even had Revelation been silent; and that repentance is not of itself efficacious to destroy the effect of human transgression, would appear from the sacrifices of the Ancient Heathens to be the general sense of mankind. It is true, we cannot tell why it was fit that an atonement should be made, or how the atonement of the Son of God is effectual to the pardon of the penitent any more than we can tell how God exists. Nor is it necessary that we should do so: all that we need know on the subject are the facts that the atonement was necessary, and will be effectual to the pardon and absolution of all them that truly repent and unfeignedly believe His Holy Gospel; as well as the consequent duties which the atonement binds upon all who would participate in the eternal benefits of it. The doctrine of the atonement is, without exception, the most important subject which can engage the attention of mankind, since it reveals to us the only means whereby the Most High will permit Himself to be reconciled to the penitent sinner, the only satisfaction which He will receive in lieu of the punishment of the guilty, the only terms upon which He will restore man to the innocence and happiness which he has lost, and the only sacrifice which He will accept as the propitiation of our sins.

All the consequences of the atonement, all its wonders, all its eternal effects no tongue of man or angel could tell; but that they are of great, of unspeakable extent, we may judge from the fact that the angels who have not, as far at least as we know, any personal interest in it, do nevertheless desire to look into its glories.

It was not to be expected, however, that man was to be interested to so great, so unspeakable an extent in the work of the atonement without being called upon by the help of God's grace to perform high and important duties, necessarily arising out of that great sacrifice which was offered by the Son of God upon the cross.

First and foremost of these duties is a lively faith in its efficacy, without which it will profit us nothing, and the great means of human Redemption becomes perfectly inapplicable to our individual case.

And this brings us to consider briefly the nature of that lively faith or trust in God's mercy through Christ, the exercise of which is the appointed means whereby to enable us to make a personal application of the Redeemer's merits to ourselves in particular, and to lay hold of the hope of pardon of our sins, as well as of the promise of the eternal inheritance. And if in speaking on this subject Î should first state what this lively faith is not-if I should first proceed to point out who those are who do not trust in God's mercy through Christ, I should say certainly not that large class of persons in every age and in every rank of life, who make trust in God to consist of a mere act of the mind or opinion of the head, which is neither joined to any true love to God, His Religion, and His service in the heart, nor to the practice of unfeigned devotion and true holiness in the every-day actions of the life.

Nor, certainly, on the other hand, can they with any truth be said to trust in God's mercy through Christ, who trust in man and make flesh their arm, who vainly confident in their own strength, feel not that of themselves they have no power to help themselves; or those whose religion is a mere matter of business to be gone through once a week, and then dismissed and forgotten, rather than to be an ever present principle ruling, influencing, and pervading all their thoughts, words, and actions.

And in passing on to speak of those who do really possess a lively faith in Christ, and who do really trust in His merits for salvation, I should say they are those, and only those, whose constant endeavour it is to crucify those sins which rendered the atonement offered by the Son of God on the cross necessary; who are continually mortifying all their carnal and corrupt affections, and daily proceeding in all virtue and godliness of living; and who shew by their conduct that they consider it their bounden duty, assisted by the Holy Spirit, to die daily unto sin, and rise again to righteousness, as the Blessed Saviour died on the cross for our sins, and rose again for our justification.

And whilst such godly persons will most humbly acknowledge that they have no power of themselves to help themselves, and will therefore constantly pray for God's help; they will at the same time use the utmost diligence, and will follow up the Divine assistance granted unto them by daily endeavouring, themselves to walk in the blessed steps of the Saviour's most holy life.

And by the exercise of a true faith in the merits of a crucified Saviour, which is only known to be a true faith, by its immediate connection with all those other acts of piety which make it as plainly known as a tree is known by its fruit, such good Christians will not only find themselves safe under the Highest protection in all the troubles and sorrows of this life present, but they will also have good hope of everlasting glory in the life to come; and will abound in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost.

And as they draw towards the end of their earthly course, and as the time of their departure is at hand, they will find this hope of entering into life through the atonement offered on the cross, to be what St. Paul describes it to be, an anchor of the soul both sure and stedfast-they will find it a hope which maketh not ashamed in the hour of deathand they will not be disappointed of their earnest expectation, and their hope in the day of judgment.

In appealing to the fidelity with which the Church of England has taught this vital doctrine of the atonement in her holy ritual, as well as the necessity there is for those to possess a lively and stedfast faith in it, who would be partakers of the benefits of it, the following passages, although a very few out of many, will be found to be unanswerable.

