apostles. In our lips, as well as in theirs, it proves a savor of life unto life, to all that receive, and of death unto death to all who reject it. In our lips, as well as in theirs, it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth. To this proof of a divine commission, St. Paul himself appealed, when it was denied. Speaking to those who were converted by his ministry he says, the seals of my apostleship are ye in the Lord. Ye are our epistle of recommendation, known and read of all men; forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistles of Christ, written not with ink, but by the Spirit of the living God; not on tables of stone, but on fleshly tables of the heart. To similar proofs of a divine commission, every faithful minister of the gospel may still appeal; for, blessed be God, none of them are without such seals of their ministry; such epistles of recommendation from Christ, who hath made them ministers of the New Testament, not merely of the letter which killeth, but of the Spirit which giveth life.

The view which has been taken of the gospel of Christ, suggests many highly important and interesting remarks; but the time requires me to omit them, and to proceed to the customary addresses.

My fathers and brethren in the ministry, is the gospel, which has been committed to our trust, the glorious glad tidings of the blessed God? How delightful, how honorable, then, is our employment, and how unspeakable are our obligations to him who has called us to it; who has allowed us to be put in trust with the gospel; that gospel, which was first preached by himself to our first parents in paradise; that gospel, which it has been the highest honor and happiness of prophets to predict, of apostles to preach, of martyrs to seal with their blood, and even of angels to announce and celebrate! Only to be permitted to hear this gospel, is justly considered as a distinguished favor. What then must it be to preach it? Those who experience its power to save, who are allowed to taste the blessings which it imparts, feel as if a whole eternity would be merely sufficient to pay their mighty debt of gratitude to the Redeemer. What then ought we to feel, through whom that saving power is exerted; by whose instrumentality those blessings are conferred, and who, receiving mercy of the Lord to be faithful, are enabled to save not only ourselves, but them that hear us! Well

may each of us say with the apostle, I thank my God, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry. Well may we with him count not even our lives dear unto ourselves, that we may fulfil the ministry which has been committed to us, to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And well may we exhort each other in his language: Seeing we have received this ministry, to faint not, but to be instant in season and out of season. Heathen writers inform us of a soldier, who, when sent out by his general with tidings of a victory, would not stop to extract a thorn which had deeply pierced his foot, until he had delivered his message to the Senate. And shall we, then, when sent by Jehovah with such a message, a message the faithful delivery of which involves his glory and the eternal happiness of our fellow creatures-shall we linger, shall we suffer any personal inconveniences, any difficulties, any real or fancied dangers, to interrupt or retard us in the execution of our work? Shall we, with the true water of life, the true elixir of immortality in our possession, suffer our own private concerns to divert us from presenting it to the dying, and forcing it into the lips of the dead? Shall we, with Aaron's censer in our hands, hesitate whether to rush between the living and the dead, when the anger of the Lord is kindled, when the plague has already begun its ravages, and thousands are falling at our right hand, and ten thousand at our left? Shall we wait till to-morrow to present the bread of life to the famished wretch, who, before to-morrow arrives, may expire for want of it? Surely if we can do this, if we can be so regardless of our obligations to God, and of our duty to man, the least punishment which we can expect, is to be debarred from that salvation which we neglected to afford to others, and to be made answerable for the blood of all the souls who, in consequence of this neglect, perished in their sins. Let us then, my fathers and brethren, never forget, that the king's business requireth haste, and that who or whatever stands still, we must not. Let the sun pause in his course, though half the world should be wrapped in frost and darkness by his delay; let rivers stagnate in their channels, though an expecting nation should perish with thirst upon its flood-forsaken banks; let long-looked for showers stop in mid-air, though earth, with a thousand famished lips, invoke their descent; but let those who are sent with the life-giving tidings of pardon, peace,

and salvation, to an expiring world, never pause, never look or wish for rest, till their Master's welcome voice shall call them from their field of labor to everlasting repose; to that world where those, who, as burning or shining lights, have turned many to righteousness, shall shine as the stars, and as the brightness of the firmament forever and ever.

