so transferred to him, as that he became the sinner. He bore the punishment; but to impute to him the sin itself, so that the sin ceased to be our's, and became his, is unscriptural, and would be, but for the sincerity of the intention, blasphemous.

At page 101 the author says--If you really believe, you possess faith, and this faith unites you to your Saviour. You may then ask for the Holy Spirit. This also is unscriptural; for can a man "really believe" without the Holy Spirit? It is not correct to say he may then ask. I would rather say, "You must ask, you may ask, for the Holy Spirit to enable you to believe, to pray, to desire. Ask and you shall receive;-but if you may then only ask for the Holy Spirit, when you are conscious that you possess faith, you may wait as long as life lasts." This doctrine, in fact, makes consciousness of faith to be the warrant of prayer, and authority for a positive duty.

There is another unfounded position (p. 119): "The Lord seeks and calls those only who are Christians." The position should be Real Christians are those whom the Lord has sought and called.

The truth of sound doctrine, on the various points above adverted to, I conceive to be as follows:

1. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.

2. No works, sufferings, amendments, or repentance, can take away sin.

3. The Lord Jesus Christ has made a full atonement, a perfect redemption.

4. The covenant of grace-that is, the Gospel-freely offers this redemption to the whole world on the terms of repentance and faith. This gives the interest, pardon, acceptance, hope of glory.

5. In proportion as we ascertain the evidence of faith, repentance, holiness, and obedience, we may know that we are passed from death unto life.

6. Redemption is finished; but. salvation will not be finished, till God has "accomplished the number of his elect;" and the church triumphant in one grand chorus shall exclaim, "Thanks be to God, who hath given us the victory through Jesus Christ our Lord."

I give the fullest credit to the good intention of the author in his wish, by his statements, to relieve spiritual despondency, and encourage timid believers; but, as to my own feelings, such statements afford. no satisfaction or consolation. I find satisfaction, consolation, and practical influence only in believing "the faithful saying worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." I am a sinner; therefore I believe that he came to save such as me. He who believeth in Him shall not perish.. The question then is, Do I believe? How is this point to be resolved? I consider by the act of faith, and its evidence. 1. The act of faith is a persuasion of the truth as revealed in the word of God. 2. The evidence is deriving all my hope from the truth; that is, relying on Christ alone for pardon, grace, and glory, 3. The practical evidence is a humble persevering endeavour to do the whole will of God. Can I say, this is what I approve, what I desire, what I endeavour after? And if so, this evidence affords adequate consolation. It is the work of the Holy Spirit: to God be all the praise. Let me trust, as fully persuaded that all salvation is of grace; let me pursue and labour as if all salvation were of works.

one great object to be happy. But what is true happiness; and where is it to be found? Persons greatly differ in their practical reply to these inquiries; and it is therefore the part of true wisdom to endeavour to discover what is the right answer, in order that we may not be misled by vain hopes, and find only disappointment where we looked for solid and durable satisfaction. The Psalmist David, as we find from our text, had come to a decision on this important subject. He saw the large majority of mankind continuing a restless pursuit after good, yet ignorant of what was alone worthy of that name; while he, and the comparatively small number who, like him, had learned to make a wiser choice, were fixing their hopes on God: "Lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us thou has put gladness in my heart, more than in the time that their corn and their wine increased."

Such then are the two great classes of persons into which all mankind are divided: let us now proceed to compare their respective characters and condition; contrasting the many who are seeking all their enjoyment in earthly objects, with the few who have made God their portion. And may our examination of the subject be the means, by the blessed influences of his Holy Spirit, of leading us to make a right choice between good and evil, life and death, the favour and the anger of God; that choice which alone can render us truly safe or happy, either in time or in eternity.

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First, then, we are to consider the condition of the first class of persons mentioned in the text; re`specting whom we learn, that they are numerous; that they are ever restless in their inquiries; and that they are constantly disappointed.

1. They are numerous. "There are many that say, Who will shew us any good?" They are not confined to persons .of any particular age or

station; for among them may be found the young and the old, the high and the low, the rich and the poor, the grave and the thoughtless, the prosperous and the unsuccessful: in short, as before observed, the large majority of mankind, all who have not learned the folly of these vain hopes, and been led to seek far higher enjoyments than the present life can afford.

The reason why this vain pursuit after a mere shadow of happiness is thus natural to every human heart, is, that all mankind having forsaken God, they find a painful void which the manifestations of his favour alone can fill. All having partaken of the sin, feel alike its distressing consequences: having forsaken the fountain of living waters, there is, in the absence of those soul-satisfying hopes and enjoyments which God only can afford, a spiritual thirst, to satisfy which men vainly "hew out to themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which can hold no water."

