take away the guilt of sin, that it may not condemn, but the power of sin also, that it may not prevail. “Sin shall not have dominion over thee, believer, for thou art not under the law, but under grace." See, flowing from the wounded side of thy crucified Lord, blood and water; blood to pardon, water to cleanse. It was the design of the dear Redeemer "to destroy the works of the devil;" "to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." The Lord Jesus having thus designed the death of sin in believers by his own death, is ready to apply the power of it for that purpose, to all who believe in him. Come then, by faith, to Jesus; tell him of the power of thy sins, and of thy inability to destroy them; plead the fulness that is in him for thy supply; beseech him to subdue thine iniquities, and leave the matter in his hands. His grace is sufficient for thee; his strength shall be perfected in thy weakness. Expect his help. His power, his grace, his faithfulness, are all engaged for thine assistance, and thou shalt not apply or wait in vain.

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This promised help of the Spirit does not exclude the use of means on our part. The Spirit so works in us, as also to work by us. The duty is ours; the grace is his. We must watch and pray lest we enter into temptation. We must remember his eye is always upon us. must call to mind the obligations we are under, from duty, from gratitude, from baptismal and sacramental engagements; the relation we bear to Christ, to the church, and the world. We must use with moderation the comforts of life, and, instead of pampering the body, bring it under and keep it in subjection.

Thus doing, we shall live. There is no condemnation to persons of this character. Though they find, to their daily sorrow, "the flesh lusteth against the Spirit," they have reason to rejoice that "the Spirit lusteth against the flesh." This is an evidence that they have "passed from death unto life," They live indeed, for Christ liveth in them. They live to purpose, they live to God. And in this, their gradual sanctification, consists their meetness for heaven, where sin shall be all done away. O Christian,

go on. Be not weary in well-doing, fight the good fight of faith, and lay hold on eternal life.

But, O sinner, what will be the end of thy present pursuits?"The end of these things is death." Lay to heart the solemn truths you heard in the beginning of this discourse. Remember that life and death have been set before you; life, if sin be slain; death, if sin prevail. Put home then to thy conscience the important question, Am I living after the flesh, or after the Spirit? And by this you may determine your present state, and future prospects. If thou livest after the flesh, thou shalt die; that is, thou shalt be damned. And are you in love with death and destruction? Is it nothing to you that the terrors of the Almighty are sounded in your ears? Do you love your sins so well as to be damned for them? O, be wiser! "Set eternal pains against momentary pleasures. The pleasures of sin are but for a season, but the pains of sin are for evermore.' "And O, do not flatter yourselves that you may enjoy the pleasures of sin in this world, and yet enjoy the pleasures of heaven in another. The God who says, in our text, " If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die," is a God of truth; he cannot lie. Upon the wicked he will rain snares, fire and brimstone, and a horrible tempest; this shall be the portion of their cup." Come, then, forsake the foolish, and live. Wrong not your own souls. Forsake not your own mercies. Let the time past suffice to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, and to have served divers lusts and pleasures. Open your eyes and behold your danger. Flee from the wrath to come. Confess your sins to God. Beseech him to pardon them; and pray for the Holy Spirit to work faith in your heart, and enable you "to mortify the deeds of the body, that you may live."

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SERMON XXXVI.

PARDONING MERCY.

Isaiah i. 8. Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.

HE pardon of sin has been justly called, The lifeblood of religion. It is this which runs through all parts of the Scriptures, like the blood in our veins, and is the foremost object in the glorious Gospel. No man has a grain of religion, till he sees the need, and feels the want, of the pardon of his sins. No man is happy in religion, till he has reason to conclude that his sins are pardoned. Gratitude for this blessing is the grand incentive to holy obedience, and triumph on account of it forms the bliss of glorified saints. How worthy, then, is this subject of our most serious regard! We all need pardon; and pardon or punishment must be our portion.

Among the precious promises of God's word, this, in our text, is one of the chief. And it appears the more gracious, as it follows a list of most heinous and abominable sins charged upon the Jews. This will appear more clearly by considering the three parts of our text.

