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ly every blessing was suspended upon the performance of conditions, but now a l is freely given, or freely promised, and every promise not left conditional, but made and secured in Christ. There is no longer any uncertainty hanging over those that are in Christ, whether at the end of life they shall be accepted or rejected for already are they pardoned and justified—already are they made the children of God by adoption-already they are at peace, and have everlasting

life.

"If Christ is worthy, then are they worthy Did the Son of God fulfil the law in their stead, and thus obtain righteousness? then they also are perfectly righteous in the righteousness of Christ. Was he filled with the Spirit? then shall they also receive the anointings of the Holy One Did he rise from the grave, and ascend to his glory? then they shall rise and dwell with him in heavenly places, and walk with him in white, and sit with him on his throne, and reign with him for ever and ever."-pp. 189, 190, 191.

In considering, under the second head, "what are the proper evidences of our having made the transition from ourselves to Christ," he states them to be twofold. 1. "There is a divine operation upon him," for he is a new creature, or, as it is in the original, a new creation.

"Creation is the work of God, he only can call into being that which had no previous existence, and bid that be which before was not. Religion in the heart is not the effect of our own reason acting by itself, or the consequence of moral persuasion, but it is a work wrought by the immediate supernatural power of God the Holy Ghost,"-(p. 192)—

And is a gift peculiar to those that are in Christ, and takes place on their union with him. Here our author quotes Ezekiel, xxxvi. 26. and various other passages, which express in the plainest terms the "necessity of a new heart, and the exertion of Divine power to to produce it," and furnish an incontrovertible truth that there is a certain period in the life of every true Christian, at which he becomes the subject of an inward change, the effect of the power of God-such a change as is certainly capable of being ascertained.

The second evidence, that we have "made the transition from ourselves to Christ," is, "that universal change which ensues in the heart and life.

"The change in the conduct is in most cases remarkable. Observe how all the grosser habits of evil are cast off, and are succeeded by opposite virtues : if the man has been dishonest, he becomes upright; if a drunkard, he becomes temperate; the sensualist grows chaste; the churl, liberal; the proud man, humble; the vain man, modest; the backbiter, charitable; and the malicious, [the] envious, and [the] deceitful, kind, generous, and sincere.

"There is a change of conduct towards God. Once he presumed to pass the sabbath as he pleased; to sanctify or profane it-to be absent from the house of prayer or to visit it, as most suited his convenience or inclination: but now he cautiously excludes both business and amusement from it, and dedicates the whole to holy exercises. He will not occasion others, even heathens, to violate the sabbath by giving them secular employments which are unnecessary, because God's commands are equally binding on them as on us; and therefore we are enjoined to give rest on that day to the stranger that is within our gates. Once he could live without secret prayer, or satisfy his conscience with the dull repetition of a form; but he now regards prayer as one of the most important employments of life. The word of God heretofore lay neglected; but henceforth it is daily perused for the purposes of spiritual instruction. His views of himself are become new. He will not now be heard speaking of the goodness of his heart, or justifying his defects, or presuming upon his comparative innocence for recommending him to God, but with deep self-abasement acknowledging his desert of God's wrath, yet resting his steady hopes on the atonement of Jesus Christ."-pp. 194, 195.

"To the man who is in Christ a new creature, the government of his temper becomes an object of serious attention: for according to his new views, all disor ders of the temper must be considered as arising from pride, prejudice, or discontent, and therefore unbecoming a Christian. He therefore labours to be poor in spirit, meek, forgiving; patiently bearing with the perverseness and obstinacy of those with whom he has to deal, and he will really love and pray for those who injure or speak evil of him.

"He defends the ways of the righteous, and shows a decided preference for their company, yet even with the world he is not morose, or forbidding-he is serious, but not severe-pitying sinners, but not despising them-an opposer of all sin, but especially of his own.

"With respect to what he has in his own power, he does not conceive himself at liberty to use his time, fortune, or influence as may suit his humour; but bearing in mind that he is not a master, but a steward of these things, he prepares for the strict account of his stewardship which he must give at the end of life before the tribunal of God. His fortune therefore will not be all spent in vanity, while there are any poor in the world who have a claim upon him by their misery, or any ignorant whose spiritual benefit may be any way promoted by a proper application of pecuniary aid; nor will his time be devoted to excess of business, nor trifled away in unnecessary amusements, but he will employ all in the way that shall appear most to conduce to the glory of God and the benefit of mankind. Such a conduct will undoubtedly subject him to the charge of singularity and preciseness; but unconcerned at the opinions of men, he determines neither to be guided by the customs nor maxims of the world, but simply to follow the word of God as an all-sufficient rule of life. In short, if any man be in Christ, he is altogether another man, old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."-pp. 196, 197.

