remained without hope of deliverance, had not Chrift redeemed them by His blood. The fting if death is fin: and the frength of fin is the law. It is fin which caused death: 'it is fin which maketh death terrible. By fin death entered into the world: by fin the bed of the dying man is fhaken with agony, with pangs of body and horrors of conscience : by fin the dungeons of never-ending punishment were founded; by fin the bottomless pit was unfeated for the perdition of the guilty and unregenerate foul. And the strength of fin is the law. Sin' is the tranfgreffion of the law and the wages of fin is death (b). The perfect holiness of that law of God which fin perfuades men to tranfgrefs is the very weapon from which he derives his ftrength, his power of working destruction. The law of God demands perfect obedience. The penalty for every inftance of disobedience is eternal death. Curfed is every one who continueth not in all things, which are written in the book of the law, to do them (7). Sin prevails on every man to break the law: and then with triumphant malignity inflicts the penalty upon him, and plunges him into death eternal. O wretched man that I am! cried St. Paul, pouring forth on another occafion the

(b) 1 John, iii. 4 Rom. vi. 23. (i) Gal. iii. 10.

convic

convictions of his foul; Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God,

through Jefus Christ our Lord (k). Here is deliverance here is conqueft and life and bleffedness for ever and ever. Thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory, through our Lord Jefus Chrift! Thanks be to God that the feed of the woman hath bruifed the ferpent's head! Chrift hath rescued us from the power of the grave: Chrift hath delivered us from the wrath to come. Chrift hath redeemed us from the curfe of the law, being made a curfe for us. Chrift hath tasted death for all men; and hath made His foul an offering for fin; a full, perfect, and sufficient facrifice, oblation, and fatisfaction for the fins of the whole world. Chrift hath destroyed the laft enemy. Chrift hath prepared from the creation of the world a kingdom for His faints, a kingdom of righteoufnefs where there fhall be no more death, nor forrow, nor crying, neither fhall there be any more pain: where they shall see their Lord face to face, and be like unto Him, and reign with Him in blifs unchangeable for ever and ever.

Was it then to indulge curiofity, was it to gratify the mind with fublime description, that the apostle had thus unfolded the everlafting triumph of the Son of God, and the (k) Rom. vii. 24, 25.

everlasting

everlafting triumph of the righteous through Him? St. Paul had a nobler purpofe; that purpose which was the object of his heart in all his writings, in all his labours; to promote the glory of God by guiding and animating man to holiness and falvation through faith in the blood of Christ. Hear the concluding leffon, the great practical exhortation, which, as the confequence and the fum of his instructions in this chapter, he addreffed to the Corinthians and now addreffeth to ourselves, Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord; forafmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord. If then, my beloved brethren, whofe eternal welfare ought to be my fervent defire, my unceasing prayer, my perfevering and earnest pursuit; if these things be fure, be ye stedfast, unmoveable. Shew yourselves the true fervants and foldiers of your Lord. Continue unfhaken in His faith. Hold faft the words of found doctrine. Beware left any man spoil you through philofophy and vain deceit. Avoid profane and vain babblings; and oppofitions of fcience falfely fo called (1), prefumptuous difputes, railed on the groundwork of fenfeless fpeculation and conjecture, against truths which reft on the promise, and are fecured (1) Col. ii. 8. 1 Tim. vi. 20.

by

Refift the
Call for

by the omnipotence, of God. Continue stedfaft under temptations to fin. Devil; and he will flee from you. fuccour to your Redeemer, whom Satan tempted in vain; your Redeemer, who has openly triumphed on the cross over all the powers and principalities of darkness; your Redeemer, who has promifed that His grace fhall be fufficient for you, that He will fave to the uttermoft all who come unto God by Him. Continue patient and undifmayed under fufferings. Look unto Jefus, the Author and finisher of your falvation ; who for the joy that was fet before Him endured the crofs, defpifing the fhame, and is now fet down at the right hand of the throne of God. Be ye always abounding in the work of the Lord. The work of the Lord is faith unfeigned. This is the work of God: that ye believe on Him, whom He hath fent (m). The work of the Lord is to do the will of God; to be holy, as He is holy. The work of the Lord is to feek firft the kingdom of God and His righteousness; to labour for the falvation.

of your own foul, and that of the fouls of others. In every branch of this bleffed work abound more and more. Strive, through the Holy Spirit, to grow in grace, to be a (m) John, vi. 29.

progreffive

progreffive example of piety. Shew yourself a Christian in thought, in word, and in deed. Labour with increafing earnestness to win others to the love of Chrift and the care of their eternal interefts by prudent inftruction and exhortation, where you may be allowed to inftru&t and exhort: and at all times, and in all places, by adorning the doctrine of God your Saviour in all things, by giving unaffected proof that your heart is fteadily governed by Christian motives, and filled with Chriftian tempers. You know that your la bour is not in vain in the Lord. You know that there is a reward for the righteous: that your afcended Lord will return to receive His faints unto Himfelf: that while the wicked fhall be turned into hell, and all the people who forget God, all who do not make it their leading object faithfully to love and ferve their God and Redeemer; the just shall be jexalted to the presence of Father of mercies, where there is fulness of joy and pleasure for evermore. Prefs forward then towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus; that you may be admitted to the Refurrection of eternal Life.

Would you feel the aweful import of that refurrection? Realife things unfeen. Suppose yourself an unconverted finner, recently separated