clearly traced to their apostasy from God; and this prophecy, which was preached and written in Babylon, was designed to open their eyes to the cause of their calamities, and to lead to the adoption of that course which alone could afford a speedy and effectual remedy. The captives were industrious in justifying themselves, but their justification was so conducted as to reflect on God. They admitted, that he had set life before them, but they complained that he had set it before them in such a way as to be beyond their reach: they upbraided the prophet with a threatening he had previously pronounced against them," Ye shall pine away for your iniquities." This was a conditional, not an absolute threatening, but they willingly understood it in the latter sense, and they asked the prophet, how he could reconcile it with the hopes of life, which, in the name of heaven, he had set before them. If our sins and iniquities be upon us, if we shall pine away under them, and drag out a wretched captivity in a fruitless repentance, how shall we live? If this be our doom, there is no remedy, and there is no hope. The judgments God had brought on them, the fall of their throne, the interruption of their worship, and the captivity of their nation, had not humbled them. Sinners, yet impatient and querulous-captives, yet proud and impenitent-they found fault with all the dispensations of God's providence, and all the words of his prophets, and scornfully rejecting his offers of life, they exclaimed, with their fathers in the wilderness, "Behold we die, we perish, we all perish!" To these words of despair, God replies by a message of grace. He might have sent to them a minister of his wrath, he sends to them a prophet of his love. Say unto them, as I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 66 We have heard, that the King of Heaven is a merciful King; that he is as far above other sovereigns in mercy, as he is above them in power; and here we find him assuring a whole nation of transgressors, that, grievously as they had provoked him, and sorely as he had punished them, he would yet, on their repentance, forgive their sin, and turn from his anger; that should they confess their fault, and turn to the God of their fathers, he would yet bring them forth with honour from the land of their captivity, rebuild their cities, raise up their throne, restore their worship, and dwell amongst them as in the days of old. "Oh! give thanks unto the God of heaven," says the Psalmist, "for his mercy endureth for ever." The patience and forbearance of God are unchanged. He speaks to sinners in the Gospel, in the same terms in which he addressed the Jews in Babylon, "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." This is the language of God to all, whatever the degree of their guilt, or the temper of their mind; whether they are presuming on his forbearance, or despairing of his mercy; whether they are defying his power, or doubting his love; whe ther they are just setting out on the road of sin, or have nearly concluded their course, and are within the view of that eternal death which is the wages of sin; whether they are bound with green withes, or are fettered with the iron bands of long habit to all he proclaims, that he delights not in their ruin; that he desires their salvation; and that he is willing to lend his almighty power to accomplish it, provided only they will come to him and ask it. Oh! such a declaration is worthy of being listened to by every ear, and of being believed by every heart. Lifting up his hand, he swears by his own existence; not as if the oath of God rendered his word more valid, or more worthy of our belief, but in condescension to our weakness; and to confirm our faith, he says, “As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." The doctrine taught in our text, and which we mean to establish in this discourse, is, that God does not delight in the ruin of sinners. I. This appears from the creation of man, and the original constitution of his nature. God created man in his own image. This is the only law, so far as we know, according to which, rational creatures can enjoy happiness. Had the nature of man been so framed as to be in opposition to that of his Creator, so far as we can reason, from the nature of the case, the constitution of the universe, and the character of the divine government, the happiness of man would have been an impossibility. Nay, we may conclude, that his existence would have been an existence of misery; and it would have been so prior to any act by which man might have violated the constitution he had received from God. Then, taking into account the character of the universe, in which man was to live, as moral,— and the character of the government under which he was to be placed, as being likewise moral,-it was necessary that his constitution should be framed only in one way, so as to be consistent with his happiness. In that way was it framed, while it is obviously true, that God might have framed it in a different way, perhaps in a thousand different ways. That it was framed in that manner which alone was consistent with man's happiness, is a proof that God is beneficent, and that he delights not in the destruction of his creatures. But further, let us consider the constitution under which man was placed. He was created happy, and he was placed in the most favourable circumstances for preserving that happiness. God required obedience as the condition of his happiness; and it is easy to shew, that this was a beneficent arrangement. One act of sin would have been the destruction of his happiness, although God had never threatened him with death, because it would have disordered his nature; and consequently, it appears, that this constitution bound him up, so far as consisted with his free agency, to the only course which was consistent with his happiness. And even granting that the condition on which his happiness rested, viz., obedience, had been a positive, and not a