"are truly penitent." May thy Paternal Spirit be now present to all, in these solemn hours of remembrance and of gratitude,"to create in us new and contrite "hearts!"-May we "so worthily lament "our past sins, and acknowledge our "wretchedness," that we "may now die "unto sin and live again unto righteous"ness!" In the strength of thy grace may we all advance through the journey of life which is before us! And in the mercy and mediation of the Saviour of the world, may we arrive, at last, at that immortal home, which Thou hast prepared for every penitent child of the dust,-where thy justice will be known to be mercy; and where sin, and sorrow, and death, will be remembered no more!

SERMON XXI.

ON REPENTANCE BEFORE HEAVEN.*

LUKE XV. 7.

"I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in Heaven, "over one sinner that repenteth."

We have now completed, my brethren, the greatest solemnity of our religion.We have again commemorated the death of him who came to give us life; who brought into a world of darkness the light of immortality; and who sealed with his blood the truth of his commission, and the hopes of his followers. In this service of pious gratitude, we have been joined by many millions of the human race. "In the "east and in the west, in the north and in "the south, they who shall one day sit "down in the kingdom of God," have been engaged, though in different languages, in similar duties. The same sun which, during the last days, has witnessed our solemnities, on this greater day has witnessed also the kindred solemnities of every Chris

* Preached on Easter Evening.

tian people, "from where he rises to where "he goeth down;" and at this sacred and concluding hour, when the Leader of our Salvation is remembered as rising from the grave, that he might become for ever victorious both over sin and over death, our feeble praise is joined by that of the multitude of the faithful, in every country and of every tongue.

In the service of this day, however, if we are sincere, we have done a great deal more. We have not only testified our sentiments of pious thankfulness, but we have testified our resolutions of religious obedience. We have entered into a covenant with Heaven.-We have abjured our errours, and bewailed our sins before the altar of our Saviour. With that blood which was shed for us, we have sealed our acceptance of the merciful conditions of salvation; and before Him, to whom "all hearts are 66 open, all desires known, and from whom 66 no secrets are hid," we have laid bare the errours of our ways, and promised repentance and amendment of life.

Happy they, to whom this season of thought has brought all the blessings for which it was intended! and who, after silent and sincere meditation, now feel, from the altar of Christ, the angel of peace to descend upon their souls. The young are happy, who, in looking forward to the

world before them, have learnt here to anticipate its deceits;-who have strengthened themselves in the might of their Master; and who purpose, in the integrity of their hearts, to take that good part which will “never be taken from them."—The busy and the active are happy, who, ere yet the sins which most easily beset them have enfeebled their souls, have learnt, in the calm hours of thought, to struggle with temptation, and to renew again the innocence and generosity of happier years. Even the

aged are happy, to whose ear the voice of repentance comes not in vain ;-in whom the decays of nature mingle with the promises of the Gospel, and who feel at last, "that the ways of righteousness only are

pleasant, and that in her paths alone are "peace." It is for these ends of present and of future happiness, that the Saviour of the world has now summoned again the host of the faithful to his common table.It is in such hours, that his spirit descends upon the "troubled waters" of the contrite soul; and it is from this exalted communion with Heaven, that the regenerated spirit returns again to the dwellings of mortality, to meet the voice of health and joy.

In such meditations we all have been, for some time, employed. Yet while we are yet assembled around the altar of our

Lord, and ere we mingle again in the busi ness and occupation of common life, theres is another and a greater view of the subject which I wish to present to your minds. It is the view which the ever memorable words of the text suggest, the view of repentance in the sight of Heaven. When we stand upon the dust of mortality, we may regard the duty of repentance in many lights of wisdom and of utility. But it is only when we elevate ourselves to the height of Revelation, that we can see it in its true light of dignity and sublimity, and that we can feel its alliance with all that is: great in the character, or sublime in the hopes of the immortal soul. "I say unto "you," says the Son of God," that there "is joy in Heaven over one sinner that "repenteth." Suffer me at present, my brethren, to suggest to your reflection some of the important considerations which these words are fitted to awaken, and with which it were always wise in us to conclude our seasons of Christian thought and meditation.

1. They teach us, in the first place, in a manner that almost makes us tremble at the prospect, the importance of the human soul. We form some estimate of the greatness of our nature, when we consider the capacities with which man is endued; when we see the sceptre of earthly dominion put into his hand; when we follow his daring