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This is a wonderful subject—no man could reason it out we are told it by divine authority. The ancient Prophets, Jesus himself, and the Apostles, all bear witness to it. It is not revealed that man may cavil at it; but that he may believe God's testimony and be saved. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and gave his Son to be the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." "The Saviour was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.”

To take away man's guilt, Christ died; but he rose again from the dead, and having shewn himself alive to his disciples, he ascended to heaven in their presence; and thus, as the text says, he is exalted a Prince, and a Saviour, to give repentance and remission of sin.-He is a PrinceHe is a King, to rule over his people, and to defend them. He brings them at first into subjection, and makes them obedient to the divine law; and is to them a Saviour from sin. He gives his Holy Spirit to convince them of their sins, to help their infirmities, to teach them to pray, to be their comforter, and to be their guide; till finally they have endured, or performed, what Divine Wisdom sees meet in this world, and then they are eventually received into the kingdom of heaven. The King of Zion, having rescued his people, will at last crush all his enemies under his feet. And who are his enemies? All those who "will not have him to reign over them;" that is, all those who will not be taught by him, but are self-conceited, and prefer their own notions and speculations, to his heavensent instructions; all those who will not have him to be their surety and mediator; but are self-righteous, and think their own goodness sufficient without the Saviour; and all those who profess to call him Lord, and say, "our Saviour, our Saviour," but who will not do those good works, that he commands, nor leave off the sins which he forbids. Though men may say they were baptized in his name, and were natives of a Christian country, and never renounced the Christian name; nay, even fought, as they think, for

the Christian religion, or preached the Christian religion; still, if they obey not Christ Jesus, as a king-if they will not submit to his laws, nor keep his commandments-he will, at the day of judgment, say, "Depart from me, for I never knew you, all ye that work iniquity."

To an ignorant, guilty, and sinful world, the birth of the "Saviour, Christ the Lord," is truly matter of unspeakable joy; but the joy of those who are saved by him, will be a spiritual and holy joy; expressed, indeed, it may be, by innocent festivity, but not in revelling and excess ; for if in keeping Christmas we run to excess, that goes to prove that the Saviour is not yet our Saviour. Oh, that he may subdue us all to himself, make us listen with humility to his instructions; remove from us the guilt of all our past sins, and reign in our hearts for ever!

DISCOURSE VII.

DELIVERED ON BOARD THE WATERLOO, JANUARY, 1824.

JOY IN HEAVEN OVER ONE REPENTING
SINNER.

LUKE, XV. 7.

"Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.”

To

o repent is to re-think; to think differently from what one did before; to change one's mind, or to come to one's senses again; to come to one's self, as one that has been foolish or mad before: and when a man changes his opinions, and his likings, he changes his conduct. To repent, always denotes a man's changing his thoughts and his actions for the better; and is generally accompanied with sorrow and with shame for the past. There are various forms and degrees of repentance, to distinguish which is of great importance to every man. For example,

If a man associate with gamblers, and lose his property, and be reduced to want, he forms a very different opinion of gambling from that which he did while he was prosperous and winning; and he is vexed with himself, and sorry for his folly, and ashamed of the want to which he is reduced, He seems to repent, but it is only for the consequences that he is sorry; if he had continued to win, it is not likely that he would have repented of his gambling;

and if he leave off gambling, it is not because he is convinced that it is a pursuit which wastes that precious time, which Heaven has given us for rational or useful purposes; or because it cherishes a spirit of covetousness, and an unjust desire to obtain our neighbour's property, without giving him an equivalent. If the man's mind were changed, so as to view gambling in this light, he would then repent and leave it off, whether he lost or won.

The same reasoning is applicable to any vice, which injures, either gradually or suddenly, our property, or our health, or our good name in the world; such as the excessive use of intoxicating liquors, or the irregular, extravagant, or unnatural indulgence of the sensual appetite. When a man has squandered away his money, or brought upon himself some loathsome disease, or made himself shunned and despised for his intemperance and debauchery, he may then change his opinion of these vices, because of their bad consequences, and only for that reason; and if he leave them off, it is not because he desires to obey the will of God; and therefore, in this case, he still loves these vices, and almost hates Divine Providence, for having made the consequence of vice to be misery. In such a state of mind as this, a man who is even sick and dying by the consequence of his own vice, however sorry, and fretted, and ashamed he may be, has not undergone that change of opinion and liking which constitutes true repentance. This man's anger, and vexation, and grief, is what the Apostle calls the sorrow of the world, which worketh death; a sort of atheistical sorrow, which still allows a man's heart to remain far off from God. This is the lowest form and degree of that which appears like repentance, for it has regard only to the natural evils which are the consequence of vicious conduct, and does not at all regard vice as a sin against God. Perhaps such a state of mind should not be called repentance, but remorse.

But suppose a man's mind so far changed, as to consider all violations of, or deviations from, the divine law, as subjecting him to the punishment that is to be inflicted after death; and, at the same time, this man's mind not

so far changed and enlightened, as to perceive the excellence, and goodness, and amiableness of the divine character; and the justice, and reasonableness, and happy tendency, of what Heaven's law requires; although that man may be afraid of the consequences likely to follow his wicked life, or his impious thoughts, still his heart does not hate evil, but only dreads the consequences, and feels aversion to God who has threatened these consequences. And when such a man is sorry, and seems to repent, his repentance has not yet assumed the form and degree that constitutes true and saving repentance. I am afraid you will say that I am refining too much, and as long as a man is sorry for his sins, it is no matter what the exact reason of it may be. However, if you consider that the first and great commandment is to love God, it will appear plain to you, that the mind which thinks the Divine Being has given too strict laws, and annexed too severe punishments, must rather feel aversion or hatred to God, than love to him. And, therefore, a greater change of mind is requisite to bring a man near to God, which is the effect of true repentance.

The Divine Being is a holy and righteous Sovereign. He made the universe, and he made man; therefore his controul over man is most just. The Almighty is infinitely wise and good, therefore the laws which he prescribes, whether they regard our own persons, our behaviour to our fellow creatures, or the affections we ought to cherish towards our Maker, must be infinitely good, and conducive to our happiness; but since God's laws are just and good, our obedience should be cheerful and willing; not with feelings such as a slave must have towards a tyrannical master, but such as a dutiful child should cherish towards a virtuous and kind parent. Not to be obedient to the divine law, is the most wicked rebellion against just authority, and a most presumptuous pretence that we know better what is good for us, than He who made us.

Now, when a man's mind is so changed, that he does not consider the laws of religion and virtue as restraints upon his pleasure or his profit, nor hindrances of his happiness, but,

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