in Jesus' name, and tell Him what Jesus said, "I know that thou hearest me always "-plead His name, poor broken-hearted sinner, and if God does not hear thee, do not believe me any more; plead His name, in the exercise of faith, and if you do not obtain " repentance and remission of sins," and eternal salvation, I will not preach it any more; only plead His name as a Surety, and tell the Father that in the name of Jesus you find all the obedience that is requisite for His law-that in the name of Jesus you find all the victories that are requisite over sin, Satan, death, and hell, in behalf of His Church that in the name of Jesus you find all the satisfaction that the infinite perfections and attributes of Deity demanded, in behalf of the elect family of God-that in the name of Jesus you find every promise fulfilled, being yea and amen in Him that in the name of Jesus you find every promise concentrated, every elect vessel secured and saved, and all the glories of the Divine perfections emblazoned and honoured.

When, therefore, we preach repentance and remission of sins, we preach them in the name of the Divine Surety, and not as a contingency. We do not say, "If you will but repent Christ will die for you, or own that He died for you, though it may not be known yet;" we never put such conditions, but we preach them as the gift of God, and the work of the Spirit, and the suretyship of Christ is the plea; because Christ has died, because Christ is responsible, because Christ is the Surety and Substitute of His beloved family, therefore we preach repentance and remission of sins to them all.

own.

Go on just to mark, that when we mention His precious name we insist upon the union which there is between Christ's name and theirs. There is a union of the name of Christ and the name of His mystical members in the Lamb's book of life. If you can point to His name there, the finger of faith will not be far off to point to your Paul speaks of the matter with confidence. He says, "Whose names are written in the book of life." How could he know that? Just because God had given them repentance and remission of sins, and they were brought to rely on the suretyship of Christ, which could never be done if their names were not in union with Christ from everlasting. This is the grand first cause. Then, mark, that the enjoyment of the forgiveness of sins can never be realized but by that union becoming vital. Therefore, that one word "union" is of vast importance. There would have been nothing done for you and me whatever, with reference to repentance and remission of sins, but for the eternal covenant union existing between Christ's name and ours, as written in the book of life. There is nothing known of it on earth, or enjoyed in the poor sinner's heart, until it becomes a vital union, until it becomes a marriage union, until it becomes an engrafted union, until it becomes such a living oneness as leads the poor soul to draw, receive, obtain, possess the very life, grace, and fulness which there is in Christ Jesus, in his own personal experience, as it is written, "Of His fulness have we all received, and grace for grace;" in the same manner as the remotest twig of your fruit trees draws to its very extremity all the sap and nourishment from the root, by virtue of its vital union with the boughs and the stem. The union of the believer with Christ is as real and as positive as the union of my fingers with my hand, or my hand with my arm, or my arm with my bodya union which cannot be destroyed, and by which the weakest, the

feeblest, the humblest believer in Jesus on the face of the earth, receives his nourishment and sap every day. Every breath of prayer, every offering of praise, every feeling of gratitude, every emotion of love, every exercise of the graces of the Spirit within, are all realized by virtue of this vital union with Christ. That is the medium.

A word more. The interests, which are mutual between Christ and His Church, are secured by it. There comes His name again, because you know we are accustomed to preach God's gospel of " repentance and remission of sins," without conditions, and the ground on which we assert it to be without conditions is the name of Christ; because the name of Christ is implicated (bear with the strength of the expression), the name of Christ is pledged, the name of Christ is engaged in covenant bonds, the name of Christ is given in at the court of heaven, on the behalf of all that the Father gave Him; the name of Christ secures His glory and His honour, and the perfections of His work, and consequently secures the interests of His flock, the salvation of His people, and, among the grand features of that salvation, their repentance is included; so that while Jehovah Jesus' name remains untarnished, that repentance which He is exalted to give must and shall be bestowed upon every elect vessel of mercy. I hope you will carry these things home with you, because there is nothing so marred, in the days in which we live, as the doctrine of repentance. Then mark, I beseech you, that the interests of Christ and of His Church, being so blended, so inseparable, so mutual, so long as He regards the honour of His own name, He cannot but regard the interests of His Church, He cannot but regard the present happiness and eternal welfare of all the election of grace. Oh! how I wish my God would favour me with a richer vocabulary; oh! how I wish I could find more glorious words, more full expressions, more powerful language, to set forth this identity between Jesus and His Church. "In His name" all the saints in heaven got there"in His name "all the saints on earth are travelling thither—“ in His name" (mark it, poor sinner, it is published for you) "in His name whosoever believeth shall receive the remission of sins."

III. I must make use of the little remaining strength I have to say a word or two about the extent:-" Among all nations."

