sacrifice of a slain animal, and promised to the faithful offerer-was made light of and perverted. He listened to the whispers of that same deceiver who had already ruined his parents, and thereby made good a lodgement in every human heart-who no doubt assaulted him from this citadel of his power, with all the temptations which pride could muster up; that as he had not sinned after the similitude of his father's transgression, the condemnation could not, in justice, extend to him; that as he had not as yet broken any law imposed by the Almighty, why should he acknowledge himself guilty? And what connexion could the blood of bulls and of goats have with the state of his soul? Of what benefit could a Redeemer, whom he had never seen, and of whom he felt no want, or a salvation so distant and obscure, be to him? Surely if he stood as he was, and offered to the LORD his Creator the acknowledgments due for temporal blessings, no more could be required of him! Alas! my hearers, what proud and presumptuous reasonings does the enemy of souls prompt in the hearts of those who receive not the love of the truth, that they may be saved! And what an awful lesson is set us in this first unbeliever! How earnestly should deists and doubters of the divinity of JESUS CHRIST, and self-righteous moralists, ponder and meditate its weighty warning! His vain reasonings led Cain to worship GoD in a way of his own invention; his barren faith presented an unbidden offering; his presumptuous appearing before the LORD, without the appointed shield of the Redeemer's merits, exposed him to the vengeance of the broken law; a merciful call to repentance, from Him who is not willing that any should perish, (If thou doest well shalt thou not be accepted?) being unheeded, hardened his proud unbelieving heart; envy, hatred, and malice took possession of his soul, and the bitter fruit was a brother's blood crying from the ground, while the righteous judgment of GOD drove the first-born of a race of sinners from all that was left of happiness here, and of hope hereafter, a fugitive and a vagabond on the earth, an outcast from the face of GoD, a prey to all the horrors of guilt and despair. Sad but speaking emblem, my brethren, of that final casting away, when the fearful and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers,

and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone; banished from the presence of the LORD and the glory of his power with an everlasting destruction.

Fruitful in instruction as this portion of God's most holy word is to all descriptions of persons, and full of warning to those who in any manner make light of the gospel, or on any pretence neglect the ordinances of God's appointment; it is still more so to those, who, led astray by their own conceit, venture to devise a mode of their own, in which they choose to worship God, going in the way of Cain, as St. Jude expresses it. Here such might learn, not only the great danger they encounter of having their unbidden offering rejected, but the still greater risk of being given over to the delusions of the devil, to blind and mislead them, under a semblance of religion, to utter ruin and everlasting misery; while to the believer, to the humble Christian, whose faith stands, not in the wisdom of men, but in the power of GoD, applied through the written word-who is content to take his religion from the Bible, and to be saved, as GoD hath appointed-it is a lamp unto his feet, and a light unto his path. From the issue of this first attempt to worship GoD after a way that is not good, because in opposition to one that is prescribed and commanded; and from the many other instances of a like kind, recorded in the history of the Old Testament Church; the believer learns his first and most useful lesson in this fundamental truth-that in all that relates to salvation it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of GOD that showeth mercy. That, as religion hath nothing human in its contrivance, so neither is it for human wisdom to alter or amend its salutary institutions. Under every dispensation of God's mercy to sinners, he perceives the object, the end, and the means, to be the same. He therefore diligently applies himself to the revealed word, comparing spiritual things with spiritual; and tracing throughout the whole legal economy the purpose to which it pointed-the end it was to answer, he thankfully embraces that light which the law and the gospel shed upon each other; he comprehends more fully the nature of that liberty wherewith CHRIST hath set VOL. II.-69

his disciples free; and, careful not to use his liberty for an occasion to the flesh, he cleaves to CHRIST in those ordinances which CHRIST himself hath appointed-in the use and observance of which only, can he either expect or obtain the favour of GOD. Finding, therefore, in the Church, ministry, and sacraments of the gospel, the same instituted means of grace which from the beginning have pointed to CHRIST, as the great sinoffering of the law-the substance of all its types and shadowsthe end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeth— the Great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, where he ever liveth to make intercession for us, and is able to save them, to the uttermost, that come unto God by him-his faith is strengthened, his hope increased, his charity enlarged; he sees that the promise has never failed, he can therefore trust it for all that is to come, committing the keeping of his soul to GOD, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Thus is JESUS CHRIST, to him, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. In the LORD only hath he righteousness and strength, and finds the gospel the power of GOD unto salvation.

