by which he may not only be made to understand his errors, but be cleansed from many of bis secret faults.

The exercise of self examination must always, at the first, be deeply humiliating. Let a man's life be, in his own estimation, as spotless as it may, a close investigation will not fail to discover numerous offences against the declared will of God, which before lay concealed from view. It will often expose sins of a still deeper die. It will perhaps disclose some vice seated in the inmost recesses of the heart, some easily besetting sin, which the offender would rather palliate, than oppose. Secret sins of this nature are dangerous indeed. And we have all great need to pray, with all the earnestness which our salvation demands, that the grace of God may be sent down to inspire and bless our imperfect efforts; to enable us to understand our errors, and to overcome them; to create in us a clean heart, and renew a right spirit within us.

2. Another method, by which some of our secret faults may be made known to us, is by attending to the sincere advice of our real friends. There is no effort of friendship so truly valuable as that which discloses to us errors, which our own partiality would hide from our notice: and unhappily there is none,

which our pride receives with so much aversion. The pride, however, which is thus exerted, is that which goeth before destruction. And a man who is truly desirous to understand his errors, will receive intimations of this nature even with gratitude: if ill-founded, that he may avoid the fault submitted to his notice; if well founded, that he may repent and amend. Even the false accusations of calumny may sometimes be made conducive to the same good purpose. He who says much which is false, may say something which is true. The keen eye of an enemy may detect a flaw, which the partial glance of friendship might everlook, or our own blindness hide.

Still, after all the care which our vigilance can bestow, we cannot understand our errors. Much of imperfection, much of error, much of infirmity, many an unnoticed act, and word and thought will exist; many faults, which however venial in the sight of man, are nevertheless offensive to a God of perfect purity.

III. It remains, then, that we briefly consider the remedy, which, by the merciful dispensations of our Almighty Father, is provided against the natural consequences of this guilt. The means, by which we may hope to be cleansed from our secret faults, are intimated in the prayer of David. "Cleanse thou me

from secret faults." That which is impossible with man is possible with God. Although man cannot understand his own errors, the Almighty possesses both the power and the will to cleanse the sinner from his secret faults.

Upon a subject of this nature, revelation is the only sure source, whence we can obtain any satisfactory information. Reason might shew us, how agreeable to our notions of the Deity is the attribute of mercy; and might raise some faint hopes that he, who, in the material world, has given us all things richly to enjoy, would not, in his moral government, be extreme to mark what is done amiss. But then would recur the remembrance of the Divine justice, of that purity and holiness, which is so opposed to all sin: and the least alarming conclusion, at which man could arrive, would be a timid hope, that his secret sins might not be visited upon him in judgment. But Revelation leaves us not comfortless. It informs us that God, out of his infinite mercy, has provided for fallen and sinful man a remedy, which by his unassisted powers he could neither have discovered nor attained. It enables us to pray, with confidence that the prayer of faith will be heard and answered, that we may be cleansed from our secret faults.

The ultimate cause, to which we are in

debted for this inestimable benefit, is the mercy of God, who has revealed to us the means, through which it has pleased him to exercise his grace. The more immediate cause is that sacrifice, which has been made upon the cross by Jesus Christ, who "once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God." The whole of the revelation, which has been successively made to the world, displays with different degrees of clearness, this one great event. For this cause it was that, as soon as the first parents of the human race had sinned, and by sin brought death into the world, the merciful promise was made of that seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent's head. For this cause it was, that the same promise was continued from age to age in an unbroken chain of prophecies and types: that the written word of God was preserved, a living witness and register of all the events, which his Providence had brought about, for the advancement of his wonderful determination. For this cause it was, that the Son of God himself came into the world, preceded by his messenger who should make straight his path before him: grew up in wisdom and in stature, in subjection to his earthly parents; went about doing good; speaking as

1 1 Pet. iii. 18.

never man spake; and doing works such as never man did: that he submitted himself to the will of his cruel enemies, and gave up his life for the sins of all mankind. For this cause it was that he rose from the dead, and ascended up to his Father and our Father, to his God and our God; and there for ever liveth to make intercession for us.

Here, then, is the remedy for all our secret faults; the wonderful satisfaction, which has been made by infinite mercy, to propitiate infinite justice. Those, who come unto God in the name, and through the mediation, of Christ, he will in no wise cast out. "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. As a God of purity and justice, the Almighty has set our misdeeds before him, and our secret sins in the light of his countenance.n As a God of mercy, he "hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation: to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them."o

All that it is in the power of man to do, we are commanded to do, as a proof of the sincerity of our obedience: for the grace of God

m 1 Tim. i. 15.

n Psalm xc. 8.

02 Cor. v. 18.