with the House of Judah; not according to the covenant I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, &c. But this shall be the covenant that I will make, saith the Lord; I will put my law in their inward parts and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbour and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord." (Jeremiah chap. 31. verse 31. &c.) If when you feel the secret checks of that Divine Teacher who whenever reproves you do you wrong, you would yield to what he requires, you would feel the reward of peace in your hearts; a peace promised by the Saviour of the world to his obedient children-" Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as this world giveth, give I unto you, &c." (John 14. 27.)

This will be putting the precepts of the christian religion into practice. But though it is a great favor to read or to hear the instructive truths contained in the Scriptures, yet this will be to no purpose

if you do not obey as well as hear them. The apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Corinthians tells us, that "God who commanded the Light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of God in the face of Jesus Christ."-The more we attend to the discoveries of this Divine Light, the more we feel that there is much in our hearts which wants to be enlightened and cleansed from evil. Then we shall learn that the soul stands in need of something to support and nourish it as well as the body; and that, as the soul is immortal, its food must be spiritual. We shall then hear and joyfully understand what the holy Redeemer said formerly when he declared, "I am the bread of life, he that cometh to me shall never hunger, and he that be B 2

lieveth on me shall never thirst." (John 6th chap. 35.) and again, "I am the Light of the world, he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the Light of Life." (John viii. 12.)

"This then is the condemnation, that Light is come into the world, but men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil." (John iii. 19.) The evil deeds of men make them prefer darkness to light. They are not desirous in general, to accept of, and benefit by the remedy provided by the infinite love of God; they are not sufficiently concerned to "walk while they have the light." It ever was and ever will be the language of the gracious Redeemer, "Look unto me and be ye saved all ye ends of the earth." (Isaiah 45th.)

"Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matt. xi. 28.) Do not then I earnestly and affectionately intreat you, do not de

ceive yourselves, by thinking since God is merciful, and Jesus Christ is willing to be the Saviour of all men, that you need not be anxious about your present conduct or This would be a dreadful

future state. error indeed. It is true that Jesus, the Redeemer of his people, has laid down his life for us, that we might depart from evil, and stand accepted in the divine sight; that we may be delivered from the bondage of sin and Satan, and "brought into the glorious liberty of the sons and daughters of God:" but if we would profit by these proofs of his love, we must accept of his salvation on the terms he offers it; we must be his true disciples by forsaking sin, and endeavouring to do the will of God" upon earth as it is done in heaven." Remember, we cannot enter the kingdom of everlasting rest, to join the celestial company of saints and angels, till we have learned to lament our past transgressions, and have suffered the blessed Saviour of the world to cleanse our hearts from evil, that they may be filied with the graces of

his holy Spirit. He has given us all a time for repentance; he has offered, us the

means of being saved in him with an everlasting salvation; but, if we neglect these means, if we suffer this day of gracious visitation to pass away unimproved, dreadful indeed will be our state.

Recollect you are now in time, to-morrow you may be in eternity! "Work then while it is day; for the night cometh wherein no man can work." The blessed Jesus himself declared, "If ye die in your sins, whither I go ye cannot come." (John viii. 21st.)

Do not think that you are sufficiently prepared for eternity, if you go to some place of worship, and abstain from gross sins; for if you become acquainted with your own hearts, through that grace with which the Almighty mercifully visits the children of men, you will be humbled under a sense of his goodness and your own nworthiness; you will then become of the