state, and must not have too much imposed upon them. Not that they were always to continue weak. Fasting is not here denied, and at other times is supposed by Christ to be a duty, has the example of all ages, and all holy persons, to recommend it, and will be found a proper means to confirm and quicken us in our Christian progress, when used for right ends-to conquer our appetites, wean our hearts from the world, examine and humble ourselves, and draw nigh to God. Bodily infirmities may be an exemption; but let every man be sincere with himself.

ness.

LECTURE.

You have heard to-day how our Lord said to the sick of the palsy, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." Surely, these were sweet words to him; as they will be to us all, whenever we can persuade ourselves upon true grounds that they belong to us. If there is any thing that we should wish for more than another, it is to be loosed from the bond of our sins, to be at peace with God, and have rejoicing in our consciences from a sense of forgiveDo you want it, or do you not? You will say, yes, all do. Do you desire it? You think you do. But do you really desire it from a certain knowledge that you are undone without it, believing that it is to be had only in Christ, and willing to come to it in the way of his appointing? When he said to the sick of the palsy, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee, we are told moreover that he said it, "seeing their faith." Then the matter is plain, if we had no other direction in all Scripture concerning the great point upon which our salvation turns-it is faith. Faith brings us to Christ, faith receives him, faith makes Christ ours, with all its benefits, "by grace we are saved, through faith." But what brings us to faith? What

brought the paralytic to him but the knowledge of his distemper? What can bring any of us to him but like knowledge of him and ourselves? I mean our sin, which is the plague we are all sick of, and sure to perish by, without relief. God be praised, we have the remedy offered to us. We are reading of Jesus, that blessed name for sinners; and the Gospels were written on purpose to tell us who he is, what need we have of him, and what he will do for us. He did not come into the world only to cure diseases, and cast devils out of the bodies of men; but he thereby proved himself to be sent of God to help and to save lost mankind at all times, and in all places, you and me. There is not a man or woman here present, but may have the full benefit of him for their souls, and be assured of his power and gracious heart to help and deliver them, let their case be ever so desperate. And we hear him preached, and read of him in vain, if we do not come to him every one of us for ourselves, with a sense of our want of him, and belief of his power and will to succour us. We cannot be more helpless and more incurable by human means, than the man who had the palsy; and yet the word of Jesus not only restored him to perfect soundness in his body, but spake life and health into his soul, by pronouncing the forgiveness of his sins. What do you think upon hearing this? Is not this that Jesus who came to seek and to save us all, and died to purchase the forgiveness of our sins? Are not these glad tidings? Is not this the very person we all want? Why then do you not come to him? What can be the reason of this dead coldness and unconcern about your interest in him and salvation by him? Why," he came to call sinners to repentance;" you hear him saying to all, "You must repent;" you must know your sin; you must see yourselves undone by it; you must lay it down at the foot of the cross, and resolve never to take it up again; you must come to him to be washed

from the guilt of it in his blood, and put yourselves into his hands for strength against it. Think what you please, this is the way of coming to faith in him appointed by himself, and if you turn yourselves into ever so many shapes to avoid it, he will never appoint another; you must of all necessity feel so much of your disease, as to make you glad of a cure, before you can come to him for it. And now you see the reason of your slighting the offer he makes you of himself, and why you neither really desire nor believe in him. The word repentance frightens you from him. Precious as he is, you like your sins better; you prefer your present state, unsafe as it is, to his humbling knowledge and strict discipline, though it is for salvation; if you have something of a smooth, civil life to plead, and can justify yourselves before men, you look no farther; you never think what you are in the sight of God, and in this ignorance of yourselves turn over the rough work of repentance to the vilest of mankind.

My brethren, do not continue in darkness all your lives, know your sin, be in pain for yourselves, be in earnest with Jesus, do not lose your right and happy portion in him, repent that you may believe in him, and that your faith may carry on and perfect the work of your repentance. He is worth ten thousand worlds; for who but he could say to the perishing soul, in the name of God, "Thy sins be forgiven thee?" He who died that he might say it, and paid the vast debt we owed with his blood to redeem us from everlasting death. You could not do this; we were all lost for ever for any thing we can do to help ourselves; but by the grace which is given us we can come to him for life. You have heard him now calling you to repentance, and you must comply with his call if ever you attain to his salvation. Only take notice that your repentance does not save you, but your faith; but

then, as I have already told you, repentance is the way to faith, and nothing else can bring you to it. If you do not feel sin as your burden, you will never go to Christ to be eased of it. His method of bringing a soul home, is by convincing it of sin, fastening a charge of guilt upon it, and bringing it into straits. Then it can look to him for healing, and when it does, he has comfort for it; and this it is, here written in the word, and spoken to all who lay hold on it in faith, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee." The Lord stir you up to seek after it, speak it to your hearts, and keep you faithful to his love in all holy obedience.

PRAYER.

All praise, all glory be to thee, O God, for the power thou hast given unto thy Son Jesus Christ, to loose us from the bond of our sins, to renew our strength, to put us in the way of eternal life, and enable us to walk in it. Let thy word be surely believed among us, that the desire of our souls may be to his name, and that in the faith of his precious blood-shedding, grace, and power, we may hear him saying to every one of us, Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. Let thy Spirit convince us of our need of healing, that by the knowledge of our helpless condition in sin, we may be effectually stirred up to seek after deliverance. Deliver us from that pride of heart, and vain confidence of our being whole, which keeps us ignorant of our danger, and strengthens us in unbelief. Oh! turn our eyes and hearts to the great Physician whom we all want, who came into the world to cleanse us from our guilt, to purge out our corruption, to restore us to health and soundness, and redeem us from everlasting death. Let our sins bring us to repentance, and our repentance to Christ, and let our faith perfect our repentance. Thou who hast given Jesus to us, give us grace to

commit our souls to him; that rejoicing in his salvation, and living by his rule, we may be accepted through him, our blessed and only Saviour. Amen.

SECTION XVIII,

ST. MATTHEW, ix 18.

My daughter is even now dead: but come and lay the hand upon her, and she shall live.-This was a high degree of faith, but not more than was necessary. When we are so far awakened as to see the exceeding greatness of our wants, past sinfulness, and present deadness, we are hard put to it to think there is a power and will in Jesus answerable to them. The Scripture, therefore, strives hard to keep up our belief in him, as every way sufficient for our case; and whatever it is, our faith must not come short of it. If the ruler had believed that he was able to cure the leprosy, or the palsy, but not to raise the dead, he must have gone without help.

Ver. 19. And Jesus arose and followed him.- No delay in Jesus. He is always thus ready, and waits only for the call of our faith.

Ver. 21. For she said within herself, If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole.-Observe again; for it is of great moment to our peace, comfort, and restoration, what faith is; it is a sense of want, earnest desire of help, and application to Jesus for it, with a firm trust in his grace and power. As the ruler, and this woman, believed in him, and came to him for relief in their distress, so must we for our souls. And when we do thus come to him, we have no more reason to doubt of our faith, and all its saving effects, than we have of our wants.