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by the grace of God to decide for Christ. The cry is heard in this house to-night, "Divide, divide." Those who shall say "aye" within their hearts take their place with Christ; but those who are of the "noes"-those who give the negative to the command of Christ-let them, at least, know what they are doing; and if they will go the downward road, let it be with their eyes open, fully aware where they go. But, oh! say not "No!" Oh! Spirit of God, let them not say "No!" Yield thee, man, yield to the gentle impulse which now bids thee say, "I will take his yoke upon me, for it is easy; I will follow him." Yield to his love who round you now the hands of a man would cast-the cords of his love who was given for you, to his altar binding you fast. Pray this prayer: "Lord, bind the sacrifice with cords, even with cords to the horns of the altar; let me be thine now, and thine hereafter when thou comest in thy glory!"

There is a question that has often been asked, with feelings of curiosity, which I cannot answer. It is this. Did the young man inherit eternal life after all? I think he did; I think he did; because Jesus loved him. I like his character throughout, as the Saviour evidently did, and he did not love because of outward appearances; he looked at the heart. I am not altogether displeased at his going away. It was a deal better than stopping, if he did not feel disposed to follow the good Master, who had eternal life at his disposal. He would do it honestly or not at all. I even look hopefully at his pausing awhile before complying, if such was the issue, for the man that flings all away in a moment may want it back again to-morrow. It was a great deal he had to part

from, and he went away, but he did not go away careless. I should be heartily glad if all my hearers went away sorrowing when they were not converted; I should think it was a hopeful sign. He went away sorrowing, and though the Saviour drew from that the moral that it was hard for a rich man to be saved, yet he said it was possible with God, and why, then, was it not possible with that young man? I do not know. There are some things to be said on either side, and where Scripture is silent we must not give a positive verdict.

But there is another question that I think is vastly more important, and to me far more interesting, but to each one of you it is charged with the most momentous consequence. It is this-will that young man that I have been talking to to-night be saved? And the young woman that I tried to describe just now, will she ultimately inherit eternal life? Oh! may God grant that the answer may be in each case- "Yea, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I trust thee, that I love thee; and whatever thou callest me to give up, or to be or to do for thy name's sake, even all things, I will do it." Then your decision shall furnish an unerring clue to your destiny. The Lord bless you. Cheer up. He has blessed you, and you shall be blessed. You are saved, and you shall be his in the day of his appearing. Amen.

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NTO the connection of these words the brief limit of our time will not permit us just now to enter. It was something like this. Paul had an argument in hand. He was showing that the law could not make a man holy, and he observes that he had himself

found when the law came into his heart it excited in him a desire to act contrary to its precepts. There were some actions which he would not have thought of until he found that they were forbidden, and then straightway he felt a desire to do them at once. To this a grave objection was raised. Did it not by implication make the law aid and abet sin? Not so, replies the apostle; it was not the law that made him sin, for the law is good; but it was the sinfulness of his heart that could thus turn that which was good into an occasion of evil. He further showed that this was the very design of the law as given by Moses to make clear how sinful sin was; the purpose for which it was sent was, not to make men holy, but to make men see how unholy they were. It was not

the cure of the disease, but it was the revealer of the disease that lurked in the constitution of man.

Now, what I want to call your attention to is, that Paul here calls sin "exceeding sinful." Why didn't he say "exceeding black," or "exceeding horrible," or "exceedingly dreadful?" Why, because there is nothing in the world so bad as sin.

When he wanted.

to use the very worst word he could find, to call sin by, he called it by its own name, and reiterated it: "sin," "exceeding sinful." For if you call sin black, there is no moral excellency or deformity in black or white. Black is as good as white, and white is as good as black, and you have expressed nothing. If you call sin "deadly," yet death in itself hath no evil in it compared with sin. For plants to die is not a dreadful thing; rather it may be a part of the organization of nature that successive generations of vegetables should spring up, and in due time should form the root-soil for other generations to follow; so if you call it "deadly" you have said but little. If you want a word you must come home for it. Sin must be named after itself. If you want to describe it you must call it "sinful.” Sin is "exceeding sinful."

The text may suggest a broad argument and a special application. Our endeavour shall be to show you that sin is in itself "exceeding sinful;" and that there are some sins of which it may be said with peculiar emphasis that they are "exceeding sinful."

SIN IS IN ITSELF "EXCEEDING SINFUL."

It is rebellion against God, and "exceeding sinful," because it interferes with the just rights and prerogatives of God That great invisible Spirit whom we

cannot see, whom even our own thoughts cannot encompass, made the heavens and the earth, and all things that are. It was his right that whatsoever he in wisdom and in goodness made should serve his purpose, and give him glory. The stars do this. They jar not in their everlasting orbits. The world of matter does this. He speaks, and it is done. The sun, the moon, the constellations of heaven speak his praise. Yea, and the terrestrial forces, even the billows of the sea and the ravings of the wind, all obey his behests. It is right they should. Shall not the potter make of the clay what he wills? Shall not he who uses the adze fashion what he chooseth for his own pleasure? You and I favoured in our creation-not inanimate clods, not worms, having sensations only, without intellect; we who have been favoured with thought, emotion, affection, with a high spiritual existence-aye, with an immortal existence,—we were especially bound to be obedient to him that made us. Ask your conscience, do you not feel that God has a right of proprietorship in you? Ask yourselves, if you make or preserve anything, and call it your own, because it is your own, do you not expect it to answer your end or do your bidding? Wherefore have you forgotten him that made you? Why have you spent your powers and faculties for anything but his glory? Ah, it is "exceeding sinful" when the crown-rights of him upon whose will we exist are ignored, or impudently contravened! Yet according to the part we take in sin we trample on his edicts, and set at nought his jurisdiction.

How exceeding sinful is this rebellion against such a God! Muse on his attributes, and consider his majesty,

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