^5 V, ■ ^.■■ ■;■-■■ v> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) #/. o m. C° 1.0 I.I '- Ilia 1 50 '" if '^ 2.5 1 2.2 |M 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ ^Z' ► Photographic Corporation 4 ost interestinff subject. In the meant une, he offers ta the public Xat bebeS may be the last of the series, a^ be has already had nlealuie in presenting them with the first;, and he recommends, ta trwhow'ould consl.lt the arguments of -n.e a ler wnters on th. -..hipft a uerusal of the ''Discourse eoneermng tha IJtvine rio.i Si^b/DranSHEa^OCK; Section ^ f '^ l^;J^^^::^^Z ^if Enthusiasmr (HOLDSWORTH, London ^dO) , an art,c e on Divine Visiiuiionsin the 22d number of that exeeHen^.q;"; «!^y Z>^r>A\rn\ « The BrUish Critic ;" mid the Rev. \\ . R. V\ Hi i tinu Tam's admirable sermon preached in St. Luke's Church, New-York, frTLsd^ August 3, 1832, the day appointed by the Mayor and ?" ri fl'uncil of New York, for public humiliation and prayer, 'nTerGod-r^i^t^S^^^^^^ it thSIt city by tl. devastat.u oC ^tX vit.r which the nnthor ".a. taken of Divine V^^^^^ find, his warrant (to speak briefly) in th.s --f"- T^,^ f „ ' .) be evil in a city and the Lord hath not done it C (^ "^ "^j/^J For the open manner in which he ha. p^iven expression to 1"^7'^"« unon the guilt of the denial of Divine Providence, he tinds h.^ ua.. Zt in thS-« if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not r t umpet. and the people be not warned ; if the sword come, and Sue an/p s'on fromVong them, he i. taken away m his uij, y, tthilLd r.mi require ^V'^M^t''^"? fnrthf'w.ru ttand XXXMI 6 ) He did not dare to be silent ; and, for the ^^alm . ana Mrnestness with which he has spoken, he finds his warrant in th . j "; s good to be zealously affected always in a goo. i» •. J^itles an; luld'mistake the nature of his f-l".gB, aUhough w L. it « « very small thing that he should be judged of man » jud„ I I ir. ment, (1 Cor. IV. 3.; he would yet secuw thClwtliCiitfte b* ieMy mdvocfttes from prejudice on his account; (IV LXiX. 6); LewottW, tberefore, refer the reader to the J 2th page of his former «emaoii; lie would repeat that it is in love and tenderness and compassion, and, if he may speak it with humility, in the spirit of His Divine Master, jjot in bitterness, or anger, or strife, or contention, that he luis ar- raigned the infidel. God is his witness that he may Pay of the moel mischievous character whom he knows in society, from bis inmoat bosom—" Out of much affliction and anguish of heart, 1 wrote uota you, with many tears, not that you should be grieved, but that you might know the Iotb which I have more abundantly uuto you. (2 Cor. If. 4.) \ few sentences have been added since the delivery of thia Ser- mon at St. John's Church, on Sunday Oct. 28, principally from TttB Address delivered by the Author on the preceding Friday,— bemy the dcy appointed by Proclamation of His Excellency Sir TuoMA* Cochrane for a General last and Humiliation before AlmightT God, to be observed in the most devout and solemn manner, by •ending up our Prayers and Supplications to the Divine Majestt, —for obtaining Pardon of ouv Sins, and averting the heavy Judg- menta which our manifold Provocations bave most justly deserved ; and particularly for beseeching God to protect us from that grievouifc Disease with which several places in the United King doni aau Amt* rict are at this time Tisited. ] I * » t. » » 'jW W, It >J% •» ?i*» SERMON. J will search Jerusalem with candles and punisu the men that are settled on their lees : that say i^ilhGir heart. The Lwd will not do good neither Will lie doevU» — ZuPHANiAH 1. 