Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him:  behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”  “When the Lord shall build up Zion, he shall appear in his glory.  He will regard the prayer of the destitute, and not despise their prayer.  This shall be written for the generation to come:  and the people which shall be created, shall praise the Lord.  For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary, to hear the groaning of the prisoner; to loose those that are appointed to death; to declare the name of the Lord in Zion, and his praise in Jerusalem.”

These are great privileges for God to confer on such worms as we are.  Yet God has indeed placed them within reach.  And if we will but do our duty here, we are only ripening for infinitely greater privileges and higher honours.  He that is faithful over a few things, shall be made ruler over many things.  Yes; when all our cities, and the earth itself, and these heavens shall be “wrapt in consuming fire,” we may, “with the great multitude found faithful,” enter that City, which hath foundations, whose Builder and Maker is God.  In that City, “THERE SHALL BE NO MORE CURSE, BUT THE THRONE OF GOD AND THE LAMB SHALL BE IN IT, AND HIS SERVANTS SHALL SERVE HIM.  AND THERE SHALL BE NO NIGHT THERE; AND THEY NEED NO CANDLE, NEITHER LIGHT OF THE SUN; FOR THE LORD GOD GIVETH THEM LIGHT:  AND THEY SHALL REIGN FOR EVER AND EVER.”

APPENDIX.

The population of New-York city, in 1820, was 123,706.  In 1825, it was 166,086:  making an increase, in 5 years, of 42,380.  Allowing the same ratio of increase, there is now a population of 185,000.  There are in the city 101 churches, or houses of public worship:  Of which 4 are Roman Catholic, 1 New-Jerusalem, 2 Unitarian, 2 Universalist, 2 Jews’ Synagogues, 15 Baptist, 13 Methodist, 17 Episcopalian, and 34 Presbyterian churches, including the Scotch and Reformed Dutch.  The remainder are Lutheran, Moravian, Friends, German Reformed, and Independents.  The average number of regular attendants is estimated, by such as have made it a subject of special examination, not to exceed 400 to each house; which makes the number of those statedly attending public worship 40,400.  After deducting 50,000, for children, for the sick, and for others necessarily absent, there will still remain NINETY-FOUR THOUSAND AND SIX HUNDRED, or more than half the population, absenting themselves from the public worship of God!

There are in the city 4 theatres and 2 circuses:  most of which are opened from 4 to 6 nights every week.  The number of shops and other places licensed to sell liquor by the small measure, is three thousand; or about one to every SEVENTH DWELLING-HOUSE!  In addition to the violations of holy time, occasioned by steam-boats, and other public conveyances, by butchers, grocers, and other traders purchasing their stock from boats arriving from the country, upwards of ONE THOUSAND shops, and other places, are opened for the sale of liquor or other things on the Sabbath!