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Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel ;" and the brightest illustration of that "immortality" is found in the doctrine of redemption. No, my brethren, it was not to merit for mankind a merely temporary good that an incarnation of the Godhead was made a subject of prophecy and of joyous anticipation for four thousand years, and was actually accomplished when the fulness of time was come. It was not in behalf of beings that were to be ever annihilated, that the co-eternal Son of God, having assumed our nature, died in indescribable agonies of pain, and of mental anguish. It was for the redemption of immortal man that he was crucified; and when he rose again, human nature rose to immortal life, and as the pledge that ere long death shall be swallowed up in victory.

Yes, and our highest conceptions of the felicity and glory of heaven are derived from redemption. Collect all the beautiful imagery of Scripture on this subject. Think of the celestial paradise in perennial beauty, freshness, and bloom. Think of the crowns and thrones of glory, and of the palms of victory. Think of the city whose walls are jasper, whose gates are pearls, whose streets are gold, and whose light is the glory of God. Think of the inhabitants of heaven: the cherubim and seraphim; the thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; the patriarchs, Prophets, and Apostles; the noble army of martyrs; the great multitude which no man can number, who have been saved out of every nation, and kindred, and people, and tongue. Think of the music of heaven: the harpers with their harps, and the "millions of blessed voices uttering joy," in sounds of sweetness and power surpassing all that ear has ever heard. Yet your deepest impressions of the happiness of that place are derived from the consideration, that it is a happiness merited by blood divine, and bestowed upon redeemed spirits. In heaven itself the great object of holy and grateful attraction is the Lord Jesus, who appears in the midst of the throne, as it were a Lamb that has been slain. "Sir, we would see Jesus," said the Greeks to Philip, at one of the Jewish festivals. But with higher hopes than those strangers ever cherished, the believer dies and rises to enjoy through eternity the presence and vision of his glorified Lord.

Let the devout Christian, then, passing through much tribulation, often contemplate the glory which lies before him. The sufferings of the present life will soon end in the unutterable bliss of heaven. Cleave to Christ with full purpose of heart. Present yourselves to him daily as a holy, living sacrifice; and then, whenever you are tempted to doubt of your future admission into his kingdom, think of the blood which he shed for your redemption. The cross supplies the warrant for your highest confidence of hope. With that in view your hope shall never fail. You shall live in hope, rejoice in hope, and die in hope. Your flesh also, like that of your Lord, shall rest in hope; and of your hope you shall never be ashamed.

I have spoken to you this evening, brethren, concerning the "vain conversation" of fallen and unregenerate men. Behold the perfect contrast to this in the elevated spirit and bearing of those who have, through grace, believed in Christ. Their "conversation" is "vain" no longer. It cannot be said of them, that they "follow lying vanities, and forsake their own mercies." They have that just confidence in God through Christ, which renders them calm, and tranquil, and happy under all privations and afflictions. To him they daily present that holy worship which he requires, and deigns to accept. With them all the duties of life are sanctified by a supreme regard for his will, and a constant reference to his glory. In them, therefore, the great end of existence is attained; for they see, confess, and enjoy God in all things. While they live, every pulse beats for him; and when they die, they pass into a higher state of being, and give to God for ever the glory which is due unto his name. There is no "vain conversation" here; but a conversation rational, pious, and connected with substantial benefits, which eternity itself will never fully unfold. Such is the true dignity with which Christianity invests the character of man, who is otherwise the sport of error, vanity, and sin.

