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THE AMERICAN

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EDITED BY REV. AUSTIN DICKINSON, NEW-YORK.
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No. 83.----April, 1833.

CONTENTS-Ser. by Rev. Mr. PIERCE: The Tears of Jesus-
By Rev. Mr. POMROY: Practical Examination of the Doctrine of

Saints' Perseverance.

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LUKE xix. 41, 42.—And when he came near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

THESE words of Christ were spoken under circumstances of peculiar interest. He and his followers were approaching Jerusalem, where he was soon to be betrayed and crucified. He had come to the brow of Olivet, whence the city was seen in near prospect. A view of the holy city, its lofty walls, its splendid palaces, and its sacred temple towering above the rest, in rich magnificence,-the central seat of God's chosen people, was surely fitted to awaken pleasing emotions. Nevertheless, sadness filled the heart of Jesus.

He was now, more than at any former period, the object of popular favor. He, who had long been despised and rejected of men, was now, in accordance with ancient prophecy, entering Jerusalem in seeming triumph. The people, astonished at his miracles, were acknowledging him their king, and bestowing upon him the tokens of honor customarily shown on the approach of kings and conquerors. As he rode on his way, descending the Mount of Olives, a "very great multitude spread their garments in the way; others cut down branches from the trees, and strewed them in the way. And the multitudes, that went before and that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna to the Son of David: Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord; Hosanna in the highest." Yet in the midst of this joyful multitude, he who was the object of their homage remained sad.

He foresaw the events that awaited him at Jerusalem, and knew that the hour was at hand when he should depart out of the world. He had distinct apprehension of the trying circumstances of his arrest and condemnation, and of the

sufferings in which his life would terminate. Yet these were not the things which bore with most weight upon his mind. Passing by all things else, his sorrow is awakened, in view of Jewish impenitence and unbelief. And when he came near, he beheld the city and wept over it, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. As a preacher of the gospel of peace, he had labored in Jerusalem with comparatively little success. Though his approach to the city was hailed with hosannas, his gospel had not been received. They who had killed the prophets, and stoned those who were sent unto them, were now filling up the measure of their iniquity by rejecting the true Messiah. The language of his grief is expressive of strong desire, on the eve of despondency. O, that thou hadst known, even thou, highly-favored people, at least in this thy day, when the Messiah has come, publishing glad tidings, the things that belong to thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

Christ, uniting a human nature with the divine, can weep over the wickedness and obduracy of impenitent men, is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and does earnestly desire that ruined sinners may be partakers in the benefits of his redemption.

The leading sentiment suggested by the text is, that CHRIST EARNESTLY DESIRES THE CONVERSION OF THE IMPENITENT. It is not strange that it should be so, since,

I. He knows what sin is, and what are its consequences. He weeps over men, as offenders against God, and desires their release from sin and condemnation. Knowing the extent and danger of the disease, he is anxious to apply the remedy. The ideas men have of sin and its evils are altogether inadequate, They rarely give the subject a careful consideration. The contemplation of it brings upon them painful convictions of guilt. To look at their relations to God, and their obligations to love him, and recall the delinquencies of their past lives, would disturb their peace and mar their enjoyment. They wish to think well of themselves, and they palliate their guilt; and by a thousand devices, cover their sins. They hate the light, neither come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved. And though convicted of sin, their conceptions of it are still inadequate. When the truth is urged home upon the heart and the conscience, and applied by the convicting influences of the Spirit, when the character of God as holy is seen, and the extent and purity of his law are apprehended, and the heart with its desperate wickedness is recovered, still but little is known of sin, of its actions, nature, and mischievous tendency.

But the character of sin, and all its bearings upon the happiness of man and the government of God, are fully comprehended by the mind of Jesus. understood from the beginning what were the principles of his Father's administration. He knows what are the great ends of his government, and by what means they are accomplished. He knows the laws by which his Father governs, their purity and extent, and how unspeakably important it is, that justice and judgment continue the habitation of his throne. And he understands, full well, what sin is, as aimed against the government of God, and a transgression of holy law. He has seen its influence, wherever it has spread through his Father's dominions. He was present and saw the sad effects of sin, when a part of the angelic hosts rebelled, and there was war in heaven. He saw its influence in changing them from angels of light to malignant fiends, and casting them out of heaven, and consigning them to the darkness of the pit, reserved in

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