deemer; from the fear of being thought enthusiastic, many of the Christian family are forgetful of their obligations and remain cold and lifeless. They give up the power of religion, and, from the fear of the world, like Peter, follow Jesus afar off. If you should, for a moment, think these observations unfounded, let us turn our eyes inward, examine our own hearts, and let them decide whether the declarations I have made are correct or not. In this investigation, beloved, your preacher will attend you and confess himself guilty before God. Does not Baal frequently tempt the Christian to relinquish the pursuit of salvation, and to conform himself to the maxims of the world? Are we not at times forgetful of the tender mercies of a righteous God? Are not past providences frequently disregarded? Those solemn vows of obedience, which, in the hour of distress we have made at the footstool of heaven, are they not sometimes forgotten? With one hand we lay hold upon the horns of the altar, and with the other we cleave to the world. We profess a belief in Jesus and express a love for him with our lips, yet cannot resolve to follow him in the path of duty! If, at times, the recollection of his goodness impresses our hearts with gratitude, the next moment the world effaces his image from our souls, and we disobey him! At one instant we are on our knees before the throne of heaven, lamenting our sins and crying for mercy, and the next, perhaps, committing those sins we have just lamented! These things, my beloved, ought not so to be. Life and death are set before us, blessing or cursing! "How long halt we between two opinions? If the Lord be God, let us, with an undivided heart, follow him; but if Baal"—if the world is the god which commands our attention-let us withdraw our allegiance from the Saviour of sinners, for we cannot serve God and Mammon-the spirit of Jesus can never dwell in the same bosom with the spirit of Belial; he is a jealous God, and will allow no rival in our affections. "If ye love me, keep my commandments," saith the Lord of life and glory. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,

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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."

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SERMON IV.

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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;