wherein they condemned and cursed those that would not go forth to help the Lord, "Curse ye Meroz;" wherein they commended the tribes and countries who came forth and willingly offered themselves unto the service of the Lord; wherein they prayed against the enemies of the church: and then mark the issue, at the last verse, "And the land had rest forty years." And such an issue, not only forty years, but many times forty years rest may you have, as an issue of the praises of this day.

But yet, observe, still some monument of praise was erected; sometimes a stone, sometimes an altar, always one monument or other of praise. And have we no altar; no stone now; no name of God to celebrate now; no present of thankfulness to bring to our God this day? Is there no act of mercy to be shewn; none of Christ's friends to be relieved? Shall we make no progress; shall we stand still; do nothing, as men in amaze? Shall we make no improvement of this deliverance and victory? Why should we not all sit down under our relations, and say, How shall I make improvement of this mercy; what shall I do now for God and Christ that I did not before; is there nothing in your hand; what, no present to be given to Christ; have we nothing at all? then let us bring the sense of our own nothing; for the more humble ye are after victories, the more thankful for victories. And if ye have no present in your hand this day to bring unto God for this victory, yet bring the victory itself and give it to God. Ye give to Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's: why? because his image is upon them; and hath not this victory much of the image of God upon it? When David was delivered from his enemies, we read, in Psalm cxvi., that he checks himself for his former unbelief, "I said in my haste," &c., and gathers up himself into God again; "Return unto thy rest, O my soul." When delivered from his enemies, as we read in Psa. cxviii., he found a retreat from man. O my soul, trust not in princes, not in man, nor in the sons of men; trust not in princes. The word in the Hebrew is, ingenuous men, for princes should be ingenuous; and if any men are to be trusted to, they are ingenuous men; but being delivered from men, he retreats from men, and says, O my soul, trust not in men, nor in the sons of men, not in princes, not in ingenuous men.

Yes, and in that Psalm he call upon others also for to praise the Lord, and so let us do in his words: "Oh, give thanks

unto the Lord, for he is good, for his mercy endures for ever: he stilleth the rage of the sea and the tumults of the people, for his mercy endures for ever." Who hath owned your cause again, and your forces again, for his mercy endures for ever; who hath remembered you in your low condition, for his mercy endures for ever; and hath visited us with his love at midnight, for his mercy endures for ever. "Oh, give thanks unto the God of gods, for his mercy endures for ever. Praise the Lord."

If Christ come at midnight, then methinks his personal coming is not far off. I cannot say it is midnight in that respect, but surely it is very late; it is very dark, and it hath been dark a great while.

We read of two sorts of signs which go before the coming of Jesus Christ; some that are more remote and transient, some that are more immediate and just at his coming. Those that are more immediate and just at his coming, ye read of in Matt. xxiv. 29, 30: "Immediately after the tribulation of those days shall the sun be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, and then shall appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven; and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn; and they shall see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory." These are yet to come. But those that are more remote, all seem to be past already. Before the coming of Christ, says the apostle, the man of sin shall be revealed: that is past. Before the coming of Christ there shall false prophets arise, and say, I am Christ; and another, I am Christ: that is past. Before the personal coming of Christ there shall be wars and rumours of wars: this is past. And before that day there shall be great divisions, even in the matter of religion; one saying, Lo, here is Christ; and another, Lo, there is Christ: this is already. And immediately before, and at his coming, men shall be smiting their fellow servants, eating and drinking with the drunken: this is already. The wise and the foolish virgins shall be all asleep and was there ever a time when both wise and foolish were more asleep than now? When men set themselves to sleep, they draw their curtains, put out their lights, and will have no more light come in; so now, when men are asleep, their senses are bound up that

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were open before; they see not, hear not, taste not, smell not; their senses are locked up. Sleep is, legatio sensuum. And was there ever a time when men's senses were more bound up, that were formerly exercised, than now? Are there not some that would pray and hear and read, that will not now; who have now thrown off all duties, ordinances and means? Oh, what sleeping is here; was there ever such sleeping among professors as now there is? If ever wise and foolish virgins were asleep, they seem to be in our days; and shall we sleep also; will ye not rather watch and pray? Watch and pray, pray and watch; and what I say to one I say to all," Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation." Take but two or three wakening observations from this parable.

