troubled the world have been committed under the name, and under the shew of religion. Such was the crime which we are now considering. The observance of an oath has, among all nations, been regarded as a religious act; and here a fair opportunity offered itself to one who only waited for such an opportunity, to make religion triumph at the expense of virtue. If Herod had no inclination to destroy the Prophet, and no interest in his death, his conscience would have told him that murder was an atrocious crime, which no consideration could alleviate, nor excuse; it would have told him that vows, which it is unlawful to make, it is also unlawful to keep: but Herod was already a party in the cause; he determined to get quit of his enemy; he satisfied his conscience with some vain pretences, and gave orders to behead the Baptist. But were all his anxieties and sorrows buried with the Prophet? No: the grave of the Prophet was the grave of his peace. Neither the splendour of Majesty, nor the guards of state, nor the noise of battle, nor the shouts of victory, could drown the alarms of conscience. That mangled form was ever present to his eyes; the cry of blood was ever in his ears. Hence, when our Saviour appeared in a public charac

ter, and began to teach and to work miracles, Herod cried out, in the horrors of a guilty mind, "It is John the Baptist whom I slew ; "he is risen from the dead."

It

How great, my brethren, is the power and dominion of conscience! The Almighty appointed it his vicegerent in the world; he invested it with his own authority, and said, "Be thou a God unto man." Hence it has power over the course of time. It can recall the past; it can anticipate the future. reaches beyond the limits of this globe; it visits the chambers of the grave; grave; it reanimates the bodies of the dead; exerts a dominion over the invisible regions, and summons the inhabitants of the eternal world to haunt the slumbers, and shake the hearts of the wicked. Tremble then, O man! whosoever thou art, who art conscious to thyself of unrepented sins. Peace of mind thou shalt never enjoy. Repose, like a false friend, shall fly from thee. Thou shalt be driven from the presence of the Lord like Adam when he sinned, and be terrified when thou hearest his voice, as awful when it comes from within, as when it came from without. The spirit of a man may sustain his infirmity; but a spirit wounded by remorse who can bear?

The second thing proposed, was, to shew you the deliverance which the Gospel gives us from remorse, by means of the "blood of "sprinkling," This expression alludes to the ceremonial method of expiating sin under the Old Testament, by offering sacrifices, and sprinkling the blood of the victim upon the altar. But, as this was in itself only typical of Christ, how welcome to the soul is the glad tidings of the Messiah, who did, what these sacrifices could not do,-actually save his people from their sins! By the atonement and blood of Christ, the sins of men have been completely expiated. It is the voice of the gospel of peace, “take, eat, and live "for ever. 29 What relief will it give to the wounded mind, to hear of the Blood of sprinkling, which speaketh better things than the blood of Abel! The gospel being published to the world, and the offers of mercy through a redeemer being made to all men, the sincere penitent accepts these offers, and flies for refuge to the hope set before him. Then Jesus saves his people from their sins ; he heals the mind which was wounded by remorse, and bestows that peace which the world cannot give, and cannot take away. There is joy in heaven, we are told, over a

sinner that repenteth, and the joy of the heavensis communicated to the returningpenitent. When he beholds God reconciled to him in the face of his Son; when he hears, in secret, the blessed Jesus whispering in sweet strains to his heart, "Son, be of good cheer, thy sins "are forgiven thee," he is filled with peace and with joy; with peace which passeth all understanding; with joy which is unspeakable and glorious. His sins being forgiven, he is accepted in the Beloved. He is an heir of immortality, and his name is written in heaven; to him is opened the fountain of life. He has a title to all the pleasures which are at God's right hand; to the treasures of heaven, and to the joys of eternity. He looks forward, with awell grounded hope, to that happy day, when he shall take possession of the inheritance on high; he anticipates the delights of the world to come; and breaks forth into strains of exultation, similar to those transports of assurance uttered by the Apostle, "Who shall lay any

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thing to the charge of God's elect? It is "God that justifieth; who is he that con"demneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather "that is risen again, and who now sitteth and “intercedeth for us at God's right hand."

SERMON XIV.

ON THE VALUE OF THE SOUL.

MARK Viii. 36.

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

THERE is not a person in this assembly, but who assents immediately to the truth of the maxim implied in the text. You all agree, that religion is the one thing needful, and that above all things you ought to seek the kingdom of God, and the righteousness there

of.

But there is a wide difference between the assent of the mind to the truth of this principle, and that deep conviction of its importance, which, in Scripture, obtains the name of faith; sufficient to influence the heart, and