have given up myself to be guided and sanctified by him. Henceforth I am to consider God as my Father, and to love, and obey, and trust in him. I am to consider Christ as my Saviour; and to act in all things toward him as it becomes a redeemed soul. I am to consider the Spirit as my Guide, my Comforter, my Sanctifier, and to hold fast continually by faith in him. The man sees clearly the necessity of all this; and if he were called to choose which of the Eternal Persons he would do without, he would say, O no! I cannot give up such a Father, such a Redeemer, such a Sanctifier! Without this Father, this Christ, this Spirit, I am lost for ever! In virtue of my filiation to that Father-my interest in that Redeemermy union with that Spirit, I am safe and happy, and feel fully assured that I am going to glory!

VII. THERE IS 66 ONE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL, WHO IS ABOVE ALL, AND THROUGH ALL, AND IN YOU ALL.” All is to issue here. Nothing of the spirit of idolatry, nothing of the practice of idolatry, nothing like idolatry is here. The essential attributes of Deity are alike given to God, to Jesus, to the Spirit. There is, notwithstanding this distinction, an union which is infinite. You see Father, Son, and Spirit; yet you see but "one" God. You read that there are three Persons in one Godhead; yet you find it is in the one Godhead that these three Persons exist. All equally partake of the same infinite fountain. But it is difficult to express ourselves aright on this subject, because of the darkness which overwhelms our minds. We CAN say but little, and we should say but little. It is, however, a fact, that we find three Persons spoken of, and that these three Persons are all summed up in "one" God.

1. One God who is above all-over all, as an infinite superintending principle; having everything under his

eye, and power, and influence. Not in the heaven of heavens alone, but as much here as there; as much manifested to our spirits here, as there to the angels around the throne. The words imply his general providence. The principle by which the grass grows, and cattle, and herbs, for the service of man; the principle which spreads itself through the atmosphere, and makes it essential to human life; all this is implied in this expression. He is the great Mover. He gives existence and activity to all that is essential to the comfort of man here-all that may conduce to his glory hereafter.

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But you are told, that this God, who is above all, is the "Father of all." Do not forget this. When the disciples of Christ said, "Lord, teach us to pray;" let us know how we are to proceed, that we may be assured we shall not come in vain-" After this manner," said Christ, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven,'" and so O remember, that God is your Father! While you remember that He is GOD, and that thought humbles you to the dust, because you are conscious of having sinned against him; remember also, that He is your Father, ever waiting to do you good! Though He made all things, and upholds all things, and is wonderful in majesty, and fearful in holiness, He is yet your Father; and as a Father, He pities you and will do you good.

2. And He is through all-not only a general inspecting and inspiring principle, governing by general laws, but everywhere interfering as He finds the varieties of human circumstances require. And when men wander from the right way, and turn themselves out of the reach of general good, by the obliquity of their own wills, then God appears, in a particular manner, to turn aside the evil into which they are about to rush. And how many particular appearances have we seen, where general laws would have been

in vain! While such varieties exist in the conduct and circumstances of mankind, it is necessary that God should be everywhere as a penetrating and influencing principle, averting evil and bringing good. God "is above all, and through all, and, it is added,

3. "In you all."-The very principle by which you live, is, God within you. If you breathe, it is in him that you live, and move, and have your being. If you act, it is by virtue of the power which God infuses into you. Your very soul is no self-existing principle; it receives all its power from God. Thus we are guided up to God; and we find that man lives, and moves, and acts, through God, "who is above all, and through all, and in you all."

See, then, what a system religion is! God is all in all. Man is to become united to him through the Son of his love, by faith in Christ, and by the power of the Holy Spirit to be made like him on earth, and, happy with him for ever.

Let us magnify the grace of God. As we know that without him we can do nothing, let us attempt nothing without him. And as with him we can do all things, let us seek him in all. Let us look up to him for the Spirit which He has promised. Let us live as strangers and pilgrims upon earth, passing through things temporal, so as not to lose sight of things eternal.

SERMON XVII.

ENLIGHTENED PIETY THE HOPE OF THE CHURCH.

BY THE REV. P. FEATHERSTONE, OF HORNCASTLE.

WISDOM AND KNOWLEDGE SHALL BE THE STABILITY OF THY TIMES, AND THE STRENGTH OF SALVATION."-ISAIAH XXXIII. 6.

MAN was originally formed in the image of God, which especially consisted in knowledge, righteousness, and holi

ness.

There was united in him the beauty of earth and the glory of the heavens. He was created in the political, as well as the natural and moral image of God. To him was granted the prerogative of governing the rest; he was monarch of creation. To distinguish him from the sentient creatures by which he is surrounded, various attributes are ascribed to him; as reason, speech, the power to generalize; but perhaps the simplest, and the one which is furthest removed from objection, is that he is a moral or religious being. Natural religion consists in the reverence, love, and service of God as our Creator; revealed religion in trust and obedience to him as our Redeemer and Sanctifier. Religion then, in its elementary principles, is exceedingly

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simple, consisting in the love and service of God; and yet connected with the science of religion, there is much which is not found within the range of mortal grasp. The subject is one which surpasses every other for the number of opinions to which it has given birth, many of which are strangely diversified. One which has prevailed, and which is not the least surprising, is, that learning is unfriendly to, and destructive of, the spirit of religion. But the way in which religion and knowledge are united in the text, and the result of that union, ought to silence all objectors of that class. We are persuaded that this is what we are to understand by the terms "wisdom and knowledge" in the text.

The prophecy in the text was originally addressed to Hezekiah, King of Judah. In respect to him and his kingdom it received a germinant, though not its full accomplishment. Sennacherib, the King of Assyria, invaded Judea with a great army, and having taken several forts, besieged Jerusalem in consequence of Hezekiah refusing to pay him tribute. The army of Sennacherib, however, was smitten with pestilence, which in a single night destroyed 185,000, and on his return to Nineveh he was murdered in the temple of Nisroch by his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer. Thus God reckoned with the proud Assyrian, and gave permanence and stability to the throne of Judah. But while this prophecy received a partial fulfilment in the kingdom of Hezekiah, it is in the kingdom of Christ that it is receiving, and shall ultimately receive its full accomplishment. The government of the Messiah was typified by the thrones of the house of David, on account of which He is so often called the Son of David.

To strengthen our confidence in the statement under review, let us attend to