I cannot help publicly owning that I have felt my heart cheered with the thought, that though I cannot now travel, and never could, as far as Paul did, yet the proclamations of Jesus' precious name made from this pulpit, for the last twelve months, are now circulating, if not "among all nations," certainly all over Europe; and it has greatly rejoiced my heart to know that God has put so much honour on our good friend's labour (for only the preaching is mine), as he has told you in his little preface to the first volume of "GROVE CHAPEL PULPIT," which is now bound up. When I heard that there are nearly one hundred thousand copies of what has dropped from my lips during the last twelve months, now in circulation in the world, I could not help exclaiming," Blessed be thy name, thy word has gone among all nations.' I am not anxious to stay here any longer, now I have seen that fully carried out, but am inclined to exclaim with Simeon, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according thy word, for mine eyes have seen thy salvation."

Bear with this digression. I wish you to mark, that all nations are

implicated in sin, and in its guilt and consequences. Well, how is "repentance and remission of sins" to be preached? "Why," say some, "go and tell men to repent, exhort and welcome them to do it, urge them by all the terror of hell to set about it immediately." Yes, and I might do this till Doomsday, and it would have no more effect than it had upon Judas, who went and hung himself.

Now the word "repent," as we have already seen, has a variety of meanings. One Scripture saith, "God commandeth all men everywhere to repent." But if that had been a command of grace; if that had been the command of the Holy Ghost to every man's heart, every man would repent. When I look at such a passage as that, I see this to be the meaning; "all nations," men from among all nations; all descriptions of persons. The proclamation goes forth from God as his command. Now when I find this put in the form of a command and injunction, I always clearly discover a challenge which God himself gives to man's proud boasting free-will. Man says he can repent, man says he will repent when he likes; man says he means to repent some day or other. "Now," says God, “repent;" and while God leaves man to himself, neither the commands of men nor the fear of hell can produce a grain of genuine repentance in a poor sinner's heart. Pharaoh was said to have repented; and when plague after plague came upon him, he sent for Moses, saying, "I will repent, and get me out of this;" but when they were gone, he went back to his sin. He did not hate sin-there was no repentance before God. Look at that reproof which Paul gave to Simon Magus, so harped upon by the proud free-willers of our day, that they seem to set all other Scriptures on one side, about repentance being God's gift, because man was told to do it himself. Just turn to the instance I have mentioned, in order to refute their abominable rejecting of the Holy Spirit's work, and wilful perversion of God's truth. Simon believed, it is said, and was baptized; and there are thousands that talk about believing first, and being baptized afterwards, who are just as far from the kingdom of heaven as he was. He continued for a little time with Philip, and wondered at the miracles and signs which God enabled him to work. At length it was high time that the vile hypocrisy of his heart should be exposed; accordingly he was tempted to simony, as it is called now-a-days, to endeavour to buy the gift of the Holy Ghost. He "offered the disciples money, saying, Give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost. But Peter said unto him, Thy money perish with thee." Thou baptized hypocrite!"thy money perish with thee." The eternal condemnation of Simon was as plainly to be seen in his face, by Peter's spiritual discernment, as if he was before the judgment seat. "Thy money perish with thee, because thou hast thought that the gift of God may be purchased with money. Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter; for thy heart is not right in the sight of God." Now just mark, before I speak of what the persons I have alluded to dwell so much upon, how Peter dealt with this impious wretch. He told him that he had "neither part nor lot in the matter," that he was sure to perish, that he was in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity;" and yet Peter says, "Repent therefore of this thy wickedness. Here he preached repentance to him. And what was that repentance? Just what I named in the former part of the subject, a changing of opinion. This daring sorcerer had conceived that he should be as successful in minis.

tering, by miracles and in the name of Christ, as he had been in his sorceries in the name of the devil. He thought it of no consequence whether he served Christ or the devil; this was his opinion. "Now," says Peter, "let thy mind be changed from this opinion; repent of this thy wickedness, lest hell should be the hotter, lest vengeance should be ten times more severe."

