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bending under the decrepitude and infirmity of long-protracted years. The method in which the allotment is suffered varies. The convulsions of nature; war; famine; accident; disease, slow and sudden. And yet, my brethren, amid the variety of modes, and the variety of seasons, the path is but one and the same. All these things are but so many avenues

ments of disease—their own bodies para- | is the full-grown man in the maturity of lyzed and enfeebled with the infirmity wisdom and of power; there are the aged and corruption that was to usher in the awful and mysterious consummation of mortality, and their souls agitated with the prospect of eternal woe, when they contemplated the coming and tremendous infliction of the miseries of hell! Oh, how bitter would be their self-reproaches, how bitter their groans, how bitter their tears! Mournful, mournful indeed, was the day-mournful to them, and mourn-leading down to the one narrow house, ful to unborn millions, when death entered into the world by sin, and when first was heard the triumph of the king of terrors, as he issued from the dark abyss, and came to the territories of earth, traversing and marching over them, to claim them as his own. It is a tremendous fact, that we should never forget, as to the origin of death, that death was by sin.

2dly. There is a corresponding fact, you will observe also with regard to the diffusion of death. "Death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

which has been appointed for all living; and never should the subject of death be reviewed by ourselves, and never should the subject of death be pondered by ourselves, without viewing it and pondering it in connexion with sin. Sin, the invariable antecedent; death, the invariable consequence! Sin the cause; death the effect! The demerit of the one producing the desolation of the other! Ye children of mortality, forget it not-approve it and apply it. Sin formed the volcano, the earthquake, the hurricane, the pestilence which mows down the And so it follows in a subsequent verse, population of cities and empires! Sin "Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam inflicts every pang! Sin nerves every to Moses, even over them that had not death-throe! Sin stains and blanches sinned after the similitude of Adam's every corpse! Sin weaves every shroud! transgression, who is the figure of him Sin shapes every coffin! Sin digs every that was to come. By the offence of one, grave! Sin writes every epitaph! Sin judgment came upon all men to con- paints every hatchment! Sin sculptures demnation." In Adam all die; all men every monument! Sin feeds every worm! are sinners, and therefore against all men The waste and the havoc of centuries that the penalty is still standing. Corporeal are gone, and the waste and the havoc of death, that event which separates the centuries yet to come, all reverberate in soul from the body, and which then dis-one awful voice, "Death has passed upon misses the body as the victim of putre- all men, for that all have sinned!" faction, to moulder back to primeval dust, Spiritual death, my brethren, which is a penalty which has been exacted and consists, as we have observed, in the must be exacted from all the sons and alienation of the human heart from God, daughters of Adam. What man is he and which the apostle has emphatically that liveth and that shall not see death? described in the second chapter of the “We must all die, and be like water spilt epistle to the Ephesians, as being "dead on the ground, which cannot be gathered in trespasses and sins," constitutes the up again." "Rich and poor shall go down state of every man by nature. Every to the grave, and worms alike shall cover man, in consequence of that state of spiritthem." It is appointed unto all men once ual death, is also in peril of proceeding to die. The ages at which the allotment to receive the recompense of it in the is suffered vary. There is the child at agonies of death eternal. It will be obthe mother's breast, or in the nurse's served upon this important subject, that arms; there is the youth in the spring- there cannot be the least question or tide of gayety and buoyant spirits; there doubt: "For (says the apostle) as many

ever! What was it that gave to that worm its fang but sin? What was it that gave to that fire its intensity but sin? What was it that gave to that blackness its shadows but sin? What was it that gave to that torment its woe but sin? The voice is from the abyss uttering one wild cry, "It was sin; it was sin; IT WAS SIN! Man would sin, and therefore man must suffer!" There is a rigid equity between the one and the other. "Death has passed upon all men, for that all have sinned."