"Spare thou them, O God, which confess their faults. Restore thou them that are penitent, according to thy promises declared unto mankind in Christ Jesu our Lord."

"When thou hadst overcome the sharpness of death, thou didst open the kingdom of heaven to all believers."

"We therefore pray thee help thy servants, whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious blood."

"Remember not, Lord, our offences, nor the offences of our forefathers, neither take thou vengeance of our sins. Spare us good Lord, spare thy people, whom thou hast redeemed with thy most precious blood."

"O Lamb of God, that taketh away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us." •Almighty God, our Heavenly Father, who has purchased to thyself an universal Church by the precious blood of thy dear Son."

“And above all things ye must give most humble and hearty thanks to God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, for the redemption of the world by the death and passion of our Saviour Christ both God and man; who did humble himself, even to the death upon the cross for us miserable sinners who lay in darkness and the shadow of death; that he might make us the children of God, and exalt us to everlasting life."

The following passages urge the necessity of a trust in God's mercy through Christ.

"One of the qualifications required of them who come to the Lord's Supper is-to have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ. And in the address in the Communion Service, they are exhorted to have a lively and stedfast faith in Christ our Saviour."

In the Service for the Visitation of the Sick, part of the Minister's address is :

"The Almighty Lord, who is a most strong tower to all them that put their trust in Him, to whom all things in heaven, in earth, and under the earth, do bow and obey, be now and evermore thy defence; and make thee know and feel, that there is none other name under heaven given to man, in whom, and through whom thou mayest receive health and salvation, but only the name of our Lord Jesus Christ."

When the above passages are considered, and many more might be cited to the same effect, from the Collects and other parts of the Service; and when it is further remembered that the prayers end, through Jesus Christ our Lord; who will venture to deny the fidelity of the Church of England in teaching the vital doctrine of the atonement and the necessity of that lively and stedfast faith in its efficacy, without which it will not be available to our individual salvation?

And now let evidence be brought forward of the practice of some of her most devoted sons in this particular.

"Though I have by His grace loved Him in my youth, and feared Him in my age; yet if thou, O Lord, be extreme to mark what is done amiss, who can abide it? and, therefore, where I have failed, Lord, shew mercy to me; for 1 plead not my righteousness, but the forgiveness of my unrighteousness for His merits, who died to purchase pardon for penitent sinners.-Walton's Life of Hooker.

"Mr. Herbert after having given some directions concerning his last will, said, 'I am now ready to die.' 'Lord forsake me not now my strength faileth me; but grant me mercy for the merits of my Jesus, and now Lord, Lord, now receive my soul;' and with these words he breathed forth his divine soul, without any apparent disturbance.-Walton's Life of Herbert.

"And being pressed to make it his own request to God to be continued longer in the world, to the service of the Church; he immediately began a solemn prayer, which contained first a very humble and melting acknowledgment of sin, and a most earnest intercession for mercy and forgiveness through the merits of his Saviour.—Fell's Life of Hammond.

"When Mr. Stephens, in order to support him, urged that his reward would be great in Heaven, the good Bishop replied, 'My trust is in God, through the merits of Christ.'

"In pursuance, therefore, of those principles he had so well defended in his health, and in conformity with the Church's directions, this close of his life and last solemn act of it, designed to recapitulate the whole, was exactly by him adjusted; while to his faith he added thus, repentance, and to repentance charity, as the life and soul of them both; and casting himself, after having done all, upon the infinite mercies of God, and the inestimable merits of Christ, with the deepest sense of his own unworthiness, thereby expressed the true and only way of justification which he had chosen. "He magnified the grace of his Redeemer, calling upon Him by faith with great fervency, for inward purification and perfect remission of his sins.

"Which devout acts and aspirations, expressing the sincerity of his faith and repentance, he signified in the style of all the saints, and concluded in the very words of the Prophet David, 'who can tell how oft he offendeth? O cleanse thou me from my secret faults.'-Nelson's Life of Bp. Bull.

"First I commend my soul into the hand of Almighty God, as of a faithful Creator, which I humbly beseech Him mercifully to accept, looking upon it not as it is in itself (infinitely polluted by sin,) but as it is redeemed and purged with the precious

E

blood of his only beloved Son, and my most sweet Saviour Jesus Christ; in confidence of whose merits and mediation alone it is, that I cast myself upon the mercy of God for the pardon of my sins, and the hopes of eternal life.-Wallon's Life of Bp. Sanderson.

