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children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. Ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord; walk as children of light. Know ye not, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God; and such were some of you; but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God; and ye are not your own, for ye are bought with a price; therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's."

O! that the pure Gospel of our salvation were sounded throughout the earth; then would the nations rejoice and be glad; then would this waste howling wilderness become the garden of the Lord.

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Blessed is that minister, who, like the great Apostle of the Gentiles, is able to say to his flock: Brethren, be ye followers together of me, and mark them which walk so, as ye have us for an ensample."

An awful neglect, yea more, a marked dislike is often manifested to the doctrines of grace, under the specious but false pretence of vindicating the interests of morality.

Pride lurks at the bottom of such opposition, or at least a dangerous obscurity veils the minds of many, respecting the true nature of the Gospel

of Christ.

These opposers may be amiable in their manners, benevolent in their dispositions, and correct in their conduct: yet, being dark in their views

respecting the Gospel way of salvation, they consider the zealous preacher of the cross as an enemy, rather than a friend to practical Christianity. They do not see that all practical godliness springs from a lively faith in a crucified Saviour, through whom the sinner is freely and fully justified, "without the deeds of the law.”

Were all our churches filled with such men as Paul the Apostle and servant of Jesus Christ, our island would become a Goshen, full of the. light of Gospel Truth.

A day is fast approaching, when each must

give account of himself to God. We are all stewards of the manifold gifts of grace. All have some talents committed to their trust, and for those talents all will be responsible unto God who gave them. When the command goes forth: "Give an account of thy stewardship," may we do it with joy, and not with grief. Dreadful in that day, will be the doom of slothful pastors, blind guides, negligent hearers, and wilful abusers of divine mercy.

Hath the Father so loved us, as not to withhold from us his Son, his only Son? Hath the Son so loved us, as to purchase our souls with his own blood? Hath the Eternal Spirit so loved us as to condescend to dwell in our polluted hearts ? And shall none of these things move us?

This love of God in Christ was the delightful theme which inspired the tongue, warmed the heart, fired the zeal, and impelled the progress of the indefatigable Apostle into the darkest regions of the earth. He knew no happiness separate from that

of preaching Christ crucified, as the Saviour of sinners, the Justifier of the ungodly, the Purifier of the unclean.

When he saw the divine blessing accompanying his labours, in fulfilment of his Redeemer's promise, his heart overflowed with joy. He knew whom he had believed; he inwardly felt the consolations of the Gospel; he realized by faith the glory to be revealed; and was desirous that all around him should partake of the same felicity.

The Epistles which he wrote, afford abundant evidence of his unfeigned faith in the Lord Jesus, and his fervent love to all the saints. As letters are directed to certain individuals, so the Epistles of St. Paul describe the persons to whom they were addressed.

The following directions are so plain, that no one can well mistake the character of the for whom they were intended.

persons

"To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints."

"Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, and called to be saints."

"To the saints which are at Ephesus, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus."

"To all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi."

“To all the saints and faithful brethren which are at Colosse."

"Unto the church of the Thessalonians, which is in God the Father, and in the Lord Jesus Christ."

From these addresses, with which his several Epistles commence, it is evident, that the Apostle did not write to a set of carnal, ungodly, worldly, unbelieving men, who cared nothing for Christ, or for the salvation of their souls: but, to those who had been convinced of sin, converted to God, united by faith to Jesus Christ, in whom the Holy Spirit dwelt, and who, by their holy lives, were so many shining lights in the midst of a dark and polluted world.

Are these beautiful Letters, which contain such consolations and directions, addressed only "To the saints, and to the faithful in Christ Jesus ?" Then let not the carnal professor of the Gospel, whose heart is glued to the world, for one moment think, that these glorious promises in Christ Jesus are his, merely because he has been sprinkled with water at the baptismal font, or because he bears a Christian name, and outwardly adheres to the visible Church of Christ.

While in a state of unregeneracy, all the denunciations of wrath contained in these Epistles are against him, for thus saith the Apostle: "If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maran-atha." However much it may offend his pride, yet such a nominal Christian, destitute of the Spirit of Christ, while conforming to the ceremonials of religion, is on a level with the poor benighted heathen, yea, in a condition far more awful. For what says our blessed Lord himself, respecting the highly-favoured Jews of his day, whose privileges were not so great as those which we enjoy since his glorious ascension, and

the out-pouring of the Holy Ghost? "Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida; for if the mighty works which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, in sackcloth and ashes. But, I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you." "That servant which knew his Lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more."

Let each one then, with deep solicitude, ask himself this serious question: Do I bear the character, and manifest the spirit of those primitive believers, to whom St. Paul wrote with such paternal affection?

To ascertain this important point, still further inquire: Do I believe in Jesus with all my heart? Is my love to him supreme and fervent ? Am I reposing all my hopes of glory upon his atonement, righteousness, and intercession? the fruits of the Spirit appear and abound within me? Am I delivered from the pollutions and

vanities of the world?

which I desire to live?

Do

Is holiness the element in

Do I crucify the flesh, with the affections and lusts, and, through the Spirit, mortify the deeds of the body?

If our hearts can give the faithful affirmative; if we can truly say, that we love Jesus, and long

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