1. A CHARGE; 2. An INVITATION; and 3. A PROMISE. 1. The first thing in the text is a CHARGE implied, and more particularly expressed in the former verses of this chapter. The charge is Sin-sin, the most aggravated, the most horrid, the most enormous. Sins, called scarlet and crimson. The greatness of sin is intended by these words. Scarlet and crimson are colours far remote from white, which is the emblem of innocence or righteousness. The saints in glory are represented as "clothed in white robes," and "in fine linen, clean and white," which is the righteousness of the saints. But here, sinners are represented as in garments stained with blood. The bloody, murderous, destructive nature of sin may be intended. Sin has slain its millions. If all the bodies of the dead were heaped up, they would form the greatest mountain in the world; and we might say-sin slew all

these; "for, by one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin; so that death hath passed over all men, for that all have sinned." Some understand by the word scarlet-double dyed-as deeply tinctured by sin as possible; as when any garment has been twice dyed, first in the wool, and again in the thread or piece. So great sinners are twice dyed; first in their corrupt nature, for all men are born in sin; and then dyed again in the long confirmed habits of actual transgressions.

But let us look over the particulars of this charge. Sinners are first charged with Ingratitude, ver. 2. “Hear, O heavens, and give ear, O earth; for the Lord hath spoken; I have nourished and brought up children, and they have rebelled against me." Call a man ungrateful, and you call him all that is bad; but the ingratitude of children is the worst ingratitude. Children are under the greatest obligations to their tender parents, for food and raiment, protection and education; but if, instead of dutiful obedience and affectionate care, they return evil for good, rebellion instead of subjection; it is like fixing a dagger in a parent's heart. Such a trial David felt in the wicked conduct of his beloved son Absalom. In this manner God speaks of man's sin. God is good; and "the goodness of God leadeth us to repentance :" but impenitent sinners "despise the riches of his goodness, and forbearance, and long-suffering; and thus treasure up wrath against the day of wrath."

Again. Sinners are charged with Insensibility, ver. 3. "the ox knoweth his owner, and the ass his master's crib; but Israel doth not know, my people do not consider." It is a sad thing, indeed, that man, who was made in the image of God, should be made by sin like the beasts that perish; yea, worse than they are. The ox is a stupid creature, yet he knows his owner, and submits his neck to the yoke; the ass is more stupid, yet he knows when he is well off, and abides by his master's crib : but sinners are more base, more ignorant, more stupid: "They have the worst qualities of brutes, without the best." They do not know God; they do not consider their duty to God, nor their obligations to God; even Israel, that might and ought to know better.

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They are further charged with forsaking God. All sinners do so. They turn their backs upon him. They say, in effect," Depart from us, for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways:" "What is the Almighty that we should serve him; and what profit shall we have if we pray unto him?" Besides this, they corrupted others. They were not content to eat the devil's morsel alone; they must entice others to poison them with it. And, indeed, this is awfully common among us. When young persons fall into the sin of uncleanness, how active are they to seduce others; when men fall into the sin of drunkenness, how busy are they to engage others in the same vice.

These sins were universal, ver. 4. "Ah, sinful nation, a people laden with iniquity! All orders of people were guilty; the whole head was sick, the whole heart was faint." God knows it is thus in England. We are a wicked people, and the Lord is provoked with us. All the miseries of human life, all the terrors and agonies of death, all the torments of the damned, are proofs of God's anger against sin. Sin is a heavy load, though fools make light of it. And they who make light of it now, are likely to feel its dreadful weight in another world. Sooner or later it will be found a burden too heavy to bear. Happy they who, now feeling its load, obey the kind invitation of Christ, "Come unto me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

The condition of Israel, and of every sinner, is compared, ver. 6. to that of a human body wholly disordered and become intolerably loathsomse. "From the sole of the

foot even unto the head, there is no soundness in it; but wounds and bruises, and putrifying sores; they have not been closed, neither bound up, neither mollified with ointment." See, sinner, thy wretched picture! Sin is the disease of thy soul, and the worst symptom is, thou knowest it not. We pity the ravings of a man in a fever, who fancies himself in health; such is the dangerous condition of sinners, who boast of their "good hearts," or call their abominations "human frailties," or "youthful follies." In the eyes of a pure and holy God, the sinner is far more loathsome than a carcase covered with bleeding wounds, running sores, or filthy ulcers.