and he shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the tenrple of the Lord: even he shall build the temple of the Lord; and he shall bear the glory." Zech. vi. 12, 13. See also, Isa. xxvii. 2, 3. lv. 11. Ezek. xxxvi. 25, 26. The New Testament teaches the same doctrine. "Without me ye can do nothing." John xv. 5,6. "I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ; for it is the power of God unto salvation." Rom. i. 16. A few simple facts may be added, to illustrate and corroborate the same truth.When" they which were scattered abroad, upon the persecution that arose about Stephen," preached the Lord Jesus Christ, "the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number believed and turned unto the Lord." Acts xi. 21. See Sauls conversion, Acts ix, and Lydia's, Acts xvi. All believers experience "the exceeding greatness of God's power towards them," and are called "God's workmanship." Eph. i. 18, ii. 10. "Ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building"-agreeably to this declaration of the word of God, the standards of our church assert, that the "Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word an effectual means of conversion." In like manner they say "that the sacraments become effectual means of salvation not from any virtue which is in him that doth administer them, but only by the blessing of Christ and his Spirit which. they by faith receive."

All the above texts so obviously apply to, and support our present position, that we need not dwell upon it, and shall therefore only add here, that besides the direct affirmation of our text, the figurative language and allusion of it, affords a clear proof and striking illustration, that it is the "Lord strong and mighty” who makes the seed to grow. The church is compared in the text to a garden or vineyard in which some plant, and others water.— The planter comes first, and may denote the person whose ministry is made effectual in conveying the seed of divine grace into the soul. The waterer may mean the person whose ministry is blessed for edifying, comforting, confirming and helping forward the converted sinner in knowledge, faith, joy, hope, and in all the christian tempers. Now how is it with a field or vineyard? No one needs to be told in reference to a garden or a farm, that the husbandman would plough, sow and dress his fields in vain, without the prolific influences of the light and heat and dews of heaven. It is the sun and the rain that cause the small seeds, cast into the ground, to take root, swell, spring up,into a trunk, leaves, blossoms and fruit. It is precisely so as to the vineyard of our souls. Without the enlivening and fructifying influences of the Spirit of God, the good seed of the word will never take root in

the heart, shoot up, and burst forth in all the rich blossoms of love and faith, hope and patience, joy, meekness, zeal, humility, and those good works and words whereby God is glorified. The grace of God keeps the seed from being plucked out of the heart, from being choked by thorns, and from withering and dying by the way side-it causes the principles and habits of holiness to thrive and flourish more and more in the soul, till every root of bitterness is plucked up, and the plant of grace is transplanted into the paradise of God. It is an important consideration also, that all the influences of the Spirit of God are the subject-matter of the promises of God and of the prayers of his church. Now why should these be either promised or prayed for, if not necessary to the success of the gospel? Instead of praying without ceasing, we may cease praying altogether, if the efficacy of means does not depend on God. The ordinance of prayer distinctly implies that we may labour and watch night and day, and all to no purpose, unless God open the windows of heaven and pour down his blessing upon us. Hence, all the greatest and best ministers have been eminently men of prayer.

But the doctrine of the sole efficacy of God is of such extreme importance that we must not thus dismiss it. And whether we look at the instruments themselves, or at the persons towards whom their instrumentality is directed, we shall find, we think, some very forcible proofs illustrative of it.

A most conclusive proof may be drawn from the very nature of the instruments and means employed in the sacred work of gathering in sinners, and building up saints. We have already proved that all instruments possess no innate independent efficacy of their own. We shall now show that the fair conclusion from this is, neither more nor less than what the apostle asserts, "that it is God who giveth the increase"-that wherever increase takes place, it is the sole doing of "the Lord strong and mighty."Does not the history of the ministry show that the most surprising and extraordinary effects have sometimes been produced by means obviously and utterly disproportioned and inadequate to the visible and striking effect: the history of the cure of Naaman's leprosy comes full in point. 2 Kings chapter v. Upon a supposition of natural fitness and virtue in river water to cure the leprosy, Naaman reasoned well when he said, “are not Abana and Pharpar, rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel; may I not wash in them and be clean?" But upon the supposition that means depend wholly on God for their efficacy, his reasoning had no reason in it. And when the leprous man forthwith became clean upon dipping seven times in Jordan, so con

