please God. and therefore cannot walk with him, Col. ii, 6.

2. To walk with God implies spiritual life, Gal. v, 25. All men naturally are in a state of spiritual death, but when they are "reconciled to God by the death of his Son," they are quickened by the Divine Spirit, Eph. ii, 1. They pass from death unto life,” and are enabled to walk in newness of life." And while they walk humbly with God, they also walk righteously before men, Micah, vi, 8.

66

3. We generally love those with whom we walk, and are always ready at our convenience to leave the bustle of the world to go with them. None walk with God closely but those who love him supremely. Religion does not destroy natural affection, but refines it; other objects we may lawfully and innocently love, but yet the supreme affection of the soul must be placed upon, and rest in God; and if we thus love God our souls will pant after Him like the hart after the water-brook, and we shall be ever ready to break off for a convenient time our intercourse with the world to walk with him, and even while we are busy in the world our affections will be placed upon Him, Matt. xxii, 37, x, 37, Colos. iii, 2. 4. Those with whom we walk, and whom we love, we are desirous to please and oblige. And those who walk with God delight to do his will. His will is their will; they study it, and make it the rule of their lives, Rom. xii, 1, 2. The Psalmist said, Lord, I have waited for thy salvation, and done thy will," Ps. cxix, 166, and Hezekiah, "Remember now," &c., 2 Kings, xx, 3.

5. We hold intercourse-" sweet counsel❞—with those with whom we walk, and repose in them the strongest confidence. Those who walk with God hold communion with Him. They pray without ceasing." In every thing, &c., Phil. iv, 6. And their prayer is mixed with faith; they are confident that they do not ask in vain, hence they trust in the Lord in all circumstances, as did David, Psal. xxvii, 1, Job, xiii, 15, Hab. iii. 17, 18.

6. There is generally a similarity of disposition and feeling between those who constantly walk together. So it is with those who walk with God. He is holy, and by closely walking with Him, they acquire a habit of holiness

in their souls.

This is the will of God concerning us, 1 Pet. i, 16; Heb. xii, 14. And the people of God are called an holy nation, 1 Pet. ii, 9.

II. The advantages arising from such a walk.

1. One great advantage is, that it gives a real enjoyment for which we are not at all dependent on external things, and of which nothing in this world can deprive us. Those who seek their happiness from the world, are dependent on a number of circumstances and individuals, and are ever liable to have their enjoyment withheld, or taken away by a caprice or a casualty; but those who walk with God can be unspeakably happy when no eye sees them but the eye of their heavenly Father, and their joy no man taketh from them.'

2. It not only gives an enjoyment which the world cannot give, but it also sweetens all earthly pleasures and pains. Prosperity, health, food, rest, friends-adversity, affliction, distress, persecution—“ all things work together for good to them that love God;" and are rendered not only endurable, but pleasant and profitable by the presence of God, Rom. viii, 28, 1 Cor. iii. 21, &c.

3. The man who walks with God learns much of the will of God. "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear him, Psal. xxv, 14. He revealeth his secrets unto his servants the prophets," Amos, iii, 7. Enoch was a prophet. The spirit of the living God revealed to him even in the very infancy of the world, the awful day of its dissolution, Jude, xiv, 15.

66

4. Such a walk is a preparation for the enjoyment of God in heaven. Enoch walked with God; and he was not; for God took him." He was translated that he should not see death." There are few cases of this kind on record; but probably there might be more, many more, were the followers of God more faithful to the grace they receive. A life of faith and holiness is but one remove from glory, and death averted or overcome will open to the pious a passage through the gates into " the city of the living God."

THE HERALD'S MESSAGE.

MATT. iii, 1, 2.

"In those days came John the Baptist, preaching in the wilderness of Judea,

And saying, Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

ABOUT the time" when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea," the Messiah foretold by Daniel (Dan. ix, 24, 25) was fully expected, not only by the Jews, but also by the neighbouring Eastern nations; hence, "there came wise men from the East to Jerusalem, saying, Where is he that is born king of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” When Herod the Great, who was made king of Judea by the Roman senate, heard these things, he was troubled, or rather alarmed, and all Jerusalem with him; for the people feared lest hearing of this circumstance should incite his suspicious and turbulent temper to some acts of merciless cruelty. And their suspicions were but too well founded; for not being able, by all his guile and cunning, to lay hold of his supposed rival, in order that he might make sure of his destruction, " he sent forth and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under," not sparing even his own son. In this attempt to frustrate the designs of God, he was of course disappointed. Previous direction had been given to Joseph, by the angel of the Lord, to " take the young child and his mother, and to flee into Egypt," where they remained until the death of Herod. On the death of the tyrant, Joseph was again directed by the angel of the Lord to "take the young child and his mother, and to go into the land of Israel." But when he heard that Archelaus-the sixth son of Herod, and a most cruel prince— reigned in Judea in the room of his father, he was afraid to go thither; “but “ being warned of God in a dream, he turned into the parts of Galilee" which were under the government of Herod Antipas, another son of Herod the Great, but a prince of a somewhat milder character than Archelaus, and at that time on such hostile terms with

