others, as Matthew, who had shown his superiority to such temptations-then all would have been well. Christ would have accepted him, restored him, said to him," Thy sins be forgiven thee."

If, then, you are sinning as he did, and are afraid and ashamed of yourself, do what Judas did not do-come to Christ for deliverance from sin. Remember that all those bitter sufferings that we shall commemorate during this blessed week were undergone to save men from their sins, to save the drunkard from his drunkenness, the thief from his dishonesty, the covetous man from his grudging thoughts, the unclean man from his filthy thoughts, the swearer from his profaneness, the liar from his falsehood. Yes, the betrayal, the condemnation, the indignities, the taunts, the scourgings, the crucifixion, the death, which Jesus suffered were to save us― you and me and all sinners who will come to Him, from the guilt, the pollution, the power, and the punishment of our sins.

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SERMON XVI.

THE NEED OF ATONEMENT.

ROMANS V. 10, 11.

"If, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only so, but we also joy in God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement."

THE ATONEMENT-what is the meaning of the word? To one unacquainted with its origin, it would seem at first to be derived from some other in one of the dead languages, from which so many of our scientific and theological terms are taken, and yet it is merely two of the simplest words in our mother tongue put together. It is the atone—ment—the making those who were before separated in heart, to be at one-of one heart. When two persons before at variance.

reconciled, the difference between them is made up; they are at one again, and the act of making them thus at one-the act of composing the difference-is reconciliation or at-one-ment.

The text asserts that, by our Lord Jesus Christ, we have received the at-one-ment; let

us see how this came to pass. If an atonement is required, two parties must be at variance; and so it was in the case of the great atonement. The two at variance were God and man. The thing that made them at variance was sin. The atonement was made by One who made such satisfaction for sin that God could be reconciled to the sinner, and yet show that He hated sin.

Let us consider these things. God and man were at variance. Now it is very difficult for us, for you and me, to realize this, for we both of us belong to the great family that is naturally at enmity with God. When the children of two families are nurtured in envy and hatred of one another, and when a member of one of these speaks bitter words against the other, he does not feel that he is doing anything very wrong, because he has been nurtured in malice against every member of the other household, and so his malice has become a part of his very nature. But though he and his brethren, that are all partakers of the same uncharitableness, do not see their conduct in its true light, yet their Christian neighbours do.

So it is with mankind. We are naturally alienated from the God who made us, we are all more or less involved in this guilt, and so we do not see it in its true light; but supposing that there are angels amongst

us-beings who have always loved God and never sinned-what must they think of disobedience to God? What must an angel think of a man at variance with his Maker? What must an angel think of a man who is continually putting all thoughts of his God and his Saviour out of his mind as disagreeable things which he need not realize till he is compelled to do so by death? Why, an angel must look upon such an one as we look upon a disobedient thankless child, or a faithless unloving wife, or an ungrateful friend. What must an angel think of an oath, and of him who swears it; of a foul word, or a lie?

What must an angel think of a man who knows that the church is God's house, and who never comes there, or, if he comes, never really worships? What must an angel think of a man who knows that Christ died for him, and yet never comes to His table, or comes, perhaps, but once a year?

This illustration will enable you to see clearly how very enormous may be the guilt of alienation from God, even though we may not be sensible of its enormity, because we all partially partake of this alienation. We are one of the parties at variance, and so cannot see our exceeding guilt in the matter.

Now, the Scriptures conclude all men to be thus by nature alienated from God. So conse

quently, the most virtuous, the best educated, the most loving and amiable, persons cannot save themselves. They are, with their brethren, involved in one common condemnation.

The Scriptures assert this general condemnation of all in Adam in very plain terms. It is not often asserted nor is it much dwelt. upon in the Bible, but still it is asserted so strongly, that there can be no room whatever for doubting that we are all brought in guilty before God. Now, I want particularly to draw your attention to the reason why in the Bible we are all said to belong to a sinful race and stock, and yet why the writers of the same holy book are not ever dwelling upon this sin of The sinfulness of the whole race by nature is asserted a few times very strongly in order to humble us all, so that no man may, on any account whatsoever, either assert his independence of God's grace or boast against his brother-so that every one of us, no matter what our advantages, may feel that we are one in sin, and so, one and all, need the one death of Jesus to atone for the sin in which we were born.

our nature.

But when the prophets and apostles have a few times in terms which cannot be mistaken asserted the common condemnation of all, they leave it, and proceed to convince men of their need of repentance, not by harping upon the sin of men's common nature, but by asserting