the natural and moral disposition, instead of viewing baptism as the incarnation of a new life, which can only become vigorous and strong by diligent cultivation. It is made by them to be every thing, as if it were the finishing, instead of the beginning, of the divine love, and what is, at best, a moral improvement is substituted for the progress of spiritual life, and the good order of the outward conduct is mistaken for that growth in grace, that conformity to the image of God which is described in Scripture as the proof of " the exceeding greatness of his power towards us who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead." My brethren, if baptismal regeneration be thus abused, if it be indeed employed in lulling the soul to rest, under the urgent calls of Scripture to repentance, to a new and holy life, a spiritual life, a life above the world, a life in Christ, then, indeed, it may be, as men have laid to its charge, it may be most fearfully destructive. But this is its abuse-and what doctrine of our holy faith may not be abused? Use it arightly, and no stronger inducement can there be to diligence than the thought, that we have been born again to God. Seeing that you are called with such a call-that you are admitted to such grace, give diligence to make it sure. Having re

ceived this seed of a new life, take heed, lest from any neglect of yours, it shall perish and die away within you. Having been cleansed from all sin, and having put on a pure white robe, keep it lest it be defiled; for, as many as have been baptized unto Christ Jesus have put on Christ. It was in this point of view that the Apostle looked upon it when he said—“ work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure." It is this very fact, that a new nature has been given you, this very fact, that you have been washed from your sins-that there is something within you which has no fellowship with earthly things, but essays after a higher state of existence-that there is in you what is born, not of man, but of God-it is this fact, truly realized, which will inspire the Christian with a holy dread of neglecting, or of losing, such a precious gift. It is too sacred to be trifled with-God is working in you, and can you refuse to co-operate with God? It is a seed of heavenly life

-nay, of divine life, which he hath put within you-can you dare neglect it? Such was the way in which the Apostles thought this doctrine would operate. They did not dread the drowsy influence, as some have profanely termed it, of baptismal grace. They did not dread, that by setting before Christians their privileges, they would induce them to be idle; but they urged Christians, on the very ground of possessing such grace, to walk worthy of their vocation, to avoid sin, and to have all Christian graces-on the ground that they had in baptism "put off the old man with his deeds, and put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of him that created him."

Another inducement to this duty, urged in the text, is to be found in the great mercy of God in forgiving our sins. Such, assuredly, ought to be the influence of this truth, and we may assert, when truly believed in, it must be its influence. If God were an unforgiving God, if, in looking up to Him, we could see nothing but stern, inexorable justice, calling us to an account for our transgressions-if we could see nothing but a God, whose just anger we could never hope to appease, and whose favour we could never hope to participate, then, indeed, we might give up the conflict in which we are engaged in despair, and then we might feel every effort discouraged. Our service would be fruitless-we could never look for its acceptance. But, brethren, we know it is not so. God is merciful, and will forgive us our sins-but we must diligently seek him. "My little children," said St. John, after speaking of the divine forgiveness-"these things I write to you, that ye sin not" that is, I write to you of God's forgiveness, in order that we sin not-" and if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and he is the propitiation for our sins." Rightly viewed, it is one of the strongest inducements to diligence, to strenuous efforts to make our calling and election sure, that God may be acceptably served even by us sinners-that he pities our weakness and remembers that we are but dust, and that if any of us be overtaken in a fault, we may yet, on our true repentance, be restored— that God does not watch for our falling, does not desire to take us at a fault, so to speak; but even when we have forsaken him, when we have gone back from him, he is even

still more ready to receive us than we are to return to him. It is a fearful evil to observe how this mercy of God is abused by professed Christians in this day-how, instead of making it a stimulus to exertion, they are using it as an excuse for their slothfulness. When urged to greater diligence in heavenly things, and to more frequent attendance on the ordinances of the Church, when told that unless they do use more efforts to subdue their fleshly appetites, and unless they are more diligent in using the appointed means for overcoming sin, that iniquity will be their ruin, they in fact regard such preaching as an infringement on the liberty of the Gospel! If you suggest that their sin and neglect may ruin them, they say it is impossible, because Christ died for them; that they know they are God's children, and that it is quite out of place to speak to them about condemnation. If you tell them that through their negligence they may fall short of heaven, they reply, this does not depend on human effort, for that Christ has secured their inheritance. If the danger of a fall into perdition be held up before them, they will tell you they know that God is merciful and will forgive them, and will not allow them at any rate finally to fall. Thus they flatter themselves in their own eyes, while they are walking in the road to destruction. They feel no necessity for diligence; nay, even so far do they carry their vain notions, that they look with a kind of suspicion on all such exhortations, and on any exertions more than ordinary, they are alarmed, lest the freedom of the Gospel should be endangered, and the work of man substituted for the grace of Christ; just as if-monstrous conclusion-Jesus Christ had worked in order to allow them to be idle, and had expiated sin by his own death, in order to render them less careful to avoid it. No, brethren, be assured of this, that if it be an inference practically derived by any one from the doctrines of Christ, that there is less danger in trifling with sin, because Christ has died for us, or that diligence in man is less needful; in a word, if any suppose, so to speak, that man has less to do in the work of his salvation than if Christ had never died, that man has most assuredly miserably deceived himself, and perhaps is committing a sin more heinous to be perpetrated-perhaps more heinous than even the sins of the gross sinner-for what can be more fearful, what can be more

