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age of our neighbors. This is not a natural conviction, nor a convential maxim: it is a divine persuasion wherever it is a deep feeling. It is a transition, not, indeed, into "marvellous light," but still out of that gross darkness which covers the people (and they are many) who are satisfied with not being worse than others.

I would not attach undue importance to even a deep conviction of the necessity of being better than others; but I must say, that it is a march (and not a dead march either) gained upon mere conscience, and thus a good sign.

The man who is led thus far in judging for himself how good he ought to be, is, to say the least, in the fair way to discover his need of a better righteousness than his own. Indeed, this discovery is usually made by trying to be good. That effort is either so unsuccessful, or its success, in a few small things, is accompanied with such failures in great things, and with such a sight of the many things which must be added, that the reforming man becomes afraid, and begins to doubt whether his own power is able to carry out his own purposes.

consulted than their comfort, at first. Full submission to the righteousness of Christ, as well as counting all things but loss to be found in it, must be produced, before we are prepared to sing meekly or prudently, "Thou hast covered me with the robes of righteousness and the garments of salvation." No lips ever sung this well, until they had often sighed in the dust of self-abasement, and breathed in fervent prayer, the cry, "Unclean, unclean! God be merciful unto me a sinner."

The Spirit is, however, convincing of righteousness, when he convinces of sin, because of unbelief: for then, our felt need of pardon, and our felt unworthiness of the pardon we need, equally tends to draw and fix our attention upon the question-how can a just and Holy God pardon me? We are not far from being convinced of righteousness, when we are convinced that God, for Christ's sake, can pardon us, without dishonoring his law, or his character. More seals than one or two, of the book of righteousness are opened to us by the Spirit, if we see clearly that God can be just, and yet the justifier of the ungodly, when they believe in Jesus. Any one can say thus: but he who can see its truth in his own case, whilst looking at all his own ungodliness, sees "afar off,” and has had the eyes of his understanding enlightened by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.

It is often at this point that the need of a perfect righteousness begins to be felt. The sinner, with all his trying, cannot make his own robe broad enough nor long enough to cover him. Place it and stretch it as he may, it leaves some part naked; and the more it is drawn upon one Can you see "this great sight," after looking point, the more naked others are made. He may at all the greatness of your guilt and unworthinot yet think it a "filthy" rag, but he cannot help ness? Does your eye turn to it, and repose upon feeling that it is only a "rag," both in its dimen- it, even with hope, after having read the catalogue sions and strength; for it tares when it is stretch- of your sins from top to bottom, and seen all the ed, and falls off when let alone. This is not more plagues of your heart, and all the weakness of quaintly expressed than it is literally true. We your character? Is this your Goshen of light, try to establish our own righteousness until we when all around you is Egyptian darkness? If so, weary or despair of it: and then, did not the Spirit you may well admire the love of the Spirit, and of God turn our attention to Christ, we should warrantably believe that he has convinced you of give up religion altogether, as a hopeless under-righteousness, in no small or superficial degree. taking, in our own case. It is only by seeing But, perhaps, your conviction of it does not go something suitable or encouraging in the Saviour all this length yet. You may rather be looking at that this is prevented. Religion would be aban- your own need of a justifying righteousness, than doned by every man who had tried hard and fail- at the sufficiency or freeness of the righteoused utterly, did not the Spirit step in at the moment ness of Christ. Well; even in that case, the of extremity, and show him something of the per- love of the Spirit towards you, is no doubtful matson and work of Christ. ter. For, who opened and salved thine eyes to see the need of "white raiment," to clothe thy naked soul? The time was,-when you did not see that you were naked, or poor, or wretched.

"There may be help for me yet, in him who is mighty to save," is the candle which Peradventure holds to Hope, and Hope to Resolution, at this crisis.

Our first cheering views of Christ seldom amount to more than this. It is not at once that the Spirit convinces the soul that Christ is "the end of the law for righteousness" nor is it exactly in the way we expected, even when he does so. He leads us into all truth now, very much in the same manner as he made the apostles and disciples wise unto salvation, step by step, as we can bear the truth. Every Christian both needs and finds a day of Pentecost, to enlarge, mature, and confirm, his knowledge of justification through faith. Perhaps no one ever understood this grand truth of the gospel at once. Even when it is understood, it can hardly be believed for joy! It seems too good news to be true.

