son; "coming unto him," " taking his yoke upon you,' "learning of him." This is the faith to which we never can cease, God helping us, to exhort each and all of you-not the belief of a proposition, but trust in a person. Our office is to preach, not the truth merely, but him who is the truth :—we preach Christ crucified: we preach Christ Jesus the Lord. In doing so, indeed, we must set before you distinct and definite propositions concerning him; such as these,-" He is able to save unto the uttermost all that come unto God by him;" "his blood cleanseth from all sin;" "he is exalted a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins;" "whosoever cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out." But we do not call your assent to these statements or propositions, or to a hundred more, definite or indefinite, saving faith; but your acting upon the information thus imparted and the assurance thus given,-your opening when he knocks, your looking when he appears, your coming when he calls.

This, and this alone, is our function as his ambassadors. We tell you not of salvation contained in a proposition, but of salvation treasured up in a person. We proclaim no general amnesty or indiscriminate jail-delivery, purchased for men at large by Christ, but we set before you Christ himself, and we assure all that come to him of pardon, peace, and eternal life. We do not merely tell you of the infinite amount of merit and atoning virtue which there is in the obedience and death of Jesus- as if it were a store laid up for general use, to be drawn upon by you at your discretion, or dispensed by some so-called Church at her pleasure. But we tell you of Jesus himself, who will

clothe you, any of you, all of you,-who will only come unto him,—with a robe of perfect righteousness, and wash you in a fountain that will make you all clean. And we tell you farther, that with any questions as to what there may be in Christ,-for you, or for any, while not coming unto him, you have no concern. It is presumption to ask such questions; it would be vain and useless to have them answered. Come ye unto Christ; come and see; taste and see that the Lord is good. This is his present call; this is your present duty; admitting of no evasion and of no delay. Come ye to Christ, and he will make all clear to you. Come unto him, and he will give you rest.

Oh! how simple, direct, peremptory, and pressing, is the call of the Gospel, thus viewed. Sinner, whoever thou art, whatever thy guilt, thy misery, thy hardness of heart, thy darkness and doubt, come unto Christ! Wait not till thou canst get satisfaction as to all the details of his way of saving sinners; especially as to its bearing on the impenitent, and on thee, continuing impenitent. Wait not an instant. There is no time to lose; the case is urgent; the day of grace is fleeting away; death is near. But the Saviour is nearer still; and his voice is very urgent as well as very affectionate, Come, come unto me.

II. A second observation is suggested by the preceding remark. How wide, how comprehensive, how universal, is the Gospel call! Some say that a provision of grace, limited and secured to a certain number of the human family, cannot have a benignant aspect towards the family at large. There might be something in this, were we speaking of such a provision apart from the person of Christ. But bring forward, not a store of

grace purchased by Christ, but Christ himself, full of grace and truth;-and the whole difficulty vanishes. There stands the Saviour,-with arms and heart open, alike and indiscriminately, to all,-beseeching all to come, and promising to all who come a full share in his own joyous rest; along with his own painful toil and woful cross, it is true; but still along with these as made easy and light to them through the imparting of his own meek and lowly spirit, which harmonized all to him, and made his will and the Father's one.

When we take the salvation out of the hands of the Saviour, the redemption out of the hands of the Redeemer,—that we may go from Christ to sinners of mankind, dispensing to them his purchased grace, we may be met with the question-For whom has he purchased it? And we may be told, that for us to offer it to all, when it is confessedly purchased only for some, is a delusive mockery. But we bring nothing from Christ to any; we refer all to Christ; our office being to awaken all to inquiry, and to send on inquirers to Him. We point to Christ, and say,-Go, deal with Him, -you personally, with Him personally,-He will send none of you empty away.

III. This, accordingly, is the secret of our importunity, and of your responsibility. For, as ambassadors for Christ and preachers of his Gospel, we stand not, we transact not, between Him and you; we do no more, at the utmost, than introduce you to Him. And we introduce you to Him, as having nothing but wrath in store for the world of unbelievers, and nothing but grace for His elect and willing people. We tell you of no general Saviour or general salvation. We tell you of Him who, as a Saviour, is nothing to the world at

large, but every thing to them that come unto Him. And we bid you come, that you may have rest.

Such is our Gospel. We have considered how we might best improve this occasion of the opening of our new House of Prayer; and we have been led to take advantage of it for bringing before you, as God enabled us, a simple summary of the evangelical message, in its connection with the sovereignty which it asserts on the one hand, and the submission which it requires on the other. Nor does it seem necessary to add more than a single remark. Your presence in this sanctuary, and my occupancy of this chair of truth, pledge us mutually, you to hear, and me to proclaim, this "whole counsel of God." May the Lord give us grace to be faithful! Or, if ever the time shall be at hand when you, or those who come after you to fill these seats, may refuse to hear this wholesome doctrine, or when I, or those who take my place in this pulpit, may shun to declare it,-sooner may this fair and goodly structure crumble in the dust, and of all its ample walls not one stone be left upon another, that shall not be cast down.*

* I leave these sentences as they were delivered at the opening of Free St George's Church for worship, on Sabbath, 5th January 1845.

PAUL PREACHING AT ATHENS-REASON AND

REVELATION.

ACTS xvii. 22-31.*

"Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."

THIS discourse, delivered at Athens, is an admirable specimen of that sound and wise discretion, in the exercise of which, without compromising principle,-— nay, rather for the very purpose of asserting and enforcing principle,—the apostle Paul "became all things to all men." For it was not his doctrine that he accommodated to the views and feelings of his hearers; the truth which he taught was always the same, being the truth as it is in Jesus. It was simply his manner of stating, proving, and illustrating it that he altered,

* Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things; and hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their