There is another view to be taken of this subject. It is the sin and danger of making light of Christ, and of his redemption. There are speculative Deists in our day, descendants of Cain, who acknowledge no atonement for sin, and no Redeemer from the curse of the law. They either deny that they are sinners, or they regard sin as a matter of little or no moment; or they expect pardon as the fruit of their own imaginary merit, or as the gift of the divine mercy without any proper sacrifice. If the doctrine which I have this evening endeavoured to bring before you is the truth of God; if we are indeed redeemed by the blood of Christ, and all the blessings of salvation are conveyed through his death, as the holy Scriptures assure us they are; then what a situation are those people in who systematically, and on principle, deny him as their Redeemer, and refuse even to ask any blessing in his name! The mere transgression of law gives but a faint conception of the sin of spurning the mercies of redemption, and of despising the sacrifice of Christ, which God has made the only means of our salvation. And yet I fear that there are persons even in our congregations who participate in this sin, and must share in its punishment for ever. I allude to the practical Deists who swarm around us; the men who carelessly live in impenitence and unbelief. They listen with respectful attention when we preach Christ crucified as the Redeemer and Saviour of sinners, and never dispute the truth of our testimony. They assent to all that we say concerning Christ; and appear even pleased when they hear of his cross and passion, and of the manner in which we are to be saved through him. But here they rest. They never cherish a godly sorrow

for sin; nor do they ever come to Christ for pardon, and as a refuge from the wrath to come. They unite with us in celebrating the passion of Christ; but they never manifest any real anxiety to be justified through his blood, and sanctified by his Spirit. They are filling up the measure of their iniquities, and actually sinking into hell with the doctrine of salvation sounding in their ears. Such men seldom suspect their real character. They are orthodox in their own apprehension, but Deists in reality; and are adding to all their other sins that fatal crime of practically rejecting Christ. To you, O ye impenitent and unbelieving men, our preaching is "a savour of death unto death!" Our ministry fails entirely of its great design, unless we succeed in bringing you to Christ, under a penitent conviction of your utter sinfulness, and induce you to believe in him with the heart unto righteousness. Unless you be justified and sanctified through faith in his blood, you must inevitably perish; and yours will be torment of no common severity. Your own consciences will for ever fill you with inconceivable horror, while you remember the evangelical light and mercy which followed you all your days, and which you so criminally abused. "How shall we escape" the heaviest strokes of the divine vengeance, "if we neglect so great salvation?" There is no sacrifice for sin but that which is made by the death of Christ; nor will any other be made through eternity; so that to those who either despise or neglect this one offering," there remaineth nothing but "a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation."

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My honoured brethren in the ministry, how impressive is this subject in its bearing upon the office which we sustain! With what a message are we entrusted! We are sent to a world lying in wickedness, blinded by error, enslaved by sin, and under the sentence of endless death; and our business is to preach Christ to them, as their Redeemer, whose blood has ransomed their lost souls, and recovered for them the heavenly inheritance which was alienated by transgression. How ought our hearts to expand with zeal for the honour of our Saviour, who has called us to this work! and to yearn with pity over the wretched millions of mankind, vainly spending their money for that which is not bread, and their labour for that which satisfieth not! They are restless and insecure; and they die in the unsuccessful search of safety and of happiness. In the delivery of such a message, and to such a people, it is impious to be unmoved; and having such a trust committed to us, it is still more impious to be willingly silent. To be unemployed in our work should be felt as an affliction and a calamity. Our prevailing feeling ought to be that which our own poet has so forcibly expressed,

"My heart is full of Christ, and longs

Its glorious matter to declare."

The word which we are appointed to preach should indeed dwell in

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us richly, and be like fire in our bones. St. Paul, who understood the nature of his office, and felt the weight of his charge, "taught" the people "publicly," in deliberate, argumentative, and awakening discourses, that gainsayers might be silenced, and unbelievers convinced; and he also taught "from house to house," in familiar conversations, answering the questions and solving the doubts of inquirers, and confirming the wavering. But whatever form his instructions might assume, the subject was the same: repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." He saw that it was only in bringing enlightened and penitent men to Christ, that the great design of his mission was accomplished. Nothing short of this can ever satisfy a true Minister of the Lord Jesus. The people may be reformed in their moral conduct; they may assent to the truth, and even admire it; and they may attend religious ordinances with regularity and seriousness; but unless they feel their need of Christ, and believe in him for salvation, they must perish: for "he that believeth not is condemned already." The conversion of men to Christ should be the leading object of our ministrations, and of all our intercourse with mankind. The happiest day of our lives is not that in which we have drawn together the largest congregations, or have obtained the highest applause; but that in which we have succeeded in leading the greatest number of men to renounce the world and sin, believe in Christ for mercy, and join themselves to him "in a perpetual covenant, never to be forgotten."

