have been ‘as a man astonished, as a mighty man that cannot save; and yet thou, O Lord, art still in the midst of us, and we are called by thy name.' O leave us not to the consequences of our iniquities, thou forbearing, long-suffering God of our salvation.' How unremittingly, anxiously, and prayerfully should we ponder these truths, which we feel cannot be disproved or denied.' We have left the path of duty; we have loved to wander in ways that are not good; we have not refrained our feet,' and justly may we fear that the Lord will not accept us, that now he will remember our iniquity and visit our sins. Our only refuge is in Christ, whom the Father bruised and put to grief, that when he made his soul an offering for sin, he might see his seed, and prolong his days, and that the pleasure of the Lord might prosper in his hand.' Whether then but to him can we go with any hopes of deliverance from our aggravated guilt? He only is the way,' as well as the truth and the life.' Let us enter into our chambers, and shut our doors about us. Let us hide ourselves, and confess our sins under a deep impression of their multitude and malignity, and wrestle for pardon till we are assured by the Lord, who meets us there, that the indignation is overpast. Let the domestic circle also be the witnesses of our convictions of unworthiness, of our godly 6 sorrow, of our firm apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, and of our rightly founded resolutions of new obedience. There we are the priests to offer those sacrifices of broken hearts and contrite spirits with which God is well pleased. There we lay the spiritual wants of our households before the hearer of prayer, and transmit their confessions, their thanksgivings, their wishes, and their vows to heaven, The believing Christian parent, engaged in the act of adoration and supplication before his God and Saviour, and the partner of his life, and children of their love joining with him in this delightful exercise, form a scene on which angels look down complacent, and and to whose prayers the Father of Jesus and their own reconciled Father bends a listening ear, and smiles. He commissions his ministering spirits who minister for them that are heirs of salvation,' to guard them through the wilderness, and to conduct them at the end of their journey to the land of rest, where they shall strike the harps of seraphs, and their song through eternity be Alleluiah. Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.' SEPTEMBER. FIRST DAY.-MORNING. Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them,' Rom. i. 32. from the effects of his omnipotence, displayed around them, and within them, they glorified the dreadful statement of their sins which immehim not as God, neither were thankful.' Hence diately follows, and grows blacker in its progress, till it concludes with the most terrible picture that can be drawn of depravity consummated— compelled to stop because it can go no fartherthat of men knowing the judgment of God, that they who commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.' THESE words form the closing charge in the catalogue of infamy here presented by the great apostle, to our attentive consideration. The several items composing the amount of guilt described in this passage, were supplied by sinners of the Gentiles, who even in their heathen state were 'without excuse, because the invisible things We must not for one moment suppose that we of God from the creation of the world, are clearly have no personal concern in the awful truth here seen, being understood by the things which placed in such a vivid light before us. We must are made, even his eternal power and Godhead.' not for an instant flatter ourselves that it is imThe Lord's 'ways' then,' were equal,' even when possible it can be realized in our individual experihe had communicated to them no special, direct ence. If the heathen could be, and were guilty revelation of his will. But their ways were of the sin here denounced, with their compara not equal,' inasmuch as when they knew God' tively imperfect acquaintance with what God is. 6 and required of them, what shall we answer now-' our actual disobedience, the blood of the Lamb of God shed on Calvary, and sprinkled on the heart and conscience by the Spirit of holiness, cleanseth from all sin.' Let us lay hold as with a miser's grasp on this blessed truth, and not let it go till we feel in ourselves that it is indeed glad tidings of great joy. Let us ever remember that it is the peculiar work of the Holy Ghost to apply to the objects of the Father's everlasting love, the redemption purchased by Christ.' He must convince the transgressor of sin, before he can perceive its enormity. He must exhibit it in all its loathesomeness to the revived moral sense of the spiritual sleeper, before he can feel its extreme bitterness. He must humble the lofty looks and bow down the' natural haughtiness of man before the Lord alone can be exalted,' and he must display in all its attractions to the lately' carnal mind,' the fulness and freeness of the covenant of reconciliation, before the ransomed captive can have his chains burst asunder, and rejoice and be 'exceeding glad, and stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made him free.' It is now that repentance hath its perfect work. It is now that Jesus is contemplated in the character of an all-sufficient Saviour. It is now that his offer of salvation is seized on, and pressed to the believer's heart, as the pearl of great price,' and it is now that the forgiven soul is persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate him from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus