well as the virtues of the parent; and however much it might have suited our convenience and our wishes that we could at all times have been able to take refuge in the general and indefinite placability of God, there are certain immutabilities of truth the nature of which cannot thus be disposed of; for attempt it as we will, we cannot find repose in the imagination of a law without enforcement, of a lawgiver without authority, of a government without sanction, of a sentence without effect; and so of guilt, without the execution of its proclaimed and threatened penalty and thus the ever-meddling conscience within, as irrepressible as it is importunate, keeps man in the perpetual fear of God, and tells him, with valid authority too, that it is a well-grounded fear. We cannot rid from our apprehensions a jurisprudence-a strict, and guarded, and awful jurisprudence-which enters into the relationship between heaven and earth, and the honours of which cannot be let down without dispoiling the sanctuary of God of all that is great and of all that is venerable. We cannot think of God with confidence or hope whilst we think of ourselves as delinquents at the bar of that august and inviolable tribunal where he sitteth in judgment over us. We cannot even see him to be love through the troubled medium of remorse and fear; and far less can we rejoice or take comfort in it as a love directed to ourselves.

Now, as in counteraction to our first reason for viewing God with apprehension, and thus losing sight of him as a God of love, we adduced one peculiar doctrine of Christianity, so in counteraction to our second reason, we now adduce another peculiar doctrine of Christianity, and that by far the noblest and most precious of its articles. The one was the doctrine of the Incarnation-the other is the doctrine of the Atonement. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent his Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins." By the former-by the doctrine of the Incarnation-a conquest has been made over the imaginations of ignorance; by the latter-by the doctrine of the Atonement-a conquest has been made over not the imaginations, but the solid and well-grounded fears of guilt. By the one, or through the means of a Divine Incarnation, we are told that the Deity was embodied; and thus the love of God has been made the subject, as it were, of ocular demonstration. By the other, or through the means of a Divine sacrifice, we are told that the Deity is propitiated; and thus the love of God has been made to shine forth in the midst of the law sustained and its honour vindicated. It is this conjunction of mercy and peace with truth and righteousness, it is this harmony of all the Divine attributes in the scheme of Redemption, it is this skilful congruity established in the Gospel between the salvation of the sinner and the authority as well as the justice of the sovereign, which so adapts the mediatorial economy under which we sit to all the wants and exigencies of our fallen nature. A naked proclamation of mercy could not have set the conscience at rest, could never have effectually hushed those perpetual misgivings wherewith the heart of the sinner is haunted, and who, by the very constitution of his mortal nature, must, when he does think of God, think and tremble before him as a God of justice. Thus

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it is that peace of conscience and confidence in God can yet be fully restored to the sinner's distempered bosom. That, however, which sinneth must be taken out of the way; and it has been taken out of the way and nailed to the cross of Christ. In this glorious spectacle do we see the mystery of love to the sinner resolved, and the compassion of the parent meeting in the fullest harmony with the now asserted and now vindicated prerogatives of the lawgiver. Thus is justice satisfied and mercy and salvation made sure.

The Gospel of Jesus Christ forms a halo around all the divine attributes; and yet the pre-eminent manifestation of them is, that God is love; for it is the God of love not only rejoicing over all his works, but enshrined with full consent in love, and shedding splendour over all, and amidst all the perfections of the divine nature. And here it should be specially noticed, that the atonement made for the sins of the world, though its direct and primary object be to vindicate the truth and justice of the Godhead, instead of casting obscuration over his love, only gives a more emphatic demonstration of it; for, instead of a love simple and spontaneous and finding its unimpeded way, without obstruction and without difficulty, to the happiness of its objects, it was a love which, ere it could reach the guilty millions whom it longed after, had to force the barrier of a moral necessity that to all but infinite strength and infinite wisdom was insuperable. It was a love which had to force aside the mountain of those iniquities that separated us from God. The high and holy characteristics of a Being who is unchangeable stood in its way; and the mystery which angels desired to look into was how the King Eternal, who sitteth on heaven's throne, could at once be a just God and a Saviour. The love of God in conflict with such an obstacle, and triumphing over it, is a higher exhibition of the attribute than all the love that emanates from his throne on the destiny of sinless and unfallen angels. And then we are taught that for the achievement of this mighty deliverance not only had the Captain of our Salvation to travel in the greatness of his strength, but to sustain a deep and dreadful endurance; the redemption of mankind was wrought out in the midst of agonies and cries, and all the symptoms of a sore and bitter humiliation. "He was wounded for our transgressions;" "He was bruised for our iniquities;" "On him the chastisement of our peace was laid ;" When he bowed down his head unto the sacrifice, he had to bear the full burden of a world's expiation. The affirmation, that God loveth the world, is inconceivably heightened in significancy and strength of evidence in him, who owns the authority of the Scripture and has treasured up these sayings: "God so loved the world"-mark the emphatic word "so". "God so loved the world as to give his only begotten Son;" and "that he spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all;" and "Herein love; not that we loved God, but that God loved us, and sent his Son into the world to be the propitiation for our sins." There is a moral depth and intensity of meaning, a richness of sentiment that the Bible calls "unsearchable," in the cross of Christ. It tells a sinful world that God is righteousness, and that as clearly and