Most fearful is it to contemplate the "many" who are thus following the vain and sinful courses of our fallen nature; and most justly did our Saviour warn us that "wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be that find it." So universal indeed is this lamentable turning aside from the ways of God, this preference of the creature to the Creator, that when God "looked upon the earth, behold it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth." This was the character of mankind before the Flood; and there is no reason, either from Scripture or experience, to suppose that it has since changed. On the contrary, we every where still continue to witness the same love of the world, its vanities, and its sins, and the same neglect of the obedience due to God, even where there is no gross open viciousness of conduct; the consequence of which is, that instead of enjoying that true repose which the favour of God alone can bestow, men are

ever restlessly saying, "Who will shew us any good?"

2. The nature of this restless inquiry, which, as we have seen, is universal, is strikingly shewn in the question itself. There is no previous care to ascertain what is the right channel for obtaining information that may be depended upon in so weighty a concern. The question is thrown out to the whole world, to the wise and the ignorant, the good and the bad, that each may answer it as he sees fit. And there is also as little care with regard to the object itself as with regard to the persons inquired of respecting it. It is not the highest and the only substantial good that is sought for; but any thing that may be recommended under the name of good; any thing that may seem to afford a chance of gratifying the craving wishes of the inquirer, however really injurious it may, and must, be in its final results. Thus it is that men prefer "the pleasures of sin for a season," to that "recompense of reward" which God has promised to those who by faith make it their choice to "suffer affliction with the people of God," "counting the reproach of Christ greater riches than all the treasures" which the present world can afford.

How various and inconsistent are the answers which are made to the inquiry in the text! What sin is there or folly that has not had its worshippers, and its martyrs? what device is there so futile or so wicked for obtaining what the world calls good, as not to have obtained eager admirers ? But without resorting to extreme cases, without noticing any of the grosser and more discreditable acts of vice or wickedness, we may learn from our text what it is that the great majority of mankind have agreed to call good; namely, worldly prosperity. They have "gladness in their hearts "when their corn and their wine increase." They desire to possess an abundance of this world's riches,

beyond what is really necessary or beneficial to them, in order that they may have the greater opportunity for gratifying their appetites and passions; or that they may indulge their pride and love of worldly consequence and estimation. Like the man described by our Lord, "whose ground brought forth plentifully," they think that true happiness consists in being able to say to their soul," Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease; eat, drink, and be merry;" forgetting that "this night their soul may be required of them." And then "whose shall those things be which they have provided" with such inordinate anxiety, forgetting all the while their highest, their spiritual, their eternal interests?

3. But our text seems further to shew, that not only are persons thus ever restless in inquiring after this world's good, but that their expectations of finding satisfaction in it are constantly disappointed. They are perpetually trying new experiments, but always with the same result. Like Solomon, they discover, that, vary the pursuit as they may, so long as they continue to make the world their god, it proves to be "vanity and vexation of spirit." Even those things which in themselves are blessings, and which, far from deserving to be disparaged, call for a return of unfeigned gratitude to the Author of all mercies, yet, if trusted in as our chief good, soon prove that they are not such by the many cares and pains which attend them. Even health and friends, a good reputation and a bountiful supply of the comforts and conveniences of life, greatly as they may add to our temporal happiness, are too precarious in their duration, and too much subjected to the afflicting reverses which are the just lot of our fallen and sinful nature, to allow their being our chief good. We need something more certain and durable; some

thing beyond the reach of change or disappointment; something equal to the boundless wants of the human soul; something infinite and eternal.

Secondly. Let us then inquire whether any such good is to be found. It is not found, it is not even sought, by the "many;" but is it therefore impossible to be obtained? May there not be some, however few, who have discovered where it is to be sought, and who have actually arrived at the enjoy ment of it? Our text furnishes an answer to these inquiries; for David has left upon record, that he had discovered this invaluable blessing. But, in order to obtain it, he had quitted the beaten track in which the great body of mankind are contented to walk; he did not lift up his voice in the broad way of the world to every passing traveller to shew him some good; some new vanity or gratification which even he, with all his kingly wealth and power, had not yet explored: he went at once to the infinite Fountain of wisdom and happiness; he made his urgent inquiry not of man but of God; and he utters the conclusion he had come to in the language of fervent prayer, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us;" for that "had put gladness into his heart," more than the most ardent worshippers of earthly good had ever found when "their corn and their wine increased."

