spiritual body. Nor should elders in their confession forget how frequently the spirit of emulation, wrath and strife has been at work, and how they have often been " carnal, and walked as men," and how these things have, through their bickerings, marred the peace of the church, hampered the pastor in his work, and kept back efforts to do good. Instead of sustaining their pastor, elders sometimes have discouraged his heart, and when, perhaps, burdened and tempted, he has come to his public work, have met him, not with the soothing anodyne, but the corrosive caustic, and by bitter strife or hostile criticism, have marred, rather than promoted the success of his labors. More- over, with means, talents, and time, and every facility for doing good, how many elders seem never to have com- prehended that there is any obligation upon them to attempt any evangelical labor in the world, or that Christian usefulness is among the responsibilities of their office ! And have not both ministers and elders much sin to confess in connection with the manner in which the work of the Lord has been conducted in church courts ? How often have they imported into the courts of the Humiliation' for Sin a Duty. 51 Lord's house their own quarrels and disputes, their likes and dislikes, and by party spirit and faction made, what would otherwise have been, according to promise, a " quiet habitation," a sort of bear-garden, where men have fought in personal encounters, or in organized parties sought to achieve miserable victories, as if they had been foes ! One would suppose that in a church such as ours, with a creed so explicit, and discipline and order so w^ell defined, it would be almost impossible for much differ- ence of opinion to exist, or disputes to arise. But the fact is, in all churches where they have existed, these lamentable strifes have invariably originated outside, in some misunderstanding or unkindly feeling, confined per- haps at first to a few, but which, like the snow-ball, by a little rolling, attains to dimensions and developes into a party, and then some technicality or shibboleth, becomes an ostensible casus belli^ and church courts are turned into a battle-field, whilst all the time " the war and the fight- ing come from the lusts that war in the members." How sad in " the house of God, which is the church of the living God," to hear such expressions as frequently meet us in reading reports of ecclesiastical proceedings, such as, " our side of the house," and " your side of the house !" " those acting with us," and " those acting with you!" "our party" and ''your party^" etc., suggesting the question, " is Christ divided ?" And sadder still that even judicial deliverances and decisions have sometimes been the result of personal feeling, or of maddened passions, and men have been judging after the lusts of their own hearts, when using the great and dreadful name of the church's Head. 52 Memorial Volume. And, perhaps, it may not be out of place here, before many of the members of the church, who may be fol- lowing us in this work, to say to them, you also should endeavor to feel that you are not without sin that should be remembered in the confessions uttered to day. One aspect alone, however, we would notice, of the sin of our members calling for humiliation, viz., wherein they may have failed fully and consistently to maintain their position as members in the Reformed Presbyterian Church. We are aware that generally our members have a very high idea of the superior excellency of our posi- tion, and are delighted to hear it, in public, defined and defended. They like, they ofcen say, to hear our minis- ters always preach like Covenanters, and not fail to let the world know who we are and what we are. A little testimony-bearing in fact. Well, sympathizing deeply with such a feeling, we would only ask our members. Have you been practically carrying out the principle? In the first place, have you been living your testi- mony ? Is your life a testimony ? It has been said truly that men will argue, and dispute, and fight, and die for religion, and do every thing but live for it. Again, have you, according to your means and opportunities, been sustaining the church, and co-operating with her, as you should, in her efforts to diffuse and extend the principles of her testimony ? Again, have you been acting to- ward your fellow members as companions and brethren in tribulation and in the testimony of Jesus Christ .? The want of the spirit of brotherly kindness and charity, is one of the most glaring defects in our covenanted Zion. How little warmth of affection, care for each other, in- Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 53 terest in each others welfare, and readiness to make sac- rifices for each other, do we manifest, though John declares we ought "to lay down our lives for the brethren !" With all our professions we fall immeasura- bly short in brotherly kindness, affection for each other, mutual forbearance and a forgiving spirit, and readiness to assist and relieve each other, of the attainments in many religious communities with a less orthodox creed than our own. And again, how is your testimony brought to bear upon your families? Are your children trained in our principles and usages ? Are they ac- quainted with our standards and familiar with our liter- ature, or do they know Tennyson and Longfellow better than the Confession and Testimony, and the contents of the last sensation in the world of fiction better than the "Scots Worthies" and the "Cloud of Witnesses?" In how many such practical inconsistencies may we all find enough for which to be humbled ! 3. The confession regards sin as aggravated by having been committed " with our fathers." Into the economic arrangement, originally made for the government of the human family, the principle of representative responsibility largely entered. Adam, the natural head of the race, was constituted its representa- tive head, and hence not only made responsible to God for the good behavior of all his descendants, but these descendants were made liable to suffer for any error or mistake he might commit as their representative governor. This principle underlies all governrnent. It is recognized everywhere as just — the ruler responsible for the be- havior of his subjects, and the subjects liable to suffer 5 54 Memorial Volume. for the mistakes and governmental errors of the ruler. It follows of course that all Adam's descendants would thus have been responsible to him, not only in their indi- vidual capacity, but in all the relations and connections they might form, all of which, whether natural or con- tracted, he would have made subservient to the ends of his government. When Adam's failure involved the race in guilt and misery, it pleased God to renew the same form of government over men, on the same principle, in the " last Adam," so that the whole human family is now " under the law to Christ." This was shadowed forth in the theocracy established in Israel. The supreme rule was God's. A divinely appointed judge or ruler was to represent God, to whom the tribes were under law as to God's representative, whilst in the arrangement of tribes, families, rulers of thousands, of hundreds, and of tens, all responsible to the judge, the system was graded so as to reach the humblest member of the com- monwealth. Under Christ's government, therefore, as well as under Adam's, representative responsibility in- cludes natural representation, the result of natural relation. Hence parents are responsible for the education and moral training of their children, and one generation covenants, contracts, and acts representatively for the generations following, whilst remote generations enjoy the fruits of their ancestors' obedience, are credited with their well-doing, or punished for their transgressions. Thus Abraham covenanted for posterity ; Israel, at Sinai, engaged for following generations ; Levi was credited with tithes paid by Abraham, and the generation in our Lord's day made to suffer for the blood shed by many Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 55 preceding generations. Besides, the government of the second Adam being not only over individuals, but over corporate bodies, as churches and nations, which have a continuous identity from age to age, notwithstanding the changes going on continually in their constituent ele- ments, he may deal with such bodies at any one period, for all time past or all time to come. Hence such cor- porate entities are often spoken of not by the historic they of the past, but the we of continuous present being, and what has occurred in the past or shall occur in the future is thus identified with their whole existence. Thus in Psalm 66, the passage of the Red Sea is connected with the generation in the time of David. " There did we rejoice in him.'* So Hosea says of the transaction with Jacob in Bethel that it was a dealing with the race. '' He found him in Bethel, and there he spake with «.f," 12:4. And Paul, though he knew that "the day of the Lord was not at hand," connects it with his , own generation, '''- we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord.'' It is easy to see on this principle, how the obligation of moral covenants descends on posterity, and how breaches of covenant may be visited on generations following. Also that when our fathers' sins are approved and copied, their mistakes perpetuated, and their courses of defection approved and followed, it is a righteous thing for God to " visit the iniquity of the fathers upon the children." To have sinned with our fathers, then, increases our danger, renders sin thus perpetuated more difficult to break off, and intensifies the influence of our example for evil on posterity, and is such a frightful 56 Memorial Volume. aggravation of our own sin^ that we should seek repent- ance for it to-day in the sight of God, II. Our adopting the confession practically implies, 1. The judging of ourselves before God that we may not be judged. When Daniel sought mercy from God in Israel's restoration, and Nehemiah led the returned captives to renew their relationship to God, both made historical confession of sin. " O Lord, to us belongeth confusion of face, to our kings, to our princes, and to our fathers, because we have sinned against thee." Such a confession is intended, as it were, to take home judg- ment to ourselves, that divine judgments may be stayed from off the penitent, and is the only way of realizing the language of Phinehas, " Now ve have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord." " For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." 