Having thus glanced at some of the general moral lessons and recollections suggested by winter, I will now bring under your notice some of the spiritual remembrances which it awakens in a spiritual mind.

1. Winter reminds us of the entrance of sin unto our world. For as winter deforms the face of nature-so sin brought a curse upon the earth. "Cursed is the ground for thy sake," said God to fallen Adam. Thus it was, that when man lost his original innocence, nature fell from its original beauty.

What was the Eden-beauty of creation we cannot tell ;—but, from the solemnity of the curse, we have every reason to believe, that the paradisiac aspect of the natural world was as lovely as the perfect holiness of the moral world; for both were pronounced very good."

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man.

But, however the curse may have lessened the goodness of the earth-whatever were its ravages amongst the fruits and flowers of Eden-and however wintry the aspect which it gave to nature; all those changes to the worse were nothing, compared to the moral and spiritual winter, which sin brought upon the soul of That soul, created in the image of God, was full of pure light in its understanding; full of pure love in its affections; full of perfect holiness in all its powers;-but sin quenched that light,— froze that love,—destroyed that holiness, and then "it was winter" in the soul. The very seeds and roots of original righteousness perished in the human heart, when sin entered into it; the soul became as immoral as the body became mortal: for sin reigned unto death, in both.

Nor was this all the destruction occasioned by the fall; the tokens of the Divine presence faded away like the flowers of Eden; the river of life became frozen up to its fountain head; and all the wells of spiritual enjoyment were ice, to the very bottom. Then-it was winter. The heart of man was utterly frozen-and, for a time, the heart of God seemed frozen too. And it would have been no wonder, if his heart had never melted with compassion;-for the hearts of our first parents did not melt with penitence they fled from the presence of the Lord: but he followed them, in mercy as well as in judgment; and proved that the winter of sin had not frozen the sympathies of his heart;—for with his own lips he promised his own Son as a redeeming Saviour. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us," &c. 2. Winter should remind all of the natural state of their own hearts in the sight of God.

The heart and life of every man ought to be-not as winter, but

not so.

as spring; rich in the buds of holiness;-not as winter, but as summer; rich in the bloom of holiness;-not as winter, but as autumn; rich in the ripe fruits of holiness. But, alas!—they are It is winter in every heart which is withheld from the Saviour, and kept away from the light and warmth of the Sun of Righteousness. This is a solemn fact, although figuratively stated: and it ought to strike-yea, to startle-the neglecters of the great salvation, that their hearts resemble the worst season of the year, and are like winter only. Towards your families and your friends, and even towards the poor, your hearts may be warm; but, towards God and the Saviour, they are cold as ice. Towards the business and duties of life, they may be strong in integrity; but towards the duties of godliness, they are brittle as ice. Towards general morality, they may be friendly; but towards spirituality of mind they are dull as ice.

Now and then a solemn sermon, or an affecting providence, like the winter sun, or a slight thaw, may soften the surface of the frozen heart, and cause a momentary dropping of tears; but, as in nature, this partial melting is often followed by harder frost, and more slippery ice, in the heart. For whenever serious impressions are resisted or thrown off, time after time, the heart hardens more and more, and often becomes past feeling.

I warn those who are stifling their convictions and fears. I warn those who are doing violence to the strivings of the conscience and the Spirit! this desperate process will deepen and confirm the ice of the heart, and tend to render it like the ice at the poles, eternal.

Oh, my friends! the progress of delay and indecision is dreadful. Every year of neglect hardens and alienates the heart further against God and godliness: for, as every winter adds to the snow upon the summits of the Alps and Andes, which thus goes on accumulating,so the coldness, the deadness, the aversion of the soul to divine things, increases by time.

But even if this were not the effect of delay-it ought to alarm the delaying, when they observe that, towards God and the Lamb, they are as fruitless as winter: for this is not what you were made for; not what you are preserved for; not what you have the gospel for. God created you for his own glory; and, that you might be able to live to his glory, and bear fruit unto eternal life: He gave his Son to atone for sin, and his Spirit to teach holiness.

Consider these things, ye that forget God; lest he tear you in pieces, when there is none to deliver: for "he that is often reproved, and hardeneth his neck, shall be suddenly destroyed, and that without mercy."

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3. The winter reminds the awakened sinner and the unhappy backslider, of the state of their hearts in the sight of God. One of our own poets has said of himself,

"There is a winter on my soul,

The winter of despair

The truth of this, feeling is dreadful.

not a few have felt in their own case: and the For, what so dreadful, as to feel the worth of the soul, and yet to see no hope for its salvation! What so agitating and agonizing, as to be alive to the solemnities of eternity, and to feel dead to the power of religion!

Perhaps some present feel this winter of the soul, and are overwhelmed by the discovery of the hardness, coldness, and deadness of their hearts. You would pray, but cannot; would love God, but cannot; would rely on the Saviour, but cannot. You feel your heart like a lump of ice, incapable of melting or moving itself. You never thought, until of late, that it was so bad, nor that you had so little power to be good, or do good. And now you know not what to do or think. Well, you find true, what you often heard without heeding it; that the heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked, and that without Christ you can do nothing. You feel this to be the fact now, and I congratulate you on the discovery. Your heart was always thus bad, although you did not believe it to be so. And now that God has shewn you its plagues, his design is not to drive you to despair, but to draw you to Christ. The whole know not their need of a physician; but they that are sick :—trust therefore your sick soul to Christ, and He will both save and sanctify it. He will, for your case was never so hopeful, as now that you despair of helping yourself.

