The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1851-03-25 00:00:00

d that attraction with

love without effort

spontaneousnes

Thus, his moral r

owers were very
111 the inferior

His affections, passions, and
_ culties of the soul—for there is subordination in ever_
hing—were handmaids to the great design. They eacl
_ministered their part to this beautiful response to the will
and law of his God. Lova stood before the altar, and
pouring on the sacred incense, kept up the hallowed flame.
Holy Fear, with reverential awe, bowed beforethe sanctuary

told its raptures in hosannas of never-ceasing praise ;
and sought on earth to join those songs which angelic
beings Poured forth before the throne of God. Whit(
conscience as yet unsullied, beheld as God's vice-gerent
the hallowed service, and gave its approbation as tbe
voice of God. Hope was not there. Man had nothing
to hope for. He was full. His happiness was perfect.
(Hear, hear). The inferior creatures were all very good :
each in its kind answering perfectly the object of its
creation ; and all in peaceful subjection to man, and har-
mony with one another. The wolf and the lamb, the
leopard and the kid, the cow and the bear, the lion and
the ox, all met in peace before Adam, to receive their
names from him, and whatsoever he called each
of them, that was its appropriate title. Their food, by
divine grant, was limited to the herbs of the field. There
was no occasion for the shedding of blood, or the infliction
of the slightest pain, no touch of corruption, no trace or
approach of death. The trees, and shrubs, and flowers
were very good ; presenting proofs innumerable of the
tenderness and loving kindness, as well as excoisite skill
of film who made them all. There was no drawback, no

disturbing phenomena, no shattering storm, or nipping
frost, or blighting fog, to cause the least embarrassment
.in the mind of their thoughtful human master of the
character of God, that had made the scene. Oh ! what a
glimpse of the world as it shall be, have we in this tran-
sient scene of the world as it was : it was pleasing to Him
that made it, and He will never cease till He make it
pleasing to Himself again. (Applause.) This lovely
scene was transient it is true ; but transient though it was
it was real. And brief as it was, it has left behind
it this imperishable lesson, which should never be lost
sight of—namely, that there is no necessary connexion
between matter and sin, matter and decay, matter and
death. The connexion we now so painfully experience
is an adventitious one, brought in by sin, and to be
driven out by righteousness. It is in no way inherent,
whether the matter be that of the globe we tread upon,
or that of which the human body is composed. The
lesson, I repeat, taught by the portion of divine truth
presented to our minds is this—that there may be matter
where there is no sin, and that, therefore. those who
imagine, that in order to get rid of sin, we must get rid
of matter—that, in order to mortify sin, we must
mortify matter—are in opposition to the truth of God.
(Cheers.) Now, sir, in the second place, a steadier view
of" the world as it shall be," is given to us in the sure word
of prophecy. After a full admission, nay a copious de-
scription of the existing evils, under which the whole crea-
tion is still groaning and travailing in pain, the Divine
Spirit expressly declares that this same groaning creation
shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption. It
was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason
of him who hath subjected it, under hope, or into a state of

hope. Adam, to whose government it was originally en.
trusted, who was constituted its lord and master, was the
offender. By his sin he brought a curse upon the whole
earth,—" cursed is the ground for thy sake"—a curse,
the effects of which have pervaded every department
of nature, arming creature against creature in destruc-
tive enmity, and sweeping away whole generations
of creatures, age after age, by death; a curse which has
left in man just enough of what hevras to make him dis-

satisfied with what he is, but not enough to enable him to
make himself what he will be. (Cheers.) Hope is his
present charmer. Ho has been cast down from a condi-
tion in which there was nothing left to hope for, all was
so perfect, into a condition where all is so disappointing
that his best joys are in hope. (Hear.) And now the hope
is, that there is a better time coming ; an i so there is—
there is. (Cheers.) But how so ? How. or by whom ?
A God-Man has come to the rescue. A God-Alan has
done all that is needful to render the restitution legal ;
and at His appointed time He returns to make that resti-
tution actual. Of this restitution it has pleased God to
speak by the mouth of His holy prophets, who have been
ince the world began—(Here there was a slight inter-
g to the densely crowded state

ruption in the gallery, owi
of that part of the building.)
The CHAIRMAN expressed a hope that silence would be
preserved in the gallery.
The Rev. LECTURER observed,—They are there, sir,
so crowded, that they cannot keep quiet altogether.
(Cheers and laughter.) There is only one consideration

for a case like this. You are fond of 'fair play. (" Hear,
hear," and loud cheers.) Well, fair play in a house
like this is, first come first served—(" hear, hear,")—
and, if you find a house like this, as it now is, already so
filled that you cannot get in without annoying your
urs, in the name of fair play give it up as a bad
go home. (Loud cheering and laughter, and fur-
ht confusion from the overcrowded state of the
The Rirv. GENTLEMAN proceeded—There is a
me coming—for silence. (Hear, hear, laughter,
ed cheering.) I have just brought your minds

job-and

)se statements of the prophets, which declare the res-
on of all things here on earth. The heavens must re-
tbeLordJesus Christ until the time appointed for the
'.f all things. It is in no way necessary that He
actual possession of his kingdom
...chase. He des;-
r having accomol'

rest:tutior

nto th,

upon making th

purchase

kething different

that aft,

purchase, and finished that part of the work, he should
retire from the scene, and put his friends upon a state of
trial, a spiritual trial, during his absence, that He might
live amongst those who are faithful companions of his
to tzke possession of his
For, you must remember,
1, too, that our Lord Jesus
7—he canbe but in

reign when he returns
kiagdom. (Hear. hear.)

Christian Friend

at a time,