love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance." If we abound in these, then we may assure ourselves that our faith is neither that of the hypocrite, nor of the self-righteous, nor formalist. If we examine our hearts, and our hearts condemn us not, then may we have confidence towards God. But if we live in the commission of sin, while we profess to be the followers of Christ, and to have faith in him, we only deceive ourselves. "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord! Lord! shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."

Surely, young and old are equally concerned in these important truths; all are called upon equally to examine them for themselves. They are not speculative, the result of human wisdom and ingenuity; they emanate from the God of all consolations, the fountain of light and truth, "with whom there is no variableness, nor shadow of turning." It is his exceeding love for us which made him send his only Son to die for us. If we draw nigh to him, he will draw nigh to us. Let us, then, remember that nothing is hateful in the sight of God but sin; that, if we would please

him, we must avoid every thing that may be an occasion of leading us into any sin, however venial it may appear in the eyes of others; that those amusements, which have a tendency to withdraw our hearts from the duty we owe to God, and our obedience to his commandments, should be rejected, however dear they may be to us. Our chief anxiety should be, never to lose sight of that future state which awaits us; to have it constantly before our eyes; to excite in our hearts a constant sense of its importance, by a frequent perusal of the Holy Scriptures, by a careful and conscientious observance of the Sabbath, and a participation, whenever an opportunity offers, of the memorials of Christ's sacrifice.

I have thus given a short and, I fear, an imperfect view of what is meant by preaching the Gospel. To obtain a complete view of

recourse must be had to the sacred Scriptures, accompanied with an anxious desire to have a right understanding in those things which concern our salvation; and prayer to God that the word of truth may shine into our hearts. To these sacred Scriptures I must refer you; to these more particularly should you direct your attention on the Sabbath day. These will speak for themselves: these contain

that Gospel which Paul preached: these will shew that faith and works must accompany each other; the latter being the fruits of the former. I shall, therefore, conclude with the declaration of the Apostle-" If our Gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake."

SERMON IV.

THE SACRIFICE OF CHRIST.

He hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.-2 COR. v. 21.

WHATEVER disputes may arise respecting the origin of evil in the world, we must be fully sensible, that we are in this life very far from enjoying that degree of happiness which might be expected, were we in favour with God. There must necessarily have existed some cause why the human race is exposed to misery, to sickness, and to death; for the goodness and mercy of God are such, that we cannot imagine he would deprive his creatures, without an adequate reason, of that state of felicity, which we naturally conceive was prepared for their enjoyment, at their first formation. We need not, however, wander in unnecessary speculation, since the mystery is fully unfolded to us in the sacred writings;

from which we learn that the miseries of mankind originate in the transgression of our first parents. A command was given them, and a penalty annexed to the violation of it. The command was broken; and thus sin entered into the world. And hence the successive generations of men, a prey to contending passions, and struggling with infirmities, sink, after a few years, into their kindred dust; and death and the grave are triumphant: for, “by sin came death.”

But the evils arising from sin do not terminate with our mortal life. "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after this the judgment:" and then where will the ungodly and sinner appear? But as we are led by those ideas which we derive from observing the works of God, to conclude that man was originally created happy; so also we might possibly be led to suppose, that the Almighty, in his infinite mercy, would also provide a method by which man might be reinstated in his favour. Revelation unfolds to us the goodness of God in this respect also. "He hath sent him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Or, in other words, God hath sent his Son to be accounted guilty for our