necessary one, still man had received from God powers adequate to the easy performance of it; there was no darkness in his understanding to occasion any doubt or mistake as to his duty; there was no impurity in his affections to draw him aside, no infirmity in his will to unfit him for obedience. Only, he was created mutable he had power to stand, but he was also liable to fall-he might obey and live, or he might transgress and die. And this proof is strengthened by the consideration, that God entered into a covenant with Adam, constituting him the head and representative of his posterity. By that covenant the whole world was placed in the same favourable circumstances in which Adam was placed; the likelihood that they should all retain their original constitution, and thus secure their happiness, was just as great, as that Adam should preserve his constitution, and secure his happiness. Since that day, sin has entered into the world, and death by sin, but this has happened by the voluntary transgression of Adam. There was no previous decree, obliging Adam to transgress, or in the smallest degree impairing his powers of standing. He knew the penalty of disobedience; and to fall, and, by falling, forfeit the favour of God, and bring ruin on himself, and on all the millions of his race, was his own act. "Lo, this have I found," says the wise man, "that God made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." higher than the earth, or the sun of noon brighter than the taper which we kindle at midnight. As we gaze on this all-cloudless exhibition of the character of God, its light beams forth in still stronger splendour; we behold it bursting from the divine throne, irradiating the plains of heaven, and gilding the hills and the valleys of our earth. In its shining we hear the angels saying, “Glory to God, and peace on the earth." It continues to increase till the heaven above, which is the throne of God, and the earth below, which is his footstool, are glowing in its unbounded effulgence; and then, though instead of the eyes of flesh we had the orbs of the seraph, we would veil them with the seraph's wing; and if, instead of the tongues of men we could speak with the tongues of angels, we could not find, either in the language of men, or the language of angels, words to give adequate expression to our feelings; we could give utterance to our thoughts only in the words which the Holy Ghost has used, "God is love!" The contrivance of this plan, its revelation to the world, is all the proof we require that God has no pleasure in the death of sinners. Surely had he delighted in their ruin, he would not have devised means to prevent it. Where is the man who will affirm that God finds pleasure in the death of angels? and yet what has he done for them compared with what he has done for us? Christ took not on him the nature of angels. He never descended to offer II. That God delights not in the death of sin-sacrifice for their guilt. He never went to their ners, is evident from the plan of recovery he has formed. Although eternal death had passed on all who sinned; although heaven had been barred, and the mansions of hell had received the whole posterity of Adam as they left the earth, it would have been impossible to have affirmed that God delighted in the death of sinners. For such an affirmation there would have been no proof; nay, so far from there being ground for such a conclusion as this, there would have been ground for the very opposite conclusion. The proof we have already led, that God gave to man a constitution fitting him for the enjoyment of happiness, with power to preserve that constitution, and thus preserve his happiness, sufficiently establishes the declaration of our text, that God delights not in the death of sinners, because it shews, on his part, an arrangement for the continuance of their happiness, and, therefore, though no plan of recovery had been revealed, we must have descended into the pit without having it in our power to say, that God delighted in our ruín. But in the redemption by Christ, the character of God comes forth in brighter glory, a glory that shines without a cloud,- -a proof so overwhelming of the character of God, and of his designs of mercy to our family, that it requires only to be stated that its force may be felt; and if we should set ourselves formally to demonstrate that the cross of Christ is a proof of the love of God, we would be acting as absurdly as if we laboured to prove that the heaven is prison-house to preach repentance. He never obeyed-he never suffered he never hung upon a cross for them. The Father never sent him in his mercy to loose the fetters of these sorrowful captives, or to open the doors of their burning prisonhouse. It is on the fields of earth, and not in the mansions of hell, that the Gospel has been published. It was in the hearing of fallen men, not of fallen angels, that the song was sung, "We bring you tidings of great joy, for unto you is born this day a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord." The countenance that frowned in wrath on them, smiled with love on us. The eye that burned with indignation on the seraph, melted with pity on man. The arm which was lifted up to punish them, was lifted up to save us. He was mighty to destroy in the one case; he was mighty to save in the other. Oh! this is a proof that our text is true, "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." III. It is evident from the means God employs to carry this plan into effect. All is not gained when the plan is formed; much depends on the manner of its execution. Great wisdom may be shown in the contrivance of the plan, and as great negligence in giving it effect. It is not so in this case; in the contrivance and in the execution of the plan of salvation, God has shewn an equal wisdom and love. He is not man that he should repent. He never altered the eternal purpose of love which he formed regarding man. He never saw cause to change his mind