Yes, we were, and we are (the whole collective race of man, as well as every individual of this race), lost, and ruined, and undone ! far from God, far from peace, far from rest, and incapable of happiness even in heaven itself, if such unholy beings could dare to enter heaven's portals. But "the Son of Man came to seek and to save that which was lost!" he laid by his glory, and veiled the effulgence of Deity in human flesh. Long had he been predicted, long desired; and now he came, he came unto his own, and his own received him not. Full of love and compassion, he went about doing good, and with a steady purpose he pursued his design: he planted the truth, he provided for its future propagation. All this, however, was only preparatory to the great design which the Eternal Trinity had arranged before the foundations of the world! The ministry of our Lord was not the chief cause for which he came into the world; he took our flesh, that he might suffer and die; it was upon the cross that the Lamb of God shed his blood, and became the sacrifice for the sins of the whole world, the ransom and Redeemer of the lost ones. We might have wandered for ever in darkness and in doubt, had he not come to seek He came to invite us to God, to reconcile us to God, to be the propitiation for us with God, to procure the remission of past sins, and power against their return; he came to carry on a mighty and wonderful mediation and intercession for us with God; to offer our prayers, our repentance, our faith, before the mercy-seat of Jehovah, sprinkled and made acceptable by his purifying and precious blood; he came to restore us to holiness, to bring the force of divine influence to bear upon our minds, to shed forth abundantly the gifts and graces of the divine Spirit of Truth, and to effect that mysterious process whereby "we who were sometimes afar off are now brought nigh by the blood of Jesus; we who were once without God in the world, have now received the adoption of sons, whereby we cry, Abba, Father!'"

us.

He sought us to save us, and from what? from ignorance, from sorrow, from sin, and from punishment, Blind, miserable, and wicked, the world was adding sin to sin, and provoking God's just vengeance, when that Almighty Father of mercies sent his Anointed One, the Lord of life and light, to our rescue. Jesus is the light of the world, the prince of peace, the author of holiness, the dispenser of pardon; he saved us from all the pains and sorrows which a guilty conscience must cause; he showed us a way, the only way, whereby the evil principle within our souls can be defied and defeated and suppressed; by him, and through him, our weak, frail soul is strengthened and supported against sin. He first implants the desire of holiness, and then enables us to seek after holiness; and having been our comfort, our defender, our friend, our advocate in this world, he prepares for his true and faithful flock those everlasting mansions of glory which he hath purchased as an inheritance for them. This is the glorious work which the Son of Man effected for us; may that work become effectual for all of us, nor may the compassionate Redeemer fail to be a Redeemer for us! For, brethren, the question which most concerns us is this, has Jesus Christ not only sought, but found and saved us? It is in the mind, in the soul, that sin reigns, and causes evil deeds; it is in the mind, in the soul of every one that the blessed remedy must be wrought; we

must see our absolute need of a Saviour, our lost and ruined condition, without aid from above. We cannot deny that we are sinners, we must know that; but it is not sufficient to know this-we must feel it too, and lament it, and desire a remedy for it. They, therefore, who still live in the practice of sin, and in the love of sin, are lost indeed; but they do not think that they are lost, nor do they think that a Saviour is needed for them. Christ came to call sinners, but to call them to repentance; therefore we may be sure, that they who live on in wickedness or worldliness, have not as yet obeyed the call.