2. Such confession vindicates the character and gov- I ernment of God in exercising toward us his clemency and grace. In it we take home to ourselves the whole blame of sin and its consequent misery, saying, *' But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Is- rael." 3. Such confession, apprehending the provisions of the covenant of grace and realizing pardon, gives bold- ness in claiming all the benefits of renewed relationship to God. God, for sin, " drove out the man," and placed a minister of justice and a sword of justice, as emblems that he could not return to God and life by the broken covenant of works. That sword being now quenched in the blood of our surety, we know that " if we con- fess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, Humiliation for Sin a Duty. 57 and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." There fore " we have access with boldness into this grace where- in we stand and rejoice in the hope of the glory of God." 4. Such confession promotes a suitable frame in which to covenant with God. In the new covenant into which God promises to take us, Heb. 8 : 10-12, there are four elements : the law put into our hearts, the subject matter of the covenant ; a new relation to God, its privilege ; knowledge, its frame ; and a proviso of par- don, our security for the future. Now our confession has a bearing on each of these. It works a frame of humility and dependence so that we accept all of free grace. It owns and accepts the law and truth of God as holy and good, and conforms us thereto. It renounces our connection with the covenant of works and accepts God in the better covenant. It teaches the true view to take of God and ourselves in the transaction, and it apprehends God as a contracting party, as one with whom " there is forgiveness," thus preventing us from attempting to frame anew with God, as many do, a cov- enant of works, but, rejoicing in the ample security we have in God's covenant for the future, it brings home to us, in all its comfort, his own divine assurance, "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed ; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." 5* 58 COVENANTING, AND ITS BENEFITS TO THE COVENANTERS. BY REV. A. STEVENSON, D. D. Heb. 8 : lo — "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." Our God has always dealt with man by covenant, evidencing on his part great condescension. He might have acted as an absolute sovereign. Original y, man could approach his Maker in person ; but when sin entered a mediator became necessarv, and Jesus, the eternal Son of God, was divinely appointed. To him reference is made in the context. Two covenants are mentioned by the apostle ; the first is the covenant made between God and Israel at Sinai. It was just and holy, wisely adapted to the age and necessity of the church, though not designed to bring her to perfection. It was conditional, Isa. i : 19, 20. The Israelites failed, and the covenant passed away. The second or new covenant is the covenant of grace, as revealed in the gospel and solemnly confirmed by the dying of Jesus, its mediator. It is unconditional, or rather, all its condi- tions are fulfilled by its surety. It makes provision for its own perpetuity, God promising to write his law in the heart, and make It effectual. Especially " He (Je- hovah) will be a God to us " — all that is excellent, desirable, or necessary to make us holy and happy forever; and he will make us his peculiar people, willing to swear allegiance to him, and love, trust and serve him forever. COVENANTIN'G ITS BENEFITS. 59 Such are the promises made, and such the wondrous priv- ileges conferred upon those who to-day, in faith, take hold of this precious covenant. We will consider : I. The ordinance of covenanting. II. The manner and spirit in which the service should be rendered. III. The benefits to be expected from a right perform- ance of the duty. I, J. It is personal . This is the fi rst and essential step in acceptabl e covenantin g;. We must give ourselves unloJJieuXiOrd, be fore we join in covenant by the will of God. It would be a profanation of the ordinance to unite with others in the covenant, while the heart is en- mity against God, and the soul still in rebellion. The removal of this enmitv and the bring;ino; of the sinner . . ^ J . ■ o & ■ i nto friendship with God is the work o f the Spirit. He begins by convi ncing of sin and of its pe nalty, by awakeni ng; a desire to esca pe f rom the wrath to come, and showing the poor sinner that he is without help or hq£e_jri_himself. He then reveals the Lord Jesus in the glory of his person, as an Almighty Saviour divinely ap- pointed, and freely orFered in the gospel to all who accept him. Th e soul is by the Holy Spirit persuaded to ap- prove of Ch rist as the Saviour , to ac cept him as offer ed, and enabled to yield itself to him to be pardoned, sanc- tified and saved on the terms of the gospel, promising to love and serve him forever. This is personal cove- nanting, a real transaction. Isa. 44 : 5, '' One_shall say, )< I am the Lord' s, and another shall call himself by the name of Jacob ; and another shall subscribe with his hand unto the Lord, and surname himself by the name of Israel." ■^ t>o Memorial Volume. 2. It is social . Al l social bodies may covena nt, t-specially is this the d uty of the chur ch and state. These may covenant with God either separately or to- gether, as circumstances may indicate. If the nation be remiss, the church must not neglect her duty ; she is a distinct society. To her the command is addressed, " He is thy Lord, and worship thou him." He is her hu sband as well as her king, and she should engage pub- licfy jQ love _ and s ei've^ him. Th is she does by soc ial covenanting, in which she appears as a community of 't he faithfu l, j oined together in one body and one spir it, c laiming the Lord to be their Go d. C onfessing all r e- veajed truth, reje cting all error in doctrine , and putting away all known sin, she binds herself, in the strength of promised grace, to promote the glory of God by per- forming all commanded duty, and remaining faithful till the ends of the covenant shall have been attained. 3. The ordinance is bindin g. Both partie s are bound /by the obligation. W ithout this the transaction would I not be a covenan t. P'or a covenant is an agreement. / " I will be to t hem a Go d, and they shall be to me a peogleT^ In personal covenanting this is clearly seen. The aged believer acknowledges the obligations of the vows of early youth. He confesses that he is as much bound now as in the day of his first covenanting to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live sober- ly, righteously and godly in this present world. He re- joices, also, in the thought that his God is a covenant- keeping and faithful God. In the exercise of faith, he claims the fulfilment of promises made, and he expects that '' he which hath begun a good work will perform Covenanting — its Benefits. 6 1 it until the day of Jesus__Christ." For hath he not said, " H e is our God forever and eve r ; h e will be our g uide even unto d eath ?" In social covenanting the truth is equally plain. The matter of the covenant being moral is of perpetual obli- gation. The church never dies. When the object requires generations to accomplish it the obligations descend. The church undergoes continual change by the reception of new members, but the covenant binds every element which enters into the social body. In- deed, a ll religious covenants recognize po sterity. God takes the children instead of the fathers, and makes them princes in all the earth. " I am thy God an d the G od J^ K of thv s eed forev er.'' As long as the duty can be per- formed the obiisation must continue. A man and' woman enter into the marriage coven ant. They be- come husband and wife. The vow may have been taken in Britain or Holland. They come to America. T he obligation of the marriage vow still rests upon them. The husband is as much bound to love his wife, and the wife to be faithful to her husband, as in the land of their nativity. So ^from the u nity of the chur ch, the vows into which she enters being moral and scriptural are of perpetual obligation, until their ends are attained. We are as much bound to preserve the true re jigion, to pror ncte the uni ty of th e chur ch, to pjipii^s— ^ILialse reli^ns and i mmora lity, to m aintain cj yil and religious liberty , to war against popery and prelacy, anj_ to_ pro- mo j^e each __ other's sanctificatio n, as our fathers were in their day, when, either in Ireland or Scotland, they cov- enanted with God for themselves and for us. In our 62 Memorial Volume. covenanting to-day, we hope to deepen our sense of coienant obligation, to derive from Christ fullness of grace to perform our vows more faithfully in the future than we have in the past, and to obtain a larger meas- ure than we have heretofore enjoyed of the precious blessings sealed to us in the federal deeds of our fathers, the National Covenant of Scotland and the Solemn League and Covenant of the three kinj^doms. The other party is equally bound. Cur God has not only given the promise, he has sealed it with his oath. Heb. 6 : 17, 18. As the covenant with Abraham put his posterity m pos- session of the promised land, Deut. 1:8, ^' Behold, I have set the land before you; go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Is aac and Jacob ^o give unto them and toj-heir Rped aft er thenr," so shall our covenant God fulfil to us and our children the glorious things he has promised his church, under this dispensation. IL I. Forjf^h. by a form al act of cove nanting. The believer virtually covenants in the very act of re- ceiving Christ by faith. He submits to his authority, and promises to make his law the guide of his life. He does not stop here ; he goes farther. He subscribes with his hand to the Lord, Is a. 44 : 5 . Having realized his need of a saviour, and accepted the Lord Jesus as offered, he examines the whole matter. He writes out his reasons for the necessity of a saviour, his right to take the Lord Jesus, the purpose for which he has ac- cepted him, on what terms and to what extent he has given himself to love and serve the Redeemer. He does this in secret, and comes to the communion table to Covenanting — its Benefits. 