also suppose him capable of applying his mind with great diligence to that, which is laid before him; and farther, that he can receive what God is pleased to offer, and use it as the power which works out his salvation. Supposing these things, when such a proposal as that, which is contained in the text, is made to us, we should immediately say " Take, Lord, what thou dost ask for. Take our hearts, which thou hast created, and which therefore ought to be dedicated to thee. Také them, defiled as they are, but cleanse them by the operation of thy Holy Spirit, and make them fit habitations for so sacred a guest." But, as this is a matter of great importance, it will be useful to be more particular. Let us then distinctly mention a few instances, in which the dedication of our hearts to God may be said to consist.

The first I shall notice is—a determination to receive the Truth of God, without murmuring or disputing. We take the Bible, as a revelation of the divine will, whereby are made known to us those things, which we cannot discover by our own natural reason. By this are we brought to some acquaintance with the author of our being, and are instructed concerning the nature of our souls. We learn that they were created holy and happy; we

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learn also, that they fell from that blessed condition, and yet farther, that they may be res tored by Jesus Christ, who is exhibited as a Saviour full of mercy and pity, inviting all wretched creatures to return unto God by him. Wonderful things do we meet with in that sacred Book concerning God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, at which those, who understand them not, cavil, and presume to say, "We will not receive them." Hence human ingenuity has been set to work, and strange perversions of the sacred text have been given. But, surely, he, who giveth his heart to God, will not venture to declare, that a doctrine is not true, because he cannot comprehend it; but he will diligently read, pray, and wait, till he receives the knowledge of the truth, as it is laid down, not in certain books and passages, which he has selected from others, because particularly favourable to his own preconceived opinions, but from the whole of that, which is usually taken by the Church as a revelation from God, and till he perceive a beauty and harmony in the system that are worthy of him that gave it.

2. In the dedication of our hearts to God, we must determine to deny ourselves; that is, we must keep the body, with all its affections and lusts, under a spiritual dominion; and

though this will be difficult, and the occasion of a continual struggle, yet it is what we engage to do, as Christians, in our baptismal vow, and is what we must do before we can obtain an entrance into the kingdom of heaven. But, what are those affections of the body, which we must deny? Hear Saint Paul give a catalogue of them in the fifth chapter of his Epistle to the Galatians, v. 19, 20, 21, where he says"The works of the flesh are manifest, which are these adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness;" and there are people who think, if they can abstain from these, they are little short of perfection. But, the Apostle does not stop here, but proceeds to mention other works, which strongly shew the selfish principle, which is in man; as, for instance,

idolatry," which is the setting the heart on any thing in preference to God, "witch-craft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like." Now if any one would read over this catalogue of evil deeds and tempers, and if he would pause, as he should do, after the mention of every one of them, inquiring with self-application—“ Am I guilty, in any degree, of this sin?" he would probably find, that not in one instance only, but in many, he is in the habit of transgressing

daily, and not only so, but that forbidden acts and dispositions are so ingrafted into his very nature, that he cannot divest himself of them, without being renewed in the spirit of his mind, so as to become what the Scripture calls 66 a new creature." "How," said one,* who by conversion to God became an eminent Saint, "is so great an alteration possible, or practicable? How shall I do to leave on the sudden radicated and habituated customs, which, from a continuance, have been made natural to me, and which are closely riveted to the very frame of my being?" To do this he found his own efforts quite unequal; nevertheless, deriving strength from God, the difficulty soon vanished. When," says he, "the light of heavenly truth shone in upon me, I found my soul purified and prepared thereby to receive and entertain it. When the spirit of God had descended upon me, and I was thence become a new creature, begotten again unto a lively hope, presently all my doubts were settled, all obscurities were made plain to me; the light shone in, after a wonderful manner upon my former darkness. Things appeared easy to me, which before looked difficult and discouraging, and what seemed heretofore impracticable I was now convinced *Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage.

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was possible to be done."

Does any one say,

"O that I could be such a Christian"! Give thy heart to God, and such thou wilt be. All that thou hast to do is to make the surrender. The Lord will teach, bless, and sanctify thee wholly. What cannot his strength, which is omnipotent, effect? What cannot his love, which seeks thy salvation, accomplish? But, again,

3. In the act of dedication, we must not only give up all our evil practices, together with all our vicious and irregular desires, but enter upon what is to many a still harder task, and that is, we must give up all conceit of our own goodness. When men have reflected upon their ways, and compared their lives with the pure and strict law of God, and have discovered that, to say the best of themselves, their obedience has been very imperfect, they often think to make the Lord amends for that lack of service, of which, in a course of years, they have deprived him; and so set themselves hard to work for the performance of the most difficult duties. But, in this exercise they lay claim to powers which do not belong to them, and endure great toil to no profitable end. All power, it should be considered, belongeth to God, and that the most effectual, and indeed the only way to become strong in the Lord,