Sermon 382. The Last Census

A SERMON DELIVERED ON SUNDAY MORNING, APRIL 14, 1861,

BY REV. C. H. SPURGEON,

AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON.

"The Lord shall record, when He registers the people, that this man was born there." Psalm 87:6. SEVERAL times, according to the record of Scripture, there was a census taken of the people of God. When Jacob went downinto Egypt all his offspring were numbered, and they were three score and ten souls. How small, then, the visible Church ofChrist; it could be contained within a single tent; it had sprung of but a solitary man. All those, then, who feared Jehovah,as far as it is known to us, were of the race of Jacob. There was another census taken when the people came up out of Egypt,and if you read in the earlier Chapter of the Book of Numbers you will be astonished at the wonderful multiplication whichhad taken place in the land of Egypt, the house of bondage. Truly, the more they were oppressed the more they multiplied.There were 600,000 footmen, all prepared for battle, besides women and children, and aged men who were exempt from the toilsof warfare. There was another census taken after the people had been 38 years in the wilderness. Through their sin they hadnot been multiplied. So many had fallen in the wilderness, that notwithstanding the natural increase, the population stoodat very nearly the same rate, or-taking the armed men as the standard-about 2,000 less than it was when they first enteredinto the howling wilderness. You have further on in history another instance of the taking of the census, or rather of anattempt to do it, when David commanded Joab, the captain of the host, to go through all the tribes and number the people fromDan even to Beersheba. The people were God's people. When He numbered them, well and good; but none but the Sovereign powerhas a right to take the census of the people. David, forgetting that he was only God's viceroy, that he stood not as kingin Israel, except as under the constitution which God had established, presumes to invade the priestly prerogative and committo Joab the Levitical office of numbering the people, and that without offering the shekels of sanctuary or giving the tributeof redemption. So flagrant was the breach of the laws of Israel, that even Joab was quick to remonstrate. But before Davidcould effect the task, the Word of God had come out against him, and three days of pestilence, or three years of famine, ora period of flight before their enemies, who would defeat them in war, were offered to him as dread alternatives for the punishmentof his sin. So did God seem to say, "Jehovah shall number the people, but David shall not." God shall count His redeemed,and number His elect, but man shall not venture to touch the mysterious roll. None but the Lamb shall take that Book and openevery seal. That Lamb's Book of Life is not to be read except by the eyes of Him who bought the people with His blood; norare the people to pass under any hand to be counted except under the hand of Him that counts them, even the great ShepherdHimself. My Brothers and Sisters, according to the text, there is one day to be a great census taken of the Church of God. It isconcerning that one census, final and decisive, that I shall have to speak this morning. May God grant that of all of us itmay be said, when the Lord registers the people, "This man was born there."

Concerning this writing up of the census I shall take four or five points. First, we shall notice what this writing will involve"when the Lord registers the people;" secondly, whose names will not be found written in the census; thirdly, whose nameswill be there; fourthly, who will register thepeople; and then lastly, why will it be done at all

I. When this dispensation shall come to its close, when the Lord Jesus Christ shall come in the clouds of Heaven, when allHis people shall be gathered to Him to share His splendors and to delight themselves in His triumph, then we believe the Lordshall register His people. WHAT WILL THISREGISTERING BE?

There will be written in this census nothing but personal matters. If you note my text, it says, "This man was born there."They are not taken in the plural-these men. They are not taken as a corporate body-this nation, this church, this family-butone by one each man's name shall be foundeither written there or else left out. Personal matters alone will come into the great census paper of eternity. There isno truth which we need more frequently to hold up before the eyes of our people than the truth that nothing but personal godlinesswillever avail! If you couldtrace your pedigree through a line of saints up to the Apostles, no, up to Mary herself, the mother of our Savior, yet,unless you did yourself believe in Christ, and had yourself been the subject of the personal change which is called regeneration,you should in no wise enter intothe Kingdom of Heaven. No connections, however admirable; no relations, however desirable, no proxies, however excellent,shall ever avail for any dying man! We must ourselves stand before God, each man for himself, to be acquitted, or to be condemned-tohear, "Come, you blessed,"or "Depart, you cursed one." There may be, and there always must be, when we take men in the mass, (and God often in HisProvidence deals with men in the mass), there may be innocent persons who suffer in the common calamity. There are likewisewicked men who rejoice in commonmercies. But at the last the evil shall be unto the evil; and the good shall be unto the good. The wheat shall be unmixedwith chaff; the wine shall no more be mingled with the water; the gold shall not become dimmed through alloy. God's people,each of them personally accepted, andthe wicked, each of them personally condemned, shall meet their final doom! See to it, Sir, each one of you, that you personallyhave an interest in the blood of the Lamb!

