condemning force; to weep in the prospect of impending judgments. You may have done this often, but yet your soul bows not in submission and love. You may as often repeat it, but, unless under the power of truth thus impressed, you resolve in God's strength, to do all that the Lord your God requires of you, be it to cut off a right hand, or to pluck out a right eye, your hearing will be in vain. Solemn as you may feel in the sanctuary, if you cross its threshold undecided to be a doer of the word, the first half-hour of intercourse with the world will probably drive away all your .seriousness, as it has a thousand times, leaving your heart, like metal heated and cooled, harder than

before.

In conclusion, beloved hearers, let me earnestly press the exhortation of my text upon each of your consciences-Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only! Involve not yourselves in the miserable self-deceptions and ultimate self-destruction of such a profitless attendance upon the ministrations of the Gospel. Bear upon your soul this thrillingly impressive thought, that whomsoever the Gospel blesses not with salvation, it will curse with a fearfully increased condemnation. If Christ had not come and spoken to you, you would have been comparatively sinless. But what will be the end of those who obey nor His words, preached to them with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven?

Remember also this, that from whatever motives, with whatever dispositions you come to the sanctuary, God has a perfect perception of them all. Upon no spot under the face of heaven does his eye rest with a closer scrutiny, than upon the congregations of his professed worshippers. Alas! what profaning of that which is holy does he behold, as that glance reads the hearts of thousands of these weekly frequenters of his tabernacles. Hearer, what has God seen, what sees he now in your bosom? Which of all these sinful methods of hearing his truth. has he charged against your name, as sermon after sermon has fallen vainly on your ear, and borne up its report of failure to heaven? Fellow sinner, as you would not meet in every one of these sermons the face of an accuser at the final day to convict you of the lifelong crime of rebellion against God's tenderest mercies, his most righteous claims, I entreat you, "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only."

SERMON DCXII.

BY REV. EMERSON DAVIS, D. D.,

WESTFIELD MASS.

HEAVEN ENTERED THROUGH CHRIST THE DOOR.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, he that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.”—JOHN x. 1.

From the use our Saviour made of this remark, we are at no loss about its meaning. He calls himself the door through which heaven is entered, and teaches us that those who seek for admission in any other way, will not only fail of accomplishing their purpose, but will incur great guilt and expose themselves to a severer condemnation. As the man who seeks to enter a sheepfold in a clandestine manner, or in a way that one who had a right to enter would not, is presumed to have some evil intentions; so those who would enter heaven in some other way than through the door, are regarded as unwilling to be indebted to Christ for their salvation.

The text teaches, that we must be saved by Christ, if at all, and that sinners are desirous of securing eternal life in some other way.

I shall endeavor to describe the feelings of an awakened sinner at different stages of his conviction, and to show that he is aiming all the while to climb up in some other way.

I. Consider what he does when his attention is first arrested by the Holy Spirit. A ray of light has darted into his mind, and he feels wretched and miserable. He is arraigned before the bar of his own conscience and condemned. He not only knows that he has sinned, but he feels a consciousness of guilt. He cannot rest; his soul is disquieted; he has a fearful looking-for of judgment. Many, and perhaps most of you have at some period of life, been in this state of mind. Some of you turned back to a state of indifference and soon forgot what manner of persons you were, and some after being driven from every hiding place, finally came to Christ. You did not when first convicted of sin flee immediately to him, but you attempted to climb up in some other way. You sought to secure the favor of God and pardoning mercy by breaking off from some outward acts of wickedness. If you had desecrated the Sabbath, used profane language, or were addicted to any bad habit you resolved to reform, to

put away the evil of your doings. As the master of a ship, engaged in the smuggling trade, when in fear of being taken, throws his goods overboard, so you began to put away your sins, though they were dear to you as a right hand or eye-you hoped thus to bring relief to a guilty conscience.

Some never go farther than this; they find the habits of sin so strong, that they conclude to indulge therein a little longer, and die at last as they have lived.

But others having reformed their outward conduct, perceive that ceasing to do wickedly is only a negative kind of religion, that there is nothing positive in it, and nothing to which they can trust for salvation. They have no peace of mind, and none of the joys of which those speak, who are the followers of Christ. They had expected, that as soon as they reformed their outward conduct, a change would come over them; that old things would pass away and all things become new. But they begin to see that the whole of their sinfulness does not consist in external obliquities, that they are guilty of numberless omissions, and that ceasing to do evil will not make them what they should be. They begin to get a glimpse of the impurity that is within. Thus ends the first stage of the sinner's conviction.

II. Let us follow him through another stage of his conviction. Instead of fleeing to Christ with a full persuasion that he cannot save himself, he resolves to perform the duties he has neglected, hoping that if he adds "learning to do well" to "ceasing to do evil," it will bring him into a state of salvation. He begins to pray and to search the Scriptures. Like Herod he does many things and hears the word gladly. He endeavors to conform to the requirements of the law. He goes to the inquiry meeting and his expectation is, that the Lord will pardon his sins and fill his soul with peace, because he is now more obedient. He imagines himself to be truly penitent, and believes the Lord will reward him by putting a new song into his mouth. Some, while in this state, are injudiciously encouraged by their friends to conclude, that they have really been converted; that if they will only think they are, all will be well. Thus without having come to Christ or even attempted to enter through the door, some conclude they have been renewed and made meet for the inheritance of the saints. The thought that they may be Christians, and that others think so, fills them with a degree of joy they never felt before. They seem to endure for a while, then relapse into their former state, and bring forth no fruit meet for repentance. Their goodness is like the morning cloud.