This is, I have no doubt, one reason why it is so gradually opened up to the penitent. They must be kept penitent. Their safety must be more

You once took for granted, that you had only to try, in order to be as good as the best; or, at least, as good as could be expected in your case. You expected to look well, and to feel very warm too, in the robe you were manufacturing for yourself. And now you are as much ashamed of your righte ousness, as of your unrighteousness; and more afraid of being judged by your good works, than the natural man is of being judged by his evil works.

This is no accident. It is a conviction which even your utter failure, when trying to establish your own righteousness, did not, and could not produce. He is convinced by the Spirit, who is convinced that he himself can do nothing towards his own justification. He is "taught of God," who sees and feels that God must justify him, entirely and freely, if he ever be justified at all. This is not untrue nor doubtful, even if the con

victed sinner has but a very slender hope, at first, I can sympathise with you, in this uncertainty and of being clothed with the righteousness of Christ. suspense. Let us not, however, question the love His deep sense of his need of that "spotless robe," of the Spirit, even if he has not yet been our and his strong desire to be clothed with it, are comforter in this matter. There may be love in both produced by the power of the Holy Ghost. his delay. There is love in delaying comfort, on That power has wrought mightily and graciously the question of justification, if the kind of comfort in the man, who lies self-condemned and self-emp- we have been seeking is not promised, or if the tied at the feet of God, saying nothing but, promised comfort is looked for from a wrong quar“Guilty, guilty; vile, vile; unworthy, unworthy: ter. The comfortable hope of our justification, ―mercy, mercy! for the sake of Christ!" The can only come from the same source, that our conSpirit is not exactly his comforter then; but even viction of the need of a justifying righteousness then, he is as much his friend, and as truly his came from. Now that conviction came from the helper, as when he commanded the angel to "take word of God. The Holy Spirit fastened our ataway the filthy garments" from Joshua, the high tention upon the revealed fact, "that, by the deeds priest, and to "clothe him with change of raiment," of the law, no flesh living can be justified;" and and to "set a fair mitre upon his head." It is in- thus upon the experimental fact, that all our own deed, other work, to humble and empty the soul: righteousness is as filthy rags. Thus it was truth, but it is the same mighty hand, guided by the same warm heart, that lays the soul down at the foot of the rock of ages, and that lifts it up to the summit, or into the munitions of that rock. The weeping penitent, and the rejoicing saint, are equally the "workmanship" of the Holy Spirit. They are stars, differing from each other, in the degree of grace; but showing equally the glory of the Spirit's love.

You would, of course, prefer such a conviction of righteousness, as would enable you to sing, "He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness." This is a very natural, and not at all an improper desire, after having passed through many painful exercises of mind, by turning over and over the question, how can I be just with God? It is not wrong, after having thus suffered awhile from the terrors of law, and the sting of conscience, to wish, even very much, to be established, strengthened, and settled in the hope of pardon, and acceptance through the beloved. They have not suffered much yet, from law or conscience, who are not very anxious to "know" that they "have eternal life."

Let us not forget, however, that hope would never have been so very dear to us, had we not suffered a good deal from the want or from the weakness of it. We should have been farther off from "a good hope through grace," than we now are, had we not been led so far down into the valley of humiliation. The Spirit has led and kept us there, not for the sake of paining us, nor yet to try our patience merely; but chiefly, that we might be driven out of all refuges of lies, and even out of sight of them all, until we saw nothing between us and perishing, but just the cross of Christ. For his work, be it for ever remembered, is to "glorify Christ ;" and Christ is not fully glorified in us or by us, until he becomes "all in all," in our hope and desire and that, we do not make him, until we come fully to the point and spirit of the cry, "Lord, save; I perish."

Have you come to this point and spirit often, and yet never been able to lay hold upon "the hope of righteousness by faith?" Are you still, after all your renunciations of your own righteousness, and, after all your prayers to be justified freely by grace, quite uncertain whether you have found mercy to pardon? Is it the case that, whilst you can hardly doubt that you have found "grace to help in time of need," you yet doubt very much whether you are "justified by grace?"

that he plied our understanding and conscience with, in convincing us of our need of justification by grace. He made our belief of this, stand on the word of God. He showed us our guilt, and danger, and weakness, as we had never seen them before: but still, only as they are depicted in the Bible. He did not reveal to us a law, not written there; nor a curse, not threatened there; nor a want, not declared there: he just made us wise up to "what is written" of sinners, and against sinners; and led us to apply that to ourselves.

