only interpreters of mysteries and difficulties-and to give up all our own proud, though well-intended, reasonings upon the subject.-Another is jealous of the accountableness of man; and, in his earnest efforts to prove that man must be a free agent, he is almost willing to deny the foreknowledge of God altogether. Thus do they proceed to opposite extremes; thus are the parties which divide us willing to sacrifice some part of Scripture, that they may establish the other half according to their own notions-not perceiving, or not considering, that God is Almighty, and must have foreknowledge that man is responsible, and must therefore be a free agent—that both doctrines to a certain extent are undoubtedly true; and he is right therefore who believes both, and he is wrong who endeavours to deny one, that he may more thoroughly establish the other.-The first point, therefore, on which I would warn you is, never to permit religious inquiries, and religious differences, to be a cause of disunion. Do not hate your neighbour because he believes in predestination; do not hate your neighbour because he believes in the freedom of the will. Avoid all harsh names, and all contemptuous appellations-kindness and love are as valuable as agreement in religious opinions: and nothing is so great a triumph to an infidel, as to observe the folly of Christians contending about the secret things of God, and the difficult doctrines of religion.-Remember too, that while much of your speculations and reasonings on the difficul

ties of religion may end in vanity, it has pleased God to reveal to you in the clearest manner every thing that it is necessary for you to know.

The only question of real moment to a Christian is this-in what manner shall I secure my own future happiness? and the answer is known to you all. Believe, and hope, and obey: and God, for Christ's sake, will receive you into that kingdom, which was prepared from the foundation of the world. If an angel from heaven were to come down, and to tell any person present that he would undoubtedly be saved, the divine message would still imply, that the means of grace must be used to the last that the battle against evil must be fought till the victory over its allurements be won. One greater than the angels has pointed out the way to His Father, and our Father, to His God, and our God. Whether you live then, or whether you die-whether you suffer, or whether you rejoice-continue in the path of hope, and faith, and duty; and then the godly consideration of the doctrine of predestination itself will be full of pleasant and unspeakable comfort 8.

Article XVII. of Religion.

SERMON V.

THE SANCTIFICATION OF THE SABBATH BY EACH PERSON OF THE TRINITY.

EXODUS XX. 8.

Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

THERE is no situation in this world more dreadful, than that of a wicked man, when he is overtaken by sudden death. With such a man it is too often to be feared, that repentance comes too late; for that which requires a whole life of preparation, is seldom effected in a day of pain, or in an hour of agony, when the mind is weakened, and the body diseased. Unable to live, unfit to die, the parting spirit lingers with the fainting form. All the past is bitterness and grief, all the future is darkness and despair. The world is not his friend, for the pangs of dissolution have torn the mask from its vanities and flatteries. God is not his friend, for he has despised His mercy and His love. The Son of God is not his friend, for he has counted the blood of the covenant an unholy

F

thing', and preferred a few years of wickedness, to an immortality of happiness. The Holy Spirit is not his friend, for he has resisted His entreaties and warnings. He has lived in evil, he dies without hope and if the Almighty be just, as well as merciful; if the voice of Reason speak truth; if the universal declarations of the Scriptures are to be believed, he who thus lives, and thus dies, will be condemned to endless and indescribable misery.

To prevent this fearful ruin-to deliver man from a life of irreligion, and from a death of sorrow, it has pleased God not only to make known His will, to reveal to us the mercy of a Saviour, and to invite us, while health and strength continue, to secure the happiness of the world to come; He has appointed also certain means of grace, by attending to which, we may keep up a perpetual remembrance of the things which belong to our peace. For this the Sacraments are administered, that the bread and the wine may remind us of the dying words and painful sufferings of our holy Lord. For this too, above all, that means of grace was instituted, to which I shall now invite your attention the setting apart one day in seven, to rouse the wicked man from his lethargy, to save him from a life of negligence, sloth, and sin; to direct him to the Son of God, the only Saviour of men, and thus to preserve him from the terrible

1 Heb. x. 29.

death which I have described. We will consider, therefore, in their order, the reasons for our observing the Sabbath; the manner of that observance; and the benefits which we derive from obedience to this sacred command.

Let us first consider the reasons, on account of which we are to observe the Sabbath.-Why, it may be said, are we thus to cease from labour one day in seven? We answer, that we are commanded to keep the Sabbath day holy, as Christians; because on this day each person of the sacred Trinity performed the principal action by which He is revealed to us in Scripture; and by which each Person of the Trinity would prove to us, that we are called upon to render them our equal adoration and praise. On this day God the Father was known by resting from the work of creation-God the Son by the resurrection from the dead-God the Holy Ghost by the miraculous out-pouring of the sacred giftsand this day, therefore, is set apart that we may remember all that has been done for man by the Father in creation, by the Son in redemption, and by the Holy Spirit in sanctifying the hearts of men. Let us dwell upon each of these reasons, and let us improve our hours of worship, by filling our hearts with these powerful reasons for rendering our homage to God.-On this day, then, the work of creation was completed. God rested from that act of His omnipotence, by which the rolling earth sprang into existence, when the firmament was commanded to expand its blue arch above us,