with the prerogative of omniscience, they reach even to the thoughts of the heart. The heart of man is the temple which the Gospel requires, and the consecration of his affections the great object of its influence. If these be dedicated to God, external obedience will follow as a necessary consequence.

Such, Christians, are the duties which God requires of us. Such are the qualifications which are necessary to enable us to abide in the Redeemer, that from him we may receive whatever may be requisite to a life of holiness. By cultivating a due knowledge of the Son of God; by devoting the best affections of our hearts in love to him, and the sublime truths of his blessed Gospel; by perseveringly imitating the purity of his moral conduct; and by rendering to him that unreserved obedience which faithful devotion requires, we may be nourished and supported in our spiritual warfare and in sanctity of life, as the branch is nourished and supported by the vine. Such is the faith, and such are the works, of the sincere Christian.

II. Let us, then, in the second place, advert, for a moment, to those fruits which Christians are to bear, by thus living according to the principles of the Gospel. Or, in

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other words, let us enquire into the immediate consequence of thus abiding in the Lord Jesus.

If virtue is ever, in any sense, its own reward, it is emphatically so with the Christian. Peace of mind, and the happy anticipation of future good, are the direct consequence of that life which he ought to lead.

1. Where is the character who can enjoy as his own, and upon such strong grounds of assurance, as the Christian can, the peaceful reflections of his own mind? He is the child of peace, and a joint-heir with his Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He is at peace with himself, at peace with others, and at peace with his God. To him, conscience assumes not those hideous forms which drive the guilty and impenitent, with lashes of terror, from their false retreats of carnal security. To him, the Heavens are not arrayed in frowns of vengeance; for the smiles of the God of Heaven are resting upon him. To him, the enmity of the world, should it be directed towards him, is as nothing; for he knows that enmity and contention, slander and malice, with all the persecution of the children of darkness, will presently cease. Is he blessed with an abundance of temporal things,

he enjoys them in the fulness of his pious gratitude, in the fear of God. Is he poor, he has learned with food and raiment to be content. Thus, let the Christian be in whatever situation he may, he enjoys a peace of mind in his pious reflections which the world knows not; for he is assured, under every circumstance, that all things shall work together for good, to those who love the Lord, to those who are the called according to his purpose.

2. Nor are the enjoyments of the Christian at all diminished when he extends his views beyond the present state. He knows that this life is but preparatory to another, and that his present existence is but probationary; and, having laid up for himself treasures in Heaven, where neither moths corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal, he looks beyond the grave with anticipations of greater joys, yet to be attained. Beyond this turbulent sea, upon whose bosom he is for awhile to be agitated; beyond the narrow vista of death, through whose gloomy passage he must presently pass, he beholds a habitation, prepared for his reception, not made with hands, eternal in the Heavens. Then, by the eye of faith, his soul feasts upon prospects

more bright and glorious than those which the transitory pomp of earthly grandeur can bestow. Where, then, is the character more happy than the Christian? He is the child of peace-he is a joint-heir with the Lord of Glory.

Such are the immediate consequences of abiding in the Lord our Saviour. Such are the present fruits of yielding ourselves unreservedly to the principles of the Gospel. Cherish them, Christians: they are that peace which your Saviour procured for you. Let your souls feast forever upon them: they are the earnest of divine truth-they are rays of heavenly glory, the full splendor of which will assuredly be hereafter revealed. Let us, then, brethren, be ever mindful of the words of our Saviour : "I am the true vine," said he, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away; and every branch that beareth

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fruit, he pruneth it, that it may bring forth

more fruit.

Abide in

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine; ye are the branches. He that abideth in me, and I in him; the same bringeth forth much fruit."

The time of vintage will come around, when the husbandman will visit his vineyard. Then must the branches yield up their fruit, which, through the nourishment of the vine, they may have borne. The Lord of the Harvest will in due season appear, to gather in the fruits of his providential care. The great and terrible day, the day of judgment--the day of accounts-will assuredly arrive, when we must appear before God. O! may we then prove to have been fruitful branches, richly laden, and fit for the Master's use.

SERMON V.

EPHESIANS II. 8, 9.

"By Grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast."

These words of the Apostle are full of meaning. They embrace within their scope the whole plan of salvation, from its commencement to its ultimate results. They assert the divine purity of the Gospel, by as