We meet to-day under a sense of profound thanksgiving. With the rest of the nation we have been praying for a righteous peace; and now we trust that through God’s great, and abounding, mercy, such a peace has been secured. In all probability very few persons are altogether satisfied. There are very few who would not wish to have some of the conditions changed. But in the midst of so many conflicting interests it was not to be expected that any one nation should have its own way in every point; so that we have to be most heartily thankful to God that the Congress has dispersed without a conflict; that England is not involved in war; and that Europe is free to devote its energies to the extension of commerce, and the promotion of goodwill amongst mankind. May God bless the peace that has been established, and enable his people in a thankful spirit to avail themselves of it for the circulation of his Word, the spread of his Gospel, the promotion of his kingdom, and the glory of his name!

But thanksgiving is not the only duty of the day, for the two treaties now concluded involve consequences of such great importance that they ought to awaken in all our minds the deepest interest, and the most earnest expectation. To the student of the Prophetic Scriptures they assume an importance altogether unequalled by any event in modern history; I might almost say; by any event since the Siege of Jerusalem. We are taught in many places of Scripture that the people of God will not be taken by surprise by the great events of the latter days; but that there will be certain predicted signs which may be understood beforehand by those who study them. Thus in Matthew xxiv. our Lord teaches us that there will be such signs as will indicate the nearness of his return as distinctly as the budding of the fig tree assures us of the approach of summer. When we see the fig tree budding in spring we know that summer is at hand, and so when we see these predicted signs we are to conclude without a doubt that the great deliverance is near. Nor are we to wait until the signs are fully developed, or have passed into the region of history, but we are to look out for their beginnings, as our Lord said, “when these things begin to come to pass then look up, and lift up your heads, for your redemption draweth nigh.” Now I cannot help believing that the conclusion of these two treaties is at all events amongst the beginnings. I believe that the fig tree is beginning to bud, and that, if it be, it is high time for us to be looking out for the summer. Let us endeavour then to consider, first, what we actually see; and secondly, what we may anticipate as the not improbable consequence of the great events that have taken place.