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deceitfulness of sin. They are unmindful; they come to church from mere custom; never entering into the spiritual meaning of our truly scriptural and beautiful liturgy; nor yet even the sermon, except indeed it please their fancy : so that the very things which should be for their health, become unto them as a bane.

Brethren, see you not these characters exemplified in every-day life; persons who are seldom absent from public worship, yet are so little influenced by what they hear, that there is no change of heart, of conversation, of practice; but the world, its pleasures, and its pursuits, are still their grand objects? See you not this I say, and can you doubt the existence of way-side hearers in the world, or among yourselves?

And what is the cause of this? There is no preparation of heart for public ordinances. The Sabbath morning is not occupied in hallowed engagements. There may be a withdrawment from the business of the world; but there is no withdrawment from worldly thoughts. There is no earnest prayer, that the life-giving energy of the Holy Spirit may accompany the revealed word; and there is no prayer heartily ascending, that the seed sown may be watered by the blessing of heaven: but, on the contrary, there is trifling conversation, idle gossip, or that abomination of our age-that engine which is diffusing its mischief, its poison, to every corner of this professedly Christian country-the Sunday newspaper. No wonder that to such, who merely attend the house of God out of form, and are absorbed in thoughts about the world, it should be an empty, fruitless, worthless engagement.

But there are some who pay a degree of attention to what they hear, who reflect upon it, and perhaps approve of it; but still they derive no permanent benefit from it. These are the characters which are next described by our Lord; those on the rock. " They on the rock are they which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation fall away." Many unprejudiced minds, many warm imaginations, many affectionate hearts are here. They seem to promise fairly; but, alas! the flower withers in the bud. Those who come to this house merely for form and fashion's sake, but have no pleasure in it, "receive the word," as our Saviour says, "with joy." What can there be to hinder its growth? Hear it from Him who knew what was in man: "These have no root in them." Let the youthful professor especially attend to this. The root of all real religion is self-knowledge, self-abasement, self-renunciation. You must sink low under the conviction of your own sinfulness, or you will never rise in the experience of Christian holiness. You must be rooted and grounded in Christ, become the living branches of this spiritual vine, or the seed will die ere it is grown up.

The present is an age peculiarly fertile in stony-ground hearers. Religion, to a certain extent-religious profession, at least, to a certain extent has become fashionable: it is no longer the despised enthusiasm of a few; but it is the firm conviction of the most intelligent and best informed among all classes of society. It is spreading (blessed be God) in all its hallowed realities, especially among the young. We must ever expect, that when there is so much blossom con

tinually turning into real fruit, there must be much which displays great promise that drops off at the first cool wind that blows, and is heard of no more. There is not so much danger in this our day of falling away through persecution for the truth's sake, as there is of hastily assuming the garb of piety to serve some worldly purpose. To be able to speak upon religious subjects, to extol some popular preacher, to prefer the doctrines of Christ crucified to a dry code of formality, is no longer a reproach, but rather a commendation: and the consequence is, that our hearers of this day resemble those in the days of Ezekiel: "Thou art unto us as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well upon an instrument." They hear the word, but they will not do it.

Brethren, I ask again (for self-application is the object I am aiming at), are you pleased with what you hear? Are your feelings often moved at that which is addressed to you? Are your hopes and desires kindled by the rich consolations of the Gospel? And yet, is your religion bending and accommodating itself to the customs of the world? Are you religious in one society, talking the language of Canaan; and, if not profane in others, at least, as worldlyminded as those around you-triflers, slanderers, scorners, despisers of that which is good? Is it thus with you? Then I tell you that the Gospel preaching, to which you say you are attached, so far from benefiting you, will prove your heaviest curse. The ministry of the Gospel will never be in vain. The same sermon which, under God, subdues the pride, and rebellion, and prejudice of some, will only harden others in impenitence and in unbelief. Therefore take heed how you hear; for it had been better not to have known the way of righteousness, than, having known it, to turn aside into your own courses. O, endeavour by self-examination, by prayer, by closer communion with God, to attain a greater depth of soil, to strike a deeper root upon the Rock of ages. Then, when all the storms of temptation shall beat at your feet, you shall be preserved, and you shall flourish when all the cedars of Lebanon shall be uprooted for ever.

The next order of hearers is thus described by our Lord: "That which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares, and riches, and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection." These differ from the others in this respect: the first had no root at all, and it was carried away as soon as it was sown: in the second the soil was so thin, and the plant so feeble, that it died before it had grown up. The Word of God makes a lodgment in the heart for a time; it is carried out of this house; it outlives the Sabbath; but, alas! it does not outlive the week. What then are the things that choke it? The cares, and the riches, and the pleasures of the world: if you are men of business, the cares; if you are men of property, the riches; if you are men of idleness, the pleasures. My brethren, there is no more deadly enemy to profitable hearing of God's word than a worldly spirit: "Take heed and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth." Many there are of whom it may be truly said, that they "have forsaken the right way, and have gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighte

ousness." O that I could convince such-or I would rather say, O that the Holy Spirit of God might convince them, that there is a day coming, when those gilded baubles, upon which you are expending you time, your strength, your energy, will no more be able to profit you. My brethren, the love of Christ and the love of the world cannot dwell in the same heart. If any man is a friend of the world, he must be an enemy of God. No fruit to perfection will that heart bring forth, which is choked with the cares and the pleasures of this life.