Well; is it not likely, yea, more than probable, that he comforts, just as he convicts, on the subject,-by the truth? Consider! The facts and promises of the gospel are as able to comfort, as the demands and threatenings of the law to alarm. Why then should not the Spirit speak peace to the conscience by the gospel, as well as terror to the conscience by the law? The glad tidings of the former, are as true as the sad tidings of the latter. The heart can be healed by cheering truth, as well as broken by awful truth.

Has this, however, been the way in which you, "through the Spirit," have "waited for the hope of righteousness by faith?" Have you not rather waited for some impulse-emotion-or inward sense of pardon, apart from the outward, or written promise? Have you not waited for the Spirit, rather than on the Spirit? Have you "minded the things of the Spirit," (which are chiefly his promises and counsels) as much as you have minded his sweet influences, which are the dew of them? Have you sown to the Spirit the good seed of hope and holiness, as well as looked for the early and latter rain of his grace, to make it fruitful?

This is close, almost cross, questioning: but it is wanted. For, how unlike the Saviour's own account of the way of bringing home the hope of righteousness to the heart, is the creed-the scheme (what shall call it?)-the notion of many, who, in other respects, are as willing as Paul or Peter, to be entire debtors to Christ for justification! The whole soul is set upon owing every thing, as to the ground of their acceptance, to his cross; but, as to the knowledge of their acceptance, they seem, somehow, unwilling to be indebted to his word for that; or doubt whether his word be warrant enough, for taking up and cherishing a good hope through grace.

Do, look again, to the Saviour's own account of the process by which the Comforter is promised to

grand proof that we may "return, and welcome" to the Father by him. I, therefore, leave you with the word and the Spirit before you, to ponder and pray over that oracle-"He that believeth is justified:" for the righteousness of God "is unto all, and upon all, them who believe." Rom. iii. 22.

No. IV.

THE LOVE OF THE SPIRIT IN RECONCILIATION.

convince of righteousness. "He shall convince of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more." John xvi. 10. This refers, unquestionably, to the sufficiency, perfection, and freeness of the righteousness of Christ, to justify all who believe, from all sin. The proof that such a righteousness was needed, lies in the solemn fact, that Christ came from the Father, into the world, to magnify the law by his obedience, and to make it honorable by his death; and the proof that his obedience and death did work out a perfect righteousness, lies in the sublime fact, that he was welcomed back to the Father by all the armies of heaven, and by the Father, who was well- PAUL says, that "the carnal mind is enmity pleased for his righteousness' sake! Now "by against God:" and it is neither a contradiction this fact," Christ says, "shall the Spirit convince nor an exception to this awful truth, that some of righteousness; or lodge in the mind, such a persons, who make no pretensions to spiritualpersuasion of the infinite merits of his work, and mindedness, and others who deny the very being of the infinite good-will of the Father, that no of the Holy Spirit, yet profess a high regard and new or different revelation of the love of the veneration for God. For, it is not God, as he has Father or the Son, can be wanted, (in order to revealed himself whom they admire or love; and, warrant the hope of salvation,) by any one who therefore, the more they admire and love the chadesires a holy salvation, and is willing to be in-racter they ascribe to God, the more they hate his debted to Christ for it.

Now, I will not ask, what feeling, impulse, or inward sense, can compare with this outward fact. I durst no more allay your solicitude to feel aright than I dare refrain from calling upon you to judge aright. Whoever has no concern to feel hope, peace, and comfort, is not much concerned about his guilt or danger. I want you and myself,—and I avow it, and proclaim it, without apology to theological stoics or worldly maxims,-to feel the good hope of pardon and acceptance: I should, however, only perplex or mortify you, were I to call for such feelings, without reminding you that the facts and promises of the gospel, both create and warrant them. By nothing else does the holy Spirit produce in the heart, love, joy, peace, or any of the peaceful fruits of righteousness. He is too much a comforter-too concerned for our real comfort-and has too much love to the Saviour's glory and our good,—to make impressions on our minds by mysterious impulses, when he can make them, equally well, by plain and glorious truths, which are always at hand to be read, and always easy to be understood.

