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"shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings," Mal. iv. 2.

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3d, Are there not some of you, my friends, who can say to the ever-blessed Spirit, concerning the things of Christ, "in thy light do we see light.' "Who hath made you to differ from others,"-who are involved in a second darkness,-who see imperfectly and unsatisfactorily,-or who are absolutely blind? O, how precious this gift of sovereign grace! By it ye are continuing to be changed more and more into the image of God; by it ye perceive the work of the Spirit in your heart and life; by it ye are enabled to say to God, "thou hast put gladness in my heart, more than in the time the corn and wine of the men of the world increased." Consider what ye were, and what ye may become through pride, and security, and sloth, and wilful sin; and are not humility, and watchfulness, and holy diligence your incumbent duties, as well as present thankfulness? Carry about with you the word of God, that light of your feet, and that lamp to your path. In the sacrament of the Supper, feed on that flesh which is meat indeed, and that blood which is drink indeed, that your strength may be renewed for the walk of faith, in the light of the Lord. And with the unwearied importunity of children under the pressure of hunger, apply to your Father in heaven for grace suited to your time of need. Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and unto you it shall be

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opened, for if ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him," Matt. vii. 7, 11.

4th, I cannot conclude without a parting word to those who are careless of Christ, and the office of the Spirit, described in the text. Ye are careless of Christ; ye seldom think of him, but perhaps to blaspheme his name; ye imagine his favour, if necessary, may be had at any price, and at any time you please to ask it; you live as if Christ never had existed. And is this treatment worthy of the Son of God in our nature, who died and descended into the grave, and is now exalted to the government of the world, to save you from sin and hell? Ye may neglect learning, and pleasure, and riches, and power, and life itself, and be saved; but if ye neglect Christ, ye must perish miserably and for ever. "How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" And why are ye careless of Christ? Chiefly because ye are careless of the Holy Spirit. but the Holy Spirit can make saving discoveries of the things of Christ to the soul of corrupt, apostate None but He who created the soul of man can renew him in the spirit of his mind. None but He who hath received the things of Christ, from the Father and the Son, can show them unto the renewed soul with saving and comforting power. One man may discover the invention of another, and reap all the advantages of it, without the assistance of the

man.

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first inventor; but no man can discover the counsels of heaven, the knowledge of which is essential to eternal life, save he who is appointed in the unchangeable purposes of the Godhead to reveal them in the soul of man,-even the Holy Ghost. This is the method of communicating saving knowledge fixed by the unalterable decree of heaven. And who are ye, O men, that ye should be careless of it? If ye are careless of the inward effectual teaching of the Holy Ghost, is it not because ye are ignorant of his office? All of you know something about the love of the Father, and the atoning death of the Son; but it is lamentable, it is dreadful, that with the Bible, the catechism in their hands, with instruction in public and private, so many are ignorant, not only of the work of the Spirit in their own hearts, where it must be if they shall not perish, where they must perceive it if ever they shall enjoy the assurance of faith, but ignorant of it as taught by himself in the Scriptures. If ye are careless of the inward effectual teaching of the Holy Spirit, is it not because ye are self-confident,-confident of your penetration and unassisted efforts? Many are the books that contain the principles of every trade, art, or science, and yet ye uniformly learn the knowledge of these by the help of a proper teacher; and have ye the strange presumption to think that ye can learn "the things of Christ" essential to the art of living by faith on the Son of God, in order to a meetness for the exercises and enjoyments of heaven,

without the assistance of the only sufficient and appointed teacher of things pertaining to salvation? What is this wilful ignorance of the office of the Spirit-what is this contempt of his assistance, but a contempt of the unchangeable plan of heaven, a contempt of the love of the Father originating it, a contempt of the mediation of the Son maturing it, and a contempt of the person and office of the Holy Ghost executing it? And will this horrible audacity, at which the heavens and earth are astonished, at which angels weep, at which devils rejoice as far exceeding their own horrible audacity, escape an adequate and tremendous punishment? Impossible. Ruin, perdition, destruction inevitable, must follow the contempt of the Spirit's instruction. If you have a hope, is not that hope founded on the love of the Father and the sacrifice of the Son? But what will the love of the Father, what will the sacrifice of the Son avail you, unless you are instructed and interested in it by the Holy Spirit? Alas! the blood of Christ will cry not for your pardon but your condemnation; the love of the Father will be changed into fury, and his power, that would have been exerted to save, will be put forth to destroy you. Would ye escape this coming storm of indignation and wrath, tribulation and anguish, instantly flee to Christ, and go to school to the Holy Spirit; and may the good Spirit lead you into the land of uprightness!

SERMON XXII.

PROV. iv. 18.-"The path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

"WHO are the just, and what is their path, of which glorious things are spoken by Solomon ?" are questions very becoming us, when we reflect that there are but two ways in which mankind can travel, the one of which leads to eternal misery, and the other to everlasting happiness,—that we are travelling in one of these ways, that we are now another year's journey on our way, and that our path becomes interesting in proportion as we approach its awful termination.

"Who are the just ?" He is just who renders to every one what is due. A just man does unto all men as he would reasonably have them do unto him in like circumstances. As we do not call him just, who, withholding nothing due to his equals and inferiors, is disloyal or traitorous to his sovereign; so he is not just who renders not to God, his supreme Lord, the glory that is due. Hence, a just man is devoted to the glory of God, he walks in his ordinances and commandments blameless, and performeth all his

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