regarding our redemption, because it conferred on our family a grace which they did not merit, or because it was necessary for him to employ means too extensive compared with the end that was to be gained. He never repented, we say, of that purpose, and therefore, he continues to execute it from age to age. This is the proof that his love endures, that it is stable as the days of heaven. All the means which have been employed from the beginning of time, or which are in operation at this day; all the means God is employing with us, or with others, to bring us to the enjoyment of the blessings included in this purpose, are just a reiteration of our text, "As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." But what are the means which God has employed, or is still employing, to carry his purpose into effect in our salvation? They are very numerous, and some of them are of surpassing grandeur. righteous judge condemned him ;-the robe of purple, and the crown of thorns ;-the garden of Gethsemane, where his soul was sorrowful unto death, and Calvary, and the cross, where he expired. By these sufferings was our salvation purchased, and the purpose of God's eternal love so far carried into effect, and our text shewn to be true, that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. We might here remind you of the vast preparations which were made, during many ages, for the appearance of the Messiah, and of what was done for the spread of his Gospel after his death; but on these topics it is not necessary that we should enter, and we wish to direct your attention to other means employed by God. 2. The ordinances of grace. Many of the blessings of God are so common, that we have ceased to prize them, and never think what our condition would be were they to be taken from us. The air we breathe, and the sun that shines on us, are instances of this in the natural world. On these blessings our very existence depends; were they to be denied but for one hour the world would be destroyed, and yet we have enjoyed them so long, and with so little effort of ours, that we never think of them at all, or of the goodness of God in giving them. The same may be said of the ordinances of grace. We have enjoyed them so long, in such abundance, and with so little effort of ours, that we are now insensible to the greatness of the blessing. And yet it is not easy to imagine in what condition we would have been to-day had we never enjoyed them, or in what condition we would be to-morrow were they to be taken from us. Had it not been for the appointment of a Church, and the administration of divine ordinances, we would, ere this day, have lost all knowledge of the salvation of heaven, and the sacrifice of Christ would have been to us as if it had never been offered. Had not the Sun of the Gospel been kin 1. The mean which is obviously of first importance is the incarnation, the obedience, and the death of his Son. This was a great price, but the soul is precious, and a less price could not have redeemed it from death; this was a great sacrifice, but so was the guilt it was to expiate. Although man had wept, and mourned, from the beginning to the close of time; though he had trod the path from his cradle to his grave in sackcloth and tears; though he had poured out his blood, to shew how deeply he bewailed his sin; though all the tribes of earth had fallen down before God, and sent up to his throne, without ceasing, the voice of weeping and of supplication; although gladness had been banished from the earth, and no joyful voice had ever been heard on it; although the doors of the morning had been sealed, and the arch of heaven had been hung with sackcloth; though the sun had been robed in blackness, and all the stars had mourned; though the harps of the lost had been used to teach mandled in the firmament above us, and kept burning how to weep, all would have been of no avail. God would not have been entreated, his anger would still have burned against us. But when he saw his own Son suffering in the room of sinners, he was appeased, he smiled in love. He looked on the sacrifice of his Son as he did on that of Noah, its incense rose to the heavens, and he smelled a savour of rest. From the history of our Saviour's life how many proofs could we bring forward that God has no pleasure in the death of sinners. Every sorrow of his humbled estate, every word he spake, and every action he performed on our world, is a proof of our text. We can only remind you of Bethlehem, where he lay in a cradle ;-of Egypt, to which he was banished by the cruelty of Herod ;-of the valleys of Galilee and the cities of Judah, where he preached the Gospel ;-of the thousands he fed, the sick he cured, the dead he raised;-of the fig-tree where he hungered, of the well of Jacob where he thirsted;-of the hall of Pilate, where a rude soldiery mocked him, and an un from age to age, by the preaching of the Word, the shades of heathenism would again have gathered around us, and, like the Athenians, we would have been worshipping at the altar of an "unknown God." What mercy, as well as power, was it to provide this bread in the famine,-to open this well in the wilderness, to kindle this light in the darkness, and what gratitude do we owe to God for favours so great and so manifold! To whose goodness was it owing that we first saw the light in a Christian land, and not in a heathen country; that we have a Bible to read, or a Church to go to; that we are here worshipping in a Christian assembly, and not offering sacrifice in an idolatrous temple; that the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and not the Koran of Mahomet, is open before us; that we are praying to the God of heaven, and not bowing down to the work of our own hands? Is it not owing to the goodness of Him, who fixed the time when we were to come into the world, and the spot of earth on which we were to live? And what does all this teach us? just this, that God | has no pleasure in our destruction, but