Again, you will perceive that this great census deals not merely with personal matters, but with vitalmatters which concerna man's birth. Here you have it that this man was born there. 'Tis true the things we have thought, and those we have doneshall be mentioned at the last, but not for theirown sakes. They shall be mentioned only as means of proving that we were born-again, or else as evidence that regenerationhad never taken place in us! The vital question which the Lord's Great Day shall touch will be this-"Was that man ever calledfrom darkness into marvelouslight? Was that heart ever turned from stone to flesh? Were those eyes ever opened to the celestial light? Were those earsever ready to listen to the Divine command? Was there a vital, radical change insomuch that old things had passed away, andall things had become new? If not,in the golden roll of the Redeemed our names can have no place. When the roll is called, our names will not be mentioned,and we shall stand shivering with dismay because our names are left out when God calls- "Gather My saints together unto Me,those who have made a covenant withMe by sacrifice."

Mark, once more, the matters with which the census shall have to do will be decisive. Perhaps, my Hearer, your name couldnot be written today among the regenerate, but there is hope yet, and we trust by God's Grace before you go from here, youmay have a portion among the sanctified. If we couldtake today the number of God's people, at present converted, I thank God that before another hour it would be imperfect,for there would have been others added to the visibly-called of God. But the last census shall be final! To its number noneshall be added-from its multitudenone subtracted. Once let that be taken, and the angel shall cry in Heaven, "He that is holy let him be holy still." Andhis voice shall reverberate to Hell, but other words shall he sound there-"He that is filthy, let him be filthy still." Thatshall be the last polling of thepeople, the last counting of the jewels and casting away of the counterfeits, the last bringing in of the sheep and banishmentof the goats. This makes it all-important that you and I should know today whether, "when the Lord registers the people, itshall be said that this man wasborn there." Oh that we were wise to look into the future! We are so bat-like, we see but so small a distance. We only seetime and its trickeries, its paint, its gilt. Oh that we were wise that we understood this, that we would remember our latterend! So that come the census daywhen it may, we may each have our name written beneath our Lord the Lamb in some humble place among the chosen of the Lordour God. This census, then, will involve-personal, vital, decisive matters!

II. Let us now ask-WHOSE NAMES WILL NOTBE FOUND WRITTEN WHEN THE LORD REGISTERS HIS PEOPLE? Now this is a question which noman can answer to the fullest. But with God's Word before us, supposing that the characters I mention shall be at the LastDay what they are now, we can tell you with adecision that is infallible, whose names will notbe found there.

And first, for these are the most likely people to be deceived, the name of the hypocritical Church member will not be foundthere. You have entered the church for the sake of gain or respectability. You have made a profession which is a lie. Youhave assumed a garb which is but the sheep's skinwhile you yourself remain a wolf. You have a name to live, but are dead. You have whitewashed the sepulcher, but it is stilla sepulcher. Oh Sir! It is one thing to have deceived the Elder or the deacon; it is one thing to have misled and to havecajoled the minister; it is onething to have won the respect and the esteem of the church, but it is another thing to escape undetected from the fieryGlance which can read the secret things of the belly, and before which even Hell and death are naked and unveiled! Do not,I pray you, hope that your masquer-ading, your spiritual pretenses, shall be of any use before Him! He shall tear your garments in pieces, and you shall standnaked to be the target for all His arrows; you shall be banished to the place where the hissing, the rebuke, and the reproachof all the ungodly shall descendforever and ever! I tell you, your name may be in the church rolls without a blot, and no man may have suspected you, butexcept a man be born-again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. Church members, try yourselves, the oldest and the best of you;yes, and you, too, try yourself, Opreacher, lest after having preached to others, you also should be a castaway! Oh, let us never take our religion from othermen's opinions, not even from the opinion of the best of men! I would not be satisfied even with the assurance of an Apostle,if it came from his ownjudgment, we must have the assurance of the Holy Spirit, the Witness within us that we are born of God.