We have now, my brethren, presented to you, as clearly as possible, the second division of the subject, and we proceed,

III. To MENTION THOSE REFLECTIONS BY WHICH OUR VIEWS OF THE COMBINED ORIGIN AND THE DIFFUSION OF SIN AND DEATH MAY BE DULY AND SAVINGLY SANCTIFied.

We confine ourselves to two:

as have sinned without law,"—that is to say, without being placed within the external domination of the written law of the Almighty-" as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law and as many as have sinned in the law”—that is, with the knowledge of the written revelation of God-"shall be judged by the law. For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves, which show the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the meanwhile accusing, or else excusing one another; in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men, by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel." My hearers, attend: "By the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be 1st. It becomes us to perceive and to lajustified;" then they must be condemned. ment over the exceeding sinfulness of sin. "All have sinned, and come short of the Man thinks but lightly of sin; in his glory of God." If then you have come state of nature he thinks not of its enorshort of the glory of God, you must be mity, and he only calls those actions sins lost it cannot be denied, nor be disputed. which are palpably violations of the laws I tell to every man now present, that he subsisting between man and man. Theft is guilty of sinning against the Almighty is a sin-fornication is a sin-falsehood -that if there be no intervention of mercy is a sin-drunkenness is a sin-murder so mighty and so majestic as to satisfy is a sin;-but with regard to the affecthe demands of justice, to quench her fire, tions-the disbelief of the divine testiand sheathe her sword-if there be not mony-the forgetfulness of God, the mercy, free, boundless, omnipotent, and withdrawing of the desires of the heart eternal, every human being will stand away from him who is the fountain of before the judgment-bar of God to receive living waters to the vain and transitory the sentence of his condemnation. concerns of time-these, which are the must be banished for ever from the pre- sources of all other transgressions-these sence of the Lord, and from the glory of he deems but as pardonable, or perhaps not his power; and he must go down to those as transgressions. Let me, my hearers, abodes of torment where there are agonies speak plainly to individuals possessed of unspeakable and inconceivable; where an immortal spirit-let me remind you the smoke of torment ascendeth up for that sin is not to be contemplated in its ever and for ever. Go, my hearers, to heinousness, so much as it exists and is the brink of eternity, contemplate in ima- seen in the relationship between man and gination the scenes of that horrible pit man, but in the relationship between man which the word of revelation has pre- and God. "Sin is the transgression of sented to your view-contemplate the the law." If God has commanded you worm that dieth not-contemplate the to be holy, then impurity is a sin-if God fire that has been prepared for the devil has commanded you to believe, then unand his angels-contemplate the black-belief is a sin-if God has commanded ness of darkness-contemplate the smoke you to love him with all your heart, and of torment that ascendeth up for ever and all your soul, and all your strength, then VOL. I.-10 G

He

to love pleasure, or love the world more | righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus than God, is sin; and he who is impure, Christ our Lord." What a veil is thus he who is unbelieving, he who is a lover of pleasure, or of the world, or of profit, is playing with the very fang of the tempter, and standing in the way of that serpent whose breath is poison, and whose bite is death.

thrown over an otherwise tremendous gloom! What happiness we can now enjoy in believing and receiving this one emphatic phrase! But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." It only requires that the guilty sinner should believe on Christ, and he receives the imputation of his righteousness, and is forthwith absolved from doom. Natural death he yet must suffer the agonies of dissolution he yet must endure-his flesh must still become the food of worms, and lie beneath the cloven clay till the trumpet of the arch

Behold, my brethren, the exhibition of the exceeding sinfulness of sin! Oh, ponder, and seek for the influence of the Spirit of God, that its depravity in this respect may be exhibited more clearly than ever; and never be content with your view of that "which brought death into the world and all our woe," but as you view it as He views it who is of purer eyes than to look on iniquity, who can only look upon iniquity with detestation and abhorrence, and whose voice has pro-angel shall sound; but the flesh itself claimed, "Oh, do not this abominable thing which I hate!"

2d, and lastly. We are called upon also to admire the riches of that divine mercy which has provided a remedy against an evil which is so dreadful.

