deep and thrilling interest wherever the history of his fall and ruin has been made known. Much has been felt about it, much has been done for it; and still more suffered. God has manifested any thing but indifference to the immortal interests of men. The whole trinity has been employed about them; and all holy creatures of all worlds have felt and acted in concert. Nothing ever awakened a concern so deep and wide; for no object were ever such labors undertaken, and such sacrifices made. Still it is not accomplished. Some indeed are saved, but not all, not the greater part; not, I suppose, a moiety of this assembly. And this leads me to observe, that,

The salvation of the soul, after all that has been done for it, depends on the consent of two wills, either of which dissenting, it is not and cannot be accomplished; the will of him that saves, and the will of him that is to be saved. As God is the author of it, and he works only what he wills, if he be not inclined favorably, it is not accomplished, and never can be however much the soul may be inclined to have it accomplished. There is a sense, as I shall show you, in which it is of him that willeth, but there is another and very important sense in which "it is not of him that willeth, but of God that showeth mercy." So on the other hand, as man is not the mere passive subject of salvation, but active and voluntary in its accomplishment, it is equally true that if he be obstinately indisposed to it, it is unaccomplished, and while he remains indisposed, impracticable. It is manifest from the nature of the work that the will of the sinner must concur to its production. In every

reconciliation there is and must be the free and spontaneous consent of both the parties. A forced reconciliation is no reconciliation. And hence God never

attempts to compel sinners to be saved, but saves them by making them willing in the day of his power; working in them to will and to do of his own good pleasure; and if he could not do this, he could not save them. The principal work of the Holy Spirit is to remove from the heart of the sinner, his deep-rooted indisposition.

There must then be the consent of both the parties. Both must be willing. If only one is willing, nothing is accomplished, however willing he may be. Was not Christ willing to gather the children of Jerusalem to himself? does he not say, "How often would I," but they were not gathered, because though he would, they would not. Some are absurd enough to infer that they will be saved beyond all doubt, because Christ is so willing to save them; but was he not willing to save the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and yet were they saved? What if he will, if, at the same time, you wil lnot.

Both the parties must be willing, and I add they must be willing at the same time. The consent of both the parties must be coincident in point of time. If they are willing only at different times, they might as well remain unwilling. If when one is ready to be reconciled, the other is not, it avails nothing though both should be ready at some time. You may think that this is a case which can never occur; that the sinner can never be willing, without finding God willing, he being always ready with his consent

to the reconciliation, whenever the sinner signifies his. And there is indeed a willingness on the part of the sinner, which always finds God willing, but then it is that willingness which is of God's own production; a sincere, penitent, holy willingness. But there is also a willingness of which the same cannot be said. It does not always find God willing. I appeal to facts in proof of this. Have you never been yourself, or seen another in some sense willing to be saved, while yet there was no manifest interposition of God to save, and this disposition was not met by him by any thing on his part corresponding to it? Is not this the very case contemplated in Proverbs? "Because I have called and ye refused, I will mock when your fear cometh; then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer." Here first God was willing, and in testimony of his willingness, he called, he stretched out his hand, he even intreated, as well as counselled and reproved; but all this while, and a long while it may have been the sinner refused, disregarded, set at nought, yea hated. Then afterwards, when his fear came, and destruction as a whirlwind, and distress and anguish came upon him, then he was willing, for men will be gracious when pangs are upon them, and he called and he sought; but then God refused, he would not answer, he would not be found. Is not this the very case I have supposed? both the parties ready and well-disposed, yet nothing accomplished, the sinner perishing; because, just because they were not both ready at the same time. God was ready and the sinner was ready, but at different times. God was to be found and the sinner sought

him; but he did not seek him when he was to be found. God called on the sinner, and the sinner called on God; but when God called, the sinner was inexorable; and then when the sinner called, God was inexorable. This is no figment of mine. It is a case that may occur, that has occurred. It may, and I fear it will, be realized in the experience of some of you.

That

Now he is willing, but you are not; he ready, you not ready, yet he calls, but you will not hear his voice, nor regard his outstretched hand. He may be found, but you will not seek him. And so I fear it will be with some of you a little too long. I fear you will never be willing till he is unwilling; you not ready till he has ceased to be ready. you will seek God at some period of your history, and call earnestly upon him, I have not the shadow of a doubt, and, oh! that you would do it now, now while he is near and may be found; but, ah! I fear you will not seek him till he is not to be found; and not call upon him until he is out of hearing. Oh! shall it be, shall it be? Will you wait till he, wearied of waiting, has gone and hid himself forever from you? Will you never go to the mercy seat, until God has left it, and never approach the fountain opened for sin and uncleanness, until it is sealed and shut up forever? Shall it be so ?

And here I am reminded of another error that I would expose. You think that, if you ever have any disposition towards God and salvation, all will undoubtedly be well with you. But here you see that you may have some such disposition, and may

call on God and seek him, and yet it shall be totally unavailing. And, if it were not so, where would be the point of that exhortation, "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found?" Does any one say this is very discouraging? So it is; and it is meant to be so. But whom does it discourage? Only those that are meaning to seek God at some future time; and ought they not to be discouraged? Do they expect us to encourage them in putting off what God is pressing on them? Is there in this assembly one that is saying, "Oh! that I knew where I might find him." We have said nothing to discourage him. Or is there one just gathering up himself to go to Jesus? We have said nothing, and have nothing to say, to dishearten him. Let him go on.

Both then must be willing, and simultaneously willing. And now I add, if they be, salvation is accomplished immediately and necessarily. When two parties that had been at variance both agree on certain terms to be reconciled to each other, they are by that very agreement reconciled. If those sinners whom Christ says he would have often gathered, had been willing to be gathered, would they not have been gathered? What more was wanting but their willingness that he should gather them? Gives he any other reason why they were not gathered, but that they would not? He would, but they would not. He exculpates himself and throws the whole blame on them. "Ye would not."

It follows from this last remark, that, if there be any persons in this house unsaved, not gathered to