Again, among the names that will notbe found there, we may mention the man who is a mere hearer. How many there are amongyou today whom we could but describe as hearers only! The ear is tickled, the mind is interested, the gaze is fixed upon thepreacher. 'Tis well. God be thanked that so many arewilling to listen to the Word of God. But to be a hearer and not a believer will involve no salvation. To have had the seedsown, but for the seed never to have taken root will never give a harvest. To have had the Light of God shining upon sightlesseyes will have been of no use,or giving of sight. To have sat in these pews, though some of you may sit for 20 years-unless the Word is received intothe heartthrough the Grace of God-will minister rather to your damnation than to your salvation! Mark this, my Hearers, ifwe are not "a savor of life untolife," we must be "a savor of death unto death;" and in either case, we are unto God a sweet smelling savor as well in thosewho perish as in those who are save. I know what a great many people think if they are regular church-goers, if they are alwaysin their place twice on theSunday, that is as much as can be expected of them. I tell you, Sirs, that you may make your church-going into a sin ifyou go to hear a Gospel which you reject! If you rest in your church-goings or your chapel-goings, you have rested in a lie,you have built upon the sand, and inthe last Great Day if you shall cry, "We have eaten, we have drunk with You, and You have taught in our streets;" He shallsay, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of iniquity."

There is a man yonder, too, whose name is not written and will not be found written there, unless some great change shalltake place-I mean yonder young man, who is saying, "I will repent, I will seek a Savior; I desire to be washed in His blood."Young man, you have said that 20 times before!You said it when you left your mother's roof, and she rejoiced in the resolution. You said it when last the fever came intothe establishment and you lay sick. You said it, Sir, when last time conscience pricked you, because you had retired to restat night, and had omitted theprayer in which you had been so early trained; and you say it today! But "unstable as water you do not excel." Your promisemade in your own strength is but a broken reed! Your penitence is as the morning cloud and as the early dew. You are pavingyour road to Hell with your goodintentions. Up, Sluggard! Up! Pull up those paving stones and hurl them at the old Fiend who longs to keep you at this drearywork of making a smooth path to your destruction! Oh, my dear Friends, perhaps one of the worst of Satan's snares is the promissorynote. Under a sermon,when the sinner has been awakened, the devil gets him to say, "Well, I will think of these things by-and-by." As you heardthe other night, indifferent people are the most hopeless of all, because even when awakened, procrastination lulls them tosleep again! If Felix had hastilysaid to Paul, "Paul, I hate and despise you; you are an impostor;" there had been some little hope that in his quiet mood,reason might reverse the words which he had uttered; but when he said in bland tones, tones which deceived himself, thoughnot the Apostle, "Go your way forthis time, when I have a more convenient season I will send for you;" then might you have read upon the brow of Felix withspiritual eyes these words-"This is one who knows the Truth, but follows not its dictates. His damnation is as sure as itis just." I had infinitely ratherhear, as I have sometimes heard, and as we constantly do, words of abuse against the minister, and language of hatred againstthe Gospel, than I would hear some of you who speak fair but mean foul, those who protest but belie, whose resolutions arelike bad money or forged checks,which he who takes, loses thereby, and he who believes is deceived! Your name, Sir, unless there is something more thanthis, will never be found written there!

Scarcely necessary is it, I think, to say that those men and women who are living in vice and open sin, and who die as theylive, will never find their names written there. No drunk shall ever reel across the golden streets. No oath of the blasphemershall ever shock the ear of angels! No lightfrothy or lascivious song shall ever taint the ears of perfection. Eden is not the place for thieves. Paradise is not thespot for harlots. Men and women who die with such blots upon their character, and such sins upon their souls shall find atHeaven's gate the angels say, "Thereshall in no wise enter here anything that defiles."

