hath made you free." not to understand that Christians are more free to please themselves, than if they were not Christians, but quite the contrary; that their rule being far more perfect, far stricter and more exact, is yet a rule and law of liberty, because they have grace to keep it. They have yet a yoke and a burthen to bear, but the yoke is made easy and the burthen light by the Spirit of God shedding His love abroad in our hearts.

In all such places we are

By this too, we may judge of our own condition. So far as any of the commandments, any Christian duty, is unpleasing to us, and we therefore leave it out of our practice, so far we are gone back from our Christian liberty; we are fallen from grace; we are in a sort of Jewish imperfection, knowing our duty but content without grace to do it. We are so far sinking back, by our own fault entirely, into that most wretched state which the holy Apostle describes when he says, speaking as an unregenerate man, "The good that I would I do not, and the evil that I would not, that I do." The Jews, and still more the heathens, could not help this condition; they were providentially born in it: but what are we to think of ourselves, how, think you, do the holy Angels judge of us, when we, by committing known sin, voluntarily plunge ourselves into that mire again, out of which God had mercifully brought us?

I beseech you, be not content for a moment to go on in such a way as this, making God's grace, which hath freed you, void, and enslaving yourself again to the wretched yoke of Satan. And you know to Whom you must in order to be delivered: even to

go

f Rom. vii. 19.

the same Saviour Who in Baptism would have delivered you once for all, if you would let Him. The Son must make you free from this second burthen of sin committed after Baptism, as He did make you free from the first burthen, your part in Adam's sin. And as you were then brought to Him for Baptism, so now you must go to Him in such ways as He has ordained; in the ways which He has appointed for penitents. His words are such as these; "Turn ye to Me with your whole heart, and with fasting, and with weeping, and with mourning, and rend your heart and not your garments." Especially He would have you do this in the solemn time between this and Easter. For now the days are fast coming on, in which the Bridegroom shall be taken away from us; and it is His word, that we shall fast in those days. Turn then to Christ with your whole heart, with sorrow and self chastisement often, and with amendment at all times; and prove Him, whether He will not, in His good time, make you free indeed: whoever you are, and however sadly you have sinned. The freedom, indeed, which He will restore to you, the willing heart which will make you serve Him joyfully, He will not restore it all at once, but by degrees: at least so it generally happens. The gift of Baptism is of course given in a moment, but the gift of restoration after penitence commonly takes a long time to perfect. But it is not the less certain, if we do but persevere: and if we pray and strive continually, by the gracious help of the Good Spirit, we shall persevere.

g Joel ii. 12, 13.

SERMON XXXVI.

UNBELIEF IN THE PRESENCE OF CHRIST,

NOW ALSO, DEADLY SIN.

PASSION SUNDAY.

S. JOHN viii. 24.

"If ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins."

IN speaking last Sunday of the duty and necessity of making to God a distinct and particular confession, I tried to point out to you the great need of observing the differences of sins, how some are deadly, some are rather called sins of infirmity. Common sense itself would shew us that there is such a difference: and the Bible and the Prayer book plainly teach the same. "There is a sin unto death, and there is a sin not unto death." Both for ourselves and for others we have need to remember this. In many instances, the difference is very plain. No one fancies that the wilful murderer is no worse in respect of his murder than the man who indulges a fit of anger a few minutes longer than he ought: or that he who is sometimes inexcusably inattentive in prayer commits equal sin with one who never prays. But there are some cases where the difference between slighter sins and those which are deadly is by no means so

plain at first sight. God has on purpose forborne to draw the line, that He might put us on our trial, whether we would serve Him with a dutiful heart or no. As if a parent should say to his child, If you go too far in that direction, you will come to a dangerous place, and not tell the child exactly how far he might go of course the child would feel it his duty to be very cautious, and rather stop short too soon, than go on at all too far. So, inasmuch as we know for certain that there is such a thing as

deadly sin, but are not in all cases quite certain whether this or that action is an instance of it, our business as dutiful children of God is plainly to refrain from that action. To do otherwise, is fearful trifling with our God and with our own souls: as it would be trifling with our bodily life, to swallow something which we thought might be poison,.because we did not know for certain that it was so. It is tempting the devil to come nearer and nearer to us; it is shewing him that we are not unwilling to be deceived; like Balaam, when he sought an excuse to go along with the messengers of Balak.

Whatever our special temptation be, whether to lust, pride, or anger, or any other sin, there is always this danger of our taking dangerous liberties because we are not exactly told when the faults begin to be positively mortal and deadly. And besides, there is this great and exceeding danger, the daily ruin of multitudes untold: that if people's consciences do not point out to them any particular crime or course of sin, whereof they are undoubtedly guilty, they think all is well enough. How many go on as moral, decent people, paying their way, shewing kindness

and courtesy to others, well spoken of in all the neighbourhood, and yet neither having nor seeming to have any serious sense of religion, any deep thoughts of God and Eternity at all. Now such persons as these have not the least notion that they are going on in deadly, in mortal sin: and yet they assuredly are so their days and years are spent in the deadly sin of sloth, spiritual sloth, undutifulness to their God and Saviour.

Now I suppose that this is pretty nearly the case described by our Lord in the Text. The Jews to whom He was speaking were not, as far as appears, the worst of the nation; there is no sign of their being open scandalous sinners, they were greatly affronted at something being said which sounded as if they were a low, discreditable set. "We be not born of fornication," they said: "we have one Father, even God." As if people now a days should say, We are not outcasts nor reprobates, we do not live in open swearing, drunkenness, or adultery, we go on quietly and decently, and have the same hope as other Christians: why trouble us so much about keeping Lent and Advent, about self-examination and confession, and very particular repentance? In a word, these Jews claimed to be "respectable" spiritually, as well as outwardly "respectable;" yet see what aweful words He speaks to them, "ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins: " and when they did not know how to take this, He explained to them that it was not for this or that particular crime, but in general, because their minds and hearts were still in earth, they were of this world, whereas our Lord was not of this world: and therefore they could not