gone, the place left desolate. These are silent testimonies-but they are possessed of solemn and stupendous power. They bespeak the operation of feelings and of principles which are lodged in the profoundest depths of men's spirits, and are unquestionably the harbingers of a religious movement, which may be felt for ages and for generations to come, and the issue of which no man can tell.

The princi

Men, indeed, there may be found, who may still continue to talk lightly of these things, as if they were scarce deserving of any serious consideration-as if all would subside again, and that speedily, into silence and forgetfulness. That, however, we think to be impossible. ples at issue are too momentous to warrant such a result. ment, we verily believe, is only beginning, and will continue, we doubt not, to be carried on till Christ's glorious kingdom shall be established, and the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth, as the waters cover the sea.

The move

Meanwhile, let all of you who have given in your adherence to the great principles in question, and who have joined together in the lifting up of an emphatic testimony for the crown rights of the Divine Redeemer, be persuaded and encouraged, in dependence on the grace of God's Holy Spirit, to cleave unto the Lord wholly, and to follow out your testimony to all its appropriate and legitimate results. You have acknowledged the Headship and supremacy of Christ over his own Church, when viewed in the light of a vast community-see also that you acknowledge the Headship and supremacy of Christ over yourselves, when viewed as the individual members of his body. Acknowledge him in every duty, in every privilege, in every ordinance, in every trial— in all the relationships of life, as parents, as children, as masters, as servants, as husbands, as wives-whether you be young or old, whether you be rich or poor, whether you be learned or illiterate-at all times, in all circumstances, in all places, in the family, in the world, in the church. And if you thus acknowledge him as your supreme Head, rest assured that he will acknowledge you as the members of his body, and keep you as the apple of his eye, and preserve you in the hollow of his hand, and shelter you beneath the covert of his wings, and make all things to work together for your good. And though he may lead you into the wilderness and into the valley of trouble, he himself will go with you to turn the wilderness into a place of vineyards, and to open in the valley of Achor a door of hope, that you may sing there as in the days of your youth.

SERMON XIX.

REASONS WHY MEN REJECT THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.

BY THE REV. JAMES HAMILTON, LONDON.

Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth these things shall live by them. But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) Or, who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.) But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith which we preach: That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."-ROMANS X. 1-9.

He was

THE position of the Apostle Paul was a very affecting one. in plenary possession of the great saving truth. The plan of a sinner's acceptance with God had been made so plain to him that he had no difficulty in comprehending it; and he saw such a Divine glory in it that he had no hesitation in taking advantage of it. He not only knew what he must do to be saved, but he knew that he was saved already. He sat in heavenly places with Jesus Christ, and had no more doubt of his final and eternal blessedness, than he had doubt of his Saviour's present love. So far as his personal salvation went, he had nothing to give him uneasiness or gloom. The controversy between God and himself was all settled. He had submitted to that alternative which involves forgiveness. He had submitted to the righteousness of God, and was persuaded that nothing could separate him from the love of God. And on such a serene elevation of personal assurance, you would think that it could not be easy to agitate his bosom, or mar his blessedness.

To an unselfish mind personal security is not always perfect felicity. Suppose that a man has found refuge in a fortress, on the alarm of a sudden invasion, but has not succeeded in carrying all his kindred with him; the first emotion, as he looks over the parapet and realises the commanding position of the castle, will likely be assurance, exultation, gratitude. He looks proudly from the towering precipice, which no ladder will ever scale, and rejoices in those walls of living rock which will shake the bullets harmless from their granite ribs, and is thankful that he has found such a refuge. But, alas! out on the open plain he descries a brother who No. 19.-SER. 19.

has thus far escaped, but who, by some infatuation, is running past the castle gate; and though he shouts and makes signals, and at last catches his eye, and points him to the proper entrance, there is some illusion in the case; for the poor fellow shakes his head, and, leaving the gate behind him, passes round in quest of some other inlet. In such a case, the brother saved, because he knew the impregnable security of the stronghold, and knew so well the narrow gate by which himself got in, would only eye with the more lacerating anguish the wilfulness of that dear brother, who, as the foe drew nearer, was fleeing farther and farther from the door of safety. This was the Apostle's situation. He had found the refuge. He was looking over the ramparts of salvation-looking down from the rock of Immanuel's righteousness, a saved, and, so far, a happy man. Satan, a guilty conscience, a broken law, were all beneath him, and for himself he had now no fear. But there-out upon the plains of wrath-in the open field of danger—were his brethren, his kinsmen according to the flesh. And though many of them were anxious for salvation, and fleeing from the wrath to come, some blindness had happened to them, for scarcely one of them made for the door of hope; and though, in the fulness of his fraternal affection, he had lifted up his voice, and, with loud cries and many tears, directed them to the open door, scarce one believed his report. This was the reason for his trepidation. He himself was safe; but, to see his personal friends, and his beloved countrymen, one by one borne down by their great destroyer, when all his urgency was to them the drivel of one who dreamed, this pierced him to the heart-this made him, on the high places of an absolute assurance, still a man of sorrows. "I am persuaded that nothing can separate me from the love of God; but oh! this great heaviness and continual heartsorrow for Israel-my brethren, my kinsmen!"