And you, too, you moralists, against whose character no accusation can be brought-if you never received the new heart, youwill be as surely shut out as the immoral! The honest tradesman who was only dishonest to his God, shall find dishonesty thereto be damnable; the upright man who had nocrooked ways except towards Christ and His holy Gospel, shall find those crooked ways destroy his soul. The man who saidhe loved his neighbor but forgot his God, shall find that "the wicked shall be cast into Hell with all the nations that forgetGod." Oh, my dear Hearers, exceptyou have faith in Christ, except you have the Spirit of God in you, except you repent and are converted, there is a barsterner than iron, and more durable than steel, which will shut you out of the place of happiness, and in the number of thesaints your names shall never be found!

III. We shall now turn to a more pleasing work-WHOSE NAME WILL BE FOUND THERE?

When you made up the census paper last Monday morning, there may have been a thief in the house in the night. I suppose youdid not put his name down. There may have been some person who, that night, knocked at the door and was, for some short timeunder your roof, but who went out from you becausehe was not of you, for if he had been of you, doubtless he would have continued with you. I know that you did not put hisname there. You recorded there the names of the inhabitants of the house, but of no one else. Now, then, it shall be so atthe last great census. Whose nameshall be there? We reply, there shall be the name of every soul who ever believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, whoever fledto the Cross for refuge, whoever turned his tearful eyes to Calvary as his hope, whoever stretched out his finger to touchthe hem of the sacred garment-theseshall surely find their names there as well as the mightiest of the Prophets or the chief of the Apostles! Brothers andSisters, we will take those who think themselves most likely to be left out, and we remark that there will be found therethe name of the poorest. When this lastcensus was taken, the paper was sent as much to the hovel of the poor in St. Giles's, as to the palace of the rich in St.James's. None were left out! The Act of Parliament was not passed to take a census of the rich-it was not needed that thereshould only be those written whopaid a certain amount of tax; but as they were all subjects, the name of the beggar was recorded in the register as wellas the name and title of the peer! So shall it be at the last. If you have believed in Christ, though you did never glitteron the pages of heraldry, though ragswere your dress and penury your portion, yet in as fair a place as those who have worn a coronet, and have yet feared God,shall you find your name! Oh, let us never imagine that because a man wears fustian, or is clothed in corduroy, he has theslightest less reason to hope that heshall be saved! Not many great men after the flesh, not many mighty are chosen, but God has chosen the poor of this world,rich in faith, to be the helm of the Kingdom, so that if there is an advantage either way, it is where some would dream itshould least be given! But, then, asthe poorest, so the weakest saint shall be found there. You did not omit the name of your daughter because with some spinaldisease she has been so long afflicted that she can scarcely sit upright. You put her name there as well as that of your stalwartson, who could boldly wieldarms if it were needed to defend this country from the invader!

And, I take it, when you wrote out the list, the infant child had a place as well as the full-grown man. You felt that thecensus would not be complete, and your family list would not be well made out even if that infant whose voice was but a cry,and whose life was but a pain, should miss hisplace. All were recorded there. And so, at the last, Benjamin shall be written as well as Judah, Mephibosheth as well asDavid; he who is lame in the feet, as well as the giant in strength. Father Earnest and Mr. Great-Heart shall have their place,but Mr. Fearing and MissMuch-Afraid shall not miss their portion. Every one of those who believed in Christ, though their faith was but as a grainof mustard seed, and their spiritual life was but as the smoking flax, shall find their names written there! I would thatI could speak out this Truth of God sothat the cast down, and the all but destroyed could lay hold upon it. Are you miserable today? Your misery does not eraseyour name! Have you sinned, but do you cry, "Father, have mercy upon me"? Your sin has not blotted the writing; engraved asin eternal brass, there stands yourname! The powers of darkness shall never prevail to erase the everlasting characters. Are you today so conscious of yourunworthiness, that you dare not look up? Are you thinking, "If I said, 'Abba, Father,' it would be presumption! If I claimedthe privilege of a child, it would bearrogance"? Yet if Christ is yours, if you can stretch out your hand now and say-

"My soul would lay her hand On that dear head of Yours, While like a penitent I stand, And there confess my sin," you need not be afraid but that among the blood-bought you shallshare your lot! "Ah, my Soul, will you be there?" Pass the question now through this vast throng, and let each soul put itself into thebalances with this as the test-weight-"What do you think of Christ? Is He your only help? Do you find cleansing in His blood,healing in His wounds, life in His death, Heaven in His pains?" If so, you shall be found when the Lord registers the people,and of you it shall be said, "That man was born there."

