He regenerates the hearts of sinners, shows them the errors of their past lives, and leads them to Jesus, the truth and the life. Except a man be born again of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. As God requireth truth in the inward parts, so it is by the Spirit of God alone that a pure work of grace and truth is formed in the soul. Thus rectitude is produced in the conscience; true repentance flows from the heart; while faith, desire, hope, peace, with every Christian grace, are richly communicated. Jesus promised his Spirit unto his disciples to guide them into all truth: for such is the depravity and guilt of the human mind, that without the aid of the Spirit of truth, heaven would afford them no delight. That which is of the flesh, is flesh still.-Truth equally respects the life of obedience, inseparably connected with the character of a child of God. God hath chosen you through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. The Scriptures contain the truth, as it is in Jesus. And there is an infinite variety in this truth, which furnish us with the knowledge of all that is necessary to enjoy God as our portion, render that obedience which is pleasing in his sight, regulate our own lives, and conduct us in safety through all the scenes of time.

The second standard named in our text is LOVE, which is immediately addressed to our passions. Although the Apostle John had an immediate respect in this text to that love which is towards the brethren, yet I cannot but conclude, from the foregoing verse, that it is immediately and inseparately connected with the love of God. If a man hath no compassion to his brother, how dwelleth the love of God in him? And tó this very sentiment our Lord appeals. Hereby shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye love one another.

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God, is the first and great command of the law; and since by sin men are found lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God, it hath pleased God, by an act of grace, to'shed abroad his love in the hearts of his people, by the Holy Ghost, given unto them, whereby that happy principle is restored. Thus, as seed sown in good ground vegetates, and bears its own nature, the love of God is deposited in the regenerate soul, springs forth in unnumbered blades of desire, and bears that rich fruit of love to God, his law, in his providence, but, above all, in his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, that distinguish those who possess it from unbelievers. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Let us now reduce all the remarks I have made on the words of John to a point. Christ the truth, is an object proposed to faith; the Spirit of truth is revealed as the fountain of experience; and the word of truth as the rule of obedience. The love of God is the evidence of union; and a love to his children, the mark of discipleship. All these are like so many links in a chain, and are inseparable. Let us now,

2. Make use of these important subjects for the pur pose of trying our hearts, and determining our state be fore God. I call them important, for they evidently include all that is necessary to be known and experienced, and to which the whole doctrine of the Bible is reduceable; and likewise as they are fully sufficient to assure our hearts of their condition, and have confidence tewards God.

It is evident, however, from the language of St. John, that this trial must be in the heart; and also before God, who knoweth all things. This, then, is solemn work.

O that we may feel it so! Whether we are professors of religion or not, let us remember, our present peace and future happiness depend upon this issue. In faithfulness to our souls, let us set the truth of Christ, the operations of the Spirit of truth, the laws of the Gospel of truth, the love of God, and a love to men; let us, I say, set these, as a glass, before our eyes, and ask the necessary questions, What we know of them? If there be any evidences within our breasts that their salutary influence have been, and still are enjoyed? Whether these great realities form the one thing needful to us, the love of sin be discarded, and a desire for Christ, pardon, and peace, be created? The issue of this examination must either be condemnation, or acquittal; there can be no alternative-no middle state. To assist in this process, let us now take the necessary parts of our text.

If our hearts condemn us, God is greater than our hearts, and knoweth all things. Such a verdict as this, brought into the court of conscience by the light of truth, must be attended with extreme grief. To be convinced that there is a veil upon your mind, and a thick covering upon your heart, which compel you to confess that you are an utter stranger to the knowledge and transforming influence of God's truth and love, is affecting. At the same time you may have many witnesses to the transgressions of your heart and life rushing into the soul, producing the solemn verdict, the wages of sin is death. Has this process ever passed in your breasts, or do you now feel its impression? If so, still remember, though your hearts condemn you, God is greater than your hearts, and knoweth all things. We may, at best, be partial: from the state of our naturally depraved minds, we certainly forget numberless

sins of thought, of heart, and of life, committed in youth and at riper age. A deceived heart may turn us aside. But, O solemn thought! God is greater than our hearts; he is clothed with majesty; a just God, and righteousness forms the habitation of his throne. He knoweth all things. Not an error of our lives, nor an evil of our hearts, but are known to him, in weight and in measure, with every circumstance attached to them. God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good or whether it be evil. Who can stand this trial without conviction? What heart but must bow down before the Almighty, and acknowledge the just sentence of condemnation? Nay, a double verdict is produced; one from our own hearts, the other from the God that made us. But, do you ask, must we assuredly perish? Is there no relief-no court of appeal? Yes, if you thus pass sentence of death upon yourselves, MERCY, the swiftest winged messenger of heaven, directs your steps to the court of Calvary. There see Jesus, the sinner's Judge and Advocate, pleading his own life, his agonies, and his death, in face of law, sin, death, and hell, for you! Fear not to enter here. The chief of sinners, self-condemned, are welcome to his blood to wash away their stains, and take the robe of his righte ousness to justify them in sight of God. Hark! in the language of Moses he calls you to his arms, The cause that is too hard for thee, bring it unto me, and I will hear it. Yes, that cause which you cannot plead yourself, nor aided by all the angelic host, the cause of a precious soul, to be saved or to be lost, carry it to Jesus. 'No sinner's cause ever miscarried in his hand; he is able to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by him. Go, go my fellow sinners, and try his power to save.

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If our hearts condemn us not, then have we confidence before God. Here are mercy, grace, and love enjoyed, forming a basis on which we stand and triumph. O for clear views of an acceptance in the Beloved! The great cause is determined! We are of the truth. We have already embraced Jesus, the way, the truth, and the life, and here we rest; there is, therefore, now no condemnation to them that are in him. The spirit of truth we take as our guide; we wish to hear, understand, and to keep the word of truth in our hearts, and to bring forth fruit in our lives. We have tasted of God's love, and wish to drink deeper of the sacred stream, as the only antidote for all our cares, and the only source of all our joy! As children of grace, we cannot add to our Father's glory; but we wish to love and promote the interest of all who have a name in his family. Thus we assure our hearts before God, that we are passed from nature to grace, from death to life, and have had that great change which none but God could perform. We confidently believe that he will also perfect our souls, carry us through storm, hear the voice of our prayer, and inspire us with praise to the glory of his grace.-Such experience brings its own evidence, and is heaven begun! Without it, what is life but dying a miserable death? May each of this family seek to have this great point determined, that you may have confidence before God in your souls, in all the afflictions of your lives, when you come to the moment of your death, and stand before him at judgment, amidst the wreck of worlds, admiring Angels, and a vast eternity!