the Spirit are more abundant in your life and conversation, then,—you may venture to appropriate the rich assurances of the Gospel to yourself.

But do you not see, dearest, how subtilely you are mixing up your own works with the all-perfect work of the Son of God, the only, and the all-sufficient hope, and ground of our acceptance? Do you not perceive that you are confusing your justification with your sanctification? They are indeed inseparable :-thanks for ever be to God for the blessing! To be purified from the pollution of sin, to be adorned with the beauties of holiness is indeed the most precious part of the Covenant of Grace; the greatest blessing that the Lord of Glory hath purchased for us with his blood! But, justification is quite distinct from sanctification, and precedes it. It is a sense of the wondrous grace and love of God in freely justifying so unwor

thy and polluted a being, that constrains the soul" to deny ungodliness." Can you expect the tree to bud, and blossom, and bear fruit before it is firmly rooted? Surely not; neither can a Christian bring forth the fruits of holiness until he is rooted in Christ;-and when he is united to Christ he is justified, and in a state of acceptance with God.

We know that life must be first communicated before action can take place; thus life must be received from Christ before the Christian can walk in the path of obedience, and when Christ has thus quickened the Christian's soul he is pardoned and accepted.

Thus, dear Friend, what you consider the last step nearly of the Christian's course, I cannot but regard as the first; and one reason why so many Christians have so much to deplore in their tempers,

and affections, is that they do not clearly perceive this blessed doctrine; and consequently, do not feel its sanctifying effect upon their souls. It is "mighty through God to the pulling down the strong holds " of sin and Satan.

If we expect, and desire, that the Gospel should produce its renovating, and comforting influence upon us, we must receive it as "little children," without any of our own reasonings or additions, simply as God has been pleased in his infinite mercy to send it to us. To be afraid to receive a doctrine, because it is too glorious, and comforting for us, is not real humility but presumption; it is affecting to be wiser than God, and plainly testifies that we think we understand the treatment of our souls better than Himself, and consequently, better know the method to be pursued to cure the deadly disease of sin. Oh! it is a soul-reviving truth that we are

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justified, pardoned, and accepted for the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ, quite irrespective of ourselves. When a poor sinner laden with a sense of his guilt, and earnestly desiring to be separated from sin, comes to the Lord in his own appointed way, and falling in deep self-abasement at the mercy-seat, prays in, the all-powerful name of Jesus, -then is he pardoned,-accepted, justified; and power is given him from on high to begin the warfare, to carry on the mighty conflict which ends only when he has left the body of sin and death in the grave. While passing through the gate to heaven, he is crowned with the conqueror's crown, and casting it before the throne of Him who gave it, with rapturous praise, he adores the Saviour who redeemed him with his blood.

And now, dear friend, we will turn to those Scriptures, which give this most

cheering and happy view of the Christian's present state, though in the midst of trial and temptation.

With regard to the important subject of justification, the Apostle St. Paul says, after bringing home the charge of sin to every human being, and thus proving that we are by nature in a lost, and perishing condition, "Therefore by the deeds of the law, there shall no flesh be justified in his sight." And then he clearly states the ground of the sinner's hope, "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 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, I say, at this time his righteousness that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus. Therefore we conclude that a man is