sincere repentance toward God, and a lively faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ are found; there the gratuitous promises of the gospel take their full effect. When, therefore, we read in the Psalms:-Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered;-in Isaiah, Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon ;-in Ezekiel, Have I any pleasure at all that the wicked should die? saith the Lord God: and not that he should turn from his ways and live ?— when we hear the Divine Redeemer's encouraging declarations, They that are whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick; I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance: and, All that the Father giveth me shall come to me and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out ;-when these declarations are confirmed by St. Paul in these words :-This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ;—and when, finally, the chapter, which completes the canon of inspiration, addresses the following invitation to all, without distinction :-The Spirit and the Bride say, come. And let him that heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely;-when, I say, we read these, and other passages of a like nature, shall any one instil into our minds the belief that they are applicable ouly to the instances of primary conversion from Judaism and Gentilism to Christianity, and not to those who,

having been admitted into the Christian Church by baptism, have afterwards swerved from their baptismal engagements? Shall any one presume thus to make the gospel of Christ of none effect, by blindly adhering to the traditions of the ancient Church? Whosoever ventures to do this, incurs a fearful responsibility. Such a mode of interpreting Scripture tends to confirm sinners in their impenitence, by driving them to despair,frustrates the gracious designs of the gospel-converts a large portion of the inspired volume into a dead letter, as being inapplicable to those who are born in a Christian land and baptized in their infancy-and counteracts the purpose of our blessed Lord's divine mission, which was, according to his own explicit intimation, to seek and to save that which was lost. It is, moreover, entirely inconsistent with the solemn charge addressed to us at our ordination, (a charge strictly in unison with our Saviour's words) when we are reminded that it is our office "to seek for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad, and for his children, who are in the midst of this naughty world, that they may be saved through Christ for ever." *

In the discharge of this office, and, especially in preaching and using "both public and private monitions and exhortations as well to the sick as to the whole," nothing can be more manifest than the indispensable necessity of duly appreciating the extent and magnitude of the moral evils which it is our business to correct. If by the adoption of a theological system, which is

* See Appendix v.

acknowledged by its partisans to be at variance with that of the Reformers, we are led to imagine that the aggregate of sin and wickedness, by which we are surrounded, is less than it really is; or if, in the application of the remedy which the gospel provides for man's guilt and depravity, we are under the influence of erroneous views, the result must be irretrievably fatal to those who are committed to our care. Should a physician mistake the symptoms of a disease-be unconscious of its malignity-ignorant of its fatal tendency-or evince a want of skill and judgment in the treatment of it, the consequences to be anticipated, in either case, are equally disastrous.

The train of argument, which I am about to pursue, relates, neither to those who are immersed in the darkness of Pagan ignorance and idolatry, nor to all, without distinction, who profess and call themselves Christians : but, as I have already observed, exclusively to the members of the Church of England. Although it is a part of our duty, as we may have opportunity, to recover and bring back to its fold those who have gone astray from it; yet our chief concern is with such as are within its pale, and to them our public ministrations are directed.

If, then, we proceed to form an estimate of the moral condition of our respective parishes, and institute a careful and anxious scrutiny into their spiritual state, what will be the result? Shall we, for the most part, have reason to believe that the larger proportion of our people have preserved their baptismal covenant inviolate,

and have never forgotten the impressive signature of the cross, by which they were pledged at all times to witness a good confession, and under the banners of the great Captain of their salvation to maintain an unceasing conflict with the enemies of their souls? Or, rather, will not the painful conclusion be forced upon our minds, whether we be willing to give it admission or not; that the great majority of baptized Christians have shamefully deserted the standard under which they were enlisted, and have been forgetful of their solemn vows and renunciations ? * Must not the incontrovertible evidence of facts constrain us painfully to acknowledge that too many have received the grace of God in vain, and that, whatever may be the nature and extent of baptismal grace, with regard to multitudes, it has become wholly inoperative, and, by enhancing their responsibility, has left them under an increased load of guilt? I speak not of the openly immoral, flagitious, and profane alone. I pass over the drunkard, the debauchee, the swearer,

The following observations of Cyril on the renunciation of the "works of Satan and all his pomp," are deserving of attention:-" Then in the second sentence thou art told to say, 'and all his works.' Now the works of Satan are all sin, which it is necessary to renounce also;-just as if a man has escaped a tyrant, he would have doubtless escaped his instruments also. All sin, therefore, according to its kinds, is included in the works of the devil Then thou sayest, and all his pomp.' Now the pomp of the devil is the madness of shows, and horse-races, and hunting, and all such vanity: from which that holy man, (the Psalmist) praying to be delivered, says unto God, Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity. Be not interested in the madness of the shows, where thou wilt behold the wanton gestures of players, carried on with mockeries and all unseemliness, and the frantic dancing of effeminate men. Shun also horse-races, that frantic spectacle, which subverts souls. For all these are pomps of the devil.”—Cyril's Catechetical Lectures. -Lect. xix., § 55. 5. 6.

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and the Sabbath-breaker ;-though, alas! too many of these are to be found amongst us. I would turn your attention to others of a more dubious and equivocal description. The proud, the vindictive, the covetous,— all who are living in conformity to the sinful fashions of a world that lieth in wickedness; all who are lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God; all such characters as these, however free they may be from the stain of the grosser sins, must be included in the numbers who are not fulfilling the stipulations of their baptismal covenant. Against them the curse of the broken law is explicitly denounced. Such men are described, in the language of inspiration, as minding the things of the flesh-as being carnally-minded. But the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be ; and, they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

It would be superfluous to adduce any arguments to prove that such persons are in an awful state of condemnation. Besides the guilt incurred by each specific infringement of the precepts of the moral law, there is the aggravation resulting from the forfeiture of invaluable privileges, and the violation of solemn vows. Besides the original tendencies to evil interwoven with man's fallen nature, there are the superinduced habits of sinful indulgence which disqualify the soul for communion with God on earth, and for the spiritual enjoyments and felicity of a future state. So that, until the imputation of sin be removed, and the reigning power of sin be dethroned, no admission can be gained to the king