The change spoken of in Ezekiel, before referred to, and in Rom. xii. 2. is

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"Perfectly distinct from a reformation of life, however extensive that reformation be; such a change of the heart as presupposes its evil condition, and that though we retain our natural faculties, the heart is in the most abject, corrupted, and forlorn condition-with all the passions affecting objects which are either false or dangerous. This is it which renders a new creation necessary; there must be a new disposition of the heart. The bent of the will, the direction of the passions, the habitual principles, motives, and ends, must be different from what they were before; the taste and inclination must be different, the whole state and nature, in short, different. Here is the work of God! man cannot teach the soul; but it is upon it, that God's new creating influence is principally exerted, and the result forms a wide line of discrimination between a divine work upon the soul and mere human efforts. The moving principle of the new-created soul in all that it does in a moral point of view, has no longer a regard to character, or the advancement of temporal interest, nor even the fear of hell merely, and hope of heaven, though it is very powerfully influenced by these; for all these are no more than the motives which naturally impel every man to action, and may exist where the heart is in its native unregenerate state, but its moving principle is love—the love of God, which an unregenerated man never felt.”—pp. 198,

199.

But we have already exceeded the prescribed bounds for this article, and can give but a single extract more. It is one which we are persuaded will be profitable for the serious consideration of all.

"Examine, your ownselves brethren; prove your ownselves. Review the text and ask, are ye new creatures? If the question appear strange to you-if the whole idea of the thing seem novel, or, as it is to some, ludicrous, you need not reply; you have manifestly not experienced the new creation. On what then do you ground your hopes of salvation? You say that you discharge your relative duties-doing as you would be done by-giving to all their due-that you are no extortioner, no adulterer, no slanderer-having failings, but not worse in general than others; but all this is of no consequence in the present inquiry ; therefore the question recurs, are ye new creatures? What though you are kind

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parents, dutiful children, faithful friends, charitable neighbours, honourable in mercantile concerns, in short, entirely correct in all social and relative duties: nay, that you wait upon God in public and private, and are regular at his house and table; of what use will it all be in the matter of your salvation, if there be not something more, if there be not a new creation of your hearts? In Christ Jesus, says St. Paul, neither circumcision availeth any thing nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. Neither is the necessity of this change to be found in the Epistles alone, of the obscurity of which some are pleased to complain who have no inclination to study them; our Saviour Christ himself has set forth the same things with equal strictness, when he said to Nicodemus, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. And, Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. And where is this change to be wrought on us except on this side the grave? Death cannot itself alter the habitual temper, nor will God exert his power on the soul which has lost the opportunities which were offered in this world! As the tree falleth, so it lieth. He that is unjust let him be unjust still; he that is filthy let him be filthy still. If a man die, not born again, let him not expect to rise a new creature from the grave.

"Then be persuaded of your danger my dear brethren. Awake from delusion and turn your thoughts inward. Deceive not yourselves with supposing that morality is holiness, or that a reformation in the life is equivalent to a divine transformation of the heart. If you would follow the saints of God, you must with them enter in at the straight gate, and walk the narrow road, and experience with them, the heart renewing energies of the Holy Ghost Let not the pleasures of this world tempt you to defer the consideration of it to another season for it may be that on your death-bed this passage shall recur, and you will then regret that you had not earlier yielded to the convictions which it must have produced. If any with reasonable alarm are inquiring what is to be done? the answer is, Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ; for since the new creation of the soul is the effect of our being in Christ, the first step in the way of salvation is to apply to him and happy is it for us, that to warrant us to expect his grace no previous merit is necessary. The way is open, the gift is free, the invitation is couched in terms of unbounded fulness Wait not till your hearts are better, but apply at once to the Saviour and you shall be created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that you should walk in them. As the scion, engrafted on the stock receives sap from it, and then brings forth fruit, so you, by your union with Christ, shall be holy in heart and life."—pp. 202, 203, 204.

These sermons are upon the whole, what might be expected. They contain the vital truths of Christianity stated with apostolic simplicity, and urged upon men with primitive zeal and earnestness. They contain little, indeed nothing, of that classic elegance which some might have looked for from a Cambridge scholar of distinguished standing-but their plainness does the author more real credit than the highest polish could have done. It is the dignified sacrifice of a Christian scholar who loved the souls of men more than their praises.

We hope this volume will be extensively purchased, both for its own value and for the sake of the important cause to which its profits are appropriated.

INTERNAL

A MAN of subtle reasoning asked
A peasant if he knew
Where was the internal evidence
That proved his Bible true?

EVIDENCE.

The terms of disputative art

Had never reached his ear-
He laid his hand upon his heart.
And only answered, "here!"

Entelligence.

WESTERN ASIA.-JERUSALEM.

THE following interesting account of the present state of Jerusalem, is extracted from the travels of Robert Richardson, M. D., along the Mediterranean and the parts adjacent, recently published.

