testimony of God as to the universality of the corruption that has overspread every nation, and tribe, and individual on the face of the earth. Yes, the truth is unquestionable, however melancholy it may be that all have sinned, and therefore that all are depraved, especially those on whom "the day spring from on high" has never dawned. The proofs are but too numerous and incontestible. Whereever we cast our eyes upon the human race, whether formed into nations, or separated into tribes; whether collected in cities, or scattered in tents; whether sitting in luxurious indulgence, or moving in the active pursuits which poverty stimulates; whether they are men, women, or children, what do we perceive? What but ungodliness and crime? What but vice stalking abroad in every form suited to their propensities? The religion they profess is a term of which they hardly know the meaning; we need not wonder, therefore, that its substance and practice should be almost utterly unknown. They are without God, for though they have lords many, and gods many, they know not the God that made them, and worship the work of their own hands. It would therefore be a circumstance more wonderful than anything we have yet witnessed, if under the demoralizing superstition to which they are habituated from their infancy, and which works on the passions of childhood and age, they were to exhibit a character more elevated, or even less degraded than that which they actually present. The worshippers of false deities, or the votaries of a false prophet, whose characteristic is that of fraud, injustice, cruelty, sensuality or blood, must be men of fraud, injustice, cruelty, sensuality, or blood. And where, as is the case, alas! in almost all heathen countries, there are multitudes of gods, in whom all these characters are to be found united, what can be expected but that those who worship them should be like them in vice and crime? The degradation of the Chinese, the licentiousness of the Hindoo, the ferocity of the African, and their delight in murder are but the distinguishing characteristics of the moral condition of every Gentile; and from the state of their circumstances they cannot be different from what they actually are. Nor is it otherwise with the millions who profess to worship the one God, and his prophet Mahomet who following his pattern, live in every species

of vice; for with the exception of abstinence from wine, there is scarcely anything of virtue, of which he pretended to set the example.

Such, then, is the depravity of all who are still destitute of the gospel. And is it now necessary to prove that they are guilty as well as depraved? Were we to question this they themselves might be heard on the subject; and what would be their testimony? You find it in every sacrifice they offer on the altar of their gods,-you found it formerly_in Otaheite and in the other South Sea islands; though, blessed be God, few, if any of them, any longer exist to attest it. -You find it in the long deeply-injured, but now partially redressed inhabitants of Africa; you find it in the torture, pain, and self-inflicted wounds of the Hindoos, in the worshipping of Juggernaut: you find it in every act of religious bathing in the Ganges, and in every sacred effusion of water carried from its shores; you find it in every pilgrimage to Mecca; in every feast which the Ko.. ran enjoins, and in every sacrifice which the disciples of Mahomet offer up, whether they are occupied in feeding flocks, or have their residence in the deserts of Arabia, where their hand is against every man, and every man's hand against them. In each, and all these practices of idolatry or delusion the voice of conscious guilt rises from their feeble lips; and the conduct of every individual who engages in them, proclaims that they are involved in guilt and exposed to punishment; that the wrath of their deities requires to be appeased and do they not need the salvation which the gospel reveals? Is it possible that in the condition in which they are thus universally found, they can be excused, when they die, from entering into the presence of that God who cannot look upon sin but with abhorrence, and with whom no evil can dwell? They feel they need pardon; every sacrifice is an acknowledgment, that this is the case. O you! who are instructed by the gospel, -or who ought to be instructed by the gospel, you must, or should believe, that unless they do obtain pardon, they must perish for ever. They cannot, in their present state, be the objects of divine favour and love. And if this be their condition while they pass through the troubled and overwhelming waters of death into the world of spirits, what can be their condition throughout eternity

but that of degraded, ruined, and helpless | beings upon whom no ray of divine compassion shall ever dart? Without God, they are without hope in the world. O wretched victims of ignorance and delusion, guilt and depravity! Who that feels for the interest of his own immortal spirit but must feel for them! Who that knows the value of salvation for himself will not at once acknowledge its equal necessity for them! Sunk in sin, in danger of perdition, is there nothing that can be done to bring them within the reach of the salvation which they so urgently require ? To these questions there is no difficulty in satisfactorily replying, but before doing so, I must request you to consider that as all, whether Jews or Mohammedans, who are destitute of the gospel need the salvation which the gospel reveals; so

IIndly. THEY CAN BE SAVED ONLY BY

MEANS OF THE GOSPEL.

