the Holy Spirit and with fire" in all its solemn and interesting reality will take place in death and the resurrection, and to exercise a living faith in that truth, so as to influence our life and conduct according to the spirit of the gospel, is what the scriptures term being baptized with the spirit and with fire in this life. But this present enjoyment is not the reality, but an antepast of that reality; because "we walk by faith and not by sight." It is immaterial whether the scripture speaks of pardon, of justification; of sanctification, of redemption, of regeneration, or baptism "with the Holy Spirit and with fire," it simply means that those facts in the divine counsels unchangeably exist, and will burst upon the whole groaning creation in the resurrection world, while the believer only enjoys them in this state of being through faith, which baptizes him into the spirit of Christ. But if there be no resurrection, and nought is presented to our anticipation but the dreary prospect of a beamless eternity, then "preaching is vain," "faith is also vain," "christians are yet in their sins," "and they that are fallen asleep in Christ are perished."

The taking away the sin of the world by the Lamb of God, who is the resurrection and the life, is through death. Through death, to our faith and hope, he has destroyed "him who hath the power of death, that is the devil." The washing away of all sin, by the power of God, is through death and the resurrection. Then and not till then shall the song of triumph be sung by redeemed millions-"O death! where is thy sting? O grave! where is thy victory? The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law", &c.

All the figures of baptism point to deathall the sacrifices for sin, slain under the law for 4000 years, point to death, declaring that without the shedding of blood there is no remission. There the reality lies. There we are called upon to anchor our faith and hope even within the veil. And it must be a certain truth that our sins are to be washed away through the Jordan of death, before we can be called upon to believe it. It must be a certain reality that sin is there to be purged away, before we could, with any propriety, use baptism in water as a shadow of it; because the shadow cannot create the substance. We have now shown that as man is naturally born into this world, so he shall be spiritually born into the kingdom of God We have shown by comparison that except a man be born of a woman, he cannot see this world; and as this does not mean that he must be born twenty days before he comes forth from the womb, as a preparation for entering this world, so the expression, "except a man be born again he cannot see the kingdom of God," does not mean that he must be born twenty days before death as a preparation for entering a future existence. The new birth, no more means a reality that is to transpire here, than natural birth means some change we underwent prior to our being brought forth into life.

I believe in all the reformation or new birth here that others do, and believe in much more to come. That change here, which they call the new birth, I call the new birth in faith, or being born of faith, while the solemn reality is yet to transpire, and that is to be born from the dead in Christ our head. These facts we will now make plain to every

reader by the following example, so that our views on this subject may not be misrepresented.

Suppose that before we were born, we had been able to conceive ideas. And suppose it had been spoken to us by the Son of Godexcept your are born of the flesh, you cannot see the natural world, which is most beautiful to behold, having sun, moon, and stars, and songsters, fields and groves. It has never entered your heart to conceive the glory to be revealed in you. Now suppose some of us had believed this revelation, we would, that moment, have been born of faith, and rejoiced in hope of the glory to be revealed in us; and by faith have looked forward to the reality. This, however, would not have made our birth any more certain, because it must have been an absolute truth before we could have, with any propriety, believed it. Suppose, further, that some of us had rejected it; would this circumstance have prevented our being born? Certainly not. All of us, who believed, would have been born of faith, having an earnest of the reality, and the unbelievers would have come short of that enjoyment by faith; but, their unbelief conld in no sense make the truth of none effect. The moment we were born, belief and unbelief would be lost in certainty.

Now suppose that some of us had saidthe Son of God has declared "except we are born of the flesh, we cannot see the natural world." This must mean some great change we are to experience in the womb-we must be born some number of days before we enter the natural world, as a preparation, otherwise we can never see it.

We now ask the reader, whether it would not be folly to give to the word birth such an

explanation? The conclusion is unavoidable. We then ask, whether it does not involve the same folly to contend, in view of our text, ["except a man be born again, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God") that it means, he must be born again in this world, as a preparation for another? It certainly does.

We once more repeat it-that as natural birth was the very thing that introduced us all into this world of imperfection, sorrow and pain; so the spiritual birth will be the very thing, that shall introduce us all into another, where imperfection, sorrow and pain shall be no more.

The poor heathen, and infants, and all, will therefore be born again into the kingdom of God, and "be equal unto the angels, die no more, and be the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." The only advantage we enjoy above them is, that we have heard the good news, believed it, are "born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever," and "have entered into rest." We are rejoicing in hope of the glory of God to be revealed in us, while they are grouping in darkness, inasmuch, as they cannot believe in him of whom they have not heard.

In our next, we shall close this subject by urging the importance of the new birth through faith in the truth.

"Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."

John iii: 3.

In our last three discourses we have endeavoured to lay our views of the new birth thus far plainly before the reader, and wish him to bear in mind that the three sermons, preceding those on the new birth, are also to be read, and carefully kept in view, so that, from the whole connexion, the gospel doctrine of salvation by faith may be made clear to his understanding. We have dwelt so long, a laid so much stress upon faith, because it is the first christian grace, we are exhorted to put on, and is the first assent of the mind to the great and interesting truth revealed in the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is life and immortality for the human family.

We have shown that the new birth has a higher signification than simply to be converted from the evil of our doings, as was required under the first dispensation. The new birth, so far as it concerns the present existence, embraces not only conversion, but the whole spiritual life of the christian's soul, denominated the kingdom of heaven within. 'This mental felicity—this "weight of glory," cannot be enjoyed, but by the exercise of a living faith in Christ. Such a faith begets a sincere obedience in our life and conversation. It is a faith "that works by love, purifies the heart and overcomes the world." The great apostle to the Gentiles exclaims-"the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and