are diffident of themselves, and conceive, in the despondency of their spirits, that the comforts of the gospel were not intended for them. What I say is intended to cure the desponding Christian of his hopelessness, and to assure him by the high authority which he reveres, that he is not far from the kingdom of God. He is now under that godly sorrow which worketh repentance unto salvation. He has commenced that career of sentiment which will lead him to heaven; and though grief and uncertainty encompass his outset, he must at last emerge into the delightful repose and confidence of the Christian faith. It is very true that the promises of Christianity are not addressed to all; but they are addressed to all who labour and are heavy laden. It is very true that there are many exceptions to the grace of God-but these exceptions are only to be found among the careless, the unreflecting, the hardened, those who live in security, and hurry along the stream of infatuation till death comes like a whirlwind upon their blind and unawakened consciences. It is very true that all are not saved-but all who labour and are heavy laden are saved if they come to Christ, for He has promised that He will give them rest.

On this day, then, devoted to the celebration of a Saviour's love, let the desponding Christian find comfort to his soul. Why abandon himself to despair against the express assurances of Scripture? Will he deny the truth of Jesus? will he deny His omnipotence as a Saviour? will he deny the mildness of His character, or give way to the oppression of doubt and of anxiety, when to all who are in his state He addresses, without exception, the language of invitation and encouragementCome to me, all ye who labour and are heavy laden? Why then does he conceive himself to be an exception? Our Saviour makes no exception, and what right has he to apprehend one? It is true you are weak, you are guilty, you are disobedientthe errors of frail and corrupted humanity hang about you perpetually; in every step you offend, and in every thought of your heart you fall short of the purity and elevation of a perfect character. This is your disease, and it is the disease of the whole human race. Every son of Adam is tainted with it; not

a brother of the species who has escaped the malignity of sin— all have gone astray, and not a man among us can present to the Father of Spirits the incense of a pure and unspotted offering. You feel as you ought, when you feel the burden of your infirmities, and tremble at the inveteracy of that disease which has made such cruel inroads upon the happiness and virtue of the species. But while your eyes are open to the extent and virulence of the disease, why should they be shut against the power and efficaciousness of the remedy? Why refuse the call of the physician, or turn a deaf ear to those gracious and consolatory words in which the atonement of the gospel is revealed to us?-Peace on earth, and good-will to the children of men. O the glory and riches of the love of Christ; it passeth all understanding. Why should you refuse the comfort that is held out by Him, who says in the words of the evangelical prophet Isaiah

"The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath annointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent me to bind up the broken-hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified."

You approach this mighty Being in the ordinance of His appointment, and you do well. Approach Him in faith. Shake off the melancholy which oppresses you. Approach Him in prayer, and you will be heard. He will lend an attentive ear to the prayer of a broken heart; He will set your feet in a sure place; He will establish you in comfort. The sheltering arm of His love and His omnipotence will defend you. You will walk in gladness through the world, and enter with triumph into the glories of His kingdom.

SERMON IX.

PRAYER.

On this the morning of Thy day we would approach Thee in the peculiar capacity of Christians. We offer ourselves to the Lord of the universe as the disciples of Jesus of Nazareth. We acknowledge Him to be the authentic messenger of Thy will and of Thy promises. We profess Him to be the only true and living way to the glories of Thy paradise; that we can be redeemed only by His blood; that we can be instructed only by His righteousness; that we can be animated and sustained only by His consolations. We profess ourselves to be the followers in the faith of those illustrious men who preached and who propagated the doctrine of Jesus, who held fast their profession amid the terrors of martyrdom, and maintained the sacred intrepidity of conscience amid the cruelties of a persecuting world. How refreshing, O Lord, to the minds of those Christians must have been the ordinances of Thy religion! How sweet to their souls the Sabbath morn, which recalled the triumphs of their Saviour's resurrection and what a day of holy gratitude and piety when they approached the table of the Lord, and their hearts burned within them at a name and a remembrance that were ever dear to them. They now sleep from the troubles of the world. They have entered into their quiet rest. They sit at the right hand of Thy throne, and shine in all the splendours of righteousness amid the glorified spirits which surround Thee. We humbly desire to imitate their example, and to tread in that path which led the Christians of old to glory and immortality. In this distant age of the Church we desire to do as our fathers have done before us-we desire to keep alive in the world

