over death, hell, and sin. He is "the resurrection and the life, and they that believe in him, though they be dead, yet shall they live; and whosoever liveth and believeth in him, shall never die'." How encouraging is this, to the sinner to sin no more; to the waverer to halt no longer between two opinions; to the easily tempted to shake off the besetting temptation; to the sorrowful to cease from sorrowing; to the weak in the faith to become strong; to the contentious to live in peace! How encouraging is this, in a word, to all who have "received" the Gospel, who "stand" in the Gospel, who would "keep in memory" the Gospel, who would be "saved" by the Gospel to "hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering"," and to have full confidence in him in whom they believe! Let us ever keep full in view this encouragement of a faithfully preached Gospel, and never, on any consideration whatever, suffer its seed to be taken out of our hearts. For encou ragement, for atonement, for sanctification, for forgiveness, let us look to a risen Saviour; and make it alike an argument against impenitence, and a motive for continuance in well-doing, that there will be a resurrection from the dead. We must not pass over, in conclusion, an example which the Apostle here exhibits of great personal humility. He had been alluding to the instrumentality he had had, in common with the rest of the apostles, in bringing about the conversion of those whom he was addressing. This recals to his recollection his own original blindness and persecution of the Church of God: and with admirable humility and self-abasement he offers an instance, in himself, of the exceeding great power of the Gospel He deems himself "the least of the apostles:" gives the other apostles their due merit; and disclaims his own. He forgets not, even in his present high position, his former backslidings, for he calls himself "a persecutor of the Church o God." He desires to shun no exertion, no labour in the caus of Christ, which may prove that he is now as diligent in serving. as he once was in resisting him. "I laboured more abundantly than they all." And then as if to magnify the grace of God the more, and deprive himself even of the shadow of a pretence for glorying, he adds in the very spirit of self-renunciation, "ye not I, but the grace of God, which was with me.” If the former portion of our meditation was a lesson to backsliders, so is this portion instructive to true Christians 1 John xi., 25. 2 Heb. x., 23. Pride is the last natural propensity that leaves the penitent heart, for it is a propensity more deeply rooted in it than any other. And hence if a man has, by the grace of God, attained to a certain degree of proficiency in holiness, he is continually liable to the temptation of "thinking more highly of himself than he ought to think." If any of us be at present in this happy but dangerous position, let us be careful, extremely careful. Let us remember the Apostle's mean opinion of himself. Let us remember our own extreme liability to fall and err, and then pray heartily and ever, that, as by the grace of God we are what we are, so that grace, which has been bestowed upon us, may never, through our own heedlessness or weakness, be in vain. THE TWELFTH SUNDAY AFTER TRINITY. 4 Such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: 5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God: 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. The New Testament is the appointed medium through which the minister of Christ derives his function and delivers his message. There, as in a most secure book of archives, are safely deposited his commission-his authority-his official history-his code of instructions; and thence, as from a most valuable register of useful facts and authenticated information, he extracts the knowledge that saves, and the motive that edifies. Every sermon that is preached, every word pertaining to the soul that is spoken, every religious book that is put into the hand, every conversation that is held on a sacred subject, is or ought to be the minister's transcript of some page of the book of life. And in that book, if faithful to his trust, his word may ever be found. In that book, if unfaithful, he may read his own condemnation. In that book, if his enemies doubt his K authority, may his enemies find it. And never can that book be forgotten, or obliterated, or destroyed. Safe in the keeping of him who indited it, sealed with his own seal, written with his own hand, attested by his own witnesses, it defies the dilapidations of time, and tells its own story for ever. And never can that book speak error. Its author is the fountain of all light, truth, and wisdom, “in whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning," and from whom nought can come but perfectness. And never has that been taught which this book teaches. Man knows himself to be deserving of wrath. He has ever acknowledged himself to be sinful. But he never could find a way to escape, never do away his sin, never either discover or offer a sufficient propitiation. But this has been revealed in the book of which we speak. There a Divine Being is revealed, who by taking the form of man, and retaining the righteousness of God, has had power to take away the guilt of sin, and present the sinner faultless. In a word, there the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ has been made manifest, "who has abolished death, and has brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel1." And, once more, it is impossible that this book, rightly regarded and spiritually discerned, can be misunderstood. The things that it concerns man most to know are there revealed with the greatest plainness, and in the greatest simplicity. Some things, indeed, it may be hard to understand; but they are not things necessary to