his Lord.' and, O how shall we appear before him on the judgment day when we reflect that our sins are committed in the full knowledge that we are transgressing his laws explicitly delivered, and powerfully sanctioned? We dare not plead ignorance of the consequences, as an apology for our perseverance in our keenly-contested race for perdition. We know well that conscience is against us. We have often felt its accusations wringing our souls with agony, and rendering what was designed by our Maker as the scene of our Christian warfare and Christian triumphs, the birth-place of our coming, certain, and everlasting punishment. We know equally well that the revealed laws of the Most High, are in direct opposition to our ungodly practices, that as professing Christians we pretend to be governed by these laws, and that if we fail in our obedience, we must pay the penalty expressly threatened by the great Lawgiver against the wilful, infatuated, presumptuous, and incorrigible offender. We are sinning against mercies, and judgments, and warnings, and expostulations, and entreaties; 'crucifying to ourselves afresh the Son of God' by our transgressions, and putting him to an open shame' by obstinately refusing to turn from them. We are doing despite to the Spirit of grace, by constraining him to strive' no longer with us, and counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing' by delighting or taking pleasure in the society, conversation, and friendship of those who, like Ephraim of old, are joined to their idols,' and to whom the Lord may be saying, in token of his being about to leave them for ever, 'Let them alone.' Is it possible that sinners of this description can be pardoned? that they can be restored to soundness of mind, made to receive cordially the offers of the gospel, and to rejoice in that faith which they once speculatively rejected and practically destroyed? Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that he cannot save, neither his ear heavy that it cannot hear,' and though our iniquities have separated between us and our God, and our sins have hid his face from us, that he will not hear, till we are brought low and see our wretched state, and declare that there is salvation in no other,' He has still the same almighty power, and the same divinely benevolent anxiety to deliver. The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin.' It matters not what may be the number of our transgressions, and their aggravations, the heinousness of our original apostacy, and, as flowing from this corrupt spring, the frightful and condemning amount of FIRST DAY.-EVENING. And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required,' Luke xii. 47, 48. THE perfect justice of the principle here laid down by Him who spoke as never man spake, because in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily,' is beyond all challenge and controversy. That servant who knows his lord's will, and prepares not himself,' for the duties required of him, in consequence of this knowledge, neither doeth according to his lord's will," 6 We have been invited by our bibles, by Christ's ambassadors, by Christ's Spirit, and by Christ's friends, among our brethren, to come to the waters,' and yet we have shut our ears to the affectionate call, and will not drink of the salubrious, refreshing, and invigorating streams. The Lord has spoken, and still speaks to every feeling by which human beings can be affected; he addresses every motive by which creatures desirous of happiness can be influenced; he threatens, and entreats and expostulates with us, in all the warmth of divine solicitude, for our eternal welfare, and still we 'refuse him that speaketh to us from heaven.' We still continue to reject in reality, whatever our professions may be, the oft repeated and earnestly pressed offers of mercy, and remain insensible of the extent, as well as fervour of that love which passeth all understanding. Do we not then deserve many stripes? And how dreadful the thought that they may, and if we consider not our ways, that they will be inflicted, without diminution, without interruption, and without end! Let us apply this admitted truth to our own state, and then our attention will be withdrawn from curious and unprofitable speculations, respecting the purposes of God towards the heathen,—whether he will save or condemn them, according to their use of the light which they enjoy, 6 though he is completely acquainted with it, and enabled by him who has revealed it to act in terms of his requisition, shall be beaten with many stripes,'-shall be severely punished here, and if his lord's mercy prevent not, eternally hereafter. 'But he that knows not his lord's will,' because he has not been pleased, in right of his sovereignty, to make it known to him, by a particular communication from heaven, and cominits, through ignorance, things worthy of stripes,' shall be beaten with few stripes, -is still held guilty to a certain extent, and must not expect to escape unpunished.' Now there cannot be the smallest shadow of a doubt, to which of these two classes of 'servants' we belong. And it most nearly concerns us to inquire what are our privileges, and how we have improved them. We cannot, with any appearance of honesty, or even of decency, assert that we have not opportunities of knowing our Master's will. In this land, enlightened by the beams of the Sun of righteousness, the scriptures are, or may be in the hands of all its inhabitants; the means of education are abundantly supplied to every one who chooses to use them, and religious ordinances are regularly administered, and may be attended by each individual, whatever be his station or