vinced was he of the presence and power of God alone rendering the means effectual, that he could not help exclaiming, “Behold now I know that there is no God in all the earth but in Israel." Was not the use, too, of so unlikely and even contrary means as a mixture of clay and spittle in restoring sight to a blind man, a striking proof that God can command efficacy to attend any means he may use, and that all the cure was entirely his gift? John ix. These events were, indeed, miraculous, but for this very reason, they afford an extraordinary demonstration, that, while God uses means, he reserves all the efficacy in his own hands, and has a just claim to all the glory of success. In all the ordinary operations of providence, the efficacy of means is as dependent on the constant energy of the Great Supreme, as in the case of miracles; but in the latter case, the fact is more visible and tangible, and therefore more striking, and precisely for this reason, that it is out of the ordinary way of providence. And in respect of the case before us, we will venture to assert, that to him whose understanding is enlightened to discern the things of the Spirit of God, the interposition of God will not appear more certain and decisive in the case of Naaman, and the blind man, than in every instance where the sinner is turned from darkness to light, from his idols to the living God. Consider the greatness of the obstacles to be overcome, the sinfulness and infirmity of the instruments employed, and the greatness of the effects produced, that you may thence estimate the exceeding greatness of the power which makes the ministry of the gospel effectual; and having done all this, then say whether the cure of the leprosy by washing in the Jordan, or the restoring of sight by a mixture of clay and spittle, was one whit more wonderful, than is the opening of the eyes of the spiritually blind by the human voice. Well might Paul call himself and his brother apostles, "earthen vessels" into which the treasure of the gospel was put. All of these were mere sinful men, and all except Paul, were destitute of the advantages of a learned education, were men of low birth, of no office or rank in the state, had nothing to give them influence with mankind, and were liable every moment to be crushed by their enemies. What poor instruments, humanly speaking, were such men to encounter a prejudiced world, lying in wickedness; an interested priesthood, wise philosophers, despotic rulers; malicious, stubborn Jews, Greek learning, and Roman power; all the enmity, unbelief and deceitfulness of the human heart: yet they increased and prevailed. Now could success in such circumstances be owing to the mere power of words, or to any natural means possessed by the apostles, with such a host of

difficulties before them: every minister is in a similar situation with Jehosaphat, when he said, "O Lord we have no might against this great host, neither know we what to do, wherefore our eyes are up unto thee O God." When we succeed in such circumstances, is not the power of God as manifestly present as in any miracle ever wrought? And the weaker the instrument, the greater always is the display of the power of God. To employ weak instruments to produce great effects is to magnify the power of Him that wields the instrument. This is equally a dictate of reason and a doctrine of scripture: speaking on this very point, the Spirit of God dictates, that "God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea,and things which are not, to bring to nought things which are; that no flesh should glory in his presence." 1 Cor. i. 27-29. By such weak instruments the gospel is administered with this very design, that the excellence of the power by which sinners are persuaded to embrace it may be seen and known to belong to God and not at all to the instruments. "God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us." 2 Cor. iv. 6. 7. What a glorious practical proof and illustration of this point was given, by the addition of three thousand souls in one day to the church, (Acts 41,) and again of five thousand (Acts iv. 4.) as the fruit of apostolical preaching and miracles! Thus, "God giveth power to the feeble,and to those that have no might he increaseth strength.” Isa. xl. 29. The Jewish rulers, elders and scribes never once expected the glorious effects they beheld, to be the result of the apostles' own energies, but were compelled by the pure force of evidence, in spite of their own violent prejudices to bear reluctant testimony to the powerful and intimate presence of Jesus Christ and his servants. "Now, when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." And how often is it seen in the progress of ages, that men, upright, pious, well acquainted with their Bibles, with the feelings and language of christians, but of few other talents or accomplishments of any kind, yet do far exceed in real usefulness and success, men of the brightest minds and richest acquisitions. Every such instance is a fresh evidence

that God is with his servants in the ministry, "working in them,” making his word quick and powerful, wielding the axe and the hammer of his own word, so as to cleave assunder the joints and the marrow, to mollify the hard heart, and search all the innermost parts of the soul.

But if God demonstrates his own presence by rendering weak instruments eminently successful, he equally shows the necessity of his presence by often withholding success from instruments of the greatest natural fitness and power. The same conclusion legitimately follows from both these views of the case. Was not the Son of God the greatest of all ministers. Never man spake as he did; yet his planting and watering produced little increase. "How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not. His own received him not." They turned away their ears from him and turned him out of their towns. Israel was not gathered. From so excellent a ministry, as that of the Son of God himself proving ineffectual, is not the inference flashed upon us, that the ministration of the Spirit is absolutely necessary to make the best means efficacious? According to the arrangements of the covenant of grace, all the saving efficacy of the gospel must proceed from the Holy Spirit; when his influence is withheld, the ministry of the Saviour himself shall be in vain: when this is granted, his disciples, endued with "power from on high," shall preach with far more success than their very master.

Again: the Bible is the best of books, the book of God, of truth, and of life; the engine which the Spirit of God employs in working the salvation of a lost world. But in how many hands is this blessed book, to whom it proves a dead letter, neither spirit nor life: those who proudly hope of human nature would think that the proposals of grace in the Bible would find a powerful advocate in every human bosom, and, had it any intrinsic efficacy, all who read, or hear, and understand it, would experience its saving virtue. But what is the fact: is it so? or has it ever been so in any christian nation, city, congregation or family? The generality could not more eagerly pursue the "lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eye, and the pride of life," if it were written in the Bible, "if ye live after the flesh ye shall go to heaven." One minister comes clothed in the terrible glories of Sinai, says as the Saviour did," Wo unto you hypocrites; ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell: Matt. xxiii. 33. but neither the fires of Sinai will melt and break up the icy apathy of the heart, nor the roar of its thunder rouse the slumbering energies of conscience. Next comes a Barnabas, a