and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. As the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness, that the wounded Israelites might look unto it and be healed, so, says our Lord, have I been lifted up, that whosoever shall believe in me may not perish, but have everlasting life. But we must look to him alone. We must receive him as a whole and entire Saviour; for he will not endure any rival. If St. Paul desired to be found in Christ, not having his own righteousness, but the righteousness which is of God in Christ Jesus, much more must we renounce all dependence upon our own works, and seek to be justified by Christ alone. As in heaven there is but one song, To him that loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and made us kings and priests unto God and the Father, to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever; so on earth there must be an entire and exclusive affiance in him for all the blessings of salvation. 4. Finally, we must follow him as our example, to regulate the whole of our life and conversation. When he washed his disciples' feet, he declared, that he intended in this symbolical act, to show how they were to demean themselves towards each other; and, by the example he then set, to inculcate the necessity of their performing, towards the meanest of their brethren, every act of condescension and love. We are, also, informed by St. Peter, that, under still more trying circumstances, the Lord Jesus Christ has set us an example, that we should follow his steps; and more especially in those duties which are most difficult and self-denying. As he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth, and when he was reviled, he reviled not again, and when he suffered threatened not, but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously; so we, under all the heaviest afflictions that can come upon us, are to suffer them with all meekness; blessing those who curse us, and praying for those who despitefully use us, and persecute us. Our determination, through grace, must be, not to be overcome of evil, but to overcome evil with good. In one word, the whole mind must be in us that was in Christ Jesus; and under all imaginable circumstances, we must approve ourselves as followers of Christ, walking as he walked, and doing those things only which will please and honor our Father which is in heaven. It must, at all times, be our meat and drink, to do the will of our heavenly Father.

But,

Such I understand to be the meaning of the phrase, to follow Christ. And those who follow him fully, who have respect for all of his commandments, and go without the camp bearing reproach, will be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Such persons will be healthy, and thriving, and growing Christians. alas! what multitudes there are, who run well for a season, then are hindered; their goodness, like the morning cloud and the early dew, soon vanishes away. If they follow Christ at all, it is like Peter, afar off.

II. Having considered what we are to understand by following Christ, we shall now proceed, in the second place, to inquire what

is implied in following him afar off. Peter followed afar off. St. Peter's mind was agitated between hope and despair; his fears had vanquished his zeal, and his doubts had subdued his confidence. He was rapidly sinking into that state of mind, which finally led him to deny his Lord and Master. He, however, at this time, still felt some attachment to his Saviour. Without this, he would not have followed him at all, under such circumstances of danger. Indeed, considering how long and how sincerely he had loved him, it would be unreasonable to suppose, that he had, in so short a time, become wholly indifferent to his Master. It would be contrary to nature, to imagine that he had, all at once, lost the whole of his attachment to his Redeemer.

Some degree of love is, also, found in those who follow Christ afar off now; indeed, no one can follow him at all without it. They have some attachment to his name, to his cause, to his ways, and to his people. Their condition resembles the church at Ephesus; of whom the angel said: I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil; and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found them liars; and hast borne, and hast patience, and for my name's sake hast labored, and hast not fainted. Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. It is this love, although cold and feeble, that distinguishes this state from that of formalists, hypocrites, worldlings, and apostates. But this state is also distinguished from that of a faithful and devoted Christian.

1. The love of Peter was in a decaying condition. Had it been as warm, as ardent, and as vigorous as formerly, no trouble nor danger would have kept him at a distance from his dear Redeemer. Instead of following him afar off, he would have followed hard after his Saviour, and been ready to have shared the same fate of his Lord and Master. He would have followed him to prison, and to death, rather than to have denied him. But his love was now relaxed, his zeal abated, his energies paralyzed, and his confidence shaken. His love, though not wholly extinguished, yet burnt with a feeble and languid flame.

And such is the case with his modern imitators-their holy ardors are damped, and almost ready to expire. Their love is waxing cold, and receiving the chill of death. Their devotions are marked with formality, coldness, and indifference. And such, I fear, is the state of many who hear me to-day. Once you could say, Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me bless his holy name, and forget not all his benefits; but now, “hosannas languish on your tongues, and your devotion dies." The time has been, when, with David, you could affirm, As the hart panteth after the water-brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God: my soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; but now, like the sluggard, you say, A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands

to sleep. Formerly you could declare, from a happy state of experience, My cup is full and running over; but now you exclaim, My leanness, my leanness, wo is me! And does this languid and dying frame of mind excite no alarm, create no uneasiness? Do you rest contented, in this land of drought and barrenness, where all is withered, and dried, and parched up? In this dreary land there is no dew to water the soul, no blossoms to delight the eye, no odors to regale the senses, no fruit to sustain the life. This is the land into which you have wandered; here you have hung your harps upon the willows-here you have sat down to languish, to faint, and to die. O remember, if you are satisfied to rest in this state, God will not be satisfied for you to rest here. You are in that state of lukewarmness, which God so supremely hates, so utterly abominates: I would, says he, that thou wert cold or hot; so, then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth. And if he spews you out of his mouth, where will he spew you? He will spew you into hell; he will spew you into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone; he will spew you into the blackness of darkness forever.

2. Peter's heart, at this time, was in a divided, irresolute state. It fluctuated to and fro, and halted betwixt two. He followed Christ because he loved him, but he followed afar off, because he did not love him with an undivided heart. The love of ease, of honor, or of life, combated the love of Jesus, chilled its ardor, and weakened its energies. He had too much generosity, and too much love to his Master, wholly to abandon him; but he had too much selfishness to abandon all for his sake. Unhappy condition! agitated and torn by conflicting principles and passions, and not wholly subdued by any.