The Christian doctrine of redemption invests human nature with a peculiar sacredness, which, as Ministers, we ought always to regard. The souls of the whole world are the purchase of Christ's blood; for "he gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." How solemn and impressive, therefore, is the claim that he makes when he says, "All souls are mine!" It will be well for us always to remember this, as supplying a motive to holy exertion, and as a just ground of encouragement. In no congregation that we ever address is there a person that is unredeemed. To every one we can truly say, "I have a message from God unto thee. I claim thee as the property of my Lord."" May we ever deliver that message with such fidelity and affection as become those who are sent with an offer of mercy to guilty and dying men! When we are called to preach the word in the cottages of the poor, on the week-day evenings, and in small hamlets and villages, the attendance may be inconsiderable with respect to number, the people may be humble in their garb, and their rank in society low; but let us beware of neglecting them, and of delivering the truth of God in a careless and indifferent manner. For the souls of all the people to whom we can have access we shall find ourselves accountable in the day of the Lord; and woe to us if it shall be found that any of them have perished in consequence of our lukewarmness and want of energy. The crowds of ignorant, profane,

and ungodly people, youthful and adult, who wander abroad on the Sabbath, neglecting the house of God, are all, in common with ourselves, redeemed with the blood of Jesus. Let us not hesitate, after his example, to follow them to their places of unhallowed resort, and address them in the open air on the momentous subject of their salvation. Such a proceeding may by some persons perhaps be deemed irregular and extravagant; but when the salvation of redeemed men is concerned, what would otherwise be irregularity and extravagance are the highest order and sobriety. These wanderers from God we should follow even to the bed of death, with the warnings and expostulations of the Gospel; if haply at the eleventh hour we may snatch them as brands from the burning. Till the fire of hell has actually seized upon them, they are within the reach of mercy.

Nor let us forget the Heathen, perishing unpitied in the dark places of the earth; for we are " debtors both to the Greeks and to the barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise." To save the souls for whom our Redeemer shed his "precious blood" is worth every sacrifice that we can make, and every effort that we can put forth. Many an esteemed Missionary has died in the enterprise of turning redeemed men to Christ. We lament their loss; but we accuse them not of folly in exposing themselves to inhospitable climes, and to the caprice of savage men. The holy and benevolent object which they had in view, and the command of their Lord to preach his Gospel" to every creature," fully justify all the zeal by which they were characterized. It was right in them to count not even their lives dear unto themselves, in comparison with the conversion and salvation of the souls whom the Saviour loved even unto death. The richest rewards of heaven are reserved for those who win souls to Christ.

With what assiduity and affection ought we to watch over the people that have been gathered into the Christian fold, and are placed under our pastoral charge! In many of them there is much remaining ignorance and infirmity, which call for our forbearance. They are also liable to many temptations and discouragements, so as to be hindered in their spiritual course, and even turned out of the way. Yet they stand in a relation of peculiar endearment to the great Shepherd, who has committed them to our care. When any of these stray near the pit, how earnestly ought we to admonish them! And when they wander from the fold, with what haste should we follow them into the wilderness, that we may bring them home rejoicing! If we duly feel the responsibility of our office, ours will not be a life of levity and ease, but of holy seriousness, and of incessant care and toil. Like the Apostles, we shall give ourselves continually to prayer, and to the ministry of the word;" and with ever-waking solicitude shall we "feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood."

VOL. XVII. Third Series. NOVEMBER, 1838.

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