63 have it sealed ; which being done, he is formally in cov- enant with God, and may safely say, ^'Thy vows are upon me." The language of the Psalmist in referring to personal covenanting is express, and his example authoritative. Ps. 119: 106; "I have sworn and I wil perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments." With what confidence he speaks of acceptance : ''He hath made with me an everlasting covenant." In social covenanting, :.lso, there must be a formal act. In no other way can the church, as a visible society, properly and explicitly profess subjection to her glorious Head. History illustrates this by the covenants in the days of Moses, of Asa, and of Nehemiah, and of our fathers in Scotland. A covenant bond is prepared and approved. The church then acts first in her representa- tive capacity. The members of the supreme judicatory swear and subscribe to the covenant. It is afterwards transmitted to the various congregations of which the church is composed, to be bv them sworn to and sub- scribed in a manner orderly and becoming the sacred ordinance. The act of subscribing is necessary. For this we] have both history and prophecy, Neh. 9 : 38 ; Isa. 44.: 5. When this has been done, the work is com- plete and the church is a formally covenanted body. 2. Sincerely. God loves truth. In every service he re- quires the heart. To be sincere we must be intelligent., for covenanting is a reasonable service. There m.ust be a knowledge of God in his being and character, Heb. r I : 6 ; knowledge of the truth we swear to maintain, the errors we abjure, the sins we confess, and the du- ties we engage to perform \ knowledge of the ordinance 64 Memorial Volume. of covenanting irself and of the word of God as the only standard and test of all doctrine and duty. Lack of in- telligence in personal covenanting lies at the foundation of much of the feebleness of piety, and che distressing back- sliding, so common in the church to-day. The same cause has acted powerfully against social covenanting. In times of great interest many ignorantly entered into the oath. The excitement ceased and they returned to folly. Their goodness was as the morning cloud, and as the early dew it passed away. As God loves truth, we must draw near with a true heart as well as with an intelligent mind, so that we can, like our fathers, appeal to Almighty God that we enter into this covenant with a true intention of keeping the same, and not like Israel of old, who flattered him with their mouth, and lied unto him with their tongues ; for their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his cov- enant. Ps. 78 : 36, 37. 3. ^Vith joyful solemnity. Two thoughts are here thrown together. They are not incompatible, Ps. 2: II. He with whom we have to deal is of terrible ma- jesty, and infinite purity, Ex. 15: 11 j Lev. 10:3. If it was necessary for Moses and Joshua to put their shoes from off their feet, because the ground whereon they stood was by the presence of the Lord made holy, how much more should our thoughts be collected, our affec- tions spiritualized, and our minds solemnized when we stand to covenant with him ? We need a mediator in order to approach him, as we are totally unworthy in ourselves even to name his name,, and unable to perform the duties of the oath. We need the aid of his Spirit to enable us to Covenanting — its Benefits. 65 take hold of the blessings of the covenant for ourselves, our children and our children's children ; a vast multitude with whom our God condescends to enter into covenant as with us to-day. We should remember the awful con- sequence of covenant-breaking to us and our posterity. Yet notwithstanding all this, we should come with joy. A mediator is provided, in whom we can approach God with acceptance, be received into his family and enriched with all the covenant blessings. Covenanting is always a season of joy. In Asa's time, " all Judah rejoiced at the oath," 2 Chron. 15: 15. So in the case of the cap- tives from Babylon. So in Rev. 19: 7. With joy did our fathers in Scotland in 1638 renew the grand charter of their civil and ecclesiastical duties and rights, the Na- tional Covenant. " Thousands lifted up their hands and hearts to God, so intensely influenced by the Holy Spir- it, that their emotions became irrepressible. Some wept aloud ; some burst into a shout of exultation ; some added after their names ' till death.' " (Hetherington.) " All subscribed with joy. It was a day wherein the arm of the Lord was revealed ; a day wherein the prin- ces of the people were assembled willingly, to swear alle- giance to the great King, whose name is the Lord of Hosts ; it was a day of the Redeemer's power, wherein his volunteers flowed unto him ; it was the day wherein his youth was like the dew from the womb of the morn- ing ; a day of joy and gladness, when they stood again a people in covenant with God." (Stevenson.) III. I. A revival of true godliness among us. We have reason to rejoice that our covenant God has gra- ciously preserved us from gross violation of his law, 66 Memorial Volume. and enabled us in some measure to observe the forms of religion. Yet alas ! there are little heart in our de- votion and little self denial in our life. Covenanting is the divinely appointed remedy for this, Jas. 4:8. " Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you." Every act in our solemn work — our searching out of sin, our sincere repentance, and honest confession to God — tends to revive our graces and enables us to run in the way of God's commandments. The believing application to the blood of the atonement for pardon and purification, with the assurance that there is for us, not only forgive- ness, but eternal life through Jesus ; the renewed dedi- cation of ourselves, soul and body, time, influence and acquisitions to the Redeemer, with the unfeigned purpose that let others do as they will, we will serve him, will hasten a great reformation. History shows, that a true revival is the fruit of honest covenanting. See in the case of Joshua, of Asa, 2 Chron. 15 : 18; of Jehoi- ada, 2 Kings, 11 : 17, 18; of Hezekiah, 2 Chron. 31 : 2, and in the covenanting times of our fathers in Scotland. " Plentiful showers descended to water the Lord's weary heritage. The Lord did let forth much of his spirit on his people, when the nation did solemnly covenant in 1638. Many yet alive do know how their hearts were wrought upon by the word. The ordinan- ces were lively and longed after. Then did the nation own the Lord and was owned of him. Much zeal and an enlarged heart did appear for the public cause. Per- sonal reformation was seriously set about, and there was a remarkable gale of providence attending the actings of his people, which did astonish their adversaries, and forced Covenanting — its Benefits. 67 many of them to feign subjection." (Fleming.) And we know that it was followed by the reforming assembly, the deposition of the bishops, the spiritual independence of the church, the restoration of a faithful ministry, the enfeebling of adversaries, and the triumphs ot the Second Reformation. Our God is faithful. His promise in con- nection with covenanting stands. "I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground. I will pour my spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring ; and they shall spring up as among the grass, as willows by the water courses." 2. Increasing unity. Covenanting is a happy mode of binding up the testimony when it is in danger of being rent by schism. At present, we are sorely tried. We have educational and local prejudices. We are separated from each other in our fields of labor, with few oppor- tunities of cultivating friendships or brotherly confidence. We are powerfully influenced by political movements and social benevolent organizations. The great questions which agitate society, and arrange on different sides the mightiest minds of the age, cannot be ignored by us. We are far removed from the lands where for " Christ's crown and covenant " Covenanters shed their blood. The traditionary faith of our fathers is losing its hold, and the sense of covenant obligation becoming enfeebled. These and other causes are tending silently yet power- fully to weaken the unity of the Spirit, and, if we are in heart, in mouth and in act to remain one people, we must seek the God of our fathers in the ordinance of cove- nanting, as well as in the other institutions of his grace. Our covenanting will clearly exhibit our testimony., in- 68 Memorial Volume. crease brotherly love and inspire luith confidence. All are brethren. All profess the same truth, agree to do the same work, are exposed to the same enemies, ami ex- pect the same reward. When all are sworn to stand by each other in the holy covenant jealousies will cease ; evil surmisings will not be tolerated ; every man, hav- ing lifted up bis hand to the Lord, will be helpful to his brother in the great conflict. This is the history of covenanting, whether in Judea or the valleys of the Alps — in Smalkald or Scotland. 