But some are preserved from this fatal delusion. They perceive that their hearts cannot be right. Their consciences trouble them still, for not coming up to the standard of requirement; the law denounces them for not "continuing in all things written in the book of the law to do them." They become at

length satisfied, that they cannot secure the gift of God, which is eternal life, by refraining from outward immoralities, nor by their efforts to keep the law perfectly. Driven from the hope of climbing up to heaven in this way, the sinner has now arrived at the end of the second stage of his efforts. Having found that by the deeds of the law he cannot be justified, let us consider,

III. How he still further tries to secure the favor of God without coming to Christ. He finds it written, "he that confesseth and forsaketh his sins shall find mercy," that "if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive our sins," and not considering that such promises imply a reliance upon Christ as the meritorious ground of acceptance, he confesses his sins, asks for pardon, and promises to be more watchful. He is trusting still to his own doings as much as before. The only difference between his present and former state is, that he has added to his efforts to keep the law, confessions and good resolutions. Thus many go on through life, knowing no other religion than to perform duties and pray that their omissions may be forgiven. They hope for heaven while entire strangers to Christ. The Spirit of the Lord, however, leads some of these confessors to see that hitherto they have been laboring to make clean the outside of the cup and platter, that the commandment is exceeding broad, that it extends to the thoughts and intents of the heart. They discover that an external religion is insufficient, that "he is not a Jew who is one outwardly," and that their hearts are full of pride, covetousness, envy, and other evil passions. They begin to see that the heart is the fountain from which their outward acts flow, and that it will avail nothing to labor to purify the stream while the fountain is corrupt. Having arrived at the end of this stage of their inquiries, let us see,

IV. In what other way the convicted sinner will seek to climb up to heaven, without entering through the door. The idea still prevails, that he can in some way work out a righteousness of his own. He does not think of relying upon the righteousness of Christ, nor does he yet feel his need of a mediator. He begins to mourn over the evils of his heart, and to confess these as he did his outward transgressions. He strives to mortify his pride, to curb his evil passions, and to banish from his mind wicked thoughts. He prays more earnestly, hears more attentively, and strives to have his heart more affected. If he seems to himself to have some success in this new effort, he begins to think he is a Jew inwardly as well as outwardly, and here he may settle down with a conviction that the work is now done. The thought that he, perhaps, is already a Christian, gives him some joy. He is in danger of mistaking a change wrought by his own efforts for regeneration by the Holy Ghost, and the joy he has in contemplating his own works for joy in the Lord.

It is not so with all. Some perceive that their hearts are still full of evil; they find no end to wrong-doing and wrong feeling. The more they consider their ways, the more evil they discover. If they succeed in mortifying one proud feeling, they perceive that they are proud of their success-their pride developes itself continually in some new form. If they cease to covet one thing, they covet another; or to envy one person, they forthwith envy another. They seem to themselves to be in the condition of one who begins to mend an old garment; the more he examines, the more rents he discovers; or like one upon ice that is giving way under his feet; he changes his position, but it breaks there also, and he can find no rest for the sole of his foot. He sees himself to be more depraved than he ever supposed himself to be; that there is no free part nor soundness in him, and that he is full of wounds and bruises. Here ends the fourth stage of the inquirer's progress. Let us consider,

V. Whether the sinner is now ready to enter through the door. He feels his need of help; he is convinced that he cannot make himself righteous. He cannot now, and thinks he never shall obey the law perfectly. The sins of his past life stand against him, and he can do nothing but confess them. He is satisfied that he needs help, but still he expects to do much towards saving himself. He has heard that Christ came to seek and save the lost, that he is a compassionate Saviour, and his help he will freely give. He goes to Christ with a desire that enough of his righteousness may be granted to make up his own deficiency. He resolves to do what he can himself, and look to Christ for the remainder. Some rest here, and live on through life expecting to be saved partly by their own doings, and partly by the grace of Christ.

Some, however, are here brought to see, that if a person seeks to be saved in part by his own deeds, he must trust to them entirely, for there can be no mixing up of his own righteousness with that of Christ. The epistle to the Galatians teaches most clearly the fallacy of the hopes of those who attempt to climb up to heaven in this way. The ways of faith and of works are so different that it is impossible to walk in both. If he pursues one he must abandon the other. The Redeemer will do nothing for those who ask him to do only in part. A garment made up of sundry sorts of righteousness is not the seamless robe of Christ's righteousness, in which all who enter heaven must be clothed. The sinner, finding that he must be saved by Christ through faith, and that there is no merit in his own doings, is brought to the end of the fifth stage of his progress. Though he has been often invited to come to Christ, to forsake all and follow him, he has never done it. He has been trying continually to climb up in some other way. But,