"O Eternal God and merciful Father, look down upon me in mercy, in the riches and fulness of all thy mercies, look upon me, but not till thou hast bathed me in the blood of Christ, not till I have hid myself in the wounds of Christ; that so the punishment due unto my sins may pass over me.-From Last Prayer of Abp. Laud just before his Martyrdom.

"Lord, I am coming as fast as I can. I know I must pass through the shadow of death, before I can come to see thee. But it is but umbra mortis, a mere shadow of death, a little darkness upon nature, but Thou by Thy merits and passion hast broke through the jaws of death."-Words of Abp. Laud as he kneeled by the Block.

ESSAY THE NINTH.

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

THERE is, perhaps, no subject on which the sacred scriptures have for the most part preserved a more studied silence, than that of the employments of those blessed angels who stand in the more immediate presence of the Lord.

That any allusion to such a subject should be of the most general nature, will excite in us little surprise, when we reflect that a fuller Revelation on this subject, is neither needful for our happiness, nor suited to our present limited faculties.

When, therefore, any Revelation is made on such a subject, we shall find that it is generally done to call our attention, in the most striking manner, to something pertaining to our present and eternal welfare.

Thus would St. Peter remind us of the unspeakable importance of human Redemption; and of those Revelations which pertain to its accomplishment, he says, "which things the angels desire to look into:" and what more powerful means could be employed to draw the attention of mankind to those things which are not seen, but eternal; than the assurance that those blessed, pure, and holy beings who stand in the more immediate presence of the Lord, employ themselves in looking into that great work in which, as far at least as we know, they have no personal interest, and which was not only devised but carried into effect on man's behalf by God himself?

When, moreover, the Son of God condescends to speak of any portion of the employments of heaven, to whom those employments had been from all eternity familiar, we may be sure that any Revelation from Him on such a subject was made to satisfy no idle curiosity; but to call our attention, in the most striking manner, to some subject of overwhelming importance to our present and eternal welfare.

Hence if there is one act of piety towards God of vital and unspeakable importance (and every act of piety may be proved to be such)-if there is one duty of the most imperative obligation-if there is one part of godliness which must be performed by all persons, and which under no

circumstances whatever can be abated or omitted; surely we might conclude it to be that which would cause joy in the presence of the angels of God.

And when we come to know that this act of piety is Repentance, surely we shall want no stronger motive to urge us to repent, whether we can find the reason of its unspeakable importance, or not.

A full and sufficient reason, however, for the necessity of repentance, is, that no sinner whilst he remains in a state of impenitence is capable of the Divine pardon.

Since sin is the transgression of the Holy Law of God, it follows at once that he who refuses or neglects to repent, does practically justify his own ungodly deeds, refuses to acknowledge that God is in the right and that he is in the wrong, and in stubborn rebellion will not confess his own guilt, and the perfect rectitude of the Lord.

And to such a person so long as he remains in this state of impenitence, the great remedy for reconciling man to God cannot be applied; for he who obstinately justifies his own actions before God, and will not acknowledge and confess his manifold sins and wickedness, can neither feel his need of forgiveness, nor have his sins washed away by the blood of the atonement; can neither have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, nor by his Saviour's merits have his pardon sealed in Heaven, before he goes hence to be no more seen.

Hence we see the reason why our blessed Lord attached so much weight and importance to repentance as not only to be continually enforcing it in His own discourses; but also before His ascension, to solemnly charge his apostles, and through them their successors in the ministry, in every age of the world, "That repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations beginning at Jerusalem."

In accordance with this account of the unspeakable importance of repentance, we find the necessity of its performance continually enforced both in the Old and in the New Testament.

In the former we find not only exhortations to repentance and amendment of life abounding in Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms ; but also many examples of individuals, as Hezekiah, obtaining pardon by a timely repentance, and of a whole people, as those of Nineveh, escaping by the same means destruction otherwise inevitable.

In the New Testament also the utmost importance is attached to repentance, and the very means employed by the fore-runner of the Messiah, in order to make straight the ways of the Lord, was to exhort men to the performance of this duty, by warning them to repent, and to bring forth fruits meet for repentance.

And if higher argument be wanting to prove to us the unspeakable importance of this duty; it will be supplied when we remember that the Saviour of the world Himself begun His ministry by exhorting men to repent, and that He has assured us in the words which stand at the head of this essay, that there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.'

Seeing then that repentance is thus proved to be of vital and unspeakable importance, it behoves us carefully to consider what is the nature and what are the constituent parts of the duty? What are the means to