rd. 1, that arkness Lord, ter and things ltitude, ere was re was ly been ch, that ss, and is so in arkened ten bethought -" and nake up earth, t led to THE PASTORAL ECHO. The desponding Believer exhorted to trust in the Lord. A SERMON REV. J. PREACHED BY THE STRATTEN, At Paddington Chapel, ON SUNDAY MORNING, SEPTEMBER 10th, 1837. TEXT." Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay himself upon his God."-Isaiah, 5th chapter and the 10th verse. THESE words indicate a dark and distressing state of things in the prophet's own day. The majority, the multitude, knew nothing of God; true, there were a few, "there was a remnant according to the election of grace," there was here one and there another upright, religious, and conscientious, but they were like the stars or constellations of heaven in a dark and cloudy night, few, very few. "Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant?" This is often, perhaps it has usually been the relative condition of the world and the Church, that the few have been on the side of truth and holiness, and that the many have been in the opposition. It was so in the time of the prophet Malachi, "The Lord hearkened and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord and that thought upon his name," they were the select number,—" and they shall be mine," he says, "in the day when I make up my jewels." Our Lord informed us when upon earth, that "broad was the gate and wide the way that led to [No. 3.] E destruction and many there were who went in" at that gate and walked in that way; "that straight was the gate and narrow the way that led to life, and few there were that found it." "Fear not," says He, "little flock, it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom;" and what is worse, "When iniquity does abound" very often "the love of believers waxes cold." I presume it to be the same or nearly the same now, and I think it will be so until the dawning of a brighter age, when the people shall be all righteous, when they shall inherit the land for ever, "the branch of God's planting, the work of his hands, that he may be glorified." But until then we must ask, and I have to ask this morning, "Who is among you in this vast metropolis, that feareth the Lord and obeyeth the voice of his servant?" It is a great mercy and privilege to be identified with the wise and the good. It is better to be united with the Church of Christ in her deepest tribulation, than to belong to the world in the height and plenitude and consummation of its prosperity. John the Baptist said, "After me there cometh one, whose fan is in his hand, who will thoroughly purge his floor and gather the wheat into his garner, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." That is the final destination. And therefore I say, who is among you that feareth the Lord? May we have grace and wisdom, like Moses, "to choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season. And however small and undistinguished in the eyes of the world, and however contemptible the Church of Christ may seem to be, engage with me in the prayer "Join us, O Lord, with thy people here and in glory everlasting." "Who is among you?" Permit me to call your attention, First, To the character, Secondly, To the condition, Thirdly, To the duty of the persons spoken of in the text. First, As to their character. Here two points are named, the first is, they "fear God." And this supposes a clear and distinct recognition of his high authority, of his supreme and absolute power. He is the Lord, he has a right to do what he will with his own. He may command, and we must obey; He is God "who weigheth the moun tains in scales and the hills in a balance." He is God who fixes the earth with his fiat, who rolls all the orbs in the firmament and the stars in their courses. He is God who guides all his creatures with his eye and refreshes them with his goodness. God the supreme mind; God the great ruler; God the father of all. He is infinite. It supposes a consciousness of his presence. "God is in this place," says the Patriarch, "Whither can I go from his spirit, or whither can I flee from his presence. If I ascend into heaven he is there, if I make my bed in hell behold he is there; if I take the wings of the morning and fly unto the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall his hand lead me, and his right hand shall uphold me." He is here in his power, in his providence, in his wisdom, in his holiness, in his love, in his justice, in his truth. He is here in the whole assembly of his matchless and infinite perfections. "Let us have grace whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear, for our God is a consuming fire," that is to every thing that is unholy and in contradiction to his divine will. It includes the careful, conscientious avoidance of sin; "So did not I," says Nehemiah, "because of the fear of the Lord." "Ye that fear the Lord, hate evil." The fear of the Lord and the love of sin are two incompatible principles; they cannot exist in the same nature. "For unto man," he says, "the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to depart from evil, that is understanding." It includes the expectation of the future recompense of the Lord. "God will bring every work and every secret thing into judgment, whether it be good or whether it be evil." "Knowing, therefore," says St. Paul," the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." And if the fear of the Lord be clear and strong in our minds we shall act and think; we shall walk and do as those that must give account. With a clear recognition of the great principle, that there is a day of discovery and manifestation to arrive, we must "judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the counsels of the hearts," and the peculiarities of every man's character; " and then shall every man have either praise or dishonour of God." "The |