tions of sin, others slighting their sovereign cure. Will any say in reading these things, "Who then "can be saved?" Our Lord's disciples in the days of his flesh, asked him this question; and they received this comforting and heart cheering answer; "With men this is impossible; but with God all "things are possible," Matt. xix. 25, 26. The elect must be saved by conquering these. They will not be suffered to die dishonoring their Lord. Some of them by pleasing, and others by painful experience, must be led to the foot of the cross. Christ in his glory will dazzle some, as he did that chosen vessel, Paul: afflictions must break down the proud spirits of others, till they can confess that the cross is in every dispensation, which cast into the cup, like the tree in the waters of Marah, by the hands of Moses, can make their bitter sweet. See Exod. xv. 25. On which it may be observed, that the cup of sorrow for sin either in a way of repentance, or in seeking pardon, acceptance, and justification before God, must remain bitter to him that tastes it, till the tree of God's own providing is cast in, which tree is the cross of Christ Jesus our Lord.

17th. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send, receiveth me; and he that receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. John xiii. 20.

A godly sorrow for sin is the gift of God by his Holy Spirit which worketh effectually in the hearts

of his elect, by that sorrow which needeth not be repented of. But how shall Christ be known as the balm of gilead, the physician of souls? We say by his word. But how shall his word be known, seeing all possess not a copy of his word: I mean the gospel, and few have that word written on the tablets of their hearts? I answer by the preaching thereof. Thus says St. Paul, "Whosoever shall "call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” But a great difficulty rises in the mind of the apostle, which that it may neither dishonor God's name among men, or be detrimental to the peace of men having the fear of God, he first states, and then removes. "How then, (he adds to state the "difficulty) shall they call on him, in whom they "have not believed? and how shall they believe "in him of whom they have not heard? and how "shall they hear without a preacher? And how "shall they preach, except they be sent ?" But there are those who are sent to preach the gospel; their situation is honorable, their post important, and an adequate success is promised to their labors; and thus the apostle sums up all, and removes the difficulty; "As it is written," (appealing to the testimony of ancient scripture as the standard of truth)," how beautiful are the feet of "them that preach the gospel of peace and bring

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glad tidings of good things," Rom. x. 13 to 15.

The ministry of the gospel is an honorable employment, for those who are exercised therein :

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they are the ambassadors of Christ, who are sent to declare to the world, the terms of peace on which God will be reconciled to his chosen.

If we honor the master, we are to honor those of his household; seeing they are engaged in the service of the master, and should have their eye fixed on his honor and glory. But two things may be observed under the passage just quoted, 1st. Christ is honored in the reception of his ministers, and 2d. God the Father, is honored in the reception of Christ.

1st. Christ is honored in the reception of his ministers. The ministry of the gospel is admirably calculated, in the hands of the Spirit, to lead God's people to the knowledge of, and reception of Christ, through the knowledge of, and confession of their own sins. The aim of ministers of the gospel should be to preach Christ crucified, but as this must be done by various steps and degrees, we may observe a few particulars in which, even above the rest, God's people should listen to the ministers of the gospel. And first, they should listen attentively to the thunder and curses of a broken law, set forth in all its holy requirements against their lost and ruined souls. Though Christ must be preached above the law, yet the law must be preached to bring us to Christ. That soul will not come willingly to a Saviour, who is unconvinced of his need of the same. Pay me that thou owest, is the thunder of the law against

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the sinner, taking him at the same time by the throat, to shew the impossibility to escape alive without a ransom: shall the minister say we owe nothing? On the contrary, his language must be, we owe an infinite obedience to a just, holy, yet broken law, an obedience which we never can pay, but which the law incessantly requires of us.

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ing sinned, we owe a forfeited life to that same holy law, whose preceptive authority hath been broken, subjecting the breaker, to temporal, spiritual and eternal death. And what is the consequence of these things? is the law's force suspended that it cannot execute the threatened vengeance? No, for behold, "Now also the axe is "laid unto the root of the trees; therefore every "tree which bringeth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast into the fire," Matt. iii. 10. Is the sentence reversed that it should not be executed? No. Christ himself hath borne the sentence for his chosen people, and by his intercession for them, doth continually obtain their pardon-from God's hand; whilst seeing the unfruitfulness of his Father's enemies, he will himself acquiesce in the Father's sentence and say, "Cut it down, why cumbereth "it the ground." Above all, is the lasting nature of the sentence against God's enemies reversed? No. For Christ himself declares; "He that is unjust, "let him be unjust still; and he which is filthy, let "him be filthy still."-And so true is this, that it

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is added, "If any man shall take away from the "words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his.part from the book of life, and out of "the holy city, and from the things which are "written in this book," Rev. xxii. 11. 19.

Such is the substance of the ministration of the law which it behoveth ministers to lay before the people, and which it behoveth God's people to receive at their ministers hands, to the end that they may be convinced of sin and despair of salvation by the deeds of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh living be justified.

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But far be it from the minister to stop here, God's people either; lest they be driven to despair for mercy for observe, Christ is not in all thisnay if this were all Christ would be driven out, and there would be no hope of obtaining remission of sins. Observe then, 2dly. God's people are called upon to listen to the sweet sound of gospel peace shewing Christ the ransom and deliverer of his people. "Christ, (says Paul) is "the end of law for righteousness to every one "that beliveth," Rom. x. 4. and so says every minister of the Spirit. To the wounded conscience, wounded deeply under a sense of sin, justification by faith without the deeds of the law, is set forth where no pre-requisite is wanted, to give God's people a hope of mercy, save the bringing of a wounded. spirit, wounded by a touch from the Spirit of God, of a conscience loaded and burdened with sin, of.a