This is my view of the matter. At all events, Peter could not suppose that Simon Magus, whom he declared to be "in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity," had power to give himself repentance. It is an insult to common sense to insinuate that Peter could have imagined that the very gifts which Christ was exalted to bestow, were already in the possession of a sorcerer, were already in the possession of a man ready to perish; were already in the possession of a man "in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." Whenever there are apparent difficulties in the word of God, we must follow the analogy of faith, and compare one passage with another. Now observe, Peter urged on this Simon Magus to repent, not as an act of his own, as if he had power to create the grace of repentance, and rob Christ of His office in heaven; and to reject the Holy Ghost, whose ministry it is to effect it in the heart. Can I for a moment believe that Peter, living under the influence of the Holy Ghost, and in love to his blessed Master, would reject both by one piece of advice to a sorcerer; that be far from the man of God. I tell you, beloved, you must view his exhortation to repentance simply as an exhortation to change of opinion. You know there are many men on earth who change their opinions, perhaps from bad to worse. An Arian may change his opinion; he may repent that he has ever given Christ the nature of God at all, and turn Socinian; but that is not repentance unto life. I could go to such an one and say, Repent of being an Arian, and turn Socinian." Moreover, it may be just to challenge the proud free-will of man. You know that the prophet was commanded to say to the children of Israel, "Why will ye die?" "make yourselves clean hearts." Did he imagine that they could do it? It was merely a challenge to their boasted free-will. Do it if you can; take God's work out of His hands if you are able.

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I have dwelt the more explicitly on this part of the subject, because I would have the manner of preaching repentance and remission of sins clearly understood. It is our's to proclaim it to you; it is Christ's to give it to you; it is the Holy Ghost's to work it in you. Let me now just observe, that as this extensive commission is to be carried out among all_nations,", we cannot have one gospel for England, and another for France, and another for Germany, and another for Russia. No; if the man is a servant of Christ, he will preach the same gospel everywhere; and for this reason-the election of grace are scattered among all nations; and, therefore, it is enjoined upon ministers, who are ordained in the Establishment, "to seek for Christ's sheep that are scattered abroad, and for His children who are in the midst of this naughty world." What, then, is the errand? To preach repentance and remission of sins, for the very purpose of gathering together Christ's sheep that are scattered abroad-His elect, in all parts of the world. Now Peter set about it in quite a business-like manner, under the direction of the Holy Ghost. Therefore, when he sends his epistle, he addresses it "to the strangers scattered throughont Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bythinia, elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." "Find out the elect, scattered among

all nations." If this is not the plain meaning of Scripture, I cannot tell where to ascertain it. The whole world is the parish of Christ's preachers. They must face all danger, opposition, and persecution; for they must proclaim "repentance and remission of sins" in the name of Jesus, as the Surety and Substitute of His Church, among all nations, that He may be glorified thereby.

Should you like to know whether you are one of the elect? Some may be saying, "I would give all the world to know if I am one of God's elect." Then you have only to ascertain whether He has given you repentance and remission of sins. If He has, you are sure to be one. I have no hesitation in making this declaration for the comfort of distressed souls. No matter what country you come from, if God has given you repentance and remission of sins your name has been set down in the Lamb's book of life from all eternity, and you are sure to get to heaven.

One word more, and I sit down. The distinction with which the vilest of all nations was marked by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. "Beginning at Jerusalem." We touched upon this in our exordium, but we must close with it likewise, in order that the vilest sinner here, who feels himself to be such, and the oldest, most notorious, greyheaded, overgrown sinner that can be found, who may be upon the borders of despair, thinking he must give up all for lost, may remember, that when Jesus commissioned His disciples to go forth to preach the gospel, He said, "Beginning at Jerusalem." I think if I had been one of the apostles, I should have said, "Let us begin at Calvary; let us go into the temple into Pilate's hall, and if we meet the ruffian band that crowned Him with thorns, and used all manner of indignities towards Him, say to them, 'Repentance and remission of sins we proclaim in your hearing; repentance and remission of sins are to be had in Him alone, whose blood you have shed; and then we will traverse the streets of Jerusalem, and see if we can find a few more Mary Magdalenes, a few more thieves, such as were nailed beside Him and reviled Him, and tell them all, repentance and remission of sins are to be had by Jerusalem sinners, through Him who was crucified by you, mocked by you, thorn-crowned by you, reviled and rejected by you."

Oh, the importance of setting forth the gospel of Jesus Christ, in its suitableness to ruined sinners! Now if the apostles had gone to those poor Jerusalem sinners and said to them, "If you will but repent Christ will forgive you after all," that "if" would seal their damnation. "I would crucify Him again," I think would be the cry; and thousands do now "crucify the Son of God afresh, and put Him to an open shame." You may talk to men about repentance till the flames of hell scorch them, and you will never bring them to repentance, but let the Holy Ghost take a drop of blood from Calvary, and sprinkle the sinner's conscience, and the sinner must fall down and cry out to God for forgiveness till he gets it, and then the Divine prerogative of our precious Christ shall be put forth, "Son, daughter, thy sins which are many are all forgiven thee.' Oh, my precious Christ! speak thus to some poor sinner's heart this morning, and thy great name shall be eternally glorified thereby.