our will-he has held out to us, in all cases, a “recompense of reward," to engage our inclinations as well as our consciences in the service of the Gospel. From the heart, as the source of willing activity, are "the issues" of our spiritual life:-and to this point he applies the rule of his divine intelligence and of his authority,-counting as nothing the outward and formal act of obedience, unless such act be the congenial produce of our spirits within us. Of this truth, His admirable Sermon on the Mount affords many examples; on which account it deserves to be intimately studied by every one who is desirous of adorning the Christian character, and of acquiring, in perfection, the Christian virtues. Happily for mankind, this is a study of which all are capable: it requires not the aid either of splendid talents or of profound learning; the only qualification that it needs is a willing and unprejudiced mind. For so just is God in all his dispensations, and so inseparable are his goodness and his wisdom, that he has made all the great points of our duty intelligible to every man; and no one, who applies himself honestly to understand it, shall apply in vain.

"The heart of man is deceitful above all things." So the Holy Spirit has declared in Scripture; and our own experience and consciousness will confirm it. Indeed, there are many men who act upon a principle of deception, and who make it the chief business and study of their lives to support a false character so adroitly as not to be detected. And

this principle developes itself in different ways, and is concealed under a variety of forms,-often with such success, by insinuating into the heart and conscience, that it imposes upon the very persons who adopt it; for its familiarity makes them blind not only to its baseness, but to its activity. Benevolence, the kindliest and most ennobling of all the Christian virtues, is frequently counterfeited as a garb for vanity and ostentation; so that what appears to be philanthropy, is nothing more than the love of display. Our blessed Lord has, by an emphatical warning, pointed out to us the danger of deluding ourselves in this particular. "Take heed," says he, "that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, they have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth that thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret, himself shall reward thee openly."

An appearance of humility is often made the convenient shelter of pride and ambition; and under the mask of friendship, a malicious hatred has effected, imperceptibly but surely, its destructive purposes. Religion too, that sacred gift of Heaven, that best guide to man,-the source of all genuine comfort

and of all solid hope,-how often, through the perverseness or corruption of the human heart, have its doctrines been distorted, and its divine consolations misapplied! What multitudes have thus been led away, by the false persuasion that a bare reliance on God's mercies and on our blessed Saviour's merits,—that faith, without the necessary evidence of good works,

are sufficient to atone for all the guilt and wickedness of a mis-spent life! Again,-how prevalent, at other times and in other instances, has the opposite opinion been, that human actions, if grounded upon moral principle, and conducted with decorum, and leading to useful results, have an intrinsic merit of their own, distinct and apart from any consideration of faith, or any reference to the merits of Christ! How fondly will another class of men cling to the notion, that the Almighty has predestinated from all eternity, by an arbitrary decree, particular individuals only, to salvation, without any respect of their good or bad actions, and that he has consigned all others, in the same irrespective manner, to the horrors of everlasting torment ! This doctrine, flattering as it may be to the pride of deluded sinners, is subversive of the humility and charity, and of the vigilant perseverance in duty, which the Gospel requires; and it is, at the same time, opposed to the justice and goodness of God, and to that love which our holy Redeemer, the universal Propitiation for our sins, has so graciously manifested. There are others, who, by great pretensions to Scriptural knowledge, by a

mechanical preciseness in attending to the forms of devotion, or by a scrupulous observance of small duties while the weightier ones are neglected, resem→ ble in their main features, the Pharisees of old; being, like them, shrouded in spiritual conceit,fancying themselves holier and more righteous than other men, and eager to substitute their own bigotry and their own narrow views for the generous and comprehensive and undefiled system of the Gospel.

All these, with numberless other delusions and errors that might be mentioned, are incompatible with that singleness of heart without which we cannot enjoy the favour of God:-for the principles upon which they proceed, are, in every respect, contrary to Christian purity, and will deprive us of its promised blessedness. Our Saviour's doctrines and his divine example continually remind us, that our actions must not only appear good, but that they must essentially be so; and to promote this great end, he points out, in conjunction with the virtue named in the text, those kindred qualities of the heart which are the source of all moral excellence. "Blessed," says he, "are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled. Blessed are the merciful for they shall obtain mercy." “When thou prayest, enter into thy closet; and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in

secret, shall reward thee openly." "If thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness. If, therefore, the light that is in thee be darkness, how great is that darkness!" Thus in the language of heavenly truth, in the words of Him who "spake as never man spake," are we instructed in the government of our hearts and minds:-and in his life, that unparal leled display of pure and perfect holiness, we see the constant exemplification of his doctrine and precepts. To dwell at large on this particular, would be to recite a great portion of the New Testament; and the result, at last, could not be more clearly or more comprehensively expressed, than in the words of his Apostle St. Peter:-" He did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously."

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The illustrious example here given for our imitation can be successfully copied by those only who are pure in heart," whose principles, affections, and passions are "the good treasure" from which are brought forth unsullied thoughts and a spotless tenor of life,—and who "walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit." Continually "looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith," they endeavour to purify themselves even as he is pure, and to shew forth in their lives and characters, the effect of the heaven-born principle within them. With humbleminded piety, and prostration of soul before God, they associate that holy meekness which produces