Besides; he will "glorify" Christ; and not your faith, nor your feelings. You want to have a very high opinion of your own faith-as livingand saving and of divine "operation:" and he wants you to have a very high opinion of Christ; without whom faith would just be as unequal to your justification, as works. And as the Spirit will not testify of himself," he will not,-depend on it-testify of you, (even to yourself,) that there is any thing in the nature or the degree of your faith, which is any cause of, or claim for, your justification: but he will so shut you up to the fulness, and freeness, and sufficiency of Christ to save, that Christ himself, and not your faith, shall have all the glory; and you, yourself, shall attach no importance to your faith, but just as it thinks of nothing-realizes nothing-rests upon nothing but the doing and dying of Christ.

I will not, therefore, mediate for you, upon the Saviour's reason for the hope of justification. It is before you, as before myself. He returned to the Father and was welcomed by him, as the

real character.

It is not very easy to see this, when men of genius, science, or taste, pay high compliments to the wisdom, power, and benevolence of the Deity

for the same language from the lips of a Christian, would be an expression and a proof of his love to God. How, then, is it a proof of enmity against God, when a mere philosopher, poet, or sentimentalist utters it? God is as wise, as mighty, and as glorious as they say. His eternal power and godhead are to be seen in all the works of creation, which they examine and admire. And they do admire and enjoy what they praise. They are not pretending, when they say, "The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth his handiwork." How, then, can they be traitors, whilst they utter truth? Why does revelation class them with the haters of God, seeing they love the works of God, and speak well of the divine perfections displayed in these works? Are they not, at least, less averse, and more reverential to God, than those who study neither the Bible nor nature?

Now there certainly is a difference of form, between the enmity of the philosopher to God, and that of the sensualist; and between the enmity of the man of taste, and that of the worldling. The latter are "enemies in their minds by wicked works ;" and the former, "by vain and evil inaginations:"'—a difference, however, amounting to nothing more, so far as God and eternity are concerned, than that which subsisted, in ancient times, between the idols of savage and civilized nations. The polished Greeks and Romans, who worshipped no idols but such as were cut from Parian marble, with statuesque perfection, were as much idolaters, as the barbarians who bowed down to hideous monsters, and vile reptiles."The glory of the incorruptible God" was equally changed, whether, as in Athens and Rome, it was "changed into an image made like unto corruptible man;" or, as in Egypt and Babylon, “unto birds, and beasts, and creeping things." The Jupiter of Rome, and the Juggernaut of India; the Apollo of ancient Greece, and the Thor and Woden of ancient Britain, are equal proofs, that the

men who invented them, and the men who worshipped them, "did not like to retain God in their knowledge;" but were, in fact, equally haters of God."

trinity of the Godhead, merely as trinity, to provoke or offend, however it may baffle. The mind does not, indeed, like to be baffled: but then, it does not escape from this mortification, by taking up with the absolute unity of God. The incom

as much dwelt upon, would be equally baffling.What offends, therefore. is not the mystery of the trinity, as mere mystery; but the redemption involved in the fact. Accordingly, the Unitarian always discards redemption from his theory of the divine nature and government. He rids himself of more than mystery by rejecting the trinity. He throws off, along with that, the fear of perishing, the need of a mediator, and the use of a sanctifier.

So it is still. There is as much real enmity to the revealed character of God, in natural and sen-prehensible prevails in that, to a degree which, if timental religion, as in the grossest superstition. The former despises the Bible, or dispenses with it; and the latter neutralizes or makes it void by the traditions of men. Be not misled nor amazed, therefore, when you read or hear high eulogiums upon the Divine Character, from men who reject Divine Truth. That Truth pays all the homage, they can do, to God as a Creator: and, therefore, they must dislike the homage it pays to him, as a lawgiver, and as the God of Salvation. For, they cannot pretend, (at least they cannot prove,) that Why have you not done so? You do not comthe Bible does less justice to the glories of crea-prehend the trinity you believe: but it does not oftion, than philosophy. They have produced no fend you. You can both say and sing,

poetry yet, that rivals, in natural beauty or sublimity, the psalms and hymns of inspiration. In rejecting the Bible, therefore, their reason cannot be found in the spirit or the style, in which it celebrates the natural perfections of Deity. Indeed, by their own confession, nothing is so lofty in sentiment or language as sacred poetry.