circumstances, who has been taught by the word of God to value them. With such advantages, if we attempt to plead ignorance of the things which pertain to our peace, we must stand condemned as guilty, by our own confession, of the most glaring, degrading, and sinful negligence. We are placed, as it were, beside the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,' the precious fruit is within our reach, and if we will not take, and eat and live, we must not endeavour to transfer what is entirely our own fault, to any want of goodness in the arrange-up and condemn this generation, for they repented ments of God's providence, or to some imagined defects in the humane institutions of our country. It cannot be denied that we are in possession of inestimable privileges, and neither can it be denied, that many of us have grossly misimproved, and still more of us have altogether neglected them. Christ has been, and is statedly proclaimed to us as the wisdom of God, and the power of God unto salvation, to every one that believeth,' and yet we have either kept at a distance from the place where the message is delivered, or if we have entered the house of prayer,' we have heard as if we heard it not, the wonderful history of a Saviour's meritorious sufferings, atoning death, triumphant resurrection, and glorious ascension to the right hand of the throne of God. and fixed upon ourselves. "The Lord hath dealt most bountifully with us, and crowned us with loving-kindness, and tender mercies, and if there be no return of gratitude, love, and obedience on our part, corresponding, in some measure, to the benefits which we have received, and are daily, nay, with every breath we draw, receiving, 'it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment, than for us.' The men of Nineveh, and the queen of the South, shall rise at the preaching of Jonas; and she came to hear wisdom from Solomon, and behold a greater than Jonas and Solomon is here.' These explicit declarations of him, through whom we are made partakers of every blessing, and to whom we must account for every blessing with which our 'cup runneth over,' are of vast importance, and the state of our spiritual health may be ascertained, from the impression which they produce on our minds. If they are attended to, with an interest in any degree proportionate to their intrinsic value, and their bearing on our true happiness, they will lead us to 'strive' more prayerfully and vigorously, to enter in at the strait gate,' impelled not only by the consideration, that 'many are called, and few chosen,' but encouraged by the gracious assurance, that Jesus, able priesthood, is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for him.' SECOND DAY.-MORNING. 6 because he continueth ever, and hath an unchang- | mercy, is a God unjust.' For on the unsupported, wild, and dangerous supposition, that ‘a God all mercy' did exist, the Lord Jehovah would be divested of part of his attributes, and of course, cease to be perfect; the distinction between right and wrong, in human conduct, would be abolished, and piety and virtue end in nothing but vanity and vexation of spirit;' the heinousness of sin, would not appear in its native deformity, and in its ruinous consequences, and the crown of glory be thus torn from the sacred head of Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.' Admitting these to be the statements of scripture, let us be careful to know the truth, and begin and accomplish a diligent search' of our own hearts, and by the guidance of the Spirit we shall find out exactly how matters stand between God and us, and be induced to 'flee' immediately, 'from the wrath to come.' In all his dispensations, the Lord is manifested as supremely benevolent and merciful, but at the same time, consistent, holy, and just. His goodness prompted him to save us, but he could not forgive the guilt which had excluded us from his favour, without asserting the holiness of his nature, and vindicating the rectitude of his administration. We could not give a sufficient ransom, or any ransom at all, for our souls. He looked to his angels, who 'excel in strength, and who do his commandments, hearkening to the voice of his word,' but none of them, nay, not all of them, were able to redeem the fallen race of men from the curse of the law which they had transgressed. The hand-writing' remained uneffaced, and ineffaceable, by creatures, whatever might be their rank or their power. 'The book was' still 'shut, sealed with seven seals,' and no created intelligence could open it, neither look thereon.' There was one plan only, which could be successfully adopted, for executing the astonishing scheme of man's recovery from the penal consequences of his rebellion, and of his restoration to his forfeited privileges and expectation. A being equal in dignity to the Lord, who had been so grievously offended, must become the substitute of the offenders. A sacrifice of infinite value must be offered up, as an atonement for sin committed against a God of infinite purity. The lion of the tribe of Judah' must interpose, and take unto him his great power,' and subdue Satan, and redeem his captives, and reign as mediator, till all his enemies shall be made his footstool." It was thus, and thus only, that mercy and truth could meet together, righteousness and peace kiss each other. Truth, in the person of the 'Let no man deceive you with rain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience,' Eph. v. 6. THE 'things' which the apostle is so very solicitous that the converts at Ephesus should avoid, are the particular violations of the divine law which he had just enumerated, and pronounced deserving of