1. If ye look into this parable, ye may observe a most desperate sleep is come upon all professors, immediately before the coming, the great coming of Christ. I call that desperate sleep which is universal; this parable falls upon the churches; "Then shall the kingdom of heaven (not the kingdom of the world) be like to ten virgins ;" and those ten shall be all asleep, good and bad. And says our Saviour in another place, "Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, shall he find faith on earth?" Again, I call that a desperate sleep which shall be in the face of light. It is a hard thing to sleep whilst a candle is held unto one's eyes; and in the time before Christ comes, much light and truth shall break out, as antichristian error goes off; and yet, even then, good and bad shall fall asleep.

I call that desperate, again, which shall be in the midst of trouble. It is a hard thing for a man to sleep when he is pinched and stricken: in the times before Christ, and when he comes, men shall be smiting their fellow servants, and yet even the smitten shall be asleep. Oh, what desperate sleeping times shall the latter times be; have we not all cause, then, for to watch and pray?

2. If ye look into this scripture or parable, ye find that those who fall asleep immediately before the coming of Christ, shall never wake again till Christ come. "And they all slept (says the text of the ten virgins) and waked not till the Bridegroom came."

Now if a man be very sleepy, and you come to him, and

say, Sir, take heed of sleeping, for if you do fall asleep, you will never wake again, will he not take heed of sleeping? thus it shall be with the sleepers of this latter time. At other times, men shall sleep and wake, and wake and sleep; but if men fall asleep, into a spiritual sleep, immediately before the coming of Jesus Christ, they shall sleep till he comes, and shall be waked no more but by his coming. O Lord, who would not watch and pray lest he enter into temptation !

3. If ye observe this parable, ye shall find that there are two sorts of sleepers, and accordingly two events of their sleeping.

Some slept, as the wise virgins, but did keep their oil, their oil not spent; these when the Bridegroom came, entered with him into his joy.

Others there are that sleep, and have spent their oil, had oil but spent it; and these when the Bridegroom cometh are shut out; and though they call, Lord, open; he answers, " I know ye not." So now in the latter days, there shall be two sorts of professors, one that shall sleep and slumber, but they shall keep their graces, their oil, their principles; and these, though they be found asleep when Christ comes, Christ will pardon, and their sleeping, because they have still their oil.

Others there shall be, who shall not only fall asleep, but they shall lose their principles. True, I thought, indeed, that a man was bound for to keep the Sabbath, to live strictly, and to make a conscience of every word and thought, but now I see there is more liberty: thus they shall lose their principles, their oil, their judgments. These poor souls shall never wake again; and when Christ comes, though they cry to him for mercy, they will not obtain it. No, ye have lost your principles, your oil, your judgment; ye are foolish virgins, ye shall never enter into my joy, he will then say. Who would not, then, watch and pray? What I say to you, I speak unto my own soul, and to every person here present, Oh, let us all watch, for the Son of Man comes, and he comes at midnight; and if it be not midnight now, yet it is late already.

And seeing all these things are so, give me leave, honourable and beloved, to leave an exhortation with you, which is no other than that which the psalmist presents unto ye in the xxiv th Psalm: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come

in." Gates, ye know, are the place where the magistrate sat. The temple door was called the everlasting door, in opposition to the door of the tabernacle, which was to continue but a little time. The psalmist speaks here of Christ's kingdom and lordship on earth: verse 1, "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." Then he will have a church and precious people: "Who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord; who shall stand on his holy place?" verse 3; which he answers in the general: "He that hath clean hands and a pure heart:" and more particularly at verse 6: "This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, even Jacob."

The children of Israel had two names: sometimes they were called Israel, when they were in a more flourishing and strong condition; sometimes they were in a low and weak condition, and then they were called Jacob: "Fear not, O worm Jacob." Now says the psalmist here, The earth is the Lord's, and Christ shall reign, and the poor despised Israel shall be converted, and ascend unto the hill of God. Now, therefore, my advice and counsel unto you is, that as the Lord Jesus shall make any approach unto your towns, cities, kingdoms, churches, you would receive him, and not shut your gates and doors against him; but, oh, all ye cities, towns and magistrates, lift up your heads; lift up your heads, O ye gates, and all you temple-men and churches, lift up your everlasting doors, that this King of glory may come in. And if ye ask who it is?" It is the Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle;" wherefore lift up your heads. And because this exhortation is of great consequence, and men are slow to receive, I exhort you to it again, at verse 9: "Lift up your heads, O ye gates, even lift them up, ye everlasting doors, and the King of glory shall come in." Now the Lord grant that we may also lift up our heads and gates, that this King of glory may come in among us, not as a judge to condemn us, but as our bridegroom to love us.