This, to some, perhaps, even to many now present, may appear an extremely hard saying, they cannot reconcile such ideas with just views of the benevolence of God, whose creatures all men are. Not having as yet, sent the gospel to them all, may seem to intimate either that they cannot all need the spiritual deliverance which it is the appointed means of accomplishing, or that they may, after all, obtain deliverance without the gospel. We should remember, however, that we can learn the real character and designs and will of God, actually and completely only from his own revelation, and that we must be chargeable with equal presumption and impiety if we venture to reason on what God is, or what he may or shall do. The Spirit of God in this revelation, declares his character and will to man. And that the gospel does testify that no individual of the human race can or will be saved, except by the means which it reveals, seems to me to be scarcely less certain, than that it makes known and offers salvation to all to whom it is sent.

If, for instance, this were not the case, what can be the meaning of Peter's declaration concerning Christ as the only Saviour, when he said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved?" This it is true, was said in particular reference to the Jews, but if it is not equally true with regard to the Gentiles, why, I ask was Christ preached to the Gentiles?

Surely, this must have been necessary for their salvation otherwise the gospel would not be commanded to be sent to all, for God cannot, and will not do anything in vain. And where would have been the necessity for the wonderful interposition of divine love and grace for the salvation of man which the gospel proclaims to Jews and Gentiles if without it any of them could be saved? For if any one individual might have attained salvation without the gospel, so might another, and so might a third, and so might all mankind. There appears, therefore, to be no possible alternative besides denying the necessity of the gospel to any, and affirming its necessity to all. Nor are we allowed by the gospel to cherish the idea that man may be saved by means of it, through the secret observance of the method of salvation which it reveals, though its tidings should not actually be made known to him. In this case, the same argument is equally forcible: for if any might be saved without hearing of Christ, so might all; consequently, there was no necessity for the gospel being preached to any. It is, no doubt, true that all who were saved under the divine dispensation which preceded the actual manifestation of Christ were saved only through the efficacy of his mediatorial character, for, though Christ was not really preached to them, the types and sacrifices all spoke of him and prefigured his incarnation and sacrifice.

Were there any fallacy in this reasoning, another fact remains still to be mentioned, which seems to establish the point beyond dispute. The salvation of the gospel, my brethren, is uniformly represented to us in scripture, not only as connected with Christ, and as attainable only through him, or in reliance of what he did and suffered for the redemption of sinners, but as attainable only through believing on him. This fact is absolutely certain, and I appeal to almost every passage of the New Testament. Believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God, is declared to be the only means by which the salvation he has wrought out, can be attained. Thus the absolute necessity of his being known to every indiIvidual who shall attain this salvation is demonstrated beyond all reasonable doubt. Thus only can we account for the universality of the commission given by our Lord to his apostles, to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature

subjoining this important declaration “HE THAT BELIEVETH SHALL BE SAVED,

BUT HE THAT BELIEVETH NOT SHALL BE

DAMNED." On no other principle can we fully account for the unabated ardour and indefatigable exertions with which those heralds of the cross did go throughout the world, testifying to the Jews first, and afterwards to the Gentiles, "Repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ." Yes, it is to this that we ourselves owe the ministry of the gospel, and the hopes that cheer us in looking forward to the grave, instead of being like our forefathers, and millions besides, worshipping idols, and sacrificing our sons and our daughters upon a blood-stained altar, living without consolation, and dying without hope.

The argument now presented to you is not our own, or that of other fallible men like ourselves. If I mistake not it is an inspired argument, and therefore, has the authority of God, not only for the fact, but for the conclusions and its particular application to every individual of the human race. It is the argument of the apostle, in the 12th verse of the chapter before us. "For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How, then, shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher ? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? As it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!" Hence, also, observe the necessity and importance of the gospel to yourselves. Without it not one of you can be saved. O, how impossible is it that they should be saved if even you may be lost and lost for ever! The gospel has been, and it now is preached to you. You have heard, and you now hear of Christ, as the only and the all-sufficient Saviour for sinners. But if you do not go to him as your salvation-if you do not believe on him with your heart, and call upon him as your Lord, and submit to the authority of his law, his salvation will never be yours. You will die in your sins, and will experience, throughout eternity, the awful fate of those who have rejected the truth of Christ, whose

name is love. Christ may become the Saviour of death unto death, and he will become so to all who will not come to Him that they might have life. O! will any of you (I know not your characters, but it is quite possible there may be an unbelieving individual now present). O! will any of you, my brethren, who may still be in this condition, continue to reject the salvation that may yet be obtained and perish through your impiety and unbelief? The joys ofheaven invite you. O! be not so blind to your own interests, O! be not so insensible to all that concerns your happiness in time, and throughout eternity; but in this the accepted time, the day of salvation, take refuge by faith in him, who is to be for salvation to the ends of the earth for the chief of sinners. If you reject the Lord who shall fill heaven and earth with his glory, "Other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ;" and I shall plead with such in vain on behalf of multitudes of men who never heard of thename of Christ. Consider,

IIIrdly. THAT IT IS OUR DUTY, AS CHRISTIANS, TO EMPLOY EVERY MEANS IN OUR POWER FOR IMPARTING TO THEM THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE GOSPEL THAT THEY MAY BE SAVED.

