When they wilfully close their eyes, he declares they shall not open them again. (John xii. 39, 40.) This blindness is to be considered as a sin, and as the punishment of sin. In the former view of it, it is to be ascribed to the sinner and to Satan; in the latter, to God, who is the au thor of all judicial strokes. God blinds men's eyes in a way fully con sistent with the holiness and purity of his nature. (1.) By withholding light. He does not make them blind. When he offers them the means of illumination, and they refuse to improve them, he often, as a punishment of their unbelief, refuses to give them an heart to perceive and eyes to see, and ears to hear. He blinds them not by creating darkness in their minds; but by withholding light. He counsels them to buy of him eyesalve, that they may see. But setting at nought his counsels, he refuses to repeat and enforce it, and therefore they remain in darkness. (2.) By taking away that light which he affords them, and which they neglected or abused. God often affords sinners a considerable degree of the common light of the spirit. He opens their understandings speculatively to understand the scriptures. Now when persons thus enlightened do not improve their light, God often takes it away from them. When they do not receive the love of the truth, when they hold the truth in unrighteousness by acting contrary to light, he quenches their light, permits them to fall into errors and into the practice of sins, which tend to increase the bliadues and madness of their minds. Consequently, they must err and stumble in judgment. For none but those who are taught by the spirit have just conceptions concerning sin and duty, virtue and vice.

(4.) Satan employs the world to blind their mind. This is intimated in the text, where he is called the God of this world. He knows full well that the love of the world and the love of God are incompatible. "He that loveth the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” When the world engrosses our confidence and our affections in an inordinate degree, the light of the glorious gospel is eclipsed. The interposition of the world between us and the Son of righteousness produces the same effect in the moral world, that the intervention of the moon between us and the sun produces in the natural world-an eclipse. That the love of the world creates a blindness in the mind, with regard to divine things, has been too extensively exemplified to adm t of a doubt. How did the love of the wages of unrighteousness influence the mind of Balaam, notwithstanding the clear intimations which God gave of his mind to him? The ass upon which he rode reproved his stupidity and madness. Was it not coveteousness which made the Pharisees reject, nay, deride the doctrines of Christ? (Luke xvi. 14.) Was it not the love of the world which blinded the eyes of the rich man, so that he could not get them. opened, until in hell he lifted them up, being in torment? Was it not the same principle, which prevented the young man who came to Jesus, from taking up the cross of Christ? He could not think of abandoning his great possessions and taking up the cross. Was it not the love of money which prevented Judas from deriving any saving advantage from the instructions of Christ, and finally, prompted him to betray his Lord and forfeit his salvation for thirty pieces of silver? Was it not worldly. mindedness, which made Demas forsake the society of the apostles and abandon the work of an evangelist? In a word, was it not the riches and cares of this world, which choked the word in those who are denoted by the seed sown among thorns?

Satan employs the world with more effect in blinding the mind, than any other means. (1.) The enjoyments of the world are sensible things,

and consequently have greater influence upon the mind, than the enjoyments of religion which are matters of faith, and to a worldly man, matters of uncertainty. (2.) They are present enjoyments; whereas, those which the gospel exhibits are future. (3.) They are lawful in themselves; and their evil consists only in the abuse of them. Hence, mankind are less apprised of their danger in blinding their minds. It is highly probable that more are lost through the abuse of lawful enjoyments, than in the pursuit of unlawful gratifications, (4.) The worldling and the covetous make the world their God. "Covetousness is idolatry." (Coloss. iii. 5.) It is true the voluptuary makes his belly his God. (Phill. iii. 18.) But the world, in a peculiar sense, is the God of the covetous man.

There are three things, which make any thing or person our God, esteem, trust and service. Esteem-that which we esteem the chief good and source of our happiness, we make our God. Now a covetous man views the world as his chief good. The temporary transport of passion no man ever yet pronounced his summum bonum, chief good. His reason upon calm reflection, declares them to be vanity and vexation of spirit. But the worldling views the world in a very different light. Confidence or trust—This is what the true God claims from us, but the covetous man gives it to mammon, his god. He makes gold his confidence. The rich man's wealth is his strong city. He "makes a mock at the counsel of the poor, because he puts his trust in the Lord. Serviceour God is entitled to our service. "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." And is not the votary of mammon assiduous and diligent in serving the object of his supreme affections and confidence?

That we are in danger of being enamored and destroyed by the world, appears from the many cautions and warnings which are directed to us concerning its influence. (Read 1 Tim. vi. 8-10-17.)

