have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame. And again, if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." These quotations from Scripture are alarming to them who have fallen from the truth, who have put their hand to the plough, and are looking back. From the previous reasoning of our Saviour, it is evident that the sin against the Holy Spirit is a denial of the power of the spirit of God in the gospel, and attributing the work of the spirit to the devil, or any other cause, but not to Him who worketh in us the work of our salvation. The works of Jesus bore such testimony of a supernatural power, that his enemies, who would not confess him to be the Messiah, to lessen the influence of the Divine Witness on the minds of the people, said,—“ This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub, the prince of the devils." And from the Apostle Paul's reasoning it is evident, that they who fall away totally reject Christianity; they are persons who have had the witness of the Holy Spirit to the truth of the gospel, and have been powerfully impressed with the reality of a future existence, and

been enlightened in the knowledge of the gospel, and, after all this powerful evidence of the truth of the gospel, have turned from it, contemning the blood of the holy covenant; and as they have had both external and internal evidence that Jesus Christ was the Messiah of God, without coercion on their wills, no greater evidence shall be given to turn them to repentance, as their confessing Jesus to be the Messiah, and afterwards rejecting him as a deceiver, suspends him (as it were) on the cross to the public obloquy of the unbelieving. It is an awful warning to beware of apostacy,-to beware of indulging self-will when it is opposed to the gospel of Christ, and persisting in habits which its precepts utterly condemn; it is the stubborn sinner to which these verses evidently refer, and not the humble penitent who laments over his turning from the holy commandment.

Humility is a leading feature in the disciples of Jesus, but it is very difficult to acquire. Pride and ambition seem congenial to our nature, pointing to the cause of our first parents' fall. The sacrament of the Supper is a lasting symbol in the church of the humility and brotherly affection of the saints. Penitence (in Scripture) is feelingly described, and greatly encourages the one that is lost to raise his eye towards his Father's dwelling. The Royal Psalmist no sooner acknowledged his sin, than it was declared to him that he should not die, for the

Lord had put away his sin. The prodigal son no sooner returned to his father than he was welcomed with gladness. The good shepherd no sooner found his wandering sheep, than he put it on his shoulders rejoicing. The good housewife, for the joy of finding her lost piece of money, called her friends and neighbours to rejoice with her, and there is more joy in heaven over the returning penitent, than over ninety and nine just persons that need no repentance !

The sinner, who feels the burden of sin, and hath proved the emptiness of the world's enjoyments, who hath been impelled headlong to destruction by the fire of desire and the whirlwind of passion, must rejoice in the still small voice of the gospel, when it invites him to come to Jesus and partake of his rest: when the thunder of Mount Sinai rolls awfully over his head, and its flames ready to devour him, his conscience awakeneth with upbraidings, his former slumbers break, and his frenzied imagination starts, as if it heard the dreadful sound of the last trumpet: "Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment."-How cheering then to hear this glad voice, "It is I, be not afraid!"-" Thy sins, which were many, are forgiven; go and sin no more.”

A sinner, on awakening from his dream, beholds the awful sinfulness of sin; it is then he sees the necessity of a Saviour to atone for his sin; the voice of Jesus proves sweet to his soul; "where

can he go, but to Him who hath the words of eternal life?" he abhors iniquity, not because judgment follows, but because it is contrary to the law of his God. A new song is put into his mouth, and he magnifies the Lord. I bless thy holy name, that thou hast graciously been pleased to visit me in my low estate, that thou hast displayed gloriously that thy love is better than life, that thy peace passeth all understanding. Oh! may the tide of thanksgiving and praise ascend towards thee; may I be enabled to show forth the abundance of thy grace. I am a monument of thy mercy, thy loving-kindness is more to me than life, and thy tender compassion more to me than the world's wealth. I will praise thee, O my God. What can I render unto thee, 0 my God? In me there is nothing, but in thee is all fulWhen the world's comforts gave no consolation, thou hast been mine help. When no eye pitied, thou beheld me. When there was no hand to save, thine own arm brought salvation, thou art the rock that is higher than I.

ness.

High is the reward promised to the faithful; "to him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me on my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne." The followers of Jesus appear on Mount Zion, having their Father's name written in their foreheads. They are not ashamed to rank under his banner, fearing none of those things which they shall suffer;

being faithful unto death, they shall obtain a crown of life. From the alarming state those are left to who turn from the holy commandment, and the great encouragement there is to penitence and perseverance in holiness, it should induce us to beware of indulging in any sin, and particularly the sin that most easily besets us. Our first parents indulged curiosity, and death became their portion. David, in an idle hour, gave way to impure desire, and great was his fall. Solomon was carried away by sensual indulgence; and Judas for the love of gain sold his Master. Ananias and Sapphira for telling a lie lost their lives. However little at the time we may be impressed with the dreadful effect of sin, still we should listen to the experience of the past, and stand in awe and sin not, for what evils may come who can tell. One moment's indulgence in sin may imbitter our whole lives, and the wages of sin is death. The life of man terminates in death, and how near it may be to all none can tell; to be ready for that hour is the object of our probationary state here, that we be not surprised with it in a moment. To accustom the mind to frequent meditation on death softens its aspect, and enables us to view its approach without terror. There is something in the prospect of dissolution abhorrent to the natural feelings. This body, which we have laboured to nourish, and this soul, which has been its companion from infancy, will at