12. * These are the words of the Lord, spoken by His prophet Zephaniah. This prophet lived m the time of Josiah, king of Judah, one of the virtuous princes of that people. His rei^jn was remarkable for the restoration of the service of the true Oon and the destruction of the idols to the false and foolish worship of which the people had been sedu- ced. Between his reign, however, and that ot He- zekiah, who was an equally good prince, Manasseh and Amon had reigned. Of these two, Manasseh i» as remarkable for his wickedness m the early part of his reign, as he is for the penitence winch Ihe exhibited in the latter part of it ; whde the short ireign of Amon, the father of Josiah, was equally marked by wickedness throughout. The (effect of the vices of these two successive princes was seen, as might be expected, in the corresponding wicked- ness of their people. When Josiah, therefore, came to the throne, he found much to lament m the state of his countrymen, much to reprove, and much to correct. The Lord was angry against them, and did not conceal His wrath, but proclaimed it by His prophet Zephaniah. In this prophet Josiah lound a very valuable assistant in his projects for impro- ving the religious and moral condition of the people committed to his charge. Faithful prophets have «ver been dear to godly princes. Under the gn?pel, ft «i i. m well as under the law, virtuous princei Have ever been ready to acknowlege with ^titude the aid which they have received in the Formation of their own characters, and in their purposes of good for others, from men of God who woiUd '' constantly speak the truth, boldly rebuke vice, and patiently suffer for the truth's sake."=K< Our profession maket it our peculiar duty to teach men, amon^ other their ooligations, those which they owe to the state, the duty of allegiance to th«^ laws of God, and to those authorities which are ordained of God ;t and, if, in leturn for such services, the prince should recognii^ his own duty to uphold true religion,— none but tliose who are opposed to true religion can, with any shew of reason, oppose thei»selves to that outward dignity and imposing sanction which, consistently with the reservation, to all, of the sacred rights of conscience, true religion may obtain from having- that prophecy accomiplished m her behalt that KingTshould be her nursing fathers and their Queens her nursing mothers + Alas I the tact can- not be concealed that the jaundiced eye and the nerrerted mind of many of the enemujs of all esta- blishments will discern nothisg to admire, »<► beauty nor comeliness^ in the state of things whe» the religion of the Bedeemer shall be established m the hearts of His peoplel|— nothing but the reign of prejudice and priestcraft and illusion and supersti- tion when that meek and mild and tolerant lorm of Religion shall be dominant which is the object of the Christian supplication— Thy Kingdom come E the subject of the evangelical prophecies that it shall, one day, bruise the serpent's HEAi>^=3f aiKl cover the earth as the waters cove r the sea, * Collect for St. John Baptist's Day. t Prov. XXIV. 21. I. Pet. li. 17. Rom. XIII. 1—7. + Isaiah XLiX. 23. § Inaiah Lili. 2. it Isaiah XLiv. 3. Zech. xn. 10. . . . ^ * €kn. in. 15. liai. xt. d. Hab. ir. M. I T King Josiah was a iiureiiig father to iht; churcb) «nd Zephaniah, from whoie «hort prophecy my text k taken, wm a faithful man of God, ready to further the PriiKe's views for the improvement of hia gubjects. . . , Ainong the more shocking enormities ot whicli the people were guilty in the time of Zephaniah, ami for which he was commissioned to denounce upon theni the anger of Goi>, was ▲ Denial of xag Provjoenc:k ov Goo. , ,. . . But 1 will not anticipate the regular division of my text. There are four subjects in it ; three of which require some explanation, and the fou indeed all of them, our most serious considera Thl fiHkST is the meaning of the expression the Lord would search the city with candlesj: KEXT is the meaning of the character which is gi*^»- to the persons for whom the Lord