In the case of unhappy Cain, he is warned against giving heed to seducing spirits, however plausibly their reasonings may be put together, or however flattering they may be to the pride of his fallen nature. He remembers there is an enemy within, on the watch to deceive him, who can even transform himself into an angel of light. He, therefore, learns to distrust and deny himself. He, therefore, tries the spirits by the word of GOD-to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

By the example of Abel, he learns with what temper and disposition of soul to appear before God; with what offerings to come into his courts; in whose name to offer up his prayers and praises; and through whom alone to expect an answer of peace. Discerning by faith the Lamb of GOD, which taketh away the sins of the world, his offering is sanctified by the merits of CHRIST. GOD hath respect unto it, and he also obtains the witness that he pleases GOD. Thus setting to his seal that GOD is true, he worships him in the SPIRIT, rejoices in CHRIST JESUS, and has no confidence in the flesh, patiently expecting that joyful

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hour when he shall join the general assembly and Church of the First-born, in singing the song of Moses, and the song of the Lamb; ascribing blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever.

Peculiarly applicable and instructive, my brethren, is this passage of Scripture, with reference to the more particular purpose for which we are this day met together. We, too, are come up to present an offering to the LORD. Let us, therefore, take heed to the warning given us, lest coming empty, we go away unfilled; lest offering an unbidden sacrifice, we draw down upon ourselves the anger of the LORD, provoking him to take away his HOLY SPIRIT from us, and deliver us over, like Cain, to the devices and desires of our own sinful hearts, to the snares and delusions of the enemy of our souls.

Furnished, as we are, with the clear discoveries of the gospel, with the substance to which all the types and shadows of the law pointed; having our faith confirmed, and our hope exalted, by the coming of the promised seed; God having provided and furnished us with a Lamb for a burnt-offering in the body of CHRIST, once offered to bear the sins of many, and having called us to be partakers of the benefits of this unbloody sacrifice; let us bear in mind wherefore CHRIST hath thus suffered for us, and what we are pledged to by thus confessing him before men as our only hope and means of salvation. Let us look to those who have gone before us, whom God hath set forth as examples of that faith and patience which inherited the promises; who, though they saw them only afar off, yet were persuaded of them and embraced them, confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. The flaming altar and the bleeding victim are no more indeed required from us; but the. same sense of guilt and danger, the same need of an Almighty Saviour, the same reliance on the atoning merits of the blood of CHRIST, the same faith in his will and power to save, the same obedience to and observance of the duties enjoined, which were manifested by them, must now accompany our offering, that GOD may have respect to us and to it. Thus shall we rightly discern the LORD's body broken for our sinful bodies, apply his shed blood to the cleansing of our polluted souls, and reap the fruit of pardon and peace-the increase of faith, hope, and

his disciples free; and, careful not to use his liberly for an occa sion to the flesh, he cleaves to CHRIST in those ordinances which CHRIST himself hath appointed-in the use and observance of which only, can he either expect or obtain the favour of GOD. Finding, therefore, in the Church, ministry, and sacraments of the gospel, the same instituted means of grace which from the beginning have pointed to CHRIST, as the great sinoffering of the law-the substance of all its types and shadowsthe end of the law for righteousness, to every one that believeththe Great High Priest that is passed into the heavens, where he ever liveth to make intercession for us, and is able to save them, to the uttermost, that come unto God by him—his faith is strengthened, his hope increased, his charity enlarged; he sees that the promise has never failed, he can therefore trust it for all that is to come, committing the keeping of his soul to God, in well-doing, as unto a faithful Creator. Thus is JESUS CHRIST, to him, the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. In the LORD only hath he righteousness and strength, and finds the gospel the power of GOD unto salvation.

In the case of unhappy Cain, he is warned against giving heed to seducing spirits, however plausibly their reasonings may be put together, or however flattering they may be to the pride of his fallen nature. He remembers there is an enemy within, on the watch to deceive him, who can even transform himself into an angel of light. He, therefore, learns to distrust and deny himself. He, therefore, tries the spirits by the word of GOD-to the law and to the testimony, if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

By the example of Abel, he learns with what temper and disposition of soul to appear before God; with what offerings to come into his courts; in whose name to offer up his prayers and praises; and through whom alone to expect an answer of peace. Discerning by faith the Lamb of GOD, which taketh away the sins of the world, his offering is sanctified by the merits of CHRIST. GOD hath respect unto it, and he also obtains the witness that he pleases GOD. Thus setting to his seal that GOD is true, he worships him in the SPIRIT, rejoices in CHRIST JESUS, and has no confidence in the flesh, patiently expecting that joyful