of God. He comes into the world, confirmed in our view of th holiness of "The poor captive confined in prison, cannot well be insensible to the misery of his condition, nor wholly unconcerned for his deliverance. But a sinner, whose state is justly compared to his, maybe destitute of all such feelings: and this is, in fact, the case with the generality of sinners. They are unconcerned about their sins. They are not afraid of God's judgments. They see little or nothing to be lamented in their condition. They are not only wretched, and misérable, and poor, and blind, and naked, but morally dead 4 withal: quite insensible to the misery of such a state. "This, however, is by no means the case with the persons here represented Images are used with respect to them, which describe their minds as deeply touched with the sense of their unhappiness. They are not only captives, but they are broken-hearted in their bondage. The good news of redemption is to be preached to them; which would be no glad tidings to those who felt not the weight of their chains: the year of jubilee is to be proclaimed, when all the oppressed were set free; which would be most acceptable to those who were most sensible of their calamity. "And this description of the persons who shall be benefited by the salvation of Christ is perfectly just, and corresponds strictly with the whole tenor of Scripture on the subject." Vol. ii. p. 307. The depth and importance of the following extract from the last of these sermons, we think, will excuse our production of it, even after we have so long dwelt upon these doctrinal views of our author. "If there appears any difficulty in receiving this testimony concerning the end which the Saviour was to accomplish, let us reflect that it was a transaction entirely of its own kind, nothing similar to it being to be found, according to which we may measure its propriety or explain its nature. Let us also bear in mind, that heavenly subjects are not to be judged of by worldly ideas, or tried at the bar of human reason. And hence arises the difficulty of comprehending those parts of Revelation which relate to heavenly things. From the ignorance of our minds and the imperfection of our faculties the Revelation must necessarily be accommodated to worldly ideas. It must be an approximation to truth, rather than truth itself. It must select some earthly analogy, and give an imperfect explanation of hea. venly subjects, by a reference to the earthly subjects with which they best admit of being compared. Thus, in speaking of the proper nature and dignity of the Saviour, and his relation to God, the termSon of God' is used; because the idea of a Son conveys the nearest resemblance of that mysterious union, that intimate connection, which aubsists between Christ and the Father. But yet the term is inadequate to con vey to us perfect conceptions. The union is of an infinitely higher and closer nature, than earthly words can describe, or human imagination conceive. And a great part of the errors of man arises from this source, that he judges of God by earthly ideas, and tries his ways by the scanty conceptions of worldly reason, Vain and foolish proceeding! Every thing relating to God, every thing relating to the ways of God, mocks all the efforts of man's understanding. We cannot form a clear judgment of any one of his attributes, or fully comprehend any of his actions. His ways are in the great deep, and his judgments past finding out. Let us, then, when we approach our present subject; one which treats of the very highest and most solemn transaction between God and man; one, confessed. ly, which has no parallel by which it can be judged, and must therefore rest solely upon its own basis; let us divest our minds of all narrow, partial, grovelling ideas derived from the earth on which we tread, and the poor fallen creatures by whom we are surrounded, and elevate our thoughts to the majesty of God, the sublimity of his attributes, and the glory of his Son. Then we shall see that such was the awful holiness of God, that he thought it right to display that holiness in the most illus trious manner, by making his own Son suffer death as an expiation for sin. Such was his infinite mercy that he withheld not from us his only Son, but gave him up to be the propitiation of our sins. He treats him as the representative of the human race. The Son takes upon him their nature: he bears in his own body their sins: he voluntarily suffers for their sakes:-and God, in accepting what he suffered, accepts them also; pardons, for his sake, their transgression; receives them into his favour, as the redeemed of his Son; and blesses them with infinite and eternal blessings, on account of their relation to him. With him they are raised from death; through him they are translated to heaven. Sanctified by him, their prayers are heard and their imperfect repentance accepted. Through him all mercy, life, and pardon, in a word, all blessings, are dispensed to sinful man." Vol. ii. pp. 348-351. On the second head of extracts, viz. from the practical and experi mental parts of these valuable ser mons, we shall not dwell long; partly because it will need no illustration to the most cursory reader, that the purest and most exalted standard of true scriptural faith and holiness is uniformly set up; but partly also because, if we are to speak freely, we do not think that the peculiar excellence of these sermons consists in that searching closeness of practical application, that anatomy of the