Having stated the ways in which spiritual blindness is produced, it may be proper to exhibit the evil and danger of it. And

1. It is an evil which affects our better part, our soul. To have a deformed mind, is a greater evil than to have a deformed body. To have the eyes of the understanding blinded, is infinitely worse than to be totally deprived of bodily sight. To have the soul diseased in the slightest degree, is a greater malady than to have the body covered from the sole of the foot, even unto the head, with wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores. In a word, the greatest external beauty cannot make up for the smallest degree of deformity of mind. Of this, however, but few are convinced. Hence, every attention is bestowed upon the body, to the neglect of the improvement and cultivation of the mind. Every means is used to remove a disease which threatens the body, but the diseases of the mind are suffered to commit ravages upon its faculties, without any attempt to check their progress. No efforts are made to subdue the pride, vanity, selfishness, malevolence, ambition, &c., and to nurture the "fruits of the Spirit, which are love, peace, joy, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against which there is no law." But this inattention to the moral improvement of the mind, is an evidence of the blindness of it. If men perceived the value and excellence of their souls, they would not neglect their interests. They would be convinced that it would profit them nothing, though "they were to gain the whole world and lose their own souls."

2. It is an evil which affects the best power of our better part-the understanding. The depravation of the best thing, is necessarily the worst of evils. It is the understanding, which distinguishes us from the

inferior parts of God's creation. The want of it cannot be supplied by a title to a kingdom or the possession of the whole world. Nebuchadnezzar's loss of his kingdom was great, but not half so great as the loss of his understanding. But the whole mind, blinded by the god of this world, is without an understanding. "The fool hath said in his heart, there is no God." "Thou fool, this night shall thy soul be required of thee." He is declared to be the most egregious and stupid of fools. "Vain man would be wise, though he is born like a wild ass's colt." He is like an ass, which is possessed of less sagacity than any other beast of the field; to a wild ass, which has received no improvement from domestication to a wild ass's colt, whose stupidity is still greater than that of its dam. In a word, he is reduced by blindness of mind to a condition more degraded than that of the inhabitants of the stable or of the forest. This is the situation of all mankind (by nature.) Hence we are exhorted to seek the wisdom which is from above; and with all our acquisitions, to get understanding. And to stimulate our search for this inestimable treasure, we are told that the Son of God came into the world "to give us an understanding that we might know him that is true," even the only true God and his Son Jesus Christ, whom to know is life eternal.

3. Spiritual blindness is an evil which, though it primarily and principally affects the understanding, yet it also produces an influence upon all the powers of the soul. This follows, from the influence which the un⚫derstanding has upon those powers. The dictates of the understanding have a commanding influence over the will and affections: when the former are depraved the latter cannot be otherwise. When persons become vain in their imagination and their foolish heart is darkened, they are also given up to vile affections. When they become brutish in their knowledge, they also become brutish in their desires. When Nebuchadnezzer was deprived of his understanding, the heart of a beast was given unto him. This is just the case with regard to every blinded man. He is set upon sensual gratification. He is after the flesh, and therefore minds the things of the flesh. He minds earthly things.

But the affections of the blind man are not only earthly and sensual, but devilish. His heart is filled with passions, whose operations are often pernicious to others, and always to himself. He is under the dominion of hatred to God and man; he is filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envies; being without understandinghe is also without natural affections, implacable, unmerciful. Hence he is pronounced mad as well as foolish; "The heart of the children of men is full of madness, while they live," Hence he is not only an object of pity and contempt for his folly, but of horror and dread for his madness; which renders him not only the enemy of God, but of man. He is full of murder, debate, deceit. He murders his fellow-creature in his heart and somtimes lifts his hand against his life.

4. Spiritual blindness is an evil which increases in proportion to the time it is suffered to prevail. The mind is not blinded at once. As the natural darkness approaches by degrees, so does moral darkness. "Evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived."

5. What renders the evil of spiritual blindness so great, is, that it is judicial. God smites sinners with penal blindness for their misimprovement of the light, which he affords them. This is a judgment, than which none can be heavier. Natural blindness is no certain evidence of

the divine displeasure. To that question, "Who did sin, this man or his parents, that he was born blind." Jesus answered, "neither this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest in hi.m" But when a man is struck with spiritual blindness, it may certainly be inferred that he has sinned, and that the end of his blindness is, that the wrath of God might be made manifest in him. When God smites the ministers of the word with dumbness, or the hearers of it with deafness; (that is to say) when there is either a vail upon the word or upon the heart;-he inflicts one of the most dreadful judgments. How awful is the case of those, who, for their not receiving the truth in the love of it are given over to strong delusions, that they might believe lies and be damned. (2 Thess. ii. 10) Woe be to that person of whom God says: "He is joined to his idols, let him alone." He that is unjust let him be unjust still." Woe be to him, to whom God says "Drink and be drunken, and spue and fall, and rise no more." (Jere. xxv. 27.)

