"Ye received the word which ye heard of us not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God."

A just knowledge of God was soon lost, after the fall of man from allegiance and happiness. "All flesh corrupted his way," and turned the glory of the invisible God into the worship of idols of wood and stone. But God left not himself without a witness to the design of mercy which he imparted to Adam, ere he drove him from the abode to which he had no longer a claim. He revealed himself to many individuals, and afterwards to a whole nation, whom he made the depositories of his will towards the human race. He inspired many, by a direct influence, to urge the claims of his eternal authority, and to prepare the way for the coming of the great Deliverer, in whom all the nations of the earth should ultimately be blessed. "Holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." But But having spoken" during many a long year" by his prophets," he at length spake by his Son," the heir of all things," "the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." The very Word of God" became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." He died at length under the mysterious covenant of grace for the "sins of his people;" and rose from the dead, and

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ascended into the heavens, to abide there until the time of the restitution of all things." In the interval, he commissioned his apostles to proclaim his will, and the efficacy of his death, and the wondrous result of his resurrection. He sent them to all nations, to tell the glad tidings of his free redemption, and to exhort men to repent and believe, that they might live for ever.

The word of the apostles was thus like that of the former prophets, not the word of man, but the word of God. It was the accredited channel of intercourse between God and men; the revelation of God's will, the charter of felicity, the ground of hope, the balm of the soul, the light to guide the wanderer into the way of peace. This word which the apostles proclaimed, is recorded in the books of the Old and New Testament, and has been handed down from age to age, as the true and inspired revelations of God. These have reached even to ourselves, and are still the treasury of truth and salvation to all who receive them as such.

It is, however, among the most extraordinary circumstances connected with the history of man, that he can nominally admit the authenticity of these records, and yet practically reject the lessons which they contain. It was said of the ancient Jewish nation, "This people draweth nigh to me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me." A similar inconsistency takes place among gentile nations, in reference both to the worship and likewise to the word of God. There are numbers who would be startled at the name of infidel, who yet disbelieve in their hearts a very large portion of the announcements made in the records of Scripture. They profess to receive the word as the word of God, but they give no attention to it superior at least to that which they pay to the opinions of their fellow creatures. There is the most singular want of consistency and common sense in the history of opinions in reference to religion. Men seem, indeed, to be quite callous to the charge of inconsistency in respect to God. It would be a melancholy and curious inquiry, if such an inquiry were to be instituted, in reference to the actual belief of the truths which we have this day confessed with our lips. We have this morning confessed to God that we are "miserable sinners;" that "there is no health in us;" that we stand in utter need of the mercy of the Father, the redeeming grace of the Son, and the blessed fellowship of the holy Spirit. And yet, perhaps, numbers daily and practically reject the belief of these very confessions— numbers who say there is no spiritual health in them, are quite satisfied with their moral condition; have a complacent esteem for their vir

tues; do not feel any real need of mercy; think little of the Cross, or of the companionship of the Spirit, and deem any solemn and heartfelt admission of these truths to be actual fanaticism. If the question were put to numbers who have joined this morning in our solemn litany, whether they really believe themselves to be lost sinners, who can be saved only by faith in the blood of Jesus, they would be indignant at the supposition; or whether they needed conversion of heart, by the power of the Holy Ghost, they would be equally surprised, and perhaps irritated by the question: and yet they quietly go on, Sunday after Sunday, confessing these things before God, and incurring the tremendous responsibility of neglecting truths which are continually placed before their sight.

And as with respect to these truths, thus embodied in our liturgy, so the Scriptures themselves are admitted to be the word of God, in a similarly inconsistent manner. They are externally honoured-internally neglected and despised! And yet those who thus act are apparently unconscious of the inconsistency of their conduct; so blinded is the understanding, and so disordered are the affections through sin. Quick to the perception of human things, the soul is become torpid and dull as to its perception of spiritual truth.

But the Thessalonian Christians had dealt

otherwise by the word of God. They had not only admitted its authenticity, but they had submitted to its decisions. They had received it as the full and unequivocal record of the will of God; the will of their Maker, their Lawgiver, and their Judge. They had quitted the opinions of men to abide by the decisions of God. They felt the claims of inspiration to be far higher and more authoritative than those of philosophy and of human science. Philosophy and human science, however competent to guide their researches into the visible works of God, were felt to be wholly inadequate to instruct them in their relations with God, and with that eternity to which they were hastening. Hence they gratefully received the inspired exposition of his will, and opened their hearts to all the invitations of his love and grace. They stood in awe of his wisdom, and owned the entire right he had to their unlimited obedience. "Thus saith the Lord," was conclusive with them. They became as little children," and hearkened unto the sayings of his word.

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The inefficiency of education, the heartlessness of public worship, the utter powerlessness of external religion to bring the soul to God, have their sources in the real unbelief of men in the truths of God. Nominally believers, numbers are practically infidels. They hear and receive the word as if it were the word