THERE are two accounts of the ancient city of Jerusalem, which have come down to us with the sanction of high authority. The first is to be found in the third chapter of Nehemiah, who built the walls of the city, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity. My attention was particulary directed to this account by the Countess of Belmore, who visited the memorable spots in and about Jerusalem, with all the zeal and feeling of a pious Christian, taking the holy Scriptures for her guide, while at the same time she availed herself of all the light that modern travellers have been able to collect for the illustration of this most interesting portion of sacred topography. The other account is from the pen of the Jewish historian Josephus, who had the misfortune to witness the sacking and utter destruction of his native city by the victorious arms of Titus Vespasian. It is a tantalizing circumstance, however, for the traveller, who wishes to recognize in his walks the site of particular buildings, or the scenes of memorable events, that the greater part of the objects mentioned in the description both of the inspired and Jewish historian, are entirely removed and 'razed from their foundations, without leaving a single trace or name behind to point out where they stood. Not an ancient tower, or gate, or wall, or hardly even a stone remains. The foundations are not only broken up, but every fragment of which they were composed is swept away, and the spectator looks upon the bare rock with hardly a sprinkling of earth to point out her gardens of pleasure, or groves of idolatrous devotion. And when we consider the palaces, and towers, and walls about Jerusalem, and that the stones of which some of them were constructed were thirty feet long, fifteen feet broad, seven and a half thick, we are not more astonished at the strength, and skill, and perseverance, by which they were constructed, than shocked by the relentless and brutal hostility by which they were shattered and overthrown, and utterly removed from our sight. A few gardens still remain on the sloping base of mount Zion,. watered from the pool of Siloam; the gardens of Gethsemane are still in a sort of ruined cultivation; the fences are broken down, and the olive trees decaying, as if the hand that dressed and fed them were withdrawn; the mount of Olives still retains a languishing verdure, and nourishes a few of those trees from which it derives its name: but all around about Jerusalem, the general aspect is blighted and barren; the grass is withered; the bare rock looks through the scanty sward, and the grain itself, like the staring progeny of famine, seems in doubt whether to come to maturity, or die in the ear. The vine that was brought from Egypt is cut

Western Asia.-Jerusalem.

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off from the midst of the land; the vineyards are wasted; the hedges are taken away; and the graves of the ancient dead are open and tenantless. How is the gold become dim; and every thing that was pleasant to the eye withdrawn. Jerusalem has heard the voice of David and Solomon, of prophets and apostles; and he who spake as man never spake, has taught in her synagogues and in her streets. Before her legislators, her poets, and her apostles, those of all other countries became dumb, and cast down their crowns, as unworthy to stand in their presence. Once she was rich in every blessing; victorious over all her enemies; and resting in peace; with every man sitting under his own vine, and under his own fig-tree, with none to disturb or to make him afraid. Jerusalem was the brightest of all the cities of the east, and fortified above all other towns, so strong, that the Roman conqueror thereof, and the master of the whole world besides, exclaimed, on entering the city of David, and looking up at the towers which the Jews had abandoned, "Surely we have had God for our assistance in the war; for what could human hands or human machines do against these towers!" It is no other than God who has expelled the Jews from their fortifications. Their temple was the richest in the whole world; their religion was the purest; and their God was the Lord of Hosts. Never was there a people favoured like this people, but they set at nought the counsel of their God; trusted in their walls; and walked after the imaginations of their own hearts; their city was given up to the spoiler; the glory departed from Israel, and the sceptre from Judah; the day of vengeance arrived; and the rebellious sons of Jacob are scattered, and peeled, and driven under every wind of heaven, without a nation or country to call their own; unamalgamated, persecuted, plundered and reviled; like the ruins of a blighted tower, whose fragments remain to show the power that smote it, and to call aloud to heaven and earth for repair. What a tremendous lesson for the kings and people of the earth to learn wisdom, and in the midst of their prosperity, to recognize the hand from which their comforts flow! It is impossible for the Christian traveller to look upon Jerusalem with the same feelings with which he would set himself to contemplate the ruins of Thebes, of Athens, or of Rome, or of any other city, which the world ever saw.-There is in all the doings of the Jews, their virtues and their vices, their wisdom and their folly, a height and a depth, a breadth and a length that angels cannot fathom; their whole history is a history of miracles, the precepts of their sacred book are the most profound, and the best adapted to every situation in which man can be placed; they moderate him in prosperity, sustain him in adversity, guide him in health, console him in sickness, support him at the close of life, travel on with him through death, live with him throughout the endless ages of eternity, and Jerusalem lends its name to the eternal mansions of the blessed in heaven, which man is admitted to enjoy through the atonement of Christ Jesus, who was born of a descendant of Judah. we must turn to consider the Jerusalem that now is. In Egypt and Syria, it is universally called Goutes, or Koudes, which means holy, and is still a respectable, good-looking town; it is of an irregular VOL. IX.

75

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