Does it

as thyself." Do we approve of this? harmonize with our feelings? and they with it? If so we are indebted to God for the blessing, only to be found by faith in Jesus Christ; every good we possess in our heart we possess in a twofold way. First, as a good coming from God through Jesus Christ; and, secondly, as from a battle with, and conquest over self. All natural men object to the law of God-it is too strict-too rigorous. But if the law were altered in any degree, God would be the author of misery to the creature; since it would detach the creature from Him. The law is so excellent that it connects innocence and bliss, sin and misery; but reverse this, and innocence and misery would be eternally connected, and God an object of universal hatred! Such would be the consequence of reducing, in the least degree, the standard of the law of God, the standard of love due to God from the creature; perfect love to God and to each other. Try this by the law of love to each other; if relaxed, every individual would then be bound to love himself better than his neighbour,the very principle to produce universal evil. Thoughtless sinners! who think as little of eternity, as if there were not an eternity, and as little of your souls, as if they were to perish like the brutes; have you connected, have you

considered these things? In the light of the law of God, what is man? "The carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be."1 "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another."2 Hatred comprises in embryo the destruction of its objects, and, therefore, scripture says, "He that hateth his brother is a murderer." Man by nature, then, is a deicide, a homicide, and a suicide. He would destroy universal being, unless God shew mercy on him. This consideration tends to explain some things apparently singular-there are many poisonous plants, venomous reptiles, and ferocious beasts; we are taught by this, man wages war against his God-against universal being; hence some creatures are placed in an attitude of warfare, and they seem to address the sinner-Thou makest war against our God, to whom we owe our being, and we take up war against thee.' We see that fire consumes man, the deep swallows him up, the earth opens her mouth to devour him, the lightning lays him dead! The whole creation is armed against, and would destroy him, unless

1 Rom. viii. 7.

2 Titus iii. 3.

God interposed to prevent it. Oh! then ask yourselves, individually, what am I doing? Am I looking forward to the day of judgment?

Supposing the law of God were honored, earth would necessarily become the image of heaven. When I look at the Jewish law, I see adultery and murder were punished with death. The crime of adultery is a compound crime; it murders the relationship between husband and wife, it murders the husband, as a husband, and the wife, as a wife. Man, by transgressing against God, annihilates the relationship between him and God. Consider what is the tone of feeling in the natural man; present him with the perfect law of God, -he hates it-present him with the perfections of God-he sees no beauty in them that he should desire them. "Unto the wicked God saith, what hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and castest my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother's These things hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest that I was al

son.

together such an one as thyself." The God of the wicked is only a being of their imagination.

II. But to proceed to the second division of my discourse, WHAT IS THE DESERT OF SIN? When I examine the Jewish laws, I see a code of laws worthy the regard of all legislators. Justice pervades punishment with singular minuteness. Theft was never punished with death, nor should it be-eye for eye, and tooth for tooth -punishment comprising the sacrifice of a good, equal to the good destroyed; in some cases of theft, twice as much was required to be restored, and this precisely placed the offender in the same state of privation, to which he intended to subject another. Justice is universally the same in heaven, hell, and earth; and if eye for eye, and life for life, then by the same reason, God for God. Man is in such a state by transgression, that he cannot atone; if blood for blood, and the life of man for the life of man, then the punishment due must comprise God and man, and the criminal must be punished with the same punishment he would have inflicted on another: so, then, here we see the Being who was to suffer, must suffer the consequences of man's transgression, and exclaim

1 Psalm 1. 16-21,

upon the cross, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me; all communion with God was then annihilated. Divinity is the science of sciences; there is not anything which so much satisfies the intellect, and engages the heart. The great truths I have been dwelling upon, are taken from declarations of Scripture. I have said man is a deicide. What says Scripture, men and devils conspired together to put to death the Lord of glory. We have a proof as clear as the sun at noon, that man is at once a deicide and a homicide: and that hatred comprises the destruction of its object: an incarnate God appears on earth, he is first hated, then put to an ignominious and cruel death!

III. And I now must proceed in the third place, to shew THE RESULT OF SIN. The crucifixion of Christ was the crime of crimes, it was the triumph of sin, it could go no farther; while at the same time it was its destruction. The death of Christ provided the means of atoning for sin. What must have been the apprehension of his hearers, when St. Peter told them they had crucified "Jesus of Nazareth; "1 "the Prince of life; "2 and what must afterwards have been

1 Acts ii. 22.

2 Ibid. iii. 15.