world is in a state to form isze and ruin; and that the men if i is 1 and executed a presss of Being a

—the man who ang as I KAMERA O this wretchedness, has gady fei u tid tebe, for its relief-Če mil Vid sides. carried a guy and wounded scene i Cross of Christ, and were the stoning fluence of the blood of the Everasting Creat —the man, bo bas che mi da seriei 18 aching sight far beyond the dreary stanove of the grave, to the distait reais e amaliy and Love this man I A. Vi prgaret a measure the worth of Masonary £5.es 19 de standard of Truth-this man is viss portacei to admit that all interests detained fm ose of

Eternity are utterly vain and transient-this man it is, who, catching the sacred sensibility which lived and glowed, intensely and without intermission, in the bosom of the Divine Saviour, has no hesitation in believing that there may well be joy, even in the presence of the angels of God, over one sinner that repenteth.

We are met, Brethren, on the present occasion, to stimulate and to encourage one another, in the holy work of communicating the Gospel to the Heathen. The value of the Christian Revelation, we have already ascertained: the obligation laid on us to transmit its treasures to others, we have already recognised: the necessity for Christian Missions, we have already admitted: the work of Evangelization, we have already commenced. It is not my intention, therefore, to discuss particularly these preliminary points: it is not my intention to answer objections, or to defend Missions; but rather to urge you onward in this path of duty, by a somewhat extended reference to those Promises of God, which attest the final triumph of his Messiah on the earth.

In full allusion to that triumph, the words of the prophet Isaiah which I have selected as the subject for our present consideration, contain a very marked and distinct assurance. Behold! my servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted,

As many were

and extolled, and be very high. astonished at thee-his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of So shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that, which had not been told them, shall they see; and that, which they had not heard, shall they consider.

Three subjects principally claim our attention in this prophetic record-THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WORLD BY THE MYSTERIOUS SUFFERINGS OF ITS DIVINE FOUNDER-ITS COMPLETE DIFFUSION OVER THE EARTH-and THE PROCESS BY WHICH THAT DIFFUSION WILL APPARENTLY BE ACCOMPLISHED. Each of these points is full of momentous interest.

I. Let us, first, briefly advert to the INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY INTO THE WORLD, BY THE MYSTERIOUS SUF FERINGS OF ITS DIVINE FOUNDER.

Behold my servant !-Many were astonished at thee-his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.

This "astonishment of many" evidently refers to the inconsistency apparent, between the high pretensions and the depressed condition of this Servant of God.

He had been foretold as the desire of all nations; the Shiloh, unto whom should be the gathering of the people; the ruler, who should come forth from Judah, to sit upon the throne of David; upon whose shoulders the government should be laidand as, emphatically, the Wonderful, and the Counsellor,

A sordid and earthly interpretation had enshrined these promises in the hearts of the Jewish Nation. The Jewish Patriot hailed, in expecta-. tion, the brilliant hour in which the Messiah should break to shivers the chains which held his country in subjection to the Roman yoke; while the man of narrow and selfish ambition rejoiced in the vision, which gleamed before his eyes, when the descendants of Abraham should hold dominion over the prostrate nations of the world,

When, therefore, the Saviour of that world appeared in the lowly garb of the carpenter of Nazareth-when he shunned every effort for personal aggrandisement - when he resisted every popular movement to advance his regal claimswhen he put forth his power only to heal the diseased and to comfort the wretched-when, with a humility that knew no parallel, and with a sympathy which evinced no exclusion, he constantly mingled with the meanest and most despised of his countrymen-then the mortified ex

pectations of the Jewish Rulers burst with tremendous efficacy on his devoted head.

The evidence in favour of his high claims was speedily examined, and as speedily rejected. That evidence, was, indeed, strong, and clear, and pal-. pable. His character was unimpeached: his benevolence was diffusive: his power was undeniable: his authority was majestic :—never man spake like this man, nor ever had it been so seen in Israel. The accents of his lips had, more than once, controuled the swellings of the deep, and startled the habitations of the dead. He saved others—was the testimony extorted from his Enemies at his dying hour.

The Spirit of God has now thrown a blaze of light over the mysterious and dark events, which accompanied this rejection of the Messiah. The veil is lifted from before our eyes; and we behold this Lamb of God prepared for a sinoffering-we mark this divine life given as a ransom for many—we anticipate Redemption by his blood, and the remission of Sins.

But the union, in his destiny, of Power and of Suffering-of Dignity and Contempt-of Riches to others and of Poverty to Himselfwas the source of astonishment to many. In this destiny, the exhibition of every moral beauty