It is, then, on the ground of our Surety's merits, that we must present all our petitions. The very fact of the existence of a Surety, a gratuitously provided Surety, proves the goodness of the great Creditor, in a manner which even the immediate discharge of the debt could not have demonstrated. We might have supposed that he had easily pardoned that, by which he was no loser. But the providing of an atonement, shows that a great loss had been suffered by sin; and the sacrificing of His own Son to accomplish that atonement, exhibits God as a double benefactor in effecting the salvation of man. The goodness of God, therefore, stands out to view in magnificent prominence. We hear it uttered by the loud voice from Calvary, with an emphasis that should rouse the attention

of the dead, and impart eternal stability to the faith of the living. The goodness of the Divine Father, exhibited in the sacrifice of his own Son, is that alone to which the Eternal Spirit directs our thoughts; on this he fixes our hopes; here he bids us to cast, without the shadow of a misgiving or a fear, all our cares and anxieties. Therefore the apostle demands,

Despisest thou the riches of his goodness?" knowest thou not that "the goodness of God" is designed to lead thee "to repentance?" Rom. ii. 4. Since God, then, has exhibited such love, take heed that you 66 continue in his goodness," Rom. xi. 22. Never allow dark and despairing thoughts to take possession of your breast. "The goodness of God endureth continually," Psa. lii. 1. Let your confidence in, and your engage

ments with, that goodness, be therefore in continual exercise. When Moses prayed, "Show me thy glory," the Lord answered, "I will make all my goodness pass before thee," Exod. xxxiii. 19. The glory of God is his goodness. When the seraphim praise the high and lofty One, they say, "The whole earth is full of his glory," Isa. vi. 3. And when the psalmist would praise him, he exclaims, "The earth is full of his goodness," Psa. xxxiii. 5. When St. Paul looks forward to the inheritance above, he denominates it, "An exceeding, even an eternal weight of glory," 2 Cor. iv. 17. And when David expatiates on the same enlivening theme, he cries, "O how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee!" Psa. xxxi. 19.

"In the Divine nature," says a

profound writer, "both religion and philosophy have acknowledged goodness in perfection; wisdom or providence comprehending all things, and absolute sovereignty or kingdom. In aspiring to the throne of power, angels transgressed and fell. In presuming to come within the oracle of knowledge, man transgressed and fell. But in pursuit towards the similitude of God's goodness or love, neither man, nor spirit, ever hath transgressed, or shall transgress. The Devil, being an angel of light, affected power. Man, being endowed with power, affected light or knowledge. Intruding into God's secrets or mysteries, he was rewarded with a further removing or estranging from God's presence. But as to God's goodness, there is no danger in contending for, or advancing towards, a similitude thereof. In

that point we can commit no excess."-Bacon's Val. Ter. This leads

us,

THIRDLY, To inquire to what extent may a sinner, being allowed on these good grounds, proceed in importunity of prayer? We answer, he can commit no excess. The further he thus proceeds, the greater will the goodness of the Most High appear to him; the more he trusts to it, the more will it uphold him. Importunity in prayer is a pressing into the goodness of God. Instead of regarding him as either unwilling or unable to help, it exhibits him as ready as he is all-powerful. "Them that honour me, I will honour." The highest honour we can pay to God, is to honour him with our confidence. Apart from this, mere outward services are destitute of their only acceptable ingredient, the hom