tially acquainted with the beauty of a holy relish for its purity, and unless holiness; we understand but imperfectly our own privileges and blessings, yet we are encouraged to become more and more acquainted with these things. GOD has invited us to contemplate him as the great source of life and knowledge; and to the humble inquirer after truth, to him who seeks to increase his affections by increasing his knowledge, that God who giveth to all men liberally and upbraideth not, will assuredly grant the wisdom for which he supplicates. And is it not a privilege to be thus encouraged in the pursuit of truth? Is it not a blessing that God has set before us an object to be attained which will employ all our noblest faculties, and has made that very employment the means of their still further improvement, the means of regulating their affections by an enlightened understanding? For let it not be imagined that our pursuit of this knowledge is to be merely speculative; let us not be content with the acquisition of apparent knowledge, or such an acknowledgment of truth as is produced simply from the conviction of the reasoning powers, the knowledge that will invigorate our love must not be without judgment, or without a due perception of the divine truths. There must be a full persuasion of the excellency of the things of Gop, as well as the conviction of their truth; there must be that sense of enjoyment of spiritual excellencies, that discernment of the nature and power of godliness which will engage the affections on the conviction of the reason. Whatever be our theoretical or speculative improvement in divine knowledge, whatever be our progress in religion considered as a pursuit of science and research, it will fail to kindle the pure flame of love within our souls, unless we perceive its excellency in our hearts, unless we have the conclusions which our intellect adopts become truly influential on the affections of the heart. We must acquire, so to speak, a taste for spiritual objects, before our knowledge can enlarge our love; and it is only from the spirit of grace that we can obtain this benefit; it is not the result of any human cause; it is the operation of the spirit of GOD. Thus it is that it forms the subject of a prayer; thus it is that we must look for higher assistance than our own, even the assistance of Him who alone can order the unruly wills and affections of sinful men. He it is that must guide us into all truth, and must cause the truth to have its due effect on our hearts. He it is that must give us that spiritual discernment, that power to discover the excellence of religious knowledge, and that capacity to enjoy the pleasures of divine truth, which will cause our love progressively to increase, because it will assuredly enlarge that knowledge of the love of GoD, which is the source and origin of that Christian grace. We find, then, in the Second place, that the Apostle prays for the IN CREASE OF LOVE IN KNOWLEDGE AND CHARACTER. As love to GOD is the 66 may approve things that are excellent; that they may be sincere and without offence till the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, creature and brother: our improved faculties are enabled to discern the things committed to their keeping. We have thus obtained the true balance of the sanctuary as our standard of impartial justice. This state of mind then will be favourable to sincerity; we shall be unto the glory and praise of GOD." In religion, as in the affairs of the world, men are too apt to be misled by appearances: men are often unwilling to consider duly the course which they adopt; and if false principles be hastily embraced, the delusion may be fatal. The Age of the Apostles themselves was not free" sincere and without offence till the from the sophistry of false teachers, that turned away many from the faith by their corruption of Christian doctrines; and too many are even now aptly described by the Prophet, they put "darkness for light, and light for darkness." Now in the hour of temptation, when the deceits of Satan and of sin appear to lead us astray, we have sometimes not only to resist the temptation, we have not only to strip the false colouring from the deceiver, but we have to combat with our own unruly passions, and to distrust our own treacherous faculties. If however, our prayer is gone up for an increase of our love to GOD in knowledge and in all judgmentif we do but once begin to bring under our passions, we draw off the affections from earth, and fix them on the Giver of all good; we have also our affections strengthened, we have our judgment matured. While, then, by our knowledge we are taught to discover the sophistry of the tempter, and by our discrimination can judge between good and evil, we have also the affections engaged on the side of that which is righteous, and we are led on to do the things which are well pleasing in the sight of GOD. Thus, by the application of the principle of the Apostle, we are taught to prove things that are excellent, to ascertain the real value and estimate of earthly and heavenly things, and to strip the disguise from vice even when she comes under the mask of virtue. Our enlarged love to GoD and to man forbids us to offend our Maker and Benefactor, or to injure our fellow day of Christ." Without sincerity in religion the