insulting to God, what can be more dreadful, what can bring down a more fearful punishment upon our heads, than if we make Christ to be the minister of sin? The LAMB Of God, the holy LAMB OF GOD, to contribute to the sinfulness of man!

Another inducement to diligence is to be found in this, that our standing is by God's election-an election of Grace. The exhortation is, you will observe, to make our calling and election sure. The very terms then teach us to trace up our standing in the Church to God's election-to God's having chosen us-and this is the pledge to us, that he will never leave us or forsake us, and that no one shall pluck us out of his hand, for the decrees and callings of God are without repentance. This fact, that we are elected of God, is an assurance to us that we shall not be left to our own resources. God has chosen us to be his own children, a consideration, as our Church has taught us, "full of sweet, pleasant, and unspeakable comfort to godly persons, and such as feel in themselves the working of the spirit of Christ mortifying the works of the flesh and their earthly members, and drawing up their minds to high and heavenly things, as well because it doth greatly establish and confirm their faith of eternal salvation, to be enjoyed through Christ, as because it doth fervently kindle their love towards God." God then has elected us. Let us derive the comfort we ought to do from this blessed truth. Our baptism is a pledge to us that God has elected us, but it is for us to make that calling and election sure-to make it firm by diligently watching against all that may frustrate the grace of God-giving all diligence to make your calling and election sure. These, remember, are the words of the Holy Ghost. I am aware that there are those who, in order to reconcile this passage with their views of election, would understand it to mean, make your election sure to yourselves, that is, not to make it more firm in itself, not to make the standing of the Christian more firm, which they say cannot be more firm than it is, but to induce a stronger conviction of it in the minds of the elect. But this is a mere subterfuge to escape the plain import of the words. View the passage in the context, and the import of it cannot be mistaken; the last words of the text make it clear to every reasonable mind. If it were merely to increase a conviction

in the minds of the elect, the words would have been—if ye do these things ye shall be the more comforted, and shall be the more strongly convinced, or something to that effect; whereas the Apostle says plainly, "if ye do these things ye shall never fall"-obviously implying, that if they neglected to do these things they would fall, or, at least, would be in great danger of falling.

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I am not careful to perplex either you or myself with difficulties which may seem to grow out of this sentence. may be told that God cannot be frustrated in his purposes, and that which he foreknows, must ultimately come to pass; and this I fully admit. We may be told again that every Christian, who is faithful to the end, is indebted for his perseverance to God's grace; and this I too would most earnestly contend for. It may seem to some to follow, from these admissions, that in God's elect there is an impossibility of failure that there is no real danger of any true Christian finally losing his heavenly reward; but to this I must refuse assent, because the Scriptures clearly set before us that danger, and warn us against it. It is a blessed thing to stand as one of God's elect; but we must give diligence to make this election sure-this standing sure. Let us understand then plainly of what God's election does assure us. It assures us of this that we stand in God's favour-that God has taken us to be his children and his people—that he has established his covenant with us. It assures us, again, that we are not left to struggle in our conflicts with our own poor weak resources, but that God is on our side, and is pledged to help us by his heavenly care. It assures us again that no temptations shall prove too strong for us, for that "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it." Thus far we are assured by the baptismal seal; but if any one will say, this does not satisfy me-I want more—] e-I desire to know that however I may sin, however I may be overcome by temptations, however I yield to iniquity, that I cannot finally fall;— then, assuredly, no word can be found in holy Scripture that will satisfy him. On the contrary, he will find himself warned against sinning wilfully after that he has received the