him, that there was no danger of his giving up the Holy Family into his power. Joseph, therefore, came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth; that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, he (Jesus) shall be called a Nazarene.

It was in those days, that is, it was while Jesus dwelt at Nazareth, although nearly thirty years after he went thither on the accession of Archelaus, that John the Baptist preached in the wilderness of Judea, saying, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!"

This was the Herald's Message—the kingdom of heaven—the kingdom of the Messiah-the Gospel Dispensation—the bringing in of the better covenant-was at hand, and that men were to repent before they could be subjects of that kingdom. This kingdom of heaven is now preached, and the terms or conditions of initiation into it are still the same. Let us then endeavour to describe,

I. The nature and extent of this kingdom.

II. The character or quality of that repentance which is an introduction into it.

I. The nature and extent of this kingdom.

1. The phrase, the kingdom of heaven, is used about thirty times in St. Matthew's Gospel. The other evangelists, and St. Paul, generally term it the kingdom of God, and sometimes the kingdom of Christ. In this and in many other passages it signifies the gospel economy, or the reign of grace, and is fitly called a kingdom, because it has its laws: viz., all the moral precepts of the gospel, which inculcate love to God and men, enemies not excepted. It has its subjects: all true believers in Jesus Christ. It has its King, the Prince of Peace, who reigns in the hearts of all those who are subjects of this kingdom. And it is called the kingdom of heaven, because it is the will of the Prince that it should resemble the kingdom of glory above hence he has taught all the subjects to pray, Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven.'

2. This kingdom is therefore not of this world, John, xviii, 36. It is spiritual in its nature. It is a complete mystery to the natural man, 1 Cor. ii, 14.

It is a sort of

wheel within a wheel; its members have a two-fold benefit, being subjects of a kingdom, and having a kingdom within them, Luke, xvii, 21, which is capable of increase, like

seed, Mark, iv, 26; or mustard-seed, 31; or leaven, Matt. xiii, 33. It consists of righteousness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost, Rom. xiv, 17.

3. It is the will of the Prince, that the righteousness, peace and joy, should be perfect, so that this kingdom may not only be similar to the kingdom of glory, but also preparatory to it. N.B. Except we become members of the kingdom of grace, we cannot enter the kingdom of glory, Matt. xviii, 3; but all who continue to the end subjects of the kingdom of grace shall surely inherit glory, Matt. xix, 28. It is, therefore, desirable to enter into it, though the entrance may be attended with some difficulty, Matt. xi, 12. This leads us to describe,

II. The character or quality of that repentance which is an introduction into this kingdom of heaven.

1. Repentance is the first thing required of those who take upon them the profession of the gospel, and consequently the first principle of the doctrine of Christ; it was therefore preached as such by John the Baptist in the words of our text; by Christ, Matt. iv, 17; Mark, i, 15; by Peter, Acts, ii, 38; and by Paul, Acts, xviii, 30.

2. Repentance, like every other good thing, is the gift of God, James, i, 17. It is an effect of Divine grace, flowing through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who " is exalted a Prince and a Saviour to give repentance," Acts, v, 31, and will give it to all who ask for it, Matt. vii, 7—12.

3. Repentance in general means sorrow after the action, and the evangelical repentance of a sinner, is that godly sorrow for sin which produces newness of life. Like every other excellent thing, it is liable or subject to be counterfeited. For instance, there is apparent repentance—a man may mourn he may be sorrowful on account of sin too; but it is because that sin has caused the loss of his property or reputation, by prodigal or disgraceful conduct. Now this is not godly sorrow. It is the sorrow of the world, 2 Cor. vii, 10: it worketh death, remorse, melancholy, despair, and sometimes suicide. There is also another kind of spurious repentance; we have seen persons manifest much sorrow-groans and tears, and confessions and vows have been abundant-but why? because they apprehended and were afraid of death; they did not like to leave the world: death and hell stared them in the face,