would thus search; they were persons who had " settled upon their lees'*: Next follows one of the false notions of the wen in question— they say in their heart, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil ; in fact they secretly doubt the Providence of God : and Lastly, I will say a few words of the fate of such persons ; God declares that He will search them out and punish them. May God give Hi- blessing to the words which I may speak, that they may be made instruments in His hand of bringing into the way of truth such as have erred and are deceived, that they may yet hear rjeekly His Word, receive It with pure affection, and bring forth the fruits of The Spirit.^ I. / ivill search Jerusalem vnth candles. We may discover the meaning of this expression by comparing it with one or two other passages m the Bible where it is also used. When Solomon (at Prov. XX. 27) would express that God gave I I » ? t iiitany. k e strict Kuard o > er their ten. p ^^ ^j^^ ho say.-" The sp.n o^ a - V,^^^^^^^^^^ yVe ».e a Lo:.D, ^'•"^'"■•Sfthe woman, in the parable, «ho caiidlo, when, 1 -e the wotn , i ^^,^, ^,,,^,.i was ii. search ol f »»*' Jf;-^ ^^.e^ o.la uu.st *.ecret throw li«l\{,;"'" ''l"-;,t ,^» 'ia ,dle is therefore, a corners. The Lord s usn'„ » , -1,^.^ ji,,. strict- term easy to be ""'^^'f ""j;.,,. ^V «^ ' 'inv «hicl. he willapply.wbeul losm '.r. ,1 ^^^^^^^^,, „^ ,„ „„ upon us lor "i"- "-"l"'^'?, Vreuuently «>i.l. by « l.kc ixeneral J-Hl-ment. "^ ^'^ "^,,\^,,.„rl., »« b« h s<-ar^ expression, an.l «'*'" I''* , « ^ „f '„„.„. Indeed chLr of the very '"^''"t.r Vet V all <»»« «>n'^"<=» »' He not only know, f'^,^™/, *",„,, ,,„t He «l«. every man, «uv n'°«*.'"^f';,*X-iised intentions ...J, the l.-:l>»- nSa" thoughts long of our actions. H<- """'/.■.. .1,^ heart and con- bo fore; li-Hc can probe -to thej Himself the oxannnat.on o a crty. ^^^^^ >,„ ^j^ alas! «ho shall abide I). st>.al. ^^ _^^^.^ ^y now of which Goo in.|ht say, a«^o^^ ^^^^^.^^ .^ f„, Sodom, (Cien. "vni. -M y^j ;„ n, «, ten's saUc''-and the Y>">'|^;, ^^^_is there, they were th.iy souc^ht, n .an • ^^^ J ^ think you, no;city n..w, Ol "'' ; Jerusalem, He once did to Jeremiah «°"N^'^;^ P ^^,,, .tweets, (.lor. V. 1) "Rurj >'\f^^;',fJX;Ou broad places ind see now, and kno , and -f^\ ^^ that thereof, ,if yo can *•«* * J-^J^'i^.th the truth, and I exec.«elh,iudgment, ,hat see^c .^^ ^^.^^ ,vill pardon it ;"-ancl that on n be J^ _^ ^ ^yVoiMjOU^jOTJOH^jrJ^^ N, \ Vm»# tiefglAof fje the man / l>o you *;rof/; ihe matt Without a fault wha could stand bet'.vcfn the guilty city and the wrath of Goo, to appease it ? Nay— is there no city the iniquitit^s t>l' which may be «o great that Goo may say of it, that, though He has in it some true foUowtr!*, some who have nut bov.od tho knee to Baal, (I. Kings xix. 18,) He will yet destroy itt —Son of ma'i ! When the land sii.iieth against me by trespassing grievously, and I send a pestilence into that land, and pour out my fury upon it— though Noah, !)aniel, and Job were in it, as V live, saith the Lonn God, they •jhall deliver neither son nor daughter, they shall but deliver their own souls by theirrighteoitsness. (Exek. xiv. I'i— 20,/ O, my friends ! This G«», whose judgments are fio terrible, la always present. W-l* hav.^ an eye abo v o us to which our most retired actions, — those done in the darkness of night and in the privacy of the se- cret chamber, are open — we have ovei* us one who can discern the very thoughts and imaginations of the heart. Let us take heed, then, to our hearts— to our lips — and to oar ways I That improper thought which you whispered with intention of seduction, into the ear of one too ready to listen to it — was heard by the Go^ of purity t That action of uncleanness by which i/ou polluted that body which should be the Temple of the Holy Spirit, was seen by Goo !— That dishonest a