thee? Lord Jesus, is this the "resurrection of damnation"? Unthinking traveller to eternity, is it in view of this, that Jesus warns you to "prepare to meet your God"? Is it in view of this, that he entreats you to "flee from the wrath to come"? Careless sinner, you came from God, and to God you are going; from his presence there is no escape. "If you ascend into heaven, he is there; if you make your bed in hell, behold, he is there." You are going to meet him; 0, how unprepared! Yet meet him you must; the grave cannot hide you; rocks and mountains cannot cover you; death and hell can furnish no hiding-place from God. And yet you may meet him in mercy. O, look to Calvary! Who is that, with the nail-prints in his hands, and the spear-wound in his side? It is Jesus, who died for sinners. Escape for your life to him, in whom alone there is redemption.

Impenitent man, what you do must be done quickly : you stand on critical ground; you live in a most eventful age. Look abroad through the earth, and behold the footsteps of the Almighty. The arm of the Lord is awake. He is sweeping the nations and shaking the earth. Your father never saw a day like this. God's purposes are ripening fast; his church is fast filling up. Soon the door will be shut. God lifts his hand to heaven, and declares he "will make a short work in the earth." The sinner that will not bow he will kill with death." The soul that will not surrender he will consume with the "breath of his mouth, and the brightness of his coming." Already you have trifled with his mercy long; already the cry of your sins has gone up before God; already the tempest is gathering; the dark cloud is seen, and the distant thunder

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is heard. But you are not yet lost. There is yet

within your view, on the like unto the Son of man."

mediatorial throne, "one

See, round about his head,

is the rainbow of mercy, in token that as yet the storm is stayed. Delay not a moment. Fly to Jesus, and your soul shall live.

BEL AND NEBO.

A WESTERN gentleman, of wealth and respectability, said to a clergyman of his acquaintance, "There are portions of the Bible that seem to me to have little or no meaning. Can I believe that such passages are a part of the inspired word of God?”

"Please mention the passages to which you refer," said the clergyman.

"One of them," answered the gentleman, "is found in the commencement of the forty-sixth chapter of Isaiah. It runs thus: 'Bel boweth down, Nebo stoopeth; their idols were upon the beasts, and upon the cattle your carriages were heavy loaden; they are a burden to the weary beast. They stoop; they bow down together; they could not deliver the burden, but themselves are gone into captivity.' I can see no

meaning in this passage."

"Shall I give you a brief exposition, which I think will render the text plain and interesting?"

"I shall be gratified to hear you," added the gentleman.

"Observe, then," said the minister, "that Bel and Nebo were the two principal idols of Babylon. Their kings and heroes often bear names and titles in which there is a reference to these notable idols, as Belshazzar, Nebuchadnezzar, Nebuzaradan, &c. They had, it is

true, other inferior deities, which they worshipped; but Bel and Nebo were the great chiefs among their imaginary gods. The kings of Babylon had been a dreadful scourge to the surrounding nations. They had slaughtered their population; they had plundered their temples and their treasuries, and had carried all the wealth which they could thus collect to Babylon. And the glory of these conquests they ascribed to Bel and Nebo. When they were about engaging in some important military expedition, they invoked the aid and benediction of Bel and Nebo; and when their incursion into a neighboring nation had been successful, they crowded the temples of Bel and Nebo, and offered sacrifices of thanksgiving, and paid to these idols the most costly honors. At length, the king of Babylon invaded Judea. As he made war under the patronage of Bel and Nebo, the conclusion was, that, whenever he conquered, these idols of Babylon had proved too mighty for the god of the conquered people. When Jerusalem fell into the hands of the king of Babylon, these idolaters did not wish to believe the truth. They did not wish to believe that Israel were smitten for their sins against God. They loved darkness. They loved to believe a lie. They exulted in the oppor

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tunity of blazing abroad, that now the idols of Babylon had proved too strong for the God of Israel. city called by his name was destroyed. The beautiful house built for his praise was burned with fire; and his people were carried into captivity. And now they devised honors for their favorite idol beyond all parallel. The king, the princes, and the people, all combine. 'Nebuchadnezzar the king made an image of gold,. whose height was threescore cubits, and the breadth

thereof six cubits: he set it up in the plain of Dura, in the province of Babylon. Then Nebuchadnezzar the king sent to gather together the princes, the governors, and the captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, to come to the dedication of the image which Nebuchadnezzar the king had set up. Then the princes, the governors, and captains, the judges, the treasurers, the counsellors, the sheriffs, and all the rulers of the provinces, were gathered together unto the dedication of the image that Nebuchadezzar the king had set up; and they stood before the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. Then a herald cried aloud, To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down, and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down, and worshippeth, shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning, fiery furnace.' (Daniel iii. 1-6.) Such were the honors publicly given to Bel, after Jerusalem had fallen before the armies of Babylon. And the honors given to Nebo were scarcely inferior. Long ago, these idolaters had heard the fame of the God of Israel the wonders wrought in Egypt, at the Red Sea, and in the wilderness. They had trembled in dread of the power of Jehovah. But now his worshippers are vanquished, and carried into captivity. His temple is destroyed; and the land called by his name is made a desolation. Their exultation is unbounded; and invention is tortured for methods to give demonstrations of their joy. And now the prophecy of Isaiah comes before them,