A few words to the assembly, and I have done. Is it true, my hearers, that the gospel, which you have often heard, is the glorious glad tidings of the blessed God? Then in every one by whom it is truly believed, it will infallibly excite holy joy, admiration and praise; for every report which is thus believed must produce effects corresponding to its nature and import. If you hear and believe mournful tidings, they will occasion grief. If you hear and believe joyful tidings, they will no less certainly occasion joy. If you hear and believe an account of any glorious enterprise, or splendid act of liberality, it will call forth admiration and applause. If then you really believe the glorious glad tidings of God, you must and will rejoice, you will admire and bless the Author. Has the gospel, then, produced these effects upon you? Do you know what it is to be filled with joy and peace in believing? Can you, do you unite with the inhabitants of heaven, in ascribing to Christ all that heaven can give? In a word, do you feel that the gospel is glorious glad tidings of great joy? and is it the language of your hearts, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift? If not, it is most certain that you never believed the gospel; for the apostle assures us, that it does work effectually in all that believe; and we have already seen that it has, in all ages, filled the hearts of believers with joy, and their lips with praise. And if you believe not the gospel, how awful is your responsibility, your criminality, and your danger! In your view, the Sun of righteousness has no beams. You see nothing lovely in that Saviour, whom all good beings, on earth and in heaven, love with the most ardent affection. Surely then you are wrong, or they are. Either they must be deceived, or you must be blind. In your breasts the most delightful tidings, that ever vibrated on mortal ears, excite no joy. To you the glorious gospel of the blessed God, that gospel which is the wisdom of God unto salvation, that gospel whence flows all the happiness that ever will be tasted by man, on earth or in heaven, and which will,

through eternity, excite the admiration and the praises of angels, appears little better than foolishness. In vain, as it respects yourselves, have prophets prophesied; in vain have apostles preached; in vain have martyrs sealed the truth with their blood; in vain have angels descended from heaven with messages of love; in vain has the Son of God expired in agonies on the accursed tree; in vain has the Holy Spirit been sent to strive with sinners; in vain has a revelation of all these wonders been given. You still refuse to believe, and by your unbelief practically charge the God of truth with falsehood; for, says the apostle, he that believeth not God, hath made him a liar, because he hath not believed the record which God gave of his Son. Unhappy men! To you the awful words of the apostle apply, in all their force: If our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost. On you the dreadful sentence falls: He that believeth not, shall be condemned. Your character and doom are described in the declaration: He who believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.

"Woe to the wretch, who never felt

The inward pangs of pious grief;
But adds to all his crying guilt

The stubborn sin of unbelief.

"The law condemns the rebel dead;
Under the wrath of God he lies;
He seals the curse on his own head,
And with a double vengeance dies."

And will you die under the weight of this double vengeance? Will you go to the regions of despair, from a world, which has been moistened by a Saviour's atoning blood? from a world which has resounded with the glad tidings of pardon, peace, and salvation? O, do not, I beseech you in God's name, and for Christ's sake, do not be infatuated; do not madly reject the glad tidings. Once more I proclaim them in your ears. Once more I declare unto you, that it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Men, brethren, and fathers, hearken! for unto you, to each one of you, is the word of this salvation sent.

SERMON LI.

THE DIVINITY OF CHRIST.

Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. JOHN XX. 28.

WHAT think ye of Christ? is a question, which ought to be proposed to all who bear the Christian name, and to which every one should be ready to give a clear and explicit answer; especially at the present day, when so many seem disposed to think wrong, or not to think at all, on this interesting subject. Whether the perilous times, foretold by the apostle, have arrived, when men shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, I shall not undertake to determine; but it must be evident to every one, that professed Christians entertain not only different, but contrary opinions, respecting the character of our blessed Saviour, and the object of his mission; and it is equally evident that, while we thus think differently on these subjects we cannot all think right. Some represent the Saviour as truly and essentially God; others consider him only as a creature, more or less highly exalted; while not a few reduce him to a mere weak and helpless mortal, whose death was intended, not to make an atonement for the sins of the world, but to attest the truth of his instructions, and afford an example of patience and resignation.