emphatically tells us that "God is love." Before I leave this part of the subject I should like, in as plain and intelligible a way as possible, to meet a question which I consider of great importance in Christianity. You may make out to demonstration that "God is love;" you may make it out as a geometrical attribute; but then the question, in which each of us is personally interested, is to be asked still. How are we to be satisfied that this love of God is directed personally and individually to ourselves? How is it to be established-how are you to understand, that you are warranted that the love of God is for you? I should like you to understand the precise footing on which you are entitled to have such a warrant. I think you have it in the very terms in which the overtures of the Gospel are couched-in the very phraseology and accompanying language, wherewith the offers of reconciliation are made to the world. Well, then, for the purpose of making this doctrine available to ourselves, personally, we must view the love of God, not as a vague and inapplicable generality, but as specially directed, nay, actually and absolutely proffered, and that pointedly and individually, to each of us. It is not sufficiently adverted to by inquirers, nor sufficiently urged by ministers, that the constitution of the Gospel warrants this appropriation of its blessings by each man for himself.

This all-important truth, so apt to be lost sight of in lax and mazy speculation, may be elicited from the very terms in which the Gospel is propounded to us, from the very phraseology in which its overtures are couched. For example, we read in Scripture that it is a message of good news unto all people." To me, therefore, as one of the people, it is good news-for where is the Scripture which tells me that I am an outcast? "Christ is set forth as a propitiation for the sins of the world," and "God so loved the world as to send his son into it." Let me, therefore, who beyond all doubt am in the world, take the comforts of these gracious promulgations, for it is only out of the world, and away from the world, that they do not belong to me. The delusive imagination in the hearts of many, and by which the Gospel is with them bereft of all its significance and effect, is, that they cannot take any general announcement or general invitation that is therein to themselves, unless in virtue of some certain mark or certain designation by which they are specially included in it. Now, in real truth, it is all the other way. It would require a certain mark, or a certain designation, specially to exclude them; and without some such mark, which might expressly signalize them, they should not refuse a part in the announcements and invitations of the Gospel. If the Gospel have made no exception of them, they must either misunderstand that Gospel, or by their unbelief make the author of it a liar if they except themselves. They demand a particular warrant for believing that they are comprehended within the limits of the Gospel call to reconciliation with God. Now the call is universal, and it would rather need a particular warrant to justify their own dark and distrustful imagination of being without its limits. When in the spirit of a perverse and obstinate melancholy they ask their Christian minister, on what ground he would bid them into the household of

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return, what is the ground He stands on a triumphant He is commissioned-now

God's reconciled family, well may he ask in on which they would keep themselves out. vantage footing for his own vindication. mark the import of certain words in the English language, which not only carry invitation to the whole of an assembled multitude, but which brings it home to each individual of that multitude; there are words in the English language by virtue of which you could address a general invitation or offer to every one of assembled thousands, without being under the necessity of particularizing or giving out the name or surname of any one individual in that assembly; and yet by virtue of that word you would give as good and perfect a warrant to treat with the invitation, and to accept the offer given to him and for him to accept, as if he were actually named and surnamed. It is as good a warrant from the four corners of the Bible, as if a message were sent from the upper sanctuary to the world we now inhabit.