IV. I shall now turn your attention to the next point of the subject, briefly. WHO IS TO MAKE OUT THE CENSUS PAPER?

"The Lord shall record when He registers the people." But why shall the Lord make out the census? The first reason is- Whoelse could do it?Suppose our enemies had the making out of the roll! "Oh, Lord, deliver me not over unto the will of my enemies,for false witnesses are risen up against me,and such as breathe out cruelty." I think there is none among us who would be willing to have his eternal fate decided byan evil and gain-saying world. If we could put the pen into the hand of the wicked, they would write down the offscouring,but omit the jewels; they would surelyrecord the base and the reprobate, while the chosen and precious would have no lot or portion. Imagine for a moment, mydear Friends, that the pen could be given to the old Pope of Rome, and that he had the writing up of the people. Now, my lordPope, with your triple crown uponyour head, write them out. I am sure he would omit yours and mine, because we are not obedient to the pontifical see; andeven if he were under authority and command, I am sure he would make a great splutter in trying to write the name, "MartinLuther," and he would throw down hispen and utterly refuse to obey, if he had to write the glorious name of John Calvin! Well, thanks be to God, the pen isnot in the hand of that arch-deceiver, nor in that of any of our enemies, but the Lord shall make out the census Himself.Suppose now we put the pen into the handof Bigotry-Bigotry, who lives not quite so far off as Italy-but takes up her residence in our own land and hard by our ownabode. I think I see her with her face bitter as wormwood, and with her eyes full of darkness and she, having written allthe names down, reads-"There arefew who shall be saved. They are so few that a child can count them." She makes a dash against the name of this man, forhe did not hold all the five points of a certain system! She runs her pen right through another man's, because he dared topreach to sinners-and she takes adouble dip for another, who had once ventured to say that faith was the duty of man, and unbelief was a high and damningcrime! Oh, how few would ever go to Heaven, if Bigotry had the making out of the census paper!

I might thus run through the list of all the enemies of Christ's Church, and show you that it would not be safe to trust anyof them, from the devil downward to the Pope upward, with the making up of the list of those who shall enter into the King'spalace. But, suppose our friends had the task."Yes," says one, "let my mother have the pen." Yes, if this were left with our dear friends, they would not be long beforesome of them would write in bold text hand the name of their most reprobate son, or most hardened daughter! Affection in thisworld overmasters theunderstanding-and doubtless there would be many in Heaven who would defile its purity if affection had the keeping of thegates and if understanding had no place! Yes, but young man, your mother cannot save you. She can pray and plead, but if youriniquity is written as with aniron pen, and engraved on the horns of the altar, her tears cannot-acid even though they are- eat out the dire inscriptionfrom the brass! You must be washed in blood, or else a baptism of tears will not avail. You must have the Spirit of Christ,for your mother's spirit cannotbear you on its wings to Heaven. Indeed, dear Friends, if the making out of the census paper were left even to ourselves,it were left to the wrong persons, for I take that the great end of all God's dispensations is His Glory, and if our entranceto Heaven were left to ourselves,there are many who would go there with a bee on their lips, and with blasphemy in their hearts. They would go to Glory freshfrom their sins-rising from beds of lusts to beds of bliss; they would go red with murder, black with crime, dripping withthe oozing of their vices, andHeaven would become a Sodom, and Paradise an Aceldama! The Throne of God would be no better than the Throne of Moloch, andthe place of perfection would not be preferable to Hell itself! God and God only- God the Only Wise-shall have the writingup of the people-for there isno one to be found but God who could do it!