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These, then, are three of the parties enumerated by our Lord; and they are all seen to be hearers only. It is very plain, therefore, that our Lord did not expect his Gospel to produce universal conversion. Many are called but few are chosen." There are comparatively but few who are willing to hear, and receive the truth in the love of it; who pray fervently that the word of God may be ingrafted into their heart by the operation of the Holy Spirit and prayer. O, my brethren, that you may be filled with the seed of heaven, and believe to the saving of your souls.

The last class, upon which my comments must be brief, are thus described: "That on the good ground are they, which, in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience." How affecting is the consideration, that out of four classes of hearers supposed in this parallel, three were deceived! There are many ways, brethren, of going wrong; there is but one way of going right. And what was it made the difference between these and the other description of persons? It was this; that the soil had been prepared, the fallow-ground broken up, the heart softened for the reception of this blessed seed by the Spirit of God. There was no prejudice; but a honest heart, willing and disposed to listen, and meekly to receive the truth. This preparation of the heart is from the Lord; it is his work, and his promise is, "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." When this promise is fulfilled, the man is no longer a hearer only, but he begins to be a doer of the word he keeps it, he evidences it, he treasures it up in his heart, and it becomes the daily rule of his life: it is a lamp to his feet, and a light to his path: it is his defence in the hour of temptation: "Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I should not sin against thee." He desires to hear and to read; "How sweet are thy words to my mouth; yea, sweeter than honey to my lips." The word of God in short is his joy, his comfort, his all. His religion is not a fanciful feeling, not a dead hearing, but a living principle. He brings forth fruit with patience, and with perseverance.

Brethren, let this be your aim. Be not weary in well-doing; and in all your trials rest upon Christ, who, as he has been the author, will also be the finisher

of your salvation. Be earnest in every duty for his Name's sake. Remember that the practical truth to be drawn from all that I have said to you this morning, is summed up in the language of the Apostle: "Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own souls." Or in the language of our Saviour,

"Blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it." Let us then unite in humble prayer to Him who is the great and glorified Head of the Church, and with whom is the residue of the Spirit, in that most appropriate petition of our Church: "That it may please thee to give to all thy people, increase of grace, to hear meekly thy word, and to receive it with pure affection, and to bring forth the fruits of the Spirit. We beseech thee to hear us, good Lord."

THE JOY OF ANGELS IN THE SUCCESS OF REDEMPTION.

REV. H. MELVILL, A.M.

SOMERS' CHAPEL, SOMERS' TOWN, MARCH 1, 1835 *.

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."-LUKE, XV. 10.

It is equally true of Christianity that it cherishes and directs certain dispositions which it finds in our nature, and that it labours to introduce others which are not of native growth. This is remarkably explained in that double precept of St. Paul," Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep." The "weeping with them that weep" is, in a certain degree, natural to us; for, with rare exceptions, the sight of misery excites in men's hearts emotions of compassion. But the "rejoicing with them that rejoice," is so far from being natural to us, that envy, rather than delight, is the feeling which commonly follows the view of another's prosperity. Compassion is itself a natural, original, distinct, particular affection in human nature; whereas rejoicing in the joy of others is only a consequence of the general affection of love which results from an enlarged philanthropy; and this enlarged philanthropy can follow from nothing but the infused principle of Christianity; the religion whose every precept wages war with selfishness. It is the object of Christianity to make and substitute others, as it were, for ourselves—their interests for our own; and thus to cause that there should be only one heart throughout the human population. It therefore demands from us that we appropriate to ourselves the prosperity and distresses of others; having the same end of pleasure in the one, and of sorrow in the other, as we have in what is called our own portion. We admit that we here describe a point in Christian attainment which is never quite reached by the most advanced in godliness: but such is the standard; and we are to aim at perfection, however unable to acquire it; and while in neither respect we come up to the requirement, there will be always interposed a greater deficiency in regard to the rejoicing than in regard to the weeping with others; so that the former will demand the main of our carefulness.

Now, there is a beautiful exhibition in our text of that rejoicing in the welfare of another, which it was the one object of Christianity to introduce on the earth. It is asserted, you observe, that higher orders of intelligence have such sympathy with men, that the repentance of a single sinner ministers sensibly to their delight: they take an interest so intense in the great scheme of redemption, that they experience a new rapture at each instance of the salvation of the fallen and you might have argued, from their taking such interest in redemption, that they For the benefit of the Northern Dispensary.

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