not a passage in Scripture better adapted to the purpose. Under the form of an expostulation, it contains the most conclusive refutation of the presumptuous hope in question. "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" It is here assumed as a truth, that "the righteous are scarcely saved;" and then, as a necessary inference from this truth, it is asked, "Where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" Where shall they appear in the great day of final retribution? How shall they stand in the solemn hour of judgement ? The purport of which question, and the conclusion intended to be drawn from it, are obvious. The answer, which it evidently is supposed to demand, may be thus given in the words of the Psalmist : "The ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous."

In an humble endeavour to enforce this conclusion on the hearts and consciences of all who hear me, I shall proceed to consider more at large,

I. The Truth here assumed.

II. The Question deduced from it.

I. The Truth here assumed is this, that "the Righteous scarcely are saved." In considering and explaining which assumption, two enquiries present themselves; first, Who

are "the Righteous ?" And, secondly, In what sense can it be said, that they are "scarcely saved ?"

First, it may perhaps be thought unnecessary to shew who the Righteous are; and yet, on some accounts, it may be desirable to give a short description of them. The way in which the persons who are here called the Righteous, stand opposed in the text to the Ungodly and the Sinner, strongly intimates what they are not, and would lead us to conclude that they are characters directly the reverse of these. And so, in truth, they are. And yet, if we should sup pose that the Righteous never have been ungodly, and even now are not in some sense Sinners, we should have very mistaken notions on the subject. In fact, if we take the word Righteous in its strict and proper meaning, as descriptive of one who is personally without sin, and upon whom the law, if fully enforced against him, has no demand, we shall find no such persons in the world. In this sense," there is none Righteous, no not one;"" for all have sinned, and have come short of the glory of God." It is not then in this sense that the word is used in the text; nor indeed in any place in the Bible, where it is used to denote what any persons naturally or inherently are. The Righteous, in the language of Scripture, signify the

Justified; not those who are intrinsically Righteous, but those who are reckoned and accounted Righteous; those who, through faith, have obtained an imputed righteousness and "believing on Him who justifieth the ungodly," are reconciled unto God, and have procured a name, and a place, and a title to the inheritance among his children. In a word, the Righteous are the Righteous by faith, whom God, for Christ's sake, regards and deals with as Righteous. I have also said, that, in one sense, these are still Sinners; that is, they still carry about with them a nature which is prone to sin; and while they leave undone many things which they ought to do, they do nothing as they ought to do it, without some mixture of sin either in the motive or manner of doing it. But they are not ungodly impenitent sinners: they do not live in the allowed habitual practice of sin. No: they have received a new nature, which will not suffer them so to live. The Faith by which they are justified is the fruit of a new and holy principle in the heart. By the implantation of this principle, they have been made new creatures; so that they are now renewed in the spirit of their minds, and delight in the law of God, after the inner man. And the consequence is, that they follow after holiness and love, and practise what is good, and habitually do the

thing which is right. So that, in this sense also, they may be called, by comparison with other men," the Righteous ;" for "he that doeth righteousness is righteous." In short, "the Righteous" in the text are real Christians; such, as being justified by faith in Jesus Christ, have peace with God; and being at the same time renewed and sanctified by the Spirit of God, "live a godly, righteous, and sober life, to the glory of His holy name." They are those whom, in the daily services of our Church, we are accustomed to hear called by the titles of "Believers," of the "Elect," the "Chosen," "the faithful people of God," "His Servants," "His Saints," and "His Heritage," "the people of His pasture, and the sheep of His hand." Such are the Righteous. We inquire,

Secondly, In what sense can it be said that they are "scarcely saved?" Can we suppose that, by this expression, the Apostle intended to intimate a question respecting the final salvation of the Righteous? Can we suppose that there can be any doubt on this subject? Can we deem it possible that the Lord will ever cast off the Righteous, and suffer them to perish at last? that, having justified their persons, and renewed and sanctified their hearts, He will ever leave and forsake them, and not finally bring them

to that everlasting life and glory which He hath promised to them? I ask, is it possible that we can imagine any thing of this kind, or suppose that any intimation of it can be given in the expression in the text? We must surely be sensible that the whole course and tenor of the Scriptures are opposed to any supposition of this kind. Neither is there any thing in the passage before us to countenance and support it. The expression" scarcely be saved," does not imply the most distant doubt as to whether the Righteous will be saved or not. It has, as I will shew you, a very different meaning. The word here rendered "scarcely," in its proper signification, means, "with difficulty and labour." The Righteous will be saved; but with labour and difficulty." Neither is this said in reference to the plan of salvation. The Divine Perfections, indeed, themselves, did originally impose a difficulty in the way of saving sinners. How the Almighty could forgive sin, without appearing to encourage and tolerate it; how He could be a just God, and yet a Saviour;""Just, and yet, at the same time, the Justifier" of the Sinner; this was a difficulty which the wisdom of all created beings could never have removed. But by the Incarnation and Death of the Son of God, it has been removed. The satisfaction