God's mercy to man, on certain conditions, might at the same time tend to the advancement of the divine honor; by securing, so far as human infirmity would permit, the performance of man's duty to God. Such a covenant, thanks to the love of God, has been provided for man; namely, that gracious covenant of repentance, and obedience unto life, through faith in the merits of a crucified Redeemer.

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Hence ministers of the Gospel, as ambassadors for Christ, have it in commission to publish those terms of pardon and peace, which have been purchased by the blood of that crucified Redeemer, as conditions, on which man, though in himself a sinner, as more or less he necessarily must be, still becomes entitled, under the covenant of grace, to derive benefit from it. For every covenant, as such, necessarily comprehends under it conditions, by which the covenanting parties are reciprocally bound. Indeed we can form no idea of a covenant, independant of conditions, Covenant and conditions being in fact correlative terms. The idea therefore of unconditional salvation is inconsistent

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with the nature of a covenant. Although then, the Gospel covenant originated in the free grace of God to fallen man, and could never have had existence, had it not so originated; yet as the promises contained in the Gospel, have, in conformity with the nature of a covenant, been conditionally delivered, they must, by those who would partake of them, be received in a conditional sense...

Hence, consequently, it is a matter of primary importance with fallen man to determine, whether he will comply with the conditions on which the promises of the Gospel have been suspended; or rely wholly on that sort of faith, which virtually supersedes them; in other words, whether, on the ground of salvation having been provided for him by Christ, he will vainly imagine that all has been done for him, and that nothing conse quently is required on his part, but to lay hold on Christ by faith; or more rationally conclude, as consistently with the nature of the evangelical covenant, he most certainly ought, that there is, on his part, something to be done, as well as to

be

be believed, in order to his attainment of eternal life.

Since then so much depends on a right judgment in this matter, it must ever constitute an essential object with ministers of the Gospel, the appointed stewards of that mystery of godliness, which has pro vided for the salvation of a lost world, after having fully impressed the minds of their hearers with a due sense of the divine mercy, to awaken their attention to the inference proper to be drawn from it; that "knowing the love of God in Christ,

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they might be filled with all the full

ness of God:" in other words, with all those gifts and graces necessary to render them capable of being benefited by that love.

For this purpose, having first made them acquainted with the foundation on which the charter of man's salvation now stands; namely, on that divine philanthropy which originally projected it, and in the fullness of time, carried into effect the great scheme, by which a justly offended God became reconciled to his fallen creature; the next object of their ministerial

ministerial office is to entreat and persuade men by the mercies and terrors of the Lord, that they receive not the grace of God in vain ; in other words, that they do not by their own conduct render ineffectual that plan of salvation, which has in grace been provided for them. And this they do in the name of that God, by whom they are sent as ambassadors for peace; entreating rebellious subjects to lay down their arms, and embrace those terms of acceptance, which have been offered to them; in the words of the text, "beseeching them, and praying them in "Christ's stead to be reconciled unto "God."

This is a subject, taken in the light in which St. Paul has here placed it, not for argument so much as for entreaty and persuasion. A subject which addresses itself to the heart, more than to the head. For it presents us with the most extraordinary of all spectacles; that of a justly offended God in the character of a suppliant to his offending creatures; voluntarily coming forward to rebellious subjects, as it were with the olive branch of peace in his hand, to denote his readi

ness to pardon; and, beseeching them in the bowels of his mercies to embrace the terms of reconciliation which have been: provided for their acceptance. In human cases it is the offender who generally makes the advances for reconcilement. with his offended friend. But in the case before us, it is the despised friend and injured benefactor, who with bowels of compassion beseeches his offending enemy to return to him in peace. And did we not know that such a mode of affectionate address had often been made in vain; did we not continually behold sinners insensible to such an earnest regard for their eternal welfare; we should suppose that it could never fail of producing its intended effect.

But the Jewish story is well known, and was recorded for our admonition. It would however be a waste of time to enter on a particular detail of it; because the same hardness of heart which rendered the Jews insensible to the loving-kindness, entreaties, and expostulations of their God and Saviour, when he so visibly interposed in their affairs, is still to be found among