and election sure?" "Working out thy salvation with fear and trembling? ""Agonizing to enter in at the strait gate ?" Art thou in earnest about thy soul? And canst thou tell the Searcher of hearts, "Thou, O God, art the thing that I long for! Lord, thou knowest all things! Thou knowest that I would love thee?"

12. Thou hopest to be saved; but what reason hast thou to give of the hope that is in thee? Is it because thou hast done no harm? Or, because thou hast done much good? Or, because thou art not like other men; but wise, or learned, or honest, and morally good? Esteemed of men, and of a fair reputation? Alas! all this will never bring thee to God. It is in his account lighter than vanity. Dost thou know Jesus Christ, whom he hath sent ? Hath he taught thee, that, "by grace we are saved, through faith; and that not of ourselves; it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast?" Hast thou received the faithful saying, as the whole foundation of thy hope, "that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners?" Hast thou learned what that meaneth, "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance? I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep?" Art thou (he that heareth, let him understand!) lost, dead, damned already? Dost thou know thy deserts? Dost thou feel thy wants? Art thou poor in spirit? Mourning for God, and refusing to be comforted? Is the prodigal come to himself, and well content to be therefore thought beside himself, by those who are still feeding upon the husks which he hath left? Art thou willing to live godly in Christ Jesus? And dost thou therefore suffer persecution? Do men say all manner of evil against thee falsely, for the Son of Man's sake?

13. O that in all these questions ye may hear the voice that wakes the dead; and feel that hammer of the word, which breaketh the rocks in pieces! "If ye will hear his voice to-day, while it is called to-day, harden not your hearts." Now, awake, thou that sleepest in spiritual death, that thou sleep not in death eternal! Feel thy lost estate, and arise from the dead. Leave thine old companions in sin and death. Follow thou Jesus, and let the dead bury their dead. "Save thyself from this untoward generation." "Come out from among them, and be thou separate, and touch not the unclean thing, and the Lord shall receive thee." "Christ shall give thee Light." III. 1. This Promise, I come, lastly, to explain. And how

It consideration is this, that whosoever thou art, , 1.5 cull, thou canst not seek his face in vain! If ng awakest and arisest from the dead, he hath af to give thee light. The Lord shall give thee

ry; the light of his grace here, and the light of in thou receivest the crown that fadeth not away. shall break forth as the morning, and thy darkness n-day."'" God, who commandeth the light to shine kness, shall shine in thy heart; to give the knowglory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." "On then feat the Lord shall the Sun of Righteousness arise, healing in his wings." And in that day it shall be said 15. “Adse, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory issen upon thee." For Christ shall reveal himAnd he is the true Light.

1, and will give himself to every awakened ...th for him: and thou shalt then be a temple God, and Christ shall "dwell in thy heart by being rooted and grounded in love, thou shalt ehend with all saints, what is the breadth, depth, and height of that love of Christ which ge, that thou mayest be filled with all the

calling, Brethren. We are called to be "an God through his Spirit ;" and through his Spirit s, to be saints here, and partakers of the inhesaints in light. So exceeding great are the a a.e given unto us, actually given unto us who by faith we "receive, not the spirit of the world, which is of God," the sum of all the promises, y suow the things that are freely given to us

t of Christ is that great gift of God, which, at and in divers manners, he hath promised to man, ybestowed since the time that Christ was glorified. ..sus before made to the fathers, he hath thus ful... put my Spirit within you, and cause you to statutes." (Ezek. xxxvi. 27.) "I will pour water hat is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon thine Isaiah xliv. 3.)

ay all be living witnesses of these things; of re

mission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost. "If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth." "Who among you is there, that feareth the Lord, and yet walketh in darkness, and hath no light?" I ask thee, in the name of Jesus, believest thou that his arm is not shortened at all? That he is still mighty to save? That he is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever? That he hath now power on earth to forgive sins?"Son, be of good cheer; thy sins are forgiven." God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven thee. Receive this, "not as the word of man; but as it is, indeed, the word of God;" and thou art justified freely through faith. Thou shalt be sanctified also through faith which is in Jesus, and shalt set to thy seal, even thine, that "God hath given unto us eternal life, and this life is in his Son."

6. Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you; and suffer ye the word of exhortation, even from one the least esteemed in the Church. Your conscience beareth you witness in the Holy Ghost, that these things are so, if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious. "This is eternal life, to know the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." This experimental knowledge, and this alone, is true Christianity. He is a Christian who hath received the Spirit of Christ. He is not a Christian who hath not received him. Neither is it possible to have received him, and not know it. day," (when he cometh, saith our Lord,) " ye shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you." This is that "Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John xiv. 17.)

