kind, liberal. Is not this quite contrary to what mankind in general are? Is it not quite contrary to what every man would be by nature? Yet this is to be a Christian, this is what the gospel requires of us all, as we hope to be saved; not only to put away all iniquity, but to aim at the attainment of all this holiness. Do I say that we must acquire all these virtues in perfection? that no deficiencies will be overlooked? that no allowance will be made for human infirmity? Oh no, for then indeed I should imitate the Scribes and Pharisees, who bound heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and laid them on men's shoulders; I should (as far as was in my power) shut the gates of heaven, and discourage you from striving to enter in. But I say this, that we must endeavour to attain as high a degree of perfection in this character as we can possibly reach, that we must not aim at any low mark, that we must not be contented with that common-place morality which passes current in the world, under the name of mere decency and propriety of conduct, that morality which suffers many glaring and palpable vices to pass uncondemned, as mere failings and errors, which allows a great deal of sensuality, a great deal of selfishness, a great deal of pride, a great deal of covetousness, a great deal of uncharitableness, a great deal of almost every

evil feeling and desire and habit that can be named. No, we must not allow one tittle of any of these things; we cannot but be conscious of our imperfections, but we must not allow them, or rest satisfied under them, apologize for them, be indifferent to their existence; we must repent of them, be humbled by the knowledge of them, pray earnestly for the forgiveness and the correction of them; this is the Christian's view of his state, and of what is required of him. The world forms an opposite estimate; it is so lenient that it accounts almost all sins to be infirmities; he is so rigid, that he considers all infirmities to be sins.

My brethren,--I am sure I have not overstated the truth. I am sure that I have not so mis-represented the gospel, as to make it appear to require more of us than it authorises me to express; or more than any one who sincerely wishes, and earnestly endeavours to lead a Christian life, requires of himself. "Be ye perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." "Be ye holy, for I am holy." If texts are wanted, these are sufficient to prove that no man does well to be satisfied with the progress he has already made, or to look with complacency on the defects which yet remain. But texts are not necessary, The Christian's principles naturally urge him forward. He loves his Saviour, and therefore

desires to obtain a nearer and nearer resemblance to his perfections;-he loves holiness, and therefore the higher the degrees of it to which he can arrive, the greater is his happiness;-he longs for heaven, and therefore the more he can realize of its pure and spiritual enjoyment, the more does he anticipate an inheritance of future bliss; - he hates sin, and therefore the more thoroughly he can be cleansed from its corruption, rescued from its power, and delivered from its misery, the more glorious, the more joyful his triumph;—he hates Satan, the enemy of God, the author of man's ruin, and therefore the more successfully he can resist all his temptations, the better hope has he of never falling under his dominion, or sharing with him in his everlasting punishment.

Are these your sentiments? Are these your endeavours? Is this your conduct? Prove yourselves; try your principles in this manner; search your hearts, and examine your lives. If

you live in any known sin, that sin you love; and if you love any sin, you do not love God, who hates it, and forbids it. You are not endeavouring to imitate the example of Christ, who was free from all spot of sin ;-you are not anxious to carry into effect the purpose of his sufferings on your behalf, which was to "redeem you from all iniquity." At best, you are but attempting to

serve two masters; in which you will never succeed, in which you will never find happiness on earth; nor will you, by means of such a divided service, come to salvation hereafter.

But now that I have shown you how perfect a character the true Christian endeavours to be, how shall you become true Christians? What says the text? All the graces and virtues of the Christian disposition and life are "the fruit of the Spirit." The apostle further says, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh;" and again,-" If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." The Christian state then is a spiritual one, and cannot be attained to without spiritual aid. We can know nothing of these things but by revelation; and the Scriptures, which we profess to believe, state nothing more plainly, scarcely any thing more frequently, than that we must have the assistance of God's Holy Spirit, not only to enable us to do the things that we would, but to dispose us to approve and desire the things that are right. And this aid is not to be indolently waited for, but to be a subject of earnest, incessant prayer: and to prayer the most explicit and merciful promises are made, that we may be encouraged to practice it without doubting or restraint. I. we ask why prayer is necessary, or how can it be

effectual, the most simple answer would be, "what is that to us?" God has commanded it, and he has declared that it shall succeed. But the reason is plain; we must pray, because the very circumstance of our being obliged to do so, makes us search into ourselves, to find out what we want; and God requires that we should know our own wants before he will relieve them, that we may not be ignorant how infirm and imperfect we are in ourselves, nor that all our strength and all our blessings come from him alone.

Thus the very necessity of prayer begets selfknowledge, humility, trust in God, gratitude for his goodness, and steady attachment to him, in hope of the continuance of that goodness. This very necessity naturally produces a longing desire for Christian dispositions, and then, by the efficacy which God has been pleased to allow it, procures those very gifts, our need of which we feel and acknowledge in praying. And for what, that is of any importance, have we to pray but spiritual aid, that we may have the will and the power to acquire all those holy affections, and to live in all those holy habits which are necessary to our salvation? Pray but little, my brethren, pray scarcely at all, for any temporal good, your Heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of these things; he knoweth also, it is true, that