What is the commission? "To preach the Gospel to every creature." Mark the import of the word " every." And that takes you in. It is said, "whosoever cometh unto Christ shall not be cast out;" and that takes you in. "For behold I stand at the door and knock, if any man hear my voice and will open the door, I will enter into friendship and peace with him;" that also takes you in. "Look unto me all the ends

of the earth and be saved." There is no outcast spoken of here, and that takes you in. "For every man that asketh receiveth"-and surely if language has any meaning that takes you in. "Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners"-and unless they deny themselves to be sinners, that text also takes them in. So they may cast themselves out of the primary overtures of the Gospel, but they are not forbidden by God, they are only forbidden by themselves. There is no straightening with him, the straightening is in their own dark, narrow, suspicious and ungenerous notions. It is true they may abide in spiritual darkness if they please, as a man for his own pleasure can immure himself in a dungeon, and obstinately shut his eyes to the light; yet notwithstanding that, the light of the sun in the firmament is not more open to all eyes than the light of the Sun of Righteousness is for the rejoicing of the spirits of all flesh. The blessings of the Gospel are accessible to all men in the same manner as water, air, or any of the cheap bounties of nature. The element of heavenly love is in universal division among the dwelling places of men, and the ignorance or unbelief of man is the only obstacle to its reception. It makes a tender to each individual of the human family.

Under the third head of discourse, if we could only work this apprehension of God into our minds-if we could only prevail on you to believe that "God is love," the effect of this on your feelings towards him would be given; the effect would give altogether a different feeling. If we could distinguish it practically and powerfully, as applied in your heart, it would be the instrument of completely regenerating your character, by giving you a different view of God. You would acquire a different feeling in regard to him, you would throw into the recesses of

your moral constitution what might be called the great masterproof of all righteousness; and thus it is that it would be the elemental principle of what is called in the Bible regeneration. Faith would work by love, and you would love that God who first loved you. I should like to direct your attention, just for one moment, to the chapter from whence the text is taken; for, if you pay attention to the chapter, you will find contained in it what is called the moral dynamics of the Gospel. It will make you morally and spiritually speaking a new creature. At the outset, or previous to your reception of the Gospel-previous to your reception of it there is no love in your heart for it by nature. In the 10th verse of the 4th chapter we read: "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." The love all originated with God, not with us. Well, then, in the 16th verse it is said, "And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us." There is an announcement of God's love to us. You ought to give the author of the Gospel credit for it. We ought to believe it. It is absolutely necessary that this belief should be established in the heart beforehand, it takes the antecedency of the affection. The love here never arises before the belief; the belief arises, then the love comes into operation by a great moral attribute; in the 19th verse of the chapter, "We love him because he first loved us." It is just the effect of the love of kindness that begets the love of gratitude; kindness begetting kindness, goodwill begetting goodwill. It is impossible for this love to beget the same in you unless you believe in it as a reality, unless you believe it is stripped of all moral power whatever. That gives you a view of faith. You talk of it being by faith that you are justified, that is sanctification certainly; but I think by justification as by faith we are sanctified. "Faith worketh by love." And love, by its central place over the moral constitution of man, leads to all manner of effects.

Well then, under this third and last head let us suppose, in any instance, that to the tender on the one side (which I have endeavoured to prove is made to every one of the human race)-well, let us suppose that to the tender on one side there is an acceptance on the other that God is taken at his word, and that, instead of being regarded with jealousy or terror as a strict law giver, that he is beheld as a reconciled father through Jesus Christ our Lord. That the dark and impenetrable veil, which had hitherto mantled the benign aspect of the Divinity is withdrawn; that the Mercy Seat is seen in heaven, not the less to be relied on for its being mercy; that the disclosure is made of the love that smiles and welcomes, and blesses and protects you, not the less but the more to be trusted that it is love in full conjunction with righteousness, a love consecrated by the blood of an everlasting covenant, enshrined, conspicuous and triumphant amidst the honours of a vindicated law. Only imagine a translation of this sort! A translation truly out of darkness into the marvellous light of the Gospel; and though not perceived with the light of the Gospel in the mind, the love of the Gospel in the heart will follow in its turn; and that that love of good