There is a second reason which I think will strike the spiritual mind with force. "The Lord shall record when He registersthe people." Instructions were given at the late census, that the paper should be made out by " the head of the family.''"Now I suppose, though it is not always the fact, thatthe husband is the head of the household, and that the father stands in the position of the head of the family. Well, then,the Church must not make up the census paper, for she is the spouse. But He who is Head over all things to the Church, whichis His body, He by whose name thewhole family in Heaven and earth are named, He shall "Register the people." It were, indeed, impious for you or me-it wouldbring down upon our heads a penalty as heavy as that which fell on David-if we thought we could write up the people! We havesaid, perhaps, "There are onlysuch-and-such people that shall be saved," and we have turned about, and said of another, "Lord, what shall this man do?"And like John, loving spirit though he was, we have been ready to call fire from Heaven upon some, and to say of others, "Master,forbid them, because theyfollow not with us." But, Brothers and Sisters, I hope we have done with all that now. We believe the Lord knows them whoare His; they are a multitude who no man can number, and no man should ever attempt the task. They are more than bigotry wouldinclude; they are fewer than alatitudinarian charity would affirm; but be they more, or be they less, they are known only to the eternal mind, and thisis a secret into which we must not pry! The angelic footstep treads not here. Let us not be rash and foolish to pry whereangels stand back, and do not desire tolook.

I would give another reason why God and God alone, should make up this paper; had I not already anticipated myself. I meantto have said because He is the only wise God. You know it is said in Scripture that God is wise, but then it is added He is,"Only Wise." There is not another wise being uponthe face of the earth! There is not another wise being, even in Heaven itself! God is Only Wise. Even the heathen knew this.You will remember when some fishermen had found a spoil, the old Greek legend says, "Not knowing how to divide it, they repairedto the Delphic oracle, whichsaid, 'Let the wisest have it.'" They sent it to Thales, the Miletian; they sent it to Solon; it went the round of the wisemen of Greece; but they all refused it. They said no, confessed they were not the wisest; till at last one of them advisedto send it to the altar of the gods,for the gods were the wisest of all. What the heathen thus pictured in poetic fiction, we know to be true. We will not questionthis man or that, this denomination or that. It is not for us to use our fingers to count the brands plucked from the burning,but to use our hands topluck them from the fire, and we will pass the roll to the Only Wise God, and He shall at the last decide whether they areHis or not.

V. I now come to my last point. May the Spirit of God bless it to us, and seal it on our hearts-WHY WILL THE CENSUS BE TAKENAT ALL?

Why should God register the people? We answer not that God may receive fresh information. He knows all things. Not that thereis any fear of God's purposed number being incomplete. The Lord knows those who are His, and this is one of the stones onwhich the security of the Church is built. Whythen? Of course we are dealing now with a noble picture, and you must view it as a picture, though within itself it bearsa mighty fact. The Lord counts up His people, in the first place, to show His value of them. You remember that passage, "Theyshall be Mine, says the Lord, inthat day when I make up My jewels," as though the jewels had to each be put into their proper place, and then the Divineeyes should run along them all and say "Yes, they are made up. Those in the basket tally in number with those in the inventory.They are made up. Neither ruby,nor emerald, nor pearl is lacking. They are all there." God makes up His jewels; it is impossible for the human mind toconceive how dear is the poorest Believer to the heart of his Father-dearer than the widow's only child to her soul-dearerthan the new-made bridegroom to hisbride-dearer than life to those who stand in peril-dearer than honor to those who could give life rather than sacrificetheir integrity. We love, but we love not as God loves. Love with us may be an abiding passion, but with God it is an all-penetratingprinciple! Of us it maybe said, that we are loving, but of God, that He is Love itself. And well does the idea of counting up the loved ones setforth the esteem and value which He sets upon them, and the intensity and deep-seatedness of that affection which He bearstowards their persons. The Lord willmake up His jewels; He will count His sheep; He will remember the children of His family, to see if they are there who werewritten in the register of old!