Let us, brethren, endeavour to comprehend this. Too many, while on a death-bed, are disposed to pray for forgiveness of sin, and to look upon Christ in a vague, ignorant manner, merely as one who will procure forgiveness of all their offences against God: but this is not the sole office of Christ-this is not the only work which he came to perform; he came to save us, but to save us in a certain manner and order; by his meritorious sufferings he purchased of God the two great gifts of penitence and faith; repentance is the gate, whereby we must come to Christ, and open a communication with heaven. Knowing that we are sinners, we may dread God's wrath and vengeance, and be inclined to wish that our sins may be forgiven; but it is not enough to fear hell, we must also hate sin; and this hatred of sin, this power of hating sin, and grieving for sin, is the gift of God; it is the first step in the process of salvation, a step which must be taken by all who desire or hope to be saved. The heart and conscience of a man remains long asleep and dead, or deceived and perverted. Vainly and often does Christ knock at the door of the soul; and when we do begin to hear, and listen, and think, what first occurs to the mind? what but our sinfulness, our guilt, our folly! We think of God's goodness, and holiness, and power, and of our own ingratitude and perverseness. We begin to tremble at the prospect of eternal condemnation; but then we confess that condemnation is just, and we loathe and condemn ourselves, even whilst we tremble. Thus it is that the law is our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. The struggles of an awakened and terrified conscience end in the joyful and peaceful hope, that Christ is made to us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification; and thus only can Christ's sacrifice avail us. Consciousness, deep, thorough consciousness of sin, must constitute the first degree of that blessed process, whereby the dead are made alive again, and the lost are found. Remember, my brethren, that deep humility, utter sorrow, a disposition to accuse, and judge, and condemn ourselves, prove the existence of that broken and contrite heart, which God will not despise, which Christ will accept, and sanctify, and heal. But remember, that this is not all: after repentance, follows faith; after sorrow for sin, follow the love and acceptance of the Saviour. When peace and hope begin to rise upon the conscience; when holy desires and purposes are evidenced; when holy pursuits are followed; when all the lusts are mortified; when God's service is loved; when duties are performed; when a holy zeal, and delight, and fervency, and perseverance in prayer are displayed (and that even where the absence of sensible fervour and joy fills us with sorrow), then we may justly hope, that the Saviour has influenced our hearts by his grace; then we may trust that God has accepted us in the Son of his love!

These considerations are not unimportant; for, how many upon a death-bed are there, who imagine that they are secure, because they are sorry for their sins; and how many who think themselves safe, because they hope Christ will forgive them their sins! Both are, however, wrong; sorrow for sin is useless without Christ, and Christ will not enter the breast until repentance, his forerunner, prepare the way be

fore him.

Brethren, both these blessings are now offered to our acceptance; Christ still seeks us by his Spirit, still calls and persuades us: although he be now in heaven, his word is still nigh, his church still speaking in his name. God grant that we may obey his gracious invitation! God grant that we may not be of the number of those who shut their breast against him, "exclude their gracious and most rightful Lord, and choose to live desolate without him!" God give us grace, that we may hear the voice of his Son; for those who hear that voice shall live! We are, too many of us, dead in trespasses and sins, insensible and inanimate. Long has Christ called upon us in vain; we have continued deaf to his voice, and followed in youth, in manhood, and in age, vain wishes, false lights, deceitful hopes. May our eyes be at length opened to see our danger and our cure! Let us kneel at last before the altar of heavenly truth, and taste and see, by our own experience, the reality of the good things which God's saints have declared are to be found in his service! If any consideration, except God's constraining grace, could move the heart, it would be gratitude, at the thought that "God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Happy will it be for us if we accept of his love. We have only one needful thing to do, and very short is the time which is allowed us for the work; may we then at last surrender the long-defended heart. We shall find in Christ, in the glorious hopes and views of the gospel, more real comfort and satisfaction than it is possible to conceive. Peace is the privilege of faith. In the gospel alone, if sincerely and unreservedly embraced, we find what even reason must consider as the highest possible privilege the means of a near access and approach to God. Prayer is the peculiar joy and glory of the Christian, and brings him nearer and nearer to that dreadful throne of Jehovah, where, no longer alienated and rejected, he is now accepted in the Beloved. Let those also, who still continue in sin, who still reject the invitation of the good Shepherd and Bishop of their souls, and even dishonour his name by wickedness and vice, remember that the Son of God will not seek and will not save for ever. The time of our salvation or of our condemnation approaches nearer every day, and every moment. Defer no longer; trifle no more with God and your consciences and truth. "Seek the Lord while he may be found, call upon him while he is near: now is the accepted time, now is the day of salvation." "Kiss the Son, lest he be angry," and your souls "perish" everlastingly from the "right way!" May He, therefore, "who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate by the Holy Ghost of the Virgin Mary, and was made man," now seek and save us! May He call us, and give us grace

to obey the call! May He pierce the hardened heart, and terrify the deadened conscience, by the gift of the divine and holy Spirit! May He give us the peace we long for, the rest we crave, the heavenly gifts of grace and of glory, the one leading to the other! May He teach us to seek, and enable us to find! O Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, let us not perish, lost and guilty though we are, but obtain eternal life through thee. "Since the whole of our being is thine already by right of creation, grant that it may be also thine by right of affection. Thou hast allowed us the privilege of asking, give us also the benefit of receiving. Thou hast commanded us to seek, grant that we may find! Thou directest us to knock, open to us that now do so! From thee we receive the very will to desire, suffer us, we beseech thee, to obtain the blessing which we implore!"

