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Surely that man must be greatly happy, who feels deeply the guilt and misery of sin, (and a man must have made some progress in holiness before he can adequately feel either,) who discovers sin and imperfection in the best and purest of his actions, and yet knows, that, frail and sinful though he be, he is daily endeavouring to mortify some evil passion, and to attain some heavenly disposition: that he loves his God and his brethren, not in word only, but in deed and

pagnent les plaisirs du monde, que de pouvoir puiser dans l'assurance de son salut des plaisirs sortables à des créatures intelligentes, et à des âmes immortelles? Qu'y auroit-il le plus heureux, au milieu de tant de peines, au milieu de tant de travaux, au milieu de tant de misères dont notre vie est si abondante, que de voir sourdre de son sein cette source de consolation que donne la ferme attente d'une félicité eternelle ? Surtout, qu'y auroit-il de plus capable de nous soutenir contre les frayeurs de la mort? Mortels et mourans que nous sommes, dans un état, où la moindre altération de notre corps nous offre l'image de la mort, que pourrions-nous souhaiter de plus conforme à nos besoins, que de trouver dans la ferme attente d'une félicité éternelle, le bouclier pour repousser l'ennemi, et la glaive pour le transpercer?"-SAURIN, Serm. sur l'Assurance, pp. 51, 52.

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TESTIMONY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

in truth. Happy is the poor, that is of an humble, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembles at the word of God, for the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity whose name is holy, hath promised to dwell with such an one,"to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones 1." Blessed, unspeakably blessed is he who fears above every thing to be self-deceived, and, in the spirit of real repentance and honest abhorrence of sin, can stand with naked bosom before his Creator and his Judge, and say, "Try me, O God, and seek the ground of my heart: prove me, and examine my thoughts. Look well if there be any way of wickedness in me, and lead me in the way everlasting 2."

1 Is. lvii. 15.

'Ps. cxxxix. 23, 24.

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SERMON II.

CHRISTIAN FEAR.

PHILIPPIANS ii. 12, 13.

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling: for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure."

It is difficult to read this passage with ordinary attention, without being struck by it. At first sight it appears full of inconsistency and paradox. It seems as if an exhortation were addressed to the very persons who least required it, and as if a duty were enforced by motives the most unsuitable and incongruous. For, surely, if it be the duty of any persons to prosecute the work of their salvation with fear and trembling, one might have thought, that per

sons of such practical, habitual, and independent piety as are here addressed, are precisely those in whom such a state of anxiety and apprehension is least to be required. If happiness and true religion be inseparable, is not a state of confident rejoicing much more natural and reasonable in those to whom a long course of obedience has made even self-denial easy, and self government delightful, than a fear and trembling which would seem better to become the inconsistent, the unstable, the mere nominal Christian? Again, if God do indeed take that part in our salvation which the Apostle describes, if our Almighty and all-wise Creator do powerfully and effectually work within us, inspiring holy thoughts and desires, kindling these thoughts and desires to resolved purposes, and, in fine, perfecting our resolutions to produce the works of faith and patience and charity: if all holy desires, good counsels, and just works do indeed as naturally and inevitably proceed from His powerful and inward energy, as light and heat from the sun, how can His purpose be de

feated, and His work frustrated? How can our salvation be contingent and uncertain? How can it be left to our frailty to complete a work of which the Almighty is the author and the finisher, the beginning and the end? Surely, his infinite benevolence is not to be thwarted and disappointed by the waywardness and instability of man.

Such are the reflections which seem naturally to arise from this passage. To the hasty and incautious reader it would appear as if it had been written with but little consideration, either of the nature of man or the attributes of God. But indeed it is

the very reverse. Give the passage the attention which it deserves, and you will find, that the exhortation is exactly suited to our circumstances and constitution, and that the connexion between the operations of Divine grace, and our own duties is precisely that which the Apostle has instituted.

The proof of this naturally divides itself into two propositions.

The first is this: The operations of Di

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