3. Strength for work and warfare. Union is strength. " A three-fold cord is not easily broken." There is much to be done in our households. We need strength for the work. The opposition to family godliness is very great, arising from the prevalence of infidelity, the in- subordinate spirit of the age, and the almost universal neglect of the fifth commandment. In the church we are to labor according to our power, for the reviving of true religion, the gathering into one the divided and scattered friends of truth, the removing of whatever is contrary to godliness, that the church may be beautified with universal conformity to the law of her divine Head and Lord. But our greatest work is in the n ition. Its condition is truly lamentable; without God, without a Mediator, without an infallible rule of legislation ; with the administration in the hands of the enemies of Christ, and the honors and emoluments of the govern- ment, in large measure, bestowed upon the openly avowed servants of the devil. Yet the churches seem satisfied ; nearly every mouth is silent, and all are incor- porated with the nation, in the grandest rebellion against Covenanting — its Benefits. 69 her mediatorial King, in which the sons of men have ever engaged. Yet, to-day, we take possession of the land for our King, and pledge ourselves that in his strength we will labor to brins; this nation into covenant with him. The work is great, the warfare terrible, but victory is certain. He will reign till all his enemies are put down. Could this or any other nation successfully resist him he would be unworthy of our confidence; his cove- nant would fail, and the gates of hell would triumph. This is impossible. " The Lamb shall overcome." The nation suffered much before it yielded to humanity its rights. It shut its ears tc the cry of the oppressed. Our covenant God pleaded the cause of the down-trodden. In the furnace of national affliction he melted the chains of the enslaved, and by tears, suffering and blood secured the rights of man. Greater far will be the suffering ere the claims of Jesus will be acknowledged. There shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since man was upon the earth, till that same time. Dan, 12:1. This warfare is upon us, and covenanting is a means of strength, as it gives unity in the service, encourages to steadfastness, gives assurance of victory, '' The Lord of Hosts is with us," and especially as it secures personal dedication. The soldier, who has taken the army oath, whose soul is inspired with lofty patriotism, and whose heart is filled with love for his commander, presses forward unmoved by difficulty or danger. So we having sworn to the Lord, enlisted under the Captain of our salvation, should be steadfast, immovable, always abounding In the work of the Lord, for as much as we know that our labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. 6* 70 Memorial Volume. 4. Our Godwin be glorified. This is the highest motive which can influence either the believer or the church. I Cor. 10 : 31, " Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God." He will be glorified by our attending upon and honoring a long neglected and almost forgotten ordinance in the church, by all the actings of grace in connection with this ser- vice, bv our standino; before men and ano-els as the servants of the great King, not ashamed to own him, and promising that in the face of a corrupt public opinion, in the face of all opposition, we will maintain the rights of his crown, and make his law the rule of our conduct. He will be glorified by our bringing before the mind of the evangelical church in this land the great, yet neglected truths of the universal headship of Christ, the supremacy of his law, the unity of the church, and the duty of men of every rank to submit to him whom the Father delighteth to honor. He will be glorified by our oneness in doctrine, our harmony in counsel, our unity in action, and our communion in the truth and ordinances to-day. For this the Redeemer has long prayed, " That they all may be one ; as thou. Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us : that the world may believe that thou has sent me." This is the beginning of his triumphs among us, and God is glorified. Conclusion. T. Fathers and Brethren: Remember that personal covenanting is the grand preparation for this ordinance. We can be accepted only in the Beloved. 2. We should bless the God of Israel for his won' drous loving-kindness in dealing with us. By nature we Covenanting — its Benefits. 71 are the children of wrath, our souls filled with enmity against God. Yet, he gave h':s Son to die for us, sent his Holy Spirit to destroy this enmity, effect reconciliation and bring us into a covenant of friendship. He has pardoned our sins, and given us the adoption through Jesus. " Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God." And while the great, the mighty, and the noble of the earth are passed by, he has taken us to be a peculiar people unto himself, and intrusted us with the testimony of Jesus, the purity of his worship, the main- tenance of his truth, and the honor of his crown. " The Lord hath done great things for us ; whereof we are glad." 3. We should be greatly encouraged in view of the future. Our work is great, but the help is sufficient. He sendeth none a warfare at his own charges. The terms of the covenant to-day are the same as of old, " My grace is sufficient for thee." What we most need every step in the Christian life is an appropriating faith to lay hold anew upon Jesus, that we may derive contin- ual supplies from the unsearchable riches o4 his grace. Whether we view our work in reference to personal re- ligion, or family godliness, or the maintenance of a pub- lic testimony, we need heavenly help for its performance. In ourselves we have no strength to stand aloof from, and not incorporate with this great, growing and pros- perous Republic, while in its atheistic madness, it con- tinues to ignore the being of God, and refuses to even mention the name of our mediatorial Kinor, the Lord Jesus. But he says, "As thy days, so shall thy strength be." In carrying out the covenant we must contend 72 Memorial Volume. with enemies, and encounter powerful opposition. But we have no reason to be discouraged, while our cove- nant God says, " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee : be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." If we deal faithfully with the covenant, it will be said of us as of Hezekiah after he had entered into covenant, " The Lord was with him; and he prospered." 4. We should cherish a holy dread of breaking this covenant. " Happy is the man that feareth alway," Prov. 28 : 14. Holy fear is a valuable conservative principle as far removed from legality as from pre- sumption. The Holy Spirit addresses solemn warnings. " Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." Pass the time of your sojourning here in fear. " Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." We should live in continual dread of self. For this pur- pose we should meditate much upon the awful threaten- in'^s denounced against covenant breakers. Ez. 17: 15-19; Deut. 28 and 29; Neh. 5: 13; Heb. 10: 38 ; Jer. 11:3. If any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. The covenant breaker is worthy of death. The sentence shall be executed. His Lord shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites ; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. 73 THE SPIRIT IN WHICH WE SHOULD EN- GAGE IN THE ACT OF COVENANTING. BY REV. J. R. W. SLOANE, D. D. When the great F rench preacher, Massijl on, was about to pronounce the funeral discourse of Louis XIV., he stood for a moment, surveying in silence the vast as- sembly before him and the emblems of mourning with which he was surrounded ; and then, as if overwhelmed with a sense of the indescribable nothingness of man " at his best estate," broke the solemn stillness with these words, " God alone is great .'''' Standing in this presence, amid the hallowed associa- tions of this hour, and on the very threshold of the solemn service in which we are presently to engage, I feel that silent meditation would be more fitting than words, and that at best I can but speak to you with stammering tongue. We are he re, not to lay God under any new or addi- tional obligation, but t o devote ourselves by a renewed act of self-consecration to his service, and to receive for ourselves a nd for our children the blessings which are treasured up in that everlasting covenant of grace , w hich is ordered in all thing s and sure . In thal^ternal arrangemen t between the Father and the So n, God prom- ises tobe__our_GodLjtostand to us in a very intimate and endearing relation, and to _bestow upon us all necessary and gjracious.^ Msjsings. We have^J^yt to accept .^the t erms , to hear him saying to us, " I will betroth thee 74 Memorial Volume. unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment and in loving kindness and in mercies," " Thy Maker is thine husband ; the Lord of Hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel," " For all things are yours, and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's," and, reaching out the hand of faith, receive out of that fulness that dwells according to the good pleasure of the Father in Christ, and appro- priate to ourselves all promised blessings from the infi- nite riches of his grace. This approach to the presence of God must be made in the spirit of deep humiliation. When Isaiah saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and lifted up, the sera- phim veiling their faces before him, and heard their solemn " Trisagion," •■' Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory," we hear him crying, '' Wo is me ! for I am undone ; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips : for mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of Hosts." If he, the rapt Isaiah, " whose hal- lowed lips were touched with fire," was overwhelmed with a sense of his own unworthiness, much more may we inquire, " Who can stand before so holy a Lord God ? " It becomes us to say with Ezra, " O my God, I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God ; for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the heavens." When Moses saw the bush burning with fire but not con- sumed, he heard the voice of God, '^ Draw not nigh hither ; put off thy shoes from off thy reet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground." We re- Covenanting — its Spirit. 