heart, that vi gorous appear to the conscience and all the most operative passions in common-place minds, which we see in some writers, whose habits, or whose turn of thought seem to have led them strongly to that department. We find in them more of Howe's "Blessedness of the Righteous," than we do of Baxter's Christian Directory, or Call to the Unconverted:;" more of the reasoning sagacity of Sherlock, than the business-like style of a South, a Barrow, a Secker. Always, however, we rejoice to see the grand and fundamental points of the Christian life most clearly laid down, and most strongly insisted upon. The renovating change, the devotedness of the heart to God, the true sanctification of the soul under the influence of the Holy Spirit, with the broad distinctive line of demarcation" between him who served of men." Vol. ii. pp. 238, 239. eth God and him who serveth him -not," are all stated and appealed to with perfect correctness and decision. As an example, we select out of a multitude of others the following energetic delineation of godliness. To speak in the emphatical language of the Apostle, it is Christ formed in the heart by the powerful energy of the Holy Spirit; in consequence of which the person becomes a new creature, both with regard to his temper and practice: he partakes of a Divine na ture, and those members which were formerly the servants of sin are now employed as instruments of righteousness unto God. This is real godliness; this is what is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, as well as of that which is to come. The form of godliness, too often and too fatally mistaken for it, brings no just peace to the mind; does not implant there the love of God; does not correct the faulty dispositions of the heart; is of no service in the distressing scenes of life; and is attended with no good to society. From this shadow of godliness the opinions of the world have been too generally taken respecting its substance, and its effects estimated; and hence it has appeared to be so barren of good, and so useless to mankind, neither promoting their peace nor their virtue. Let us, therefore, seek for something more substantial. Under the deep impression of the corruption of our nature, let us breathe after the sanctifying influences of the Spirit of God; and pray earnestly to obtain the mind which was in Christ. Let us remember that the kingdom of God consists in righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost; and that he that serveth Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approv "But it must be remembered, that godliness is not a cold assent to the truths of religion. It is not a natural softness and benevolence of temper; it is not -the abstaining from gross sins, or the giving to God a part of our hearts and some vacant portions of our time, while the bulk of both is alienated from him, that will entitle us to the benefits which follow godliness. No: godliness is the entire subjection and devotedness of the soul to God himself. It is the practical acknowledgment of his unlimited sovereignty, and the unreserved dedication of our whole selves to his service. Some admirable and highly practical instructions occur also in the same volume, in the discourse on "the Righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees," and also on the duty of" doing all to the Glory of God;" which last is handled quite in Mr. Venn's manner, being introduced by a most able exposition of the preceding passage in St. Paul, in which the subject is discussed of eating things offered to idols. We must content ourselves also with referring to a very practical and useful sermon on the "Reasons which contains an admirable paswhy Men do not come unto Christ," sage following the words, "It requires a very deep sense of the 66 holiness of God, of the sinfulness light. "In many facts of history recorded by the sacred penman, he merely relates the story, without making any comments upon it. This simplicity of narration is peculiar to the ancient historians. The practice of modern times is different. The historian now 'commonly conveys bis own judgment on that which he records: he intersperses reflections: he displays himself as well as his subject. This plainness of the ancient writers may be attended either by good or bad consequences. The beneficial consequences are these, that we are led to reason for ourselves, and that we are compelled in so doing to increase the diligence and accuracy of our examination. One of the mischievous conse. quences (I speak particularly with re spect to the sacred writers) is, the danger of approving the actions related of good men, whenever the historian has not marked them with a note of disapproba tou." Vol. ii. pp. 17, 18. He then remarks, that the whole life of Jacob became afterwards as instructive a lesson against fraud, as though the inspired penman had inscribed in the front of it, "Behold here the baneful effects of fraud !" Our third line of selection was to embrace the more devotional, spiritual, and sublime subjects of discourse in these volumes, which, as they constitute a large class, so they appear to have been the employ ment most congenial to our author's mind, the object most suited to his genius and most familiar to his thoughts. Seldom have we found a wider range of pieces, within so short a space, from which to select specimens of the real eloquence of feeling, the energy of a sanctified imagination, the soarings of moral sublimity. God and his attributes; Christ and