But

blessing wherewith Moses the man of God blessed the children of Israel before his death. And he said, The LORD came from Sinai, and rose up from Seir unto them; HE shined forth from mount Paran, and HE came with ten thousands of saints: from his right hand went a fiery law for them; yea, He loved the people; all his saints are in thy hand: and they sat down at thy feet, every one shall receive of thy words."* "Let us have grace," says Paul in his Epistle to the Hebrews, after he had spoken of the tremendous scene, when God came down on the Mount, from whose right hand went a fiery law for them; "Let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire" we ought to remember that God is not less glorious, is not less worthy of our love, because He is a consuming FIRE. They who turn away from the God of Israel, and refuse to give him their hearts, because HE is a consuming FIRE, must fall beneath his wrath, and under the fire of his indignation forever and ever. Christ is altogether lovely; but the Father of Christ is not less lovely. Christ, the Christian's God is a consuming fire, as well as the God of Jacob, the Holy One of Israel. God loveth those who love him, and, his being a consuming fire, is no terror to them. The fire of his wrath will never fall upon them; it will never hurt them. In regard to the Christian, his dross will be consumed; but he himself will come forth purified, like gold tried in the fire. God is love. He, therefore, that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in that God who is a consuming fire.

That there is no more fire or wrath in God, than there is in the Son of God, is evident from the manner in which God will finally destroy his enemies. They who obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, will be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire, to take vengeance on them.

* Deut. xxxiii, 1, 2, 3.

When Christ comes to be glorified in his saints and admired in all them that believe, he will appear to the wicked, as a flame of fire, infinitely extended, ready to devour them. Christ is lovely, infinitely lovely, but the fire of his wrath will burn against his enemies to the lowest hell.

Christ is represented as a Lamb, gentle, innocent and meek; hence, said John, "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world:" but when the great day of his wrath is come, who will be able to stand? The wicked, in that day, will say to the mountains, and rocks, Fall upon us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth upon the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. Let not any think, that the Lamb of God will be the protection and salvation of those who are the enemies of that FIERY LAW which went from the right hand of Jehovah! They who wish to escape the wrath of God and the curse of his fiery Law must wash their robes and make them white in the blood of the Lamb: that "HE who sitteth on the throne may dwell among them. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun. "light upon them, nor any heat; for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

V.. Sinners, even the chief of sinners ought not to despair of salvation.

We sometimes find sinners in a despairing situation: but this ought not to be, except they have committed the unpardonable sin. If sinless obedience were necessary to salvation, all must despair. The law given to Adam in Paradise required sinless obedience in order to happiness. But since the fall. it has been otherwise. God, since the prediction, that the Seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, deals with men according to a covenant of grace. All the language of God to man, in the revelation which he has made of himself, is that of grace. The apostasy of our first parents has made all mankind prisoners.

But we have great reason to bless God, that although we are prisoners, we are prisoners of hope. The language of God in his word is, Prisoners, go forth. The word says, He that believeth not is condemned alThe ready, and the wrath of God abideth on him, unbeliever, therefore, is a prisoner: he is under condemnation: but he is not in the prison of hell; though condemned, he is not damned. Of the second death he has not yet tasted. The sentence of death is not yet executed; it is suspended by a gracious act of the God of mercy. The solemn word, Depart, into everlasting fire is not yet pronounced. God is seated on a throne of mercy, and is reaching forth his sceptre of grace to dying sinners, saying, Touch and be happy; banish all despairing thoughts; turn yourselves and live ye. The Lord is a God ready to pardon.

And

salvation is every where promised to the obedient. But, "What shall the end be of those who obey not the Gospel of God? God will destroy all those who remain his enemies; but repent and return unto the Lord and your salvation is certain. Will any despair then of salvation? If you could not be saved only on the condition that you would undo what you have done It is reamiss, there would be no hope in your case. quired of us to repent of sin; but it is not required of us not to be sinners. The construction of things in the moral world is such, that it is now impossible for a human creature not to be a sinner. By the disobedience of one all are made sinners. It was the constitution of heaven, that if Adam sinned all his posterity should be sinners. Hence, it is impossible for any one. of the human race not to be a sinner. If you can

avoid being one of the human race, or one of the children of Adam, then you can avoid being a sinner; but if you must be one of Adam's children you mut be a sinner. If then our being sinners, and its being impossible for us not to be sinners, were ground for despair, then there would be nothing but despair before the eyes of all the children of men.

But notwithstanding our being made sinners by the apostasy of our first parents; and, notwithstanding all our former transgressions of God's holy law, pardon and salvation are promised to the penitent. They who do well shall be accepted. God's plan of salvation is such, that he will not suffer any sin to destroy the penitent. But if you could be saved, only, on the condition that you would never commit another sin, you would have the greatest reason to despair of salvation. This being the case, what prospect would there be, that we should ever arrive at the heavenly world? Very different from this, however, is the situation of fallen man; for the least degree of righteousness and true holiness makes your salvation certain. To despair of salvation because it cannot be had on lower terms, is criminal indeed! It is adding sin to sin. Though no one ought to despair of salvation, yet we have the highest reason to believe that the final state of many will be eternal despair. The Scriptures teach us the ground on which the sentence of death will be passed in the great day. In the day of judgment all mankind will be divided into two classes, under the title of righteous and wicked. The Judge will not set those on his right hand who have lived in this world without sin; and those on his left hand who have committed some sin, but were not found sinless. If this were the case no one could have any hope of finding a place in heaven. But we are certain that Christ has prepared a place of complete happiness, for all his followers. And the followers of Christ are those who hear his sayings and do them. A follower of Christ is not one who lives without sin; but no one can be a follower of Christ who does not hate all sin. To love all righteousness and to hate iniquity is essential to the character of a Christian. None but such can ever find a place on the right hand of the Son of man, when he shall come to judge the world in righteousness. Hence, "Not every one, says Christ, that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in

heaven. Many will say unto me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me all ye that work iniquity. Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock." Religion does not consist in casting out devils, or in doing wonderful works; but it consists in doing the sayings of Christ, or the will of his Father who is in heaven.

The question, in the day of judgment will not be, Did you spend all your days in giving meat to Christ when he was hungry, or drink when he was thirsty? But the great and decisive question will be; Did you ever feed the hungry and clothe the naked from a principle of true benevolence? The question is not, Are you perfectly righteous, that is, sinless? But does your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees? For except it do, "You shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven." "Let the wicked" then "forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and be will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon."