taken up with certain principles, and by his acts or his advocacy hath become an avowed and a pledged partisan, he cannot then shrink back from his former self, save with his fair name tarnished, and the charge of falsehood cankering his honour, and his repute; those whose principles he hath foresworn, even though it be from conviction, will despise him; those whose tenets he has embraced will suspect him; henceforth he will be used but never trusted. It is thus with man; it is not so with God. God knows when he makes the free offer of his grace and forgiveness to you, as he freely doth, he knows that you have "walked in the way of the sinner, that you have sat in the seat of the scornful;" that what your eyes desired, you kept not from them, neither withheld your heart from any joy; and all that your conscience confesses, your God knows. Yet doth he make you the free offer of forgiveness-free I say, and unconditional for the past, for the future he demands. repentance; for without repentance there is no remission of sin, repentance whereby you forsake sin, and the stedfast purpose of leading a new life; and thus I close in the words of Scripture.They who accept this offer are "justified freely by his grace, through the redemption that is in

Jesus Christ, whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him that believeth in Jesus.

SERMON VI.

GOD THE SAVIOUR.

PSALM Cvi. 21.

And they forgat God their Saviour, who had done so great things in Egypt.

THERE is a great strength of doctrine contained in these words. In this and the preceding Psalm, David had exhorted the people to remember the marvellous works that God had done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth. How God had promised to their forefathers, saying, "I will give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; when they were but a few, and they strangers in the land; what time they went from one nation to another, from one kingdom to another people; he suffered no man to do them wrong, but reproved even kings for their sakes; touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm. And he increased his people exceedingly, and made

them stronger than their enemies. Then sent he Moses his servant, and Aaron, whom he had chosen; and showed his tokens among them, and his wonders in the land of Ham. He sent darkness, and it was dark; he turned their waters into blood; he sent his plagues among them, and smote their first-born. He brought his people forth also with silver and gold," (the spoil which they asked, and the Egyptians gave them.) "For Egypt was glad at their departing, for they were afraid of them; and he filled them with the bread of heaven. He opened the rock of stone, the waters flowed out: And they did all eat the same spiritual meat, and did all drink the same spiritual drink; for they drank of that spiritual Rock which followed them, and that rock was Christ. And God brought forth his people with joy, and his chosen with gladness. For why? he remembered his promise; but they forgat God their Saviour, who had done so great things in Egypt.”

The doctrine, then, to which our text so plainly points, and which is also taught openly, or implied clearly, by all the prophets, and the apostles, throughout Scripture, is, that God who created all things, both in heaven and earth--God, who at sundry times, and in divers

manners, spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, who in these last days hath spoken unto us by his Son, upholding all things by the power of his word; the same who foretold the miracle that the blind should see, and the lame walk, and the leper be cleansed, the deaf hear, and the dead arise, was the same who performed the miracle. By God alone could these miracles be foreknown, by God alone could they be wrought-that God was Christ.

This doctrine may be difficult, but it is all-important, and pervades all Scripture. The mystery of the Godhead is beyond the reach of human reason the mind of man cannot grasp it! How the powers of the Godhead are blended and identified we know not! The attempt to render plain that which is confessedly a mystery, were but utter vanity; we know, however, all that is needful that we should know, and although we cannot fully comprehend every attendant difficulty, yet, if it be plainly declared in Scripture, if its motive and object be manifestly of mercy, and of love--if the scheme of redemption, even in our limited view, evidently proclaims the necessity of it, then are we bound to believe that it is true.

The principle, then, which flows from the