Lord." Jer. 22: 16. "Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction," &c. James, 1 : 27. "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy." Matt. 5:7. For he shall have judgment, without mercy, that hath showed no mercy. What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? If a brother or a sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, and one of you say, "Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled,” though "ye give not" him "those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?" James, 2: 13-16. "Whoso hath this world's goods, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" 1 John, 3:17. Christ, in the description of the day of judgment, represents the different sentences as being passed, according as men have been merciful or otherwise. His design in giving this description is evidently to impress our minds with a conviction that, unless this is our spirit and practice, we can have no hope of being owned and accepted by him at that day. In Scripture, the terms, a righteous man, and a merciful man, are synonymous expressions: "The righteous perisheth, and no man layeth it to heart; and merciful men are taken away, none considering that the righteous is taken away from the evil to come." Isaiah, 57: 1.

As to a forgiving spirit, or a disposition to overlook injuries, Christ urges its importance both negatively and positively. He expressly declares, that if we are of such a spirit, it is an evidence that our sins are forgiven; and that if we are not of such a spirit, it is a proof that they are not forgiven. He seems to tak special care that we should notice this, and alw

bear it in our minds: "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors," is the petition which he taught his disciples; and then he adds, "For, if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Matt. 6: 12, 14, 15.

That all true saints are of a loving, benevolent disposition, the Scriptures abundantly affirm. Without this, the apostle tells us, though we should speak with the tongues of men and of angels, we are as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal; and though we have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, we are nothing. This disposition is very often mentioned in the New Testament as a distinguishing characteristic of the disciples of Christ, and that by which they may be known to be such, both to themselves, and by others. Christ calls the law of love, by way of eminence, his commandment: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another." John, 13: 34. "This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John, 15: 12. “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John, 13:35. The beloved disciple, who had so much of this temper himself, abundantly insists upon its importance. None of the sacred writers are so express in reference to the evidence of grace as he is; and he insists scarcely upon any evidence of grace, but a spirit of Christian love, and a corresponding practice: "He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth

the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling

in him." 1 John, 2: 9, 10. "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren: he that loveth not his brother, abideth in death." Chap. 3: 14. See also verses 18, 19, 23, 24. "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and every one that loveth, is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." Chap. 4: 7, 8. "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us. Hereby we know that we dwell in him and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in him. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen ?" Verses 12, 13, 16, 20.

Hence it is abundantly evident from Scripture, that those who are truly gracious are under the government of the meek and benevolent spirit of Jesus Christ; and that this disposition is essential to the nature of saving grace, and is the proper spirit of true Christianity. We may therefore conclude, without hesitation, that all truly Christian affections are attended by such a spirit; and that this is the natural tendency of the fear and the hope, the sorrow and the joy, the confidence and the zeal of every true Christian.

Let no one conclude, however, that true Christians have no remains of a contrary spirit, and that they never, in any instance, act contrary to such a disposition. But I do affirm, that every thing belonging to true religion is of this tendency; and that there is no true Christian but who is so under the prevailing power of such a spirit, that he is properly denominated from it, and that it really forms his character. Ministers and others have, therefore, no warrant to encourage

persons of a contrary character and behavior to think that they are converted, because they tell a plausible story about illuminations and discoveries. Some place religion so much in illuminations, and certain transient impressions, and so little in the prevailing spirit and temper, that they greatly misrepresent it, and exhibit Christianity as if it were quite different from what it is as delineated in the sacred writings. The Scriptures know nothing of selfish, ill-tempered, and contentious Christians. A greater absurdity cannot be thought of, than a morose, hard-hearted, covetous, proud, malicious Christian. We should endeavor to bring men to the rules of the word of God, and not so to stretch those rules, in order to include ourselves and our friends, as to make them of no effect.

It is true that allowances must be made for natural temper, but not such allowances as admit that those who were wolves and serpents are now converted, while there is no remarkable change in their spirit and dispositions. The change made by conversion is, in general, most remarkable with respect to that sin to which the person was most addicted. Grace has as great a tendency to restrain and mortify those sins which are contrary to the spirit mentioned above, as it has to mortify drunkenness or lasciviousness. The Scriptures represent the change wrought by the Gos pel, as appearing more particularly in a change of spirit and temper: "The wolf-shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall feed, their young ones shall lie down together, and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the shall play on the hole of the asp, and

the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea." Isaiah, 11:6-9. See also Isaiah, 65: 25. Accordingly we find, that in the primitive church converts were remarkably changed in this respect: "For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Savior appearednot by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost." Tit. 3: 4, 5. "In which ye also walked; but now you also put off all these; anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out of your mouth." Col. 3: 7, 8.

IX. Gracious affections soften the heart, and are accompanied by a Christian tenderness of spirit.

False affections, however they may seem at first to improve the disposition, have, in the end, a tendency to harden the heart; and the consequence is, the persons thus deluded become less affected by their sins, and less circumspect in their conduct; less moved by the warnings and cautions of the word of God, and less susceptible of benefit from the chastisements of his providence, than they were while under legal awakenings and the fear of hell. They have felt certain impressions and affections, have a high opinion of themselves, and consider their state as being quite safe and therefore they are now much more eas