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But we are as corrupt as were the Jews. We commit daily sins as well as they. We have to look daily to the sacrifice of the cross of Christ. It has been offered once for all; but it is not to be only once regarded. It is to be brought by us by faith every day and every hour of the day as the propitiation for our daily offences. This we should bring always before God as our continual offering to obtain pardon and peace. O my beloved brethren, how anxious am I, even though by repetition again and again, to impress this great fundamental truth of all scripture, that there is no hope of pardon, peace, or heaven, for any one sinner of mankind, except as that sinner receives into his heart by faith the saving doctrine of the atoning sacrifice of Christ. There is no truth that calls for more urgency, none which more requires line upon line, for alas there is none which the carnal heart of man in reality withstands so tenaciously.

3. We may learn, in the third place, the propriety of daily and public worship. Surely we also, twice in every day, should assemble

our families together for prayer and praise. Let these be our morning and evening offerings. These will be for as sweet a savour unto the Lord, as were the morning and evening lamb. And surely on his sabbaths we should offer unto him a yet larger portion of spiritual worship. That whole day should be his from the morning's dawn to the evening's close, and should be occupied in those great spiritual duties, the public worship of our God and the advancement of our own souls in holiness, for which the sabbath was given as a day of rest to man. And on other sacred festivals of the Christian church, though they be but appointments of man, we may learn to cease from our labours, to keep them as sabbaths, and to employ ourselves upon them in the sacred services of the house of God, for this too will be for his glory and our own present and eternal good.

4. We may profitably notice, in the fourth place, some general similarity in our own. worship and that of the Jews. We have a daily service. Our church has appointed one for the use of her members, and if it be not

observed, better would it be if it were, at least the daily worship in our families should be substituted instead of it. We also have our holy sabbaths, on which we must not forsake the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is, but join in united service, and in a public testimony of our regard to our God and his day. Oh! let us make them days both of rest and of holy convocation. We have our monthly sacraments, when we meet to receive the memorials of our blessed Saviour's dying love and sacrifice, to remember him with feelings of affection, love, and devotion, and to partake of the signs and seals of his covenanted mercy. Finally we have some great festivals, commemorative of the most interesting parts in our divine Lord's life and death, which we celebrate with special services and proper prayers. God grant that we may use all to his glory, and improve all to our own increase in faith and holiness.

SERMON XI.

THE EXCISION OF THE CANAANITES.

NUMBERS Xxx111. 50–53.

And the Lord spake unto Moses, in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan, then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places : and ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.

THE Almighty God had promised to give the land of Canaan to Abraham and his posterity; and he brought the Israelites out of Egypt in order that he might settle them in

it. That particular spot was selected to be the chosen scene on which God would display his glory, and the centre from which his true religion should send forth its rays. Every species of idolatry was to be utterly banished out of it, that it might be a holy land, and its inhabitants a peculiar people, the worshippers and servants of him alone.

But it was inhabited by a numerous and warlike people. How was it to come into the possession of the Israelites, comparatively few, little accustomed to war, and with small resources? Were they to settle among them, to enter into alliances with them, and thus become in time more numerous and prosperous than the original proprietors, and give them their name, their laws, and their religion? Or were these to migrate to some other country, as was not unfrequent, and leave them a quiet possession of the land? Neither of these methods were adopted by God. The Israelites were strictly commanded to exterminate them utterly: they were to conquer them in war; and not only were they to destroy every vestige of idolatry,

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