75 member that the bush burning with fire but not con- sumed, was the emblem of the church of our fathers. Three hundred years have passed since, with hands Hfted up to God, they swore to the same principles to which we give our adherence to-day. ''iWr tamen consumehutur.^^ Do we not also hear from out this flame of fire, this bush yet unconsumed, the voice of God, in tones solemn as those which fell upon the ears of the son of Amram, in the desert, *•' The place whereon thou standest is holy ground F"" Surely we all feel that this is the most impor- tant and solemn hour of our lives. We have been at the communion table, that holy place, overshadowed with the wings of the cherubim, where God meets with his people, communes with them and blesses them. We have been in the chamber of death, and as the soul of the righteous departing from the earthly house went to be forever with the Lord, a solemn awe has fallen upon the spirit, as we felt that Jehovah with his chariots of salvation was passing by. We have mingled, doubtless, in many solemn scenes of which we have said surely " God is in this place." But now, we draw nearer to him than we have ever done before. May we so approach him that with holy Jacob, after his wrestling with the angel, we may inscribe upon this place Peniel, and say with him, " For I have seen God face to face." We must enter into this our covenant and oath in the spirit of entire self-consecration to the service of Christ. In the d ays of the pious Asa ^ when God had wrought a great deliverance for his people, they renewed their cove- nant, and it is said of that transaction, " And all Judah rejoiced at the oath : for they had sworn with all their 76 Memorial Volume. hearty and sought him with their whole desire.^'' In laying hold of (jod's covenant, we not only take him for our God, but we pledge ourselves to be his people, that " we will live no longer to ourselves, to Satan, to sin or the world, but for him alone, that, all other gods being re- jected, we will believe, worship and serve him alone ; that we will devote ourselves, soul and body, to him as his temples and spiritual sacrifices : our mind his to know him, our will to worship him, our affections to love him, our eyes to behold the wonders of his power, our ears to hear his voice, our tongues to celebrate his praise, our hands to do his work, and in fine, every member as an instrument of righteousness to God." Let us hear the exhortation of the apostle, " I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Let no one take the oath of God who hath not vowed to consecrate himself to God and to the church, with his whole heart and strength and mind. '^ This day the Lord thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments ; thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart and with all thy soul." May the declaration of the inspired apostle, " For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself;" " Whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's," come home with power to our hearts, and may we be enabled to say_, as for us and our house we will serve the Lord. We must earnestly seek for the divine Spirit to enable us to be faithful to our covenant obligations. "" Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest Covenanting — its Spirit. 77 vow and not pay." " No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." We pledge ourselves to-day to some principles which we hold in common with all the people of God of every name, and also to others which we esteem of equal importance, but to which we are at present the only witnesses. That these principles will eventually triumph we are confident, but until that day come we must make our account to meet with more or less of opposition and reproach. Let us beware of the example of the perfidious sons of Ephraim, who, lacking neither bows nor arrovv^s, turned ^ack, faint-hearted, in the day of battle. " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life." We recall the scene in Grey- friar's churchya rd, when the " N ational C ovenant " was sworn by our fathers. " The intense emotions of many became irre- pressible. Some wept aloud ; some burst into a shout of exultation ; some after their names added the words till death i and some, opening a vein, subscribed with their own warm blood." The words ^'' till dearth ^^ were no empty boast. Soon the fires of persecution were kindled, and blood flowed like water ; on battle fields, on scaffolds, in dungeons, and at the stake, many sealed their fidelity to their covenant engagements with their lives. We may not be called to pass through such scenes as those which witnessed the fidelity of our martyred fathers. But we shall not accomplish our testimony without meeting bitter and determined opposition. We may expect to be severe- ly tried. We must set our faces like a flint ; we must keep the eye of faith steadfastly fixed upon Him "who, for 7 78 Memorial Volume. the joy that was set before him, endured the cross., de- spising the shame ;" upon the great cloud of witnesses, who have gone before us ; upon the unfading crown and the unending kingdom. " To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also over- came and am set down with my Father in his throne." Let us seek for that strong faith in the Lord Jesus Christ that overcomes the world and secures the victory against every enemy. When covenants were made under the Old Testament, the victim was divided, the parties to the engagement passed between the parts, while the blood of the victim was sprinkled upon them in token of their fidelity to their obligations. That blood typi- fied the blood of Christ, by which alone we have bold- ness to approach to God in any act of solemn worship. Through faith in Christ we become heirs of the blessings of the covenant of grace, and, therefore, we should espe- cially remember that in this act without faith it is im- possible to please God. We come " to Jesus the me- diator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel." How long have we prayed and waited for the promise of the Spirit to be fulfilled ! Some communications of God's grace we have from time to time received ; some showers have fallen upon us, but we have not enjoyed the outpouring of the Spirit in such fullness and efficacy as we have desired. We have not received the great rain of his strength. The heavens above us have been iron, and the earth brass. The seed has been sown, but the harvest has not been gathered. Our neglect of the duty which we now essay in God's great and holy name may Covenanting — its Spirit. 79 be the cause. At all events let us now lift up our prayer to God that he v^^ould pour water upon him that is thirsty and floods upon the dry ground. May ^ye not be permitted to believe that the promise of the Holy Ghost is now to be fulfilled, that our covenant God will open the windows of heaven and pour upon us a blessing until there shall not be room to receive.? "Awake, O north wind ; and come thou south ; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." From this moment let us endeavor to strengthen the bonds of brotherly love. Union in this great act must increase mutual confidence and affection. All wrath, and malice, and envy, and evil speaking must cease. Permit me to exhort you in the words of the great apostle, " Be kindly afFectioned one to another with bro- therly love ; in honor preferring one another." Do I not express both the conviction and resolution of all, when I say, that from this time we shall be more united than wc have ever been heretofore ; that now hand will grasp hand with renewed zeal and sincerity, and that hence- forth, like a company of horses in Pharaoh's chariots, we will go forward in the work of the Lord ^ We pledge ourselves in our bond that no effort shall be spared to make our beloved country a kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ. The old blue banner of the covenant which our fathers unfurled to the battle and the breeze, bore for its inscription, " P'or Christ's Crown and Cove- nant." Shortly after the disruption of the established church the eloquent Guthrie said, "This storm has blown out the old banner until we read ' For Christ's Crown.' Let it blow a little longer and a little stronger, 8o Memorial Volume. and we shall read the entire motto, ' For Christ's Crown and Covenant.' " That prayer, alas ! is yet un- fulfilled in the land of cur covenant fathers. But here, to-day, we bind ourselves to endeavor to hasten the time when the meteor flag of our country, the starry emblem of its power, shall float over a land in covenant with God, recognizing his Son and owning allegiance to our Lord Jesus Christ. And may God hasten it in his time. And now, dear brethren, let us with united hearts, with sincerity of purpose, with fervent prayer to the God of^ all grace to make us perfect, stablish, strengthen and settle us, and with our hearts lifted up with our hands to God in the heavens, carry out our long-cherished and delib- erate purpose to "join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual covem.nt that shall not be forgotten.