We thus get at the real cause of their unbelief: it is enmity against the moral perfections of God, as these are revealed in the Bible. How inveterate then is the enmity of the human heart, seeing it can admire the divine goodness in nature, and hate it in grace: trace it in creation with enthusiasm, and trample on it in redemption, with contempt: laud it in a star, and laugh at it in the "Sun of Righteousness!"

"I love the incarnate mystery!"

Why? Because there you can put your "trust." It is the trust-worthiness of the Lamb of God, which reconciles you to the trinity of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit has thus shown you the need of a salvation, which no theory of Unitarianism furnishes; and satisfied you that Trinitarianism alone, provides for the wants of your soul.

This is from the love of the Spirit! Had he not convinced you of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment, you too might have rejected the gospel, under the pretence of its mysteriousness. Many are left to do so: and, who can wonder?— They will not take the word of the Spirit, upon This is fallen human nature, when it raises it-the subject of their sin or danger; and, therefore, self highest, without the gospel. It merely refines its enmity, and systematizes its pride. No wonder, therefore, if the gospel pour as much scorn upon human wisdom, as upon human crime. Both hate God alike, although for different rea

sons.

Thus the necessity of reconciliation to God is universal. And as the best forms of the human mind are, by nature and tendency, the proudest, no wonder that reconciliation is always by the power of the Holy Ghost, as well as by the blood of the Cross. The Ministry of Reconciliation" succeeds in its Beseechings, because it is "the ministration of the Spirit."

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he will not work for their conversion. They will not take truth just as he has written it; and he will not do that for them, which they can do for themselves.

Observe, now, how the Holy Spirit has reconciled you, by the Cross, to the sovereignty of the divine will. Nothing, perhaps, is more appalling or repulsive to the natural mind, than the idea of being entirely and eternally at the disposal of the mere will of God! The heart rises and writhes at such absolute dependence. It would shake it off, if it could. To have no claim to be saved, and no vote or voice, but the voice of begging prayer, in the matter of our own salvation, is a It will increase your love to the Spirit, to trace galling chain to the spirit of man. Nothing but the love of the Spirit, in reconciling you to God, the power of the Spirit of God could reconcile any by the Cross. Now, by it, he has reconciled you man to this chain. But that power does reconto the incomprehensible mysteries of the divine es- cile to it! When we are convinced of the evil of sence. You do not cavil with them, nor turn them sin, we are soon convinced that God is not necesinto excuses for neglecting the divine will. This sarily bound to pardon it, and that he would not is done, however, by many. They entrench them- be unjust, even if he refused to pardon it. This selves amongst the mysteries of the trinity, when is both felt and confessed, whenever the evil of sin they are plied with the claims of the gospel; and is thoroughly brought home to the conscience.demand explanations of the twofold nature of Then, our difficulty is, to see how God can do any Christ, when they are blamed for unbelief. They wield all the "things hard to be understood," against both "the one thing needful," and the things which belong to their eternal peace; and because they cannot comprehend, refuse to obey. Mystery is not, indeed, the sole, nor the real reason of their aversion to the gospel. That lies deeper than they choose to acknowledge. It is no calumny to say so: for there is nothing in the (15)

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thing else than allow the law to take its course against us. We have not only nothing to say for ourselves, in bar of its sentence; but we are even afraid to plead the death of Christ against the curse; because we feel that we deserve condemnation, quite as much for our sins, against Christ, as for our sins against law. And there is no pretence in all this! We do not aggravate our guilt or danger, in order to conciliate God by an excess

of humility. We do not take the worst view of our case, in the hope of inducing God to take the best view of it We are not bribing mercy, when we declare our utter unworthiness of any mercy. No; whatever homage the self-condemnation of a penitent pays to the majesty of law or justice, is disinterested. It is the honest verdict of conscience, and in nowise a stratagem to evade punishment.

there is no other name given under heaven, whereby we can be saved, but the name of Jesus. It is,-that other foundation (of hope) can no man lay, than that is laid; even Christ. Now the utmost that unrenewed nature will cordially allow, is, that this may be one way of salvation, and a very good way for those who like it. But, that it is the only way of getting to heaven, is denied by more than one half of those who have the Bible in their hands. The popular maxim is, that there are as many ways to heaven, as there are roads to London; and all equally safe, if the travellers are only sincere.