With Observations on the Romish Worship, and the State of Religion Abroad. No. IX. THE CHURCH OF Nôtre-Dame, at Bruges.

ABOUT the middle of the eight century, St. Boniface, after preaching in Germany, passed through Bruges, and there built a small chapel in honour of the Virgin. At that period the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the place was vested in the bishop of Utrecht, from whom it subsequently passed to the see of Tournay; and, in the year 1091, Radbod, who then presided over that diocese, greatly enlarged the original building, to which the choir was added by Charles the Good, in 1119. It is a vast pile of bricks, exceedingly sombre and heavy in appearance, and of no specific order of architecture. The tower, which is surmounted by a spire, was erected in 1297; and there is a tradition that the architect, disgusted with the structure which he had just completed, threw himself from the top, and lies buried beneath an old blue stone at the eastern extremity. The height of this tower is 435 feet. There is nothing remarkable in the interior. Huge massive pillars separate the nave from the side aisles; and the choir is enclosed within gates of wrought iron, which bear the name of the maker, J. Ryckman, of Ostend, and the date 1799. The pulpit, like those of most of the Belgian churches, is of sculptured oak, and is a fine specimen of the art, It is supported by a figure of the Virgin sitting on a globe. There is also some magnificent wood-carving in the confessionals, and in the stalls and decorations of the choir.

With reference to the confessionals, occasion has, more than once, been taken to advert to the demoralising effects which auricular confession is calculated to produce, and to the disgust with which it is regarded by Romanists themselves. At the same time it must be admitted that submission to such a practice argues, at least, the sincerity of the individual; and in Belgium, evidences of a strong attachment to the Romish worship, accompanied with deep

religious feelings, cannot fail to present itself to those who visit their churches. This is particularly the case with the females of the lower and middle classes, though it is not wholly confined to them; and it will be remarked in a variety of forms and circumstances. It is but justice, therefore, to distinguish between the levity and unconcern of the gentle dames and demoiselles of France, who go to church for the sole purpose of exhibiting the last new fashion, or of listening to the jejune morality of some young prédicateur, and the simplicity of purpose with which the Flemings seek the house of prayer, albeit there is something grotesque in the pious abstraction which appears to rivet their eyes upon their livre d'heures, as the priest mutters over the prayers in a language of which they do not comprehend a syllable. There is no affectation in their manner of taking the holy water, and making the sign of the cross, on their entrance; no visible disquietude at soiling a splendid dress, as they drop on both knees before the various altars; the patina and the relic are kissed with the enthusiastic ardour of unfeigned belief in their peculiar virtues; and they join the procession, taper in hand, taking part with heart and voice in the mongrel chaunt, half Latin, half Flemish, as they pace slowly along the aisles. A number of communicants attend the Lord's table every Sunday; and even children under twelve years of age may be seen, with joined hands and closed eyes, receiving the consecrated wafer, from the priest, and retiring to their chairs to mutter over a paternoster, undisturbed by the curious gaze of some wondering stranger, or by what is passing around them in different directions. It may here be observed, by the way, that several distinct services proceed at the same time before the various altars, with which the churches are filled. At one, crowds of females may be seen, anxious to kiss some sainted relic, which a priest presents to each successively, wiping it carefully after each salute; at another may be heard the jingling of cents and styvers in the little tin boxes which are carried round during the celebration of a mass in honour of some particular saint; while a third, perhaps, is occupied with a service for the dead, and the curé with his assistant are passing a soul to heaven by a road, which is short in proportion to the amount which the friends of the deceased can muster, in order to have him prayed out of purgatory.

Of all the ceremonies of the Romish Church, there is none, perhaps, which fills the mind with more painful reflections than a dead mass, as it is called. It is from this source that the church in Belgium mainly derives its support. Persons who have never given a franc to the cause of religion during their lives, will bequeath a fortune to purchase the repose of their souls; and many a family, in the middle classes of society, is deprived of its legitimate inheritance, to procure the prayers of the Church in favour of a departed parent. Of course the priests find no fault with this arrangement, and have no hesitation in giving passports into Paradise upon such terms; while the poor, who cannot pay for the transit, must even endure their purgatorial sentence with patience. A single service is all that is vouchsafed in ordinary cases, for which a fixed fee is unrelentingly enforced; but what will this avail in competition with thirty or forty masses, day after day, successively, at which not only the relatives of the deceased, but the faithful generally, are