Christian character would be indeed deficient; but even in the best of us there is oftentimes much of insincerity or hypocrisy still remaining, there is still a struggle to keep up, there is a danger of error from the numberless faults and feelings of our nature a danger of stumbling ourselves or of becoming stumb ling blocks to others. No man knows better than the most advanced Christian how great is the plague of the human heart; no man is more ready to confess that he is too prone to lose sight of the higher principles of godliness-too prone to neglect that continued reference to the will of God, which ought to form the guiding motive of his actions, instead of the more inefficient motive of worldly opinion and estimate. He knows more than any other the necessity for that confession and prayer of the Psalmist, "who can tell how oft he offendeth? Cleanse thou me from my secret faults." And hence the religion and the comfort of our souls require that we should strive against these defects in our character. We are to pray that we may be delivered more fully from the influence of corrupt motives, and kept sincere and upright till the day of Christ; and the formation of this character originates from the gradual influence of those qualities which are the objects of the Apostle's prayer. The master motive of Christian obedience, impressed on the heart by enlarged views of divine truth and by a sense of the reality of heavenly things, will be a sufficient means of grace. confirming our sincerity, and leading by the operation of the spirit of us to resist temptation; it will give ardour to our zeal; it will produce earnest and uniform obedience to the will and commandment of GOD. It is, in truth, for the cultivation of this spirit of obedience to GOD that all these means of grace are so abundantly and mercifully supplied. The principles, the professions, the knowledge, the habits of a Christian are valuable only so far as they are the means of promoting the substantial works of righteousness. The love of GOD and of man must lead the Christian to active exertion in the practice of universal holiness. Surely, if he loves GOD, he must have the feeling of ardent admiration of his holy character: he must strive to be growing up into a likeness to him. If also he allows the full influence of these divine principles, he must be animated to active benevolence towards his brethren who are in the world. But this principle is the germ of every Christian excellence; this is the spring of those fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ to the glory and praise of GOD: the Christian thus adorns his profession and exhibits the beauty of religion; and while he promotes the glory of GOD and the honour of Christ, he confesses that his strength is the strength of the Saviour, and that the honour and praise of his name is the great desire of his soul. What then can more effectually secure the fruits of righteousness than the disposition for which the Apostle prayed? Increasing love, and increasing knowledge, and increasing sensibility of the truth, what are these but so many mighty means of godliness, which are improved by constant employment, which are gradually more and more influential on our conduct as they become more clearly discerned and more fully impressed on the heart Thus great and important are the blessings which St. Paul here invokes upon his converts those who have an interest in the promotion of God's glory by the accomplishment of that most glorious of all his works, the salvation of the souls of men. Let us also in all humility and earnestness, use this prayer of the Apostle; let us use it not merely as a model of doctrine, but as a rule of conduct; let us endeavour to form a due estimate of that love of GOD which has been exerted for our happiness and salvation, that we may not come short of that return of love and gratitude to Him, which will influence our conduct towards Him, and guide our dispositions and our actions towards our brethren that are in the world. Love is the fulfilling of the law, both in its demands of duty to GOD and in its requirements of duty towards our neighbour. In proportion to our conviction of divine truth, in proportion to our increase of spiritual knowledge, in proportion to our perception of spiritual excellence and our relish for spiritual enjoyment, will be our progress in that holiness of heart and life which is the end and object of Christianity. Let us, however, remember that the great and distinguishing mark of the Christian character is the constant and steady pursuit of perpetual improvement, The Apostle declares this to be the great principle of his own conduct, "I count not myself to have apprehended, neither that I am already perfect:" I think not that I am secure of attaining the great prize to which I aspire; "but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of our high calling of GOD in Christ Jesus." Let us then, as many as would be perfect, be thus minded; let us cultivate this desire of progressive improvement in knowledge and in godliness; and let us above all things pray that GOD would so bountifully grant unto us the aid of his good Spirit, that He may strengthen us with His might in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in our hearts by faith, that we "being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the length and breadth and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge, that we may be filled with the fullness of GOD." A Sermon, DELIVERED BY THE REV. DR. CHALMERS, AT THE SCOTCH CHURCH, LONDON WALL, JULY 14, 1833. Romans, xi. 22.—" Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God." In the prosecution of this discourse | ascribe to him the fondness, rather I shall, First, endeavour to expose the partiality, and therefore the mischief, of two different views that might be taken of the Godhead; and, Secondly, point your attention to the way in which these are united in our text, and in which these are united under the economy of the Gospel, so as to form one full and consistent representation of it. I shall then conclude with a practical application of the whole argument. than the authority of a father. In the Deity of their imagination, there is not the slightest approach to severity, and far less to sternness of character; the very least degree of which, would cause them to recoil from the whole contemplation, that they might forget, among the kindred, and every day topics of their common life, all that is repulsive or ungaitly in the contemplation of sacredness. There is but one expression from heaven's King which they will tolerate; and that is, the expression of gentleness, and complacence, and soft unvaried benignity. Aught that can ruffle or displace this, is banished from their creed, or rather, never found admittance there; because it was no sooner offered to their notice, than all the antipathies, both of inclination and taste, were in arms against it. The smile of an indulgent Deity, is that wherewith they would constantly regale themselves; when the scowl of an indignant Deity is an illusion that may be recognised in humble life, and which we believe to be of extended operation on the hearts and habits even of our most unlettered peasantry. There is a disposition amongst them too, to build upon the goodness, and to blink, is that before which they would most carefully shut their eyes. Rather than it should give dread and disturbance to their bosoms, they would admit of no other aspect for religion than that of uniform placidness; and to decorate this bland and beauteous imagination the more, they would appeal | if I may use the expression, the severity of the Divine character. They ascribe a certain facility of temperament to heaven's Sovereigna sort of easy and good natured connivance of which they practically avail themselves-a placibility and promptitude of forgiveness on which they count; and on which, I may add, many of them too, drawn to an extent that is altogether indefinite, thereby effacing the line of demarcation between sin and sacredness; and on the maxim that God is ever ready to pardon, hold it safe for them to transgress, at all times, up to the strength or urgency of the actual temptation. Throughout all classes of society, in fact, it is this behold to all that looks mild and merciful in the scenery of nature—a scenery which God himself hath embellished, and on which, therefore, we may well conceive, he hath left the very impress of his own character. And whether we look on soft and flowery landscapes, lighted up from heaven's sweetest sunshine, or towards that evening sky, behind the hues, and inimitable touches of whose loveliness one could almost aver that there floated the aisles of paradise, wherein the spirits of the blessed were rejoicing; or without poetic reverie at ∙all, did we but confine our prospect to those realities by which earth is peopled, and take account of those - unnumbered graces which in verdanting of the goodness, without ever bemeads, or waving foliage, or embosomed lakes, or all the varieties of rural freshness and fertility lies strewn upon its surface, it may most readily be thought, that surely he, at whose creative touch all this loveliness hath arisen, must himself be placid as the breeze, and gentle as the zephyr which he causes to blow over it. At present, we do not stop to ob- serve, that if the divinity is to be interpreted by the aspects of nature, that nature has her hurricanes, and her earthquakes, and her thunder, as ,well as those kindlier exhibitions, on which the disciples of a tasteful and sentimental poetry most love to dwell. But we hold it of more importance to remark, that the illusion which is thus fostered, and by which God is exclusively regarded in the light of benevolence alone, is not confined to the sons and daughters of poetry; it holding along with it the severity of GOD, that lulls the human spirit into a fatal complacency to its own state, and its own prospects-it is this which sustains the imagination of a certain vague and ill-defined compromise between indulgence from heaven, on the one hand, and the frailties of our earthly nature on the other; and in virtue of which man may take to himself the liberty of sinning just as much as he likes, and then soothing his apprehensions of vengeance, by the opiate of this fancied tenderness on the part of GOD, just as much as he stands in need of it. Such is the fearful state of relaxation on which this dislike for a religion of gloom, and this demand for a religion of cheerfulness and pleasure is so often founded. It is this disposition to soften the severity of the Law Giver-it is this tendency to |