September 19

Psalm cxxxvi. — 1. Oh! give thanks unto the Lord; for he is good; for his mercy endureth forever.

4. To him who alone doeth great wonders; for his mercy endureth forever. 5. To him that by wisdom made the heavens; for his mercy endureth forever. 6. To him that stretched out the earth above the waters; for his mercy endureth forever. 7. To him that made great lights; for his mercy endureth forever. 8. The sun to rule by day; for his mercy endureth forever. 9. The moon and stars to rule by night; for his mercy endureth forever. 10. To him that smote Egypt in their first-born; for his mercy endureth forever. 11. And brought out Israel from among them; for his mercy endureth forever. 12. With a strong hand, and with a stretched-out arm; for his mercy endureth forever. 13. To him which divided the Red Sea into parts; for his mercy endureth forever. 14. And made Israel to pass through the midst of it; for his mercy endureth forever: 15. But overthrew Pharaoh and his host in the Red Sea; for his mercy endureth forever.

Revelation xv. — 1. And I saw another sign in heaven, great and marvellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. 2. And I saw, as it were, a sea of glass mingled with fire; and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God. 3. And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb, saying, Great and marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. 4. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord! and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest. 7. And one of the four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden vials full of the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and ever. 8. And the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God, and from his power; and no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven angels were fulfilled.

The mighty events of the exodus from Egypt were the inspiration of Hebrew poetry in all alterages. "The sea saw it, and fled; Jordan was driven back. The mountains skipped like rains, and the little hills like lambs." Psalmsxv. and cxxxvi. were national anthems, in which these events were likened to the wonders of God in the creation. In the Revelation by John, they kindle the song of Moses and the Lamb. This wonderful scene is the prelude to the final unveiling of Jehovah for the judgment of the great day; that will be the judgment of individuals; but the theatre of the judgments here announced is the present state, in which all governments, systems, laws, and institutions, that are in conflict with the kingdom of God, are destined to be overthrown, until his righteousness shall be fully vindicated, and all nations shall come and worship before him. As slavery went down in the shock of war in the United States, and Caesarsan and the temporal power of the Pope went down in

the terrible collision of Germany and France, so every system that is hostile to a free spiritual Christianity must give way to its advance, or fall under the judgment of Almighty God.

Such judgments are here represented as drawing to a close in seven, the complete number. As, in the battle of the Huns, spiritual combatants were seen triumphing in the air; so the martyrs and confessors, who had resisted some great apostasy, are pictured upon a sea of luminous crystal that glows as with fire, celebrating their victory.

The name of Moses is linked with the name of Christ, because from the beginning of the world, through all dispensations, the kingdom of God has been one, its conflict one, its triumph one. The four living creatures that represent the creative power of God appear as ministers of his destructive judgment: all heaven is astir over the events of this world, which shall issue, at length, in the glorious manifestation of the King of saints.

APPROPRIATE HYMNS.]

Prayer.

[Nos. 87, 132, 161.

We praise thee, O God! we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All the earth doth worship thee, the Father everlasting. To thee all angels cry aloud, the heavens, and all the powers therein. To thee cherubim and seraphim continually do cry, "Holy, holy, holy Lord God of sabnoth!" Heaven and earth are full of the majesty of thy glory. The glorious company of the apostles praise thee; the goodly fellowship of the prophets praise thee; the noble army of martyrs praise thee. Bless the Lord, O our souls! and all that is within us, bless his holy name: who forgiveth all our iniquities; who healeth all our diseases; who redeemeth our

life from destruction; who crowneth us with loving-kindness and tender mercies.

We bless thee this morning for life and health, for comfort and peace. We bless thee for home and its joys; for thy constant favor to us as a household. And, while we thank thee for the blessings of thy providence, we pray that thou wilt also fill our hearts with love and gratitude for the richer gifts of thy Son and thy Spirit. Grant us grace to glorify our Saviour; grant like grace to all who are dear to us; and bring all men to glorify Christ the Lord. And to thy name be glory forever. Amen.