strength, and our neighbour as ourselves, is more than all whole burnt-offerings and sacrifices. Repentance towards God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, as sent of God, self-denial, humility, meekness, and the spirit of forbearance and forgiveness, are duties which cannot be omitted in a course of evangelical preaching.

These

In evangelical preaching, duties which the gospel enjoins are enforced by such motives and considerations as are authorized by our Lord and Master. are various, and some of them infinitely weighty. Indeed all the peculiar and important doctrines of the gospel, when properly illustrated and understood, are so many motives to love and obedience. To this end they should all be applied. All the doctrines of the gospel relating to the character of God, his government of the world, his sending his son to be our Saviour; all the doctrines relating to the character of the Messiah, the object of his mission, his death, resurrection, and ascension, and all that relate to the character and condition of men in the present life, and what they must do to be saved, together with the doctrines of a future resurrection, a day of judgment, and final retribution; these all are reasons and motives for that love and obedience which the gospel requires. When, therefore, the doctrines of the gospel are correctly stated and illustrated, with a view to excite Christian affections, and to promote Christian unity and Christian practice, they are

treated in an evangelical manner; such preaching is evangelical preaching.

It may be proper more distinctly to remark, that evangelical preaching implies a benevolent object, and a humble, faithful, and beneficent temper. The gospel flows from the benignity of God; it was preached by his Son with the most humble and faithful, and benignant disposition, and in a manner calculated to awaken the attention and to conciliate the affections of all who were not under the dominion of pride or prejudice. He had no party object in view. He sought the good of all. He was faithful in reproving both his friends and his enemies. But even the severity of his reproofs was tempered with compassion. He felt for sinners as all ministers ought to feel. The great object of gospel preaching is to make men wise unto salvation, to persuade them to become the humble and obedient disciples of Jesus, and to walk in love one towards another, that they may serve their generation by the will of God, and become meet for the inheritance of saints in heaven.

From this concise view of evangelical preaching will it not appear, that too much of the preaching, which has by some been called evangelical, is far from being entitled to that appellation? And that many disCourses are censured as not evangelical, which are strictly conformable to the preaching of the Lord Jesus. How often have sermons been termed evangeli.

cal, when the very object of them was to excite and inflame the passions and prejudices of one sect of Christians against another; and when the spirit and manner of delivery have been perfectly indicative of such an unwarrantable object! On the contrary, how often has plain, practical, and important sermons been reproached as not evangelical, when the sentiments of the discourses have been in perfect harmony with our Saviour's preaching? Is it not a lamentable fact, that mere effusions of party spirit, with a few appropriate sectarian phrases, will by many be denominated evangelical preaching, while by the same persons the most serious, important, and well written discourses on Christian morality will be reproached as more becoming the character of Plato or Seneca than that of a Christian minister? To such a person we would seriously recommend one more careful perusal of our Saviour's sermon on the mount, and, after an impartial examination, let him ask himself this solemn question:-Had every sentiment in

this sermon been contained in a discourse of a minister against whom I have strong prejudices, and nothing discordant with these sentiments found in it, should I have allowed the discourse to be evangelical ?

Imperfection is doubtless attached to all the preaching of the present day; and every preacher needs the candour of his brethren and his hearers. The defects of some are greater than the defects of others; but if more respect were paid by all preachers to the sentiments contained in our Saviour's discourses, and to the temper with which he delivered them, there would probably be less occasion and less disposition among ministers to censure one another. I am far from desiring that any class of ministers should discard scripture phraseology in their preaching, or that they should omit to urge Christian morality from Christian motives; but I wish all Christians to be made duly sensible, that there is at this day, in several particulars, a most striking difference between gospel phraseology and that which passes with many for evangelical.

OF PRAYING FOR ONE ANOTHER;

II. Or the distinction here made between sins, there is a sin unto death; and there is a sin not unto death. For those known to

be guilty of the former, we have no encouragement to pray. I do not say that he shall pray for it: but a promise is made that

prayers for other sinners shall not be in vain. He shall ask-be who sees another sin, a sin not unto death, and he [God] shall give him life, for them that sin not unto death. But what is the sin unto death?

St. Paul says, The wages of sin is death.* Here no distinction is made and doubtless, every sin deserves death, and would be the occasion of it, were strict justice executed upon it: but God is merciful to our unrighteousness. Sinners may find mercy with him. If it was not so, who could be saved? There is none good but one; that is God. There is not a just man upon earth, who doth good and sinneth not.‡ All have sinned.§

