264 273 283 290 300 309 316 SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION.-Waiting for the HOLY WHIT-SUNDAY.-The occasion WHIT-MONDAY.-The intelligent use of the public ministrations of the Church WHIT-TUESDAY.-The fruit of the SPIRIT TRINITY SUNDAY.-The Creed of S. Athanasius FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-Dives and Lazarus SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The mutual indwelling of CHRIST and the Church THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-Hannah Beam 325 FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The miraculous draught of fishes SIXTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The eternity and comprehensiveness of the divine commandments SEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-David numbering the people EIGHTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The sin of Jeroboam 356 NINTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The "still small voice." 363 TENTH SUNDAy after TriniTY.-The history of Ahab. ELEVENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The Pharisee and TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The didactic cha- 388 396 404 FIFTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The lilies of the field 413 SIXTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The widow's son of Nain 421 SEVENTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-Unity 428 taken 437 NINETEENTH SUNDAY AFTER TTINITY.-Daniel and his companions TWENTIETH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The revelation and requirements of God. TWENTY-FIRST SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The evil An gels TWENTY-SECOND SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The faith fulness of GOD. TWENTY-THIRD SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The hea PAGE 445 453 461 469 485 TWENTY-FOURTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-Meetness for the inheritance TWENTY-FIFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY.-The use of SUNDAY NEXT BEFORE ADVENT.-The Church's year ended I. First Sunday in Advent. Subject. CHRIST's first Advent, and our consequent obligations. Text. Ezek. xx. 32. “That which cometh into your mind shall not be at all, that ye say, We will be as the heathen, as the families of the countries, to serve wood and stone." Principal Word. D the heathen, the uninstructed nations. ADVENT, intended as a preparation for Christmas. The Incarnation, much too high a doctrine to be contemplated without due preparation. It cannot worthily be regarded in one day only. To be duly thankful for it, to rejoice intelligently and beneficially in the festival of Christmas, a previous meditation on its nature and consequences requisite. Hence the Church has ordained this season, wherein we regard the coming of our LORD in the flesh conjointly with His future coming to judge the world, that our Christmas joy may be duly chastened with wholesome and solemn fear; and that it may also have the only true foundation, an humble but good hope of acceptance in the last day. To apply the text to the purposes of the season, notice its occasion. Ezekiel was in captivity, with a multitude of his countrymen, in Chaldæa. They did not profit by this loud call to repentance; they took heed to false prophets, who deluded them with hope of return. Yet, doubting of these predictions, they resorted to Ezekiel. But he received the Divine command not to answer them. They had come impenitent; and yet more: they knew that what they were suffering came upon them for being the apostate people of GOD. (Amos iii. 2; Dan. ix. 12.) Had they been of the heathen, then these visitations would not have come upon them. Why then not be as the heathen at once? They might thus escape these signal judgments. They could not be punished as disobedient subjects and servants, if GOD were not their King and Master. So they reasoned. But Ezekiel told them in the text, this should not be at all. How could it be? (Contrast the circumstances of the Jew and the heathen. Deut. iv. 32-34; vii. 6; x. 15; Ps. cxlvii. 19, 20; Rom. iii. 2; ix. 4, 5; x. 13-15; Eph. ii. 11, 12.) The heathen were without excuse for not acknowledging the "eternal power and Godhead of the Most High" (Rom. i. 20); but they could not be condemned for despising His judgments, walking not in His statutes, polluting His Sabbaths. It could not be said to them as to Ephraim, Hos. viii. 12. GOD was the GOD of Israel for ever, for his blessing or for his ruin. Accordingly in the verse following the text, we read, "As I live," &c. We have succeeded to the privileges of the Jews. (See Rom. xi. 17, seqq.; 1 S. Pet. ii. 9.) Baptized into CHRIST's Church, we are "the elect people of GOD." (1 S. Pet. i. 2.) We have all they had, and far more. The heathen were in night, the Jews in twilight, we in noon. us. The very purpose of this tremendous dispensation was to destroy the works of the devil, to redeem us from all iniquity, to obtain life for the faithful and obedient. (1 S. John ii. 8; Titus ii. 14; Heb. v. 9.) And He will come again to reward these, and to execute judgment on those who have rejected Him. (S. Jude 14, 15.) CHRIST is come in the flesh to Can we know this, and think to escape by saying, "We will be as the heathen? we will put away this knowledge, we will plunge into cares, labours, vices; and, being as ignorant as the heathen, we shall have as little to answer for ?" We cannot destroy these truths. We cannot extinguish the sun by shutting our eyes. (See S. John ix. 39-41.) And Yet many do thus reason in their hearts. this is what the Jews did; they said this in their minds. But if this be the feeling of any here, oh, reflect on what it is you meditate! If you would be as the heathen, hear how Holy Scripture describes them. (Rom. i. 21-32; Eph. ii. 1-3, 11, 12; Titus iii. 3.) You cannot be as the heathen, without being all this. And will this bring you peace and blessing? There are many, alas, thus living in our country. (Enlarge on this from local knowledge, neglect of church, of Holy Communion, of family religion, of educating children, living altogether in sin, and without GOD.) Yet these are not as the heathen, nor can be. They are far, far worse, and their condemnation will be far, far heavier. (S. Matt. xi. 20-24; xii. 41, 42; S. Luke xii. 47, 48.) The Advent of CHRIST, therefore, has placed an |