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spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. ii. 28, 29.) This is the test for all; for you, for me, for Jew, for Gentile: other tests, such as the world adopts, will fail us, and Satan will deceive us by them; but this is infallible: it will identify us with God's children in Christ. To "as many" among us "as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." (Gal. vi. 16.) But to those who rest in their outward privileges, and know nothing of inward sanctification, an adopted sonship of Christ, presents nothing but a more fearful condemnation. May the Lord give a rich spiritual increase of his word in its saving power to all here present, that in the proffered mercies of our covenant relationship to Christ, and so to each other under all our natural or other affinities, we may each be brought to bid an eternal farewell to whatsoever thing or person keeps us from him; may our understandings be

convinced, and our hearts seriously impressed with the mercy of our high and heavenly calling in Christ Jesus, and united to him in faith and love, may we be enabled with confidence to look up to him, and say, "Thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God."

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SERMON VII.

THE WIDOW.

1 TIM. V. 3.

Honour widows that are widows indeed.

Thus,

THERE are very solemn distinctions in the word of God between things and persons which are otherwise in his sight, than what they appear to be in ours. to human appearance, we are all hearers of the gospel; but, in the eye of God, some are outward "hearers only, deceiving" their "own selves;" while some, "being not forgetful" hearers, "but" doers "of the work," these "shall be blessed in" their "deed." (James i. 22.

25.) Others seem to hear; but these last alone "receive with meekness the engrafted word which is able to save" their souls." (ver. 21.) So of our general profession of religion," he is not a Jew which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh but he is a Jew which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, whose praise is not of men, but of God." (Rom. ii. 28, 29.) "For they are not all Israel which are of Israel; neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children." (ix. 6, 7.) Some say they are Jews, and are not, but are the synagogue of Satan." (Rev. ii. 9.)

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It is such passages as these which strongly point out to us the danger of substituting in the matter of religion, appearances for realities; shadows for substance; having the "form of godliness," but not "the power." And this view of scripture truth will serve for an intro

duction to the charge given by St. Paul to Timothy, that, in the administration of his office in the church of Christ, he should separate "the wheat" from "the chaff;" and, amongst other objects of his episcopal care, "honour widows that are

widows indeed."

In adopting this passage of the divine word for this evening's address to you upon another part of the female character, it seems an obvious division of the subject, to speak first of those "that are widows indeed," and secondly, of those who, in the scripture sense, are not "widows indeed."

The general view which holy Scripture gives of a state of widowhood is, that it is an afflicted state. A widow is spoken of as one afflicted of God, heavily afflicted. It is, as a widow, that Jerusalem is bewailed under her great burden of woe: "How doth the city sit solitary! how is she become as a widow! She weepeth sore in the night, and her tears

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