trust only in the infinite mercy of God. Make that use only of the law for which it is designed under the gospel. St. Paul speaks of the law as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we may be justified by faith. The law shows us our lost condition. Let us, therefore, take it not as either in whole or in part, a mode of justification, but as a rule of life; and as a rule of life it is incumbent upon us for our observance. But remember, after all you have done, you must still say, that you are unprofitable servants. You must plead your interest in Christ, and Christ must be all in all.

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SERMON X.

PSALM XXV. 7.

"Remember not the sins of my youth nor my transgressions, according to thy mercy remember thou me, for thy goodness sake, O Lord.

WE read in the word of God, that it is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment. Whoever seriously thinks upon subjects so solemn, may well tremble; and even he who has a good hope through grace that his sins are pardoned, cannot think upon death and judgment without feelings of awe. For it is then, that all sin which is remembered by God, all sin which is not blotted out by the blood of our Lord Jesus, will be brought to

trial; and when divine justice is the accuser, who that is accused shall stand?

Thus we may imagine did the holy psalmist feel when he uttered the prayer in our text. He knew that if God were extreme to mark his iniquity, he could not stand, no, not if it were those sins only which had been committed in the time of youth, a time which persons who think too lightly of sin, are apt to call a time of thoughtlessness and inconsideration, to which much is to be excused and much indulgence extended. Sometimes, indeed, we may hear the sins of the young spoken of in such mild terms, that it might almost be supposed that they were scarcely sins at all. But such language is much to be deprecated, for, however maturity of years may be an aggravation of guilt, still sin is an evil and bitter thing, and a transgression of the divine law, by whomsoever it may be committed. God himself regards it in this light, and his word gives many instances of the punishment he has inflicted

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upon the young as well as the old. If the holy scriptures, however, contained no more on the subject than the passage which is our text, it would be sufficient to teach us. God remembers the sins of youth no less than all other transgressions. David did not look upon them as mere venial errors, but regarded them with grief and sorrow. His language is earnest, and deeply expressive of anxiety that his prayer should be heard and answered; and at the same time shows the distress of mind with which the retrospect of his earlier years inspired him.

Our own observations too, will tend to show that such a view is the right one. Every day we cannot but see some proof that God "remembers" the sins of youth even in in this world. He has willed that the manner in which youth is spent, has generally an effect on the rest of our lives. Thus an intemperate youth usually produces debility, extravagance, poverty; a neglect of good opportunities and a disre

gard of wise counsel, many evils which otherwise would not have happened and which cannot be repaired. Even if a man should afterwards turn from the error of his ways, an indulgence of sin in youth often occasions a perversion and impurity of mind through the rest of life, which is a sad annoyance and torment to a heart that has been renewed by the grace of God; and if a man should continue unconverted, like a guard it retains possession of its garIn these and many other ways we see the divine punishment of sin in this life; in the next, we cannot doubt it, unless we can believe all revelation to be a fable.

rison.

But while we thus speak, let us remember that the words before us are the words of David, and that they refer to his own youth, and that his was not a vicious or illspent youth. David had feared God from his earliest years. We read of his faith when he slew Goliath, and he was then so young that Saul was fearful of his