rather that we would return and live. 3. The mercies of all kinds which God confers on men. Of every good gift, whether it regards the body or the mind, whether it belongs to this world or the next, God is the giver. Have we rank? God placed us in it. Have we riches? God gave them to us. Have we a good name? we are more indebted to the providence of God than to our own prudence. Have we superiors who protect us? friends who love us? and dependents who revere us? Have we a healthy body, or a sound mind? for all these gifts we are the debtors of God. But wherefore has he given them? Know, O man, that this goodness of God is designed to lead thee to repentance, and therefore, is a proof that he does not delight in your ruin. them no more; he frowns on them no more; all But farther, the majority of those who live under the Gospel, are the subjects, at times, of the common or ineffectual operations of the Divine Spirit, and, if they behave suitably under these dispensations, they may issue in conversion. Not only does God knock without by his Word, but he opens the door by his Spirit, that convictions may enter. There are moments of fear, of trembling, of alarm, in the life of every sinner; he starts up, he looks around, and he would flee for We are surrounded by the love of God, not only in grace, but in nature, and in providence, and that love is designed to work on our hearts and lead us to repentance. It is love that we live; it is love that we breathe; it is love that preserves us from falling into the flames of the pit. It is love that his sun warms us, and that his earth feeds us; that our minds can reason, and our bodies labour. Oh! how constantly does the stream of his good-safety, if he only knew where he might be at rest. ness flow; man's ingratitude cannot freeze it. "He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, he sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." This is goodness for which we can advance no claim, and for which God can expect no return, and its being given to lead us to repentance, as we are told it is, is a proof that God has no pleasure in our ruin. 4. Afflictions and chastisements. These wound the body and often administer the cup of gall to the spirit, but their tendency is salutary, and therefore we conclude that their design is beneficent.. It is mercy, when the sinner is in the way that leads to death, to beat him back although it should be with the rod of trouble,-to hedge up his path, although with the thorns of affliction. There are some who will not be drawn by the silken cord of love, they are so incorrigible that they must be driven with the whip. Now, so great is the love of God, that he does not leave even this mean untried, that their obstinacy may be broken, and that they may be led to obedience. This was the design, as the Israelites were taught by the prophets, of all the plagues, the famines, and the captivities with which they were visited. God does not afflict willingly, he does not delight to break and to bruise, but it is necessary, at times, that he should correct, and he corrects us for our profit; he acts like the physician who searches the wound that it may be healed. He causes us to pass through the waters that we may be purified, and through the fires that we may be refined; and no greater calamity can he inflict, no greater mark of wrath can he put on any, than to say of them, as he did of Ephraim, "Let them alone." Although he does not delight even in their death, yet he has now ceased to employ the usual means of averting it; he smiles on These are the strivings of the Spirit of God, to pull him out of the great deep, to pluck him as a brand from the great burning, and, though they should never issue in his salvation, they are sufficient to shew that God has no pleasure in his death. There are others who are "begotten again to a lively hope" by the Word of God; into their hearts the Spirit enters, restores the palace which was lately in ruins, and makes it a glorious temple in which God may be worshipped, and in which the Spirit may dwell. This exhibits God not only as employing means to prevent the death of the sinner, but as actually averting his destruction, and, therefore, it is the highest possible evidence that he has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Our subject affords encouragement to those who are fearful and doubting. If, like Job, you are sitting on the dunghill, abhorring yourself, our text should be as sweet to you as honey, yea, as honey from the comb. If your iniquities have taken hold on you, so that you cannot lift your eyes, then hear God stooping from his throne in heaven, and saying to you, "As I live, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." Are you afraid to return? surely these words will remove your fear; to you God says, after so long a time, "turn ye, turn ye, why will ye die." Are you sincerely desirous to return? Is sin your burden? Do you seek rest in the bosom of your Saviourcleansing in his blood-comfort by his Spirit? do not doubt that you will be received. "This man receiveth sinners, and eateth with them." "Whosoever cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." "Behold we come unto thee, for thou art the Lord our God." Again, the success by which the diligence and 99 66 a character to allow the tranquil and the serene in nature to prevail for any considerable period. The scene which affords rapturous delight at the moment, may, ere the lapse of a little hour, be turned into a source of inexpressible terror and dismay. The picture of loveliness is completely reversed, and instead of enjoyment, we have peril, and privation, and death, staring us in forms the most appalling. This leads me to the consideration of the evils which were now crowded into the lot of our intrepid mariners. forth his ice like morsels: who can stand before his I. I mention the intense cold which they had to endure while detained among the ice. The Psalmist celebrates the infinite power of Jehovah, as displayed in the production of ice and snow. The passage is one of transcendent sublimity : "He giveth snow like wool: he scattereth the hoar-frost like ashes. He casteth cold?"