The very same being against whom the transgressions of the human race have been directed, has himself been pleased to condescend in mercy and in his eternal love to provide a method by which the guilty may be pardoned, and sanctified, and saved. Read the statements contained in the chapter from which we have selected our text. "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift for the judgment was by one to condemnation; but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which received abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Moreover, the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through

shall rest in hope, and the immortal spirit be emancipated from a scene of suffering and of sorrow by death itself, that it may be transmitted to higher regions, where the inhabitants themselves, pure as God is pure, cast their crowns at his footstool, crying with a loud voice, "Alleluia, alleluia, Lord God Almighty, who is, and was, and is to come!" Where God himself is with them, and is their God,where death has no dominion, and where God himself wipes away all tears from their eyes! Matchless mercy, that tells us of the reigning of grace! Matchless mercy! its praises shall be the companion of our health-its praises shall be the companion of our sorrows-its praises shall be with us in the hour of dissolution, when the body is about to depart to the dust-its praises will form the one theme of our song amid the hallelujahs of heaven; for what is that song?-Salvation unto God who sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever!

It is obvious, my brethren, that we might easily expand the latter part of our subject; but I am desirous to confine myself this evening to the fall and corruption of human nature, in order to bring more succinctly before you the subject of his renovation. This brief statement, therefore, in allusion to it shall suffice for the present

I have brought you to the point where I will deliver but one single sentence by way of connecting what I have advanced this night with what is yet to follow,

be born again-ye must be born again." As you are born again, the evil of your transgressions will be removed, and you shall stand in confidence and faith, awaiting the end of your existence-the salva tion of your souls.

My brethren, here are many who from | drop of water to cool your tormented the evil of sin, by the grace of God, have tongue, even that would be denied! Sinalready been delivered. Christians, look ners, I ask you one question before we down into the hole of the pit whence part, "Who amongst you can dwell with ye were digged, and look up to the rock the devouring fire ?-who amongst you whence ye were hewn. See what ye were, can dwell with the everlasting burnings?" lying there exposed to the curse; and see If there be one, let him rise up and tell what you are now, when standing on the us! It is impossible, and your silence elevation of mercy, having around you condemns you! Flee, then, from the the spotless robe of the Redeemer's right- wrath to come! Lay hold on the hope eousness, the light of the countenance of set before you in the gospel! Believe God streaming down from the glory of the on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, skies. You now have the prelibation of and you shall be saved! The great reno the happiness yet to be revealed. In this vating change must be wrought, or the sanctuary let there be the confession of hell will be yours! that to which you owe it, "By the grace of God I am what I am." At the same time be it your grand desire to join in the one aspiration of thanksgiving, "Thanks be unto God for this his unspeakable gift!""Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must There are others in this assembly now congregated who are yet "in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity." There are sinners, sinners impenitent sinners unenlightened-sinners alienated from God-sinners unforgiven and in all their danger. O ye, whose consciences are not yet stirred up with feelings of genuine contrition, who are yet following a course of pleasure and transgression which you count the god of your joys and your happiness, let me request your What is your condition? Accursed-for cursed is every one that continueth not in all things as it is written in the book of the law to do them; and you are under the dispensation of the law; cursed in your basket and in your store; cursed in your goings out and in your comings in; cursed in your sitting down and in your rising up; cursed in the closet and in the field-accursed by the condemnation of God! And what is the end? Look over the territories of the grave! Behold the scene of punishment reserved for them who know not God, and who obey not the gospel of Christ! There will you be, beyond the hope of mercy and of grace. Imagine the agony of dwelling where the tidings of this gospel never shall be heard again. Think of the companionship of the fiends, of the blackness of the pit, of the unmingled horrors -so that even if you could ask for one

ear.

May the eternal JEHOVAH prepare you, without exception, for the infliction of that temporary death which all must suffer! May he awake you from death in trespasses and sins, and save you finally from that death which is changeless and eternal!—AMEN.