*' 8i FIDELITY TO VOWS. BY REV. W. MILROY. Fathers and Brethren : How dreadf ul is this place 1 How solemn is this scene ! How transcenden tly g; ran() th's transaction ! H ow momentous , perhaps, its results ! We have stood in the presence of that God whose eyes are as a flame of fire to search every heart. We have opened our mouths, and lifted up our hands unto ihe Lord, and we may not go back. Let us here pause for a moment, and endeavor to re- alize the position we now occupy. Claiming to be the descendants and proper representa- tives of the men of the Second Reformation and of those who are known in history, and honored as " the Martyrs of the Covenant," we have just been exemplifying, in the face of this great American nation, the duty of covenant- ing. In a bond^ framed with a view to the times and circumstances in which we are placed, we have avouched the Lord to be our God, and pledged renewed devotion to his cause and service. We hold ourselves still bound by "the covenants of our fathers," familiarly known by the designation, " National and Solemn League." Indeed, if the prin- ciple to which we have given renewed expression in this, our covenant, be just and true, viz., that the obligation of moral covenants, which contemplate posterity, descends upon those represented in the taking of them till their end is acomplished, then it follows, as a necessary consequence, that we could not 7* 82 Memorial Volume. rid ourselves of the obligations of the covenants of our fathers if we would ; and I hope it is equally true, we would not if we could ? The grand leadino; principle of both the covenants to which allusion has just been made, is not, we appre- hend, embraced in our present bond at all ; or if at all, only by implication, viz., the duty of the state, as such^ to enter into alliance with the church of Christ, and to profess^ adhere to^ defend and maintain the true religion. Ever since Christianity became a power among the nations of the world, the minds of legislators have been occupied with the difficult question, C^^; church and state enter into mutual alliance, and yet each prosecute, un- trammelled, its respective ends, and exercise, uncontrolled, its important functions ? Though the verdict of the Christian people of the United States, if called to-day to answer this question, would probably be overwhelmingly in the negative, yet we conceive, the pious, profound and sagacious men of the Second Reformation more than two hundred years ago, solved the problem correctly, answering in the affirmative. And not only so, but for a brief period in the land of the covenants, they presented to the world what has nowhere else been witnessed, that solution in practical operation. We stand, then, this day, before the churches and the world, in the solemn attitude of covenanters^ avowing our belief in, and cordial reception of, the principles embodied in this, our bond ; proclaiming at the same time our un- diminished attachment,and continued adherence to these covenants of our fathers ; and convinced of their moral and scriptural character, deliberately expressing, under Fidelity to Vows. 83 the solemnity of an oath, our settled determination, with the help of God, unfalteringly to vindicate and maintain both the one and. the other. There are two general considerations that should have weight with us in attending to the question of fidelity to vows, viz., the advantages of fidelity, and the fearful consequences of unfaithfulness. The advantages that may be expected to result from strict fidelity to our vows are many and great. The preparation and investigation necessary to the proper per- formance of the duty, tend to solemnity of mind and clearer apprehensions of divine truth. Covenanting unites the friends of truth in sentiment, in afi^ection, in firm, holy resolve to maintain the truth. It furnishes to those who love the truth the means of readily discover- ing each other, and presents a rallying point around which they may gather. In union there is strength. Our fathers in days gone by were thus drawn together, and rallied under the banner of the covenant; and find- ing they were perfectly joined together in one heart and onejudgment, were enabled to perform that work by which their names have been transmitted with honor to poster- ity. In those days of pure piety, uncompromising prin- ciple, lofty purpose, and heroic deeds, when men loved not their lives unto the death, the National Covenant and the Solemn League and Covenant were the means of erecting an insuperable barrier against the inroads of poperji»>and prelacy, and proved the stability and security of the church in those troublous times. Have the friends of truth and liberty nothing to appre- hend from the same source in our day and our land ? 84 Memorial Volume. It has been said, and we think truly said, that the high church in England and the high church in Scotland are " sappers and miners for the Church of Rome." With equal truth we may add, popish prelacy, the high church in America, is a sapper and miner for the Church of Rome. And what are the' aims and purposes of the Church of Rome here ? A distinguished Romish priest of New York revealed them when he said, in a lecture recently delivered in the city of Detroit : " Catholicism rules the city of New York with^^^ thousand majority. And the question is not now, will the Catholics ever rule America ? but, how soon?'' The policy adopted to secure their contemplated end — the end of which they are now, and with reason, so boastfully confident — is Jesuitical, art- ful and insidious. Have we not been forewarned of it ? Has it not been intimated to us in the word of infallible truth, that as there were false prophets among the people of Israel of old, so " there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies," and whose coming is " with all deceivableness of unrighteous- ness," beguiling unstable souls? Have we not been in- formed that " many shall follow their pernicious ways, by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of ?" 2 Pet. 2:1, 14 ; 2 Thess. 2:10. Is it not high time the friends of religion and truth were taking the alarm ? were forecasting the future ? were preparing for defence, seizing again those weapons that have been proved, and found so effective in the past.? Is it not highly proper, now that danger threatens, that truth is imperilled, that the enemy is coming in like a flood; is it not, I say, highly proper that we, directed by the Fidelity to Vows. 85 example of our worthy covenant ancestors, and animated by the eminent success that crowned their efforts, should again display the banner, as of old, that we should gather for its support, and for the defence of liberty, civil and religious, blended in unity, and bound together as one man by the oath of God ? Our recognition, in connection with our own proper bond, of the oblip-ation of the covenants of our ancestors, legitimately tends to strengthen gratitude to God, and to inspire confidence in his promised mercy. God is thus exhibited in the attractive light of dealins; with the fathers o o on behalf of the children, and those children through suc- cessive generations are made to feel that they have cause of thanksgiving to God for his goodness, in having re- gard to their interests and welfare in those federal trans- actions into which he has condescended to enter with their parents. It was to show the duty of gratitude, and to awaken a 'iense of gratitude for this method of the divine procedure, that Peter said to the Jews, " Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers '" Acts 3 : 25. In the fact that God has entered into covenant with, and been gracious to our fathers in times past, a sure foundation is laid for the con- fident expectation that he will continue to be gracious to the children. He is Hue to his promises. " He is not man that he should lie, neither the son of man that he should repent/' And his encouraging word of promise is, '' He will not forsake thee, neither destroy thee, nor forget the covenant oi x.\\y fathers^ which he sware unto them." Deut. 4 : 31. The doctrine of the descending obligations of cove- 86 Memorial Volume. nants, which we now recognize, tends also to exhibit and promote the unity of the church. In the covenant transaction with Abraham, his seed was embraced. Its terms were, " I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee." Gen. 17:7. The church in all ages, and under all dispensations, is thus exhibited as one covenant society, bound together in one common brotherhood, seeking the same ends and participating in the same blessings. Hence Paul's language to the Gen- tiles, " If ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3 : 29. The prayer of the Saviour is, " Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are." John 17 : 11. "Whence come wars and fightings," "emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies .?" "Come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members ?" Let these lusts be subdued ; let the Holy Spirit be poured down in rich effusion from on high, and we are war- ranted in cherishing the hope that, even on this distracted earth, the watchmen on Zion's walls shall lift up the voice, and with the voice together sing, for they shall see eye to eye ; to anticipate a time when the Lord's people shall ^// speak the same things, and be "perfectly joined together in the same mind, and the same judg- ment ;" when the churches^ bound together and to God in holy covenant, shall " look forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners;" and "all the ends of the earth Fidelity to Vows. 87 shall see the salvation of our God." Isa. 52 : 8, 10 ; I Cor. I : 10 ; Song 6 : 10. Covenanting is, by divine appointment, a means emi- nently fitted to put the church in possession of the bless- ings that have been enumerated. But let us bear in mind, it matters not with what care this duty may be approached ; it matters not with what solemnity and frequency it may be performed ; covenanting, without fidelity, will prove only a rope of sand. As, however, covenanting with sincerity and ho nesty in the fear of God is God's appointment, his method of putting us in pos- session of the advantages specified and nr.any others ; so fidelity to our vows will tend greatly to secure and pro- mote all these advantages, and, above all, is indispensably requisite to the enjoyment of x\\q favor of God. When God entered into covenant with Israel at Sinai, he encouraged them to fidelity by the assurance of his favor : " Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice in- deed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people : for all the earth is mine : and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation." Ex. 19 : 5, 6. That favor constitutes a perfect shield and protection. He says, " Fear not, for I have redeemed thee ; when thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee ; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee : when thou walkest through the file, thou shalt not be burned ; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee. For I am the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel, thy Saviour." " Fear thou not ; for I am with thee: be not dismayed ; for I am thy God : I will strengthen thee \ yea, I will help thee ; yea, I will up- 88 Memorial Volume. hold thee with the right hand of my righteousness." Isa. 43 • '~3 ' 4^ • 10* This divine favor has always been realized by, and never withheld or withdrawn from, those who have been mindful of, and faithful to, their vows. The failure has never been on God's part ; for he is a God that keepeth covenant. The recorded ex- perience of Israel in the days of Asa has been the uni- form experience of all faithful covenanters in every age. " And they entered into a covenant to seek the Lord God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul. And all Judah rejoiced at the oath : for they had sworn with all their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them : and the Lord gave them rest round about." 