act of mercy, but of justice. The king in restoring him to life and liberty does not even display his clemency; he merely frees an injured man from a sentence, which never ought to have been passed upon him. The very idea then of mercy naturally shuts out all idea of merit. These two things are totally contrary to each other, and can never exist together. Observe what St. Paul says on this subject. He tells us plainly that mercy, , and merit, or in other words, grace, and works, imply a direct contradiction in terms. "I£ (says he) it is by grace, then it is no more of works :: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then it is no more of grace: otherwise work is no more work." A thing cannot at the same time be both a gift and a debt. If it be a gift, it is not a debt; if it be a debt, it is not a gift. If a man by his merit,, have a right to a favour from us, in bestowing it on him, we only render to him his due. If he be without merit, and undeserving of our favour, then to bestow it on him, is on our part an act of merey it is to give him, what he has no right to expect, what we are under no obligation to give, and may justly keep from him.It seemed desirable to dwell the longer on this point, because it is one of so much consequence. It is only by having a clear view of it, that we can understand what is really meant by mercy, and what the hope of it in fact implies. From what has been said, we may now perceive, that when we confess our hopes of finding mercy of the Lord in that day, we in truth confess that we are poor, and miserable offenders, unworthy of

a Rom. xi. 6.

Mis notice, without any claim to his favour, deserving: only his indignation, and justly exposed to the sentence of his righteous law, We confess that we renounce every plea of merit; that in ourselves we have no goodness, no pretension to reward; that our only hopes of being saved from the wrath to come, are placed on the rich and sovereign grace of God; that we are willing to receive the forgiveness of our sins, as a free, unmer ited gift, bestowed on us, not because we are worthy of it, or can make any suitable return for it; but because we are lost, and miserable, and must perish without it. In short, we confess-that we ask for favour of the Lord, as the beggar asks for alms, as the criminal asks for pardon that in ourselves we have no right to it, and» that if the Lord bestow it on us, it is solely because he is rich in goodness, and delighteth in mercy. Now is this really the confession which we intend to make, when we say that we hope to find mercy of the Lord in the day of judgment? It is to be feared, as was before observed, that many who profess to have this hope, mean not to make any confession of this kind. It is to be feared that but few of them have in truth, such humbling thoughts of themselves, and such entire dependance on the Lord's free grace and goodness. It is to be feared that many, when they talk of hoping to find mercy, mean in fact to say that they hope to find justice in that day; and that their hopes of being favourably received then are built not on God's free mercy, but on their own merits, and on their secret claims to reward. We may judge this to be the case from the lan guage which is often heard from persons, and the dis-

positions which are frequently seen in them, while yet they profess to trust only in the divine mercy. When asked to give a reason of the hope that is in them, what reason do they give? They say they hope to find merey with God, because their sins have been so few, or their good actions so many; because they owe no ill will to any one, or are so much better than many of their neighbours; because they have been kind, or "just, or charitable; because they have read their Bible, have said their prayers, and have frequented the "house of God.'-This is their language. But my brethren, what does such language prove? It proves that those who use it, are trusting not to the mercy of God, but to their own merits. Their ground of hope is some. thing in themselves. They think that they have in them some good thing, which will recommend. them to their Judge, and claim his favour. But such recom mendations, such claims will yield no consolation, no security in that day. All such self-righteous pleas must fail. The vanity of them will then be fully seen, Whatever excuses for their sins, whatever boastings of their goodness men may now make, in that day, “ every mouth shall be stopped, and all the world become guilty before God." Mercy then will be the only plea.. Then every heart will cry, "Enter not into judgment with us, O Lord: but have mercy upon us according to the multitude of thy tender mercies."-And blessed will those be who then find: mercy, for they only shal be saved, and shall enter into the joy of their Lord.

Let us now proceed to the other Truth suggested, by the text "

H. That there will be some, who in that day will not find mercy of the Lord.

..

St. Paul, when he prays that Onesiphorus may find mercy in that day, clearly intimates it to be possible that he may not find it. And if it were not certain that Onesiphorus weld find it, it is not certain that others will find it. Indéed the scriptures plainly tell us that all will not find it. We are expressly told that in that. day some will say, "Lord, Lord, open to us ;" to whom he will say, "Verily I know you not ;" and that others "will call, but He will not answer," that they "shall seek him early, but shall not find him."-This is a very awful truth, and ought to excite in us the most serious concern. If some will not find mercy of the Lord in that day, how do we know that we shalt find it? Who are those that shall not find it? Why may we not be among that unhappy number? To enable us to answer these important questions, let us see what the scriptures teach us concerning those who will find mercy of the Lord in that day.

In the first place, they are now seeking mercy, and serking it in that one way, in which alone God has promised to bestow it.

It is a general direction in scripture, that they who would find must seek. And it is a general promise,.

that " Every one that seeketh findeth." So in thisparticular instance, he that would find mercy of the Lord in that day, must now seek it: and every one that now seeks it, shall in that day find it. To seek it implies a sense of our own need of it, and an earnest desire to obtain it it also implies that we use our ele

deavours to obtain it: that we put our whole trust in God's Mercy; pray to him for it, and make it our daily ground of hope, saying with holy David, "Have mercy upon me, O Lord, after thy great goodness," and with the penitent Publican, "God be uerciful to me a sinner."

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It is not however enough now to seek mercy of the Lord; we must also seek it in that one appointed way, in which alone He hath promised to bestow it. Persons have naturally strange notions about the mercy of God. They think that they have nothing to do but to call on Him for mercy, and that they shall surely obtain it. But they forget that God is a holy and a just, as well as a merciful God. They forget that while He describes himself to be gracious, and merciful, pardoning iniquity, transgression, and sin, "He also says that He will by no means clear the guilty." They forget that He is "of purer eyes than to behold iniquity;" and that He is the righteous judge of all the earth, who is bound by all his glorious perfections, to hate and to punish sin. They overlook all this part of his ebaracter, and think that he has nothing else to do, than to shew mercy to man, and to pity and pardon all offenders. This indeed is his most favourite work; mercy is the attribute which he most delights to exercise. Punishment is called his strangec work.

But then it is only in perfect agreement with his infinite justice and holiness that he delights to exercise his mercy. Nay it is only in agreement with these, that he will, or can exercise it. He cannot deny him

b Exodus xxxiv. 7.

c Isaiah, xxviii. 21.