So it is also in the submission of a real penitent, to the sovereignty of divine grace. His professed submission to the good will of God, is not a clever nor covert plan of making that will good in his own case. He knows that he cannot force God This is said, indeed, good-humoredly; but it is to save him-nor bribe God-nor circumvent God, a malignant sarcasm upon the character of God, in the matter of salvation. All that he knows, and a bitter reflection upon his word. Accordeven when he thinks most, is, that self-condemna-ingly the good humor with which it is uttered in tion is a becoming spirit on the part of a sinner, company, soon gives place to anger or scorn, when and the only spirit at all likely to find mercy. All the maxim is flatly denied. Then, it comes out, that he hopes, when he hopes most, at this stage both by words and looks, that a God who would of his experience, is, that his sense of utter un- only save in one way is not at all to the taste of worthiness may be the work of the Holy Spirit, the majority. They hate "such strictness!" shutting him up to the worthiness of the Lamb slain. Accordingly, he casts himself simply upon the good will of God. He is reconciled to have no other warrant for hoping in Christ. He may wish for some clue to the divine will-for some sign or token of eventual success: but he lies down at the foot of the cross without them, leaving the issue in the hands of God.

It is no objection against the simplicity or disinterestedness of this submission to the divine will, that the penitent would not be thus meek, if he thought that the issue would be against him. God has not called on him to think so. The Holy Spirit does not work on the heart, to reconcile the heart to condemnation, or to the loss of the soul. He convinces, only in order to save the soul; and, therefore, it is no part of a penitent's duty, and no part of a penitential spirit, to be willing to perish. It is a sin, to despair. It cannot, therefore, be a virtue, nor a mark of grace, to be willing to be lost.

I speak of this maxim, not, of course, as it is applied to the forms or discipline of churches, (but as it is extended to all creeds, and no creed. It is perfectly true, that there are as many ways to heaven as there are churches,) in which Christ is made "all in all" in salvation. The difference of their government, does not hinder the Holy Spirit from blessing the preaching of the cross; and, therefore, it cannot prevent the "crown of glory." But this is not true of all creeds. It is not true of any creed, in which the cross is not the only refuge of the guilty, and grace the only principle of piety. It is false, if the Bible be true. But how popular is this maxim, amongst those who do not think, and amongst those who plume themselves upon thinking freely and liberally! And you and I have been saved from it by the teaching of the Spirit! We are glad to be "shut up" to Christ, for all our hope. Well we may ! And now observe, how the Holy Spirit has reconciled you, by the cross, to the revealed characThis is so obvious, that I know not how to ex-ter of God. The substance of that character is, plain the conduct of those, who make "willing- that "God is love." And yet, strange to say, this ness to be lost," the test of real humility. True; is the chief reason, why the natural mind is enthey qualify the requirement of such humility by mity against God. It hates his love far more than adding, "if it would be for the glory of God, that his holiness. And for an obvious reason: the you should perish." I do hope that we misunder-real love of God is paternal; and thus is seen to stand those who speak thus! They must, surely, claim the heart: it is redeeming love; and thus mean less than their words imply. The loss of a is seen to be humbling: it is sovereign love; and soul can bring no glory to God. He has "no thus is seen to be unmeritable. Were it love that pleasure in the death of a sinner." Judgment is asked for little return of affection, and accepted of his strange work: and, therefore, although God still less obedience, men would, perhaps, be rather will be perfectly just in the condemnation of the pleased with it than otherwise; but claiming, as impenitent, he will never consider himself glorified it does their supreme love, and their immediate by it. Goodness is the glory of God! Accord- confidence, they hate it because it leaves them ingly, when Moses requested to see his glory, he without excuse. They can question authority said, "I will make all my goodness pass before and cavil at justice, under the pretence of strictness or severity: but they cannot resist love, but by resenting it as needless or humiliating.

thee."

But I will not argue this point; for I cannot believe we understand the local meaning of the unscriptural expression I refer to.

Observe now, how the Holy Spirit has reconciled you, by the cross, to the exclusiveness of the divine plan of saving sinners. He has, indeed, taught you nothing upon this subject, but just what is written. What is written, is however, very obnoxious to the natural mind. It is, that

Why else are sublime and lofty ideas of God, so much more popular in the world, than gentle and lovely ideas of his character? O, it is not from nobility of mind, nor from refinement of taste, that the grand is preferred to the gracious, and the sublime to the tender. The former let the heart alone-let the conscience alone-let their sins alone. The majestic and magnificent play around

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