"For, at that

7. The world cannot receive him, but utterly reject the Promise of the Father, contradicting and blaspheming. But every spirit which confesseth not this, is not of God. Yea, "this is that spirit of Antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come into the world, and even now it is in the world." He is Antichrist whosoever denies the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, or that the indwelling Spirit of God is the common privilege of all believers, the blessing of the Gospel, the unspeakable gift, the universal promise, the criterion of a real Christian.

8. It nothing helps them to say, "We do not deny the assistance of God's Spirit; but only this inspiration, this receiving the Holy Ghost, and being sensible of it. It is only

this feeling of the Spirit, this being moved by the Spirit, or filled with it, which we deny to have any place in sound religion." But, in only denying this, you deny the whole Scriptures; the whole Truth, and Promise, and Testimony of God.

9. Our own excellent Church knows nothing of this devilish distinction; but speaks plainly of "feeling the Spirit of Christ ;' of being "moved by the Holy Ghost," and knowing and 'feeling there is no other name than that of Jesus," ‡ whereby we can receive life and salvation. She teaches us all to pray for the "inspiration of the Holy Spirit; "§ yea, that we may be" filled with the Holy Ghost."|| Nay, and every Presbyter of hers professes to receive the Holy Ghost by the imposition of hands. Therefore to deny any of these, is, in effect, to renounce the Church of England, as well as the whole Christian Revelation.

10. But "the wisdom of God" was always "foolishness with men." No marvel, then, that the great mystery of the Gospel should be now also "hid from the wise and prudent," as well as in the days of old; that it should be almost universally denied, ridiculed, and exploded, as mere frenzy; and that all who dare avow it still, are branded with the names of madmen and enthusiasts! This is that falling away which was to come: that general apostasy, of all orders and degrees of men, which we even now find to have overspread the earth. "Run to and fro in the streets of Jerusalem, and see if ye can find a man," a man that loveth the Lord his God with all his heart, and serveth him with all his strength. How does our own land mourn (that we look no farther) under the overflowings of ungodliness! What villanies of every kind are committed day by day; yea, too often with impunity, by those who sin with a high hand, and glory in their shame! Who can reckon up the oaths, curses, profaneness, blasphemies; the lying, slandering, evil-speaking; the sabbath-breaking, gluttony, drunkenness, revenge; the whoredoms, adulteries, and various uncleanness; the frauds, injustice, oppression, extortion, which overspread our land as a flood?

11. And even among those who have kept themselves purc from these grosser abominations; how much anger and pride, how much sloth and idleness, how much softness and effeminacy, how much luxury and self-indulgence, how much

* Art. 17.

+ Office of consecrating Priests. § Collect before the Holy Communion.

Visitation of the Sick.

Order of Confirmation.

covetousness and ambition, how much thirst of praise, how much love of the world, how much fear of man is to be found! Meanwhile, how little of true religion! For, where is he that loveth either God or his neighbour, as he hath given us commandment? On the one hand, are those who have not so much as the form of godliness; on the other, those who have the form only: there stands the open, there the painted sepulchre. So that in very deed, whosoever were earnestly to behold any public gathering together of the people, (I fear those in our churches are not to be excepted,) might easily perceive, "that the one part were Sadducees, and the other Pharisees" the one having almost as little concern about religion, as if there were "no Resurrection, neither Angel nor Spirit ;" and the other, making it a mere lifeless form, a dull round of external performances, without either true faith, or the love of God, or joy in the Holy Ghost!

12. Would to God I could except us of this place! "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God, for you is, that ye may be saved" from this overflowing of ungodliness, and that here may its proud waves be stayed! But is it so indeed? God knoweth, yea, and our own consciences, it is not. Ye have not kept yourselves pure. Corrupt are we also and abominable; and few are there that understand any more; few that worship God in spirit and in truth. We too are "a generation that set not our hearts aright, and whose spirit cleaveth not steadfastly unto God:" he hath appointed us indeed to be "the salt of the earth; but if the salt hath lost its savour, it is thenceforth good for nothing; but to be cast out, and to be trodden underfoot of men."

13. And "Shall I not visit for these things, saith the Lord ? Shall not my soul be avenged on such a nation as this?" Yea, we know not how soon he may say to the sword, "Sword, go through this land!" He hath given us long space to repent. He lets us alone this year also: but he warns and awakens us by thunder. His judgments are abroad in the earth. And we have all reason to expect the heaviest of all, even that he "should come unto us quickly, and remove our candlestick out of its place, except we repent and do the first works; " unless we return to the principles of the Reformation, the truth and simplicity of the Gospel. Perhaps we are now resisting the last effort of divine grace to save us. Perhaps we have well nigh "filled up the measure of our iniquities,"