But though an heavy it is a just judgment. When persons will not understand, it is just that God say and swear, they shall not unWhen they will not believe, that they shall not believe. When persons shut their eyes against the light, it is proper that they should be punished with the loss of the powers and the medium of spiritual perception. The hand and the foot which the idle and slothful servant refused to employ were justly bound, and he cast into a place where he would have no opportunity to use them. As God rewards the improvement of grace with the increase of it, so he punishes the neglect of it with the loss of it. "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have abundance; but from him that hath not shall be taken away that which he hath."

God severely threatens children for their contempt of and disobedience to parents. "The eye that mocks at his father and despises to obey his mother, the ravens of the valley shall pick it out and the young eagles shall eat it." (Prov. xxx. 17.) And will God let the person that mocks at his instruction go unpunished? God denounces an awful judgment on unfaithful preachers of the word. (Zach. xi. 17.) "Woe to the idol shepherd, that leaveth the flock; the sword shall be upon his arm and upon his right eye; his arm shall be clear dried up and his eye shall be utterly darkened." The same vengeance awaits those who do not learn and improve the word.

4. Those to whom the gospel is hid are represented as in a lost condition. All mankind are by nature in a lost condition. They are children of wrath, heirs of hell, without God and without hope in the world. This is not the lost condition intended in the text. The Son of Man came to seek and to save them who are lost by nature. But those to whom his gospel is judicially hid are lost without any possibility of recovery. Their being lost implies these things. (1.) That they are lost in the purposes of God from all eternity. The influence which the gospel has upon man, is but the fulfilment of the divine decree. As many as are ordained to eternal life believe the gospel. But to those who are not ordained to eternal life the gospel is hid; "The election hath obtained it, but the rest are blinded." According as it is written, "God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear, unto this day." (Rom. xi. 7, 8.) They are vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. (2.) They are lost with regard to their present state. The "wrath of God abideth on them, and

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they are condemned already." The gospel is to them the savour of death unto death. What softens and enlightens others, tends only to harden and blind them. To them as well as to others the gospel is preached, but as its glory is hid from them, they receive no advantage

from it.

(3.) They are lost eventually with regard to their state in eternity. Thus their portion is complete. In this life they enjoy some privileges and comforts, but in hell they will be punished, not only with everlasting but complete destruction, from the presence of the Lord and the glory of his power.

Oh! how great is the loss which they sustain. It is an incalculable loss. Were they to lose the whole world, it could not be so great a loss. The soul is precious beyond all other things. "What would it profit a man though he were to gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" It is an irreparable and eternal loss. Never will the light of the gospel shine into their minds. They will be filled and surrounded with darkness. Never, never will they regain what they have lost. They once had the offer of salvation and despised it, and therefore they never shall have another tender of it.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. Hence we see the sin and misery of those who reject the gospel. Their Sin. They are unbelievers. They neglect and despise the great salvation. They are devoted to Satan as their God. They give that to Satan which is due only to God. Their misery. They are blind. They are possessed. They are lost, &c.

2. Ignorance is a damning sin. Many suppose that their ignorance will be their apology in judgment. But instead of this, it will be the ground of their condemnation. Many perish for lack of knowledge. God says concerning them, "'Tis a people of no knowledge, therefore he that made them will have no mercy upon them, and he that formed them will show them no favor." It is life eternal to know the only true All Christ's sheep know his voice. In order to salvation, persons must first come to the knowledge of the truth, &c.

3. We may see that persons may have a great deal of religious knowledge and yet have no saving knowledge. It is supposed that those to whom the gospel is hid, may have a speculative knowledge of its mysteries. Hence we read of some who possessed the knowledge of Christ and finally fell away. (2 Pet. ii. 20.) And the Apostle Paul declares it possible for persons to be once enlightened and to taste the good word of God and yet fall away irrecoverably. (Heb. vi. 4-6.)

Mr. EDITOR.-It used to be a custom of the serious people in Scotland to repeat, as they went home, and after they were there, what they could remember of the minister's discourses. Some who were good at the pen took notes as the minister proceeded. Perhaps this latter method might be liable to some objection as a general practice; but the diligence used to retain the matter for the purpose of edifying conversation was commendable. It may be, that sometimes, they made words