160 THE HOLLY-BUSH. 



his garments. Lovely and precious indeed is the 

 accepted Saviour, to the souls who have made him 

 their refuge : terrible, beyond what heart can con- 

 ceive, will be the slighted, the rejected, Saviour, 

 to those who, going on frowardly in the way of 

 their own hearts, make light of his offered salva 

 tion, and treasure up for themselves the most 

 dreadful of all inflictions — the wrath of the Lamb. 

 I am deeply convinced, that an apprehension of 

 being led into the unscriptural lengths to which 

 some have carried their speculations on unfulfilled 

 prophecy, drives many into the opposite extreme 

 of shrinking from the contemplation of that which 

 is clearly revealed. Our Lord has given us a 

 solemn, a reiterated injunction to watch for those 

 things that, in the fulness of time, shall come to 

 pass : he has made his warnings profitable to every 

 intermediate period of the church ; but, inasmuch 

 as it is not his will to add another revelation to 

 what is already perfect, he has laid down marks 

 and signs whereby his people may safely judge 

 when the events predicted are about to take place. 

 Around us, in this our day, every sign is rapidly 

 accumulating, — and shall we close our eyes to the 

 awful fact ? — shall we refuse to w T atch, and to ex- 

 pect the fulfilment to which God himself vouch- 

 safes to direct our attention? — shall we arraign his 

 wisdom, in preparing us for those things that are 



'I 



beginning to come%pon the earth? Long has 



