from heaven will prevail, and the men who walk in it will stand forever and ever. The Lord's way will stand forever and ever the ways of men will all come to nothing.

The Church of the living God does not stand on a succession of popes, clergy, ordinances, officers, or churches, but on having the same God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; the God of the prophets; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, above all, through all and in all; one Lord Jesus the Christ, in whom dwells all the fullness of the Deity substantially; the resurrection and the life; Head over all things to the Church, and blessed forever and ever; one Eternal Spirit, the Spirit of all truth and all revelation; one book, the Bible; one gospel, the gospel of Christ and the teaching of Christ and the apostles-in one word, on having everything the first Church had, being everything it was, and hoping for all that was promised to it. If it believes the same the first Church did, practices the same, and hopes for the same, it is the same. If it has the same word of truth, and believes it; has the same commands, and obeys them; has the same promises, and hopes for them, it has the same faith, obedience and hope; if it has precisely the same book, and follows it, unquestionably it is the same Church.

This Church covers the whole ground, and is the Church of the living God. Churches not named in the book of God at all, not named in history at all till the Church of God has been in existence more than a thousand years, and whose own historians give them a modern date, with another name, another creed, and separated from thousands whom it admits to be saints, has no claim to being the Church of God at all. It is a modern invention, and whatever it has in common with

Bible people is not peculiar to it, and did not originate with it; and whatever it has not in common with Bible people, and that did originate with it, but peculiar to it, is human and ought to be rejected. This must all be thrown aside. This will do away all its peculiarities, and it will be no longer a sect. This must all be abolished and cleared away, and the kingdom of God must have the whole territory. This, again, is offensive.

To restore the gospel to the people of this country, in the true sense, and not merely nominally; to restore the Church and the original order, in faith and practice, in worship and everything, is a revolutionary work. The existing bodies are not willing to have this. They love their parties and hold on to them. They will resist all revolutionary movements while they have strength. But their strength is already broken, and the columns for the restoration of the ancient order in all things, as they were in the time of the apostles, are filling up, extending, and becoming stronger and stronger. Men are becoming convinced that the truth is the Lord's, and that it will stand forever; that the truth and the true ground can be maintained; that the right way of the Lord can be defended against all odds. In the name, then, of the God of Israel, and with the faith of the true Israel of God, let those who trust not in horses, nor men, nor in money, but in the Lord of hosts, in the right against might, in the truth against error, the doctrine of the Lord against the doctrines of men, stand together and push on their work; and when the ChiefShepherd shall appear he will take them to himself to dwell with him forever and ever.

SERMON No. XIII.

THEME.- -CONCESSIONS FAVORABLE TO CHRIST FROM THOSE

NOT CHRISTIANS.

IT has been urged by infidels that the testimony relied on by those who believe on Christ, and believe the Bible, is all on one side-all from Christians. In the nature of the case, the enemies would not be expected to preserve the testimony, or even any testimony, favorable to the Lord, and against themselves. If they had preserved any testimony, and could have found any such to preserve, it would have been unfavorable to Christ and the Bible. But now, why do we go to the friends of Jesus for testimony? We do not do this wholly, or invariably, but in some instances refer to other witnesses, as we intend to do in this discourse. But there is a good reason for not going to infidels for testimony concerning Christ. They have no records, reaching back into antiquity, covering the times and events, and containing any testimony, pro or con., about it, except what is merely incidental, and even is favorable to the Bible. They have no history of the events connected with the establishment of the religion of Christ, or connected with Christ, giving the circumstances and transactions of his life. We could not go to them, then, because they have no testimony about it. They simply want us to reject the testimony we have, and accept no testimony, as they have it! We can not afford to do that.

We might inquire what unbelievers want, what they propose, what they have. They talk about their ideas, their views, their belief, what they hold! What are their ideas? All negative ideas, or really no ideas. What are their views? All negative views, or really no views. What is their belief? All negative, or really no belief. What do they hold? It is all negative, or really nothing-what they do not hold. Their creed is all negative; it runs backward, and consists in what they do not believe, or really consists in nothing. The skeptic does not believe there is a God; he does not believe on Christ; he does not believe Moses or the prophets, Jesus or the apostles; he does not believe the Bible; he does not believe the Mosaic account of the origin of the human race, the fall of man, and the flood; he does not believe the gospel, or in churches or preachers. This is all negative-what he does not believe. What is there in all this to enlighten the world? Strike out all this and you leave an immense blank! Is that still to remain a blank? Strike out the Mosaic history, and the whole Bible, with all there is in all other writings, and in the memories of men, that come out of it, and could be gathered from no other source, and see what kind of a blank you would have! With what do infidels propose to fill this blank? Nothing! There is the whole of it, when all summed up. It is one stupendous nothing!

We have all the sciences

Do they talk of the book

Do they talk of sciences? they know anything about. of nature? We have that book, and all they know anything about in it. Do they talk about reason? We have that book, and can read it quite as well as they can. What have they that is right, that we have not? Not a living man of them can tell us of anything they have,

that is lawful and right, or anything for the good of man, that we have not. They tell us of nothing we lack, that they have, to elevate, ennoble, purify, or happify, and prepare us for the highest honor and distinction of which our being is capable. They tell us of no danger to which we are exposed, nor any loss we shall suffer in refusing to hear them. What inducement have they to offer us to lead us to give up our faith in God, Christ and the Bible? Simply nothing-no inducement. It is all a blank.

Imagine yourself an unbeliever and meditating on the unbeliever's creed. You could ruminate as follows: "I am happy now; I do not believe there is any God; I do not believe there is any Christ; I do not believe there is any Eternal Spirit; I do not believe the Bible; I do not believe the Mosaic account of the origin of man; nor of the fall; the introduction of sin; the way death came into the world; the account of Noah, the ark and the flood; the account of Abraham, Job, the Egyptians, the Israelites; their bondage and liberation; the giving of the law; nor the story about Jesus, his resurrection, ascension and coronation; I do not believe the apostles, nor any other preachers, nor in churches; I do not believe the gospel; that there is a heaven or hell; that there will be any resurrection or judgment; that man has a soul, or will have an existence after death. I have all this now erased from my mind, and am in the perfection of unbelief.

"If any man inquires of me about God, I tell him I do not believe there is any God; that I know nothing. about God, and believe nothing about him. If any man inquires of me about Christ, I will tell him that I know nothing about him; that I do not believe there is any Christ. If any man inquires about the Eternal Spirit,