2 Chron. 15 : 12, 15. We should be deterred from unfaithfulness by the consideration of its terrible consequences. Look, for illustration, at the condition of Scotland to-day : that land, so noted of yore for her loyalty to King Jesus ; so celebrated for the piety, intelligence and scriptural prin- ciples of her sons ; so distinguished for her covenants and her martyrs. What is she now t Alas, how fallen ! A large majority of her aristocracy and large numbers of her people " entangled," as one expresses it. "in the meshes of the corrupt Episcopal communion, which is there high church in the very worst sense of the term." That land, the glory of all modern lands, conspicuous and pre-eminent for the purity of her principles and the completeness of her reformation, again so tainted and leavened with the corruptions of popery and prelacy, as to be to a considerable extent, high church, /. e. little better than Rome herself, in truth, operating, " sapping, Fidelity to Vows. 89 and mining" for the Church of Rome ! And to what is this result attributable ? It may be traced directly to the breach of her National Covenant, and the Solemn League and Covenant. That unfaithfulness to vows is regarded by God as a sin of a most aggravated character is manifest from his complaints^ his charges^ his threatenings against Israel for their guilt thus incurred. How pathetic his complaint ! " The house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers." Jer. 11:10. How grave his charge ! " They kept not the covenant of God, and refused to walk in his law." " For their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast in his covenant." Ps. 78 : 10, 37. How terrible his threatening ! "If ye will not be reformed by me by these things, but will walk contrary unto me ; then will I also walk contrary unto you, and will punish you yet seven times for your sins. And I will bring a sword upon you that shall avenge the quarrel of my covenant." I>ev. 26 : 23, 25. And when the threatened judgments of Heaven have been executed, and the land rendered a desolation and a waste, when in astonishment inquiry is made, " Wherefore hath the Lord done thus unto this land ? What meanelh the heat of this great anger? then men shall say, Because they have forsaken the covenant o{ the Lord God of their fathers." Deut. 29 : 24, 25. Brethren : if there ever can be a time when the follow- ing words of sacred writ should be regarded as addressed emphatically to «j", that time is noiu : " When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it ; for he hath 8 90 Memorial Volume. no pleasure in fools : pay that which thou hast vowed : Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay." Eccl. 5 ; 4, 5. We have been engaged in what is here a somewhat singular service ; 1 say singular, because seldom, if ever, performed in this land before. We have now special work to do, and duties to perform, to which we have voluntarily bound our souls by the solemn oath of God. It becomes us, therefore, to watch over our hearts and over our lives with a godly jealousy. The position we have ch )sen to take will attract to us the eyes of all the members of our own church in this land, who are expected to follow the example we have thus set them : the eves of all our brethren in cove- nant bonds abroad ; and, to some extent, few and feeble as we are, the eyes of the churches and of the world will be upon us. Above all, the eyes of God are upon us. The principles we espouse, which we emblazon upon our banner, and to which we pledge ourselves anew, we may expect will encounter opposition in the future, as they have in the past ; and who is sufficient for their vindication ? If we have taken hold in truth of God's covenant, if we have not lied to him with false tongues, we may confidently say, " God is our refuge and our strength." " Therefore, will not we fear, though the earth be removed." Ps. 46 : i, 2. Ungodly nations may boast of their power, and trust for security to their natural resources, their agricultural riches, their commercial wealth and glory, their military and naval strength, the intelligence, skill, learning and valor of their people. But the experience of the world has Fidelity to Vows. 91 shown that all these prove a poor defence when the Most High arises to vindicate his own honor and law, and punish the nation that has forgotten God. Let it be ours to trust not in an arm of flesh, but " in the name of the Lord of Hosts, the God of the armies of Israel," our covenant God, who is our refuge and our fortress, and whose faithfulness shall be our shield and our buckler. We have been exemplifying a duty which we believe will yet be recognized as such by the churches and the nations. And further, we believe there is a time coming when the churches and nations will consider it not only their duty, but count it their highest privilege and honor to be formally in covenant with God. Prophecy assures us that the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. When this period arrives we cannot suppose that covenanting will be any longer either overlooked or stigmatized as fanati- cal. The nations will then emulate each other in putting honor upon that Saviour who is exalted as a prince ; who is the " Prince of the kings of the earth. King of kings, and Lord of lords." And instead of in- citing each other to rebellion, as now, by the mutual counsel, '' Let us break asunder his bands, let us cast from us his cords," their language will be, " Come, and let us join ourselves to the Lord in a perpetual cove- nant, that shall not be forgotten." Jer. 50 : 5 The principles to which we have pledged ourselves to- day can never fail. Restmg on a basis of immutable truth, they are as immovable as the throne of the Eternal. But, fathers and brethren, there is no such certainty that 92 Memorial Volume. we may not fail. The task we undertake in the de- fence and development of these principles, in seeking to bring them into public notice and general acceptance, is a very difficult one. Wealth is against us. The current of popular senti- ment is against us. Power is against us. Abuses in church and state, in their entrenched positions fortified by time and use, are against us. Tongues of calumny, whetted with malice and made to cut like swords, are against us. The derision and mockery of the profane and ungodly are against us. The blandishments and the terrors of the world are against us. In the presence of such opposition, and before such an array of most bitter and powerful enemies, who shall stand } None but by the grace of God. If, however, in reliance on divine grace we are true and faithful, our victory is certain ; for however weak in ourselves, we are strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. " Such as do wickedly against the covenant shall be corrupt by flatteries : but the people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits." Dan. ii : 32. If, on the other hand, '' unsteadfast and perfidious," we fail in the day of trial, our doom is sealed. For- saking God we will be forsaken of him, and he will spew us out of his mouth. But God, who keepeth cove- nant, will not leave himself without witnesses. If we prove unequal to the work assigned us, and behave our- selves falsely in his covenant ; if we weakly yield or basely betray the sacred trust committed to us, it will result simply in transferring it to other and worthier hands, that will be honored of God, still to hold aloft Fidelity to Vows. 93 the banner of the covenant, and bear it forward to com- plete success ; enlargement and deliverance will arise to the cause of God from another place, but we and our father's house will be destroyed. Esth. 4 : 14. But, fathers and brethren, an important thought, and one that should take precedence of all this, yet remains. It is this. Our first and chief concern should be to know that we ourselves are personally in covenant with God, having by faith laid hold of the everlasting cove- nant. Without this, our engagements in the covenant of to-day have not been entered into with acceptance, will not be maintained with steadfastness, or pros- ecuted with success. But if God has made with each of us personally an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure, and if in our approach we have been honest and sincere^ then beyond a doubt, in the federal transaction of this day we have found, and being faith- ful will still find, acceptance. And now, dear fathers and brethren, keeping steadily in view the high ends and aims of our covenant, with faith in God, let us labor unitedly, vigorously and per- severingly for their attainment. Sensible of our un- worthiness to be admitted into such intimate relation to God, and fully aware that we are dependent on divine help for ability to make a single step of progress, let us humbly, yet hopefully, commit ourselves and our work into the hands of a covenant God, imploring him graciously to vouchsafe his promised aid, that we may '' pay our vows unto the Lord now in the presence of all his people." Ps. 116: 14. 