the resplendent perfec tions of his person; angels and their employments; heaven and its choicest joys; the communion of saints above and below; the whole family in heaven and earth, with all its varied feelings and pursuits, hopes and interests, privileges in possession, and in prospect; these are subjects upon which he ever seems most delighted to dwell, and to have inscribed on them "It is good for us to be here." In this sacred atmosphere, his wing never seems to flag, bis zeal to cool, his soul' to faint. Heaven itself seems to have taken full possession of his mind; and in his pages, whilst occupied on these topics, if we may borrow an an alogy from the purest earthly flame, Divine Love his golden shafts employs, here His constant lamp, and waves his purple But we must proceed to our extracts. In Sermon III. Volume I. on "the Glory of God," from Exod. Xxxiii. 18. we have a fine description of the glory of the Deity, from which we find it difficult to select any passage, which should convey a just conception of the whole portrait. The following sentence on the goodness of God much struck us. sins of backsliding and treachery; sins against the clearest light and knowledge. We should also enter into eternity; should survey the duration of that love, which was from everlasting to everlasting; should behold the thrones of glory, and the eternal bliss to which that love will advance the redeemed. Oh! my brethren, how well did the Apostle exclaim, it 'passeth knowledge!" Vol. i. pp. 78, 79. This is true glory-that the most powerful of all Beings should be the most generous; the most lofty, at the same time the most merciful; the most glori ous, the most condescending. No finite creature ever was, or can be, as longsuffering and merciful as God. It is the glory of his nature to be exempt from the elements of those passions which tend to diminish the exercise of immeasurable love. God is love: pure, unvarying love; love in its essence. No jealousies, nor envy, nor selfishness, nor rivalship, nor private wants, nor poverty of means, can raffle his mind, or limit the full exercise of his love." Vol. i. pp. 44, 45. The proof in the same sermon, that holiness and justice are but modifications of his goodness, is a fine specimen of the reasoning sublime. In the next sermon, on "the Prayer of St. Paul for the Ephe. sians," we have the following passage on the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge." In what particulars does it differ from the most exalted human love, or from the still more pure and generous affection of an angelic being? I answer -it differs essentially. But in order to comprehend it aright, it is necessary that we should form some adequate con. ception of the glory of the Son of God, as the object of adoration to all the hosts of heaven;-that we should understand, in a degree, the perfections of his nature; that we should ourselves feel somewhat of that ardent love to his Father's law, which glowed within his breast;-that we should also be actuat ed, in a degree, by that inexpressible hatred of all pollution and sin which he felt; that we should entertain a just conception of man, and be sensible how low and worthless a creature, in his fallen state, he is;-that we should under stand something of what it would necessarily cost to redeem the soul and to expiate Divine Justice. We should feel a portion, also, of what Jesus felt in the garden of Gethsemane, when his sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood. We should feel something of the breadth of that love which extended to the covering of such a multitude of sins; sins of such a complicated dye; sins of the memory, the will, the imagination; sins of revolt against God, of willing service to Satan, of hatred of the Almighty; The following sermon, the sixth in this volume, on" the State of the Saints above, contrasted with their former Condition below," from Rev. vii. 9-17. preached on All-saints day, leaves us under the same difficulty of selection, and makes us again fear that the simple dignity of any one passage may in appearance fall below the majestic effect produced We shall give the opening passage, by the whole when viewed together, in which, if our readers should discover any thing bordering on the style of some of the admired French preachers, they may here learn that they have not been first in their idea. "On this day, consecrated to devout meditation on a future state and heavenly inheritance-within these hallowed walls, in which we feebly attempt to emulate the worship, the feelings, and the employments of the blessed spirits above;-on this festival, dedicated to the pious commemoration of the saints who have slept in Christ, and are now with him in joy and felicity; let us endeavour, my Christian brethren, by the help of God, to detach our thoughts for a few happy moments from the alluring scenes below; from the tumults, the anxieties, the troubles, the vicissi tudes, the fears, the follies, the vanities, the corruptions, of this sinful world; and fix them, in devout contemplation, on that glorious state and that blessed assembly of which so delightful a picture has been just presented to us. It is picture rendered sacred by the recol lection that it describes the felicity of those beloved friends who were once our companions and guides upon earth; who departed hence in Christian faith and hope; and to whom our souls yet cleave in all the union of the tenderest affection. It is a picture endeared to us by the humble hope that it describes |