exclusion from the light of the Redeemer's countenance, and from the society of the spirits of just men made perfect' for ever. Influenced by that spirit of self-dependence, the most difficult to be subdued of any of the dispositions which war against the soul,' we are strongly inclined, instead of trusting in God, to lean to our own understanding.' We endeavour to represent him, whom we cannot by searching find out unto perfection,' as so good and benevolent, that he will not be strict in marking our iniquities, or severe in punishing them; that he has created us weak and fallible, and placed us in a world full of temptation, and therefore, that the trivial failings by which we regret to say our conduct is now and then distinguished, will be overlooked by a being who remembers our frame, and who knows that to 'step aside is human.' The causes in addition to those already mentioned, of such an unscriptural, irrational an opinion as this, are either an excessive sentimentalism in the persons who entertain it, whose delicate sensibilities are shocked by the very enunciation of the terms malignity, satisfaction, substitution, and retribution, or the influence of what are called-how justly we leave others to determine-philosophical principles, or what we believe is most frequently the reason, a wish in men to make the Almighty just such a being as suits their own interest, because they are conscious that if justice and judgment are the habitation of his throne,' they must exist the suffering victims of sinning against him for ever. This selfish theory, which lies at the foundation of the efficacy of sincere, though imperfect obedience, as a ground of safety, is not more at variance with the word of God, our only infallible standard of faith and duty, than that which is founded on vague notions of the divine goodness. It has been strongly but truly said, by the poet, that a God all 6 6 Saviour, must spring out of the earth, as a root | pure, enlightening the eyes; that the fear of the out of a dry ground,' and then, but not till then, Lord is clean, enduring for ever; that the judgcould righteousness, well pleased, look down from ments of the Lord are true, and righteous altoheaven. The scripture hath concluded all gether.' Every precept contained in the law then under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus has his authority and sanction, and He, yes, even Christ, might be given to them that believe.' He who is, who was, and who is to come, cannot Our hope of salvation depends altogether on the suffer one jot or tittle' to be taken from it or 'to glorious fact, that the sacrifice required, and pass away,' without breaking in on the perfectness without which there could, and can be, no remis- of the Godhead, and giving up a part of that masion, was both offered and accepted. up Bless jesty that supports his throne. 'Be ye holy for the Lord, O my soul.' I am holy.' We have here God's explicit command, which we must observe to do,' being strictly prohibited to add thereto, or to diminish from it. The law is enjoined on every rational being wherever existing, in whatever circumstances placed, or by whatever privileges distinguished. It respects not a mere external conformity to the will of God, but especially the possession of religious principles in the heart. It engages by the strongest obligations, the whole soul to the service of God, the complete surrender of all its powers, volitions, and desires to his disposal, the utter abandonment of every pursuit that would interfere with his interests, and the utmost exertion of every energy of which He, by his mighty working and upholding grace, has made it capable for the advancement of his glory. If any one part of the law then be broken, the great Legis SECOND DAY.-EVENING. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all, James ii. 10. ONE of the most common opinions entertained by the unregenerate is, that there is nothing very serious or at all condemnatory in many things which are reckoned sinful by the righteous overmuch.' And therefore the truth here stated so expressly by the apostle, is remarkably difficult for the natural mind to receive, nay, it will give it no reception at all. That such is the fact, we have the testimony of every past age, and if we would speak out, and dissemble not, the evi-lator is dishonoured by the very act; and as each dence of our own experience. It has its rise in the same troubled fountain whence flow the various streams of spiritual error and moral degeneracy. It proceeds from the inherent unaptness of fallen man, to the study of the divine character, and his innate disinclination to admit the universality of the divine law. It subjects the mightiest as well as the meanest to its perverting influences, who assuming that an all-perfect God bears a striking resemblance to themselves, attempt to make him see with their eyes, and would fain believe that his purity is to be measured by the standard of their holiness. gainsayers may hear, or they may forbear; let God be true, and every man a liar.' Let us consider the author of the law' as he is revealed to us in his own word, and 'the law' itself as contained in the lively oracles.' We there learn that the Lord is a perfect Being, possessing every attribute essential to one whose kingdom ruleth over all,' that he is Holy, holy, holy' in his nature, in his works, and in his ways, and therefore, that the law of the Lord is also perfect, converting the soul, that the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; that the statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; that the commandment of the Lord is Such individual statute is inseparably connected with 6 |