8* 94 THE MESSIAH EXPECTING HIS FOES' SUB- JECTION. BY REV. S. CARLISLE. Psalm i io: 1-4. This psalm is Messianic, referring to Messiah in his person, offices and work. This fact is attested by in- ternal evidence, and various allusions to it in the New Testament. It completes the description of Messiah's kingdom begun in the second. In this, the Redeemer's right to rule is assumed, the nature and extent of his kingdom declared, the relation between his priestly and kingly offices exhibited, and his final triumph pre- dicted. David was the writer of this psalm. It is ascribed to him. It bears the impress of Israel's sweet singer, and the Master represents him as its author. Its theme is neither David nor Solomon, but him who is Immanuel, God with us. The Lord did say unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, Until I make thy foes a stool Whereon thy feet may stand. The person designated " my Lord'"' was the Messiah, the Lord Jesus, a being of infinite excellence, eminently fitted to rule, " The brightness of the father's glory," David's son according to the flesh but as Immanuel his Lord, this not merely as an individual, but a king, and the representative of a race of kings. The Hebrew word The Messiah exi*ecting his Foes' Subjection. 95 translated " did say" Is peculiar, and limited to prophetic declarations Literally It would be the dictum^ the saying^ the oracle of Jehovah to my God. But here, as else- where, it is translated " said the Lord," intimating that the subsequent expression is an authoritative declaration of a fixed and definite purpose, made by the Father, that the Mediator has been Invested with universal authority. Among the Jews, the right hand was the seat of honor ; sitting at the right hand of a king denoted participation in his power. Stephen, the proto-martyr, saw the Son of man standing on the right hand of God, actively en- gaged. Here the command Is, " Sit thou on my right hand," the posture and position denoting his Investiture with mediatorial dominion, and his rare fitness for Its ad- ministration. This government he was to exercise until his foes were subdued. The enthroned Mediator has enemies, numerous, powerful and confederated together, but he will reign in their midst in spite of them. The Psalmist does not mean that when these enemies are subdued, then the Lord Jesus Christ will be stripped of his power. He does not say that he will reign up to the period in which the enemies will be subjugated, and then cease. Such an Idea would be at variance with the teaching of inspiration. The object of the psalm Is to show that the designs of Christ's enemies will be frus- trated. They will result differently from what they ex- pected. Those who refuse to acknowledge Messiah, the Prince, '' to kiss the Son," Instead of being success- ful will be overthrown, while he will remain slttins: at God's right hand. His kingdom Is an everlasting king- dom, which shall never be destroyed, nor left to other 96 Memorial Volume. people. It shall break in pieces all opposing kingdoms, and shall stand forever. The Lcrd shall out cf Zion send The rod of thy great pow'r : In midst of all thine enemies Be thou the governor. God Most High works by means in nature, providence and grace, bringing about great and important results, not by the mere exercise of arbitrary power, but by instru- ments. Some understand the rod of his strength as re- ferring to chastisements, judgments, synonymous with the rod of iron, spoken of in the second psalm. It is more likely his word, the gospel, the wisdom of God, divine truth in its precepts, doctrines, promises, accom- panied by the Holy Spirit \ in answer to prayer this is the means employed in converting sinners and confounding those who will not have this man to reign over them. Zion is a type of the visible church, the depository of the truth, and the divine agency for the evangelization of the world. This rod of his strength goes out of Zion by divine ap- pointment. " Go ye and teach all nations," is the com- mand of Christ to the church. The Lord sends it. He calls, qualifies and commissions men to make it known, and crowns their labors with success by making it effectual in the conversion of sinners, the increase and enlargement of the church, and in promoting social peace, progress and prosperity. He that is most mighty is here represented as girding his sword upon his thigh and in his majesty riding prosperously, because of truth, and meekness^ and righteousness. The Messiah expecting his Foes' Subjection. 97 A willing people, in thy day Of power, shall come to thee, In holy beauties from morn's womb : Thy youth like dew shall be. God's people are a willing people. They are made willing. The Hebrew word translated " willing" signifies " free-will offerings. " It is the same as that used in Leviticus denoting spontaneous gifts. The thought is that these people are themselves the gifts. It is not merely that thev present sacrifices of praise and thanks- giving, but they present their bodies as living sacrifices. A day of God's power is a season when the doctrines of the gospel are preached earnestly and with fidelity ; when the Redeemer is exhibited in the dignity of his person, divinely appointed, eminently fitted to mediate, adapted to the wants and necessities of the race, and men invited to look unto him and be saved -, when the Holy Spirit, in his quickening, saving and sanctifying influences is communicated to the church, and men realize that they are sinners, that Jesus is able and willing to save them, and embrace him as offered in the gospel. Such were the day of Pentecost, the period of the reformation in Germany and Scotland, seasons of public and social cove- nanting. It is a day of his power, when the hard and stony heart is taken away. A willing people are those born again, having a new nature, new tastes and enjoyments, new dispositions of mind, and new companions. The consecration is made In beauties or ornaments of holiness, alluding possibly to the garments worn by the high priest when he went into the holy place to make atonement for the people. The redeemed are kings and priests, and 9^ AIemorial Volume. as the act of presenting themselves as free-will offerings is a priestly one, they are clothed with sacerdotal vestments. They wait upon him, not merely within the beauty of holiness, but they are clothed with the garments of sal- vation, covered with the robe of righteousness. The king's daughter is all glorious within, her clothing of wrought gold, beautified and adorned with the gifts and graces of the Holy Spirit. Holiness is the rare and dis- tinguishing excellence of God's people. They are ex- ceedingly beautiful, perfect through "my comeliness, which I had put upon thee, saith the Lord God." Nor are they few; they are a multitude greater than any man can number, like the globules of dew from the womb of the morning. Perchance the figure refers not merely to the number or beauty of Messiah's people, but to their perpetual succession. As the dew is engendered afresh daily from the womb of the morning, so the perpetual youth of the Messiah is expressed by this figure, whose body is thus constantly renewed by successive ac- cessions to his people. The Lord himself hath made an oath, And will repent him never, Of the order of Melchisedec Thou art a priest for ever. This eminent prophet and king is priest of the Most High God. To this office he was chosen and called by God, as was Aaron. The execution of this office by the Messiah, the Prince, is the central idea of the psalm to which all the preceding verses are introductory, and the subsequent supplementary. The Messiah expecting his Foes' Subjection. 99 Melchisedec, after whose order Jesus was constituted a high priest, was contemporary with Abraham. The apostle Paul speaks of him, "Without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life. The language is evidently meta- phorical. We know little of Melchisedec's antecedents. He is presented in the page of sacred story as insulated from all others. Yet we have reason to believe that as a man he was born, lived and died as others ; but in his official capacity he had neither predecessor nor successor, unlike in these respects the Aaronic priesthood. Besides he united in his person the priestly and kingly offices; he was the priest of the Most High and king of Salem. As a priest, Jesus the Messiah has atoned for sin by the sacrifice of himself, and he has entered within the vail to intercede for his people. His sacrifice is peculiarly effective. " By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified," and his intercession is no less prevalent. Him the Father heareth always. He did not descend from Melchisedec, neither was he of the family of Aaron nor tribe of Levi, but of the family of David and tribe of Judah. He had no official predecessor and he will have no successor, for he ever liveth to make inter- cession for his people, and, like Melchisedec, he united in his person the priestly and kingly offices. He wears not merely the crown but the mitre, he has not merely the sceptre but censer in his hand. He is King of saints. King of Zion, King of kings, and Priest of the Most High God, and all this is secured and confirmed by the covenant and oath of God. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent, /. e, will not change. The covenant by 100 Memorial Volume. which he has been constituted a high priest will neither be broken nor retracted ; it is confirmed by the oath of God. So that persons of all peoples, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations may with faith and confidence look to him and be saved. His priestly lies at the foundation of his kingly office, " He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death. Wherefore, God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, which is above every name : that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every tongue should con- fess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Love him, he is worthy of our supreme affections. Exercise faith in him, for he is the only Saviour of sin- ners, eminently adapted to the wants and necessities of the race, and all this in the hope and unwavering con- fidence that in process of time he will subdue all his and our enemies, and receive us to be with him in mansions ofglory. Amen. lOI THE LAMB THAT WAS SLAIN. BY REV. S. O. WYLIE, D. D. Revelation 5 : 12.. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive pov/er, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, an