If, indeed, guilt and depravity be the sad characteristics of the whole human race-if wherever we travel; into whatever country, or city, or village, or hamlet, we enter where the light of the gospel hath not entered, we find guilt and depravity, and if they need the salvation which the gospel reveals, and if it is only by means of the gospel that they can be saved, it can scarcely be necessary that I should say much to enforce the obligation of missionary labours. I shall therefore, confine myself to the motives which should impel us to this duty, and which should sustain, as well as animate our conviction of its obligation. And, certainly, if to do good to all men, as we have opportunity, if to love our neighbour as ourselves, be our duty as professing disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ -the moral subjects of the divine government-it must be utterly impossible for us to deny, that in the fulfillment of this duty, we are most imperatively bound to exert ourselves to the utmost in imparting to every individual, whom we can reach, the means of being saved from from hell, and made the heirs of heaven. Do we view the necessities of our fel

pel in Otaheite-in Owyhee-in Western and Southern Africa-in islands across the Atlantic-in almost every province of India-in Ceylon-and in Madagascar. This is, indeed, the doings of the Lord, and O! should it not be wondrous in our eyes? Who can think, without rapturous delight, and animated thanksgiving, that at this very moment, while we are pleading for those that are still ignorant, converts from among them may be engaged in prayer, for the more copious effusions of the Divine Spirit to be shed down from on high, to lighten the dreary regions around them, which, by our instrumentality, have been brought as into the valley of vision, and are ready to be breathed on, that they may live.

Till those exertions (the glorious firstfruits of which, we have thus already reaped) were begun to be made, especially by the London Missionary Society, we had nothing but prophecy to support our hope, or stimulate us to exertion in our Redeemer's cause. This, however, was doubtless fully sufficient to give us hope concerning it: for the word of the Lord must be accomplished, and can never fail. Yea, when we now see the accomplishment of the all-glorious things which God has spoken respecting Zion, our faith ought certainly to be greatly confirmed, and our hopes may be raised to the certainty of success. When we look forward to the accomplishment of prophecy, and to those God-like operations which are every where going on, for sending the light and knowledge of salvation to the multitudes of people who are still sitting in darkness, and in the region of the shadow of death, let it be your heart's desire and prayer to God, not for Israel only, but for all men, that they may be saved. And remember, that our Lord taught his disciples, when they prayed, to say, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven."

But, with prayer, we must unite exertion. Prayer, indeed, was the only instrument we could employ for the conversion of the nations, till societies were formed for circulating the Scriptures and preaching the gospel among them. O! how spiritual and fervent the prayers which our fathers offered up!--more fervent and more spiritual than many of us even now present. We have witnessed the answer their prayers have received.

We have enlarged means to those which they possessed for building the sacred temple, that all people may flow unto it. But, think you, that while we, their children, can do more than they had it in their power to accomplish, while we may assist in enlarging the foundation and raising the walls of that temple throughout the earth, we can be as sincere and as earnest as they were, if we merely pour out our supplications before God, and refuse to bring stone or wood by giving a portion of our substance to help in carrying on the work? Whatsoever we can do, be it little or much, we must and we will do it, for carrying forward this divine work to its consummation, if we feel any thing of the real spirit of the gospel, the end of whose commandment is charity. Our prayers will never reach the thronethough the throne is as near to every one of us as our spirit is to our body-if, while we can exert ourselves in any other way, we only give the cold wishes of a frigid heart to this work. Let us not, at the same time, imagine that our other exertions will be of any avail without our prayers. The means only are ours, and success must come from God. Perhaps one reason why our exertions for the conversion, whether of Heathen, Mohammedans, or Jews, have as yet been so comparatively unsuccessful, is to be found in the fact, that we have been more solicitous about employing the means, than in obtaining the result and increase from above, without which even Paul would plant, and Apollos water the seeds of divine truth in vain. Whenever we contribute of our time or our money-as we all ought to do to the full extent of our means and our power-let us consecrate it by our prayers; and whenever we bend our knees before the Father of our spirits and the God of our salvation, let us never forget our brethren in every land, who, like ourselves, have souls destined for immortality, and which cannot be saved, any more than our own, except through believing in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

In conclusion: Let me urge upon you the necessity of a cordial reception of the gospel, that we ourselves may be saved; and the most earnest solicitude and strenuous exertions, that the blessing may be extended to every individual of our fallen race.

O! yes: let me beseech every one of you again to recollect, and ever to remem