the memory of a crucified Saviour-we desire to transmit to our children the purity of His ordinances-we desire that the dying request which He left behind Him may receive its accomplishment in all ages-Do this in remembrance of me; do this till I come again. May it be the delight of our minds, O Lord, to share in this affecting solemnity; to approach that feast of love and of gratitude which lies before us; to retire for a moment from this world of care to the feelings and the exercises of piety; and to rise to the anticipation of those joys which Thou hast prepared for us in Thy eternal kingdom. We live in happier times. The dark ages of violence and of persecution are now over. We can celebrate our sacraments in peace. The noble intrepidity of the Christians of other times has secured for their descendants the quiet establishment of their religion. We thank Thee that we can now repair to the solemn assembly-that there is none to make us afraid--that liberty of conscience is established-that the delightful music of the church-bell is heard in every valley-while a benignant toleration extends its influence over a peaceful and a happy land.

We thank Thee, O God of mercy, that Thou hast not visited us with the trials of more troubled times. But may we never forget that there is still much to prove and to exercise the purity of our principles. May we never forget that Christianity is a warfare; that in every generation of the Church believers have their difficulties to contend with; that the life of a Christian is a life of perpetual vigilance; that while we stay in the world we have to struggle with its vices, with its allurements, with the passions and infirmities of our nature, and with that contempt which fashion and frivolity and false philosophy have often annexed to all that is serious. May we remember, Lord, that the Christians of old had something more than the mere Sabbath or sacrament to exercise their obedience—that their offering to heaven was the incense of a perpetual sacrifice; that every hour of the day the terrors of persecution hung over them; and that they were called upon to maintain the constancy of their professions amid the dangers and difficulties which never ceased to surround them. May we in like manner remember that the duty of a Christian demands something more than the mere sacrifice of a few hours at the place of devotion, or of a few sighs and prayers at the table of the sacrament. May we remember that, like the Christians of old, we have to maintain a perpetual warfare; that we are never to throw aside the armour VOL. VI.

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of faith and of fortitude and of principle; that we are to carry Thy religion about with us as the guide and the ornament of our lives, as our staff to support us amid the distresses of the world, and as our shield against its difficulties and temptations. We pray for Thy blessing on this awful and important solemnity. May it be the instrument of conviction to the guilty; may it be the instrument of repentance to the alarmed; may it be the instrument of faith to the penitent; may it be the instrument to the believer of reformation and perseverance in righteousness. On this day, devoted to the celebration of a Saviour's love, may we think of our unworthiness; how helpless and unable of ourselves; how daring and multiplied our offences; how forgetful of our duty; how insensible to the awful considerations of death and judgment and eternity.

On this day may the hearts of the penitent be filled with the consolation of Thy promises. May they acknowledge the faith of the gospel as their only remedy and their only rejoicing. May they see in their remembrance of a dying Saviour that there is a hope for the guilty who reform, and for the most abandoned of characters, if he turn from the evil of his ways. May they shake off the melancholy which oppresses them, and rise to the sublime confidence of the gospel; and may they no longer resist the animating hope of forgiveness when they think of the Son of God divesting himself of the glories of His nature, descending from heaven, assuming the infirmities of a man, submitting to a life of cruelty and mortification, and to a death the most painful and ignominious; and all to impress upon the hearts of the penitent the joyful lesson of pardon and immortality.

On this day may believers gain additional strength to their principles, and renewed vigour to their purposes of obedience. May this act of devotion send them back to the world more prepared for the exercise of its duties. May it be something more than a mere momentary exercise, the effect of which expires with the performance. May it be seen many days hence, and may it yield in abundance the fruits of purity and of righteousness.

As we sit together at the same table, may we live together as children of the same God, as brethren of the same nature, as disciples of the same Saviour. May the hearts of all be improved, and consoled, and exalted. May we think of that eternal feast which Thou hast prepared for us. May every thought be withdrawn from the vanities of a perishable world. May we have our eye heavenwards, where