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make, in any case, a compromise with sin, as if it were possible for serve two masters." You must you to expect to meet with much opposition; and that opposition it is necessary for you to resist and to overcome. But be not cast down: He that is for you is infinitely greater than all that can be against you," He will "make his grace sufficient for you, and will perfect his strength in your weakness." You are in the hands of a compassionate and almighty Saviour. Trust in Him, and he will make you "more than conquerors" over all your enemies. He will guide you in difficulty; he will protect you in danger; he will fortify you against temptation; he will strengthen you for duty; he will comfort you in all your tribulations; he will lead you through the dark "valley of the shadow of death ;" and he will bring you in triumph to his heavenly kingdom. Encouraged and animated by such promises, be stedfast in the faith and obedience of the gospel. Diligently employ the means of grace which you enjoy, by reading the Scriptures, attending the public worship of God, keeping holy the Sabbath-day, and praying to your Father in heaven. Avoid the company of the thoughtless, the impure, and the profane. And associate with those who fear the Lord and keep his commandments, and who can assist you, by their counsel and their example, in your journey to heaven. Walk under the habitual impression that the eye of God is upon you, to witness all your thoughts, and all your words, and all your ways. Frequently recal to your recollection the service of this day; and when tempted to sin, remember your solemn vows, and keep yourselves from transgression. And let every other consideration be enforced by the prospect of death and judgment. Ere long you must die, and give an account to God. Nay, you may be called soon and suddenly to give in that account. And, this being the case, O how vigilant, and how active, should you be in the work that is given you, and that you have under

taken to do! Youth and health and prosperity, are no security against an unexpected summons to depart. "Thou fool, this night thy soul may be required of thee." "Be ye always ready, for ye know neither the day nor the hour when the Son of man cometh. And what I say unto you, I say unto all, watch." "Now unto Him that is able to keep your from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy; to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen."

SERMON XIV.

ENCOURAGEMENT TO PRAYER.

MATTHEW vii. 7.

"Ask, and it shall be given you."

In a former discourse on these words, we proposed to consider the encouragements we have to engage in the duty of prayer. And the first of these encouragements to which we directed your attention was, that the God to whom we pray is as willing and ready, as he is able, to bestow upon us the blessings that we need and ask. This proposition we proved and illustrated by observing, first, that God's commanding us to pray, proceeds on the supposition that he will not withhold what we ask according to his injunction: Secondly, that he gives explicit declarations and assurances of that willingness which his commandment warranted us to infer; and that these declarations and assurances are of such a nature as to remove every doubt or apprehension we might have entertained on the subject: Thirdly, that the various representations of himself, which he has given in the scriptures, afford the most powerful arguments in favor of the same conclusion-as for instance, when he represents himself as seated on a throne of

grace, and in the character of our heavenly Father: And fourthly, that he has given his own Son for our salvation; and this unspeakable gift is a pledge and earnest that every other gift which is necessary for us will be conferred; agreeably to the reasoning of the apostle, "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things."

II. We now proceed to consider, as another encouragement to pray, that Jesus Christ is our High Priest, and Advocate with the Father.

We should not, and if our minds are properly affected, we cannot, approach God without convictions of guilt and unworthiness. It is unchangeably true that his nature and character are distinguished by infinite holiness. It is no less true, that we are polluted with that moral demerit by which, as an infinitely holy being, he must be offended. And while these impressions ought at all times to have a place in our minds, especially must they prevail when we go into his presence, that we may solicit him for benefits. It must then occur to us not only that we do not deserve them, but that were we to be treated according to our desert, wrath, and not mercy, would be our portion.

It is true, indeed, that if we are reconciled to God by faith in the righteousness of Christ, and can look up to him in the spirit of adoption as our heavenly Father, such apprehensions need not distress or overwhelm us. Still, however, our being justified does not prevent us from sinning. Every sin we commit may, on that account, be considered as so much the more aggravated, and so much the more displeasing, in the sight of God. And occasionally there may be such a deep consciousness of guilt-our souls may be so burdened with a sense of iniquity-we may be so much cast down by the number and heinousness of those transgressions which set themselves in array against us-that we cannot look up to Him against whom we have done evil, and may feel as if it would be adding to our demerit

were we to call upon his name, and supplicate any blessing from his hand.

Now, in these circumstances, our great, our only refuge is in the mediation of Jesus Christ, which is sufficient to remove every ground of fear, and to give us confidence in the petitions we prefer. His sacrifice is adequate to the expiation of all our guilt. It was appointed—it has been offered up-it has been fully accepted for this very purpose. And God's perfections are honored, and his glory promoted, by the forgiveness of all who are interested in its atoning virtue. Nor is it forgiveness alone that it has obtained for us. By removing the barrier which stood between God and us, it allows his loving-kindness to flow in upon us freely and fully; and by conciliating that loving-kindness, there is secured for us every blessing which the divine bounty can be deemed capable of bestowing upon those who are the objects of it-every blessing that is essential to the salvation and happiness of the sinful creatures on whose account the sacrifice of Christ was instituted. Whether we consider the value of Christ's sacrifice as directly meriting what we need, or whether we consider it as making way for the exercise of God's love, in communicating what we need, the effect is equally precious, certain, and extensive. The value of the sacrifice is infinite, and will merit every thing-the love of God to which it gives unrestrained operation, is also infinite, and will communicate every thing, that is implied in the largest and most liberal sense of the term," redemption." But it is upon the worth and efficacy of this very sacrifice that we are called to depend, when we ask any thing of God. Depending upon it, we are assured that, for its sake, we shall receive. And as it avails to the cancelling of all sin, and to the restoration of the favor which we had lost, and to the attainment of whatever is requisite for our salvation, we have no reason to be afraid that any one boon will be refused, which it is competent for us to ask, or necessary for us to possess.