salvation. And of course it is a thing to be expected, that man's finite understanding would be unequal to the task of comprehending all mysteries and all knowledge. And thankful, supremely thankful, should he be that the word of God is a sufficient light unto his feet, and a sufficient lantern unto his path, to guide him to heaven. But further and secondly, the Epistle tells us that the minister's power of preaching or serving his Master effectually is derived from God. "We are not able of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God." And what a mighty power is this! What an infinite sufficiency is this! What a sacred treasury of things new and old, holy desires, good counsels, saving truths, is here enshrined! Holy Spirit cannot deceive, cannot err, cannot fall short. He is merciful, loving, and righteous; holy, just, and good. He is peace to the pious, terror to the wicked, comfort to the sorrow2 Ps. cxix., 105. 1 2 Tim. i., 10. The ing. He teaches the ignorant, guides the weak, softens the hardened. He adapts himself to all times, all persons, all circumstances; strengthening as strength is needed, and proportioning larger measures of help to more urgent seasons of need. He works with us and in us, for us and without us, not waiting till we ask, to grant, not granting what we ask at once; striving with us against our will, giving us the will as well as the power, and never leaving us altogether, until we have definitively shaken off all restraint, and resolved, in defiance of long-pleading grace and long-suffering patience, to exhaust all the mercy of God. And how great is the power of this Holy Spirit over a hardened heart, changing it, even if it be like a flint, to softness and compliance, and turning it, obstinately as it resists all human importunity, whithersover it will! And how great is the power of this Holy Spirit to befriend and support each tempted soul that is faithful to God, lifting up its strong hand and mighty arm against the most formidable of all enemies, and resisting and overcoming the malice of the devil, and the cunning of the world, with strength and succour irresistible. Moreover, also, this Holy Spirit opens our understanding, that we may understand the Scripture, when we read it, hear it, expound it, meditate upon it; showing us what is good, and what the Lord doth require of us-opening our hearts as well as our understandings-feeding us with milk or meat as we are babes or menkeeping us from all error-and "guiding us into all truth'." Such, then, is the help which our ministers have, such the words which our ministers speak. Their help is the help of God; their words are the words of God. It is not human wisdom which thinks, or human ability which writes. The preacher is Christ's ambassador, Christ's representative. Christ has bequeathed to the faithful preacher his New Testament, and Christ makes him its able minister. a And living as we do under so glorious a ministration,ministration of the Spirit,-a ministration of righteousness that does such great things for us,-and exceeds in glory not only all man's contrivances, but even every former ministration of God himself,-how entirely must it be our own faults if we are not growing in grace! In the ministration committed to our ministers, it is not man that speaks, but God; God that cannot lie; man with the voice of God. We are mightily helped, if we do as 1 John xvi., 13. mightily strive. We have strength on our side that can overcome any enemy, if we will only work with it, and overcome with it, and not suffer ourselves to be overcome by the least temptation, the weakest opponent. We have a minister ever ready, ever willing, to warn us of danger, if we will only heed him, only watch with him. We have a faithful word which our minister preaches, a word "sharper than any two-edged sword," and penetrating even to our very inmost souls'; and that word is truth, unalterable truth. That word will be fulfilled in its season, "whether we hear, or whether we forbear." The sentence it now passes will be passed hereafter, as surely as the promises it now makes will be fulfilled. And shall the minister preach, and the word warn, and the Spirit work, and that from the youth up until now, and from the time now present to the hour of death, and the people still be regardless, still unfruitful, still unthankful? Shall Christ have died for sin, and find no sinner that repents? Shall Christ have risen from the dead, and find few that will rise from the death of sin to the life of righteousness? Shall Christ have ascended into heaven, and find few that will set their affections on things above, not on things on the earth 3?" Oh, where is the faith, the zeal, the love, the diligence of former times, when Christ was all and in all, and they that "believed in him were together, and had all things common"," and for his sake "forsook all covetous desires and inordinate love of riches," and showed by the fruits of a ministration preeminently glorious, that in truth it was a ministration that exceeded in glory!" 66 May it henceforth be our greatest ambition, instead of toiling and striving for the praises and profits of a perishing world, (the which, when we think we have attained, we must very soon quit,) rather to toil and strive for the praise of God and the profit of the soul, things that will amply repay the labour, not perish when we perish, and serve us in an everlasting habitation. Let it be our greatest ambition, aided by the ministrations of the word and Spirit and messenger of Christ, to "walk worthy" of that more glorious "vocation wherewith we are called"," to live and act like new creatures-to bring forth, in our several conditions and callings, the fruits of spiritual changeand to make every occupation and mode of life subservient to the one great end of salvation to the soul. And behold if we |