In this chapter he adds another reason for his sorrow. It was not merely his patriotic love of his countrymen, and his personal tenderness for those of them who were his own intimate friends and near relations, but it was his respect for the motives and character of many among them. Like the young man whom Jesus loved, some of them seemed not far from the kingdom of heaven. It was not as if they were Atheists, or Infidels, or scoffers, or loose profligates. They were not Atheists; they had a zeal of God. They were not Infidels; they believed in Moses and the prophets. They were not scoffers; for they were extremely anxious to make their salvation sure. And they were not reprobates or libertines; for they had a great regard for the law, and a real anxiety to establish a righteousness for themselves. Their chief objection to the Gospel was, that they imagined it inconsistent with the law, and dishonouring to the character of God. And as this objection was sincerely

felt by many, and indicated a certain zeal for God-though not a godly zeal-though a very erroneous and disastrous zeal-the Apostle made full allowance for their prejudice, while he grieved over it. They were all the more interesting because of their earnestness, and all the more in danger because so earnest in error. Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record, that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.”

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Now, my dear friends, it would be a matter of mere historic curiosity to investigate the reasons which led the Jews, eighteen hundred years ago, to reject God's plan of salvation, if there were nothing parallel to it now-a-days. But, unhappily, the very same thing which wrung the Apostle's heart, is still going on in the world. Multitudes of people, including some of remarkable amiability-some of blameless outward character-some staunch members of Christian Churches-and some who are the beloved friends of Christian men, the fac-similes of these zealous, and orthodox, and interesting Jews, who were so dear to the Apostle -are falling short of heaven, for the same reasons which proved so fatal in the days of Paul. It is a subject on which we feel painfully anxious. Our time is stealing away, and we are fast taking leave of the doctrinal portion of that epistle which most fully explains God's method of justifying the ungodly. We have endeavoured, every time the subject recurred, to make the matter as plain as we possibly could. We hope that we have in some measure succeeded, and that those at least who knew the Gospel plan beforehand, have recognised it in these lectures. But, notwithstanding the obliging patience with which you have listened, we dare not flatter ourselves that all have understood or believed the report. And at this late stage of our progress, we trust it may be useful to mention some of the causes why, with an attainable salvation before them, so many earnest and respectable characters come short of eternal life.

I. Ignorance of God's righteousness. Many of these Israelites did not comprehend the righteousness of God. It is the glory of heaven that there is nothing unholy there. And whether they be the natives of the place, or the denizens that have been gathered in from afar, no one remains in it, and no one finds entrance to it, who is not perfectly righteous. The flaming gates of old Eden did not more effectually exclude pollution than the holy gates of heaven do. It is their peculiarity and their glory, that imperfection cannot pass through them. A perfect righteousness is the only passport into the presence of a holy God. This is right. It is right that the palace of the great King should be pure as he himself is pure. It is right that no trace nor token of the abominable

thing which he hates-no symptom of sin-should be detected in the place where his glory dwells. And we can easily conceive, that there are worlds whose innocent inhabitants are admitted in virtue of their own innocency-worlds, whose spotless citizens, when their season of sojourn elsewhere is ended, have only to appear at the pearly gates, and they forthwith lift up their heads, and let the righteous nation enter. But this world of ours contains no righteous resident. There is no such thing on earth as a spotless soul. The only real righteousness now extant upon earth is a righteousness which came down from heaven. The Word was made flesh. God dwelt with man. In the guise of frail mortality, Jehovah's Fellow and his own dear Son obeyed each precept of the law, and fulfilled all righteousness. He bare our sins in his own body on the tree, and his bitter sorrows were ample satisfaction for those sins. His blood cleanseth from all sin, for it is precious blood-blood Divine. But it is not enough that guilt be cancelled. The rebel's attainder may be removed, but he may not be restored to his place beside the sovereign's person, nor put anew in his patrimonial possessions. The sentence of condemnation may be removed, and yet there may not be the shadow of a claim to any recompense. A creature may be cleansed from the pollution of actual sin, and remain in all the insipidity and unattractiveness of no positive righteousness. Now, herein consists the completeness of the great redemption. During the thirty years which preceded his directly expiatory work, the sinner's Representative was living a life of vicarious obedience. He was obeying those commandments which we should have obeyed, and fulfilling that righteousness which we should have fulfilled. During the three years of his public ministry, and during the thirty years that went before it, he came in contact with the law in all its breadth, and obeyed it in all its strictness. Year by year he was accumulating that merit which he needed not for himself, but which, he knew, was needful for every one that would enter heaven. And, in order to account for those unregistered and unknown years which elapsed between his birth and baptism, you must remember that the Saviour was then going about a most important part of his Mediatorial work,—that he was obeying in his people's stead, just as afterwards he suffered in their stead-that the Child Jesus was then doing what the law of God requires that every child should do, and what will be counted the obedience of every child that belongs to Jesus-that the Man Christ was doing what every son of Adam should have done, and what will be counted the obedience of every man who believes in Jesus. He meted out to himself the average measure of mortal days. He accomplished the years which go to a common generation, and filled up all these years with a rich and redundant obedience-an obedience which covered either table