And such is the state of many indolent and loitering followers of the Saviour, at the present day, feeling it "worse than death their God to love, and not their God alone." Their hearts are divided, their affections are divided, and their minds are divided-like a double-minded man, they are unstable in all their ways. They are surrounded by objects full of attraction, drawing them different ways-sometimes one prevailing and sometimes another. Now they are diverted from duty by fashionable society-now by worldly pleasures-now by the corroding cares of life-now by the praises of men-and now by improper associates. In the midst of these aberrations, their consciences check them-the Spirit of God reproves them the Holy Scriptures condemn them-and the faithful minister of the gospel warns them. They do not follow the Lord fully, but are double-hearted and faint-hearted-unwilling to forsake the path of pity, yet walking in it with feeble and hesitating steps. They are sickly, and weakly, and puny; full of doubts, and fears, and discouragements. They sin and confess; and confess and sin. They comply with the forms of religion, but find no inward delight in the service of God; they are, therefore, led to doubt the truth of

Christianity, and sometimes the existence of God himself. O miserable state, wretched condition! What tormenting anxieties, what distressing doubts what opposite and powerful attractions, agitate and distract the minds of those who follow Christ afar off!

III. We shall now advert, in the third place, to some of the causes which led to this state of mind, and to this course of conduct. Many of these may be traced in the history of Peter himself.

1. One cause which led to the fatal catastrophe was presumption. Peter confided in his own strength. Hence his profession of greater attachment to Christ than the other apostles. Even when admonished by our Lord, he still appeared to rely upon himself: Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. And such was the unhappy effect of his confidence, that every one of the apostles caught, as it were, the contagion, and expressed themselves in the same vehement language as he: Likewise, also, thus said they all. Doubtless they all meant well; the resolution itself was good; but it was evil, as being made in dependence on their own strength.

Presuming on their own strength, is usually the first step towards that declension which is discoverable in many modern professors. The presumptuous person imagines he can do everything, and can do nothing; thinks he can excel all, and excels in nothing; promises everything, and performs nothing. Being ignorant of his own helplessness, he does not rely with all his heart upon the Redeemer. He especially neglects to solicit, in fervent prayer, the divine aid. Hence the Spirit of God is grieved, and its quickening energies counteracted in the soul; the presumptuous person is left to himself. There is scarcely anything we know so little of as ourselves-scarcely anything we see so little of, as of our own weakness and depravity. When the mind is inflated with pride and vanity, and we become self-confident and presumptuous, we are standing on very dangerous ground. Pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall. My brethren, let me warn you against this spirit of presumption. The more self-confident we are, the more we provoke the Lord to jealousy, and challenge him to leave us to ourselves. Thus saith the Lord: cursed be man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the Lord. For he shall be like the heath in the desert, and shall not see when good cometh; but shall inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land not inhabited. Cherish a spirit of humanity; consider your own weakness; and remember you can only hope to stand when you are strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.

2. Another cause which produced this unhappy state of mind was shame. Jesus was now making his entry into Jerusalem amidst the hosannas of the multitude. Peter, no doubt, was conspicuous, and, perhaps, the foremost on that honorable occasion. But Jesus was now in the power of his enemies, and led away as

a vile impostor. Peter knew his innocence, but was ashamed to be in the company of his Master, under circumstances so disgraceful. He accordingly followed afar off.

A similar shame is now often the cause of modern declension. When Jesus is honored and adored by his followers, many join in the exclamation of hosanna; but when he is disgraced among the ungodly with whom they associate or converse, they are unwilling to appear very intimate with him. They are ashamed of himin his people, who, perhaps, are in the humble walks of life-in the reproaches of his cross-in the institutions of religion, especially of baptism-and before relatives and superiors. There are many ways of being ashamed of Christ-when we are ashamed of his people, of the doctrine of the gospel, of the institutions of Christianity-then are we ashamed of Jesus. This shame discourages the mind, sinks the spirits, and enfeebles all the active powers. Thus a person under the influence of shame, falls an easy prey to temptation, and is turned aside from the path of duty by the most slender resistance.

3. Fear and worldly prudence afforded other causes for Peter's conduct. These appear to have been the most immediate and direct causes of his following at a distance from Christ. The views of Peter during the whole period of Christ's personal ministry, appear to have been very worldly. He seems to have considered the kingdom his Master was about to establish, more a temporal than a spiritual kingdom; and he was, doubtless, animated with the prospect of becoming one of the principal men in it. It was this sentiment that fired his soul with passion, and urged him forward with a vehement zeal in the cause. But circumstances were now changed-the sun of Peter's glory was about to set already had the approaching shades of night spread a gloom over his mind. Judas had turned traitor, and betrayed his Master-Jesus had been apprehended by the civil officers of justice, and appeared as weak and helpless as a mere man-his disciples had forsaken him and fled. Finding himself left alone, Peter's confidence vanishes into fear, and he became alarmed for his personal safety. Prudence immediately suggested to him the propriety of observing due caution at this critical and perilous moment. He was in no state of mind to encounter troubles, to brave dangers, to endure persecution, to face a stern and apparently conquering foe. He, therefore, falls in the rear, and follows on afar off, like an idle and disinterested spectator.

And how many imitators has Peter in this respect, in modern times, both in the pulpit and in the pew. How many ministers there are, who adopt such a time-serving, man-fearing, and earthborn policy, as to keep out of sight some of the most essential features of the Christian religion. They never have the rudeness to disquiet the sinner's conscience-they are so very civil and polite, as never to utter the word hell without an humble apology, nor to