I say the same to the backslider, who is filled with the fruits of his own doings. It is now winter in your desolate heart. Your spring was promising your summer was pleasing and you once thought that the autumn of your piety would yield an abundant harvest of good fruit; but you turned the autumn into winter-and now feel like a barren branch, ready to be broken off from the true vine, and cast forth to burning. Thus you feel-thus you fear. How does God feel towards such a case? His thoughts are not as your thoughts, nor His ways as your ways. There is hope of a tree, although it be cut down by the scent of waters it may revive. The winter of backsliding need not be eternal.

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4. Let us consider the emblems of the great salvation, which are furnished by winter.

(1.) God has made the whiteness of the snow, an emblem of the purity of salvation.

Nothing is so white as the snow of winter. The white-rose, the lily of the valley, even the snow-drop, is not so white. Snow is the whitest of all things fair. David observed this, and prayed, "Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." Now it was God who taught David to pray thus, and to feel the need of such perfect purity, as meetness for heaven. And he taught him this lesson, that we, too, might learn, that without holiness no man shall see the Lord. What, therefore, if God do not reveal the solemn fact to us, as to David, by direct inspiration? He brings round the winter, every year, to repeat to us, as its snows fall, Ye must be whiter than snow; for nothing that defileth can enter heaven! "Neither drunkards, nor adulterers, nor fornicators, nor liars, nor swearers, nor unbelievers, can inherit the kingdom of God." Only the pure in heart shall see God. Thus his great salvation is a holy salvation. David saw this, and prayed, "Wash me whiter than snow." He looked upon the snow, and felt that superior purity was necessary; and therefore he lost no time until he sought for true holiness. Has the winter ever suggested this lesson to you? You need it, although not defiled as David was. You need it, however moral. The best of us are not better than Peter was before he denied Christ: and yet, at his best, Christ said to him, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me."

My friends, we all require a clean heart and a purified conscience. Without holiness of heart and life, we must remain unholy stillfilthy still, in hell. Oh! let these solemn considerations stir us up this winter, to reflect deeply upon the spiritual change which is essential, in order to inherit glory, and to pray fervently for it; and to connect with it the habitual following of holiness.

(2.) God has employed the whiteness of the snow, as an emblem of pardon and sanctification.

"Come now,

As an emblem of the pardon of sin. He says, and let us reason together: though your sins be as red as crimson, they shall be as snow." Thus entire is the forgiveness which he is willing to bestow upon all, who are willing to be indebted to the blood of Christ for pardon. Who then is willing to be washed from his sins in the blood of the Lamb? who will wash and be clean, in this only fountain for sin and uncleanness? Some are ready to say, “I am willing I would be very glad to do so: but I know not how to do it. I do not understand what is meant by being washed from sin in the blood of Christ. I would submit to any thing for salvation-but what is it to submit to this washing?

Now, apart from all figure, the sober fact is simply this:-God fully pardons all the sins of every one, who relies on the blood of Christ for a holy salvation; you understand this. Every one relies on something

for pardon: but those only obtain pardon, whose whole reliance is upon the atonement; and, if all your hopes are founded on it alone, all your sins are washed away, blotted out, and forgiven. But some, who are trusting in the blood of Christ, and who feel convinced that there is nothing else to trust to, are yet ready to say, "I do not feel as if my sins were forgiven; I am quite sure that all my dependance is upon the merits of Christ—but I do not feel a sense of pardoning mercy in my soul." No wonder! how could you feel a sense of pardon, while you do not believe that you are pardoned? so long as you disbelieve this, you cannot feel it. It is the belief of pardon that brings the sense of it. "What!" you say, "am I warranted and welcome to believe that all my sins are actually forgiven, on my believing in Christ?" Yes, and actually forgotten too, by the God who forgave them, the moment that you committed your soul to Christ for salvation. Do not take my word for this: God says, "he that believeth, is justified from all things." Take therefore His word for it and do not dream of a sense of pardon coming into your mind, apart from believing that believers are pardoned. You are so, if you believe on Christ with the heart: why then should you doubt it, seeing God has said it? "Be of good cheer, thy sins, which are many, are forgiven."

But the snow is also an emblem of sanctification, as well as of justification. Now one of the best proofs of having believed with the heart unto righteousness, is the love and desire of holiness of heart and life. No man has saving faith, who does not believe on Christ for holy purposes. In like manner, no one is deceiving himself, by thinking himself a believer, who is conscious that he is willing to be made holy. You have not believed in vain; yours is not feigned faith, nor dead faith: but like precious faith as the apostle's; yea, is that faith which is the gift of God, and the operation of the Spirit, if it is leading you to purify yourselves after the example of Christ.

Do therefore let this become a settled matter in your minds from this moment; and, instead of perplexing yourselves, and wasting your time and spirits with questions about faith-look out upon the ample provision made in the gospel for sanctifying you, soul, body and spirit, in the service of God. He has taught us to pray, “ Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow;" and he has given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, whereby we may become partakers of a divine nature, and purify ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.