Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven." Listen, I beseech you, to the declarations of that God, before whose awful tribunal a few days or hours may hurry us; "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me." Transient frames of devotion will not answer the purposes of salvation; we must be" determined to know nothing but Jesus Christ and him crucified." Let our exertions, my beloved hearers, in the discharge of duty, be equal to that ardour in which we engage in the things of time, and the Almighty will be satisfied. We can be engaged with all the powers of our minds in the pursuits of life, but to be equally engaged in matters of religion would subject us to the charge of superstition. Hear the pressing language of Scripture to the children of men: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, with all thy mind, and with allthy strength." "My son," says the Almighty, "give me thy heart;" not the external service of the lips, but the united devotion of the soul. "Come out, then," from among the world, my Christian brethren, and let us assume the ground which belongs to us. In so doing God "will receive us; he will be a father to us and we shall be his sons and daughters." Think not that I am misrepresenting the requisitions of the gospel-you have the Scriptures in your hands, and I am willing you should try my expressions by that standard of truth. My business, as a preacher of Jesus, is to deliver my Master's message in the language of truth, without any of the false colourings of human philosophy and vain deceit. “Be ye holy, says God, for I am holy." "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." If your minds are disposed to yield to these truths, and if you feel weak and incapable of performing these duties, fly upon the wings of prayer to a throne of grace; strive mightily with God for that wisdom which is from above, and he will shower down upon you the riches of his blessed Spirit. Knock at the door of mercy, and Jesus will open the gates of heaven and feed you in the pastures of his grace; for "those who wait upon

the Lord shall renew their strength." That same Jehovah who sent down fire from heaven to consume the stones and the dust of Elijah's altar, will send down his Spirit to purify our hearts from every defilement. Delay not, therefore, one moment. Listen to the pleadings of conscience and to the voice of reason and religion, and enlist under the banner of Jesus, "For the Lord, he is the God! the Lord, he is the God."

SERMON IV.

"Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance."-2 PETER, iii. 9.

THE Almighty is represented in the sacred writings as a Being merciful and gracious. He is revealed to mortals as a God long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. His benevolence, we are informed, is as unbounded as his power, and although we so often transgress his laws, and trample upon his precepts, still mercy and compassion characterise his dealings with us, and distinguish him as a tender and indulgent parent.

The prophets, influenced by the Spirit of God, proclaimed to an apostate world the extent of the divine forgiveness: "though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow;" and the Apostles, animated by the same principle, continued the benevolent theme, representing to the view of fallen man a remedy for his spiritual diseases, both free and efficacious. Those awful thunders, which made the Israelites tremble at the foot of Mount Sinai, are restrained, and the voice of mercy from Mount Zion cheers the heart of penitence, with its mellifluent strains of forgiveness. The attribute of sovereignty is in a great measure concealed, while that of pardon and remission of sin is displayed, and penitent man is bidden to approach his maker with filial confidence. Angels sang, at the nativity of the Saviour, "Peace on earth and good will towards men;" and the

blood of the Redeemer, as it flowed from his compassionate bosom, addresses us in the same transporting language. He calls upon us from Calvary in a voice of love-a voice calculated to soften the hardest heart, and to awaken the gratitude of every rational being. He extends the sceptre of forgiveness to the penitent, and wears upon his breast the inscription of the text, "Not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance;" not one exception; the most flagrant offender will find a welcome reception in his bosom, provided he will repent of sin, believe in his name, and amend his ways.

Man is represented in Scripture as a fallen creature, the affections of whose mind are depraved, and whose life is marked with the features of rebellion against God. It is in this character that he is addressed; and it is in consequence of his sins that he is called upon to repent, provided he expects to be saved.

The Sacred Volume abounds with proof to this point; and it is impossible to read it with attention, without being convinced of the fact. Thus, you perceive, the Prophets, in one sweeping clause, comprehend the whole human family as labouring under the disease. "All we, like sheep, have gone astray." "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek after God. They are all gone aside; they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no! not one."

When we test the truth of Scripture by what we know of ourselves, and what we see around us, we must be convinced that the representation is just; and that man is a depraved, sinful creature. The sins which have marked our lives; the opposition which we have made to the divine law, and to the light of God's Spirit within us, form an unanswerable argument in favour of the truth of revelation, and of the natural depravity of man. The statutes ordained for the punishment of crime; the necessity of binding each other by written contract in our negociations; the existence of prisons; the locks we place upon our effects;

the duplicity with which we meet; the creation of tribunals of justice; all prove that man is very far gone from original righteousness; that he is not the creature he was when Jehovah pronounced him good; that he does not at this moment bear the image of a holy God.

This principle, which constitutes a part of that truth, a knowledge of which we should study to obtain, notwithtanding it is so fully insisted upon in the Sacred Volume, is frequently questioned, in consequence of some remaining traits of excellence in man, which have escaped the ruins of the fall. Thus the same individual, who refuses to obey the laws of God, and who will not be confined within the limits of Gospel precepts, will display a benevolence of character truly amiable. The sorrows of a fellow-creature will find a passage to his heart, and melt him into tears. The poverty of a suffering mortal will excite his compassion, and draw from his purse the most liberal supplies. As a husband, he will evince the greatest affection; as a son, he will be kind and respectful; and as a parent, anxious to advance the temporal interests of his family. These virtues are certainly ornamental to our nature, and advantageous to society. But when you see the same individual withholding his allegiance from God, which is his paramount duty; when you see him deaf to the calls of religion; insensible of his obligations to his Saviour; the violater of the Sabbath; absent from the ordinances he is commanded to attend; what conclusions can you draw from such conduct, but that man, since the hour in which he was first made and came pure and holy from the hands of his Creator, has undergone a dismal change; that the image of God, which was impressed upon his soul, is defaced; that he is now unholy and imperfect.

The ruins of those ancient cities of which we read, contain at this moment some beauties, the relics of what they were in the days of their prosperity. A pillar may be found, retaining some of its original excellence, but the pillar we perceive to be displaced and prostrate upon the earth. Some fractured column, magnificent in its struc