-Ps. cxlvii. 16, 17. These words naturally carry our thoughts to the Arctic Regions, where, during the winter months, the scene here so graphically described, is realized in all its terrific grandeur and severity. There cold, unmitigated, piercing, overpowering, prevails. And when, as it was ever and anon the case, ferings which it occasioned were greatly increased. To the frost was accompanied by sleet and snow, the sufthis dreadful element the crew of the Viewforth were, for many months, exposed. So early as the first of October, Mr writes, The cold is intense, the ice on the top of my bed being one-fourth of an inch thick. Indeed, we cannot walk the deck above half an hour at a time." October 23.-"Ships covered with snow, and just like an iceberg; the cold is getting rather alarming, my pillow, last night, was frozen to the bed." November 30.-"This has been another cold day. The frost is very intense indeed, you cannot walk the deck above a quarter of an hour, or so. blankets, last night, were perfectly frozen where I had been breathing." 66 My the importunity of others have been rewarded, | ought to stimulate your efforts. They have gone, in their poverty and wretchedness, to their father's door, and, bowing down before it, have made confession of their guilt, saying, "Father, we have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight," and, using the hand of prayer and faith, they have knocked and knocked till that door was opened; and not only have they been admitted, but they have received the kindest welcome; we have seen their father come out to meet them, and embrace them, and clothing them with the best robe, and putting a ring upon their finger, lead them in, and we have heard the song of the angels over their return. That house is not yet full, and the servants of this King have it in command to tell others to turn in hither; and let every sinner be assured, be his case or his character what they may, he who thirsted, and he who never thirsted, that God will as willingly receive him as he ever received any. Let him say this moment, "in my father's house there is bread enough and to spare,' "Why should I perish with hunger? Why should I fill my belly with the husks which the swine do eat?" live in the practice, and under the dominion of those sins which degrade my nature, destroy my peace, and will at last sink me lower than the grave? No; "I will arise, and I will go to my father, and I will say to him, I am not worthy to be called thy son, make me as one of thy hired servants." In fine, have we established our proof? Have we made good the declaration in the text, "that God delights not in the death of sinners?" Then, what is your duty? Is it indeed a truth, O sinner, that the great God, whose law you have broken, and whose wrath you have incurred, is willing to pardon you—that notwithstanding his power to punish you, he finds no pleasure in your destruction-that though a matter of absolute indifference to his essential glory whether you live or die, he invites you to live? O then haste to the foot of his throne, and, through the sacrifice of Christ, reconcile yourself to God. You have not a day, nor an hour, nor a moment to delay your reconciliation. While you linger, the hour of mercy may expire. Before the sun of day has again risen on the earth, the sun of their wisdom to have recourse to bodily exercise, in heaven's grace may have set on you for ever, and, order to keep themselves in heat. But instead of actinstead of inviting you to turn and live, God will ing upon this principle, not a few of them gave way to address you in other words: "I called, but ye rethe depressing influence which severe cold exerts on a fused, I stretched out my hands, but no one reshivering frame. They shrunk from exposure to that garded; therefore will I laugh at your calamity, This aggravated the evil. They felt inclined to lie in bed. chilling element. Some of them soon became and mock when your fear cometh." feeble and dispirited, so much so, that nothing but a strong sense of danger could effectually rouse them to exertion. Even the most robust and vigorous experienced, to an alarming degree, the debilitating effects of cold on their constitution. All their clothing was but a poor protection against an evil so formidable; and when that protection began to be impaired,-when their clothing became bare and scanty,-what many endured, from that source alone, cannot be told. The evil was frightfully augmented when it happened, as was often inevitably the case, that the men got wet and were frost-bitten. An instance of this description is detailed by the surgeon. November 24. Next morning, between eight and nine o'clock, SUFFERINGS OF THE CREW OF THE VIEWFORTH No. II. BY THE REV. J. THOMSON, One of the Ministers of Dysart. WHILE, however, the eye of taste and of piety is occasionally regaled by the contemplation of the truly sublime and beautiful, as exhibited in the Arctic Regions, let us not forget, that there the elements are of too fitful be Many similar proofs of the severity of the cold might produced. The thermometer stood generally at 30 degrees below zero,-a degree of cold which no constitution could long bear without sustaining injury. The ice around the vessel was frozen to the depth of between six and seven feet. The large water casks, though placed in the warmest part of the ship, soon after the arrival of the Viewforth in our harbour,& became solid masses of ice, as I personally witnessed circumstance which contributed, in no small degree, to the sufferings of the crew, who, though their fuel, at an early period, was inadequate to their wants, had to melt every drop of water which they required for daily use. But let me specify some of the effects produced on the men by the cold. It is clear, it would have been 66 |