What then is the sin unto death? There is one sin which is certainly unto death-blasphemy against the Holy Ghost. This sin our Saviour hath declared shall not be forgiven, either in this world, or that to come.T Could we know that any person had committed this sin, we should have no encouragement to pray for him. But in this age of the world, it is perhaps impossible to know that any one hath committed it. The sin, which our Lord declared unpardonable, was imputing to infernal agency that which was evidently wrought by the spirit of God.As casting out devils, or demons, with a word, which was done by Christ. That Christ was holy; that he reproved sin, and called men to holiness, and set the example of it, his enemies could not

deny. It must then be the last stage of depravity, which could attribute to infernal agency, miraculous power used only to do good, both to the souls and bodies of mankind. Such was the use our Saviour made of power. All his miracles were totally different from those pretended to be wrought by the sorcerer, or juggler, both in their nature and manner of operation; they were miracles of mercy, every way worthy their divine author, and evinced a power divine in the sent of God. To charge one who went about doing good, and only doing good, with being in league with the powers of darkness, who are full of malice and wickedness, what absurdity, as well as impiety! Such was this sin, which Christ declared should never be forgiven. We can conceive of no means which could operate on such sinners—people who could sin thus wilfully against the clearest light. But nobody is now circumstanced as those sinners were-hath such proof of Christ's truth as they had, they cannot therefore sin against such light, or abuse such advantages. We are not sure therefore, that that sin can now be committed.

There is indeed that which somewhat resembles it; the part sometimes acted by those who have great awakenings, strong and deep convictions of sin, its sinfulness, and their own sinfulness and need of mercy to pardon, and grace to save them. Some who are thus made to

¶ Mat, xii, 31.

tremble in the way to destruction, and brought to resolve against sin, and bind themselves with promises, of which God is witness, to forsake sin and follow after holiness, afterwards drive away their convictions, and return to their former course of wickedness, or of carelessness and security in neglect of religion. It is rare that such are afterwards brought to repentance. They commonly sin with less concern after such awakenings than before them. The unclean spirit, which was driven out, returns with seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there; and the last state of that man is worse than the first.* The author of the Epistle to the Hebrews had these in view, when he wrote as follows:-It is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come,-if they fall away to renew them again to repentance: seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to open shame.t How far those here intended had enjoyed the proofs which Christ and his inspired Apostles, gave to those who lived in that age, and how far they differed from those who now have strong convictions which they shake off, and become again secure in neglect of religion, we know not; but when we witness persons so circumstanced, it fills us with concern. Such apos

Matt. xii. 45.

tates are often seen not only more hardened and unfeeling than before, but frequently they become skeptical-doubt the truth of Christianity-perhaps whether eternal consequences will follow the part they act here, or whether they have any thing to do in religion, or have ability to do any thing, which will render their salvation either more or less probable. Such cases sometimes occur, especially in places where awakenings have been numerous and such people are generally more hostile to rational and scriptural religion than any others. It is observable, that none of those rated in the scripture to have been guilty of the unpardonable sin, ever afterwards evinced fear, or concern; and it is highly probable, that those who have committed it, are always left of God, to sleep on and take their rest. Let them alone, is the divine order to every thing that might otherwise awaken them; and wherever this order is given, it seals the sinner down to perdition. But as we never know who hath been guilty of this sin, it is our duty to call every sinner to repentance, and to pray for all we see sinning against God. If any of them are not objects of mercy, our prayers may return to us, and God reward us for our benevolent endeavours to save them, though they may receive no benefit from them.

There is another kind of sins which may, in a qualified sense, be said to be unto death. Such

tion.

are wilful sins of every descripIf repentance doth not follow them, death eternal will. But every wilful sin is not the unpardonable sin; many wilful sins have been pardoned, and pardon is offered to every sinner who hears the sound of the gospel. David sinned greatly in the matter of Uriah; and Peter in denying the Lord who bought him: both knowingly; but both were pardoned; and forgiveness is promised to every gospel peni'tent. Christ is exalted to give repentance and forgiveness of sins:* and he is able to save to the uttermost all that come to God by him and will save them. Their sins are blotted out of God's Book ; when sought for they

will not be found.‡

But there is a sin not unto death-a species, or kind of sins; for this is not intended of a sin gle sin-What then is this sin not unto death?—The infirmities, the involuntary errours and mistakes of the children of GodMany of these are found on the best of God's children while enveloped in doubts and darkness here. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.§ This is the language of the Apostle, who includes himself in the sinning number. Perfection is not here. Chris tians hope for it hereafter. The spirits of the just will be made perfect, when they shall come to God the Judge of all, and to Jesus, the Mediator of the New Covenant:

for

that is, when they exchange earth for heaven; but not till then. It is strange, that any should imagine that they have attained perfection here. Such people must be strangers at home; where it is most important to be acquainted, and where we seem to have every advantage for being so. But this is a dark state. Doubtless, the best of God's children, when they reach the world of light, whither they go, will look back and wonder at themselves—at their former views-will see many things wrong, which they here thought to be right; many sen、 timents which they considered orthodox, and contended with honest zeal, to be errors and mistakes, and many things which they did very conscientiously, to have been deviations from rectitude. But though nobody can truly say, I have no sin: where there is sincerity in God's service, and humble reliance on his grace, defects are overlooked-God is merciful to the unrighteousness of those who love him, and act sincerely before him-None of their involuntary errours, in principle or practice, are charged against them, or will be found when the Books are opened for Judgment. These sins of infirmity-are not unto death-all unrighteousness is sin; and there is a sin not unto death; they do not condemn, even at the moment of commissionGod mercifully forgives them;