former interviews with God so deeply affected his heart, that tears of sorrow flowed in torrents from his eyes; "when I remember these things, when I call to view the stately steppings of the Lord in his sanctuary, and recollect the delights I have enjoyed in his presence, I pour out my soul in me: for I had gone with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise; with a multitude that kept holy day:" and now, he might have added, am I bereft of all these glorious privileges, and in consequence of the persecutions with which I am assailed and distressed, I am obliged to wander in a state of banishment from the courts of the Lord's house. Recollecting, however, the former goodness of his heavenly Father; recollecting the numerous favours he had received, and the guardian care and protection of heaven with which he had been blessed, he endeavoured to collect his scattered spirits, and to look forward for brighter scenes, and more prosperous days; that God who had taken him out of the mire and clay of former despondencies and alarms, still swayed the sceptre of the world, and could make the darkness of adversity light before him, and crooked things straight. He therefore reasoned with himself, "Why art thou so disquieted, O my soul, and why art thou so cast down within me? hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance." Yes, he might have said, this sorrow may endure for a night, under the pressure of which I languish; but I have the promise of Jehovah, that joy will come in the morning, and that those who sow in tears shall eventually reap in joy,

Again: The soul of man is never more exercised with desires after God, than in those moments, when the extent of past transgressions is presented to his view, by the light of divine grace; when the careless sinner is first awakened by the Spirit of God, from the awful slumbers of transgression; when he takes a retrospective view of his life, and finds no solid foundation on which to stand-when he perceives that the picture on which he looks is shaded by sins both numerous and aggravated; when he discovers, agreeably to the word of God, which has drawn his likeness, that

he is "poor and miserable, and wretched, and blind and naked;" when he finds that from the crown of his head, to the soles of his feet, there is no soundness in him, and that he is covered with wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores. He stands amazed: can it be possible, he cries out in an agony of grief, that my situation is so awfully alarming, and that I have remained so long insensible of it? "Oh, wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" He flies for refuge, perhaps, under his first alarms, to the law of God; and perceives that the law to which he has flown for security proclaims in a voice louder than the seven thunders of Asia-the soul that sinneth, it shall die. The thunders of Mount Sinai which roll above his head, however terrible to his soul, are not equal in their terrifying effects, to the voice, the awful voice, of his convicted conscience. The knowledge of sin pursues the poor offender day and night, and the recollection of his transgressions is ever before him; when he is almost ready to conclude himself an outcast from the fold of Israel, and to suppose that there is no salvation for him, he is directed by the word of truth, or the advice of some pious friend, to behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world; and to repair, wretched as he is, to the cross of Jesus, to lay himself at the feet of the Saviour, to cry for mercy, in the unaffected strains of fervent prayer, and to accept a free and full salvation, without money and without price. Revived at the idea of that mercy which is offered to sinners, and anxious to obtain the pardon of his transgressions, he humbles himself at the feet of the divine majesty, and with groanings which cannot be uttered, he solicits for relief from the overwhelming condemnation of a righteous God; he pants after mercy, as the hart panteth after the water-brooks. Oh! cries the poor sinner, that I knew where I might find him! that I might come even into his presence; that I might plead for an interest in the blood of that Jesus who died for transgressors; save me, Lord, save me, or I perish forever! "Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy upon me." To a mortal placed in such a situation, how vain would be an injunction of silence,

how fruitless to tell him to cease his importunities! As well might you recommend calmness to a drowning man, or attempt to separate him from that plank thrown out for his relief. As well might you forbid an individual who is fumishing for drink to abstain from quenching his thirst. He feels sensible of his demerits; his soul "is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death;" and with strong crying and tears, he lifts up his voice to the Saviour from whence cometh his help. "As the hart panteth after the waterbrooks, so longeth my soul after thee, oh God. My soul is athirst for God, yea, even for the living God; Oh, when shall I come to appear in the presence of God?" You perceive the same fervor of expressions and vehemence of desire, in the language of the convicted Israelites, as mentioned by the Prophet Micah; he brings to our view the case of those who felt burdened with sin, and relates the terms, the fervid terms, in which they inquired after God: "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the most high God? shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my first born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?" No sacrifice that the Lord could have required, would have been withheld by the unhappy delinquent; the salvation of his soul engrossed his whole attention; all earthly concerns were swallowed up, in the consideration of eternal things, and he approached the throne of grace as a needy petitioner, depending upon the goodness of God for pardon and for mercy.

Again: When the penitent sinner has obtained the pardon of transgression; when from that relief which he experiences from the goodness of God, he believes that the Almighty, in conformity with his own promises, has granted him the remission of his sins; and that his crimson defilements have been washed away by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ; when he knows that the cries, which he has made to the God of his salvation, have been heard, and that the "Almighty has delivered his soul from death, his

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eyes from tears, and his feet from falling," gratitude to heaven fills and elates his rejoicing breast. "I will walk," says he, "before God in the land of the living." I will pay my vows of obedience unto that merciful Being who has relieved my fainting soul; I will follow Jesus in the way duty, and let my light shine before men. I will cleave to the skirts of his garment, and my whole life shall be devoted to his fear, and spent to his glory. What shall I render unto the Lord? Coldness in such a liberated, pardoned sinner, would be thought a crime; his heart so far from losing the impression of gratitude, would be still athirst for God, yea, even for the living God; and it will be his meat and his drink to do his holy will. Should he be engaged in conversation with his friends, with what pleasure would he proclaim to them the goodness of the Lord! "Come," he would say, "and I will tell you what the Lord has done for my soul;" rejoice with me, for Jesus the good Shepherd has found the sheep which was lost. To those of you, who know that Jesus is precious; to those of you who have found rest in the bosom of a sin-pardoning Jehovah, Oh, let me recommend fervor and animation in your devotions; be not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, which is the power of God unto salvation. When you come into his temple to worship the Almighty, remember the mercies he has conferred upon you; the present and future blessings he hath promised to the sincere penitent; leave the cares, the trifling cares of the world behind you, and let your affections be placed on heavenly considerations. Bring with you the offering of an humble and grateful heart; and let your cry be that of the penitent publican; "God be merciful to me a sinner." Plead with the Almighty for a more perfect and undivided knowledge of your duty," Lord what wilt thou have me to do?" Then, my brethren, will the Almighty descend from his throne, and make you to know and feel that he is present in the midst of you: then will he feed you in the fertile pastures of the Gospel, and give you to drink of the waters of comfort and prepare you by his grace for that rest provided for his faithful people.

SERMON XV.

"Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof, from such turn away."-2 TIм. iii. 5.

THE holy apostle, who, by the illuminating powers of the Spirit, was enabled to look into the annals of futurity, informed his beloved Timothy of the approach of those evils which would sooner or later infest the Church of Christ. He entreated him to continue steadfast in those things which were impressed upon his mind; to press forward through all those difficulties which might present themselves to his view, and to be unwearied in his exertions to promote the cause of vital holiness.

Among the many evils which the inspired penman was sensible would prevail, he particularly mentions lukewarmness in religion. He saw his fellow-creatures deviating from the simplicity of the truth as it is in Jesus; losing their first love; drawing back from their profession of attachment to the precious Saviour; and becoming strangers to the divine power of Christianity. He perceived that a little stated attention to the external duties of religion would, by many, be esteemed sufficient, without considering that the form without the power of godliness, is unacceptable at the throne of grace, and that the duties of Christianity, unless they spring from the influence of the Spirit of God, and are performed with that fervour becom