The light of God's countenance is an expression used in the Old Testament to signify his presence, his favour, and his protection. It might arise from the visible emblem of glory, which rested upon the mercy-seat in the tabernacle, and afterwards in Solomon's temple. When Moses had constructed the ark, he put into it the tables of the covenant which Jehovah had made with the people of Israel, on which occasion the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle; and after this, and for many ages, there rested upon the

ark a bright light, which continued, till the destruction of the first temple. This visible emblem was a standing memorial of the providence of God over the people of Israel; and the withdrawing of it would have portended his greatest displeasure.

Now, God is the source of all good; and the enjoyment of his favour is the great happiness of man. Without this, nothing can make him truly and permanently happy; with it, nothing can fatally injure him. He may be exposed to pain or poverty, to reproach or bereavement; his cup may be mixed with the bitterest dregs of earthly sorrow; but if God be for him, who can be against him? All these light afflictions which are but for a moment, will serve only to work out for him a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. His corn and wine may not increase; on the contrary, he may fall into a state of grievous depression and adversity; the fig-tree may not blossom, and there may be no fruit in the vine; the labour of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no meat; the flocks may be cut off from the fold, and there may be no herd in the stall; yet, amidst all," he will rejoice in the Lord, he will joy in the God of his salvation." By the eye of faith he will "behold things that are invisible" to our mortal senses; and the certainty and surpassing glory of these will support his mind in the darkest hour of affliction. When all other things forsake him; when life itself is fast flitting away; he will still have in reserve a treasure infinite in glory and everlasting in duration; for God is his portion, heaven is his home, and the unspeakable enjoyments of eternity are his bright reward.

But why then, it may be asked, do not all mankind seek their happiness in God? Whence is it, that while so many are pursuing with all their powers of mind and body some short-lived and unsatisfying worldly

good, so few are saying with the Psalmist David, "Lord, lift thou up the light of thy countenance upon us?" The reason is, that in consequence of the Fall of man our affections have become debased, our will perverted, and our spiritual understanding enfeebled. "God is not in all our thoughts;" we "love darkness rather than light, because our deeds are evil." It is necessary therefore that the eyes of our understandings should be enlightened, and our nature renewed, in order that we may choose what is really good. We must become sensible of the sinfulness and misery of our condition, while living "without God in the world;" and we must feel our need of the pardon of our sins, and of the renewal of our hearts after his image. We must also become acquainted with his willingness and his power to make us really happy, and especially with that most exalted proof of his love to us, the gift of his own Son, as a sacrifice for our transgressions, and the promise of his Spirit to renew us in righteousness and true holiness." We must also be so transformed in the spirit of our minds, that we may find our highest happiness in his favour; viewing him as a reconciled Father in Christ Jesus, holding communion with him in prayer and holy meditation, and making obedience to his laws our study and delight.

The temptations to make the world our portion are ever at hand, and press upon us: they appeal to our senses and appetites; they present themselves according to our ages or circumstances in life, in the various forms of profit, pleasure, or worldly distinction, and exhibit innumerable allurements adapted to every taste. But spiritual and heavenly enjoyments, those "good things which God has prepared for them that love him," need to be often reflected upon, and made familiar to the mind by a diligent perusal of the Scriptures, in order that their unspeakable value may be deeply and habitually felt. Even CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 302.

the true Christian himself, the man who has most firmly made the right choice in our text, is so frail and feeble by nature, and so constantly surrounded by the temptations of the world, the flesh, and the devil, that he needs ever to call to mind the true wisdom of his choice, lest, in moments of weakness or despondency, he should be led to join the universal inquiry, "Who will shew us any good," instead of rejoicing, as it is his privilege to do, in the substantial good which he has already found; that infinitely valuable portion which the world can neither give nor take away. He should reflect upon the attributes of God; his wisdom to contrive, his love to bestow, his power to secure, the best happiness of those who trust in him. He should remember his covenant of mercy; and the blessings of pardon and reconciliation, of holiness and support, which flow from an interest in it, by means of a humble faith in Christ Jesus, the Mediator and Surety of that covenant. And lastly, he should fix his mind with ardent faith upon that future inheritance which is reserved for him in heaven, and which, after all earthly good shall have passed away, shall endure for ever, eternal and unchangeable as that gracious Saviour who has gone before to take possession of mansions of heavenly glory in his behalf.

Let us then make the practical inquiry, To which class do we belong? to the many who seek their portion in this life; or to the few who set their affections upon things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God? Let us not follow a multitude, to the ruin of our souls; but strive to enter into that narrow way which leadeth to life everlasting. And, with regard to worldly good, let us in perfect confidence commit ourselves to the merciful providence of our heavenly Father, assured that, if we seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, all other things which are really good for us shall be added unto us.

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