THE PULPIT GALLERY.

NO. II.

THE REV. JAMES PARSONS, YORK.

"By him the violated law speaks out
Its thunders; and by him, in strains as sweet
As angels use, the gospel whispers peace.”
COWPER.

THE Rev. James Parsons is a son of the late Rev. Edward Parsons, who for fortyeight years was the pastor of Salem Chapel, Leeds, Yorkshire. The son was originally destined for the law, to which profession he was regularly arti cled; during the latter part of his term which he spent in London he was a member of the Athenian Society held in the Temple, and was looked upon as a young man of extraordinary talents, and as calculated to rise in his profession. The death

Though Mr. Parsons occasionally wields the terrors of the law, and presents before his hearers a sinner riven with the thunders and scathed by the lightnings of the Almighty's vengeance, his favourite subject is evidently the fulness and freeness of the divine mercy: he appears more anxious to subdue than to terrify; to win by gentleness than to conquer by force; and when he proclaims the willingness of Jehovah to have mercy upon sinners, however numerous and aggravated their crimes, he rises to more than usual eloquence.

That he is not a mere speculator, but an experimentalist in religion, may be seen from the following passage from a sermon delivered by him to the young, in which, while speaking of the vast superiority of the pleasures of religion to those of earth, he says, "Allow me to speak to you, to whom life is in a measure untried, as one who himself can give the testimony. I speak that I do know, and testify that I have seen; and I speak what it is certain others could testify too. I have been in different courses, and have sought for enjoyment in different paths. I have sought it in mirth, and gayety, and amusements; I have sought it in plans and pur

of his mother, however, awoke in his mind a train of serious thoughts. "It was over the tomb of a parent," he says, "and amidst reflections which concentrated on that melancholy spot the recollections of the past, and the anticipations of the future, that led him to think on his destiny." The lessons of childhood, taught by a voice for ever hushed, seemed to rise in accents of louder importunity from the grave, and determined him to relinquish all the brilliant hopes of rising in his profession-all the prospects of legal and literary ambition and wealth, and to dedicate himself to the ministry. This purpose being approved by his father, he entered a theological institution, where he continued until October, 1822, when he took the ministerial oversight of a congregation in the city of York. There he has continued to the present, preaching Christ crucified as the only hope of sinners. He is a yearly visiter to London, having a month or six weeks' supply to give annually to the Tabernacle chapel, built by the celebrated Whitefield. His visits to the metropolis of England have always attracted overwhelming congregations, and there is reason for believing that his labours have been greatly blessed. His biblical know-poses of ambition, and in the imagination ledge is said to be extensive, and though in the pulpit he seldom descends to criticism, yet he shows by his mode of conducting his discourse, that he is fully acquainted with the subject, and, without pedantry is enabled to draw from the stores of learning both ancient and modern-both sacred and profane-all that tends to illustrate the text from which he is preaching; yet it is done in such a manner that the most illiterate can understand him. His illustrations are luminous, eloquent, and highly scriptural; his appeals to the understanding, the conscience, and the heart, forcible, commanding, consecutive, solemn, and on some occasions irresistible. He is aware of the value of climaxes; hence he generally succeeds in fixing the attention, while his last illustration, his last argument, his last appeal, being always the most forcible, remains deeply lodged in the mind of the hearer,

of schemes of worldly aggrandizement and honour; I have sought it in the occupations of study, conversing on the page of history with generations that have gone, or mingling in the magic enchantments of poetry, or attempting the more laborious pursuits of intellectual inquiry; and I have sought it in the service of God. And here the craving appetite has found its food; and here the restless and anxious heart has found its peace and joy! Like the philosopher of old, but in an application far more exalted, I can say, 'I have found it! I have found it!'-in the service of God I am happy; and if I served him more I should be happier still. To be as once I was, I would not for all the gold of every earthly mine, or all the gems of every ocean cave. I come forth in the service of God to proffer the same boon to you, that thus we may together rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory.""

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