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"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy

laden, and I will give you rest." Matthew xi. 28.

Laden with sins, and full of fears!-Is not this my case? Jesus, thou compassionate Saviour and Teacher, deliver me, heal me, draw me, teach me ! Make me, like Thyself, meek and lowly in heart!

"I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Luke xv. 10.

Can it be, that one sinner's salvation should cause joy to all the innumerable company of angels? Yes: for they behold the Father well pleased, the Son glorious in his redeeming love, the Eternal Spirit beginning a work, for eternity! May all Heaven rejoice, while Jesus visits this one poor soul with his salvation!

"God so loved the world, that he gave his onlybegotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” John iii. 16.

What was there in sinners, that God could love? Nothing-but he loved them freely. What could he give, greater than his Son? And Him he spared not. Lord, let this be the anchor of our souls, our hope sure and steadfast! We have known and believed the love that God hath to us.

"Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life." John v. 40.

How can we be so ungrateful to this Saviour? And, there is no other Saviour!

"What must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." Acts xvi. 30, 31.

Oh, if we might live our life over again, how would we labour to save our souls!—So think many, when death stares them in the face. And yet Salvation is near to them, if they could but lay hold of it, by faith.

Lord, thou hast given to us thy Son, to die for our sins bestow on us, also, the gift of thy Spirit, that we may believe; that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith!

"Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." 1 Corinthians vi. 9-11.

If the unrighteous cannot enter heaven, how can

I enter? Lead me, O Lord, by that new and living way, sprinkled with the blood of Jesus; and renew my heart and affections by thy Spirit, that I may be prepared to relish the joys and the holiness of heaven!

"Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead and Christ shall give thee light." Ephesians v. 14. Very dark is this soul of mine, by nature; and have I not been slumbering on the very brink of hell? I need a rousing, and an alarming voice, to wake me and this voice speaks of Christ, as the giver of light. Spirit of Christ, create light in my soul !

"This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." 1 Timothy i. 15. Till we receive Christ by faith, and till we are united to Him in love, nothing else is worthy of a single thought. How safely may we commit our souls to Him, and venture all for Him! for his name is, "Faithful and True."

"Wherefore he is able also to save them to the

uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them." Hebrews vii. 25.

Till the sinner is in hell, Jesus offers to save him. -You are not yet in hell:-then, look to Jesus: cry to him: say, "Lord, save me! I perish!"

"The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 1 John i. 7.

Look at the matter thus: The whole history of your heart and life is summed up in one word, Sin: and the whole of the Gospel is summed up in this one word, Love. It was Love that brought the Son of God from heaven, and made him willing to shed his blood for your pardon. Then, believe in Him. It was not for a little sin, or for a few sins, that He died on Calvary. His blood cleanseth us from

all sin.

II.

PERSONS, KNOWING THE GOSPEL, BUT NOT LIVING ACCORDING TO THEIR KNOWLEDGE.

"For what is the hope of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when God taketh away his soul? Will God hear his cry, when trouble cometh upon him? Will he delight himself in the Almighty? will he always call upon God?"

Job xxvii. 8-10.

A dreadfully offensive name is this, "Hypocrite"! Perhaps you feel yourself insulted by it. Well: let me leave you by yourself, alone: but I beseech you to consider, that if you were the most-approved

professor in all the religious world, it will avail you nothing, if you are a stranger to secret prayer. You have need to cry, "Lord, gather not my soul with Ananias and Sapphira!"

"But unto the wicked, God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee." Psalm 1. 16, 17.

To be able to talk warmly about the Covenant of grace, while sin is secretly loved or practised, is one of Satan's grand delusions. Confess now, O selfdeceiver! while you were wearing God's livery, were you not Satan's servant all the time? If your heart condemns you, say nothing, but go to private prayer. Implore pardon: ask of God to create in you a new heart.

"He that, being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy." Proverbs xxix. 1.

Have you had many warnings? Has sickness touched you? Does conscience whisper? Has a pious father had trouble with you? Has a pious mother wept over you? Did the Preacher seem to describe your case? And yet-the heart hardened? Are you not afraid to read the whole of this verse over again?

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