love has bestowed upon us. We have seen that Jesus bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that he died to pay the penalty which God's justice demanded for the transgressions of a guilty world. We have contemplated likewise, the unspeakable blessings that followed his rising again. We have been led by the voice of revelation, to consider that glorious event, not merely as a display of Almighty power, or even as a bare figure, by which we were assured of the certainty of a future resurrection; but as the signal of a mighty victory obtained over the devil, and his attendant ministers, sin and death, by which our faith is confirmed and supported, and our confidence in the propitiation made for our transgressions, is established. We have seen the full force of the apostle's declaration, that "if Christ be not raised, our faith is vain, we are yet in our sins;" and we have, I trust, in consequence, blessed God for having given us the knowledge that Jesus is indeed risen and "become the first fruits of them that slept."

So far, my brethren, I trust we have done well. But another important question yet remains to be considered. What has been the result of our meditations to ourselves? Have they tended to spiritualize our hearts, to make us think more frequently and more deeply upon heavenly things; to draw our affections away from this

world and all its unsubstantial advantages, and fix them upon that better country whose joys are pure and eternal? Has the knowledge of the truth made us more holy? Has it inspired us with the anxious desire to approve ourselves before God in all things? Has it filled us with the conviction, that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost, and given us at the same time, a reverential fear, lest we should, by our own evil deeds, pollute the dwelling of this sacred guest. It may be perhaps, that a few words of exhortation on this important point, will bring before you the inseparable connection between faith and obedience, will lead you to pray, that you may not be of the number of those who hear but do not.

In the fulfilment of this purpose, the words of the apostle, as quoted in my text, seemed peculiarly calculated to enforce the admonitions which I would this day press upon your hearts: because he makes his exhortations to holiness, rest upon the knowledge of those very mercies, which, at this solemn period, have been so prominently brought before us. The whole of the sixth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians, contains powerful incentives to purity, and fearful judgments against sin. St. Paul warns the Corinthians from a participation in those iniquities, with which the men of their own city were so

deeply defiled, and in which they themselves, in their unconverted state, had probably partaken. And he exhorts them to preserve their chastity of spirit, because they are not their own, but are bought with a price.

Let us consider, with God's blessing, more particularly, the nature of that holiness which the apostle enjoins, and the motives by which he enforces it upon us.

The whole scope and design of the gospel, is to make known to man the way of salvation, to point out the path of mercy, and to show by what means he may be reconciled to God. A change must necessarily be wrought in his own soul, by the introduction of views so spiritual and so holy. The heart must, indeed, be prepared by the Holy Spirit, for the reception of these sacred truths, or they would be poured upon it in vain. In its natural state, it would be unable to understand and appreciate those precious gifts of God, which the merits of our Redeemer have purchased for all his servants. The necessary consequences of the indwelling of this gracious Comforter, are faith followed by purity of life. Faith comes first, faith in the atonement of Christ filling our souls with gratitude and love to him: and accompanied by the humble but ardent desire to obey his will in all things. This necessary connection between faith and obedience cannot be broken,

and he who should attempt to separate them, would be guilty of the fearful crime, of preaching another gospel than that which Christ and his apostles taught. We must not only, therefore, devote ourselves to the frequent contemplation of the mercies of our redemption in Christ Jesus, but we must also seek to please him in all things, we must conform ourselves, with the assistance of his grace, to those precepts and principles which he has enjoined upon us.

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When we bear this in mind, and look upon the world around us, what a frightful picture do we behold of its indifference to the calls of religion. How little anxiety do we see displayed amongst men, to do the will of the Saviour who redeemed them; how negligent do they in general appear of the high and holy service to which they are called. We may be made the children of God, and yet we are contented too often to remain far from his family and the courts of his tabernacle. Children of God! Alas! the complexion of human society is too often stained with blemishes, which proclaim but too truly, that few are they who shall be saved. If we could separate from their brethren, the adulterer, the drunkard, the defrauder, the swearer, the liar, the vain, the proud, the careless, the lukewarm, and the unbeliever, I fear that the number who could pronounce themselves free from

the wilful commission of these, and similar offences, would be small indeed. If the cry were made, who is on the Lord's side, who? it might scarcely, perhaps be more abundantly answered, than it was when Jehu raised it within the gates of the harlot Jezebel. It is hard to conceive, how the thoughts of what must come hereafter should be so banished from the sinner's heart, as to render him insensible to the inevitable consequences of his present depravity. It is hard to imagine, that the knell of death should be so continually sounding in his ears, and yet inflict no terrors upon his soul. It is strange that he should so labour for the meat that perisheth, that he should heap up treasures in a world which must early pass away from before him, and from which he cannot carry one grain of comfort to support him through the long eternity of God's vengeance. Where is that reason of which he boasts so much? Where are his faculties of thought, of memory, of prudence, in which he is so prone to pride himself? Oh! fearful must be the power of sin, which can thus cloud every brighter endowment of our nature, and lead us submissive in its train, although we know that such submission can guide us only to misery. Alas! what a scene of bloodshed, of strife, of intemperance, of unhallowed and lawless indulgence, has this earth been made by its accursed agency?