man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God,"* therefore none but his sons are admitted into his presence by the eternal Father. What there may be away from his presence, what is signified by the "outer darkness" we cannot tell, but we must anticipate horrors which imagination cannot reach, and the reality of which must appal the stoutest heart. If, then, you meditate aright on these things, you will not lose a moment in earnestly striving so to receive Christ, and so to believe on his name, that you may be with him born. of God, with him partakers of the incorruptible inheritance which is the portion of the "children of the Highest."t

LECTURE IV.

PRACTICAL HOLINESS EXEMPLIFIED IN THE

LIFE OF JESUS.

LUKE X. 37.

Go, and do thou likewise.

He must have taken a very careless and negligent view of the doctrines of the Christian faith, who has not perceived how exactly they every one of them lead in practice to the same effect, how invariably the fruit of each, as it becomes an operating principle, is holiness. I am the more particular in insisting upon this point, because faith has, by the perverted ingenuity of men, been made answerable for very great laxity of life and conduct; instead of being made the parent of virtue, it has

been put in the place of virtue, and its presence has been asserted to supersede the necessity of obedience to any law except that of human will, or human inclination. We need not stay, in this place, to examine the arguments upon which such sentiments are founded, for we have evidence to bring against them which at once overturns every possibility of their correctness, however specious and plausible they may be made to appear. We have seen hitherto that each article of faith implies a belief in the existence of that which, if it does exist, can operate in no other way, on those who claim an interest in it, than by producing abandonment of sin, sanctification of the affections, and an imitation of divine perfection; and it is utterly impossible that the putting these articles together, that this combination into that body of belief which is called the Christian faith, should so alter the nature of the things believed, should render them so lifeless and inefficient, as that collectively they should fail to produce that which we are bound to suppose it is the office of each individually to give birth to. The necessary effect of the

whole gospel, so far as we have hitherto been able to ascertain its doctrines, is holiness of heart and mind, manifested by a corresponding holiness of conduct. Repentance, the preparation for the Gospel, implies the casting away and renunciation of all sinful and unholy desires; the presence of the Holy Spirit sanctifies, or makes holy, the heart wherein it dwells; and adoption by God brings with it the obligation of obedience to a holy law, and of imitation of a perfectly holy Being.

It seems, then, that he who has not holiness, has as yet made no use of the doctrines of the Gospel; that they are to him a dead letter; that in fact, they are no Gospel at all. But how are we to ascertain the presence of this essential proof of our being partakers of the benefits of God's mercy towards men? how are we to know what holiness is ?-Holiness is that which begins with penitence, is strengthened by prayer, and is perfected by the Spirit; and it is found complete in him who, as a partaker of the image of God, imitates the actions and affections of his perfect Father.

But here it may be objected, that God is a being far beyond the sphere of our imitation; that we have nothing in common with him; that his nature is so highly exalted above our own, as to prove it to be different in kind, rather than superior in degree; and that even could we propose him to ourselves as a pattern, his ways are often unsearchable, and his judgments past finding out. All this is true; if the great God himself were the example set before us, it is not often that we should find it available. We can indeed derive from him general principles by which to fashion ourselves, as that our hearts must be pure, our affections spiritualised, our words faithful and true, and our actions merciful and just; but, when we come to put these rules in practice, our ignorance still stands in our way, and we cannot always tell whether they are observed or not. We are bound to believe, that in such cases the Spirit of God helps our weakness, and enlightens our understandings; but the ascendency of the natural man is often so great, so fiercely does the voice of frail mortality struggle to be heard, that we cannot always