[By the sound of rams' horns he overthrew Jericho: by the stroke of Elijah's mantle he parted the waters of Jordan : so, by the preaching of his Gospel he quickens the dead.]
He commands his power and grace to be pro- claimed—
[He is an almighty, all-sufficient God. He promises pardon to all who seek it in his appointed way. He offers his Spirit to renew all who call upon him. He assures the be- lieving soul that it shall never perish f. Thus he encourages the weakest and the vilest to look unto himg.]
In this way he accomplishes the deliverance of his people —
[A gradual change is made in the most obdurate sinners. There is a " great army," of whom it may be said as of the prodigal h — : they go forth immediately to " the promised land."]
Nor does any one remain ignorant of his bene- factor—
This leads us to consider,
III. The effects which this deliverance produces —
While dead in sin we imagine we must quicken ourselves —
[We know not the depth of misery into which we are fallen. We little think how great a change must take place upon us ; nor are we aware how entirely destitute we are of strength.]
But when once we are quickened, we see whence
our deliverance came —
[We feel by experience the truth of Jeremiah's assertion1 — . We see that the Apostles themselves were only God's instru- mentsk. Then we know God to be the Lord, ,the source of every good. We learn also to commit all our ways to him.]
Infer —
1. How valuable are the ordinances of religion!
[God makes use of his ordinances for the most glorious purposes. He works principally in and by them1. They who neglect them are generally left in darkness ; but sincere wor- shippers reap the greatest benefit from them. Let us never
f Isai. xli. 10.
s Isai. xlv. 22.
h Luke xv. 24.
1 Jer. xiii. 23.
k 1 Cor. hi. 6, 7. II H 2
1 Rom. x. 17.