harness, and cause it to pierce our inmost souls '■. Let us then pray that God would direct and assist the minister, and render his word effectual to our good. Thus shall we secure to our- selves a blessing, and, like the refreshed earth, bring forth fruit suited to the culture bestowed upon usa.]
z 2 Kings xxii. 34. a lleb. vi. 7.
Isai. lv. 12, 13. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace ; the mountains and the hills shall break forth be- fore you into singing, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree : and it shall be to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off.
THE change wrought annually on the face of nature from desolation and barrenness to beauty and fruitful- ness, is a lively representation of the change effected by the Gospel of Christ. " The rain and the snow descending on the earth" nourish the whole vegetable creation, and cause every part of it to spring forth in its appointed season : and, in the same manner, " the word of God, dropping as the rain, and distilling as the dew" upon the souls of men, infuses life into them, and renders them fruitful in every good word and work. This is the parallel drawn by the prophet himself, who, expatiating on the subject, predicts, under the image of the Jews' return from Babylon, the progress of the Gospel in renovating the intellec- tual and spiritual world. His words will lead us to consider,
I. The effects of the preached Gospel —
The civilizing of the world is a very small part of the work which the Gospel is intended to accomplish. It is sent,
1. To inspire new feelings —
[Man in his natural state is an entire stranger to spiritual joy, or solid peace. The peace that flows from a want of fore- sight or reflection, and the joy that consists in mere animal