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as he had been previously to his transgression. He therefore communicated to his descendants the corrupt nature which he had as a sinner, and not the new nature which he received as a believer. Hence all men are sinners, despoiled of the divine image, "very far gone from original righteousness," filled with unholy dispositions, and having "a carnal mind, which is enmity against God," and, therefore, they are all exposed to sufferings and death. Such is the condition of man, in consequence of the fall. Do you disbelieve the representation, or attempt to bring arguments against it? You are opposed by daily experience, as well as by divine revelation. A convincing proof that man is now a sinner by nature and practice, is derived from his present condition; as he is under the displeasure of God, and exposed to sufferings and death. A dark cloud rests upon his state beyond the grave, except as far as it is penetrated by the light of revelation. He is always addressed, throughout the Scripture, as bearing this sinful character, and as exposed to its awful consequences. Will you attempt to set up your puny reason against the divine conduct? "But who art thou, O man, that repliest against God?"

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Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" That the fall of man, and the introduction of sin into the world, are subjects on which difficulties remain, none will deny. But let us not presume to arraign the wisdom, justice, and goodness of God. We are altogether incapable of forming a judgment on the permission, or the consequences, of the fall of man.

We see that man is depraved; and universal history, as well as personal experience, bears witness to the fact. We see that man is mortal, by the millions of the human race who have already been cut off by the stroke of death. But who gave Death his power? "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that (or, as you have it in the margin of the text, in whom) all have sinned."

2. Finally; let us reflect on the infinite mercy of God, in providing a method of deliverance, by which He can restore man from the ruins of the fall, and again impress upon the soul his own divine image.

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"Where sin has abounded, grace has much more abounded." A Saviour is provided for man, through whom he may again be restored to the favour and the image of God. "The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent's head." This was the promise of a glorious deliverer made to our first parents. God of justice and holiness might for ever have abandoned them, and left them and their posterity to bear the consequences of their sin, not only in the death of the body, but in the everlasting misery of the soul, which is the second death. But, in mercy, he devised a wondrous scheme, to counteract the designs of the devil for the ruin of mankind. "God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The God of love grace has laid help upon one who is mighty to He has appointed his own Son to be made in

and

save.

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the likeness of sinful flesh, at once to condemn sin, and to save his people from its tremendous effects. Here is salvation, therefore, for fallen man. Do you believe, my brethren, that this salvation is necessary? I know that you believe it. It is a salvation of which you all stand in need; and therefore I earnestly recommend it to your attention and your acceptance. It is freely offered to every penitent and believing sinner. You are invited, you are commanded, to accept this salvation. And what is its nature and character? It is a salvation that remedies all the disorders of the fall. Jesus Christ, the second Adam, became incarnate, and "died, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us unto God;" and thus he "made peace by the blood of his cross. Sin is atoned for God's justice is reconciled—and a new and living way is opened, whereby the Most High is discovered to be the believer's Father and God. This is a salvation which delivers from sin and all its painful effects-from its punishment, its guilt, its power-and, at length, from its existence. It sanctifies the depraved heart. It leads again to the love of God. It comforts and supports man in his passage through a world of sin and woe. It renders affliction comparatively light; and makes death the christian's friend. It takes the redeemed and sanctified soul to heaven; it raises the body from the grave, and glorifies both soul and body in the image of God, and the likeness of Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer. All this, and more than this, is implied in the salvation of the glorious gospel of the grace of God.

My dear brethren, which do you choose - which do you desire-which do you pursue the happiness of belonging to Jesus Christ, or the misery of living and dying in sin? Will you have life or death? One or the other of these must be the object of your election; as there is no neutral ground on which you can stand. Are any of- you careless and indifferent, in reference to these important truths? What! indifferent whether you are going to heaven or hell?— whether you shall be everlastingly happy, or eternally miserable? Alas! how shall you escape-how can you escape-if you neglect so great salvation! But happy are all those, who, convinced of these important truths, embrace that glorious deliverance which is exhibited to us in the word of God, and offered to us in Jesus Christ. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him."

SERMON II.

JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH.

GALATIANS ii. 15, 16.

WE WHO ARE JEWS BY NATURE, AND NOT SINNERS OF THE GENTILES, KNOWING THAT A MAN IS NOT JUSTIFIED BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW, BUT BY THE FAITH OF JESUS CHRIST, EVEN WE HAVE BELIEVED IN JESUS CHRIST, THAT WE MIGHT BE JUSTIFIED BY THE FAITH OF CHRIST, AND NOT BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW: FOR BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW SHALL NO FLESH BE JUSTIFIED.

"It is appointed unto men once to die." But the period of the event is uncertain. With respect to ourselves, considered individually, it may be near; but under any circumstances it cannot be far distant; for life at the longest is confined within narrow limits. Unless the arbiter of life and death deal with us in a manner different from other men, in less than thirty years the majority of this congregation will have gone to their long home; and within the space of seventy or eighty, in all human probability, every man, woman, and child within these walls, will be numbered amongst the millions of the dead. There is no discharge in this war. It is absolutely certain that at

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