gious establishments, and civil governments. And, in this place, heaven and earth are prophetically employed to denote the religious and political theocracy of Israel; or their divinely organized constitution in Church and State. The shaking of the heavens and earth, therefore, which was to take place at the appearance of Messiah, was the total dissolution of the Jewish economy. The whole of their ceremonial institution having received its fulfilment, was to be superseded and abrogated. Their temple itself was to be destroyed; and thus their legal worship, of which the temple-service was an essential part, rendered utterly impracticable. And the sceptre, already departing from Judah, was completely to be snatched from his hand-their civil state wholly abolished-and their nation extirpated from Canaan, and dispersed far and wide among all countries. Though, by the wonderful providence of God, they are preserved a distinct people, yet they are a people without settlement or government, and are treated as aliens in every land.

In fine, the prediction that God would shake not only the heavens and the earth, or the Church and State of Israel, but also “all nations," was fulfilled. The heathen oracles in every country were silenced; the idol temples in many places were deserted; and the kingdom of Satan was made to totter to its basis. Wherever the heralds of the cross went, proclaiming the glad tidings of salvation, multitudes were made obedient to the faith; and in a short time Christian churches were organized in almost every part of the Roman empire, which constituted the greater part of the then known world. Thus a shaking took place in the religious systems of all nations, and the kingdom of Christ was erected on the ruins of Satan's empire.

III. Let us now attend to the pre-eminent glory with which the second temple was then to be filled, and which was to render it superior to the first:-"I will fill this house with

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glory, saith the Lord of Hosts." And in the 9th verse it is added—“ The glory of this latter house shall be greater than of the former, saith the Lord of Hosts." The temple built by Solomon was the most magnificent and beautiful superstructure which ever was erected by the hands of men. was the boast of the Jewish nation, and the astonishment and envy of all surrounding lands. The second temple, to which the prediction in my text relates, in many respects was greatly inferior. Not only were its dimensions less, and its external splendour vastly inferior, but also its internal riches. Though many of the sacred vessels which Nebuchadnezzar had carried away from the former temple, were restored to the Jews by Cyrus, and placed in the latter; yet there was much that was lost irrecoverably. Besides its vessels of gold and of silver, and other costly ornaments, which had perished in the ruins of the former temple, the latter was stripped of the glory of the former in the following respects. The ark of the covenant was lost with all its sacred furniture—namely, the tables of the law, the pot of manna, and Aaron's rod that budded. The shechinah, the bright cloud, the symbol of the Divine presence, was withdrawn. The urim and thummim, or breastplate, whereby the high-priest discovered the Divine will, was also gone. And the sacred fire which came down from heaven, and which was kept continually burning on the altar, was now extinguished.

These defects, however, were more than compensated to the latter temple by the personal presence of Christ. In him it was beautified and enriched by the true ark; containing infinitely grander memorials of Divine care and love. Instead of a shadowy resemblance of Deity, it was honoured with the real presence of Immanuel, God incarnate. It had a greater high-priest, who, without urim or thummim, was capable of revealing all his Father's counsels. Nor could it need the sacred fire to render the sacrifices more acceptable to God, since Jesus was about to offer one of

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infinite value, which should for ever put an end to sin-offerings. Thus did it excel in glory, even in those very particulars in which it appeared most defective. In fine, Christ frequently visited this latter temple, and by his presence conferred upon it peculiar glory. In infancy he was brought into it by his parents, and hailed by Simeon and Anna as the consolation and glory of Israel. At twelve years of he sat there among the learned doctors of the law, hearing and asking them questions. And after he commenced his public ministry, it was the place of his frequent resort. There he displayed the glory of his Divine power, in the astonishing miracles which he performed. The blind and the lame resorted thither to him, and he healed them all. There he displayed the glory of his authority as Lord of his own house, by purging the temple, and driving thence those who had profaned it, by converting it into a place of merchandise; and so struck were they with awe, that not one of them dared to resist his will. There he displayed the glory of the riches and freedom of his grace, when he loudly proclaimed salvation, and invited thirsty souls to come to him, and to drink the water of life. And, in a word, there he manifested the glory of Godhead, veiled in a mantle of clay. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." Fully, therefore, was the prediction verified, and the glory of this latter house made greater than of the former.

1. Let me ask you, my brethren, and let each of you ask himself, Is Christ the supreme desire of your heart? The question is not whether you profess to desire and love Christ; for by far the greater part of my audience do so; but the point is, whether you do so in truth. His own words are, "Not every one that saith unto me Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father, which is in heaven." Nor is it every kind of desire of

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Christ which ought to satisfy you, and which will be an evidence that you are his true friends. He himself has assured us, that "unless we esteem him more than father or mother, we cannot be his disciples." How few, alas! how few are there who thus desire Christ! And yet, blessed be God, there are some among us! Are you of this number? Have you learned, by the teaching of his Word and Spirit, how precious he is in his person as Immanuel-in all his mediatorial offices-and in the riches of his grace, as one both able and willing to save? Pressed by a sense of guilt and danger, have you fled to him for refuge, as your only hope? Are your desires now habitually to him, and to the remembrance of his name? And do you manifest your attachment to him, by a sacred regard to his will and honour?

2. Let me speak a word to those who experience no desires after Christ. Though I would be glad to think this was not the case with an individual present; yet I dare not cherish the thought. Without doubt, among so many, there are some who, to this hour, have never seen the preciousness of Christ, nor desired him as their Saviour and their portion. To you, after all that has been said of him, he is " as a root sprung out of a dry ground; he has no form or comliness; and when you see him," exhibited in the gospel, "there is no beauty that you should desire him." You prefer to him the perishing, the vain, and the sinful enjoyments of this world! Slighters and despisers of Christ, tremble at your doom, if death should overtake you in your present state. Thus saith the voice of the Holy Ghost," If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, he shall be Anathema Maranatha ;"-accursed from him at his coming to judgment. "Behold ye despisers, and wonder and perish!" No, rather let me yet beseech you, "to look to Christ and be saved." Think, seriously think, of your own extreme need of a Saviour, and that Jesus is the only one capable of saving you! "Neither is there salvation in any other."

3. Is there a time coming when Christ shall be " the desire of all nations?" Let us frequently and fervently pray for its arrival. The exertions made in our day for diffusing the sweet savour of Jesus' name, are truly great and praiseworthy. Multitudes of all ranks and denominations in our country, have honoured themselves by putting their hand to this work, in as far as the contribution of a little money for this purpose is concerned. In this we rejoice, and will rejoice. But of the tens of thousands who thus aid the work of missions to heathen lands, how few comparatively join prayers with their pecuniary contributions? Even among those of whom better things might be expected, this duty is much neglected, except in public meetings. Let it be otherwise with you, my brethren. In addition to your exemplary assistance by money, in your families, and in your closets, pour forth your supplications that Christ may soon be "the desire of all nations." Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence, and give him no rest, till he "establish, and till he make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."

4. It is the presence of Christ which constitutes the true glory of any church. Mankind are too apt to imagine that much of the glory of their church consists in the magnificence of the building where they assemble for worship. Hence the lofty vaulted roofs-the massy columns-the towering spires, and costly ornaments, which decorate, in the eye of man, many churches in our land. It is readily admitted, that a becoming decency, and a regard to convenience and comfort, ought not in this respect to be overlooked, when it is in men's power. But far ought we to be from pluming ourselves on account of the splendour of the stones, and timber, and trappings of the house of prayer. These may be grand and beautiful, where Ichabod is writtenthe true glory is departed. Our fathers, when they were compelled to serve God in mountains and moors, and in homely cottages, or lonely barns, enjoyed much of the true