Another thought strikes us. The last census shall be taken to show to Satan his entire defeat. They are all there, fiend ofHell; they are all there! What did you say, "I will pursue, I will overtake; I will divide the spoil; my lust shall be satisfiedupon them." What say you now, fiend of Hell?There is not one of them lacking! You greedy lion of the pit of Hell, have you torn one sheep? Has so much as a lamb beendragged to your infernal den? You legion hosts, who with cunning, sharpened by malice, sought to tear from the arms of Christthose whom He had sworn tosave-has the Surety done His work or not? Have you defeated Him? You have nailed Him to the tree-have you broken His bones,and robbed Him of His members? You took away His life-could you keep it? Do they not live because He lives? You struggledthrough

1,800 years and more; you grappled with these poor men and women who wrestled hard with you-did you overcome one of them?You were worsted when you fought with Job in the slippery standing of a dunghill! You were defeated when you fought with Davidon the pinnacle of the palace top, and broughthim down! You won not the victory when you seemed to win it over Peter in the Hall of Pilate. You were defeated not onceor twice, but many thousand times in the heirs of life, who fought with various success in time, but with sure success astime merged into eternity! Oh, all youhosts, look there and be ashamed, and let the songs of the white-robed be howls to you; let the shouts of the complete hostof the redeemed sink into your ears like death-knells and re-begin your Hell, for you are defeated, you are cast down; thepride of your looks is lowered, andJehovah alone is exalted in that day!

Yet once more, I think the counting up of the redeemed will be performed for another reason-to let all men see that the greatriddle which has distracted human intellect was no riddle but a fact-and facts are not riddles! What is the great mystery?It is that God decrees, that man acts; yetthat God's decrees and man acts tally with one another! Of old, before the sockets of the eternal hills were carved outof the enduring granite, before the peaks lifted themselves white with snow to glitter in the sun, before stars had visitedthe mountain summit, and looked downupon a world that had fallen into sin-yes, when this world was not, when it was uncreated, sleeping in the womb of the Divinethought as yet unborn, when suns and stars, and this brave universe itself had not begun to be formed-THEN in His book Hischosen were all written, andthe members of Christ fixed and ordained! That book was closed and sealed; it has not been opened. Now what effect can abook, a clasped sealed book, have upon the deeds of men? "None," you say. "None," I say. The decree of God as such has noeffect on any man. There it is; there itstands. But look! The world is all confusion. Never were the waves of the sea more wanton in their play. Man sins, rebels,revolts, revolts again; the checks of mercy hold him not, he breaks the bit, he scorns the yoke, and yet despite the hardnessand the freedom of man to rebelagainst his God, I see at last through Grace Omnipotent a multitude come streaming slowly in, year after year, through thegolden gates, and at last I hear the gate closed! I see it barred; and how strange shall it seem as that great sealed bookis now unclasped, it is found thatall who were written there have come! They come as they were written-come at the hourordained! They come in the place predestinated!They come by the means foreknown! They, come as God would have them come, and thus free agency did not defeat predestination,and man's will did notthwart the eternal will! God is glorified, and man free. Man-the man as he proudly calls himself-has obeyed God as trulyas though he knew what was in God's book, and had studied to make the Decree of God the very rule and method of his life!Glorious shall it be when thus thatbook shall prove the mystic energy which went out from between the folded leaves-the mysterious Spirit that emanated fromthe eternal Throne-that unseen, unmanifested, sometimes unrecognized mysterious Power, which bowed the will, and led it insilken chains; which opened up theunderstanding, and led it from darkness into light, and melted the heart, and moved the spirit, and won the entire man tothe obedience of the Truth as it was in Jesus!

I will say no more except this. Shall I be there? Will you be there? I cannot put the question better than in the words ofthat solemn hymn-

"When You, my righteous Judge, shall come To fetch Your ransomed people home- Shall I among them stand? Shall such a worthless worm as I, Who sometimes am afraid to die, Be found at Your right hand?I love to meet among them now, Before Your gracious feet to bow, Though vilest of them all- But can I bear the piercing thought-What if my name should be left out, When You for them shall call Prevent, prevent it by Your Grace! Be You, dear Lord, myhiding place, In this the accepted day- Your pardoning voice, O let me hear, To still my unbelieving fear! Nor let me fall, I pray; Let me among Your saints be found, Whenever the archangel's trump shall sound, To see Your smiling face; Then loudest of the crowd I'll sing, While Heaven's resounding mansions ring With shouts of Sovereign Grace."

May that be your prayer and mine. May God hear it, and hear it He will, if to that prayer we add the obedience of faith! "Hewho believes and is baptized shall be saved; he who believes not shall be damned." "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and youshall be saved and your house." Sinner, believe! God help you to believe this morning for His name's sake.